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KSGU:Volume 2 Chapter 3

2012-05-11T03:11:09Z

115.77.129.48: /* Part 6 */

==Chapter 3==

===Part 1===

In the quiet room, the old pillar clock is rocking away. It’s a wooden pillar clock that seems to be made in the old centuries.

It’s 6pm. GONG GONG. The time’s being reported as the sound echoes throughout the hall, and the girl—or rather, Audrey Burne—heads to the window and sees the outside scenery through the glass window. The panel-styled artificial sun has darkened, and the surrounding area is covered in darkness. The outdoor lights that’s set in the courtyard lets out a weak light, and though it attracts a lot of flies, it can’t shine into the large garden. She feels like she’s looking into outer space that has very little light.

The forest on the outside is also submerged in darkness, and it looks like a black block that is differently darkened. The rows of trees that aren’t rustling with the wind remain silent and still in the darkness, and it looks extremely unique. This looks like a natural environment, so the unnaturalness of the air-tight space where wind won’t blow becomes all the more obvious. The lights of the streets, the rumbling of the vehicles, the noise brought about by people living…these things makes the colony feel like an artificial earth, so once the space colony lacks such things, it’ll become an ordinary indoor scene again. Feeling really hurt, Audrey turns her eyes back into the room.

There is an old-styled wardrobe, an attached mirror, a twin-sized canopy bed; a tea table that can be brought to the balcony, plates that have a red tea teapot and cookies on them, and earthenware that’s reflecting soft light. This seem to be a room prepared for female guests, and the windows and lighting inside the room have a luxurious color base, so one won’t feel sick of looking at them for a long time. The room properly wasn’t used for many years, but it’s kept so tidy that it didn’t give that feeling. As expected of a mansion belonging to the Vist Foundation. Also, a servant just came by and let her enjoy a mini-dinner.

She, who has eaten the ‘real’ stuff ever since young, knew clearly that it wasn’t some packaged food. It must be some servant who’s often in this mansion or Cardeas’ personal chef who prepared this food. She wondered whether the food might be spiked, but after thinking that there’s no need to do this to a bird in a cage, Audrey enjoyed this meal. In the end, her filled stomach caused her body to slow down, and let her have the urge to lie down on the bed. It’s either that Vist Foundation’s reception was perfect or that she was being too crude.

It’s been more than 2 hours since she was brought to such a comfy room where she didn’t feel like she was watched. She has achieved the aim of meeting the person she has to meet and saying what she has to say, but what’s next? Cardeas merely listened silently and didn’t give a clear answer. Zimmerman and Marida’s movements were unknown, but since they know that she made contact with Vist Foundation, they will carry out the deal secretly. They will probably let the mobile suits remain on standby after considering that she’s a hostage.

If such sparks fly because of this, Cardeas will have to take her as a hostage. She feels that she has to leave this house and go back to the <<Garencieres>> on her own first, but she can’t go back without understanding Cardeas’ intent. If the deal is made peacefully, there will be no meaning to why she came here. Also, Audrey now has no self-confidence of being able to move through this residential area that’s surrounded by the dark forest, back to the port on the back of the colony.

From what she heard of Cardeas, Audrey believes that he’s someone she can recklessly get to approach and talk to, but she didn’t consider about what happens next. It was merely an excuse on Audrey’s part to say that there wasn’t much time, and she sighs and sits down on the chair. She drinks up the cold red tea and looks up at the painting. The background of the painting looks to be a mountainous region on Earth, and there are several herded sheep and a shepherd boy facing the front, not smiling at all.

The boy’s straightforward expression shows the labor of hard work, and also shows the wide world. Audrey suddenly remembers the name Banagher Links, and her heart aches. He wasn’t someone of the opposite gender Audrey likes, and she can’t even remember his face clearly, as only the touch of the hand remain etched on her skin. It’s not that he came because of a righteous cause or loyalty, but because of emotions. The owner of that hand seems to resemble the shepherd boy in this painting. That seemingly obedient yet continues-to-chase kind of expression—

''“It’s fine no matter who you are. Just say that you need me.”''

The voice that was left beside her cut through the silence in the room and entered her heart. What was he saying? Audrey only felt surprised now, and grimaced slightly. It’s too reckless for someone she didn’t know for very long or even the background to say something like that, but for that moment, Banagher’s eyes were serious. His eyes look like they were yearning for something, just like the picture of the boy. If she didn’t deliberately say that she wanted to draw a line, she might be attracted by the light in his eyes. What happened to him after that? Did he go back to school safely?”

“Do I…need him?”

If that hand was pulling her, she would immediately leave this place. As Audrey harbored such a random thought, the bell rang, and it shocked Audrey.

She hurriedly sat properly and said ‘please enter’. She thought that it was an attendant who came to collect the tea set, but the one standing outside the wooden door was Cardeas Vist. Audrey feels that her skin is tensing up because of the anxiety, and got up to invite the leader of Vist Foudnation in.

Cardeas, who said ‘excuse me’ as he entered the room, looked at the table. This is to see whether the guest is unsatisfied with the reception, and Audrey, who went through the same training, understood that. Before coming in, he must have talked to the servants and understood what meals she had. Audrey first spoke up, saying, “It’s nice.” This is an instinctive action she does based on etiquette and dignity, and Cardeas, who’s showing a smile as he said ‘it’s fine as long as it suits your tastes’, didn’t do anything else. He’s like a brave eagle tilting its head slightly, showing a smile that makes people drop their guards.”

“I’ve changed the meeting point with your allies to this <<Magallanica>>.”

Cardeas prompted Audrey to sit down, and he sat opposite her. He put the notepad PC in his hand onto the table, and says, “They’ll be here soon. Once the job’s done, I’ll let you two meet, so please wait.”

This was basically declaring that he has no intention of ending this deal. Though she already predicted it, she couldn’t hide her disappointment once it became reality. “Can you please reconsider?” Cardeas could only remain silent as he watched Audrey clasping her hands tightly under the table and having her voice tremble.

“Why? I heard that the ‘Laplace Box’ is the lifeline that gave the Vist Foundation its power, but handing such a thing over to us…”

“That’s because even if our fortune and prosperity continues on, we won’t be able to salvage the world when it becomes inapt completely.”

This was something she didn’t expect at all. Audrey repeated Cardeas words again as she saw his unwavering vision, “World, inapt…?”

“Peace and stability aren’t good for keeping. It will immediately become inapt if we don’t introduce some fresh air.”

“Are you saying that war can make the world evolve?”

Cardeas’ eyes twitched, and the smiled disappeared from his face. It seemed that these words were for real, and Audrey, whose head went hot from understanding this, stared at Cardeas’ face and says,

“I was born in a war, watched people grow up in a war, and watched many soldiers die to protect me.”

Cardeas looked down slightly and said calmly, “I suppose.” That heavy voice seemed like it could only resonate with such people, and seemed to be a form of sympathy to her. Audrey felt her mood worsening, but still finished off what she had to say,

“…It was really tragic. What’s born from this expectation is the arrogance of those who’re engrossed with peace.”

“Then, are you denying your own organization?”

“I’m not denying it, but Full Frontal is a dangerous man. If you hand him the ‘Laplace Box’, a lot of people will die.”

“Full Frontal. The man hailed the second coming of the one they call the Red Comet…Char Aznable.”

Audrey knew that her eyes were showing a shaken belief, and she wanted to argue back, but couldn’t say anything, and lowered her head. Cardeas slowly got up and walked over to the window facing the dark courtyard.

“Without his existence, the ‘Sleeves’ will never become an organization with a military group’s standard. That’s something you can’t do.”

“I’ll admit that…”

She didn’t think that expanding rapidly as a military organization is the best method. Even if they want to change the current situation, there has to be a change in methods. Audrey wanted to say something, but that was all she could, and this self-realization made her unable to say it out. She understands very well how ironic it will be for her to argue against war and militarism from her own standpoint. However, this isn’t important. What she is trying to say is that the current direction they’re headed to is very dangerous, but she can’t explain what’s dangerous about it. She has to clearly explain her instincts or feelings, but can’t do so. This anxiety and helplessness continued to swirl in her, causing her to only sit here and tremble. If there is anything unnecessary for her to say, if there’s some way she can let others know of what she thought of—

“You’re a smart person, and you have your responsibilities that comes with your position, but you’re still too young. I understand your feelings, but you won’t be able to convince people like this until you become a real Newtype.”

After a short moment of silence, Cardeas said this. However, Audrey was paying more attention to the word ‘Newtype’ than the admonition. She lifted her head and looked at Cardeas.

“Do you believe? That…”

“It’s a must to continue believing, but sometimes, blood may have to be shed for the hope to continue.”

Cardeas looked back at her and answered, and there was a faint glint in his shape eyes. Audrey’s intuition was telling him that this guy was deliberately doing this.

Cardeas wasn’t looking at what he will gain or lose immediately, but was taking action while looking at something much bigger. He believed that there was something he couldn’t see and intended to open the ‘box’ which was a taboo. Audrey felt much more relieved than feel unhappy about this understanding. She even felt that it was worth it coming here to see this expression.

“Please go back. If the person who accepts this ‘box’ is just like what you imagine, the ‘box’ will never be opened.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Because I did something. That’s a fierce horse.”

Smirking, Cardeas did some simple operations on the notepad PC and turned the screen over. Audrey couldn’t help but gasp as she saw what was shown on it.

“This is…”

“The path to the ‘box’, or rather, the ‘key’…”

Cardeas then showed several photos and spoke. Audrey then realized now that the color of his eyes were similar to the shepherd boy in the painting.

===Part 2===

“Hey, you’re Banagher, right? Banagher Links.”

The girl who brought her face over without restraint has the smell of alcohol coming out from her mouth. Banagher realizes that his face is becoming stiff, but answers softly, “That’s me.”

“I heard what you did this morning. You stole a mini mobile suit and crashed into the park, right? That’s amazing. Tell me what you feel.”

Having a blurry looking expression, the girl puts her hand on Banagher’s thigh as he sits down on the sofa, and leans her exposed shoulders over. One can see the cleavage from the vest, but Banagher doesn’t feel anything special about it. The most he just feels is that he accidentally saw some skin that has spots on them, and feel that it’s not very clean to look at it closely. Banagher takes a gulp of cola from the glass and adjusts his sitting position, “Nothing…much to talk about.” And answers without looking back. “Uwa—wow, that’s so cool!” The girl’s scream matches the high decibels that fill the wide living room, piercing the ears.

“You’re not an obedient kid, but trying to act cool.”

“What is it, Asta? Have you become friends with him?”

The red-haired girl, who’s swaying her hips to the beat of the music, walks towards the girl called Asta and Banagher beside her before sitting down on the other side of Banagher. The recoil causes some of the cola to spill out, but the red-haired girl doesn’t seem to mind as she looks at Banagher with a gauging look. Banagher, who’s being sandwiched between the two girls, cringe back and drinks up the cola he doesn’t want to drink. He just feels distant. He, who’s being surrounded by the flushed-red girls, the heat that’s sticking onto his arms, the fast-paced music, the noise that’s piling in this void, and the stuffiness in the crowd, can only spend his time here slowly—

There are about 10 boys and girls making noise in front of them, dancing with the music and drinking alcoholic drinks. It’s just beer or whiskey-tinged cola, but it’s enough to make these teenage youths drunk. It seems that some people are using some legal drugs, as he can see a blond person’s eyes looking rather weird at the kitchen counter. The people gathering at the balcony are smoking, and the room with the door tightly shut is letting smoke through. It smells greasier than cigarettes, and it’s most likely marijuana.

It’s rumored that the people in private schools normally behave well, but go ridiculously wild once they get started; from the looks of it, this really is the case. If the owners of this house, Micott’s parents see such a devastating scene, they will definitely roll blank white eyes; but luckily, they’re on a vacation with their young son. That’s when everyone held their breaths and watched Micott from behind when her parents called.

The Minovsky Particles interference today is rather serious, and the communication with their destination was immediately cut off. However, Micott, who calmly states that everything’s fine at home, doesn’t show any signs of being troubled. As everyone saw her stick her tongue out once she put down the phone and accepted everyone’s cheers, one will doubt whether she’s such a frivolous girl who’s already used to do such things. Her father’s a respected factory head, and the girl herself is a carefree person who would enter the technical school without hesitation. From that moment on, Banagher started to view her as a different creature altogether. Takuya, who’s used to the current atmosphere and dancing around foolishly in the family bar with 2, 3 girls, looks like one of those irritating things that are gathered in this room.

This isn’t the first time Banagher’s taking part in such an event. In the vocational school hostel where he stays, it’s commonplace to get someone to open a room and have some sort of party gathering. Even if he can’t mix in fully like Takuya, Banagher believes that he can mix himself into the surrounding atmosphere like usual. It’s not because these are strangers from a private school; and it’s not just this party alone, as he can get himself involved in daily life before yesterday. However, the time now looks rather faded. He just feels that the gears that were spinning well even though they don’t actually fit have stopped completely today, being completely loose. It’s this kind of things that made Banagher anxious, frustrated. He shouldn’t be blaming this on the people around him—Banagher hasn’t lost such rationality yet.

That’s why he set up an invisible wall and treats himself as a flower wall, but these brains that are intoxicated and relaxed by alcohol don’t seem to understand his intent. Bangher starts to feel that the pressure that’s building up in his heart continues to rise like a storm beating away and the uncomfortable body temperature surrounding him. ''I shouldn’t be here. '' A part of him is prompting him to hurry up and leave, and another part of him is warning him that it’ll be a path of no return if he really leaves. In the end, he’s only left with self-chiding in his heart, wondering why must he curl his tail and run off?

''Will I wreck my future? Is it because of that ‘no need’? I don’t have any clear target to my own future, and I know that I don’t have any power that makes people want me. My deceit made her say such things—''

“You’re rather famous in our school! I heard that there’s a rather cute boy at the technical school.”

The girl who finally squeezes in and looks at Banagher’s eyes before talking. The eyes that are wet because of alcohol are so limp that one will wonder if she’ll collapse with just a simple poke. Banagher remembers those adamant jade-colored eyes, and feels that both of them don’t have the expressions of a human. However, he just feels unhappy about this feeling and remains silent.

[[Image:KSGU2 043.jpg|thumb]]

“You’re a transfer student, right? Which colony were you at before this?”

The girl called Asta brings her hand with the bracelet and puts it on Banagher’s thigh. Banagher smells her breath that reeks of pizza and beer, and tells himself and this is daily life. IT’s a good thing that he’s famous in a private school. ''Let’s just chit-chat with them at a suitable level, and get along with them while our student lives aren’t lacking; and once we played enough, we’ll be treated as treasure and become members of the thousands of Anaheim Electronics workers. This is the future you fear will be wrecked. ''

He remembers his hometown. The people who took the wrong path all ended up like that. ''Didn’t mum always say this? She wants me to become an adult who understands how great an ordinary life is''—but with these words that continue to surge in his heart, Banagher refuted it. ''Whenever mom teaches me such thing, I just feel like something’s ‘missing’. '' It’s like his eyes were being shrouded, and something’s being taken away from me. And today, that blindfold seems to slip. That’s why he immediately saw a world he never saw before for an instant, a world where he didn’t feel ‘out of place’. The determined jade-colored eyes, the unicorn tapestry, and the mobile suit with the unicorn horn.

He started to feel difficulty in breathing. I can’t breathe if I continue to remain here; let’s go back. Where can I go breath? Where’s your resting place? This voice rang with the deep beats and the girls’ squeals overlap each other “Don’t be so quiet. Talk a bit.” “Ah, do you have a girlfriend?” Amazing, you’re really steady~” “Oi, Asta. His glass’ empty. Pour some out for him.”…

“DON’T BOTHER ME!!!

The suffocating fear immediately exploded into high decibels. As he stood up, Asta, who was about to pour beer, was knocked aside, and the bottle hit a corner of the table and shattered. The two girls scream, and it’s only a matter of time before all the gazes are focused on Banagher.

It’s unknown which idiot helped to turn off the music and cause the atmosphere in the living room to be so bad that it can’t be salvage. Asta starts to cry, and the other girl stares at Banagher with a cold expression before saying, “What’s with this guy…” Other voices then pop out, “Who’s that guy?” “Feels bad.” Banagher sees a few boys looking dangerously at him and lowers his head to look at Asta. He wants to apologize to her, but after seeing that she’s crying like a kid instead of clearing the shattered bottle, he feels that it’s stupid to feel sorry. ''Cry all you want,'' he thought.

“That’s why I say don’t invite the people from the vocation school.”

Someone said that. Banagher pretends not to hear it, but a threatening voice came from the family bar, “Ahh? Who said that!?” With his back facing the girls that got up in fear, Takuya glares at everyone from the bar counter.

“Oi, Banagher! Hurry up and apologize!”

In this atmosphere that’s becoming even more heinous, Micott moves through the human wall and calls out. She doesn’t bother to care about what other people are doing as she merely cares about the stares. After hearing that voice, Banagher’s final sanity is gone, and leaves the scene wordlessly.

“Oi, Banagher!” Takuya calls him, but he ignores it and leaves the living room. Micott’s house include the two highest levels of the tower, and by climbing up the indoor stairs, one will reach the garden on the roof. The reason why Banagher climbed the stairs and head to the roof is merely because the stairs are nearer than the entrance. Anyway, he has a need to get out and bring in some fresh air to his blocked lungs.

The mansion is owned by Anaheim Electronics, built from the pillars supporting the artificial sun. The construct feels like litter stuck at the base when compared to the huge pillars that reach the artificial sun, but the building’s 10 levels high, and the unique thing is that the gravity will be lower the higher up one goes. It’s head to tell the difference when the living room’s at the 9th level, but the gravity at the roof is lower when the 10th level itself is close to 0.9G.

Whether low gravity can prevent aging and keep people healthy is real or not, nobody knows, but mansions that are built to cater the rich families will be of different standards at different levels. Micott’s house is no exception as the level with low gravity has a bedroom and a gym, but this is the best playpark for drunk people. Banagher hurries up the room as he glances at the youths making a ruckus in the gym. On the way there, he suddenly starts to wonder about the situation outside, and looks at the ground from the window at the stairs.

Just as he thought, the limo-type high class electric door is parked outside the entrance of the mansion. This Vist Foundation limo has leather seats, high-class audio speakers, fridge, and even iced grape wine, and remains near there like a bodyguard after sending him from the ‘Snail’ to the technical school, which makes it look annoying. It’s low gravity, but Banagher feels his mood become heavy as he clicks his tongue before leaving the window.

''The chairman instructed us to ensure your safety.'' As he sat on the limo, two suit-clad men that gives the strong vibe and disciplined hunters wouldn’t accept any other logic. Even if he tell them that they’re irritating and to just send me back, they won’t take action without their owner’s command. Cardeas Vist, that authority of this distinguished adult wraps around me like air. The moment he thought that he couldn’t escape the man’s grasp, Banagher just feels that it was harder to breath and takes 3 steps up the stairs like they’re two steps. The couple that are hugging at the stairs near the roof seem to be grumbling in their hearts that he’s being a spoilspoilt.

“Fuu—n, so these people are watching.”

Through the handrail gap, Micott looks down at the limo downstairs and said. Her back profile is saying that she knew what was going on, but she hasn’t forgiven Banagher, who puts his hands in his coat pocket and grumbled,

“They’re looking for trouble, sending such an obvious looking car like that!”

He puffed his mouth as he said that, and then turn his eyes to the artificial sun pillar that’s standing behind it. at the center of the room, the 3km pillar that passes through the clouds enter the darkness midway through and become a shadow block the starry sky. Of course, those aren’t real stars, but a starry sky created from the lights on the inner wall on the other side.

The pillars are all set at regular points all over the inner wall, supporting the artificial sun that stretches out long—no, the artificial sun pillar is located in the center axis in a zero-gravity area, and so it should be more correct to say that it’s fastened. The roof of the building is latched onto the base like an annual ring, and each area separated by shrubs, allowing people to do whatever they instead to do. For Micott’s house, a half is used as a swimming pool, while the other half is used as a family garden.

In this place that looks like a corner of the roof with the annual ring being sliced open, Micott and Takuya have been talking to him for more than 10 minutes. Thinking about this closely, there’s a lot of things he couldn’t say easily, but he can’t try to sugarcoat things when both of them are angry. Banagher can only tell the truth. It’s better to say out what’s in the heart; as he faces the duo who left the party midway to look at him, the inner pressure that’s almost about to blow his heart out is quietened down. He remembers the girl called Asta, and starts to feel sorry for her. In that end, that’s all I’m worrying about. Thinking about this, what happened for the entire day suddenly starts to feel less realistic, and what’s left is an emptiness that pierces through the hand.

“But that’s great. Chairman Cardeas is a big shot in the financial world. What kind of person is he?”

But Takuya’s words sound like he doesn’t care at all, causing Banagher to feel unhappy and think that he hasn’t understood the situation at all “Nothing much. Just an ordinary adult. Just looks impressive.” Banagher said with a stiff voice, “Un, that’s not just an ordinary impressiveness.” Takuya yawns.

“But because of this, you left that girl called Audrey, so you can only admit defeat.”

That’s some vexing feeling in Micott’s words, causing Banagher to gasp “What, wha…” and try to found a voice out. Micott let go of the handrail and turns around.

“Being all fidgety and even taking your anger on my friend, that’s not manly at all. If you’re so worried, go snatch her back, idiot.”

Banagher can’t think of anything to retort back, and Micott walks towards the stairs without waiting for his reaction. Banagher’s mind immediately thinks that all the girls will think this way, but still spoke up “Since when is it that simple!” The empty protest bounces off Micott’s back and lands on the surface of the swimming pool before scattering.

“Don’t be mad. She’s just being jealous.”

As he watches Micott pass through the stairwell doors , Takuya spoke up. On hearing such unexpected words, Banagher asks “Ha? What do you mean?”

“You’re way too slow. Never mind, don’t bother. It’s not that simple anyway.”

“What?”

“You might be expelled. Micott’s the daughter of a factory manager. Looking at her like this, she might not have suffered much, unlike us.”

Takuya gave a loud hiccup as he says that. The alcohol’s making his face red, but his eyes look more awake than usual.

“Once we hang on until graduation, we’ll become official members of Anaheim. This is the one good chance for people like us. Don’t ruin this just because you’re mad.”

Takuya’s tea-colored hair that’s swaying with the slightly warm wind, and the side of his face seem to be looking at the night scene of the colony as he says this. At this moment, ''Ah, this guy’s already an adult,'' Banagher suddenly feels this way and can’t say anything. he feels that between him and Takuya, there’s a wall that’s more thorough from a certain angle as compared to the one with Micott, and feels that the world around him is leaving him.

This is the familiar feeling he forgot once he met Audrey Burne—the ‘shifted’ feeling. Banagher feels pain in the chest and breathing difficulties. He turns his eyes away from Takuya’s side face, leans on the handrail, and looks up at the geometry patterns painted by the street lights and electric cars. The Foundation’s limo is still at the same spot, just as what he saw just now.

Banagher grabs onto the handrail tightly and looks up behind the large pillar, the airtight wall on the side facing the moon. The expansion works during the day cause the airtight wall to become further, and it’s impossible to see the gate leading to the ‘snail’ as it seem to be covered by the thick atmosphere and clouds.

===Part 3===

It’s 7pm, and the people being expected appeared.

“Welcome to the <<Magallanica>>. I’m the leader of the Vist Foudnation, Cardeas Vist.”

The gang of people who went down the lift probably didn’t expect the leader to personally come out and invite them. Everyone gasp, but Cardeas notices that amongst the 4 people, the bearded man is the only one who recovers faster from the shock as he looks around to grasp the current situation.

Is this man the captain, the brain behind these movers the ‘Sleeves’ sent? Just as he’s trying to confirm this, the mouth that’s covered with beard starts to move, “I’m the captain of the <<Garencieres>>, Suberoa Zinnerman.” And reaches out his hand with the joints looking very obvious. Cardeas holds his hand too, and clearly concludes that this is either the hand of a thoroughly trained soldier or someone who’s been through a long prison life.

“We’re really awed that the leader himself will come to invite us.”

“This is the fate of handing over our Foundation. We can’t just leave this to anyone else.”

As they exchange looks with each other and started talking, Zinnermans takes out a hand-written letter from his old leather coat pocket. After seeing that it has the signatures of Monaghan Baharo and Full Frontal, Cardeas looks over at the three men accompanying Zinnerman, and asks, “Is everyone here?” Zinnerman’s eyebrows never twitch as he says,

“Some are still on the ship, so if you want a list…”

“No, there’s no need.” There was no response about anything regarding ‘her’, and Cardeas’ first impression is that he’s not an easy man to deal with as he hands the handwritten letter over to Gael and smiles at them, “Please, allow me to lead the way in.” and leads them down the long corridor.

The office building that’s located in the rotating residential area of the <<Magallanica>> has a centrifuge force for easy walking. The room that looks undecorated like an office is like a completely different world as compared to the Vist’s villa that’s also indoors. However, there’s nothing to be picky about in terms of safety procedures. Even though they will have to carry out many checks here, the other party’s the elites sent over by the ‘Sleeves’. Cardeas doesn’t even want to accommodate them and rest in the villa.

Because of ‘her’, they’re all being suspicious of each other. That’s why Cardeas change the location to ensure safety. He looks at Gael, who’s following him from behind, and whispers in a volume only they can hear, “How’s the port?” Gael’s large body immediately catches up and whispers back, “No problems.”

“The people outside the ship have returned back. I don’t know what’s the situation inside the ship, but it seems that they’re waiting on standby just in case.”

This is the report made by the contacts watching the <<Garencieres>>. The people who got off the ship to look for ‘her’ are now back on…in other words, Zinnerman believes that ‘she’s here. The one on standby to prepare for anything is likely the mobile suit that buried the Londo Bell patrol squad. Cardeas, who was intending to look at the other party’s attitude before deciding when to return ‘her’, focuses on Zinnerman and company behind him. At this moment, Gael suddenly asks, “Do we recall the guards watching over that kid?” and this question caused Cardeas to be unable to react for a while.

Since the ‘Sleeves’ pursuers have returned to the ship, there’s no need to send anyone to protect Banagher Links. “Just wait a while, nobody can ensure that there aren’t any other threats in the colony.” Gael hears this and wordlessly nods his bald head. Cardeas recalls the face of the boy he just had a glimpse of a few hours ago.

He laughed at himself before, thinking that they will meet one day, but delayed on because of work, and today, that face appeared right in front of him—that face is a lot more mature than how it look in the photo; Cardeas laughed wryly in his heart. He’s probably being hated for being able to say such rigid things. This is the careless of men. No matter how much experience they gain or no matter how powerful they become, they will become weak at that moment. It feels like the expression that was close to him saw through everything, and he was scared…

The office corridor that’s cleared out is so quiet that only a few people’s footsteps can be heard. As they go through this short time that’s starting to decide on the fate of the organization, Cardeas continues to face the tumor in his life.

===Part 4===

It’s 7.04pm. The electronic interference brought about by the Minovsky particles is becoming stronger, and even the physical sensors are having interference. Savoir has been going through countless reset operations while hiding in the cockpit of the <<Geara Zulu>> that’s hidden behind the solar panel.

Even after rebooting the system, the physical sensors haven’t recovered at all. Savoir stares at the screen that’s full of noise and forcefully slams the console on the linear seat. This is just a simple electronic interference, yet it’s causing the physical sensors to malfunction. Something has to be wrong here. For sensors, even if the Minovsky Particles are thick enough for combat levels, it can still detect a radius of 20km. In this outer space, this distance can be closed in immediately, but it’s still very important in such a surveillance mission. And the reason why it can’t work is either the clouds of Minovsky particles were too thick or the sensor’s protection malfunctioned.

“Really, it’s because we’re using cheap stuff…!”

It’s impossible for the Minovsky particles density to increase so much that the sensors can malfunction unless someone deliberately scatters them. Savoir completely assumes the reason to be the latter and starts muttering to him. It’s not complete, but the ‘Sleeves’ still have enough forces to be called an army, and can use such new mobile suits. However, there’s a huge problem in terms of the funding. Most of their equipment are handed down from the old army, and the replacements aren’t considered ample. It’s a new machine, but the <<Geara Zulu>> still has a control panel in the form of the ball-shaped armlaycer, and this is to make use to the old-machine’s OS. It’s easy to let the hand slip off the controls, so criticism like this are the reason why the Federation army isn’t using this anymore.

It’s because of this situation that Vist Foundation’s strange request brought about a glimmer of hope. Unexpectedly, just when the deal’s about to begin, the sensor malfunctions. Savoir concentrates on the small camera image that’s appearing on the left side. Right now, he can only rely on the visual information—his own eyes to witness this. through the all-view monitor, he’s looking at the CG starry space that’s a lot brighter than the actual one, and is about to take a sip off the packet-tubed coffee when a white glow flashes past his eyes.

“A mini-mobile suit…no, that’s not it.”

For a mini mobile suit, the thrust light is way too great. Savoir steps onto the pedal lightly to investigate the rock that’s glowing. The mini camera capabilities can’t allow it to observe, so it’s faster to let the machine move forward slightly and use the main camera to look at it. Savoir cautiously moves the control panel, and lets the <<Geara Zulu>> that’s hidden in the gap of the materials move to the protrusion of the solar panel. The head of the machine pokes out from the shadow of the solar panel, and immediately a large object flies past the head, and a siren rings throughout the cockpit.

“What…!?”

He immediately ducks his head and let the machine arm reach for the beam rifle that’s hanging at the waist. A mobile suit with a thruster unit behind it flies above the <<Geara Zulu>>. The distance is less than 100m, and it seems to be in inertial flight mode as the thrusters aren’t flashing. There’s no need to use the CG to compare with the data as Savoir observes the intricate parts of the machine that just grazed past.

The beam rifle remains at the firing position, and the sky-blue object that seems to be moving slowly has a streamlined frame. It’s the transformable mobile suit of the Earth Federation army. The comparison results show that it’s the RGZ-95, and it’s said to be an enemy machine assigned to Londo Bell—

“That close…!?”

His body is sweating all over, and his heart is beating faster. He’s cursing his eyes for looking there as he watches the enemy machine approach with his pilot eyes. Savoir reaches for the communication controller. No matter how thick the Minovsky particles, it’s possible to send voices withing 20km. He has to report back to the <<Garencieres>> before the enemy detects him, and he has to consider what to do next, whether to fight or run. However, his fingers freeze once he’s about to touch the control.

Mobile suits that are shooting thruster lights one after another are floating near the rocks. They’re appearing on the mini surveillance camera, and scattering in all directions to surround Industrial 7. There’re 4 RGZ-95s and 2 RGM-89s; he can tell at first glance that there are 6 of them. Savoir sees one machine fly past the mini surveillance camera cable and parks itself above the <<Geara Zulu>>. His heart then sinks.

“What’s with these guys…”

It’s definitely not a training drill. These mobile suits are slowly increasing the thickness of Minovsky particles and slipped in from behind the space dust. This must be a tactical action in battle—and it also seems like a squad’s leading the forces to surround the colony in a large scale battle. If they’re setting up so many units, it’s possible to imagine that the reinforcements are advancing, and there might even be a fleet on standby behind. There must be some definite information, some enemy must have definite basis over this information to mobilize such fighting force.

We’ve been had. Savoir firmly believes, but can’t touch the control of the communication panel. He can’t call out when there’s a RGZ-95 beside him, separated only by a solar panel. The solar panel’s microwaves and the Minovsky particles are able to hide the heat source of the <<Geara Zulu>>, but his existence will be discovered by the enemy once he does a wireless communication, and the source of the electric signal will be detected. No matter how he tries to escape, he’ll only become a martyr victim of the beam rifle.

''Should I take action?'' The fingers that are on the sphere control are stiff. Savoir answers himself, ''no, even if I take down this unit, other enemy units will suppose me. This is just telling the enemy that the ‘Sleeves’ are in ambush, and the <<Garencieres>> will be in danger.'' Even if he contacts them, it’ll be meaningless if he can’t escape.

''What should I do?'' Just when he’s repeating the same words in his mind, Savoir instinctively ducks as the enemy unit flies above him. The finger that’s on the ball control exerts force, and the machine arm of the <<Geara Zulu>> jerks as the finger is holding onto the beam rifle’s trigger. Most likely, the toe end of the enemy unit hit a cable of the mini surveillance camera as static appears on the window.

''Please don’t find us.'' Savoir clasp his trembling hands and prays to the god he never believed in before.

===Part 5===

Marida senses Savoir’s nervousness. More accurately, it’s the familiar presence rising in the midst of the large number of people inside and outside the colony.

On the retaining deck of the <<Garencieres>>, the <<Kshatriya>> is fastened by the fixates. Mairda hears Savoir’s presence from through the thick armor, and at the same time, feels that the cold and shrilling pain of the countless thoughts close in. The psycommu that’s installed on the machine increases the senses’ reaction. However, the chill that enters her pores are different from the signal feedback as they become even clearer, slithering in like countless snakes under the skin, forming a very uneasy feeling.

In that chilling uneasiness, she identifies the body warmth and knows where the fearful Savior is. Marida takes off the helmet of the suit and expand her senses out. The complicated emotions that are released out and spreads throughout the space colony accepts the emotions that came rushing in from outside. The tightly shut eyes slowly open.

“The enemy’s here…!”

This isn’t an ambiguous feeling. Marida activates the reactor of the <<Kshatriya>> and grabs onto the ball-shaped control. The mono-eye of the <<Kshatriya>> lets out a glow, and the machine twitches slightly.

===Part 6===

“In other words, you’re not handing us the ‘Laplace Box’ itself, but the key to opening it?”

He has no intention of believing that lost expression on Zinnerman’s face completely. Under that appearance of a thoroughly trained and gruff soldier, there’s a calculative heart inside. Cardeas continues to drink the red tea that’s mixed with brandy and answers, “Yes, are there anything you’re unhappy with?” “It’s more like I don’t understand instead of being unhappy.” Zinnerman scratches his head, and his expression as he answers is one full of doubt.

“That’s because we don’t know what’s this ‘Laplace Box’.”

The one who spoke behind Zinnerman is a man with blond short hair, standing like a bodyguard. The man who calls himself Flaste Schole isn’t sitting on the sofa as he gives a cautious look like the other two men. Of course, behind him, Cardeas has Gael and their subordinates watching all of Flaste’s actions. The dangerous looking men are all separated by the table, and it’s a guessing game being played in this reception room. Both of them are silent, not even looking at each other, and yet wary of each other’s existence—

It’s been 5 minutes as they meet in this plain reception room that didn’t even have anything other than plants, not even a painting. This man called Zinnerman hasn’t really spoken up, and his expression is wavering at times. Cardeas feels that he doesn’t want to reveal his trumps in this situation. He wants to see what this hard-to-deal-with man is like, what his real ‘face’ is like.

“But the higher-ups of the ‘Sleeves’ recognize the value of the ‘Box’ and sent a good assistant like you to.”

As he takes a sip from the red tea with some anxiety, Cardeas swung a light jab. Zinnerman shows a mechanical wry smile and says,

“I’m just the runner. For our current state in the organization, the runners aren’t supposed to be taking important missions.”

As he faces the light black glow hidden in the eyes, Cardeas thinks: ''there’s a reaction.'' The faint glow immediately vanishes, and Zinnerman lazily leans on the sofa.

“If there’s bait right in front, they won’t check the specifics. So if there’s poison or a hook onto it…”

The smile disappears from Zinnerman’s face as his eyes again show such an expression. Cardeas took a strike after taking this exchange of blows, and he clearly hears his heart pounding faster.

“The higher-ups will be very disappointed.” Zinnerman chuckles, and that killing intent that even Gael, who was behind, reacted to, disappeared out of a sudden. “However, even if it’s like this, we can’t do anything to the famous Vist Foundation.”

That smiling face shows that he has gone through a lot, and shows some form of self-defeatist attitude. However, his expression isn’t showing any smile. His expression is saying, ''try something funny and I’ll kill you.'' This is the man’s ‘face’. Zinnerman’s nature as a soldier of a defeated country. Cardeas laughs at himself for being bitten back as he gives a smirk. Good, now I can get into the main point—

[[Image:KSGU2 062.jpg|thumb]]

“Captain, do you believe in the existence of Newtypes?”

Cardeas says as he puts the cup of red tea back onto the table. Zinnerman’s hard rock-like eyes shook, “Well…” his tone has some doubt.

“In the middle of a battlefield, I did experience such a power that can only be explained as such.”

That vague attitude of not wanting to answer straight on makes Zinnerman’s beard look more cordial. Having gotten the satisfaction of taking revenge, Cardeas smiles, “Power. As expected of someone who experienced this.”

“The first top-notched political philosopher in the Universal Century, Zeon Zum Deikun came up with this Newtype theory. This is truly ‘power’, humans who enter space unlock their hidden potentials while getting used to the wide space, expanding their knowledge, senses, insight, make completely communications without mistakes, understanding each other; this is the revolution of humanity…the embryonic period of ‘Newtypes’. That’s why humanity has to leave this cradle called earth. The residents of space, who felt that they were second-rate humans, found their future in the deep valley of space…and then, that war happened.”

The doubt vanishes from Zinnerman’s expression. Cardeas looks back at his cautious expression, and continues,

“The One Year War. The Republic of Zeon declared the independence of spacenoids and initiated a direct clash with the Earth Federation…the one that triggered the start of the war is the Zabi family, who assassinated Zeon Deikum and sat on the throne of emperor. However, Zeon became famous as a country’s name, and the name, and even the core thoughts on Zeonism has spread throughout humanity. It can be said that even when the war ended, the Federation has been fearing this ‘power’ they couldn’t see. It’s a ‘power’ that reveals the special rights of those privileged ones on Earth, and a ‘power’ that causes the spacenoids that were as good as abandoned to awaken. At the same time, it’s a ‘power’, that can reverse the upper hand in the power struggle between Earth and space, one that can cause the Federation’s order that was maintained for almost 100 years to collapse.

During these years, the Federation focused on fighting this invisible ‘power’. They released humans who may be Newtypes and banned all sort of thoughts related to the thinking of Newtypes. On the other hand, though they created public enterprises that research on Newtypes, these are places for mad scientists to carry out their human experiments. They merely extracted the aspect of Newtypes being soldiers and artificially developed enhanced pilots.”

He sees that Zinnerman’s poker face is showing signs of cracks. That defeated country of his created Newtype-use weapons earlier than the Federation—the psycommu. If the artificially enhanced Newtype abilities have shown signs of development, maybe he saw a real example of a ‘human experiment’. Cardeas’ eyes look down, pretending not to notice Zinnerman wavering.

“This overbearing pressure caused the warlords to look up and create the inner struggle called the Gryphs Conflict. Coupled with the two Neo Zeon Wars…the Federation’s worn out, but if there’s no academic definition that confirms that Newtypes exist, the Federation can gain an ally to achieve the final victory. Do you know what it is?”

Zinnerman answers “Time?”. ''This man is very sharp.'' “That’s right.” Cardeas smiles.

“Humans’ hearts change easily, and the public often forgets. It’s true that people who’re like Newtypes do exist, but they can only use that supernatural-like prediction ability as outstanding pilots and got their names recorded in the annuls of history. Amongst the definitions Zeon Daikum gave, if we go by the one about ‘understanding each other without mistakes’, they’re the group of people who’re the furthest from that theory. The public, which only wants the outcome, is already sick and tired of this Newtype theory that is only a possibility. The name Newtype is now like taking down a king, and right now, only battle records, movies and novels will mention them. To decent politicians and scholars, this is even a taboo.”

''Besides, this isn’t something that should be discussed seriously in such a situation.'' Cardeas can tell from Zinnerman’s expression that he’s trying his best to listen to this conclusion, and opens his lips that were wet by the red tea before continuing,

“Zeonism lost its element just like that, and the spacenoids’ demonstration for self-independence was all wasted. It’s like how in the old centuries, where capitalism defeated communism. The Earth Federation defeated this bottle of poison caused Zeonism. But, what’s next? All that’s left is the closure called stability. The hierarchy wars amongst the spacenoids didn’t even start as they were all wiped out before they even organized themselves, and the Federation government continue to maintain dominion. As the Republic of Zeon returns it’s self-independence in UC 100, people will even forget the name Zeon.

You want to do something before that happens, and we don’t feel secure with such a future…”

After finishing his dialogue, Cardeas finishes up the remaining red tea; Zinnerman, who was looking at him straight on, suddenly lowers his head and laughs.

He laughed louder and louder, looking up and laughing so loudly that the voice rang through the room. Before Flaste and the rest can even show doubtful looks, Zinnerman cheerily says, “I see, so we both have the same benefits and costs here.” And pats his knee.

“So you’re going to throw a rock into the still water surface…is this the real reason the Vist Foundation’s handing us the <<LaplaceBox>>?”

In his laughing expression, there’s a little glint of killing intent, and Cardeas smiles back at him.

“But is this really alright? If you’re handing the <<Laplace Box>> over to us, the Foundation will lose it’s co-existence with the Federation government.”

“There are always risks in doing business.”

“That’s true. No matter whether it’s the box or the key…the thing you hand us may have a signal beacon, and the chances of you grasping our location isn’t zero.”

“This is given for free. If you don’t believe so, please take it back.”

“Don’t get angry. Don’t the people in the past used to say that the things that are free are the scariest?”

He’s giving a relaxed smile, but his body is even stiffer now. Cardeas again realizes that this man is hard to deal with, and looks at Zinnerman in the eyes.

“I just don’t think the leader of the Vist Foundation will help do such a thing. But it’s natural for us to become even more suspicious, and I managed to save my own life like this, so I don’t intend to change this habit.”

Though he’s crude in his words, his sharp stare is looking over. I don’t believe this is simply a business deal. Tell me the truth. Is it really like this? Cardeas lips show a smile, and says,

“You’re a smart man, and a bold one at that.”

These were undoubtedly words from the heart. “Thanks for the praise.” Zinnerman immediately answers back.

“But I can’t reveal everything here. This is a dangerous item.”

“That’s true, since it’s something that can overturn the Federation’s power…”

“I’m not looking at it in that way. This is a fact. That thing has the power to change the future.”

Zinnerman narrows his eyes, and behind him, Flaste and company are showing tense expressions. They just got this most important information they never knew of, the contents of the ‘box’. Cardeas feels that they’re tensing up, and continues cautiously,

“No, I should say that it has the power to get back the future that was originally meant to be. But this isn’t something any normal person can continue. If it’s messed up, it will have the power to destroy the world.”

“So you’re giving us the key to test it out…is this what you mean?”

“It’s hard for people to trust others. Only the actions and outcome can prove the nature of others. It’s best if you have the power to distinguish the truth in this world.”

“The power to distinguish the truth of the world…sounds like Newtypes.”

Zinnerman said it out slowly as if he’s checking what he just answered. Good answer, Cardeas affirmed with a smile.

“On the other hand, those who only insist on only one of their own narrow ways will never see the contents of the ‘box’.”

Zinnerman sighed and says, “One thing…?” “Well, for example…” Cardeas strokes his chin and then looks at ZInnerman’s eyes,

“The revival of Zeon.”

Zinnerman’s only reaction is to twitch his eyebrows. He hides the emotions that swelled in him under his skin and remains silent. Cardeas closes his mouth. Both of them look at each other, and the reception room enters a lull of silence.

''The next sentence will decide this man’s value.'' Cardeas waits for his reply, but is disappointed because of the phone ring. Zinnerman focuses on his phone, and he can only look over.

It’s definitely not a small matter if there’s a call to this room at this moment. Cardeas remains calm and looks at Gael, who picks up the phone. Gael doesn’t look shaken, but as he hangs up the phone, the face he shows to Cardeas is full of tension. Cardeas greets Zinnerman and the rest before leaving his seat, and whispers to Gael in the corner of a room.

“The command module called over. Londo Bell’s requesting to dock the <<Magallanica>>.”

''They’re here.'' Cardeas was already mentally prepared for this, but feels that it shouldn’t be possible. He asks calmly, “What’s the matter?” “Seems like counter-terrorist inspection. Gael whispers.”

“I’ve already requested the other side to contact Anaheim itself, but from the forceful attitude on the other side, it seems that the mobile suit squad has surrounded the colony.”

“What about the contact with the army?”

“We’re trying now…”

''But we can’t possibly expect.'' Both of them been in the Federation army before, he could understand what Gael was being anxious about. The way developments went so quickly isn’t something that can be dealt with private. The Federation will normally drag its fat body, and even operating a vehicle requires complicated procedures. However, if the upper-ups are all in unison, their movements will be faster and carry out such organization with amazing execution. Of course, the higher-ups aren’t just the upper echelon of the group, but also those commanders who intend to become senators once they retire and the supporting senators, the leadership group of people who’re helping the commanders in obtaining military goods.

The problem is, even though he should be one of the ‘higher-ups’, he couldn’t detect Londo Bell’s movements. Cardeas turns his head slightly and looks at Zinnerman. It seems that the ship left at the dock gave a signal, and he’s listening to the report from the handheld wireless set. Have they detected that Londo Bell’s here? For a moment, he wonders whether these people were the ones who brought the enemies here, but that’s impossible. Even if they were tailed, a Federation ship won’t look for trouble with Vist Foundation without talking it through with the ‘higherups’.

“Martha…”

He remembers his own younger sister who was married to the leadership family of Anaheim Electronics, the Carbine family. She, who is 6 years younger than him, once fearlessly said: Since humanity gave birth to political marriages, women will have the right to play with authority. The ‘higher-ups’ mobilization of the army to prevent the handing over of the ‘box’ definitely involves her somehow.

“What are we going to do?” Gael asks. Cardeas intends to respond, but he’s interrupted by another voice “Is this one of your tricks too?” Zinnerman holds onto the speaker in one hand and looks over.

“Most certainly not. I’m thinking of asking if you were tailed, but there won’t be an agreement.”

“I agree. It’s really hard for people to trust others.”

Zinnerman says without emotion as the smile on his face vanishes. To them, the situation is such that the Foundation is an accomplice of the army. Gael wants to step forward as Flaste shows a look of killing intent. Cardeas raises his hand to prevent both sides from taking action. There’s no benefit for either side if we fight. He wanted to let everyone calm down, but gasp due to the sudden shock.

ZUN…A deep sound that could barely be heard echoed far away, and the teacup that’s placed on the table trembles. The floor, walls and even the air shakes with it. This isn’t a tremor focused at one point, but an impact that spreads throughout the colony, causing this <<Magallanica>> to jerk.

Most likely, an explosion caused the reaction. He can’t help but look at the ceiling, and then looks at Zinnerman. His eyes are saying that this is really an unfortunate development of events. He raises the wireless speaker in his right hand and points the protrusion of the antenna over. Obviously, this isn’t an ordinary one, and Cardeas can only clench his fists hard as he faces this worst scenario.

===Part 7===

In fact, all this was caused by an accident. The one who took action first was Savoir, hidden alone behind the solar panel and surrounded by enemies.

He continues to hide from Londo Bell that’s surrounding him, and if he sends a signal of the <<Garencieres>>, he will be found and shot. However, even if he prepares himself to die, the fact that Londo Bell discovers the enemy won’t change at all.

He can either bet on whether the <<Garencieres>> won’t get discovered, or immediately fight his way out, but both options are very risky. Just when Savoir’s hesitating, something unexpected happened. The foot of the RGZ-95 <<ReZEL>> unit 03 that’s resting on the solar panel touches the mini camera the <<Geara Zulu>> let out.

The mobile suit has a system that can pass the sound sources surrounding the armor to the pilot. The pilot of the 3rd unit <<ReZEL>>, codenamed R003 lets it main camera look over at the feet. The small surveillance camera is only about 10cm big, and the fine cable that’s extended out is connected to the <<Geara Zulu>> that’s receiving the transmission. It’s hard to tell with the light being reflected off the solar panel. The pilot merely thinks that it’s a shrapnel, but right now, to Savoir’s seeing a 20m tall giant looking down at him. The enemy’s machine visor lights the eyes up, seemingly saying, ''I found you.''

Savoir instinctively moves the mechanical arm, and the <<Geara Zulu>> pulls out the beam rifle. He presses the firing key on the control panel, and put the <<Geara Zulu>>’s index finger on the gun’s trigger. The fading MInovsky particles are being released from the E-Pace—the magazine for handheld beam rifles, and are compressed inside the gun, turning into hi-energy mega-particles are shoot out from the beam rifle’s barrel. The Minovsky particles core fusion created the mega-particles, and these in turn shoot out from the machine gun-type beam rifle; not in a concentrated form, but in a rapid-fire form. The beams that’s shot out like a machine gun attacks the Romeo 003 machine’s frame.

If a rifle-type shot can be called a straight punch, the beam machine gun can be considered continuous jabs as they hit the <<ReZEL>> from point blank range. The pink bullets hit the leg to the abdomen, and many charred black bullet holes appear on the Romeo 003’s frame. Even though the reactor isn’t destroyed, the cockpit’s been hit directly, and the pilot’s boiled before he can even react. The <<ReZEL>> that lost its pilot is short-circuited inside, giving off lots of sparks, and becomes some debris that floats in the dark space region.

Savoir doesn’t have the time to check whether the machine’s shot down as he lets his own machine leave the solar panels. Since the battle has started, it’ll be his death if he remains in the same place. If that’s the case, he can only try his best to lure the enemy’s machines and create a chance for the <<Garencieres>> to escape. He won’t have the time to respond once he reports to the main squad.

“No wonder the conditions were so good. We definitely fell for a trap…!”

Savoir steps on the pedal and stares at the enemy’s machines; not thinking about anything else at all. However, to the mobile suit squad that’s launched from the <<Nahel Argama>> they feel that they’re the bunnies who fell into the trap.

(IT’S THE ‘SLEEVES’! MOVING TOWARDS THE INDUSTRIAL AREA!)

The pilots’ voices echo through the wireless communicators once they knew that their ally was shot down, and the mobile suit that’s assigned to the area all start to search for the enemy. That tense and confusing atmosphere spreads all around through static and wireless communicators, and enters Riddhe’s ears while he’s remaining on standby.

“The remnants of Zeon just don’t learn…!”

He gripped onto the control joystick hard and says this. Even after the One Year War and the two Neo Zeon war, the ‘Sleeves’ are still carrying out terrorist attacks on the Earth’s celestial sphere—the remnants of Neo Zeon. The radar signal on the ally machine disappeared, and before they can realize what’s the meaning behind this, squad leader Ian’s command came through the wireless communicator (Romeo 002 warning all units, watch your surroundings.” Riddhe looks at the all-view 360 degrees styled monitor. There may be other enemies hiding in the surrounding space dust. On hearing the pilots growling at each other through the wireless radio; Mihiro and the other operators practically shouting and hollering, it struck him that Romeo 003 was shot down. It’s just that simple, no dramatic flair, just the reporting of death through the laser signals…

And Savoir’s not being caught up with such sad emotions as his <<Geara Zulu>> shoots the beam rifle, holding off the enemy suits that are coming over as he flies to the outer walls of <<Industrial 7>>. He intends to lead the enemies into the microwaves near the solar panel, ‘burn’ the electronic equipment, stick near to the to the wall of the colony and escape to the industrial area where many civilian ships are.

The large cylinder is floating in vacuum, having become the second home of humanity—he has to damage the metal exterior. There’s a sense of morality seeping inside him and the enemy. He doesn’t want to use the colony as a shield, but having considered the difference in numbers on both sides, Savior can’t think of whether this is a good plan or not. Savoir’s <<Geara Zulu>> flies past the spinning wall, and soon reaches the civilian block. The mobile suits of <<Nahel Argama>> can’t snipe him, and it seem that both of them can only let Savoir’s machine fly further, but the sudden attack of two units cause things to change.

Two <<ReZEL>> units, Romeo 005 and 007 transform into the waverider form, and the thrusters that are all gathered on the same point let out light. Both units have to make one huge turn to avoid the microwaves to catch Savoir’s machine, but the <<ReZELs>> that transform into space jet fighters have acceleration ability that the <<Geara Zulu>> has no chance of matching. The two units reach the industrial area first and start to shoot at the <<Geara Zulu>>, which is at the colony wall.

“Fast…!”

The optical axis of the beam rifle hits Savoir’s unit left leg, breaking off the part below the knee. The cockpit jerks violently, and the all-view monitor is flashing warning messages. The Velcro fasteners that detected the damage increases the suction, but Savoir’s body still leaves the seat as the helmet’s buried in the airbags that were shot out from the console. Savoir lifts his head up, and the airbag’s sucked back in as the all-view monitor shows the <<ReZEL>> unit that’s flying from below. Savoir instinctively fires the beam rifle. Once the beam weapon hits, the victim will not even have the time to feel death. It’s over once he’s hit, and he will be evaporated once he’s hit by the beam rifle. Savoir’s telling himself in his mind, I’m alive, I’m still alive, and continues to fire the trigger. The <<ReZEL>>continues to fly horizontally and dodge the bullets, transforming back into the mobile suit type when meeting with a <<Geara Zulu>> and uses the power of the acceleration to swing the beam saber down.

The <<Geara Zulu>> loses its right arm together with the rifle, and the other <<ReZEL>> attacks from above, swinging the hi-heat particle blade past Savoir’s unit’s nosetip and slicing the movement cables at the abdomen. Despite taking consecutive hits, Savoir still pulls out the beam tomahawk, and the handle that’s larger than the blade releases light particles to form an axe-shaped blade. However, the <<Geara Zulu>> is very slow without an arm and a leg. The two <<ReZELs>> easily dodge the beam tomahawks and continue to do hit and run tactics. The light for the saber transform into a beast’s mouth as it devours the <<Geara Zulu>>, causing the battered machine to let out the conducting liquid that floats into vacuum like blood.

To any bystander, it looks like a delayed execution, but in fact, that’s not the case. When near the colony, they must try not to use the rifle and trigger the reactor. The pilots of the <<ReZELs>> were just using common sense to close in on the enemy machine to stop it. This tactic is correct, and it uses the unique characteristic of the transformable mobile suit <<ReZEL>>. However, the pilots are all rookies who lack actual combat experience. As they continue to attack in the same patterns, Savoir’s <<Geara Zulu>> floats towards the port, and the civilian ships that are entering and exiting the docking bay are each taking action to evacuate. However, they’re still much closer than the agile mobile suits. Several ships collide with each other, and let out sparks as they graze each other. The scattered exterior damage the guiding lights, and even though they’re all gathered, the ships that are entering and leaving in an orderly manner are in chaos, and screams and hollers can be heard from the port management authority.

Savoir hears these voices subconsciously. The all-view monitor is already more than half destroyed, and the ball-shaped cockpit is showing cracks on half the area. However, he still manages to see a transport ship colliding with a small ship. The machine’s spinning, and the images continue to enter his eyes. He sees the gateway of the docking bay getting closer, and the guiding lights are moving from down to up. ''I have to get away from here,'' Savoir thinks. ''I might get civilian ships involved if I stay here, and I might even lose the chance for the <<Garencieres>> to escape. If the port carry out extreme measures and close all the gateways, it’ll be over. '' He has forgotten that the flying shrapnel stabbed into his abdomen, and blood’s filling his helment. Savoir activates the thruster of the <<Geara Zulu>>, and this isn’t something Savoir is doing as a person, but a pilot with morality and duty doing something instinctive.

The <<Geara Zulu>> that lost its limbs waves the tomahawk and roars. To the <<ReZEL>> pilots who haven’t realized that this is already civilize spaceway, Savoir’s actions just look suicidal. It’s because they’re rookies that they immediately use the beam rifles out of fear at that moment.

“ALL HAIL NEO ZEON!!”

Savoir’s roar is covered by the Mega-particles that hit the cockpit directly. The reactor core doesn’t collapse, but the <<Geara Zulu>> explodes from inside. The explosive ball of light that’s expanding immediately lights up the docking bay, and the scattered shrapnel carry burning trails as they disappear into the dark space.

===Part 8===

The explosion seems to happen at the port as the impact reaches the gateway nearly, causing the air in the central port 1km away to vibrate slightly. It’s not really a clear tremor, just a shaking of the air, a trembling that’s like touching skin—

Inside one of the 4 ships floating there, at the deck of the <<Garencieres>>, Marida senses this sensation from inside the cockpit of the <<Kshatriya>>. It’s the cry of a person before the life vanishes—I’m here. Listen to me, everyone. After such a cry, the shockwave that came over like a burden rocks the air, creating goosebumps in her body and heart. She grips onto the control panel, and that horrifying chill that passes through her body made her tremble. Don’t get swallowed by this, Marida told herself. Don’t empathize with a live that’s gone. I’ll show weaknesses if I do that, and I’ll share the same fate one day.

On the all-view screen, he can see the workers who were preparing to leave the port suddenly stop and look around. The other crew members were also shocked by this slight tremor. (What is it? An explosion…?) Gilboa’s voice came through the wireless communicator. He can feel this shockwave he can’t understand, and Marida’s angry over their slow-wittedness. Why are ‘normal humans’ so casual.

“IT’S SAVOIR! CAN’T YOU HEAR!?”

She can’t help but roar out, and immediately regrets it. Gilboa’s just an ordinary veteran pilot, and can’t possibly hear Savoir’s ‘voice’. (Savoir?) Marida ignores Gilboa’s surprised voice and asks, “How’s the contact with the captain!?”

(It’s cut. The Minovsky Particles got thicker. Activate the <<Kshatriya>>, save the captain, and get out of here.)

With any means necessary. Marida can slightly feel that Gilboa’s panicking too, and asks again, “Are we going to start fighting inside the colony?”

(There’re enemies outside. We can only break through from the inside of the colony. Faster!)

It’s been more than ten minutes since they detected the enemy’s presence, and though they started getting ready before Savoir notified them, it’ll take some time before the <<Garencieres>> can leave. Besides ‘her’, there’s also Zinnerman—her master that she can’t leave behind, which means that there’s a lot less things she can do. “Really…!” After grumbling, Marida lets the mechanical arm of the <<Khastriya>> give a thumbs up to indicate to the deck personnel that she’s ready to sorties.

The cargo hatch over, and the sliding cargo rack slides, pulling the <<Kshatriya>> out of the ship. The <<Kshatriya>>’s mono-eye lights up, releases itself from its restraints and bends its upper body. The wing-shaped emblem on the sleeve—the insignia of Neo Zeon is flashing. As it deploys the four large pods, the large body of the <<Kshatriya>> stands up at a corner of the dock.

While the other ship workers and port workers are all staring in disbelief, Marida puts on the helmet and pulls the visor down. The port doesn’t have zero gravity, but it’s rather inconvenient to move with all the air around. She has to consider the air resistance and increase the thruster burst, but if she just randomly shoot them out, she’ll send the surrounding people flying. She lands on the floor of the port, letting the soles hook grab onto the rails, and then watch the workers frantically leave. She lets the <<Kshatriya>> move forward and chase away the people floating in the air until she can finally use her thrusters safely. Suddenly, she feels a sharp killing intent.

''The enemy’s here.'' Marida sees this instinct that’s transformed into a flash pass by her forehead, leaving behind a tiny vestige of light in her mind. The flash cause the psycommu’s power to increase, shooting out form the cockpit and activating the funnel that’s hidden in the <<Kshatriya>> pods. Before Marida even realizes it, three funnel binders fly out from the pods and start moving like they’re shot out.

The 2m-long attack drones shoot out its boosters, and the funnel-shaped machines all fly towards the port. The front unit flies past the heads of the port workers, through partitions that are sealed up, and immediately reaches the port before firing the mega-particle beam, breaking a small hole through the thick wall that’s separating this place from vacuum. As the air flow becomes stronger, the other two units fly out of the port.

The enemy that’s entering the port—the Federation’s main unit <<Jegan>> is showing signs of wavering as it moves through the large gateway for ships. The funnels fly out from the melted hole and shoots out its thrusters for a short while before surrounding the <<Jegan>> in three directions. Marida closes her eyes and analyzes the situation inside her heart. She can clearly sense that the <<Jegan>>’s feeling killing intent from the three small objects and intends to retreat.

“Too slow.”

She opens her eyes as she said this. The beams shot from the funnels burn through the cockpit of the <<Jegan>> and pierce through the control panel. The bright green machine has a burned hole there, and the <<Jegan>> that can’t move anymore floats out of the port. The funnels immediately return and fight their way through the air that’s flowing out. The anti-fire system activates on detecting air flow outside, and as the large amount of rubber balls that are filled with lots of drying wall foam reach there, the last unit has already left the port. As he consciousness capture the trails of loyal hunting dogs, Marida holds her breath and grabs onto the ball-shaped control pangel.

There’s still a lot of enemies behind her. Since the front unit’s defeated, they’ll get ready to fight as they enter the colony. As she shakes off this uneasy feeling clinging on her, Marida steps on the pedal. The thrusters that are equipped on the 4 pods light up, and her body feels the acceleration as she’s held down on the linear seat. She continues to blow aside workers and preservation materials, and the huge mass of the <<Kshatriya>> that’s more than 74 tonnes in weight flies in the air.

The machine flies through the final gateway leading into the colony and enters it through the airtight wall covered by the ‘hills’. She moves down the artificial sun pillar and heads to the airtight room on the other side. The street lights that cover the inner wall light up the air, and a starry night-like scene surrounds Marida.

These little dots are all human living habitats, looking like normal daily lights that are as weak as glass—the images she saw in the day appeared in her mind. Marida bites on lips. ''Now’s not the time to think about such things. The enemy’s behind me.'' She has to do something big to lure the enemy away from the <<Garencieres>>.

She glides through the heavy air, and the moss-green machine that’s mixed in the night stops suddenly. Marida lets her body and machine feel the friction that’s different from piloting in real life, and lets the <<Khastriya>> face the pursuers.

===Part 9===

The deep yet long siren sound signifies the beginning. Banagher, who’s alone, leaning on the handrail of the roof, hears this echo and lifts his head.

Looking down the mansion, the night scene is the same as before. The sound of the siren sounds similar to damage outside the colony, but this is too quiet. Banagher thinks. It’s not rare for larger pieces to collide and damage the outer walls, but normally speaking, the streets will have emergency vehicles around to check on the inner and outer operations of the colony when the siren rings, and there’s no signs of them now.

“Huh? Another meteorite?” A casual chatter can be heard beside his foot. At the balcony below, there’re five, six faces that are flushed red with alcohol. “Oi, someone switch on the TV, please?” Another person spoke, someone else chokes himself and yells, “DAMN IT! THERE’S NO AIR!” Banagher frowns and looks at the group of people who treated the siren as an amusement, and is about to go down to the level below. Suddenly, a flash that appears causes him to widen his eyes.

The lights that appear like lines flashed 2, 3 times in the air, and immediately lights up the inner walls of the wide colony. 10km away, the flashes light the ‘hills’ facing the Earth like day, showing the dark shadows of clouds floating in the air. The loud explosion rocks the entire interior of the colony.

The loud volume and lights that covers the senses continue to ring and echo through the air. Banagher feels giddy as well as he hears a girl scream. He saw it on TV before, a flash and sound that’s similar to lightning on Earth—the only difference is that the light cutting through the night sky forms a weird straight stroke. Banagher grips onto the handrail hard and stares at the colored flash in the sky. The pink light axis appears again, shining through the clouds and onto the artificial sun pillar. He then sees an orange ring expanding.

The thunderclap-like rumbling continues, and sounds of explosions ring through the clouds, accompanying the deafening sounds of metal being ripped as the bright flames are etched into Banagher’s vision. The fireball emits black smoke as it glides in the air and falls towards the inner wall. As it crashes, it creates a large mushroom cloud, and Banagher feels that the handrail on the roof is shaking.

The screams downstairs got more intense. “IT CRASHED!” “ISN’T THAT WHERE LUWAN’S HOUSE IS!?” Voices like these echoed. Some of the screamed, “IT’S A WAR! THERE’S FIGHTING OVER THERE!?” That voice make Banagher feel like he was dragged on the shoulder, but he continues to stare at the starry sky. His consciousness was attracted to an object that instantly appeared for a moment in the clouds when the flames of explosion expanded.

The thing has a sharp head and thick limbs, and from its shoulders, 4 wings extend out. He seem to see a giant in the form of a devil in those comics, rumbling in the clouds. “What is that…?” Banagher muttered. His heart is pounding hard, and the unknown impulse surges in him. At this moment, it’s a bad thing when they don’t know who the enemy is, and it’s dangerous to be in such an obvious please. The words he never thought of before is ringing in Banagher’s mind, and he uses his hand to press onto the trembling forehead. ''What’s wrong with me? My body and mind wants to move on their own.'' He hears his body screaming, ''hurry up and do something about this situation. Take action''—

“Hey, that’s not a Federation’s unit. Is it Zeon’s?”

A familiar voice came from below Banagher’s feet, and he regains his senses before looking down. Takuya, who’s holding onto Haro, is pointing at the space where the giant with 4 wings is. Beside him, Micott is gripping onto the balcony handrail tightly, and her tense back profile is standing there blankly. Banagher suddenly feels a chill down his spine and again looks at the sky.

“Zeon…Neo Zeon?”

He subconsciously mutters as he turns to look at the airtight wall facing the moon. The flash that’s being given off is an ominous red, lighting the roofs over on the other side of the colony. ''Audrey’s in the ‘snail’ on the other side.'' Banagher suddenly thinks. She, who went to meet with the Vist Foundation alone; she, who’s seemingly pursued by soldiers; she, who when asked whether she’s an activist, gave a vague answer that may be even scarier—

Banagher never thought of what to do as he’s being driven by impulse. He looks down and sees the entrance of the mansion. The Foundation’s sedan is still at where it was, but the men in suits are all outside the vehicle. They look up at the flashes that appear from time to time, speaking into the wireless communicator. Even from afar, one can see their panicked expressions, which proves that this is an accident for the Foundation as well.

Cardeas Vist’s cockiness was feeling vexing. His expression seemed to say, ''I have everything under control'', but now, there’s a scenario even he couldn’t predict. With this conclusion, Banagher realizes that Audrey, who’s in his hands, is in danger, and an unknown impulse rocks his heart. In the midst of extreme violence that’s full of flashes and noise, Banagher grabs onto the roof’s handrail. The charred stench that’s like soot in the air—the stench created by the beam weapons scatter all around, and this is the first time Banagher smells the stench of the battlefield.

===Part 10===

Even with air, the tremors can spread through a plane that they’re in contact with. On the outer-most area of the <<wheel>> of Industrial 7, the people are hidden inside the <<Loto>> under what can be called underground, and Commander Daguza Mackle feels the vibration coming from the seat.

“Looks like we were attacked by enemy ambush and started fighting inside the colony.”

The operator sitting at the front seat hands the scouting report over. It’s just as predicted. The irregular tremors aren’t triggered by things like meteorites and stuff crashing into each other. The mobile suit squad of the <<Nahel Argama>>’s being pulled off by the enemy and stretched the boundary of the battlefield into the colony. Daguza really wants to lash out at the impulsiveness of these amateurs and ask, “What’s the situation?” “Not good.” The operator answers without looking back,

“It’s said that there’s only one enemy unit, but it seems like it’s equipped with psycommu. Our side already has some damage.”

''And there’s damage to the colony as well.'' Daguza adds on in his heart and looks over at the driver seat’s display. The two <<Lotos>> arrive at the attack point, and the fully-armed men are all waiting for the signal to begin. The original plan’s to surround the colony, coordinate with the mobile suit squad, let the <<Nahel Argama>> force itself into the dock, and begin the operation. However, things end up like this. Whether they’re to continue on or stop, the squad leader Daguza has to decide when they can’t contact the outside world.

From the current situation, it seems that the battle just happened unexpectedly. In that case, the Vist Foundation and the ‘Sleeves’ are busy protecting themselves and can’t possibly prevent this secret deal from being carried out. In this case, this means that their plan to stop this deal is done. But even like that, their prime target, the <<Laplace Box>> is still dangling there. Even if they decide to evacuate, the ‘Sleeves’ will think of a way to get it. The Vist Foundation’s movements aren’t easy to predict, but they’ll definitely carry out some resistance. It’s very likely that they’ll use this chaos of the battle to snatch the ‘box’ back and head into the deepest parts of the courtyard.

It’s the place that’s protected by ideologies and authority, and even the things that can be seen inside can become invisible. The courtyard in the deepest part of the Foundation—is a place where the army, and even the prime minister of the Federation government can’t enter. That’s why the ‘box’ is protected till now. However, what happened in the past doesn’t matter. To ECOAS, the most important thing is to complete this mission and decide whether the situation allows them to do so. Most importantly, if they retreat and reorganize themselves, the ‘box’ will be hidden in a place they can’t touch.

''There’s no second chance.'' Daguza shakes off all other concerns because of this and orders his troops emotionlessly, “Notify everyone. We’re going in.”

A deep red color flashes inside the machine, and the operator answers “Roger” and faces the console again. Daguza’s heart isn’t confused or hesitating, just thinking of how to deal with the current situation. He checks with the pilot sitting beside the operator, “Can we do it?”. The <<Loto>> that’s in tank mode can carry a lift for lifting goods, but the problem is after that. The pilot’s masked face moves slightly and honestly answers, “This is the first time I’m doing this, but I was once trained to deal with psycommu.”

“We can do it. If we use the mobility of the <<Loto>>, we can at least wear down the enemy numbers.”

“Roger that. Hand me the firing control. Just focus on driving.”

“Roger that.” The pilot answers rather enthusiastically. Their aim is to prevent the enemy machine from getting near to the <<Magallanica>> and helping to complete the enemy’s mission, but the <<Loto>>’s involvement in the battle has an effect of supporting their allies. They can’t expect the <<Loto>> to fight effectively as a mobile suit when it doesn’t have any beam weapons, which will make this mission riskier, but Daguza feels that this is worth betting their lives on. At least, it’s better to see how the battle goes without being spotted instead of hiding in a dark cave.

Of course, he knows that this is a wish he can’t say out. Parts aren’t supposed to have hopes and expectations. It’s not because of whether they’re being picky about the mission, but that they want to finish the mission they’re in charge of. It’s because of such specifics they demand of themselves as they take action that the world can continue to rotate. Daguza doesn’t have any doubts about this reasoning to himself as he looks at the multiple lights on the display.

Infiltrate near the target, take it down, snatch and destroy. That’s the trace of light that reflects each ECOAS member’s actions. Each person has their own mission, and together, forms this group called ECOAS. Daguza’s the squad leader, the part called the eye, observing the movements of the other intrinsic parts. The <<Loto>> starts to move, and with the deep rumbling sound of the track rotation, the operator continues on with a flat tone,

“Alpha, Bravo, move out. Secure targets. 1, the command block; 2, the authority block. Collect related intel on the ‘box’, confirm location and secure it. Our priority’s to secure the ‘box’. All obstacles are to be eliminated. I repeat. All obstacles are to be eliminated…”

Thanks to the relay point they set before, the wireless radio’s rather clear even with Minovsky Particles flying around. The ECOAS members move down to the outer-most area of the Wheel, waiting on standby near the linkway of the colony builder <<Magallanica>> before starting their move.

All sorts of safety mechanisms on the <<Magallanica>>, including electricity, are all self-generated. There are no circuits shared with the colony, as only the construction materials used to form them are the same as <<Industrial 7>>. However, this large gate is closed, and now, there's no way for both squads to contact each other. They set up several access points, but each of them have layers of securify, and they have Vist Foundation's guards watching. Every single one of them are armed with weapons, and have a history of being either part of the police or the army. They're more like a private army of the Foundation than guards.

However, there are still openings. In the colony’s construction management, a part of the <<Wheel>> has to involve the <<Magallanica>>, so both paths are linked. Of course, they can’t get through the satellite, and the safety procedures of the circuits prevent both server and chemical attacks. They don’t know if the maintenance passages exist or not, so the inspections are carried out by remote controls, which is very thoroughly. However, it’s not like nobody’s interfering. With the heat release considered, there’s a separation between the pipes. ECOAS, which is divided into Alpha and Beta climb up from the floor of the <<Wheel>> and proceed in different tunnels. Both squads then choose a ‘doorkin’ to sneak into the duct that’s giving off hot air.

The cabled passage is only 70cm wide, and there’s a distance of more than 200m from here to the <<Magallanica>>. In this narrow passage where it’s hard to move freely, the ‘doorkin’ plug out the gathered cables to remove the alarm in the passage as he continues to move in. About 30 minutes later, he reaches the standby location. He uses a small blowtorch to open holes in the wall that are just big enough for the small cameras that are the size of cables. The cameras that can be controlled remotely move around like snakes as the tip with the lens slip out from the gaps in the floor.

At a passage with a duct, there’s a guard there. He’s not wearing a spacesuit, but the suit is bulging naturally unnaturally underneath, and one can tell that he has a shoulder-arms weapon underneath. The lens rotates, checking the positions of the cameras in the ceiling of the passage, and the ‘doorkin’ enter a standby phase. Based on the situation, he can sometimes wait for up to a day without eating or sleeping, but this time, they only waited for 15 minutes. Once they hear the action command in the wireless radio, the ‘doorkins’ open the hatch of the duct, and the floor above bounced.

The alarm rings as the hatch opens, and it’s too late when the people in the security center realized that there’s something wrong. The floor that’s floating under zero gravity hits the ceiling, and before any sound is even made, the ‘doorkin’ has already moved behind the guards’ back, covering the mouth with his left hands and using knife to stab into the guard’s back. The blade is stabbed in between the ribs, and with a little twist, the air flows into the lungs. The guard’s raised hand is limp, and dies without being able to let out any sound. The ‘doorkin’ tosses the limp corpse aside and starts his actual mission.

He removes the tunnel lock and opens the door leading to the airlock. The way to the entrance is opened, and the main force that’s waiting in the <<Wheel>> start to move. The dark grey normal suits leap off the floor of the <<Wheel>>, using portable thrusters to get through the passage in an instant. After passing through the airlock of the <<Magallanica>>, they abandon the heavy thrusters and use the mobile handles on the wall to move forward. The ‘doorkin’ receives the recoilless carbine rifle from the last person who enters and follows them.

They use their masks to hide their faces under the helmet, and the group carry their recoilless carbine rifles and silently move through the zero-gravity passage. They destroy the cameras on the way and reach a junction. The squad leader standing at the side indicates that everyone is to scatter. The members kick the wall down in a skilled manner and raise their carbines before squeezing down the trigger of the cable gun attached at the bottom of the rifle to fire the steel cable. The steel cablees that are shot out start to spiral, and the members quickly turn to where they’re heading to. They send one person as the forward and one person to watch the back. Even with guards appearing, they continues to let the cable gun fire at the same speed, firing their carbines once the guards appear in their way, and shooting out 5mm bullets that shattered the guards chest.

The contact with the guards is being cut off one by one, and the visual images of many cameras are being cut. Both entrances are being invaded at the same time, causing the security center of the <<Magallanica>> to panic. The intruders, 16 men altogether in squads of 8 will scatter whenever they reach a junction, and enter the central block like poison. The center personnel activate the alarm, trying to close the partitions of the tunnels, but it’s too late for this countermeasure to be used. The intruders have already found the security circuits and used their guns to wreck most of the wires. The people with army expression don’t think that they’re the guerillas from the ‘Sleeves’.

“Manhunters. THE INTRUDERS ARE MANHUNTERS! EVERYONE, TAKE NOTE—”

The voice of the central block personnel that came from the wireless address is cut. The guards that are armed with automatic handguns are gliding by, and feel scared on hearing that unnatural cut. However, they haven’t made the mistake of revealing their positions by shouting. The enemies are the manhunters, the special forces that even the Federation army is terrified of. A guard who once trained with them when he was serving the army warns his comrades. ''Stick together. We must move out together as a team. No matter what the manhunters are planning, the command block will definitely be the target. Once we seal off the partitions and take them out one at a time, we’ll have a chance.'' However, the guards that intend to shout this into the radio are just a normal army to the ECOAS members.

A guard who’s moving with 3 comrades finds that there are signs of intruders at a junction. He uses his hand signals to communicate with his comrades, and intend to pincer the intruder from both front and back. His comrades head off to the front, while he heads in the corner to trail the enemy. The enemy hasn’t realized this yet. They should be wearing bulletproof vests, but they can’t possibly move with ten handguns rounds slammed into them. The guard raises his recoilless rifle and waits for his comrades to contact him through radio, but from the corner of his eye, he sees that something’s sliding here on the mobile handle from the wall on the other side.

It’s a Flashbang. As the guard sees that item that’s the size of a lighter arrive, it explodes in front of his eyes, and 2.5 million Candela of light appeared. A loud noise rings in his ears, causing his muscles to numb for the moment. The guard loses his sight and mobility, and he, together with his allies, is like a fried fish floating up when they’re cooked. The members of ECOAS point their guns at the guards on the premise of eliminating obstacles, and the muzzles with caps shoot out bullets. The guard is shot through the chest and sent spinning a round before slamming into the wall. Other gunshots can be heard from all around, and during the explosions, noise can be heard throughout. If the <<Magallanica>> can be described as a snail, then ECOAS started its invasion from near the center, and has immediately expanded its territory, getting the outer shell involved as they head down the main body—the central block where the command console and other important facilities are at. They need the data in the central block and technicians to control them. The others are to be treated as people with potential to be obstacles. The people who enter the members’ sight will be shot whether they have weapons or not, and there’s a lot of hot blank magazines and floating blood on the passages.

The command console block is about to be taken, and there are investigators who’re entering the residential area inside the wall. Two members land on the residential area that are covered with grass. They’re loaded with nightvision equipment that can be put on the helmets, and the heavy equipped normal suits are running through the quiet prairie. The surrounding air’s full of killing intent, but the steady appearance of the Vist’s residence is still lying in darkness.

===Part 11===

Audrey’s habit when she detects danger is to immediately turn off the lights in the room. Through the weak light that’s coming through the window from outside, she moves towards the bed.

She checks that there’s enough space under the bed to crawl into, and bends down as she holds her breath. The occasional tremors continue. And it’s not hard to imagine that something happened to <<Industrial 7>>, probably a war. But now, she has to pay attention to the gunshots and explosions. The clear but soft explosion sounds can be heard, unlike the rumbling sounds that’s been going on till now. It’s not from the outside, but the sound of air colliding with each other in this colony builder.

Ever since the first gunshot rang, the atmosphere’s in the house has been pretty noisy. There’s a lot more tension and killing intent that fills the air this time as compared to the rumbling of the colony. Is it Zinnerman’s actions? Audrey grabs onto the bedsheet tightly. Impossible. If that’s the case, she will be taken as a hostage and moved away from here. And if there’s no signs of this, that means—

She doesn’t know. That’s right, the scariest moment is when she doesn’t know what happens. Audrey remembers her childhood. At the deepest part of the large battleship, she will listen to her regent and sit on the throne. Once the battle started, the ship started to rattle, and the adults will definitely say: it’ll soon be over. Please relax, princess. That’s not true. I want to know exactly what’s going on. If I knew, I will be able to respond in turn no matter how young I am, but the adults just don’t want to scare this kid.

''Ever since I was born, I’m always called princess and treated as one; that’s why I’m often out of touch with reality. Even Zinnerman…''as she continues to think, the shrill breaking sound rings beside Audrey, and she instinctively hides under the bed.

Gunshots, ringing in the house, sounds of glass shattering, sounds of objects collapsing downstairs; Audrey hugs her head and curls her body, holding her breath. The gunshot rings again, and this time, it rang outside the door. After that, she hears something heavy land with a thud. After a while, footsteps and presences can be detected outside the wall, and a shadow appears through the light shining into the gap between the door and the wall.

The door creaks open, and Audrey forces her stiff body to lean towards the inside of the bed. It’s not Zinnerman and the rest. The presence outside the door feels really rigid and even less reliable. Maybe the door will be broken down the next moment, and the bed will be riddled with bullets. Audrey tries her best to open her closed eyes and notice everything around her. This continues for another 10 seconds, and the sound coming from the door handle stops as the shadow on the floor disappears.

The footsteps move further away. It seem that the person heard some radio signal. Audrey’s sweaty hand lets go of the velvet on the floor. She cautiously climbs out from under the bed, fidgeting towards the door. She looks through the old-styled keyhole, and there’s no one on the corridor.

The corridor’s lit by the soft decorative lights on the wall and the hard lamp lights above, and there’s a whiff of white smoke that smells like smoke. Besides the stinging head, there’s a unique bloody smeel. Audrey makes up her mind, takes a deep breath, and opens the door slightly. The first thing she sees is a pool of blood that flowed to the entrance.

She follows the blood trail, and can see a man in suit sprawled over there with his handgun on the floor. Audrey can tell from his splattered head that this is caused by a rifle. She endures the nauseating feeling and leaves the room, covering her nose with her hand as she watches the man with slightly purple brain juices splattered on the floor. From the suit and the physique, she knows that he’s someone of the Foundation, and she saw a few times before.

Let alone a handgun, it’s not easy to bring a rifle when it’s so big. It’s definitely not Zinnerman’s group who did this. Audrey tries her best to steady her trembling knees. There’s another organization taking action; they planned to carry out their attack and ambushed this <<Magallanica>>. Most likely, they sensed that the ‘Sleeves’ have made contact with the Vist Foundation, and came to stop the transfer of the <<Laplace Box>>—in that case, it’s easy to guess who the attackers are.

''Is the battle inside the colony their diversion?'' Audrey thought halfway through before stopping and leans herself on the corridor wall, beside the body. No matter what the attackers aim to do, it seem that they don’t know that she’s here. She has to use this time to get out from this house and meet with Zinnerman and the rest. Since things ended up like this, Zinnerman will give up getting the ‘box’. She has to stop them from losing their chance to escape just because they’re looking for her, and end up stirring the battle, which will be a mistake on their priorities.

''I have to be faster.'' This anxiety awakens that strength inside her to step outside. Audrey holds her breath and walks down the stairs, quickly walking through corridors that may still have attackers. She goes through the room which only has the tapestry, leaves the atrium in front of the entrance, and sees the outside of the house in front of her, the dark forest.

===Part 12===

“Game is up. Hand ‘her’ over to me.”

Zinnerman points the wireless speaker over at him, and his subordinates do the same, holding down Gael and company who reached their hands into their coats. Is it a bluff, or are there really bullets inside the speakers? Before he can even think, Zinnerman’s hand let out a flash and an explosive sound, and sparks fly beside Cardeas’ feet.

Zinnerman then points the speaker at Gael, not letting him get the chance to move forward. Both of them are staring at each other, and Cardeas senses that the other party’s serious, whispering, “Calm down, captain!”

“I intend to do that right from the beginning. Even if I plan to set you up, I won’t use such a stupid plan.”

“Your words and actions already proves this. You never said that ‘she’s in your hands, and this happened.”

Another rumbling occurs as he finished, and the explosion rang. A lot of dust land behind Zinnerman. Cardeas can tell that there isn’t just a a battle inside the colony, and that someone’s trying to barge into this <<Magallanica>> to take control. The phone that was ringing until now is suddenly interrupted, so the intruders must have cut off the line.

There’s no need to suppress the entire <<Magallanica>>, which means that the army—the ‘higher-ups’—intend to use this chance to get the <<Laplace Box>>. They’re just eliminating the ‘Sleeves’ out of convenience, and their top priority is to secure the ‘box’. He can imagine the higher ups giving an order like ‘Eliminate any obstacles, even if it’s the leader of the Foundation. If anything happens, the successor to the Foundation is amongst the higher ups’…

ZInnerman should have realized that this attack wasn’t just targeted at them, but his thinking is hindered by the fact that ‘she’ is in the Foundation’s hands. Cardeas watches him as he’s unable to distinguish between deliberation and coincidence as his expression is just showing that he’s intent on getting her ‘back’. He admits, “That’s true.” and quickly scans around everywhere, remembering where the tables and chairs are.

“I’m thinking the same way. What are you going to do? If you shoot here, everyone will die, and we can’t save ‘her’.”

Zinnermans’ eyelids tremble as his expression drifts. The tense killing intent is wavering, and Cardeas watches his expression show a somewhat comprehensive look like before as he raises the back of the chair nearby.

Due to the low gravity, the chair floats up higher than expected. At this close distance, it’s still not a strange thing to fire, but Cardeas believes that Zinnerman won’t fire that easily. A louder explosion rings, and everyone’s attention is diverted. Cardeas then throws the chair at Zinnerman and immediately gets down on the ground without waiting for the chair to create a sound.

Numerous gunshots ring above Cardeas’ head, and Gael’s large body presses down on him. Two gunshots can then be heard beside his ears. He lets out a slight moan and hears people being slammed on the wall. Cardeas’ pulled up from the floor by someone, and is about to be brought out of the room when there’s a louder cracking sound than a gunshot. The white smoke fills the reception room. Numerous gunshots can be heard through the smoke, and he feels that there’s a lot of heat beside his ears, and his right shoulder got hit with a huge impact.

It feels like he’s hit by a hot rod. Cardeas feels faint, and Gael catches him before his hand touches the ground. Gael continues to shoot back as he drags Cardeas to the lift. Cardeas watches his escort get shot, and blood scatters in the white smoke.

On the other side of the smoke, it seems that Zinnerman’s large profile has gotten away. Before they can recap on what happened in this worst outcome, the smoke from the smoke grenade rolls onto the corridor, covering him. Cardeas and Gael enter the lift, and rise from the living block to the central block.

The smoke that seeps in irritates the eyes, and for every cough made, the shoulder will hurt. It’s a graze, but a hot gunshot wound that’s like a slash will hurt a lot. “Your wound…” Gael approaches, and Cardeas interrupts, “I’m fine. You?” as he picks up the intercom phone at the control desk.

Even though they knew that it’s dead, they’re still trying their luck. Amazingly, the phone links to the command console miraculously. “Chairman! Thank goodness you’re alright!” Cardeas asks back, “What’s the situation?”

“We’re invaded by land forces. Looks like it may be the special forces of the Federation.”

Cardeas feels some chill, and he exchanges looks with Gael. This is the truly scary part of the Federation when they’re serious; using special forces as thieves in a hit and run operation—‘Hurry up and delete all classified information regarding the ‘box’.” Cardeas says,

“Scrap the data for the UC plan. Let all the Anaheim workers escape in the capsules. You too, hurry up and leave. The enemies are professionals, so try and avoid a meaningless battle…”

Thud, the phone’s suddenly cut. Cardeas put down the phone at looks over at Gael.

“I’m going to the command console. How’s the situation with the radio?”

“We can’t use it normally. The Minovsky Particles are too much…”

Gael’s bloodied large body is bent down, using his handkerchief to press onto Cardeas’ wound. Since they can’t use radio, they can’t rely on their surviving subordinates. Having realized that only he and Gael are the only ones who can complete this job in this worst case scenario, Cardeas says, “I’ll go alone to the command console. You’re to go over to the <<Unicorn>>.”

He’s worried about ‘her’, but he can only believe that Zinnerman and the rest will save her. Cardeas stretches his arm out at Gael “But, chairman, you alone…” He’s not agreeing with this verbally, but Gael hands over to small handgun in his ankle holster.

“Sorry…I got betrayed by my relative, and things ended up like this.”

He endures the pain on the shoulder and slides the sleeve open, putting the first bullet into the chamber. “Madam Martha?” Cardeas doesn’t answer Gael’s question as he puts the small handgun into his pocket.

“The 100-year alliance is so weak…we’re the ones who broke it first, but they intend to use this chance to snatch everything away. I’ll leave the <<Unicorn>> to you. If it’s about to be taken away, destroy it.”

He has a premonition that this may be the last time they’re meeting each other. After taking a slight breath, Cardeas sees that Gael’s straight expression is talking to him wordlessly, and says for the final time.

“We must not let that fall into the Federation’s hands…!”

===Part 13===

===Part 14===

===Part 15===

===Part 16===

===Part 17===

===Part 18===

===Part 19===

===Part 20===

===Part 21===

===Part 22===

===Part 23===

===Part 24===

===Part 25===

===Part 26===

===Part 27===

The four wings with thrusters hidden within them let out a white light, causing the moss green machine to vanish into the darkness at a rather fast speed. However, this distance can be caught up if they transform into Waveriders. Riddhe wanted to immediately pursue them, but the wireless communicator lets out a (that’s enough, don’t pursue it), and the transformation’s stopped.

Romeo 001, squad leader Norm’s <<ReZEL>> closes in, and uses the machine arm to grab onto the shoulder of Riddhe’s machine. “But..!” Riddhe wants to protest, but finds that he relaxed a bit. Anyway, he didn’t lose his life today—

(We suffered quite a bit of losses today. Let’s go back to the ship to reorganize our forces. We still have to retrieve that <<Gundam>>.)

Norm’s voice is full of bitterness. The commander that lost lots of subordinates didn’t have the energy to celebrate his survival. He probably wants to go chase them alone and take revenge for his subordinates, but Riddhe’s attention was captured by the term <<Gundam>>. He didn’t try to empathize with Norm’s feelings as he looks at the vacuum.

The unknown object that appeared from the colony builder—the gundam-type white mobile suit seemed to have kept its beam saber, and stops as its back faces countless pieces of space dust. The light from the machine is slowly weakening, and the relaxed limbs aren’t moving. It’s like the battery was worn out.

Is this to show that it has no intent of fighting us, or is it a trap to make us relax? Riddhe couldn’t accept completely that it saved them and mutters, “Gundam…”the name that he has been hearing from time to time during his childhood. Right now, it brings about a sense of danger that causes the tongue to numb, and makes the sweaty body cold.

“So that’s a <<Gundam>>, is it?”

(What else can it be?)

Norm answered with a somewhat unhappy tone, and the white mobile suit transformed again. The V-shaped edges are sealed back together, and the guard closes up, covering the eyes that were glowing weakly. At the same time, the armor plates all over the machine slides, covering the glowing red phosphorescence plates. In less than a second, the white mobile suit immediately changes and reverts back to the original state he saw at the start. The <<Gundam>> vanishes like a mirage, leaving only a mobile suit with a weird horn.

(What kind of joke is this…!) A mutter came from Norm’s machine and disengages from Riddhe before going behind the one horned mobile suit. He raises the beam rifle to a shooting position, and Riddhe closes in on the white machine too. (Unidentified pilot, do you hear me? I’m…) The unknown mobile suit continues to stare into space, ignoring Norm’s calls. The moonlight reflects off its horn, resembling a unicorn.

===Part 28===

The two <<ReZEL>>s that surround the unknown machine from both sides finally seem to have given up on contacting wirelessly. One unit points its beam rifle at the one-horned mobile suit, and the other unit grabs it from behind and starts to pull it.

Daguza Mackle didn’t see the ‘transformation’ when it was reported through the wireless network, and feels somewhat disappointed as he takes off the binoculars for normal suit use from the helmet. He feels that the bandage that’s wrapped around his left wrist is way too troublesome as he lands in the large space gateway that links space to the <<Magallanica>>’s port. Three people wearing ECOAS suits are using a camera to shine on the unknown machine.

He exchanges words with one of them, Alpha squad’s leader, commander Garity. Garity asks in surprise, (Commander…! Your wounds…?) Lieutenant Commander Conroy then asks in shock. It seems that they heard that he is alive, but didn’t expect him to be able to move. In fact, the head nurse wanted him to rest silently, but his mental state right now doesn’t allow him to lie down propely. Daguza doesn’t look over at Garity who’s trying to close in, and asks emotionlessly, “What’s the situation?”

(The enemy units retreated. There’s no signs of reinforcements for now. The <<Magallanica>> has already broken through our suppression. Our reinforcements are searching for the ‘box’ in the command post. Including the two passengers that were lost in <<Loto>> no. 1, we lost 3 men, and 4 people are wounded at varying levels.)

Though the reporting tone is rather calm, but Conroy’s expression is telling him that he’s one of the injured. The poker face is ineffective on this second-in-command who followed him for many years; Daguza averts his sights and asks Garity, “What’s the situation with the casualities in the colony?”

(It seems that we can handle the air release. For a hole that size, it’ll take at least a month for all the air to flow out.)

Before that, the aid from the neighboring colonies will reach, and the Anaheim Electronics company that’s on the moon will have some countermeasures. It’ll be a headache dealing with the media, but they will just hand this over to their allies behind the scenes in headquarters and the men in suits. Daguza sighs lightly, and his flank starts to hurt again. He waits patiently for the pain to subside. He managed to keep his life due to the ECOAS’ special suit, but he knew that his left wrist is fractured, and there are cracks on his ribs. He’s lucky that it’s zero gravity, as he doesn’t believe that he can pretend to be alright if there’s gravity.

“Seal off the <<Magallanica>>’s gate and prevent travel between colonies. The media may slip in. What about the <<Nahel Argama>>?”

(The ship’s not damaged; they’re now moving the confiscated items.)

“Tell them to hurry up. It seems that the ‘Sleeves’ haven’t gotten what they want. Tell them not to slack off.”

(Understood.) Garity answers and enters the gate. Daguza glances aside and watches him leave. (Will they still attack?) He hears a voice and directs the stare under his helmet aside. Conroy looks back at him with a meaningful stare, and behind him is the space that’s floating with small debris.

“Yes. They’re aiming for this. Once they know that we have taken all the things here, they’ll definitely target the <<Nahel Argama>> next time.”

After saying that, he gives a signal through his expression. Conroy moves towards Daguza. Their helmets are touching each other, and they’re talking through the vibration in an ‘intimate talk’. Daguza cuts off his communicator and whispers, “What’s the situation with the search for Cardeas Vist?”

(It’s still going on, but it’s likely…)

“Is it true that our guests from Anaheim got to the command post earlier than us?”

(Yes. It seems that there’s a secret passage that wasn’t recorded in the battle data.)

They sneaked into the <<Magallanica>> from the port while ECOAS was rushing in. Normal Anaheim employees won’t do such a thing, and can’t possibly do it. Let alone Alberto, the leader, the people accompanying him were likely specialists in that field. He already had this feeling during the meeting in the ship. “We’re the bait…they’re aiming for the ‘box’ too.” Daguza sighs.

(It’s possible. I hear that the higher-ups have some disagreements regarding the strategy this time.)

The people who want to use this chance to get the ‘box’, and the people who just wants to prevent the ‘box’ from being passed. When Cardeas, who intended to release the ‘box’, got eliminated, the two parties will have achieved their aim, and the battle for it will involve the higher-ups—the army, Anaheim Electronics, Vist Foundation’s complicated links, the monstrous and savage world—“Really…” Daguza sighs and looks at the moon that’s as large as a tennis ball.

“We got involved in some stupid family squabble, and we ended up making such a mess.”

The battle that happen out of a sudden cause many losses. They lost their subordinates, and the enemy escaped. The commander has to accept the sacrifices of battle, but it’s not worth exchanging this for a ‘box’ with unknown contents. ''I’ll repay this properly to you people,'' Daguza swore in his heart.

''The ‘Laplace Box’ will not be handed over to the ‘Sleeves’ or Anaheim. ECOAS will get it and show the monstrous higher-ups what they’re made of. It’s just an empty self-satisfaction, but there’s no other way to repay the souls of those who sacrificed their lives. Parts have only the courage of parts—''

(All the intel the ‘box’ were all wiped out. From the timeframe, it doesn’t look like Anaheim or the visitors took it. We nabbed some of the workers here, but we don’t know what’s their level of understanding…)

“We still have that here.”

Daguza points his chin out at the front and says this. The white mobile suit with the horn is being grabbed on the arms by the two <<ReZELs>> into the port. Behind the visor, Conroy frowns.

“It’s developed here, so it can’t possibly have nothing to do with the ‘box’. Let’s investigate slowly.”

That’s the reason why he immediately ordered that filming is to be carried out once he heard the news. Since they’re expecting Anaheim to interfere, ECOAS has to get intel on this white mobile suit on their own.

On hearing Conroy’s affirmative response, Daguza separates the helmet and opens the communication device. The speaker inside suddenly lets out a roar, (WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!), and then, he sees a man wearing a worker’s normal suit.

The stout profile isn’t an illusion created from the thickness of the spacesuit. It’s the largest obstacle Anaheim sent, Alberto. Daguza stares at his face silently. Alberto nearly flies out into space, and only manages to stop with Conroy grabbing him. He stares at the pure whit armor of the mobile suit that’s reflecting the moonlight and looks over, yelling, (WHO THE HELL IN SITTIN IN THERE!) that fat and thick face seems to be bulging.

(THAT’S OUR COMPANY’S PRODUCT. I DON’T WANT ANYONE TO TOUCH HIM. COMMANDER, TAKE IT BACK!)

(We’re doing so now, Mr Alberto. Please calm down.)

Alberto shoves aside Conroy’s shoulder that’s pressing down on him and stares at the white mobile suit. Daguza notices that there’s dried blood on the chest of his suit.

(That…<<Unicorn>> isn’t an ordinary mobile suit. Who…who activated it…)

His expression and voice don’t seem to be worrying about the company’s assets; he looks like a kid with his important toys stolen. Daguza thought as he stares at the dried blood stains. The unknown blood stain remains on Alberto’s chest like a mark. Alberto glares at this mobile suit called the <<Unicorn>> with a bloodshot expression. His eyes are showing affection and hatred. It’s an emotion Daguza himself can’t distinguish, and he feels a chill.

===Part 29===

The body that’s soaked in the dense liquid starts to float up slowly. Banagher opens his eyes and sees the port of the <<Magallanica>> shown on the all-view monitor.

And countless of stars.

The limbs feel heavy, and the body became a limp block of flesh, like all the nerves on the body were snapped. Only the pain at the temples brought about a sense of physical reality, but he still has no strength to move his limbs even though he’s in zero gravity. His limbs were very heavy, and he’s completely fatigued; it felt like he was scooped up from thick oil.

That’s right, when the words <<NT-D>> were shown, he was dipped into a dense fluid. Time became slow, the limbs became heavy, and the enemy’s actions look like they were slow-mo replay…and then, what’s next?

He didn’t know. Lying in a limp manner on the linear seat, Banagher looks at the display board. The words <<NT-D>> disappeared, and the screen shows a pattern that can be read as <<La+>>, blinking steadily at a breathing rate.

“La…+…”

Behind the words were stars that won’t blink. Banagher again loses his consciousness and start to sink into a deep sleep.
===Part 30===

(That’s really a failure on your part, Suberoa Zinnerman.)

The voice echoed throughout the narrow bridge of the <<Garencieres>>, bringing the bitterness of defeat into the heart. Marida, who left the cockpit and returned back to the bridge without taking off her suit, sees the face of commander Angelo Sauper.

(You were unable to get the <<Laplace Box>>, and didn’t manage to save the princess…such a mistake isn’t like you. How do you intend to make up for this loss?)

Wrinkles appear between the eyebrows on the forehead, where the fringe was randomly combed back. Angelo’s white and neat-looking skin is coupled with an honor guard’s uniform that was decorated with buttons and gold braids, giving off the presence of a middle century noble. His age should be about the same as Marida, but it’s hard to associate with him, whether it’s because of his arrogant tone or the strong sense of ego and bringing this kind of aesthetic over to the battlefield. Or rather, this man reflects the current revolting look of the ‘Sleeves’—the reborn Neo Zeon’s trend of dressing up.

“It was all an accident. We can only wait for the princess to contact us and wait silently.”

''We’re focusing on actual duty and don’t care about appearances at all.'' Zinnerman was only showing such politeness on the surface. At the operator's seat, where it’s impossible to see, Flaste is pointing the middle finger. The <<Geara Zulu>> Gilboa pilot floats outside the window as it moves with the ship, and its mono-eye looks left and right. GIlboar and Marida are exchanging patrol times with each other. But since the enemy has no intention of pursuing, the only problem right now will be the response of <<Palau>> itself. It’s possible to see Gilboa listening closely to the communication channel from the outside.

Including the members who died after getting back to the ship, the crew of the Garencieres lost 3 members, and they also left ‘her’ alone. This isn’t just a simple mission failure. Marida already feels the gravity of the loss without Angelo adding on, but her master’s still alive. His back profile continues to remain seated on the captain’s seat, and the gruff voice continues to echo throughout the bridge. Marida starts to feel that her nerves are becoming more relaxed as she smells the body odor of cologne and tar. She continues to stare emotionlessly at the roaring Angelo.

(Do you want us to wait around and not do anything…!?)Zinnerman didn’t do anything as he waits silently for a chance to talk back, but another voice was faster, (That’s enough, Commander Angelo.)

Angelo’s expression changes and immediately straightens his body before retreating out of the screen. A bright red thing appears on the screen that’s showing static, and Marida feels that her calm nerves are tensed up again.

The figure in red uniform slowly moves to the front of the screen, and the thick blond hair sways about, falling on the mask that covers his eyes and forehead. His eyes look over through the filter.

(I hear that the enemy who caused Marida to retreat…was a <<Gundam>>. How interesting.)

[[Image:KSGU2 221.jpg|thumb]]

Though it’s impossible to see his eyes under the filter, he must be looking over. Everything about him, from the weird appearance of his masked face to the mocking attitude were all overwhelmed by his overbearing existence. The reborn Neo Zeon’s leader, called the ‘Second coming of Char’, uses his own presence to overwhelm everyone and controls the mood. Marida can’t help but clench her fists and look over at the bewitching red filter.

(Maybe I’ll sortie. <<Garencieres>>, continue to check on the movements of the Federation Fleet.)

Full Frontal merely gives such an instruction. “Yes.” Zinnerman answers and adjusts his posture,

“I’ll risk on my life to make up for this failure.”

He added this line for emphasis, but Zinnerman’s eyes can’t shake away the suspicious look in them. Full Frontal doesn’t know how distant both of them are as he smiles and says, (There’s no need to keep remembering your mistakes.)

(Once you own up and improve on it, that will be enough. This is the right an adult has.)

The face under the mask is smiling, and that chilling smile seem to give the impression that his face is the mask itself, and causes goosebumps on Marida.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[KSGU:Volume_2_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Gundam Unicorn|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[KSGU:Volume_3_Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

KSGU:Volume 2 Chapter 3

2012-05-11T02:56:28Z

115.77.129.48: /* Part 3 */

==Chapter 3==

===Part 1===

In the quiet room, the old pillar clock is rocking away. It’s a wooden pillar clock that seems to be made in the old centuries.

It’s 6pm. GONG GONG. The time’s being reported as the sound echoes throughout the hall, and the girl—or rather, Audrey Burne—heads to the window and sees the outside scenery through the glass window. The panel-styled artificial sun has darkened, and the surrounding area is covered in darkness. The outdoor lights that’s set in the courtyard lets out a weak light, and though it attracts a lot of flies, it can’t shine into the large garden. She feels like she’s looking into outer space that has very little light.

The forest on the outside is also submerged in darkness, and it looks like a black block that is differently darkened. The rows of trees that aren’t rustling with the wind remain silent and still in the darkness, and it looks extremely unique. This looks like a natural environment, so the unnaturalness of the air-tight space where wind won’t blow becomes all the more obvious. The lights of the streets, the rumbling of the vehicles, the noise brought about by people living…these things makes the colony feel like an artificial earth, so once the space colony lacks such things, it’ll become an ordinary indoor scene again. Feeling really hurt, Audrey turns her eyes back into the room.

There is an old-styled wardrobe, an attached mirror, a twin-sized canopy bed; a tea table that can be brought to the balcony, plates that have a red tea teapot and cookies on them, and earthenware that’s reflecting soft light. This seem to be a room prepared for female guests, and the windows and lighting inside the room have a luxurious color base, so one won’t feel sick of looking at them for a long time. The room properly wasn’t used for many years, but it’s kept so tidy that it didn’t give that feeling. As expected of a mansion belonging to the Vist Foundation. Also, a servant just came by and let her enjoy a mini-dinner.

She, who has eaten the ‘real’ stuff ever since young, knew clearly that it wasn’t some packaged food. It must be some servant who’s often in this mansion or Cardeas’ personal chef who prepared this food. She wondered whether the food might be spiked, but after thinking that there’s no need to do this to a bird in a cage, Audrey enjoyed this meal. In the end, her filled stomach caused her body to slow down, and let her have the urge to lie down on the bed. It’s either that Vist Foundation’s reception was perfect or that she was being too crude.

It’s been more than 2 hours since she was brought to such a comfy room where she didn’t feel like she was watched. She has achieved the aim of meeting the person she has to meet and saying what she has to say, but what’s next? Cardeas merely listened silently and didn’t give a clear answer. Zimmerman and Marida’s movements were unknown, but since they know that she made contact with Vist Foundation, they will carry out the deal secretly. They will probably let the mobile suits remain on standby after considering that she’s a hostage.

If such sparks fly because of this, Cardeas will have to take her as a hostage. She feels that she has to leave this house and go back to the <<Garencieres>> on her own first, but she can’t go back without understanding Cardeas’ intent. If the deal is made peacefully, there will be no meaning to why she came here. Also, Audrey now has no self-confidence of being able to move through this residential area that’s surrounded by the dark forest, back to the port on the back of the colony.

From what she heard of Cardeas, Audrey believes that he’s someone she can recklessly get to approach and talk to, but she didn’t consider about what happens next. It was merely an excuse on Audrey’s part to say that there wasn’t much time, and she sighs and sits down on the chair. She drinks up the cold red tea and looks up at the painting. The background of the painting looks to be a mountainous region on Earth, and there are several herded sheep and a shepherd boy facing the front, not smiling at all.

The boy’s straightforward expression shows the labor of hard work, and also shows the wide world. Audrey suddenly remembers the name Banagher Links, and her heart aches. He wasn’t someone of the opposite gender Audrey likes, and she can’t even remember his face clearly, as only the touch of the hand remain etched on her skin. It’s not that he came because of a righteous cause or loyalty, but because of emotions. The owner of that hand seems to resemble the shepherd boy in this painting. That seemingly obedient yet continues-to-chase kind of expression—

''“It’s fine no matter who you are. Just say that you need me.”''

The voice that was left beside her cut through the silence in the room and entered her heart. What was he saying? Audrey only felt surprised now, and grimaced slightly. It’s too reckless for someone she didn’t know for very long or even the background to say something like that, but for that moment, Banagher’s eyes were serious. His eyes look like they were yearning for something, just like the picture of the boy. If she didn’t deliberately say that she wanted to draw a line, she might be attracted by the light in his eyes. What happened to him after that? Did he go back to school safely?”

“Do I…need him?”

If that hand was pulling her, she would immediately leave this place. As Audrey harbored such a random thought, the bell rang, and it shocked Audrey.

She hurriedly sat properly and said ‘please enter’. She thought that it was an attendant who came to collect the tea set, but the one standing outside the wooden door was Cardeas Vist. Audrey feels that her skin is tensing up because of the anxiety, and got up to invite the leader of Vist Foudnation in.

Cardeas, who said ‘excuse me’ as he entered the room, looked at the table. This is to see whether the guest is unsatisfied with the reception, and Audrey, who went through the same training, understood that. Before coming in, he must have talked to the servants and understood what meals she had. Audrey first spoke up, saying, “It’s nice.” This is an instinctive action she does based on etiquette and dignity, and Cardeas, who’s showing a smile as he said ‘it’s fine as long as it suits your tastes’, didn’t do anything else. He’s like a brave eagle tilting its head slightly, showing a smile that makes people drop their guards.”

“I’ve changed the meeting point with your allies to this <<Magallanica>>.”

Cardeas prompted Audrey to sit down, and he sat opposite her. He put the notepad PC in his hand onto the table, and says, “They’ll be here soon. Once the job’s done, I’ll let you two meet, so please wait.”

This was basically declaring that he has no intention of ending this deal. Though she already predicted it, she couldn’t hide her disappointment once it became reality. “Can you please reconsider?” Cardeas could only remain silent as he watched Audrey clasping her hands tightly under the table and having her voice tremble.

“Why? I heard that the ‘Laplace Box’ is the lifeline that gave the Vist Foundation its power, but handing such a thing over to us…”

“That’s because even if our fortune and prosperity continues on, we won’t be able to salvage the world when it becomes inapt completely.”

This was something she didn’t expect at all. Audrey repeated Cardeas words again as she saw his unwavering vision, “World, inapt…?”

“Peace and stability aren’t good for keeping. It will immediately become inapt if we don’t introduce some fresh air.”

“Are you saying that war can make the world evolve?”

Cardeas’ eyes twitched, and the smiled disappeared from his face. It seemed that these words were for real, and Audrey, whose head went hot from understanding this, stared at Cardeas’ face and says,

“I was born in a war, watched people grow up in a war, and watched many soldiers die to protect me.”

Cardeas looked down slightly and said calmly, “I suppose.” That heavy voice seemed like it could only resonate with such people, and seemed to be a form of sympathy to her. Audrey felt her mood worsening, but still finished off what she had to say,

“…It was really tragic. What’s born from this expectation is the arrogance of those who’re engrossed with peace.”

“Then, are you denying your own organization?”

“I’m not denying it, but Full Frontal is a dangerous man. If you hand him the ‘Laplace Box’, a lot of people will die.”

“Full Frontal. The man hailed the second coming of the one they call the Red Comet…Char Aznable.”

Audrey knew that her eyes were showing a shaken belief, and she wanted to argue back, but couldn’t say anything, and lowered her head. Cardeas slowly got up and walked over to the window facing the dark courtyard.

“Without his existence, the ‘Sleeves’ will never become an organization with a military group’s standard. That’s something you can’t do.”

“I’ll admit that…”

She didn’t think that expanding rapidly as a military organization is the best method. Even if they want to change the current situation, there has to be a change in methods. Audrey wanted to say something, but that was all she could, and this self-realization made her unable to say it out. She understands very well how ironic it will be for her to argue against war and militarism from her own standpoint. However, this isn’t important. What she is trying to say is that the current direction they’re headed to is very dangerous, but she can’t explain what’s dangerous about it. She has to clearly explain her instincts or feelings, but can’t do so. This anxiety and helplessness continued to swirl in her, causing her to only sit here and tremble. If there is anything unnecessary for her to say, if there’s some way she can let others know of what she thought of—

“You’re a smart person, and you have your responsibilities that comes with your position, but you’re still too young. I understand your feelings, but you won’t be able to convince people like this until you become a real Newtype.”

After a short moment of silence, Cardeas said this. However, Audrey was paying more attention to the word ‘Newtype’ than the admonition. She lifted her head and looked at Cardeas.

“Do you believe? That…”

“It’s a must to continue believing, but sometimes, blood may have to be shed for the hope to continue.”

Cardeas looked back at her and answered, and there was a faint glint in his shape eyes. Audrey’s intuition was telling him that this guy was deliberately doing this.

Cardeas wasn’t looking at what he will gain or lose immediately, but was taking action while looking at something much bigger. He believed that there was something he couldn’t see and intended to open the ‘box’ which was a taboo. Audrey felt much more relieved than feel unhappy about this understanding. She even felt that it was worth it coming here to see this expression.

“Please go back. If the person who accepts this ‘box’ is just like what you imagine, the ‘box’ will never be opened.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Because I did something. That’s a fierce horse.”

Smirking, Cardeas did some simple operations on the notepad PC and turned the screen over. Audrey couldn’t help but gasp as she saw what was shown on it.

“This is…”

“The path to the ‘box’, or rather, the ‘key’…”

Cardeas then showed several photos and spoke. Audrey then realized now that the color of his eyes were similar to the shepherd boy in the painting.

===Part 2===

“Hey, you’re Banagher, right? Banagher Links.”

The girl who brought her face over without restraint has the smell of alcohol coming out from her mouth. Banagher realizes that his face is becoming stiff, but answers softly, “That’s me.”

“I heard what you did this morning. You stole a mini mobile suit and crashed into the park, right? That’s amazing. Tell me what you feel.”

Having a blurry looking expression, the girl puts her hand on Banagher’s thigh as he sits down on the sofa, and leans her exposed shoulders over. One can see the cleavage from the vest, but Banagher doesn’t feel anything special about it. The most he just feels is that he accidentally saw some skin that has spots on them, and feel that it’s not very clean to look at it closely. Banagher takes a gulp of cola from the glass and adjusts his sitting position, “Nothing…much to talk about.” And answers without looking back. “Uwa—wow, that’s so cool!” The girl’s scream matches the high decibels that fill the wide living room, piercing the ears.

“You’re not an obedient kid, but trying to act cool.”

“What is it, Asta? Have you become friends with him?”

The red-haired girl, who’s swaying her hips to the beat of the music, walks towards the girl called Asta and Banagher beside her before sitting down on the other side of Banagher. The recoil causes some of the cola to spill out, but the red-haired girl doesn’t seem to mind as she looks at Banagher with a gauging look. Banagher, who’s being sandwiched between the two girls, cringe back and drinks up the cola he doesn’t want to drink. He just feels distant. He, who’s being surrounded by the flushed-red girls, the heat that’s sticking onto his arms, the fast-paced music, the noise that’s piling in this void, and the stuffiness in the crowd, can only spend his time here slowly—

There are about 10 boys and girls making noise in front of them, dancing with the music and drinking alcoholic drinks. It’s just beer or whiskey-tinged cola, but it’s enough to make these teenage youths drunk. It seems that some people are using some legal drugs, as he can see a blond person’s eyes looking rather weird at the kitchen counter. The people gathering at the balcony are smoking, and the room with the door tightly shut is letting smoke through. It smells greasier than cigarettes, and it’s most likely marijuana.

It’s rumored that the people in private schools normally behave well, but go ridiculously wild once they get started; from the looks of it, this really is the case. If the owners of this house, Micott’s parents see such a devastating scene, they will definitely roll blank white eyes; but luckily, they’re on a vacation with their young son. That’s when everyone held their breaths and watched Micott from behind when her parents called.

The Minovsky Particles interference today is rather serious, and the communication with their destination was immediately cut off. However, Micott, who calmly states that everything’s fine at home, doesn’t show any signs of being troubled. As everyone saw her stick her tongue out once she put down the phone and accepted everyone’s cheers, one will doubt whether she’s such a frivolous girl who’s already used to do such things. Her father’s a respected factory head, and the girl herself is a carefree person who would enter the technical school without hesitation. From that moment on, Banagher started to view her as a different creature altogether. Takuya, who’s used to the current atmosphere and dancing around foolishly in the family bar with 2, 3 girls, looks like one of those irritating things that are gathered in this room.

This isn’t the first time Banagher’s taking part in such an event. In the vocational school hostel where he stays, it’s commonplace to get someone to open a room and have some sort of party gathering. Even if he can’t mix in fully like Takuya, Banagher believes that he can mix himself into the surrounding atmosphere like usual. It’s not because these are strangers from a private school; and it’s not just this party alone, as he can get himself involved in daily life before yesterday. However, the time now looks rather faded. He just feels that the gears that were spinning well even though they don’t actually fit have stopped completely today, being completely loose. It’s this kind of things that made Banagher anxious, frustrated. He shouldn’t be blaming this on the people around him—Banagher hasn’t lost such rationality yet.

That’s why he set up an invisible wall and treats himself as a flower wall, but these brains that are intoxicated and relaxed by alcohol don’t seem to understand his intent. Bangher starts to feel that the pressure that’s building up in his heart continues to rise like a storm beating away and the uncomfortable body temperature surrounding him. ''I shouldn’t be here. '' A part of him is prompting him to hurry up and leave, and another part of him is warning him that it’ll be a path of no return if he really leaves. In the end, he’s only left with self-chiding in his heart, wondering why must he curl his tail and run off?

''Will I wreck my future? Is it because of that ‘no need’? I don’t have any clear target to my own future, and I know that I don’t have any power that makes people want me. My deceit made her say such things—''

“You’re rather famous in our school! I heard that there’s a rather cute boy at the technical school.”

The girl who finally squeezes in and looks at Banagher’s eyes before talking. The eyes that are wet because of alcohol are so limp that one will wonder if she’ll collapse with just a simple poke. Banagher remembers those adamant jade-colored eyes, and feels that both of them don’t have the expressions of a human. However, he just feels unhappy about this feeling and remains silent.

[[Image:KSGU2 043.jpg|thumb]]

“You’re a transfer student, right? Which colony were you at before this?”

The girl called Asta brings her hand with the bracelet and puts it on Banagher’s thigh. Banagher smells her breath that reeks of pizza and beer, and tells himself and this is daily life. IT’s a good thing that he’s famous in a private school. ''Let’s just chit-chat with them at a suitable level, and get along with them while our student lives aren’t lacking; and once we played enough, we’ll be treated as treasure and become members of the thousands of Anaheim Electronics workers. This is the future you fear will be wrecked. ''

He remembers his hometown. The people who took the wrong path all ended up like that. ''Didn’t mum always say this? She wants me to become an adult who understands how great an ordinary life is''—but with these words that continue to surge in his heart, Banagher refuted it. ''Whenever mom teaches me such thing, I just feel like something’s ‘missing’. '' It’s like his eyes were being shrouded, and something’s being taken away from me. And today, that blindfold seems to slip. That’s why he immediately saw a world he never saw before for an instant, a world where he didn’t feel ‘out of place’. The determined jade-colored eyes, the unicorn tapestry, and the mobile suit with the unicorn horn.

He started to feel difficulty in breathing. I can’t breathe if I continue to remain here; let’s go back. Where can I go breath? Where’s your resting place? This voice rang with the deep beats and the girls’ squeals overlap each other “Don’t be so quiet. Talk a bit.” “Ah, do you have a girlfriend?” Amazing, you’re really steady~” “Oi, Asta. His glass’ empty. Pour some out for him.”…

“DON’T BOTHER ME!!!

The suffocating fear immediately exploded into high decibels. As he stood up, Asta, who was about to pour beer, was knocked aside, and the bottle hit a corner of the table and shattered. The two girls scream, and it’s only a matter of time before all the gazes are focused on Banagher.

It’s unknown which idiot helped to turn off the music and cause the atmosphere in the living room to be so bad that it can’t be salvage. Asta starts to cry, and the other girl stares at Banagher with a cold expression before saying, “What’s with this guy…” Other voices then pop out, “Who’s that guy?” “Feels bad.” Banagher sees a few boys looking dangerously at him and lowers his head to look at Asta. He wants to apologize to her, but after seeing that she’s crying like a kid instead of clearing the shattered bottle, he feels that it’s stupid to feel sorry. ''Cry all you want,'' he thought.

“That’s why I say don’t invite the people from the vocation school.”

Someone said that. Banagher pretends not to hear it, but a threatening voice came from the family bar, “Ahh? Who said that!?” With his back facing the girls that got up in fear, Takuya glares at everyone from the bar counter.

“Oi, Banagher! Hurry up and apologize!”

In this atmosphere that’s becoming even more heinous, Micott moves through the human wall and calls out. She doesn’t bother to care about what other people are doing as she merely cares about the stares. After hearing that voice, Banagher’s final sanity is gone, and leaves the scene wordlessly.

“Oi, Banagher!” Takuya calls him, but he ignores it and leaves the living room. Micott’s house include the two highest levels of the tower, and by climbing up the indoor stairs, one will reach the garden on the roof. The reason why Banagher climbed the stairs and head to the roof is merely because the stairs are nearer than the entrance. Anyway, he has a need to get out and bring in some fresh air to his blocked lungs.

The mansion is owned by Anaheim Electronics, built from the pillars supporting the artificial sun. The construct feels like litter stuck at the base when compared to the huge pillars that reach the artificial sun, but the building’s 10 levels high, and the unique thing is that the gravity will be lower the higher up one goes. It’s head to tell the difference when the living room’s at the 9th level, but the gravity at the roof is lower when the 10th level itself is close to 0.9G.

Whether low gravity can prevent aging and keep people healthy is real or not, nobody knows, but mansions that are built to cater the rich families will be of different standards at different levels. Micott’s house is no exception as the level with low gravity has a bedroom and a gym, but this is the best playpark for drunk people. Banagher hurries up the room as he glances at the youths making a ruckus in the gym. On the way there, he suddenly starts to wonder about the situation outside, and looks at the ground from the window at the stairs.

Just as he thought, the limo-type high class electric door is parked outside the entrance of the mansion. This Vist Foundation limo has leather seats, high-class audio speakers, fridge, and even iced grape wine, and remains near there like a bodyguard after sending him from the ‘Snail’ to the technical school, which makes it look annoying. It’s low gravity, but Banagher feels his mood become heavy as he clicks his tongue before leaving the window.

''The chairman instructed us to ensure your safety.'' As he sat on the limo, two suit-clad men that gives the strong vibe and disciplined hunters wouldn’t accept any other logic. Even if he tell them that they’re irritating and to just send me back, they won’t take action without their owner’s command. Cardeas Vist, that authority of this distinguished adult wraps around me like air. The moment he thought that he couldn’t escape the man’s grasp, Banagher just feels that it was harder to breath and takes 3 steps up the stairs like they’re two steps. The couple that are hugging at the stairs near the roof seem to be grumbling in their hearts that he’s being a spoilspoilt.

“Fuu—n, so these people are watching.”

Through the handrail gap, Micott looks down at the limo downstairs and said. Her back profile is saying that she knew what was going on, but she hasn’t forgiven Banagher, who puts his hands in his coat pocket and grumbled,

“They’re looking for trouble, sending such an obvious looking car like that!”

He puffed his mouth as he said that, and then turn his eyes to the artificial sun pillar that’s standing behind it. at the center of the room, the 3km pillar that passes through the clouds enter the darkness midway through and become a shadow block the starry sky. Of course, those aren’t real stars, but a starry sky created from the lights on the inner wall on the other side.

The pillars are all set at regular points all over the inner wall, supporting the artificial sun that stretches out long—no, the artificial sun pillar is located in the center axis in a zero-gravity area, and so it should be more correct to say that it’s fastened. The roof of the building is latched onto the base like an annual ring, and each area separated by shrubs, allowing people to do whatever they instead to do. For Micott’s house, a half is used as a swimming pool, while the other half is used as a family garden.

In this place that looks like a corner of the roof with the annual ring being sliced open, Micott and Takuya have been talking to him for more than 10 minutes. Thinking about this closely, there’s a lot of things he couldn’t say easily, but he can’t try to sugarcoat things when both of them are angry. Banagher can only tell the truth. It’s better to say out what’s in the heart; as he faces the duo who left the party midway to look at him, the inner pressure that’s almost about to blow his heart out is quietened down. He remembers the girl called Asta, and starts to feel sorry for her. In that end, that’s all I’m worrying about. Thinking about this, what happened for the entire day suddenly starts to feel less realistic, and what’s left is an emptiness that pierces through the hand.

“But that’s great. Chairman Cardeas is a big shot in the financial world. What kind of person is he?”

But Takuya’s words sound like he doesn’t care at all, causing Banagher to feel unhappy and think that he hasn’t understood the situation at all “Nothing much. Just an ordinary adult. Just looks impressive.” Banagher said with a stiff voice, “Un, that’s not just an ordinary impressiveness.” Takuya yawns.

“But because of this, you left that girl called Audrey, so you can only admit defeat.”

That’s some vexing feeling in Micott’s words, causing Banagher to gasp “What, wha…” and try to found a voice out. Micott let go of the handrail and turns around.

“Being all fidgety and even taking your anger on my friend, that’s not manly at all. If you’re so worried, go snatch her back, idiot.”

Banagher can’t think of anything to retort back, and Micott walks towards the stairs without waiting for his reaction. Banagher’s mind immediately thinks that all the girls will think this way, but still spoke up “Since when is it that simple!” The empty protest bounces off Micott’s back and lands on the surface of the swimming pool before scattering.

“Don’t be mad. She’s just being jealous.”

As he watches Micott pass through the stairwell doors , Takuya spoke up. On hearing such unexpected words, Banagher asks “Ha? What do you mean?”

“You’re way too slow. Never mind, don’t bother. It’s not that simple anyway.”

“What?”

“You might be expelled. Micott’s the daughter of a factory manager. Looking at her like this, she might not have suffered much, unlike us.”

Takuya gave a loud hiccup as he says that. The alcohol’s making his face red, but his eyes look more awake than usual.

“Once we hang on until graduation, we’ll become official members of Anaheim. This is the one good chance for people like us. Don’t ruin this just because you’re mad.”

Takuya’s tea-colored hair that’s swaying with the slightly warm wind, and the side of his face seem to be looking at the night scene of the colony as he says this. At this moment, ''Ah, this guy’s already an adult,'' Banagher suddenly feels this way and can’t say anything. he feels that between him and Takuya, there’s a wall that’s more thorough from a certain angle as compared to the one with Micott, and feels that the world around him is leaving him.

This is the familiar feeling he forgot once he met Audrey Burne—the ‘shifted’ feeling. Banagher feels pain in the chest and breathing difficulties. He turns his eyes away from Takuya’s side face, leans on the handrail, and looks up at the geometry patterns painted by the street lights and electric cars. The Foundation’s limo is still at the same spot, just as what he saw just now.

Banagher grabs onto the handrail tightly and looks up behind the large pillar, the airtight wall on the side facing the moon. The expansion works during the day cause the airtight wall to become further, and it’s impossible to see the gate leading to the ‘snail’ as it seem to be covered by the thick atmosphere and clouds.

===Part 3===

It’s 7pm, and the people being expected appeared.

“Welcome to the <<Magallanica>>. I’m the leader of the Vist Foudnation, Cardeas Vist.”

The gang of people who went down the lift probably didn’t expect the leader to personally come out and invite them. Everyone gasp, but Cardeas notices that amongst the 4 people, the bearded man is the only one who recovers faster from the shock as he looks around to grasp the current situation.

Is this man the captain, the brain behind these movers the ‘Sleeves’ sent? Just as he’s trying to confirm this, the mouth that’s covered with beard starts to move, “I’m the captain of the <<Garencieres>>, Suberoa Zinnerman.” And reaches out his hand with the joints looking very obvious. Cardeas holds his hand too, and clearly concludes that this is either the hand of a thoroughly trained soldier or someone who’s been through a long prison life.

“We’re really awed that the leader himself will come to invite us.”

“This is the fate of handing over our Foundation. We can’t just leave this to anyone else.”

As they exchange looks with each other and started talking, Zinnermans takes out a hand-written letter from his old leather coat pocket. After seeing that it has the signatures of Monaghan Baharo and Full Frontal, Cardeas looks over at the three men accompanying Zinnerman, and asks, “Is everyone here?” Zinnerman’s eyebrows never twitch as he says,

“Some are still on the ship, so if you want a list…”

“No, there’s no need.” There was no response about anything regarding ‘her’, and Cardeas’ first impression is that he’s not an easy man to deal with as he hands the handwritten letter over to Gael and smiles at them, “Please, allow me to lead the way in.” and leads them down the long corridor.

The office building that’s located in the rotating residential area of the <<Magallanica>> has a centrifuge force for easy walking. The room that looks undecorated like an office is like a completely different world as compared to the Vist’s villa that’s also indoors. However, there’s nothing to be picky about in terms of safety procedures. Even though they will have to carry out many checks here, the other party’s the elites sent over by the ‘Sleeves’. Cardeas doesn’t even want to accommodate them and rest in the villa.

Because of ‘her’, they’re all being suspicious of each other. That’s why Cardeas change the location to ensure safety. He looks at Gael, who’s following him from behind, and whispers in a volume only they can hear, “How’s the port?” Gael’s large body immediately catches up and whispers back, “No problems.”

“The people outside the ship have returned back. I don’t know what’s the situation inside the ship, but it seems that they’re waiting on standby just in case.”

This is the report made by the contacts watching the <<Garencieres>>. The people who got off the ship to look for ‘her’ are now back on…in other words, Zinnerman believes that ‘she’s here. The one on standby to prepare for anything is likely the mobile suit that buried the Londo Bell patrol squad. Cardeas, who was intending to look at the other party’s attitude before deciding when to return ‘her’, focuses on Zinnerman and company behind him. At this moment, Gael suddenly asks, “Do we recall the guards watching over that kid?” and this question caused Cardeas to be unable to react for a while.

Since the ‘Sleeves’ pursuers have returned to the ship, there’s no need to send anyone to protect Banagher Links. “Just wait a while, nobody can ensure that there aren’t any other threats in the colony.” Gael hears this and wordlessly nods his bald head. Cardeas recalls the face of the boy he just had a glimpse of a few hours ago.

He laughed at himself before, thinking that they will meet one day, but delayed on because of work, and today, that face appeared right in front of him—that face is a lot more mature than how it look in the photo; Cardeas laughed wryly in his heart. He’s probably being hated for being able to say such rigid things. This is the careless of men. No matter how much experience they gain or no matter how powerful they become, they will become weak at that moment. It feels like the expression that was close to him saw through everything, and he was scared…

The office corridor that’s cleared out is so quiet that only a few people’s footsteps can be heard. As they go through this short time that’s starting to decide on the fate of the organization, Cardeas continues to face the tumor in his life.

===Part 4===

It’s 7.04pm. The electronic interference brought about by the Minovsky particles is becoming stronger, and even the physical sensors are having interference. Savoir has been going through countless reset operations while hiding in the cockpit of the <<Geara Zulu>> that’s hidden behind the solar panel.

Even after rebooting the system, the physical sensors haven’t recovered at all. Savoir stares at the screen that’s full of noise and forcefully slams the console on the linear seat. This is just a simple electronic interference, yet it’s causing the physical sensors to malfunction. Something has to be wrong here. For sensors, even if the Minovsky Particles are thick enough for combat levels, it can still detect a radius of 20km. In this outer space, this distance can be closed in immediately, but it’s still very important in such a surveillance mission. And the reason why it can’t work is either the clouds of Minovsky particles were too thick or the sensor’s protection malfunctioned.

“Really, it’s because we’re using cheap stuff…!”

It’s impossible for the Minovsky particles density to increase so much that the sensors can malfunction unless someone deliberately scatters them. Savoir completely assumes the reason to be the latter and starts muttering to him. It’s not complete, but the ‘Sleeves’ still have enough forces to be called an army, and can use such new mobile suits. However, there’s a huge problem in terms of the funding. Most of their equipment are handed down from the old army, and the replacements aren’t considered ample. It’s a new machine, but the <<Geara Zulu>> still has a control panel in the form of the ball-shaped armlaycer, and this is to make use to the old-machine’s OS. It’s easy to let the hand slip off the controls, so criticism like this are the reason why the Federation army isn’t using this anymore.

It’s because of this situation that Vist Foundation’s strange request brought about a glimmer of hope. Unexpectedly, just when the deal’s about to begin, the sensor malfunctions. Savoir concentrates on the small camera image that’s appearing on the left side. Right now, he can only rely on the visual information—his own eyes to witness this. through the all-view monitor, he’s looking at the CG starry space that’s a lot brighter than the actual one, and is about to take a sip off the packet-tubed coffee when a white glow flashes past his eyes.

“A mini-mobile suit…no, that’s not it.”

For a mini mobile suit, the thrust light is way too great. Savoir steps onto the pedal lightly to investigate the rock that’s glowing. The mini camera capabilities can’t allow it to observe, so it’s faster to let the machine move forward slightly and use the main camera to look at it. Savoir cautiously moves the control panel, and lets the <<Geara Zulu>> that’s hidden in the gap of the materials move to the protrusion of the solar panel. The head of the machine pokes out from the shadow of the solar panel, and immediately a large object flies past the head, and a siren rings throughout the cockpit.

“What…!?”

He immediately ducks his head and let the machine arm reach for the beam rifle that’s hanging at the waist. A mobile suit with a thruster unit behind it flies above the <<Geara Zulu>>. The distance is less than 100m, and it seems to be in inertial flight mode as the thrusters aren’t flashing. There’s no need to use the CG to compare with the data as Savoir observes the intricate parts of the machine that just grazed past.

The beam rifle remains at the firing position, and the sky-blue object that seems to be moving slowly has a streamlined frame. It’s the transformable mobile suit of the Earth Federation army. The comparison results show that it’s the RGZ-95, and it’s said to be an enemy machine assigned to Londo Bell—

“That close…!?”

His body is sweating all over, and his heart is beating faster. He’s cursing his eyes for looking there as he watches the enemy machine approach with his pilot eyes. Savoir reaches for the communication controller. No matter how thick the Minovsky particles, it’s possible to send voices withing 20km. He has to report back to the <<Garencieres>> before the enemy detects him, and he has to consider what to do next, whether to fight or run. However, his fingers freeze once he’s about to touch the control.

Mobile suits that are shooting thruster lights one after another are floating near the rocks. They’re appearing on the mini surveillance camera, and scattering in all directions to surround Industrial 7. There’re 4 RGZ-95s and 2 RGM-89s; he can tell at first glance that there are 6 of them. Savoir sees one machine fly past the mini surveillance camera cable and parks itself above the <<Geara Zulu>>. His heart then sinks.

“What’s with these guys…”

It’s definitely not a training drill. These mobile suits are slowly increasing the thickness of Minovsky particles and slipped in from behind the space dust. This must be a tactical action in battle—and it also seems like a squad’s leading the forces to surround the colony in a large scale battle. If they’re setting up so many units, it’s possible to imagine that the reinforcements are advancing, and there might even be a fleet on standby behind. There must be some definite information, some enemy must have definite basis over this information to mobilize such fighting force.

We’ve been had. Savoir firmly believes, but can’t touch the control of the communication panel. He can’t call out when there’s a RGZ-95 beside him, separated only by a solar panel. The solar panel’s microwaves and the Minovsky particles are able to hide the heat source of the <<Geara Zulu>>, but his existence will be discovered by the enemy once he does a wireless communication, and the source of the electric signal will be detected. No matter how he tries to escape, he’ll only become a martyr victim of the beam rifle.

''Should I take action?'' The fingers that are on the sphere control are stiff. Savoir answers himself, ''no, even if I take down this unit, other enemy units will suppose me. This is just telling the enemy that the ‘Sleeves’ are in ambush, and the <<Garencieres>> will be in danger.'' Even if he contacts them, it’ll be meaningless if he can’t escape.

''What should I do?'' Just when he’s repeating the same words in his mind, Savoir instinctively ducks as the enemy unit flies above him. The finger that’s on the ball control exerts force, and the machine arm of the <<Geara Zulu>> jerks as the finger is holding onto the beam rifle’s trigger. Most likely, the toe end of the enemy unit hit a cable of the mini surveillance camera as static appears on the window.

''Please don’t find us.'' Savoir clasp his trembling hands and prays to the god he never believed in before.

===Part 5===

Marida senses Savoir’s nervousness. More accurately, it’s the familiar presence rising in the midst of the large number of people inside and outside the colony.

On the retaining deck of the <<Garencieres>>, the <<Kshatriya>> is fastened by the fixates. Mairda hears Savoir’s presence from through the thick armor, and at the same time, feels that the cold and shrilling pain of the countless thoughts close in. The psycommu that’s installed on the machine increases the senses’ reaction. However, the chill that enters her pores are different from the signal feedback as they become even clearer, slithering in like countless snakes under the skin, forming a very uneasy feeling.

In that chilling uneasiness, she identifies the body warmth and knows where the fearful Savior is. Marida takes off the helmet of the suit and expand her senses out. The complicated emotions that are released out and spreads throughout the space colony accepts the emotions that came rushing in from outside. The tightly shut eyes slowly open.

“The enemy’s here…!”

This isn’t an ambiguous feeling. Marida activates the reactor of the <<Kshatriya>> and grabs onto the ball-shaped control. The mono-eye of the <<Kshatriya>> lets out a glow, and the machine twitches slightly.

===Part 6===

“In other words, you’re not handing us the ‘Laplace Box’ itself, but the key to opening it?”

He has no intention of believing that lost expression on Zinnerman’s face completely. Under that appearance of a thoroughly trained and gruff soldier, there’s a calculative heart inside. Cardeas continues to drink the red tea that’s mixed with brandy and answers, “Yes, are there anything you’re unhappy with?” “It’s more like I don’t understand instead of being unhappy.” Zinnerman scratches his head, and his expression as he answers is one full of doubt.

“That’s because we don’t know what’s this ‘Laplace Box’.”

The one who spoke behind Zinnerman is a man with blond short hair, standing like a bodyguard. The man who calls himself Flaste Schole isn’t sitting on the sofa as he gives a cautious look like the other two men. Of course, behind him, Cardeas has Gael and their subordinates watching all of Flaste’s actions. The dangerous looking men are all separated by the table, and it’s a guessing game being played in this reception room. Both of them are silent, not even looking at each other, and yet wary of each other’s existence—

It’s been 5 minutes as they meet in this plain reception room that didn’t even have anything other than plants, not even a painting. This man called Zinnerman hasn’t really spoken up, and his expression is wavering at times. Cardeas feels that he doesn’t want to reveal his trumps in this situation. He wants to see what this hard-to-deal-with man is like, what his real ‘face’ is like.

“But the higher-ups of the ‘Sleeves’ recognize the value of the ‘Box’ and sent a good assistant like you to.”

As he takes a sip from the red tea with some anxiety, Cardeas swung a light jab. Zinnerman shows a mechanical wry smile and says,

“I’m just the runner. For our current state in the organization, the runners aren’t supposed to be taking important missions.”

As he faces the light black glow hidden in the eyes, Cardeas thinks: ''there’s a reaction.'' The faint glow immediately vanishes, and Zinnerman lazily leans on the sofa.

“If there’s bait right in front, they won’t check the specifics. So if there’s poison or a hook onto it…”

The smile disappears from Zinnerman’s face as his eyes again show such an expression. Cardeas took a strike after taking this exchange of blows, and he clearly hears his heart pounding faster.

“The higher-ups will be very disappointed. Zinnerman chuckles, and that killing intent that even Gael, who was behind, reacted to, disappeared out of a sudden. “However, even if it’s like this, we can’t do anything to the famous Vist Foundation.”

That smiling face shows that he has gone through a lot, and shows some form of self-defeatist attitude. However, his expression isn’t showing any smile. His expression is saying, ''try something funny and I’ll kill you.'' This is the man’s ‘face’. Zinnerman’s nature as a soldier of a defeated country. Cardeas laughs at himself for being bitten back as he gives a smirk. Good, now I can get into the main point—

[[Image:KSGU2 062.jpg|thumb]]

“Captain, do you believe in the existence of Newtypes?”

Cardeas says as he puts the cup of red tea back onto the table. Zinnerman’s hard rock-like eyes shook, “Well…” his tone has some doubt.

“In the middle of a battlefield, I did experience such a power that can only be explained as such.”

That vague attitude of not wanting to answer straight on makes Zinnerman’s beard look more cordial. Having gotten the satisfaction of taking revenge, Cardeas smiles, “Power. As expected of someone who experienced this.”

“The first top-notched political philosopher in the Universal Century, Zeon Zum Deikun came up with this Newtype theory. This is truly ‘power’, humans who enter space unlock their hidden potentials while getting used to the wide space, expanding their knowledge, senses, insight, make completely communications without mistakes, understanding each other; this is the revolution of humanity…the embryonic period of ‘Newtypes’. That’s why humanity has to leave this cradle called earth. The residents of space, who felt that they were second-rate humans, found their future in the deep valley of space…and then, that war happened.”

The doubt vanishes from Zinnerman’s expression. Cardeas looks back at his cautious expression, and continues,

“The One Year War. The Republic of Zeon declared the independence of spacenoids and initiated a direct clash with the Earth Federation…the one that triggered the start of the war is the Zabi family, who assassinated Zeon Deikum and sat on the throne of emperor. However, Zeon became famous as a country’s name, and the name, and even the core thoughts on Zeonism has spread throughout humanity. It can be said that even when the war ended, the Federation has been fearing this ‘power’ they couldn’t see. It’s a ‘power’ that reveals the special rights of those privileged ones on Earth, and a ‘power’ that causes the spacenoids that were as good as abandoned to awaken. At the same time, it’s a ‘power’, that can reverse the upper hand in the power struggle between Earth and space, one that can cause the Federation’s order that was maintained for almost 100 years to collapse.

During these years, the Federation focused on fighting this invisible ‘power’. They released humans who may be Newtypes and banned all sort of thoughts related to the thinking of Newtypes. On the other hand, though they created public enterprises that research on Newtypes, these are places for mad scientists to carry out their human experiments. They merely extracted the aspect of Newtypes being soldiers and artificially developed enhanced pilots.”

He sees that Zinnerman’s poker face is showing signs of cracks. That defeated country of his created Newtype-use weapons earlier than the Federation—the psycommu. If the artificially enhanced Newtype abilities have shown signs of development, maybe he saw a real example of a ‘human experiment’. Cardeas’ eyes look down, pretending not to notice Zinnerman wavering.

“This overbearing pressure caused the warlords to look up and create the inner struggle called the Gryphs Conflict. Coupled with the two Neo Zeon Wars…the Federation’s worn out, but if there’s no academic definition that confirms that Newtypes exist, the Federation can gain an ally to achieve the final victory. Do you know what it is?”

Zinnerman answers “Time?”. ''This man is very sharp.'' “That’s right.” Cardeas smiles.

“Humans’ hearts change easily, and the public often forgets. It’s true that people who’re like Newtypes do exist, but they can only use that supernatural-like prediction ability as outstanding pilots and got their names recorded in the annuls of history. Amongst the definitions Zeon Daikum gave, if we go by the one about ‘understanding each other without mistakes’, they’re the group of people who’re the furthest from that theory. The public, which only wants the outcome, is already sick and tired of this Newtype theory that is only a possibility. The name Newtype is now like taking down a king, and right now, only battle records, movies and novels will mention them. To decent politicians and scholars, this is even a taboo.”

''Besides, this isn’t something that should be discussed seriously in such a situation.'' Cardeas can tell from Zinnerman’s expression that he’s trying his best to listen to this conclusion, and opens his lips that were wet by the red tea before continuing,

“Zeonism lost its element just like that, and the spacenoids’ demonstration for self-independence was all wasted. It’s like how in the old centuries, where capitalism defeated communism. The Earth Federation defeated this bottle of poison caused Zeonism. But, what’s next? All that’s left is the closure called stability. The hierarchy wars amongst the spacenoids didn’t even start as they were all wiped out before they even organized themselves, and the Federation government continue to maintain dominion. As the Republic of Zeon returns it’s self-independence in UC 100, people will even forget the name Zeon.

You want to do something before that happens, and we don’t feel secure with such a future…”

After finishing his dialogue, Cardeas finishes up the remaining red tea; Zinnerman, who was looking at him straight on, suddenly lowers his head and laughs.

He laughed louder and louder, looking up and laughing so loudly that the voice rang through the room. Before Flaste and the rest can even show doubtful looks, Zinnerman cheerily says, “I see, so we both have the same benefits and costs here.” And pats his knee.

“So you’re going to throw a rock into the still water surface…is this the real reason the Vist Foundation’s handing us the <<LaplaceBox>>?”

In his laughing expression, there’s a little glint of killing intent, and Cardeas smiles back at him.

“But is this really alright? If you’re handing the <<Laplace Box>> over to us, the Foundation will lose it’s co-existence with the Federation government.”

“There are always risks in doing business.”

“That’s true. No matter whether it’s the box or the key…the thing you hand us may have a signal beacon, and the chances of you grasping our location isn’t zero.”

“This is given for free. If you don’t believe so, please take it back.”

“Don’t get angry. Don’t the people in the past used to say that the things that are free are the scariest?”

He’s giving a relaxed smile, but his body is even stiffer now. Cardeas again realizes that this man is hard to deal with, and looks at Zinnerman in the eyes.

“I just don’t think the leader of the Vist Foundation will help do such a thing. But it’s natural for us to become even more suspicious, and I managed to save my own life like this, so I don’t intend to change this habit.”

Though he’s crude in his words, his sharp stare is looking over. I don’t believe this is simply a business deal. Tell me the truth. Is it really like this? Cardeas lips show a smile, and says,

“You’re a smart man, and a bold one at that.”

These were undoubtedly words from the heart. “Thanks for the praise.” Zinnerman immediately answers back.

“But I can’t reveal everything here. This is a dangerous item.”

“That’s true, since it’s something that can overturn the Federation’s power…”

“I’m not looking at it in that way. This is a fact. That thing has the power to change the future.”

Zinnerman narrows his eyes, and behind him, Flaste and company are showing tense expressions. They just got this most important information they never knew of, the contents of the ‘box’. Cardeas feels that they’re tensing up, and continues cautiously,

“No, I should say that it has the power to get back the future that was originally meant to be. But this isn’t something any normal person can continue. If it’s messed up, it will have the power to destroy the world.”

“So you’re giving us the key to test it out…is this what you mean?”

“It’s hard for people to trust others. Only the actions and outcome can prove the nature of others. It’s best if you have the power to distinguish the truth in this world.”

“The power to distinguish the truth of the world…sounds like Newtypes.”

Zinnerman said it out slowly as if he’s checking what he just answered. Good answer, Cardeas affirmed with a smile.

“On the other hand, those who only insist on only one of their own narrow ways will never see the contents of the ‘box’.”

Zinnerman sighed and says, “One thing…?” “Well, for example…” Cardeas strokes his chin and then looks at ZInnerman’s eyes,

“The revival of Zeon.”

Zinnerman’s only reaction is to twitch his eyebrows. He hides the emotions that swelled in him under his skin and remains silent. Cardeas closes his mouth. Both of them look at each other, and the reception room enters a lull of silence.

''The next sentence will decide this man’s value.'' Cardeas waits for his reply, but is disappointed because of the phone ring. Zinnerman focuses on his phone, and he can only look over.

It’s definitely not a small matter if there’s a call to this room at this moment. Cardeas remains calm and looks at Gael, who picks up the phone. Gael doesn’t look shaken, but as he hangs up the phone, the face he shows to Cardeas is full of tension. Cardeas greets Zinnerman and the rest before leaving his seat, and whispers to Gael in the corner of a room.

“The command module called over. Londo Bell’s requesting to dock the <<Magallanica>>.”

''They’re here.'' Cardeas was already mentally prepared for this, but feels that it shouldn’t be possible. He asks calmly, “What’s the matter?” “Seems like counter-terrorist inspection. Gael whispers.”

“I’ve already requested the other side to contact Anaheim itself, but from the forceful attitude on the other side, it seems that the mobile suit squad has surrounded the colony.”

“What about the contact with the army?”

“We’re trying now…”

''But we can’t possibly expect.'' Both of them been in the Federation army before, he could understand what Gael was being anxious about. The way developments went so quickly isn’t something that can be dealt with private. The Federation will normally drag its fat body, and even operating a vehicle requires complicated procedures. However, if the upper-ups are all in unison, their movements will be faster and carry out such organization with amazing execution. Of course, the higher-ups aren’t just the upper echelon of the group, but also those commanders who intend to become senators once they retire and the supporting senators, the leadership group of people who’re helping the commanders in obtaining military goods.

The problem is, even though he should be one of the ‘higher-ups’, he couldn’t detect Londo Bell’s movements. Cardeas turns his head slightly and looks at Zinnerman. It seems that the ship left at the dock gave a signal, and he’s listening to the report from the handheld wireless set. Have they detected that Londo Bell’s here? For a moment, he wonders whether these people were the ones who brought the enemies here, but that’s impossible. Even if they were tailed, a Federation ship won’t look for trouble with Vist Foundation without talking it through with the ‘higherups’.

“Martha…”

He remembers his own younger sister who was married to the leadership family of Anaheim Electronics, the Carbine family. She, who is 6 years younger than him, once fearlessly said: Since humanity gave birth to political marriages, women will have the right to play with authority. The ‘higher-ups’ mobilization of the army to prevent the handing over of the ‘box’ definitely involves her somehow.

“What are we going to do?” Gael asks. Cardeas intends to respond, but he’s interrupted by another voice “Is this one of your tricks too?” Zinnerman holds onto the speaker in one hand and looks over.

“Most certainly not. I’m thinking of asking if you were tailed, but there won’t be an agreement.”

“I agree. It’s really hard for people to trust others.”

Zinnerman says without emotion as the smile on his face vanishes. To them, the situation is such that the Foundation is an accomplice of the army. Gael wants to step forward as Flaste shows a look of killing intent. Cardeas raises his hand to prevent both sides from taking action. There’s no benefit for either side if we fight. He wanted to let everyone calm down, but gasp due to the sudden shock.

ZUN…A deep sound that could barely be heard echoed far away, and the teacup that’s placed on the table trembles. The floor, walls and even the air shakes with it. This isn’t a tremor focused at one point, but an impact that spreads throughout the colony, causing this <<Magallanica>> to jerk.

Most likely, an explosion caused the reaction. He can’t help but look at the ceiling, and then looks at Zinnerman. His eyes are saying that this is really an unfortunate development of events. He raises the wireless speaker in his right hand and points the protrusion of the antenna over. Obviously, this isn’t an ordinary one, and Cardeas can only clench his fists hard as he faces this worst scenario.

===Part 7===

In fact, all this was caused by an accident. The one who took action first was Savoir, hidden alone behind the solar panel and surrounded by enemies.

He continues to hide from Londo Bell that’s surrounding him, and if he sends a signal of the <<Garencieres>>, he will be found and shot. However, even if he prepares himself to die, the fact that Londo Bell discovers the enemy won’t change at all.

He can either bet on whether the <<Garencieres>> won’t get discovered, or immediately fight his way out, but both options are very risky. Just when Savoir’s hesitating, something unexpected happened. The foot of the RGZ-95 <<ReZEL>> unit 03 that’s resting on the solar panel touches the mini camera the <<Geara Zulu>> let out.

The mobile suit has a system that can pass the sound sources surrounding the armor to the pilot. The pilot of the 3rd unit <<ReZEL>>, codenamed R003 lets it main camera look over at the feet. The small surveillance camera is only about 10cm big, and the fine cable that’s extended out is connected to the <<Geara Zulu>> that’s receiving the transmission. It’s hard to tell with the light being reflected off the solar panel. The pilot merely thinks that it’s a shrapnel, but right now, to Savoir’s seeing a 20m tall giant looking down at him. The enemy’s machine visor lights the eyes up, seemingly saying, ''I found you.''

Savoir instinctively moves the mechanical arm, and the <<Geara Zulu>> pulls out the beam rifle. He presses the firing key on the control panel, and put the <<Geara Zulu>>’s index finger on the gun’s trigger. The fading MInovsky particles are being released from the E-Pace—the magazine for handheld beam rifles, and are compressed inside the gun, turning into hi-energy mega-particles are shoot out from the beam rifle’s barrel. The Minovsky particles core fusion created the mega-particles, and these in turn shoot out from the machine gun-type beam rifle; not in a concentrated form, but in a rapid-fire form. The beams that’s shot out like a machine gun attacks the Romeo 003 machine’s frame.

If a rifle-type shot can be called a straight punch, the beam machine gun can be considered continuous jabs as they hit the <<ReZEL>> from point blank range. The pink bullets hit the leg to the abdomen, and many charred black bullet holes appear on the Romeo 003’s frame. Even though the reactor isn’t destroyed, the cockpit’s been hit directly, and the pilot’s boiled before he can even react. The <<ReZEL>> that lost its pilot is short-circuited inside, giving off lots of sparks, and becomes some debris that floats in the dark space region.

Savoir doesn’t have the time to check whether the machine’s shot down as he lets his own machine leave the solar panels. Since the battle has started, it’ll be his death if he remains in the same place. If that’s the case, he can only try his best to lure the enemy’s machines and create a chance for the <<Garencieres>> to escape. He won’t have the time to respond once he reports to the main squad.

“No wonder the conditions were so good. We definitely fell for a trap…!”

Savoir steps on the pedal and stares at the enemy’s machines; not thinking about anything else at all. However, to the mobile suit squad that’s launched from the <<Nahel Argama>> they feel that they’re the bunnies who fell into the trap.

(IT’S THE ‘SLEEVES’! MOVING TOWARDS THE INDUSTRIAL AREA!)

The pilots’ voices echo through the wireless communicators once they knew that their ally was shot down, and the mobile suit that’s assigned to the area all start to search for the enemy. That tense and confusing atmosphere spreads all around through static and wireless communicators, and enters Riddhe’s ears while he’s remaining on standby.

“The remnants of Zeon just don’t learn…!”

He gripped onto the control joystick hard and says this. Even after the One Year War and the two Neo Zeon war, the ‘Sleeves’ are still carrying out terrorist attacks on the Earth’s celestial sphere—the remnants of Neo Zeon. The radar signal on the ally machine disappeared, and before they can realize what’s the meaning behind this, squad leader Ian’s command came through the wireless communicator (Romeo 002 warning all units, watch your surroundings.” Riddhe looks at the all-view 360 degrees styled monitor. There may be other enemies hiding in the surrounding space dust. On hearing the pilots growling at each other through the wireless radio; Mihiro and the other operators practically shouting and hollering, it struck him that Romeo 003 was shot down. It’s just that simple, no dramatic flair, just the reporting of death through the laser signals…

And Savoir’s not being caught up with such sad emotions as his <<Geara Zulu>> shoots the beam rifle, holding off the enemy suits that are coming over as he flies to the outer walls of <<Industrial 7>>. He intends to lead the enemies into the microwaves near the solar panel, ‘burn’ the electronic equipment, stick near to the to the wall of the colony and escape to the industrial area where many civilian ships are.

The large cylinder is floating in vacuum, having become the second home of humanity—he has to damage the metal exterior. There’s a sense of morality seeping inside him and the enemy. He doesn’t want to use the colony as a shield, but having considered the difference in numbers on both sides, Savior can’t think of whether this is a good plan or not. Savoir’s <<Geara Zulu>> flies past the spinning wall, and soon reaches the civilian block. The mobile suits of <<Nahel Argama>> can’t snipe him, and it seem that both of them can only let Savoir’s machine fly further, but the sudden attack of two units cause things to change.

Two <<ReZEL>> units, Romeo 005 and 007 transform into the waverider form, and the thrusters that are all gathered on the same point let out light. Both units have to make one huge turn to avoid the microwaves to catch Savoir’s machine, but the <<ReZELs>> that transform into space jet fighters have acceleration ability that the <<Geara Zulu>> has no chance of matching. The two units reach the industrial area first and start to shoot at the <<Geara Zulu>>, which is at the colony wall.

“Fast…!”

The optical axis of the beam rifle hits Savoir’s unit left leg, breaking off the part below the knee. The cockpit jerks violently, and the all-view monitor is flashing warning messages. The Velcro fasteners that detected the damage increases the suction, but Savoir’s body still leaves the seat as the helmet’s buried in the airbags that were shot out from the console. Savoir lifts his head up, and the airbag’s sucked back in as the all-view monitor shows the <<ReZEL>> unit that’s flying from below. Savoir instinctively fires the beam rifle. Once the beam weapon hits, the victim will not even have the time to feel death. It’s over once he’s hit, and he will be evaporated once he’s hit by the beam rifle. Savoir’s telling himself in his mind, I’m alive, I’m still alive, and continues to fire the trigger. The <<ReZEL>>continues to fly horizontally and dodge the bullets, transforming back into the mobile suit type when meeting with a <<Geara Zulu>> and uses the power of the acceleration to swing the beam saber down.

The <<Geara Zulu>> loses its right arm together with the rifle, and the other <<ReZEL>> attacks from above, swinging the hi-heat particle blade past Savoir’s unit’s nosetip and slicing the movement cables at the abdomen. Despite taking consecutive hits, Savoir still pulls out the beam tomahawk, and the handle that’s larger than the blade releases light particles to form an axe-shaped blade. However, the <<Geara Zulu>> is very slow without an arm and a leg. The two <<ReZELs>> easily dodge the beam tomahawks and continue to do hit and run tactics. The light for the saber transform into a beast’s mouth as it devours the <<Geara Zulu>>, causing the battered machine to let out the conducting liquid that floats into vacuum like blood.

To any bystander, it looks like a delayed execution, but in fact, that’s not the case. When near the colony, they must try not to use the rifle and trigger the reactor. The pilots of the <<ReZELs>> were just using common sense to close in on the enemy machine to stop it. This tactic is correct, and it uses the unique characteristic of the transformable mobile suit <<ReZEL>>. However, the pilots are all rookies who lack actual combat experience. As they continue to attack in the same patterns, Savoir’s <<Geara Zulu>> floats towards the port, and the civilian ships that are entering and exiting the docking bay are each taking action to evacuate. However, they’re still much closer than the agile mobile suits. Several ships collide with each other, and let out sparks as they graze each other. The scattered exterior damage the guiding lights, and even though they’re all gathered, the ships that are entering and leaving in an orderly manner are in chaos, and screams and hollers can be heard from the port management authority.

Savoir hears these voices subconsciously. The all-view monitor is already more than half destroyed, and the ball-shaped cockpit is showing cracks on half the area. However, he still manages to see a transport ship colliding with a small ship. The machine’s spinning, and the images continue to enter his eyes. He sees the gateway of the docking bay getting closer, and the guiding lights are moving from down to up. ''I have to get away from here,'' Savoir thinks. ''I might get civilian ships involved if I stay here, and I might even lose the chance for the <<Garencieres>> to escape. If the port carry out extreme measures and close all the gateways, it’ll be over. '' He has forgotten that the flying shrapnel stabbed into his abdomen, and blood’s filling his helment. Savoir activates the thruster of the <<Geara Zulu>>, and this isn’t something Savoir is doing as a person, but a pilot with morality and duty doing something instinctive.

The <<Geara Zulu>> that lost its limbs waves the tomahawk and roars. To the <<ReZEL>> pilots who haven’t realized that this is already civilize spaceway, Savoir’s actions just look suicidal. It’s because they’re rookies that they immediately use the beam rifles out of fear at that moment.

“ALL HAIL NEO ZEON!!”

Savoir’s roar is covered by the Mega-particles that hit the cockpit directly. The reactor core doesn’t collapse, but the <<Geara Zulu>> explodes from inside. The explosive ball of light that’s expanding immediately lights up the docking bay, and the scattered shrapnel carry burning trails as they disappear into the dark space.

===Part 8===

The explosion seems to happen at the port as the impact reaches the gateway nearly, causing the air in the central port 1km away to vibrate slightly. It’s not really a clear tremor, just a shaking of the air, a trembling that’s like touching skin—

Inside one of the 4 ships floating there, at the deck of the <<Garencieres>>, Marida senses this sensation from inside the cockpit of the <<Kshatriya>>. It’s the cry of a person before the life vanishes—I’m here. Listen to me, everyone. After such a cry, the shockwave that came over like a burden rocks the air, creating goosebumps in her body and heart. She grips onto the control panel, and that horrifying chill that passes through her body made her tremble. Don’t get swallowed by this, Marida told herself. Don’t empathize with a live that’s gone. I’ll show weaknesses if I do that, and I’ll share the same fate one day.

On the all-view screen, he can see the workers who were preparing to leave the port suddenly stop and look around. The other crew members were also shocked by this slight tremor. (What is it? An explosion…?) Gilboa’s voice came through the wireless communicator. He can feel this shockwave he can’t understand, and Marida’s angry over their slow-wittedness. Why are ‘normal humans’ so casual.

“IT’S SAVOIR! CAN’T YOU HEAR!?”

She can’t help but roar out, and immediately regrets it. Gilboa’s just an ordinary veteran pilot, and can’t possibly hear Savoir’s ‘voice’. (Savoir?) Marida ignores Gilboa’s surprised voice and asks, “How’s the contact with the captain!?”

(It’s cut. The Minovsky Particles got thicker. Activate the <<Kshatriya>>, save the captain, and get out of here.)

With any means necessary. Marida can slightly feel that Gilboa’s panicking too, and asks again, “Are we going to start fighting inside the colony?”

(There’re enemies outside. We can only break through from the inside of the colony. Faster!)

It’s been more than ten minutes since they detected the enemy’s presence, and though they started getting ready before Savoir notified them, it’ll take some time before the <<Garencieres>> can leave. Besides ‘her’, there’s also Zinnerman—her master that she can’t leave behind, which means that there’s a lot less things she can do. “Really…!” After grumbling, Marida lets the mechanical arm of the <<Khastriya>> give a thumbs up to indicate to the deck personnel that she’s ready to sorties.

The cargo hatch over, and the sliding cargo rack slides, pulling the <<Kshatriya>> out of the ship. The <<Kshatriya>>’s mono-eye lights up, releases itself from its restraints and bends its upper body. The wing-shaped emblem on the sleeve—the insignia of Neo Zeon is flashing. As it deploys the four large pods, the large body of the <<Kshatriya>> stands up at a corner of the dock.

While the other ship workers and port workers are all staring in disbelief, Marida puts on the helmet and pulls the visor down. The port doesn’t have zero gravity, but it’s rather inconvenient to move with all the air around. She has to consider the air resistance and increase the thruster burst, but if she just randomly shoot them out, she’ll send the surrounding people flying. She lands on the floor of the port, letting the soles hook grab onto the rails, and then watch the workers frantically leave. She lets the <<Kshatriya>> move forward and chase away the people floating in the air until she can finally use her thrusters safely. Suddenly, she feels a sharp killing intent.

''The enemy’s here.'' Marida sees this instinct that’s transformed into a flash pass by her forehead, leaving behind a tiny vestige of light in her mind. The flash cause the psycommu’s power to increase, shooting out form the cockpit and activating the funnel that’s hidden in the <<Kshatriya>> pods. Before Marida even realizes it, three funnel binders fly out from the pods and start moving like they’re shot out.

The 2m-long attack drones shoot out its boosters, and the funnel-shaped machines all fly towards the port. The front unit flies past the heads of the port workers, through partitions that are sealed up, and immediately reaches the port before firing the mega-particle beam, breaking a small hole through the thick wall that’s separating this place from vacuum. As the air flow becomes stronger, the other two units fly out of the port.

The enemy that’s entering the port—the Federation’s main unit <<Jegan>> is showing signs of wavering as it moves through the large gateway for ships. The funnels fly out from the melted hole and shoots out its thrusters for a short while before surrounding the <<Jegan>> in three directions. Marida closes her eyes and analyzes the situation inside her heart. She can clearly sense that the <<Jegan>>’s feeling killing intent from the three small objects and intends to retreat.

“Too slow.”

She opens her eyes as she said this. The beams shot from the funnels burn through the cockpit of the <<Jegan>> and pierce through the control panel. The bright green machine has a burned hole there, and the <<Jegan>> that can’t move anymore floats out of the port. The funnels immediately return and fight their way through the air that’s flowing out. The anti-fire system activates on detecting air flow outside, and as the large amount of rubber balls that are filled with lots of drying wall foam reach there, the last unit has already left the port. As he consciousness capture the trails of loyal hunting dogs, Marida holds her breath and grabs onto the ball-shaped control pangel.

There’s still a lot of enemies behind her. Since the front unit’s defeated, they’ll get ready to fight as they enter the colony. As she shakes off this uneasy feeling clinging on her, Marida steps on the pedal. The thrusters that are equipped on the 4 pods light up, and her body feels the acceleration as she’s held down on the linear seat. She continues to blow aside workers and preservation materials, and the huge mass of the <<Kshatriya>> that’s more than 74 tonnes in weight flies in the air.

The machine flies through the final gateway leading into the colony and enters it through the airtight wall covered by the ‘hills’. She moves down the artificial sun pillar and heads to the airtight room on the other side. The street lights that cover the inner wall light up the air, and a starry night-like scene surrounds Marida.

These little dots are all human living habitats, looking like normal daily lights that are as weak as glass—the images she saw in the day appeared in her mind. Marida bites on lips. ''Now’s not the time to think about such things. The enemy’s behind me.'' She has to do something big to lure the enemy away from the <<Garencieres>>.

She glides through the heavy air, and the moss-green machine that’s mixed in the night stops suddenly. Marida lets her body and machine feel the friction that’s different from piloting in real life, and lets the <<Khastriya>> face the pursuers.

===Part 9===

The deep yet long siren sound signifies the beginning. Banagher, who’s alone, leaning on the handrail of the roof, hears this echo and lifts his head.

Looking down the mansion, the night scene is the same as before. The sound of the siren sounds similar to damage outside the colony, but this is too quiet. Banagher thinks. It’s not rare for larger pieces to collide and damage the outer walls, but normally speaking, the streets will have emergency vehicles around to check on the inner and outer operations of the colony when the siren rings, and there’s no signs of them now.

“Huh? Another meteorite?” A casual chatter can be heard beside his foot. At the balcony below, there’re five, six faces that are flushed red with alcohol. “Oi, someone switch on the TV, please?” Another person spoke, someone else chokes himself and yells, “DAMN IT! THERE’S NO AIR!” Banagher frowns and looks at the group of people who treated the siren as an amusement, and is about to go down to the level below. Suddenly, a flash that appears causes him to widen his eyes.

The lights that appear like lines flashed 2, 3 times in the air, and immediately lights up the inner walls of the wide colony. 10km away, the flashes light the ‘hills’ facing the Earth like day, showing the dark shadows of clouds floating in the air. The loud explosion rocks the entire interior of the colony.

The loud volume and lights that covers the senses continue to ring and echo through the air. Banagher feels giddy as well as he hears a girl scream. He saw it on TV before, a flash and sound that’s similar to lightning on Earth—the only difference is that the light cutting through the night sky forms a weird straight stroke. Banagher grips onto the handrail hard and stares at the colored flash in the sky. The pink light axis appears again, shining through the clouds and onto the artificial sun pillar. He then sees an orange ring expanding.

The thunderclap-like rumbling continues, and sounds of explosions ring through the clouds, accompanying the deafening sounds of metal being ripped as the bright flames are etched into Banagher’s vision. The fireball emits black smoke as it glides in the air and falls towards the inner wall. As it crashes, it creates a large mushroom cloud, and Banagher feels that the handrail on the roof is shaking.

The screams downstairs got more intense. “IT CRASHED!” “ISN’T THAT WHERE LUWAN’S HOUSE IS!?” Voices like these echoed. Some of the screamed, “IT’S A WAR! THERE’S FIGHTING OVER THERE!?” That voice make Banagher feel like he was dragged on the shoulder, but he continues to stare at the starry sky. His consciousness was attracted to an object that instantly appeared for a moment in the clouds when the flames of explosion expanded.

The thing has a sharp head and thick limbs, and from its shoulders, 4 wings extend out. He seem to see a giant in the form of a devil in those comics, rumbling in the clouds. “What is that…?” Banagher muttered. His heart is pounding hard, and the unknown impulse surges in him. At this moment, it’s a bad thing when they don’t know who the enemy is, and it’s dangerous to be in such an obvious please. The words he never thought of before is ringing in Banagher’s mind, and he uses his hand to press onto the trembling forehead. ''What’s wrong with me? My body and mind wants to move on their own.'' He hears his body screaming, ''hurry up and do something about this situation. Take action''—

“Hey, that’s not a Federation’s unit. Is it Zeon’s?”

A familiar voice came from below Banagher’s feet, and he regains his senses before looking down. Takuya, who’s holding onto Haro, is pointing at the space where the giant with 4 wings is. Beside him, Micott is gripping onto the balcony handrail tightly, and her tense back profile is standing there blankly. Banagher suddenly feels a chill down his spine and again looks at the sky.

“Zeon…Neo Zeon?”

He subconsciously mutters as he turns to look at the airtight wall facing the moon. The flash that’s being given off is an ominous red, lighting the roofs over on the other side of the colony. ''Audrey’s in the ‘snail’ on the other side.'' Banagher suddenly thinks. She, who went to meet with the Vist Foundation alone; she, who’s seemingly pursued by soldiers; she, who when asked whether she’s an activist, gave a vague answer that may be even scarier—

Banagher never thought of what to do as he’s being driven by impulse. He looks down and sees the entrance of the mansion. The Foundation’s sedan is still at where it was, but the men in suits are all outside the vehicle. They look up at the flashes that appear from time to time, speaking into the wireless communicator. Even from afar, one can see their panicked expressions, which proves that this is an accident for the Foundation as well.

Cardeas Vist’s cockiness was feeling vexing. His expression seemed to say, ''I have everything under control'', but now, there’s a scenario even he couldn’t predict. With this conclusion, Banagher realizes that Audrey, who’s in his hands, is in danger, and an unknown impulse rocks his heart. In the midst of extreme violence that’s full of flashes and noise, Banagher grabs onto the roof’s handrail. The charred stench that’s like soot in the air—the stench created by the beam weapons scatter all around, and this is the first time Banagher smells the stench of the battlefield.

===Part 10===

Even with air, the tremors can spread through a plane that they’re in contact with. On the outer-most area of the <<wheel>> of Industrial 7, the people are hidden inside the <<Loto>> under what can be called underground, and Commander Daguza Mackle feels the vibration coming from the seat.

“Looks like we were attacked by enemy ambush and started fighting inside the colony.”

The operator sitting at the front seat hands the scouting report over. It’s just as predicted. The irregular tremors aren’t triggered by things like meteorites and stuff crashing into each other. The mobile suit squad of the <<Nahel Argama>>’s being pulled off by the enemy and stretched the boundary of the battlefield into the colony. Daguza really wants to lash out at the impulsiveness of these amateurs and ask, “What’s the situation?” “Not good.” The operator answers without looking back,

“It’s said that there’s only one enemy unit, but it seems like it’s equipped with psycommu. Our side already has some damage.”

''And there’s damage to the colony as well.'' Daguza adds on in his heart and looks over at the driver seat’s display. The two <<Lotos>> arrive at the attack point, and the fully-armed men are all waiting for the signal to begin. The original plan’s to surround the colony, coordinate with the mobile suit squad, let the <<Nahel Argama>> force itself into the dock, and begin the operation. However, things end up like this. Whether they’re to continue on or stop, the squad leader Daguza has to decide when they can’t contact the outside world.

From the current situation, it seems that the battle just happened unexpectedly. In that case, the Vist Foundation and the ‘Sleeves’ are busy protecting themselves and can’t possibly prevent this secret deal from being carried out. In this case, this means that their plan to stop this deal is done. But even like that, their prime target, the <<Laplace Box>> is still dangling there. Even if they decide to evacuate, the ‘Sleeves’ will think of a way to get it. The Vist Foundation’s movements aren’t easy to predict, but they’ll definitely carry out some resistance. It’s very likely that they’ll use this chaos of the battle to snatch the ‘box’ back and head into the deepest parts of the courtyard.

It’s the place that’s protected by ideologies and authority, and even the things that can be seen inside can become invisible. The courtyard in the deepest part of the Foundation—is a place where the army, and even the prime minister of the Federation government can’t enter. That’s why the ‘box’ is protected till now. However, what happened in the past doesn’t matter. To ECOAS, the most important thing is to complete this mission and decide whether the situation allows them to do so. Most importantly, if they retreat and reorganize themselves, the ‘box’ will be hidden in a place they can’t touch.

''There’s no second chance.'' Daguza shakes off all other concerns because of this and orders his troops emotionlessly, “Notify everyone. We’re going in.”

A deep red color flashes inside the machine, and the operator answers “Roger” and faces the console again. Daguza’s heart isn’t confused or hesitating, just thinking of how to deal with the current situation. He checks with the pilot sitting beside the operator, “Can we do it?”. The <<Loto>> that’s in tank mode can carry a lift for lifting goods, but the problem is after that. The pilot’s masked face moves slightly and honestly answers, “This is the first time I’m doing this, but I was once trained to deal with psycommu.”

“We can do it. If we use the mobility of the <<Loto>>, we can at least wear down the enemy numbers.”

“Roger that. Hand me the firing control. Just focus on driving.”

“Roger that.” The pilot answers rather enthusiastically. Their aim is to prevent the enemy machine from getting near to the <<Magallanica>> and helping to complete the enemy’s mission, but the <<Loto>>’s involvement in the battle has an effect of supporting their allies. They can’t expect the <<Loto>> to fight effectively as a mobile suit when it doesn’t have any beam weapons, which will make this mission riskier, but Daguza feels that this is worth betting their lives on. At least, it’s better to see how the battle goes without being spotted instead of hiding in a dark cave.

Of course, he knows that this is a wish he can’t say out. Parts aren’t supposed to have hopes and expectations. It’s not because of whether they’re being picky about the mission, but that they want to finish the mission they’re in charge of. It’s because of such specifics they demand of themselves as they take action that the world can continue to rotate. Daguza doesn’t have any doubts about this reasoning to himself as he looks at the multiple lights on the display.

Infiltrate near the target, take it down, snatch and destroy. That’s the trace of light that reflects each ECOAS member’s actions. Each person has their own mission, and together, forms this group called ECOAS. Daguza’s the squad leader, the part called the eye, observing the movements of the other intrinsic parts. The <<Loto>> starts to move, and with the deep rumbling sound of the track rotation, the operator continues on with a flat tone,

“Alpha, Bravo, move out. Secure targets. 1, the command block; 2, the authority block. Collect related intel on the ‘box’, confirm location and secure it. Our priority’s to secure the ‘box’. All obstacles are to be eliminated. I repeat. All obstacles are to be eliminated…”

Thanks to the relay point they set before, the wireless radio’s rather clear even with Minovsky Particles flying around. The ECOAS members move down to the outer-most area of the Wheel, waiting on standby near the linkway of the colony builder <<Magallanica>> before starting their move.

All sorts of safety mechanisms on the <<Magallanica>>, including electricity, are all self-generated. There are no circuits shared with the colony, as only the construction materials used to form them are the same as <<Industrial 7>>. However, this large gate is closed, and now, there's no way for both squads to contact each other. They set up several access points, but each of them have layers of securify, and they have Vist Foundation's guards watching. Every single one of them are armed with weapons, and have a history of being either part of the police or the army. They're more like a private army of the Foundation than guards.

However, there are still openings. In the colony’s construction management, a part of the <<Wheel>> has to involve the <<Magallanica>>, so both paths are linked. Of course, they can’t get through the satellite, and the safety procedures of the circuits prevent both server and chemical attacks. They don’t know if the maintenance passages exist or not, so the inspections are carried out by remote controls, which is very thoroughly. However, it’s not like nobody’s interfering. With the heat release considered, there’s a separation between the pipes. ECOAS, which is divided into Alpha and Beta climb up from the floor of the <<Wheel>> and proceed in different tunnels. Both squads then choose a ‘doorkin’ to sneak into the duct that’s giving off hot air.

The cabled passage is only 70cm wide, and there’s a distance of more than 200m from here to the <<Magallanica>>. In this narrow passage where it’s hard to move freely, the ‘doorkin’ plug out the gathered cables to remove the alarm in the passage as he continues to move in. About 30 minutes later, he reaches the standby location. He uses a small blowtorch to open holes in the wall that are just big enough for the small cameras that are the size of cables. The cameras that can be controlled remotely move around like snakes as the tip with the lens slip out from the gaps in the floor.

At a passage with a duct, there’s a guard there. He’s not wearing a spacesuit, but the suit is bulging naturally unnaturally underneath, and one can tell that he has a shoulder-arms weapon underneath. The lens rotates, checking the positions of the cameras in the ceiling of the passage, and the ‘doorkin’ enter a standby phase. Based on the situation, he can sometimes wait for up to a day without eating or sleeping, but this time, they only waited for 15 minutes. Once they hear the action command in the wireless radio, the ‘doorkins’ open the hatch of the duct, and the floor above bounced.

The alarm rings as the hatch opens, and it’s too late when the people in the security center realized that there’s something wrong. The floor that’s floating under zero gravity hits the ceiling, and before any sound is even made, the ‘doorkin’ has already moved behind the guards’ back, covering the mouth with his left hands and using knife to stab into the guard’s back. The blade is stabbed in between the ribs, and with a little twist, the air flows into the lungs. The guard’s raised hand is limp, and dies without being able to let out any sound. The ‘doorkin’ tosses the limp corpse aside and starts his actual mission.

He removes the tunnel lock and opens the door leading to the airlock. The way to the entrance is opened, and the main force that’s waiting in the <<Wheel>> start to move. The dark grey normal suits leap off the floor of the <<Wheel>>, using portable thrusters to get through the passage in an instant. After passing through the airlock of the <<Magallanica>>, they abandon the heavy thrusters and use the mobile handles on the wall to move forward. The ‘doorkin’ receives the recoilless carbine rifle from the last person who enters and follows them.

They use their masks to hide their faces under the helmet, and the group carry their recoilless carbine rifles and silently move through the zero-gravity passage. They destroy the cameras on the way and reach a junction. The squad leader standing at the side indicates that everyone is to scatter. The members kick the wall down in a skilled manner and raise their carbines before squeezing down the trigger of the cable gun attached at the bottom of the rifle to fire the steel cable. The steel cablees that are shot out start to spiral, and the members quickly turn to where they’re heading to. They send one person as the forward and one person to watch the back. Even with guards appearing, they continues to let the cable gun fire at the same speed, firing their carbines once the guards appear in their way, and shooting out 5mm bullets that shattered the guards chest.

The contact with the guards is being cut off one by one, and the visual images of many cameras are being cut. Both entrances are being invaded at the same time, causing the security center of the <<Magallanica>> to panic. The intruders, 16 men altogether in squads of 8 will scatter whenever they reach a junction, and enter the central block like poison. The center personnel activate the alarm, trying to close the partitions of the tunnels, but it’s too late for this countermeasure to be used. The intruders have already found the security circuits and used their guns to wreck most of the wires. The people with army expression don’t think that they’re the guerillas from the ‘Sleeves’.

“Manhunters. THE INTRUDERS ARE MANHUNTERS! EVERYONE, TAKE NOTE—”

The voice of the central block personnel that came from the wireless address is cut. The guards that are armed with automatic handguns are gliding by, and feel scared on hearing that unnatural cut. However, they haven’t made the mistake of revealing their positions by shouting. The enemies are the manhunters, the special forces that even the Federation army is terrified of. A guard who once trained with them when he was serving the army warns his comrades. ''Stick together. We must move out together as a team. No matter what the manhunters are planning, the command block will definitely be the target. Once we seal off the partitions and take them out one at a time, we’ll have a chance.'' However, the guards that intend to shout this into the radio are just a normal army to the ECOAS members.

A guard who’s moving with 3 comrades finds that there are signs of intruders at a junction. He uses his hand signals to communicate with his comrades, and intend to pincer the intruder from both front and back. His comrades head off to the front, while he heads in the corner to trail the enemy. The enemy hasn’t realized this yet. They should be wearing bulletproof vests, but they can’t possibly move with ten handguns rounds slammed into them. The guard raises his recoilless rifle and waits for his comrades to contact him through radio, but from the corner of his eye, he sees that something’s sliding here on the mobile handle from the wall on the other side.

It’s a Flashbang. As the guard sees that item that’s the size of a lighter arrive, it explodes in front of his eyes, and 2.5 million Candela of light appeared. A loud noise rings in his ears, causing his muscles to numb for the moment. The guard loses his sight and mobility, and he, together with his allies, is like a fried fish floating up when they’re cooked. The members of ECOAS point their guns at the guards on the premise of eliminating obstacles, and the muzzles with caps shoot out bullets. The guard is shot through the chest and sent spinning a round before slamming into the wall. Other gunshots can be heard from all around, and during the explosions, noise can be heard throughout. If the <<Magallanica>> can be described as a snail, then ECOAS started its invasion from near the center, and has immediately expanded its territory, getting the outer shell involved as they head down the main body—the central block where the command console and other important facilities are at. They need the data in the central block and technicians to control them. The others are to be treated as people with potential to be obstacles. The people who enter the members’ sight will be shot whether they have weapons or not, and there’s a lot of hot blank magazines and floating blood on the passages.

The command console block is about to be taken, and there are investigators who’re entering the residential area inside the wall. Two members land on the residential area that are covered with grass. They’re loaded with nightvision equipment that can be put on the helmets, and the heavy equipped normal suits are running through the quiet prairie. The surrounding air’s full of killing intent, but the steady appearance of the Vist’s residence is still lying in darkness.

===Part 11===

Audrey’s habit when she detects danger is to immediately turn off the lights in the room. Through the weak light that’s coming through the window from outside, she moves towards the bed.

She checks that there’s enough space under the bed to crawl into, and bends down as she holds her breath. The occasional tremors continue. And it’s not hard to imagine that something happened to <<Industrial 7>>, probably a war. But now, she has to pay attention to the gunshots and explosions. The clear but soft explosion sounds can be heard, unlike the rumbling sounds that’s been going on till now. It’s not from the outside, but the sound of air colliding with each other in this colony builder.

Ever since the first gunshot rang, the atmosphere’s in the house has been pretty noisy. There’s a lot more tension and killing intent that fills the air this time as compared to the rumbling of the colony. Is it Zinnerman’s actions? Audrey grabs onto the bedsheet tightly. Impossible. If that’s the case, she will be taken as a hostage and moved away from here. And if there’s no signs of this, that means—

She doesn’t know. That’s right, the scariest moment is when she doesn’t know what happens. Audrey remembers her childhood. At the deepest part of the large battleship, she will listen to her regent and sit on the throne. Once the battle started, the ship started to rattle, and the adults will definitely say: it’ll soon be over. Please relax, princess. That’s not true. I want to know exactly what’s going on. If I knew, I will be able to respond in turn no matter how young I am, but the adults just don’t want to scare this kid.

''Ever since I was born, I’m always called princess and treated as one; that’s why I’m often out of touch with reality. Even Zinnerman…''as she continues to think, the shrill breaking sound rings beside Audrey, and she instinctively hides under the bed.

Gunshots, ringing in the house, sounds of glass shattering, sounds of objects collapsing downstairs; Audrey hugs her head and curls her body, holding her breath. The gunshot rings again, and this time, it rang outside the door. After that, she hears something heavy land with a thud. After a while, footsteps and presences can be detected outside the wall, and a shadow appears through the light shining into the gap between the door and the wall.

The door creaks open, and Audrey forces her stiff body to lean towards the inside of the bed. It’s not Zinnerman and the rest. The presence outside the door feels really rigid and even less reliable. Maybe the door will be broken down the next moment, and the bed will be riddled with bullets. Audrey tries her best to open her closed eyes and notice everything around her. This continues for another 10 seconds, and the sound coming from the door handle stops as the shadow on the floor disappears.

The footsteps move further away. It seem that the person heard some radio signal. Audrey’s sweaty hand lets go of the velvet on the floor. She cautiously climbs out from under the bed, fidgeting towards the door. She looks through the old-styled keyhole, and there’s no one on the corridor.

The corridor’s lit by the soft decorative lights on the wall and the hard lamp lights above, and there’s a whiff of white smoke that smells like smoke. Besides the stinging head, there’s a unique bloody smeel. Audrey makes up her mind, takes a deep breath, and opens the door slightly. The first thing she sees is a pool of blood that flowed to the entrance.

She follows the blood trail, and can see a man in suit sprawled over there with his handgun on the floor. Audrey can tell from his splattered head that this is caused by a rifle. She endures the nauseating feeling and leaves the room, covering her nose with her hand as she watches the man with slightly purple brain juices splattered on the floor. From the suit and the physique, she knows that he’s someone of the Foundation, and she saw a few times before.

Let alone a handgun, it’s not easy to bring a rifle when it’s so big. It’s definitely not Zinnerman’s group who did this. Audrey tries her best to steady her trembling knees. There’s another organization taking action; they planned to carry out their attack and ambushed this <<Magallanica>>. Most likely, they sensed that the ‘Sleeves’ have made contact with the Vist Foundation, and came to stop the transfer of the <<Laplace Box>>—in that case, it’s easy to guess who the attackers are.

''Is the battle inside the colony their diversion?'' Audrey thought halfway through before stopping and leans herself on the corridor wall, beside the body. No matter what the attackers aim to do, it seem that they don’t know that she’s here. She has to use this time to get out from this house and meet with Zinnerman and the rest. Since things ended up like this, Zinnerman will give up getting the ‘box’. She has to stop them from losing their chance to escape just because they’re looking for her, and end up stirring the battle, which will be a mistake on their priorities.

''I have to be faster.'' This anxiety awakens that strength inside her to step outside. Audrey holds her breath and walks down the stairs, quickly walking through corridors that may still have attackers. She goes through the room which only has the tapestry, leaves the atrium in front of the entrance, and sees the outside of the house in front of her, the dark forest.

===Part 12===

“Game is up. Hand ‘her’ over to me.”

Zinnerman points the wireless speaker over at him, and his subordinates do the same, holding down Gael and company who reached their hands into their coats. Is it a bluff, or are there really bullets inside the speakers? Before he can even think, Zinnerman’s hand let out a flash and an explosive sound, and sparks fly beside Cardeas’ feet.

Zinnerman then points the speaker at Gael, not letting him get the chance to move forward. Both of them are staring at each other, and Cardeas senses that the other party’s serious, whispering, “Calm down, captain!”

“I intend to do that right from the beginning. Even if I plan to set you up, I won’t use such a stupid plan.”

“Your words and actions already proves this. You never said that ‘she’s in your hands, and this happened.”

Another rumbling occurs as he finished, and the explosion rang. A lot of dust land behind Zinnerman. Cardeas can tell that there isn’t just a a battle inside the colony, and that someone’s trying to barge into this <<Magallanica>> to take control. The phone that was ringing until now is suddenly interrupted, so the intruders must have cut off the line.

There’s no need to suppress the entire <<Magallanica>>, which means that the army—the ‘higher-ups’—intend to use this chance to get the <<Laplace Box>>. They’re just eliminating the ‘Sleeves’ out of convenience, and their top priority is to secure the ‘box’. He can imagine the higher ups giving an order like ‘Eliminate any obstacles, even if it’s the leader of the Foundation. If anything happens, the successor to the Foundation is amongst the higher ups’…

ZInnerman should have realized that this attack wasn’t just targeted at them, but his thinking is hindered by the fact that ‘she’ is in the Foundation’s hands. Cardeas watches him as he’s unable to distinguish between deliberation and coincidence as his expression is just showing that he’s intent on getting her ‘back’. He admits, “That’s true.” and quickly scans around everywhere, remembering where the tables and chairs are.

“I’m thinking the same way. What are you going to do? If you shoot here, everyone will die, and we can’t save ‘her’.”

Zinnermans’ eyelids tremble as his expression drifts. The tense killing intent is wavering, and Cardeas watches his expression show a somewhat comprehensive look like before as he raises the back of the chair nearby.

Due to the low gravity, the chair floats up higher than expected. At this close distance, it’s still not a strange thing to fire, but Cardeas believes that Zinnerman won’t fire that easily. A louder explosion rings, and everyone’s attention is diverted. Cardeas then throws the chair at Zinnerman and immediately gets down on the ground without waiting for the chair to create a sound.

Numerous gunshots ring above Cardeas’ head, and Gael’s large body presses down on him. Two gunshots can then be heard beside his ears. He lets out a slight moan and hears people being slammed on the wall. Cardeas’ pulled up from the floor by someone, and is about to be brought out of the room when there’s a louder cracking sound than a gunshot. The white smoke fills the reception room. Numerous gunshots can be heard through the smoke, and he feels that there’s a lot of heat beside his ears, and his right shoulder got hit with a huge impact.

It feels like he’s hit by a hot rod. Cardeas feels faint, and Gael catches him before his hand touches the ground. Gael continues to shoot back as he drags Cardeas to the lift. Cardeas watches his escort get shot, and blood scatters in the white smoke.

On the other side of the smoke, it seems that Zinnerman’s large profile has gotten away. Before they can recap on what happened in this worst outcome, the smoke from the smoke grenade rolls onto the corridor, covering him. Cardeas and Gael enter the lift, and rise from the living block to the central block.

The smoke that seeps in irritates the eyes, and for every cough made, the shoulder will hurt. It’s a graze, but a hot gunshot wound that’s like a slash will hurt a lot. “Your wound…” Gael approaches, and Cardeas interrupts, “I’m fine. You?” as he picks up the intercom phone at the control desk.

Even though they knew that it’s dead, they’re still trying their luck. Amazingly, the phone links to the command console miraculously. “Chairman! Thank goodness you’re alright!” Cardeas asks back, “What’s the situation?”

“We’re invaded by land forces. Looks like it may be the special forces of the Federation.”

Cardeas feels some chill, and he exchanges looks with Gael. This is the truly scary part of the Federation when they’re serious; using special forces as thieves in a hit and run operation—‘Hurry up and delete all classified information regarding the ‘box’.” Cardeas says,

“Scrap the data for the UC plan. Let all the Anaheim workers escape in the capsules. You too, hurry up and leave. The enemies are professionals, so try and avoid a meaningless battle…”

Thud, the phone’s suddenly cut. Cardeas put down the phone at looks over at Gael.

“I’m going to the command console. How’s the situation with the radio?”

“We can’t use it normally. The Minovsky Particles are too much…”

Gael’s bloodied large body is bent down, using his handkerchief to press onto Cardeas’ wound. Since they can’t use radio, they can’t rely on their surviving subordinates. Having realized that only he and Gael are the only ones who can complete this job in this worst case scenario, Cardeas says, “I’ll go alone to the command console. You’re to go over to the <<Unicorn>>.”

He’s worried about ‘her’, but he can only believe that Zinnerman and the rest will save her. Cardeas stretches his arm out at Gael “But, chairman, you alone…” He’s not agreeing with this verbally, but Gael hands over to small handgun in his ankle holster.

“Sorry…I got betrayed by my relative, and things ended up like this.”

He endures the pain on the shoulder and slides the sleeve open, putting the first bullet into the chamber. “Madam Martha?” Cardeas doesn’t answer Gael’s question as he puts the small handgun into his pocket.

“The 100-year alliance is so weak…we’re the ones who broke it first, but they intend to use this chance to snatch everything away. I’ll leave the <<Unicorn>> to you. If it’s about to be taken away, destroy it.”

He has a premonition that this may be the last time they’re meeting each other. After taking a slight breath, Cardeas sees that Gael’s straight expression is talking to him wordlessly, and says for the final time.

“We must not let that fall into the Federation’s hands…!”

===Part 13===

===Part 14===

===Part 15===

===Part 16===

===Part 17===

===Part 18===

===Part 19===

===Part 20===

===Part 21===

===Part 22===

===Part 23===

===Part 24===

===Part 25===

===Part 26===

===Part 27===

The four wings with thrusters hidden within them let out a white light, causing the moss green machine to vanish into the darkness at a rather fast speed. However, this distance can be caught up if they transform into Waveriders. Riddhe wanted to immediately pursue them, but the wireless communicator lets out a (that’s enough, don’t pursue it), and the transformation’s stopped.

Romeo 001, squad leader Norm’s <<ReZEL>> closes in, and uses the machine arm to grab onto the shoulder of Riddhe’s machine. “But..!” Riddhe wants to protest, but finds that he relaxed a bit. Anyway, he didn’t lose his life today—

(We suffered quite a bit of losses today. Let’s go back to the ship to reorganize our forces. We still have to retrieve that <<Gundam>>.)

Norm’s voice is full of bitterness. The commander that lost lots of subordinates didn’t have the energy to celebrate his survival. He probably wants to go chase them alone and take revenge for his subordinates, but Riddhe’s attention was captured by the term <<Gundam>>. He didn’t try to empathize with Norm’s feelings as he looks at the vacuum.

The unknown object that appeared from the colony builder—the gundam-type white mobile suit seemed to have kept its beam saber, and stops as its back faces countless pieces of space dust. The light from the machine is slowly weakening, and the relaxed limbs aren’t moving. It’s like the battery was worn out.

Is this to show that it has no intent of fighting us, or is it a trap to make us relax? Riddhe couldn’t accept completely that it saved them and mutters, “Gundam…”the name that he has been hearing from time to time during his childhood. Right now, it brings about a sense of danger that causes the tongue to numb, and makes the sweaty body cold.

“So that’s a <<Gundam>>, is it?”

(What else can it be?)

Norm answered with a somewhat unhappy tone, and the white mobile suit transformed again. The V-shaped edges are sealed back together, and the guard closes up, covering the eyes that were glowing weakly. At the same time, the armor plates all over the machine slides, covering the glowing red phosphorescence plates. In less than a second, the white mobile suit immediately changes and reverts back to the original state he saw at the start. The <<Gundam>> vanishes like a mirage, leaving only a mobile suit with a weird horn.

(What kind of joke is this…!) A mutter came from Norm’s machine and disengages from Riddhe before going behind the one horned mobile suit. He raises the beam rifle to a shooting position, and Riddhe closes in on the white machine too. (Unidentified pilot, do you hear me? I’m…) The unknown mobile suit continues to stare into space, ignoring Norm’s calls. The moonlight reflects off its horn, resembling a unicorn.

===Part 28===

The two <<ReZEL>>s that surround the unknown machine from both sides finally seem to have given up on contacting wirelessly. One unit points its beam rifle at the one-horned mobile suit, and the other unit grabs it from behind and starts to pull it.

Daguza Mackle didn’t see the ‘transformation’ when it was reported through the wireless network, and feels somewhat disappointed as he takes off the binoculars for normal suit use from the helmet. He feels that the bandage that’s wrapped around his left wrist is way too troublesome as he lands in the large space gateway that links space to the <<Magallanica>>’s port. Three people wearing ECOAS suits are using a camera to shine on the unknown machine.

He exchanges words with one of them, Alpha squad’s leader, commander Garity. Garity asks in surprise, (Commander…! Your wounds…?) Lieutenant Commander Conroy then asks in shock. It seems that they heard that he is alive, but didn’t expect him to be able to move. In fact, the head nurse wanted him to rest silently, but his mental state right now doesn’t allow him to lie down propely. Daguza doesn’t look over at Garity who’s trying to close in, and asks emotionlessly, “What’s the situation?”

(The enemy units retreated. There’s no signs of reinforcements for now. The <<Magallanica>> has already broken through our suppression. Our reinforcements are searching for the ‘box’ in the command post. Including the two passengers that were lost in <<Loto>> no. 1, we lost 3 men, and 4 people are wounded at varying levels.)

Though the reporting tone is rather calm, but Conroy’s expression is telling him that he’s one of the injured. The poker face is ineffective on this second-in-command who followed him for many years; Daguza averts his sights and asks Garity, “What’s the situation with the casualities in the colony?”

(It seems that we can handle the air release. For a hole that size, it’ll take at least a month for all the air to flow out.)

Before that, the aid from the neighboring colonies will reach, and the Anaheim Electronics company that’s on the moon will have some countermeasures. It’ll be a headache dealing with the media, but they will just hand this over to their allies behind the scenes in headquarters and the men in suits. Daguza sighs lightly, and his flank starts to hurt again. He waits patiently for the pain to subside. He managed to keep his life due to the ECOAS’ special suit, but he knew that his left wrist is fractured, and there are cracks on his ribs. He’s lucky that it’s zero gravity, as he doesn’t believe that he can pretend to be alright if there’s gravity.

“Seal off the <<Magallanica>>’s gate and prevent travel between colonies. The media may slip in. What about the <<Nahel Argama>>?”

(The ship’s not damaged; they’re now moving the confiscated items.)

“Tell them to hurry up. It seems that the ‘Sleeves’ haven’t gotten what they want. Tell them not to slack off.”

(Understood.) Garity answers and enters the gate. Daguza glances aside and watches him leave. (Will they still attack?) He hears a voice and directs the stare under his helmet aside. Conroy looks back at him with a meaningful stare, and behind him is the space that’s floating with small debris.

“Yes. They’re aiming for this. Once they know that we have taken all the things here, they’ll definitely target the <<Nahel Argama>> next time.”

After saying that, he gives a signal through his expression. Conroy moves towards Daguza. Their helmets are touching each other, and they’re talking through the vibration in an ‘intimate talk’. Daguza cuts off his communicator and whispers, “What’s the situation with the search for Cardeas Vist?”

(It’s still going on, but it’s likely…)

“Is it true that our guests from Anaheim got to the command post earlier than us?”

(Yes. It seems that there’s a secret passage that wasn’t recorded in the battle data.)

They sneaked into the <<Magallanica>> from the port while ECOAS was rushing in. Normal Anaheim employees won’t do such a thing, and can’t possibly do it. Let alone Alberto, the leader, the people accompanying him were likely specialists in that field. He already had this feeling during the meeting in the ship. “We’re the bait…they’re aiming for the ‘box’ too.” Daguza sighs.

(It’s possible. I hear that the higher-ups have some disagreements regarding the strategy this time.)

The people who want to use this chance to get the ‘box’, and the people who just wants to prevent the ‘box’ from being passed. When Cardeas, who intended to release the ‘box’, got eliminated, the two parties will have achieved their aim, and the battle for it will involve the higher-ups—the army, Anaheim Electronics, Vist Foundation’s complicated links, the monstrous and savage world—“Really…” Daguza sighs and looks at the moon that’s as large as a tennis ball.

“We got involved in some stupid family squabble, and we ended up making such a mess.”

The battle that happen out of a sudden cause many losses. They lost their subordinates, and the enemy escaped. The commander has to accept the sacrifices of battle, but it’s not worth exchanging this for a ‘box’ with unknown contents. ''I’ll repay this properly to you people,'' Daguza swore in his heart.

''The ‘Laplace Box’ will not be handed over to the ‘Sleeves’ or Anaheim. ECOAS will get it and show the monstrous higher-ups what they’re made of. It’s just an empty self-satisfaction, but there’s no other way to repay the souls of those who sacrificed their lives. Parts have only the courage of parts—''

(All the intel the ‘box’ were all wiped out. From the timeframe, it doesn’t look like Anaheim or the visitors took it. We nabbed some of the workers here, but we don’t know what’s their level of understanding…)

“We still have that here.”

Daguza points his chin out at the front and says this. The white mobile suit with the horn is being grabbed on the arms by the two <<ReZELs>> into the port. Behind the visor, Conroy frowns.

“It’s developed here, so it can’t possibly have nothing to do with the ‘box’. Let’s investigate slowly.”

That’s the reason why he immediately ordered that filming is to be carried out once he heard the news. Since they’re expecting Anaheim to interfere, ECOAS has to get intel on this white mobile suit on their own.

On hearing Conroy’s affirmative response, Daguza separates the helmet and opens the communication device. The speaker inside suddenly lets out a roar, (WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!), and then, he sees a man wearing a worker’s normal suit.

The stout profile isn’t an illusion created from the thickness of the spacesuit. It’s the largest obstacle Anaheim sent, Alberto. Daguza stares at his face silently. Alberto nearly flies out into space, and only manages to stop with Conroy grabbing him. He stares at the pure whit armor of the mobile suit that’s reflecting the moonlight and looks over, yelling, (WHO THE HELL IN SITTIN IN THERE!) that fat and thick face seems to be bulging.

(THAT’S OUR COMPANY’S PRODUCT. I DON’T WANT ANYONE TO TOUCH HIM. COMMANDER, TAKE IT BACK!)

(We’re doing so now, Mr Alberto. Please calm down.)

Alberto shoves aside Conroy’s shoulder that’s pressing down on him and stares at the white mobile suit. Daguza notices that there’s dried blood on the chest of his suit.

(That…<<Unicorn>> isn’t an ordinary mobile suit. Who…who activated it…)

His expression and voice don’t seem to be worrying about the company’s assets; he looks like a kid with his important toys stolen. Daguza thought as he stares at the dried blood stains. The unknown blood stain remains on Alberto’s chest like a mark. Alberto glares at this mobile suit called the <<Unicorn>> with a bloodshot expression. His eyes are showing affection and hatred. It’s an emotion Daguza himself can’t distinguish, and he feels a chill.

===Part 29===

The body that’s soaked in the dense liquid starts to float up slowly. Banagher opens his eyes and sees the port of the <<Magallanica>> shown on the all-view monitor.

And countless of stars.

The limbs feel heavy, and the body became a limp block of flesh, like all the nerves on the body were snapped. Only the pain at the temples brought about a sense of physical reality, but he still has no strength to move his limbs even though he’s in zero gravity. His limbs were very heavy, and he’s completely fatigued; it felt like he was scooped up from thick oil.

That’s right, when the words <<NT-D>> were shown, he was dipped into a dense fluid. Time became slow, the limbs became heavy, and the enemy’s actions look like they were slow-mo replay…and then, what’s next?

He didn’t know. Lying in a limp manner on the linear seat, Banagher looks at the display board. The words <<NT-D>> disappeared, and the screen shows a pattern that can be read as <<La+>>, blinking steadily at a breathing rate.

“La…+…”

Behind the words were stars that won’t blink. Banagher again loses his consciousness and start to sink into a deep sleep.
===Part 30===

(That’s really a failure on your part, Suberoa Zinnerman.)

The voice echoed throughout the narrow bridge of the <<Garencieres>>, bringing the bitterness of defeat into the heart. Marida, who left the cockpit and returned back to the bridge without taking off her suit, sees the face of commander Angelo Sauper.

(You were unable to get the <<Laplace Box>>, and didn’t manage to save the princess…such a mistake isn’t like you. How do you intend to make up for this loss?)

Wrinkles appear between the eyebrows on the forehead, where the fringe was randomly combed back. Angelo’s white and neat-looking skin is coupled with an honor guard’s uniform that was decorated with buttons and gold braids, giving off the presence of a middle century noble. His age should be about the same as Marida, but it’s hard to associate with him, whether it’s because of his arrogant tone or the strong sense of ego and bringing this kind of aesthetic over to the battlefield. Or rather, this man reflects the current revolting look of the ‘Sleeves’—the reborn Neo Zeon’s trend of dressing up.

“It was all an accident. We can only wait for the princess to contact us and wait silently.”

''We’re focusing on actual duty and don’t care about appearances at all.'' Zinnerman was only showing such politeness on the surface. At the operator's seat, where it’s impossible to see, Flaste is pointing the middle finger. The <<Geara Zulu>> Gilboa pilot floats outside the window as it moves with the ship, and its mono-eye looks left and right. GIlboar and Marida are exchanging patrol times with each other. But since the enemy has no intention of pursuing, the only problem right now will be the response of <<Palau>> itself. It’s possible to see Gilboa listening closely to the communication channel from the outside.

Including the members who died after getting back to the ship, the crew of the Garencieres lost 3 members, and they also left ‘her’ alone. This isn’t just a simple mission failure. Marida already feels the gravity of the loss without Angelo adding on, but her master’s still alive. His back profile continues to remain seated on the captain’s seat, and the gruff voice continues to echo throughout the bridge. Marida starts to feel that her nerves are becoming more relaxed as she smells the body odor of cologne and tar. She continues to stare emotionlessly at the roaring Angelo.

(Do you want us to wait around and not do anything…!?)Zinnerman didn’t do anything as he waits silently for a chance to talk back, but another voice was faster, (That’s enough, Commander Angelo.)

Angelo’s expression changes and immediately straightens his body before retreating out of the screen. A bright red thing appears on the screen that’s showing static, and Marida feels that her calm nerves are tensed up again.

The figure in red uniform slowly moves to the front of the screen, and the thick blond hair sways about, falling on the mask that covers his eyes and forehead. His eyes look over through the filter.

(I hear that the enemy who caused Marida to retreat…was a <<Gundam>>. How interesting.)

[[Image:KSGU2 221.jpg|thumb]]

Though it’s impossible to see his eyes under the filter, he must be looking over. Everything about him, from the weird appearance of his masked face to the mocking attitude were all overwhelmed by his overbearing existence. The reborn Neo Zeon’s leader, called the ‘Second coming of Char’, uses his own presence to overwhelm everyone and controls the mood. Marida can’t help but clench her fists and look over at the bewitching red filter.

(Maybe I’ll sortie. <<Garencieres>>, continue to check on the movements of the Federation Fleet.)

Full Frontal merely gives such an instruction. “Yes.” Zinnerman answers and adjusts his posture,

“I’ll risk on my life to make up for this failure.”

He added this line for emphasis, but Zinnerman’s eyes can’t shake away the suspicious look in them. Full Frontal doesn’t know how distant both of them are as he smiles and says, (There’s no need to keep remembering your mistakes.)

(Once you own up and improve on it, that will be enough. This is the right an adult has.)

The face under the mask is smiling, and that chilling smile seem to give the impression that his face is the mask itself, and causes goosebumps on Marida.

<noinclude>
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| Back to [[KSGU:Volume_2_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Gundam Unicorn|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[KSGU:Volume_3_Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

KSGU:Volume 1 Chapter 2

2012-05-11T02:42:15Z

115.77.129.48: /* Part 11 */

==Chapter 2==

===Part 1===

In the starry universe, there was a biplane that’s flying with a propeller. It was a middle-century classical plane that operates on gasoline.

As he stared at the plane blankly, Riddhe Marcenas imagined himself to be sitting on it. He was wearing a flying visor, a white muffler around his neck, and using fighting flying skills that were like acrobatics to tease the enemy’s destroyer. A pilot had to be like this. Even if the propeller planes were all replaced by jet planes or even evolved into space fighter jets with g, pilots were all proud riders. A pilot shouldn’t be part of minor things like being called out by an older non-commission officer or pointed at by a senior pilot. That’s the bad customs that passed down from the navy. And the pilots after the mid-century occupy a unique atmosphere called the air force, and they’re an unique existence that had to be separated from ordinary soldiers. At least they shouldn’t forget about this…that’s what he thought.

However, reality was cruel.

“Ensign Riddhe, the captain’s calling you over to his room.”

A window opened in the space, and the Mechanical Officer Jona Gibney’s mustached face chuckled as he said that. He was the oldest and the most experienced of the maintenance staff, and he was one of those senior soldiers who would not hesitate to scold an officer. Riddhe was sitting on the linear seat and pouted, “Why always me?”

“You have to bring stuff to the captain’s room. This job is more or less suited for a rich boy!”

“I’m an officer too, you know! This has nothing to do with lineage, right?”

“Only those who shot down an enemy’s plane has the right to say that. Now go!”

Mechanical Officer Gibney’s face disappeared from the screen, and only angry roars echoed throughout the cockpit. Riddhe unhappily turned off the all-view monitor and grabbed the biplane model that was floating above his head.

Once the space simulated image disappeared, the screens that were connected on the inside walls of the ball, and the cockpit suddenly became a cramped and unpleasant cockpit. Riddhe used a plastic bag to wrap the plastic body of the biplane and put it behind the display guard before opening the door. The door that could only be passed through by bending down was right in front of him. The sound of welding, cranes and metals rubbing against each other entered the cockpit.

Also, there was a chatter behind him, and Gibney, who was in that jumpsuit that the mechanical staff would wear was showing blank white eyes. Riddhe kicked the linear seat and easily let his body float out of the cockpit. Gibney’s body didn’t move as he floated in the air, and he said with a heinous tone, “Were you meditating inside that cockpit again?”

“I’m embracing the time when I can be one with my beloved plane. Are you touched?”

“And you even dare to say that you brought a toy in!”

“Please don’t randomly touch and spoil it. That’s a limited edition. It was hard to get it!”

One has to strike the fine balance between being orderly and doing things one’s own way. One shouldn’t remember the grudges when there’s vexing words said, but to forget it after hearing it. Having grasped the secret to ship service, Riddhe took the documents he was to deliver and left. “Who cares about you, Mr Mania?” after leaving these words behind, Gibney looked like he exchanged places with Riddhe as he slipped into the cockpit. His underlings, 4 new technicians in spacesuits followed him from behind and looked into the cockpit from all directions.

Their job was to pay attention to all of Gibney’s actions and quickly hand the important tools to him. This deck was often filled with air, so there was no need to wear the bulky work spacesuit. However, Gibney wanted the rookies to wear them at all time. “What’ll happen if we’re attacked and there’s a hole in the wall? Once you’re sucked outside, the blood in your body will immediately freeze and you’ll immediately die.” That was Gibney’s saying, and he did see this personally on the ship he was on. Those who experienced the One Year War, the ones who fought in war, had the most weight in their words.

When Riddhe was first assigned to this ship, he would also show respect to this, and would wear a pilot’s spacesuit when he entered the deck. However, he would now be lightly dressed in a jumpsuit and a jetpack. Since he’s riding on a spaceship, he will die anyway if they were attacked, no matter where they were, and even Gibney himself wouldn’t wear a spacesuit before the siren rang. After seeing the tense profiles of the rookies, Riddhe thought that they were really pitiful…but this made Riddhe remember his own sadness, and he suddenly had an urge to drop the documents that he was told to deliver onto the floor. He took a deep breath, held back this urge, grabbed and messed up his blond hair that was a little longer, and used the steel cable to move alongside the floor.

As he was being dragged by the cable, he could see his personal suit fully as he went near the passage that’s located at the wall. It was a blue humanoid body that showed the artistry of straight and curved contours. This was the RGZ-95 ‘ReZEL’ that had a variable booster unit behind. As the front part of the booster was extended out from the back of the head, it looked a lot larger than an ordinary mobile suit. Gibney and his subordinates who were gathered at the cockpit right at the abdomen looked like they were the size of the ‘ReZEL’s fist.

On the large mobile suit deck that was more than 7 levels high, there were 7 similar-typed ‘ReZEL’ and the main forces of the Earth Federation RGM-89 ‘Jegan’ were also at their fixed positions and undergoing maintenance. The ‘Jegan’ was a mass-produced frame, and though the ‘ReZEL’ was classified as the latest transformable mobile suit, both mobile suits inherited the basic design from the Federation Army’s mobile suit, the RGM-79 GM, which wasn’t changed too much. Most notably, the visor protector on the head that blocks the optical sensor was of the exact same design. Riddhe’s personal suit, the ‘ReZEL’ had the identification number NA-R008 on the chest, and the visor that was basically its eyes was being washed.

There was no sign of any streamlined winged mobile suits, only the humanoid mobile suits that looked like they will pop out in old cartoons. This scene just looked like the rows of Buddha statues Riddhe saw with he was young and went on a trip to Asia, which irritated him again. The beauty of aircraft was created from the coordination of air resistance. Thus, it would be natural for machines that’s to be used in vacuum to display other characteristics. Also, the reason why space fighter units that resembled planes and replaced by mobile suits called ‘robots’ was because of the One Year War that happened when Riddhe was 6.

If one hasn’t found the new particles that would bring about the revolution to physics, the Minovsky Particles that would jam all electronic devices, there wouldn’t be humanoid machines that formed the basis of recent wars. If it wasn’t for the creation of mobile suits and the Principality of Zeon’s creation ‘Zaku’ being such a huge success that caused the Earth Federation which had overwhelming advantages to be on the brink of defeat, this hangar would still have signs of the descendant of the biplane, the space fighter jets.

Of course, the fighter jets didn’t disappear completely. The main machine of the Federation’s air force, the TIN Cod II was a fighter plane that resembled an aircraft. The space army still had the fighter planes that were used for long distance support, but they were already out, and the budget for new machines was already interrupted for so long. Also, once the air force finished clearing the remnants of Zeon Forces on Earth, they were treated like they fulfilled their purpose and were abandoned. No matter how much one liked planes, to this person who graduated from the Officer Cadet School with outstanding grades, it wasn’t an attractive path.

In the end, Riddhe came here. He was affliated to a top-notch large ship under the Federation, and became a pilot of a mobile suit. He managed to fulfill his dream since childhood…and he even used his links with his ‘family’. What he got was completely different from what he expected though. He was living in the world whether that brave pilot was gone and began living his life while being called a ‘young lord’ by experienced pilots and soldiers as he was told off every day.

Considering that he couldn’t get away from the pressure of his ‘family’ whenever he goes, this was still a surrounding he could compromise with. He continued to hold back the unhappiness within him and reached his hand out to the handle on the deck. Suddenly, he heard voices from under his feet going ‘what’s with that ugly and fake tank?’. A pilot who was being pulled by the cable was glaring at the two vehicles parked in the corner of the deck.

The dark brown machines that were over 10m in length were large crawlers. They did look like armored cars or tanks. While leaving ‘Lunar Two’, about 30 transport carrier personnel suddenly came in with the vehicles. As Riddhe watched these vehicles, other voices could be heard, ‘Did the special forces bring these people in?’.

“They had been using cover to cover it, and they didn’t allow us technicians to touch.”

“The killer squad of the hunters. Such annoying visitors.”

On hearing these bad words that were deliberately said for others to hear, the ‘visitors’ who were maintaining the vehicle—the special Federation space forces ECOAS glared over, but the pilots themselves didn’t seem to reflect on this as they went above while holding the cable. Instead of merely being crude, it was more like small fries acting childish, and Riddhe really felt like sighing.

The ECOAS, also known as the hunter squad, had quite the bad reputation. They would often have a clear divide from the ship crew, and they would cover their equipment with cloth and not allow others to get near. Riddhe really didn’t like such secrecy at all. However, it would be immature for him to return nail for nail. Basically, the training and regimentation of the space army were all like the navy, and the group mentality for each ship was too strong. An experienced soldier like Gibney could be so cool was because of the bad habit of experience triumphing over rank. The concept of the term ‘ship’ in space and bringing the seaman’s mentality into space was the cause of all this.

If the spaceship could be described as a large plane, learning the elements of the air force may be like becoming an independent organization that had open communication channels. While repeating the meaningless grumbles, Riddhe looked over at the armored car-like thin the ECOAS had. The squad members were getting ready as they started to pull the covers off the vehicles, most likely because they were getting close to their destination, and they gave a tense feeling from their backs, making that place look like a completely different world. They were dressed in impromptu T-shirts and army pants, but they were highly skilled in moving under zero gravity, and they wouldn’t shout randomly. They weren’t extremely muscular, but the abnormally thick upper body and the thick chest muscles made them look like they trained.

Riddhe’s eyes met one of them. It was the man who shot a glare at his crewmate for saying harsh words. Riddhe gave a smile as he tried to compensate for his crewmate’s unreasonable action. But the man didn’t smile as he looked at Riddhe like he was looking at a ‘thing’ and then looked away before continuing his work.

He didn’t look like he was looking at other people. The cold inorganic-like eyes was definitely of someone nicknamed a ‘hunter’. Riddhe felt like he was being held at knifepoint on the throat as he hurriedly left.

===Part 2===

The ship’s name was called ‘Nahel Argama’. It was an assault landing ship that belonged to the independent unit of the Earth Federation, Londo Bell. Right now, it was in between Earth and the moon, right before the dark wasteland space of L1. In three hours, they would be entering the space debris field, and they will deploy all forces to monitor the region.

The ship that was almost 400m in length had a mobile suit catapult launcher at the deck of the ship. The bridge was right in the middle like a bow, and there were 2 giant wings with hidden solar panels extending out from the back of the bridge and reaching out to both sides. If one were to designate the two engines that are equipped on the rear left and right sides of the ship as the hind legs and the catapult decks on both sides as the fore legs, it would look like a sphinx with wings or a large wooden horse. Based on this point, this ship could be said to have inherited the Pegasusc-class obile assault landing ship that was active during the One Year War—the Federation’s first mobile suit carrier ‘White Base’.

However, the ‘Nahel Argama’ didn’t belong to any class, and neither did it have a similar ship. If there’s a need to classify it, it should be classified as Nahel Argama, a one and only ship. That’s because it was a ship that wasn’t designed through standard National Security planning during the time after the war, in the internal tussle that divided the Federation Army into half—what one would call the Gryps War. However, it didn’t have interchangeability and was hard to deal with, so it was removed from the army’s reorganization plans. Though there was a large scale reconstruction after the Gryps War, Londo Bell, which took it, didn’t know what to do with it, and it wasn’t set as a cornerstone of a fleet. It was hard to mobilize, so there was no accompanying fleet, causing it to be mobilized as a single ship.

This ship of the external group of the space army Londo Bell was an isolated one…and the isolation caused a twisted group mentality. It couldn’t be helped that the old habits of rejecting others happened. Riddhe used this thinking to scatter the anger that he couldn’t purge and left the mobile suit deck to move towards the center of the ship.

These weren’t all bad things, and Riddhe could even say that it’s better for him to be isolated. Also, he didn’t really dislike this atmosphere completely. He was the one who volunteered to be assigned to Londo Bell, and he considered his position and suitability before being assigned to the ‘Nahel Argama’. If he was sent to a main fleet, that wouldn’t be all the pressure. He would probably end up with his superiors fearing him, his peers hating him, and he couldn’t fulfill his duty in such an environment.

The weight of his ‘family’ was this great. He was the eldest son of the important senator in the Federation Central Council Ronan Marcenas. It was a political family that once gave birth to a Prime Minister, and he was the heir to the Marcenas’ glory. This guy’s here to pilot a mobile suit? Impossible. He’ll most likely be decommissioned after a while. It’s not rare for a political heir to enter an officer cadet school as one would say that being outstanding in the Federation army would be a shortcut to being a politician. Most of the time, he would be intending to get along with future generals to creating camaraderie with the army…

No! But no matter how many times he emphasized this, such words continued to be echoed. I didn’t want to be a politician. My dream is a pilot, so I entered the Officer Cadet School even with my family against it. However, having entered officer cadet school for 4 years and the mobile suit learning squad for a year, Riddhe really felt that it was meaningless to argue back, and didn’t want to face these words already. In contrast, he started to search his way from the center. It was a place where high ranking officers wouldn’t try to latch on to him so that they would be outstanding in the future. Even if they teased him as ‘young lord’, this was a place where they wouldn’t have any ill intention, but treat him as a pilot—

However, it was unexpected that they would call him to be a runner. Grimacing inside, Riddhe let go of the moveable handle and used the momentum to float through the path and stop in front of the lift that would lead to the gravity area. Mihiro Oiwakken, who was his junior that graduated in the next batch, was coincidentally in the lift.

“Oh my, are you delivering these documents?” “Yeah.” Both of them continued to talk as the lift carried them. The inside of the ‘Nahel Argama’ had a cylindrical gravity area that was like a space colony. It uses centrifugal force to create gravity on the inside of the cylinder. Of course, as the diameter was smaller, it could only create a weak amount, but even if the object’s not fastened to the floor, it could keep it to the floor. When flying for a long time, especially while eating and undergoing military medical treatment, this design would be extremely important.

The lift went through the axis on the side of the gravity area and arrived at the rotary axis of the cylinder. Both of them were exchanging information this time about the emergency departure and the uncertain battle plan before the door opened again. The destination was the Construction Space Colony ‘Industrial 7’ that’s in the Dark Wasteland space. The main operation would be carried out by ECOAS, and the ‘Nahel Argama’ was in charge of sending them.

“Industrial 7’s Anaheim Electronics’ Space Colony, right? The Dark Wasteland Region a place where a new Side will be built on in the space colony redevelopment project…I don’t think that it’s a place where the ‘Sleeves’ will show up.”

“I don’t know about the details, but the atmosphere in the bridge is really bad. We’re already unhappy that the hunters are using us as a transport, and we may even end up in a real battle. First Mate Liam was forcing the captain to make the hunters tell the truth…”

“Captain Otto can’t hold on for long if that old hag’s going to continue pressuring him like that, right? Even I can’t handle it.”

“Yeah. It’s really hard to imagine him when he’s commanding.”

Even though she would say this, Mihiro herself looked like she was far from the active battle. Her dark brown eyes and hair showed a heavy Eastern heritage. She was wearing a grey officer uniform and was shorter than Riddhe. Perhaps it was her inferiority complex in her height that she was so hardworking, and she was giving the nickname ‘mini-tank’ in Officer Cadet School. However, she wouldn’t give a vexing feeling, and is a nice female officer who wouldn’t lose her cool. The way she rolls her eyes would give people the impression of a small animal like a chipmunk instead of a mini tank.

22 year old Mihiro was only deployed to Londo Bell for half a year, and Riddhe, who graduated a year earlier, went to the mobile suit learning squad, so he was assigned here at the same time as her, and for the two of them, it was their first duty in their first ship. It’s been three years since the war with the remnants of Zeon in what people called ‘Char’s Counterattack’, and right now, even Londo Bell, which was meant to be an immediate response team, had not fought for a long time. Thus, there were quite a lot of people who didn’t have actual combat experience. Recently, the renegade organization called ‘Sleeves’ were starting to move, and had fought against several squads under Londo Bell. However, the ‘Nahel Argama’, which was on the outside, didn’t take part in the assault, thus, new cadres like Riddhe weren’t the only ones who couldn’t imagine the actual scenario.

“Real battle…since we have the hunters on board, it won’t be an exercise, I guess.”

“It’s troubling to have to fight secretly in a civilian space colony. ‘Industrial 7’ has the school Anaheim Electronics runs, right?”

Mihiro said this as that student-like face of hers became gloomy. As he saw that delicate Eastern skin of hers, Riddhe’s thoughts became a little uncouth, and the lift reached the gravity area before opening. After saying goodbye to Mihiro who was heading to the bridge, Riddhe let his body float through the passage that looked like the axis of the rotating gravity area.

Once he landed on the gravity, the body that was captured by gravity creaked, and Riddhe felt like he was struck by dizziness. He grabbed the handle on the wall. Riddhe frowned as the blood in his body was being pulled down as he didn’t feel well about that. He moved past the weapons personnel who came over from the cafeteria and entered another lift. The captain’s room was at the lowest level in the inside wall, where the gravity was the strongest. After descending down the axis for another 50m, his body started to become heavier because of the zero gravity during the journey, which caused his body to expand.

In fact, the atmosphere in the captain’s room was rather heavy too. After reporting and calling out ‘excuse me’, Riddhe walked into the captain’s room, and immediately knew the reason.

The captain’s room of the Nahel Argama had the operation room and the reception room. The reception room itself was a wide space that was more than 60 sq meters large. The ship was being expanded continuously to match the current mobile suit capacity needed. However, the basic amount of facilities needed wouldn’t require that much space, which ended up allowing them to use as much space as they wanted to. Inside the reception room right now was captain Otto Midas leading the people in charge of the weapons and the navigation were here. However, they weren’t the ones who made the presence in the room heavy. In contrast to the tired looking captain, there was a commander sitting on the opposite sofa, and there was an organization where everyone was dressed in suits—the dangerous ‘guests’ who were riding on this ship. They were the ones who made the reception area feel so heavy.

Such a heavy feeling made him remember about his ‘family’. Once Riddhe entered the room, he immediately saw the mobile suit squadron leader, Norman Basilicok. He avoided the looks of the rest as he handed the documents over to the colonel. He wanted to immediately turn around and leave the room, but Commander Norm said, “I need to sign this. Please wait for a moment.” Causing him to remain where he was.

Sitting at a corner of the L-shaped sofa and signing the nominal roll, Norm’s face looked rather unhappy, and Captain Otto took off his cap, a rare feat for him. As they had to put on spacesuits in battle, the space army wouldn’t use military caps when riding in ships, but Otto would definitely wear the normal cap. This was to hide his reclining hairline, and it’s an open secret in the ship. Some vicious mechanics would even say, “Does he even need to worry about being bald when he looks like that?”

“We’re fine with ECOAS leading this battle.”

Otto touched that head of his that was lacking in hair and broke the silence. The voice of a middle-ranked officer bemoaning matched his face that looked like an old uncle in a civilian factory.

“But Londo Bell also has what Londo Bell needs to do. At least tell us your objective…”

“That’s classified. I personally have no rights to reveal this.”

Sitting opposite Otto was the fierce commander, who answered without an expression. He was the leader of the ECOAS squad, Daguza Mackle. His straightened back and those sturdy thighs of his would make one wonder whether he could still maintain the same position even when someone takes the sofa away. No matter whether it’s the stone-like expression or the sharp expression that would make anyone freeze, he does look like a man who could lead the hunters.

Commander Norm stopped his hand from flipping through the documents and stared at Daguza. Riddhe found that he was in a situation where he didn’t want to face at all, as his straight body froze harder. As the leader of the counter-terrorist Special Forces, Daguza had handled much more covert missions. Compared to his expression, Otto, who was forced onto the Nahel Argama which no one wanted, lost out a lot. Norman and all the crew on the ship saw that the captain was losing out a lot, and were obviously looking outraged. However, Daguza didn’t really pay much attention to these stares. Riddhe was right in the middle of the epitome of a messy situation.

“But this is to be held in a civilian space colony. At least make some explanation to reduce the causalities to the minimum…”

“That’s why I’m allowed to come along.”

Otto manned up his pride as a captain and spoke, and the one who interrupted him was one of the men dressed in suits beside Daguze. Amongst the men dressed in traditional suits, there was a man who was wearing a collared Nehru Jacket. He placed the Nahel Argama model he was playing in his hand back onto the table and looked around at everyone.

“I’ll reveal this then. There’s a deal that’s about to take place in Industrial 7. The parties involved are the ‘Sleeves’ and the leader of the Vist Foundation.”

The man said as he smiled and relaxed his plump face. He was a ‘visitor’ that came along with Daguza and the ECOAS members, and the one with the largest profile. They only knew that he was an important member of Anaheim Electronics, and his name was Alberto. This man had an arrogant smile, and he seemed to be telling everyone that the authority over this entire battle is in him. Otto asked back, “Did you say Vist Foundation…” and at this moment, Norman and Daguza narrowed their eyes in unison as they gave unhappy looks.

“That’s right. On the surface, it’s a philanthropic foundation that transports art pieces into space colonies, but in fact, we control practically all of the Vist Foundation’s wealth and power. Though there’s a difference in the authority wielder, it’s the major stakeholder of our company here.”

With his back facing the Earth Celestial Sphere map on the wall, Alberto ignored the unhappy looks everyone gave.

“Of course, Industrial 7 is our company’s asset. However, even if there’s some damage, we have to prevent the deal between the ‘Sleeves’ and the “Vist Foundation’. This isn’t Anaheim’s decision only, but also the conclusion the highest authorities of the Federation Army came to.”

His eyes with double eyelids made him look like he got a doll like face, but his demeanor and bulky frame really made it hard to tell his age. Though Anaheim Electronics was the largest military enterprise in the world, but for a civilian like Alberto to take part just because he was a crucial figure in this, for what reason did the highest authorities make such a decision? “What’s this…deal that we needed to prevent at all cost?” Captain Otto asked with a somewhat trembling voice.

“It’s the ‘Laplace Box’. The Vist Foundation intend to hand that thing over to the ‘Sleeves’.”

Immediately, the heavy damp air scattered all over, and Riddhe felt cold air blow through the reception room. “‘Laplace Box’…?” Otto frowned.

“No one knows what that thing is, or even what’s inside. But one thing’s certain. Once the ‘Laplace Box’ is opened, it would bring about the end of the Earth Federation government.”

Alberto leaned his back on the sofa as he gave a serious look. Captain Otto tried to force a smile, but wasn’t successful as his stiff expression started to ache in numbness. Daguza’s sharp expression remained on Alberto.

“The Vist Foundation hid the ‘Laplace Box’ and used that to preserve its wealth. Anaheim shares the same fate with it too. No matter what the aim is, we must stop the leader who lost his mind, if the thing that can topple the Federation government lands in the ‘Sleeves’ hands…things will become serious, captain.”

Alberto said as he gave a self-mocking smile. Facing the doubts and fears everyone showed as they remained silent, Riddhe could only curse himself for meeting such an unlucky and unfortunate situation.

===Part 3===

No matter how one walked on the side of the corridor, there was the sound of a fist slamming into flesh. Marida Crus let go of the moving handle and saw the back of Flaste Schole.

“IT’S BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T CHECK PROPERLY THAT WE DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THAT WE WERE USED AS TRANSPORT!”

Right in front of Flaste, who was roaring away, was a young deck crewman whose face was beaten till it was red and swollen. Under zero gravity, both of them had their feet stuck to the ground by magnets, so anyone who’s hit would be hurting. Even if Flaste held back, that hard metal-like punch that can’t be dodged landed straight on his face. The crewman swayed about and stood still, saying, “I won’t give any excuses for this.” While blood was dripping from his mouth.

“THAT’S JUST YOU TRYING TO ACT COOL! WHY DON’T YOU JUST GET ON YOUR KNEES AND APOLOGIZE!?”

Flaste grabbed the front of the crewman’s hair and looked like he intended to deliver a few more punches. However, he was stopped by a voice “Stop fighting.” Marida watched the human wall that was gathered on the passageway scatter, and Captain Zinnerman’s bearded face appeared.

He sounded calm, but the expression hidden under the captain’s hat showed utter distress. It’s been an hour since they got a signal from the headquarters ‘Palau’ that ‘she’ went missing. In the large Earth Celestial Sphere, the ‘Palau’ itself would be a lone island in the large ocean. If she disappeared, it’s likely that she would be hiding inside the ships that come in and goes out. After having checked the entire ship thoroughly, they found that one of the storerooms that was used as a storeroom had signs of a stowaway inside, which caused a huge commotion in the ‘Garencieres’.

Marida herself joined in the search, but ‘her’ presence wasn’t inside the ship. It seemed that she slipped out during the mess when they docked. It was the crewman’s mistake for not noticing that she left, and he should be punched by Flaste, but everyone knew that they couldn’t solve the problem by getting angry. Marida ignored the men who were staring at each other and went into the cabin ‘she’ looked like ‘she’ was in.

She looked through the window on the wall and out to the central dock, closed her eyes and concentrated. She couldn’t grasp the presence of people moving about, and the messy thoughts that was like heat from a crowd caused her head to spin. Though she felt a little hot on the forehead, she couldn’t detect ‘her’ presence. There were too many people. Marida could only be amazed about how the human presences she could focus on in the battlefield could move about messily at will. As expected, an artificial being couldn’t detect a specific presence—

“She’s inside this space colony…but it’s not good if we take action and get held at ransom by our trade partner.”

Zinnerman said outside the entrance. Marida wiped away the sweat on her hands that came out unknowingly and returned back to the corridor.

“Is it likely that the ‘girl’ made contact with the other party already?”

“It’s likely that ‘she’ was opposed to this right from the beginning. Most likely, she made contact with Vist Foundation…”

Once Flaste pushed the crewman aside and finished saying that, Gilboa Sant continued on. Zinnerman watched his two henchmen, said “Not really” and put on his captain’s hat.

“It’s impossible to make contact with the outside world from Palau. She most likely intends to make direct contact!”

Most likely, she wanted to prevent the deal of the “Laplace Box’. Zinnerman let air flow through his hair that’s linked to his beard and put on the old captain’s hat. His eyes showed bitterness and pride. During these past years, he put in his heart and soul to protect ‘her’, and to this man who viewed himself as her substitute guardian, he may be able to judge that ‘she’ would do this, and this was somewhat of a self-defeat feeling. Marida was thinking as such, but decided firmly that she didn’t understand this, and looked away from her master who looked somewhat old now.

She only knows one thing, and that is, this is a huge crisis that would bring about danger to the entire organization. If they lose her, the ‘Sleeves’ will lose their focal point, and the organization they were finally able to build will develop cracks. If she even ends up in the Federation’s hands, the problem wouldn’t be only about the organization called the ‘Sleeves’. It may even bring everything to an immediate halt, the 16 years of war—or even the struggle that originate about half a century ago. All the sacrifice, blood, sweat that were shed for this would lose all meaning. The ‘Sleeves’ and the members of the Garencieres will lose their support.

‘She’, who was really smart, couldn’t possibly not understand this. This was foolish…but as she thought this, Marida felt that doing this would fit ‘her’ nature, and thus she stopped thinking. No matter whether it was about ‘her’ or the ‘Sleeves’, all the necessary decisions were to be made by her master, and she only needed to obey. The more she thinks, the more she would hesitate when carrying out the order. It’s something an ordinary person would normally do. After using this logical thinking process of hers, Marida gave Zinnerman a look that showed that she was waiting for instructions.

“Please, Marida. That child doesn’t know about normal life, so she wouldn’t be too far off. She’ll probably leave clues behind.”

Perhaps sensing the stare over at him, Zinnerman looked over at her and said this. This was the minimum transmission of talking and breathing, the familiar voice of her master. After answering ‘understood’ simply, Marida left the scene. After hearing Flaste’s voice “Don’t create any commotion” from behind, Marida took the lift and head towards the bridge area.

The ‘Garencieres’, which had a vertical landing function, has the end of the ship as the floor when it lands; which made it look like a building, and the bridge at the front of the ship was at the highest level. While they’re docked with the port now, the floor inside the ship that’s parallel to the port is lying horizontally. The lift itself is moving horizontally, but under zero gravity, the scenery around would decide how it looked. Marida ‘ascended’ by about the equivalent of 10 levels and entered the bridge,. She then entered the bottom of the bridge—or rather—the back—where the server room was. In this small room that’s filled with communication equipment and screens, the crewman continued to stare at the screen all this while, and the sound of the keyboard being typed on never stopped.

Besides the colony news network that anyone could read, they could see the construction progress of Industrial 7, the blueprint and even the movement of the industrial workers. As they could use the network provided by the port while they were docked and connect to the colony’s network, a highly skilled hacker could check out a large amount of information. After plucking away the coffee tube from the air, Marida asked “How is it?” and the crewman didn’t look back as he tossed a printed paper over. What’s printed on it was the hottest selling news at the moment.

“A mini mobile suit was forced to land in the park. The student who used it insisted that he used it to save someone…is it?”

The sound of things piecing together rang in her mind. Marida looked at the time the news was broadcasted, and confirmed that the time was already past 9. She held onto the printed paper and left the server room.

===Part 4===

“…As described above, the One Year War ended at the large scale battle at A Baoa Qu. After that, the Principality of Zeon transferred control over to the new republic and signed a peace treaty, and where is the lunar city where the peace treaty was signed? Banagher Links?”

Fidgeting around and passing through the back of the classroom, Banagher was about to sit down at his seat, but was called out by his teacher, Mr Bancroft, and was immediately stunned.

“Yes. Un, that…‘Von Braun’?”

“It’s ‘Granada’.” BAM. After slamming the desk and correcting it, Mr Bancroft adjusted his glasses in an unhappy manner. “I heard about everything. Sit down.”

What’s going on? Banagher muttered inside his heart as he sat at a corner of the fan-shaped table. Takuya and the other students gave him looks as he plugged his laptop into the power port at the table. He opened out the retractable keyboard, entered his log in ID, and the world history definition that he missed out was shown on the screen.

It’s said that the advance in technology in the old century and the wireless network system weren’t rare at all—an age where even handphones could be carried along—right now, the network and phones were all wired. That’s because as humans are living in human colonies, such ‘intricate technology’, there’s a strict limit on the electric waves used. However, as there’s Minovsyu particles floating everywhere, the limit became meaningless. These Minovsky particles that were of unknown origin causes electric short circuits of all types to happen often. Although there were many protective measures for life support systems, it’s a habit after the One Year War to print a copy of data out.

In other worlds, this Earth Celestial Sphere still had Minovsky particles floating about after the war. To put it plainly, there’s still a need for it—war continues to happen. Banagher suddenly thought about this and felt that his neck was aching a little like it was twisted. Of course, it need not be a real battle. Particles were also scattered for battle training. Recently, it’s said that even trading ships would scatter the particles to deal with pirates. Some of them would definitely float over from a real battlefield, right? Maybe at this moment, someone’s betting his life and gets burned by a laser. Just like how he saw a mobile suit this morning amongst them remains.

''"A war. There’ll be a large-scale war again."''

The jade-colored eyes flashed through his mind as those words rang beside his ears. Banagher shook his head that was still swirling and gathered his concentration on the history lecture.

“The Principality of Zeon was a military country that was controlled by the Zabi family. The Zeonism that Zeon Deikum promoted described that humans in space shall bring a brand new ‘Newtype thinking’, and garnered lots of supports like Gihren Zabi. It wasn’t Deikum’s own intent, but after he died, his name was used by the Zabi family as an excuse for a war of independence. In a certain sense, it was still a dangerous thought.”

''Someone could actually say such words even though it’s not knowledge derived from their own experience. How does it feel?'' Seeing Mr Bancroft continue to talk away, he wondered as a chat window appeared in the corner of his laptop.

This was to be expected. He was the one who caused an uproar in the entire colony by uprooting a cable on the road. How would the other students who weren’t motivated let this off? Banagher impatiently pressed the button and let the chat window appear on his monitor.

“Master Icarus. How does it feel to be investigated by the police?”

Most likely, Takuya was asking on behalf of the entire class. “Icarus?” Banagher asked back, and then, there was a link to a webpage. Banagher clicked on the click to check.

It was the front page of the ‘Daily 7’ news that Anaheim Electronics run. Banagher saw the photo of the Torohachi in the lawn and the headline ‘The Icarus that challenged the Artificial sun sadly fell onto the park’, and immediately turned off the webpage.

He felt the students around him all holding back their laughter as they looked at him. “Am I wrong to save someone?” Banagher answered.

“I heard that the person you saved disappeared like smoke.” “What did the police say about you using a mini-mobile suit on your own and wrecking property?” “What about the College?” The students asked, and Banagher used one hand to support his face and he typed with one hand.

“The surveillance camera of the maintenance system captured the image of the girl, so it was deemed that I did save someone. I was given a severe verbal warning and acquitted of charges. From the way the counseling teacher came to get me from the police, it seems that I don’t have too much problems with the school, but I have to head to the principal’s office after school.”

The male students, who made up about 70% of the class, started to get excited and tap away at their keyboard “A girl!?” “Age, looks?” “What did you talk about?” “Where did she come about?”…On seeing the screen seemingly come to life, Banagher entered, “I don’t know. The police’s still looking for here.” At this moment, the sound of the lecture desk rang throughout the classroom.

“You people. Don’t think that you can slack around just because it seems that history isn’t so useful to your work. Anaheim won’t hire idiots who can’t even pass a high school standard. Don’t just stupidly believe that they will hire all you people!”

Mr Bancroft used his ultimate technique, and the students immediately closed their chat windows and looked back at the podium. The reason why vocations were quickly switched was because the vocational students know that their future jobs will lie in the teachers’ hands. Banagher sighed and focused on the lecture screen. The One Year War, the Gryps War, the two Neo Zeon war. As he looked at the boring timeline, Banagher couldn’t get rid of those jade green eyes spinning in his dizzy mind.

The bright eyes he saw several hours ago; the soft touch when he hugged her together with both hands; everything just felt so distant, so vague that it feels like he was seeing another person’s memory. Even Banagher himself couldn’t dare to believe that he stole a mini mobile suit to save her. He didn’t think that he would have such a reckless impulse. Why did he do this? Who was she?

As it was close to noon, there was a bright sunlight outside the classroom window. At the field in front of the vocation building, there were mini mobile suits that were used for training lined up over there, moving equipment that’s to be used for training. Opposite there was a stack of trapezoid layers of the school campus that was designed with the Coriolis’ Effect of the colony’s self-rotation in mind. And far over on the other side, there’s a large wall that showed the end of a space colony—the materials were still exposed to the airtight wall facing the moon. As it was blocked by the light of the artificial sun, it’s import to see the entire mortar-like war, but there’s a hatch in the center that’s connected to the colony builder, and right now, there should be equipment that’s to be used for building colonies that’s being moved in and out.

The colony builder collects the debris that’s floating around in the Dark Wasteland region and start to purify, refine and build ‘Industrial 7’. That’s the redevelopment plan of the Dark Wasteland region, often called the experimental phase of the ‘Frontier Project’. In other words, this colony was built from the debris of past wars, and the colony builder was a magic funnel that uses this junk to build a ‘world’—and because of the shape, this large facility was given the nickname ‘Snail’. Banagher couldn’t help but concentrate on this seemingly blurry airtight wall.

''That was the thing that built the space colony, this ‘world’. She said that she had to go there, that there’s someone she had to meet. For what? To prevent a war?''

“After the war, organizations that called themselves the remnants of Zeon created lots of conflict. They called for space migrants to be self-independent, pushed for Ere-ism, and viewed Earthnoids as enemies. However, don’t forget the Newtype thinking in the republic that maybe people saw. That’s why colonies and meteors were thrown down to Earth. It’s unknown how many people sacrificed their lives because of this, and as citizens of the Federation who follow the idea of democracy, we…”

Another voice rang through his ears, covering the voice of Mr Bancroft who sounded more and more agitated. ''“How spineless…!” Who cares about you,'' Banagher argued back at the girl in his mind.

''It has nothing to do with me. No, I can’t possibly be involved in this. Whether it’s this One Year War or the second Neo Zeon War 3 years ago—the so-called ‘Char’s Counterattack’, all these has nothing to do with me. That’s just something I only saw through the television screen, what happened in a far away world. It’s the same for all the students here and Mr Bancroft here too!''

''If there were countless billions of people who were sacrificed in the war, then including those that survived, it’s our job to rebuild Earth and develop.'' The commotion during the One Year War brought about the unification, and babies who were born after the war like Banagher grew up listening to these adults. Thus, even if there’s people trying to start a space migrant independence or even start a large scale war because of this, it basically has nothing to do with them. It’s only that they would feel uneasy about hearing that some colony got wrecked because of war, but one could think that the chances of it was like being hit by a huge meteor. They were too unlucky, and could just treat it as other people’s business and forget about this. Movements of independence were just what people who to vent their depression as they weren’t able to get used to society. The stand that ‘lucky children who don’t know about war’ will never change, and it’s undoubted that tomorrow would be the same as today.

That girl was about the same age as he was, but the war she said ‘war’ had a different force from what the teacher said. It’s like a membrane covering a greenhouse breaking apart, and a strong gust of wind blew in. it’s also like a black spot that appears in an overly bright space, and then the shadow of the entire world appeared—

“Our company allows every factory to be independent financially. Thus, a group of uncouth people accepted the orders from Neo Zeon, causing both ally and enemy to have machines made from Anaheim. Thus, people would view Anaheim as death merchants. However, do not forget that the people in charge will be punished too…”

Then, I, who’s attending Anaheim Electronics Industrial College, am already part of war. Thinking about this thing that he had never thought about before, Banagher’s brain suddenly remembered the pure white color of the mobile suit he saw this morning outside the subway train window, and felt bothered by his far-fetched thinking.

The unicorn that cut through the vacuum dragged its white afterimage of its mobile suit like it was soaring in space. It flew towards the “Snail’, the creator of this world, the place where the colony builder was at, where normal people were forbidden from entering. If that girl was correct, that place would be the most critical place where the ‘war’ will be associated with.

Something was about to happen. No, maybe it had already happen, it’s just that he only saw part of it. it’s like a curtain was drawn right in front of his eyes. Banagher again looked outside the window, saw the airtight wall that was filled with an unknown thing, and felt something in his heart throbbing. Mr Bancroft’s voice that was becoming more excited moved the air.

“4 years late, in Universal Century year 100, the Republic of Zeon shall give up on its self-independence and will be drafted back into the Federation as Side 3. When the country in the name of Zeon is destroyed, Zeonism shall fall, and humanity will be united again. Just like how our grandfathers or fathers continued to exist for Earth and humanity to create this united government called this Earth Federation after so many tribulations. To inherit such a great legacy and let the Earth Celestial Sphere continue to develop, you young ones…”

===Part 5===

“Idiot, treating such words as well. That girl must be someone who’s enthusiastic about activity, thinking that the capitalist Earth is all evil and sort. That’s why she must be going over to Chairman Cardeas Vist.”

Puffing her slightly brown face, Micott Bartsch simply said. Banagher kicked aside Haro lightly while it was shouting ‘idiot, idiot’, and uneasily drank up his remaining coffee.

Studying in the private high school beside Anaheim Electronics, Micott’s dress code and verbal mannerisms were all a lot more free than the vocational school, and she wouldn’t even hesitate about entering other people’s schools. She came over to the vocation school to discuss about the night’s party during lunch break, and while Banagher tried to explain what happened in the morning, that was the answer she got.

The reality the girl said was the best weapon to deal with a boy who wanted to do something and was being all pumped up. Dressed in a hooded coat and shorts, Micott raised her leg as she sat on the bench, and Banagher avoided her gaze and said, “The chairman, as in, our vocation school?” he tried to avoid the thought that this may be true, and anyway, even if there was nothing he could say, he had to find something to say.

“That’s right. There’s a photo when you entered the school, right? Cardeas Vist, the largest stakeholder of Anaheim Electronics, also known as the second generation leader of the Vist Foundation that was the secret owner.”

“That person lives inside the ‘Snail’?”

That girl said that there was ‘someone she had to meet no matter what’. On hearing the term ‘secret owner’, Banagher’s heart started to pulsate. However…

“Idiot, how could such a big hotshot stay in such a rural space colony? The chairman’s just a title to him. He never even appeared in the graduation ceremonies before.”

Sitting beside Micott, Takuya put down the magazine he read halfway through and interrupted. That was the robot related monthly magazine he would regularly buy, and there was a photo of a mini mobile suit tournament on the cross-pages picture.

“But it seemed that he really has a house here! It’s said that the house was directly moved over from Earth. Even the ‘Snail’ was said to be Vist Foundation’s property.”

Micott’s father was the factory owner of the 3rd Industrial area, so she would often hear about such underground news. The factory owner over here in ‘Industrial 7’ could be said to be like a mayor in the States, and even though Micott was a rich princess who’s studying in a private school, she would continue to come over to this vocation school where the smell of grease was thick. Maybe its because this space colony was supported by the industry. She herself even said that ‘the boys in our school are boring, all spineless princes’.

“But isn’t the colony builder managed by the colony builder management? Why is it that there’s rumors of it being the Foundation’s personal property?”

“That’s because the colony builder management had some members of the Vist Foundation, right?”

“The rich ones are really different. Launching an entire house into space, that’s crazy.”

Takuya looked like he didn’t have any other thoughts as he said what he wanted and continued to read his magazine. An open secret’s really scary, so scary that it can numb a person’s sense for the strange, Banagher thought. However, he himself never heard of the name of Vist Foundation. Was it because he was transferred in midway through, or was it that he was too dazed for a long time? Banagher really couldn’t tell which was the reason, and he looked through the trees in the school as he wondered what happened to the girl.

Anaheim Electronics wasn’t just the largest military producer in the Earth Celestial sphere, but there’s a house for the sponsor in the ‘Snail’. It’s no wonder that the crazy radicals will rush in to kill just to oppose war. In fact, there’s a lot of terror attacks on Anaheim every way, and it’s said that there’s a lot of expenses on safety. Even if the chairman of the Institute was just an open title, even Micott knew about the relationship between the Vist Foundation and Anaheim. It’s likely that this leader may be attacked.

However, the girl’s eyes made Banagher feel that things weren’t that simple. She had a strong will, but those eyes weren’t the eyes of a fanatic. It’s different from all the people he met till now. Those jade-green eyes had a strong allure to them—

“The police’s looking for her? You better not get involved with this. If the army gets hold on this, you might not even have a job.”

Perhaps reading through his own thoughts, Micott said the absolute truth and ended the current conversation before looking over at Takuya. “Speaking of which, tonight’s party…” Banagher wasn’t interested in this topic and took Haro away before leaving.

''Do you think I don’t know about all of this?'' On one hand, he felt really angry, but on the other hand, his rationale side had to admit that Micott was right. His emotions that were being built up inside was forming a vortex inside him. It’s better not to get involved with her, and I know that. At the police’s side, he may be questioned hard by the police, and also by those executives in suits. Most likely, they would be public security personnel. ''If they’re eyeing me, my path to Anaheim will always be closed, and I may even be expelled from school and return back to the old colony of Side 1.''

The old city Banagher grew up in was the first of the space colonies that were built, and was at a corner where it was past its durability use. Other than old residents, there were refugees from war, people with unemployment and frustrated activists who were practically useless and had to rely on others. It was a small town where the circumstances were really bad, where the public drainage were often so bad that stench would always come out from it. Both mother and son seemed like they were fleeing from the sights of the world as they moved to his hometown, and it was the best place to live in for someone with no place to go. He also had the money his mother left behind, and he should be able to continue living on. However, there’s no future in that town.

Then, what about here? He intended to continue relying on this father of his who he had never met before and join the bottom rungs of the enterprise, but there wasn’t anything really different, nothing that he hasn’t seen. He didn’t have a goal, had no interests, and just felt ‘disjointed’ as the days pass. Does this mean that he had no future—he continued to be pressured by the swirling thoughts, and just when he quickly moved past the door, he heard a clear and refreshing voice “Are you Banagher Links?”. Banagher stopped.

There was an electric car parked on the road in front of the school gate, and a woman was standing right in front of it. The woman was wearing a fitting coat and tight skirt, and her long hair was tied behind her. She lifted her head and straightened her back, and one could tell from afar that she had a good figure that resembled a secretary of a large company. However, her face that didn’t have any make up made her look younger. Even though one could feel that she would fit into the school with just her appearance, the impression would change when they look into her eyes.

The emotionless blue eyes made it hard to tell whether she was focusing on him. The dark blue eyes that would remind one of the deep seas on earth made it look like there were two holes in front of her eyes. Banagher started to have goosebumps and picked Haro up from beside his feet. At this moment, the woman passed through the gate and said “that’s good. I have a question I want to ask you” as she approached. She was wearing a business suit, but Banagher realized that she was wearing sports shoes underneath.

“Can you please tell me what did the person you saved this morning say?”

The woman merely showed a smile, and behind her, two men got off the electric car. Both of them were dressed really casually, but their expressions and looks didn’t look friendly at all. Banagher felt that his hands which were holding onto Haro were sweating and asked back, “Are you the police?” The media didn’t reveal his name, and these people didn’t look like reporters. That robotic smile the woman gave didn’t change as she answered with silence.

Banagher felt that the air around him went cold as his knees were trembling. Something’s not right with these people. They had the same stench as of those frustrated activists in his hometown—those who were already used to violence. He looked away and backed off, “I told all I should say to the police.” He quickly said that and wanted to get back into the school. Immediately, his shoulder was grabbed from behind, and the foot that was about to step out missed the ground.

“Just say the same thing you said to them. We won’t do anything else then.”

The hand that was grabbing onto the shoulder didn’t let go as her blue eyes closed in while she continued on. The force wasn’t great, but his body still couldn’t move. It felt like he would be taken down if he tried to struggle. Banagher just felt that this action was of someone who was extremely skilled and forced out a hoarse voice, “What do you mean by that…” and the woman whispered to him, “You don’t want to be involved in trouble, right?” and exerted even more strength in her grip.

There was a sharp pain in his neck, and he let out a cry before he could endure it. His upper body couldn’t help but twist, and Haro dropped off his numbed fingertips. Banagher couldn’t breathe normally as he moved the only free eye. There weren’t any students nearby, and there weren’t any signs of the old guard beside the gate. These two men were standing behind the woman and creating a blind spot. He wanted to cry out, but his abdomen couldn’t exert force, and he could only let his sights move about before seeing those blue eyes again.

It was killing intent. The term that matched her blue hole-like eyes accompanied this chilling fact as it went down Banagher’s body. Unlike those activists who lost their way, these men were professional. They knew how to wreck a human body, they were soldiers—people who would use violence without hesitation if necessary. Just when he thought about this, he heard the woman say “Where did ‘she’ go?” Banagher inadvertently said out carelessly “‘The snail’…”

“‘The Snail’?” the woman asked back as she exerted even more force. The pain that was added on struck Banagher as he answered, “The, the colony builder!”

“She said that she had someone she wanted to meet and talk with…”

He spoke too much. Just when Banagher felt that despair the moment he let out his voice, the pain suddenly vanished, and his body that regained its freedom took a few steps back. Banagher finally managed to support his knees and turned over to look at the woman who had already turned around. The two men who followed her from behind quickly left the school gate as if they weren’t looking at Banagher at all.

“You can’t possibly get over to the ‘Snail’…! It’s forbidden there. There’s also construction areas all around. You can’t even get over there!”

Banagher held his aching shoulder and shouted out unhappily. The woman stopped, and the beige hair that had a bit of orange was moved by the wind as she used those emotionless blue eyes to stare at Banagher.

“I’ll remember that. Thank you, Banagher-kun.”

It was a tone that was without compassion nor arrogance, which made Banagher feel all the more humiliated. The woman just took the electric car and left with the men. Banagher used his last ounce of courage to run out of the school gate and glared at the electric car that was gradually moving away. The electric car took a turn at the road beside the school and immediately went missing. Obviously, they were headed towards the Industrial area.

That girl was chased by people, and they weren’t the people—but more like guerillas who were like soldiers. “A war will happen.” “There’s still time” to stop it.” voices like this accompanied the weight of the current situation as they echoed in his head. However, Banagher didn’t think of what to do at this moment. He felt even more guilty that he succumbed to violence and let out these words.

Having stayed in the old city that was like a slum, Banagher developed a resistance to violence. He had a belief that if he had to fight or hide, he would be stronger than an ordinary boy. But the fact was that right now, he was no different from a child. He just said everything out just to avoid pain. He knew that this would bring about danger to the girl, but he couldn’t even muster a lie in his mind—no, he was just that spineless.

“I’m really…weak.”

He remembered those jade green eyes that had some anxiety in them. ‘How spineless’. The words echoed in his heart. Banagher gripped his fists hard and couldn’t help but run out.

At this moment, he didn’t even have the rationale mindset to think about his future as his body went hot from the impulse of trying to make up for his own mistake. Banagher and Haro, which caught up, went to the nearest electric car park.

===Part 6===

Having come all the way here, one would really feel that Industrial 7 was really a space colony that was being built.

The block that was completed was only 20km long, and right in front of it was the colony builder unit ‘wheel’, and the inside was 3.2km long and 1.6km wide. The construction area was divided into 4 parts. One of the land cabled structure has 4 territorial blocks that’s being built, and these were lined together without much any bumps. There’re 6 of these land cable structures that surround all 360 degrees on the inside of the wall of the space colony. This scene itself wasn’t just a congruent sight itself, but one would realize that if they peel off this foil of artificial earth, they would just be living in a cylinder. It’s a barren and lonely sight.

For the past 10 years, she had been to many places, including Earth, but she had never seen a space colony that was being built on the inside. As she stood in front of wire mesh that separated her from inside, the girl didn’t look bored as she looked at the large builder unit. The large unit builder was a large metal frame that was about the same as the area block. The lines that run on the rail were moving about, fastening the area block that was under construction, and the fully automatic machines will finish off the area blocks that they were supposed to construct. Simply put, these were extremely large industrial machines, the basis of the land making process.

Based on the information on the mesh wire, a construction would take about a week. The first construction will move onto the second one, and the second one will move onto the third one. It will move all the lines on the area blocks to be completed systematically as it progresses, and it will move back once the fourth construction was complete to the first construction. This was the day when the final construction will be completed, and the other side of the wire mesh look busy. Work vehicles and cars with supervising civil servants would move about to and fro. Once the construction group back off, a new ‘land’ will be completed, so the district office itself would be busy. They had to check the name of the area according to the city’s plan, and also check the electric cables and the underground sewage. There were a whole lot of things they had to do.

The land builder units would back away in all 6 lines and return back to the start. The wheel itself would back away too. In other words, the colony will increase in length by 1.6km. At that time, the colony itself would let a siren and get ready for a slight tremor that would coming with the growth. However, what would be the scene of 6 builder units rolling at the same time when they’re more than 3km long and about the height of 25 levels? Just thinking about it alone made it exciting, but right now, the current situation wouldn’t allow for her to sightsee leisurely. She looked away from the high builder unit and looked at the construction gate that’s between the wire mesh fence.

Though there were guards, the security wasn’t strict. Maybe vehicles could sneak in here. However, there was a problem. She didn’t know what the builder unit looked like, and even if she passed through it, there were still 3 blocks of area blocks that were under construction. She didn’t feel that she could walk 6km into this construction area without being discovered, and especially when there was the commotion this morning, it’s likely that the police may be watching them.

The girl looked up at the artificial sun that was shining through the clouds. She wondered if she could walk over through there. It’s impossible to see from here when the land builder was blocking, but the artificial sun that passes through the space colony would extend out to the airtight wall on the other side where the moon was, and it would form part of the basis of the gantry linking to the colony builder. The gantry would often let out construction materials and dust as cranes would then move these materials to the construction site. Thus, it should be easy to sneak in through the artificial sun.

And since this path is inaccessible, she could only move through the construction area if she wanted to get near the colony builder. The girl again looked at the gate of the construction site. As she noticed the cars and the guards who were busy dealing with them, kyururu…her stomach rumbled.

She immediately looked around. Luckily, there wasn’t anyone nearby. Even if there were though, the sounds of car moving through would overpower it so much that it couldn’t be heard. However, she still felt herself blushing unknowingly. The girl hasn’t ate for more than half a day, and wondered how she was actually able to be hungry at this moment. But on the other hand, she could understand the importance of eating. The girl sighed. She should have taken some dry food when she left the Garancieres, but it’s now too late to regret about this.

She was thirsty too, and in this situation, her concentration will drop. Also, it’ll be easy for someone to spot her when she remain at the same place for a long time. The girl left the scene and head towards the Industrial area in the street construction block. On the way, she went by a large trailer that had lots of mini mobile suits on, which caused her face to be covered with dust that flew off the road. At this moment, she suddenly remembered about that boy she met in the morning, his presence.

The boy who desperately reached his hand out of the mobile suit cockpit to save her life while she was floating in the air seemed to be an ordinary citizen. ''Why was he able to do that? What happened to him after that? I should have at least thanked him…''

===Part 7===

To ease the stress of being hidden in a sealed space, the space colony had routes that were designed to be part of the city’s plan. One of them was the commercial area that was right beside the construction area. The thin and long path had shops littered on both sides of the road, and each of the shops were set up to their ideal image, causing the street to look like those remaining shopping streets in those old cities on Earth. The back of the short roofs had builder units that were like hills, and clouds that covered the airtight wall facing the moon. The area just felt like a rural town.

It was 1pm, and all the eateries were no longer packed with workers. The shopping streets entered a time of relaxation. She snuck in between some old people and some housewives with children and continued walking down the street. There were bakeries, bookstores, customer service shops and eateries. At times, there would be the smell of hot dogs or oily Chinese food coming out from the messy row of streets. Though she could drink from the water cooler in the park when she’s thirsty, her empty stomach couldn’t be filled, and if she let her guard down, it would rumble again, which would make it embarrassing.

However, she was more worried about the housewives who were walking by and glancing at her. She had firm belief that she wasn’t caught on camera by the port’s surveillance camera, so nobody would suspect that she was the one involved in the incident this morning. Or maybe her clothing was rather strange for the people here? She checked on the internet for the latest fashion trend before she left for Palau and tried her best not to choose the most outstanding on. As she looked at herself through a glass window on a cupboard in a shop, the girl wondered whether it was because she buttoned up her collar. However, she didn’t want to opened her collar so randomly, so she started working again.

She made preparations before, but there would be lots of trouble when it came to reality. To her, who never carried money or credit cards before, she didn’t know that she couldn’t buy bread without having money as it was not part of her knowledge. Thus, she made the mistake of running out without taking the money. I really don’t understand social rules—the girl thought as she felt even more depressed. She had no experience of going out alone. Speaking of which, she did watch a romantic movie about a princess in a small country who slipped out onto the streets for a day of happiness. It was an old century film. The story was ordinary, but the actress who acted as a princess who did not know anything was really charismatic, and it was a movie she really liked. What was the name of that actress?

Thinking about it hard, the girl suddenly realized that she was seriously thinking of the actress’ name. She abandoned the useless dream behind her. The princess in the movie was just leaving a boring duty, but she had something she had to do. Ever since they knew that she was opposed to this deal, Zinnerman didn’t reveal anything more about this deal to her. Thus, she wasn’t certain when the interaction with Vist Foundation would be held, and where. However, some of the other crew members said that it would begin at evening, and it’ll be too slow for her if she continued to laze around. Palau should have found out that she was missing. She had to be faster—the girl left the shopping street, entered a complicated alley, and found a van parked in a dead end.

She looked at the van that was filled with metal filings, and thought that it would be impossible to get on. She then looked over at the driver’s seat. She didn’t want to use this method, but would it be possible to talk to the driver and let him help transport her into the construction area? She could say that she wanted to get closer to see the colony being built. If she’s successful, she could even get inside the area builder. If she could get in and understand the rough situation…

Suddenly, she felt a stare from behind. It’s like someone who had been prone suddenly lifting its face, a stare that was full of intent. Her body unknowingly tensed up, but she didn’t make the mistake of turning around carefully. The girl quickly turned around a corner, but there was a man who blocked his way on the alley, causing her to stop.

The man was dressed in a short coat, and his cap was kept low. The girl recognized his face. He was a member of the Garencieres. The girl intended to leave the alley before the man walked over, but two people were standing at the exit of the alley, blocking her escape.

The exhaust fan from the restaurant pumped out greasy smoke, and the alley only had dirty trash bins fallen about as there was no one else around. Knowing that she had nowhere to go, the girl hid her uneasy feeling as she faced the two people who blocked her getaway. She didn’t think of why she was discovered. She knew that the crew of the Garancieres could do this.

And if Marida joined in the search—the girl pulled about 3m away as she stared at Marida. Marida was wearing an office suit as a disguise, yet it couldn’t hide her ominous presence. The girl knew that she would be immediately caught at such a distance, and used her eyes to tell her not to be rude. Marida’s expression showed a shift, and one could tell that she was wavering,

“Let’s head back, princess.”

Heading that little wavering in her, Marida said, “The captain’s worried about you.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Please consider your position. If you’re discovered by the Federation at such a place, who knows what would happen…”

She stepped forward while wearing the sports shoes. Even if the disguise wasn’t perfect, it’s really Marida’s style not to wear high heels. “It’s because I thought of this that I did it.” The girl used a tone that fit her ‘position’ and prevented Marida from moving forward.

“Right now, we can’t use the ‘Laplace Box’. No matter what kind of thing it is, Full Frontal will only use it as a tool and start a meaningless conflict. You should know that, right?”

“I don’t understand. I just listen to orders.”

“You’re lying. You’re just escaping. The ‘power’ that was given to you normally wouldn’t be used in such a place.”

The girl didn’t just say this randomly. Marida, who would blindly listen to Zinnerman’s orders and never faced her own life—showed wavering in her blue eyes again and looked away from the girl, but the ominous presence on her body didn’t subside. Marida recollected her expressionless look as she looked over, “Princess…pardon me for my rudeness.”

With such a signal, the crew member standing behind put his hand on the girl’s shoulder. He did control his strength, the skilled move wasn’t something that could be shaken off whenever anyone wanted to. The girl saw Marida and the other crew member close in and shouted, “How rude! Let go of me!” as she continued to struggle. At this moment, a loud alarm suddenly rang throughout the entire alley.

The sound was so loud that it probably didn’t just ring through the alley, but also possibly through the road. Even Marida was stunned as she looked around. The girl saw the crew member beside her reach for a gun in his chest, and the force on her shoulder was weakened. She used this chance to struggle hard and escaped from his grasped.

The girl dodged past the hand Marida reached out for the first time and went around the corner. Amidst the siren, she could hear Marida call out “Princess…!”. However, the girl continued to run. She turned around several corners, went through a narrow alley, and was aiming for a main street with people on. However, the girl soon lost her way, and as she looked around at a crossroad, someone suddenly grabbed her on the wrist from beside her.

The soft hand was different from Marida and the rest. The familiar feeling appeared through the girl’s mind as she even forgot to struggle and looked at the owner of the hand. That was the face of the person who saved her from impasse.

The head that was full of sweat and the dark brown eyes were staring at the girl’s eyes. Why…? The girl thought, and then heard the boy’s shout, “Over here!” The girl was pulled away by the hand. She ran from behind, and the ball-shaped robot beside the foot started to roll. The noisy alarm suddenly stopped. It seemed that this mascot-like robot was the one that made the sound.

The boy pulled the girl along in this narrow alley and continued to run through complicated alleys without hesitation. The girl was certain that he was that boy through the robot and the deep blue jacket in front of him, and continued to follow him and run. It may be careless for her to follow a stranger, but right now, she couldn’t allow herself to be caught by Marida. The boy who seems familiar with this place is leading, so let’s have him lead. The girl continued to run between the gaps of the packed houses.

Also, the hands of this boy were easing themselves to prevent hurting her and yet grabbing tightly so and not letting go. She was helped by a lot of hands before, but the girl never grabbed such a hand that grabbed onto hers firmly and without hesitation. It was unexpectedly soft too; it had the weakness of age as it was tightly sticking to her skin.

''I was saved by these hands twice. Who is this boy?'' At this moment, the girl forgot that she was being pursued and seriously looked at the back of the boy.

===Part 8===

The self-defense alarm system inside Haro actually worked in such an unexpected manner. While sweating and holding onto the girl’s hand, Banagher moved through the alleys of the shopping area.

Banagher didn’t come to the construction site only one or twice, so he had roughly remembered the entire place. He just needed to head over to the distribution center to compare the vehicle license plate that terrifying woman and the rest used and confirm their location. It wouldn’t be too difficult for him to take the initiative. Banagher intended to use the complicated alleys to shake off their pursuers, that is, if they weren’t caught in the process.

He first heard the breath of the girl behind her. Then, it was Haro, who was bouncing like a ball as its body was of strengthened plastic with an enhanced layer of rubber. Haro used the spring inside its frame to jump, and as the center maintains the movement, it couldn’t turn right immediately. After turning around a few times, Banagher picked up Haro, put it in a gap that’s 50cm wide between two houses, and used his expression to call the girl over. He thought that she would hesitate for a while, but the girl actually followed Banagher and entered the gap.

The gap was so small that he had to tilt himself sideways just to walk through. After walking through it, they used the piled up garbage for footing to climb up the walls. Then, they continued to move down through a corridor in the air near the roofs. A granny who was watching television inside a window turned around in surprise. A stray cat was scared away by this sudden intruder, and someone angrily shouted, “WHO’S THAT BRAT!” While stepping on the cheap plastic roofs, Banagher continued leap off them, and the girl nimbly followed him as her purple shawl fluttered with the wind.

After moving for about 20m, the rows of roofs vanished, and a large space appeared in front of them. They arrived at the boundary of the commercial area and the industrial area. Normally speaking, the area was a road, but the houses here were built towards the wired fence. This was a screen that couldn’t be seen unless one deliberately look from the ‘wide space’ where there’s deliberately no set up. Banagher checked that he reached the end of the cable like as planned, looked at the colony builder units that’s several hundred meters in front of him, and again turned to look at the landscape from a height of about 3 levels.

There’s a small pile of dirt beside the fence, and there’s no construction worker. Thinking about this, Banagher thought that this would be faster than climbing down the fence and turned to look at the girl. But before he could ask whether they should jump, the girl’s determined look was facing him as she jumped onto the pile of dirt. I lost to her…Banagher thought and carried Haro before jumping.

Banagher’s feet landed into the soft dirt and beside the girl. He climbed out from the pile of dirt that was at his chest level, spit out the dirt that entered his mouth, and saw that the girl who had already climbed out from here and slid down. They ran for a long distance, and those who don’t know the landscape wouldn’t know such a path. Banagher wanted to take a short breath and called the girl “Oi…”, but the girl stared sharply back and him and shouted, “HURRY UP!”

“MARIDA WILL CATCH UP TO US LIKE THIS!”

The girl’s jade-green eyes showed anxiety. It was really the expression of that girl. “Marida, as in that scary big sister?” The girl angrily growled back without answering Banagher’s question, “Hurry up!” and started to run off. Banagher climbed out from the pile of dirt and hurriedly followed behind.

He grabbed the hand of the girl who was intending to run to the outside of the builder area, said “Over here” and was about to pull her back, but immediately felt the girl gasp. He looked over at where she was looking at, and found that it was the woman who went through the residential area and was standing on the layers of overlapping roofs. The pretty-looking woman called Marida was looking over. Her blue eyes narrowed to a fine line. The next moment, the feet with sports shoes on them stamped onto the ground, and the hair that was tied into a ponytail fluttered. The body easily leaped past the metal wire and the pile of dirt as she landed on the ground.

She was as nimble as a cat. “No way…” Banagher couldn’t believe it, and the girl grabbed his hand, shouting, “HURRY UP AND RUN!” Banagher pulled her hand and ran towards the builder unit. The pyramid-like large monorail track and the structure was like a hill. On seeing this structure that was so large that it occupied their line of sight, they ran to a workyard with construction materials and mini mobile suits.

“What should we do?”

“YOU WANT TO GET OVER TO THE ‘SNAIL’, RIGHT?”

Banagher roared as he answered the girl and saw the crowd that was scattering in front of the builder unit like ants. It’s about time for the colony to expand and the creation of new land. They were already moving through the workers that were moving back, and one of them who looked like the worker head shouted, “Oi! Who are you!” Banagher went by the man and got near to a slope near the monomial stop. Looking back, he saw Marida easily pushing aside the workers who were coming over, and they were less than 20m away. Banagher’s idea to stand up and adjust his breathing was gone as he desperately ran up the slope.

The mobile rail of the builder units—the monorail was located at a place 1.5 times the height of the units away, but 170m high. The construct that looked like a triangle from the front was set in front of both sides of the builder. And at the start, or the end, there’s a builder unit linked to the slope used for transportation. Banagher was climbing up this slope. In other words, if he continued to run up this slope to the top, he would reach the ceiling of the builder unit.

[[Image:KSGU 205.jpg|thumb]]

The ceiling was 25 levels high from the builder, and there’re another few levels to the link point of the monorail. It’s a slope where a cart could move, but it would be really tiring to run up about several hundred meters at one go. He panted quite a few times, but on the way there, his feet started to feel lighter, and it felt like the muscles on his waist seemed to be floating from his bones. That’s because the further he was from the ground—the further off from the inside of the colony made the centrifuge force weaker.

There’s no high-rise buildings inside the space colony, and one could tell that the centrifuge force could only be used for a height of about 5,6 levels. The higher he climbed, the more his body felt the weakening of gravity. Banagher felt that such physics laws was really useful for the first time as his running motion was like long jumping continuously. However, it would be the same for the pursuer ass well. Marida kicked the slope with much more leg power and suddenly accelerated. Her hand reached the back of the girl, and only missed her shoulder by inches. However, she didn’t mess up her rhythm as she continued to pull her distance close. She was just like a machine that didn’t know fatigue. ''We can’t run away, we’ll be caught in the next second.'' Getting ready for this, Banagher suddenly heard a deep-sounding alarm.

At the same time, the warning lights on both sides of the slope rang, and a slow tremor went through their legs. Banagher used all his strength to move his legs and pulled the girl over at him. Because of the tremor, Marida’s feet became slower, and the link to the slope was being dragged up, turning a straight lane to a 2m tall wall. Banagher shouted: “Jump!” and leaped at the wall that’s rising.

Shaking off the gravity that was less than half of usual, both of them jumped with Haro, and their fingertips reached the edge of the wall. Banagher grabbed the rising wall, and the girl did the same too, but her fingers nearly slipped. Banagher grabbed the girl’s hand and climbed the wall. They didn’t stop rising, but they saw Marida, who couldn’t jump in time, slowly becomg slower.

The builder unit was starting to move. The builder unit that was stuck on the new block of land rose up the monorail by 170m. It moved into the moving circuit before starting to move horizontally. The unit just moved though the builder circuit and retreated back to the airtight wall facing the moon before starting to work from the first construction area.

Banagher checked that the girl and Haro were both fine, and for a short while, didn’t have the strength to move a he looked at the landscape that was getting further and further away. Marida continued to remain on the broken slope as she looked over. There’s no anger or disappointment in her eyes, just eyes that were as empty as a cave.

===Part 9===

All the gates would be closed when they’re moving. Thus, nobody could enter the inside of the builder unit. Both of them dragged their tired legs and continued moving up the remaining part of the slope before reaching the top part of the builder unit. Right in front of their eyes was a hilly region that was composed of metal frames that was tilted towards the inside, creating a gradual gradient of materials that extend far beyond. This size wasn’t to be described with a number of football fields, but one that could accommodate the entire city.

Banagher spread his limbs out wide on the floor of the passage linking both frames. He felt like he was lying on the clouds, most likely because he felt that gravity was weakened. The girl sat beside him, and both of them spent a little time regaining their breaths. The builder unit was already starting to move, and the breeze that gently blew by felt refreshing on the sweaty body.

“We can ride on this to the airtight wall near the moon. We can get close to the ‘Snail’…the hatch of the space colony builder, but I don’t know whether we can get in.”

Having finally adjusted his breathing, Banagher said this, and the girl merely answered softly, “Is that so…” without even looking back. Her voice sounded drastically different like she couldn’t even keep up with the sudden changes around her, and she had already used up all her strength just looking around.

“My name’s Banagher, Banagher Links. What’s yours?”

Banagher sat up, wanting to catch the girl’s attention. The girl let out an “eh?” and exchanged looks with Banagher, but immediately averted her eyes and said softly, “Erm, I’m called Audrey Burne…”

Audrey. Banagher felt that this was a nice name, but he didn’t have the courage to say it out, and looked away unnaturally. Haro instead came in between them and shouted, “Haro Haro” as it fawned around. The girl’s tense expression became relaxed somewhat as she reached her hands out to grab Haro.

The first time he saw her smile, Banagher had a strange feeling that the artificial sun got brighter, and then told her, “It’s Haro.” But Audrey gave him a puzzled look.

“Don’t you know? This is a souvenir robot made by the ace pilot of the war. It’s rather popular when you were young, right?”

“No idea, I’ve been living in the countryside.”

''Which countryside?'' Banagher looked at her face that was becoming more earnest and wanted to ask more, but Audrey’s smile suddenly vanished as she asked, “Why did you save me?” Having been asked this, Banagher was at a loss of words.

“That’s because…I don’t want people to call me spineless.”

''Actually, it’s because I was unhappy that I was threatened by that big sister''…he didn’t want to say this, and he felt that it wasn’t just that too. However, Audrey frowned and looked aside. Right now, her confused mental state was full of doubts. Seeing her without any response at all, Banagher said, “That, that’s what you said!”

“Me?”

“Yeah. I was then caught by the police. And I met that scary big sister when I went back to school…”

“Then, you followed Marida and the others?”

Interrupting the misunderstood explanation, Audrey stared at his eyes and said. Just when Banagher was left speechless by her fast understanding, her clear jade-colored eyes shook, and her expression because gentle after understanding what happened. She suddenly blurted out a ‘sorry’, which stunned Banagher.

“If I told you off for being spineless, I’ll take that back. It seemed that I misunderstood you.”

“Misunderstood?”

“Misunderstood you for being a person trapped in your own little world.”

Such unrestrained words caused Banagher to be stunned. He stared at Audrey’s face, who in turn looked like she didn’t say anything wrong, and again felt unhappy for being hit on the sore point before shouting shrilling, “EVERYONE’S LIKE THAT!”

“Everyone’s been living in such an exaggerated cylinder. Can’t that do?”

“That’s not it. I apologize if my words do sound scathing…because I have never experienced such a life before.”

That somewhat shocked look on her face looked like she had never expected her words to hurt other people, and she looked like a strange creature who lived in a completely different habitat. Banagher asked in disappointment, “Are you some rich princess or something?” Audrey herself smiled as she answered,

“A duckweed floating about. That’s how I was born like.”

Her gaze turned to the builder unit that was moving on the lane beside them and said in a self-mocking manner. Banagher secretly glanced at her somewhat lonely looking face, and felt that she was someone who he could get along with, and said, “Is that so…then I’m the same too.” Audrey didn’t answer as the artificial sun that seemed to have gone brighter shone on the duo’s head.

The builder would spend about 30 minutes to retreat completely from the builder cable that’s more than 6km long and would dock at the airtight wall facing the moon. During this time, both of them cautiously moved through the wide roof and moved to the other side of the builder unit. It was on both sides of the roof, but the distance was about 1.6km. Once they finished walking, the builder unit had finished moving.

They were only moving about 20km per hour on the builder cable, but the wind that blew by was exceptionally strong too. Banagher let Audrey move in front and carried Haro as he followed from behind silently. This is in case Audrey was about to fall off in the wind, but even in low gravity, her body wasn’t blown away by the wind. The cabled rail didn’t let out any sounds of tremor as only the wind surrounded both of them.

“Who were your pursuers?”

After going through half of the roof, Banagher asked. This was the one question that appeared in his heart amongst the pile of questions.

“My allies. I escaped from them.”

The wind blew Audrey’s brown short hair as she casually sad. Banagher remembered what Micott said and tentatively said, “Are you an activist or something?”

“Activist?”

“Those that oppose the Federation or want the independence of spacenoids or something…”

“…Yeah. That’s sort of correct, but it may be scarier than what you think.”

Looking up at the airtight room where blocked her path, Audrey gave a wry smile. It’s unknown whether that expression was either to mock Banagher’s foolishness or herself. Banagher felt that a war that far exceeded his expectations was about to start and swallowed his saliva. He felt that he could be involved in it and lifted his head, and felt that his sweat and body went cold.

He looked up at the artificial sun that was gradually becoming yellow, and then looked at the watch which showed 2.15pm. He skipped all his lessons, and since it’s vocational classes where everyone’s split up, he couldn’t print notes from Takuya. ''What should I do? And I think I have to go to the principal’s office after school''…Most likely, his mind subconsciously forgot about his fear, and right now, he’s thinking about all these things. Banagher looked back and saw a street behind it. That was a familiar street that included Anaheim Electronics Industrial College, and the road just looked like it realy faded.

“You said that there won’t be any war, right?”

He turned to look at the girl’s back in front of him and said cautiously. Audrey immediately stopped.

“You said that you have to meet someone to prevent a war from happening. That’s…”

Suddenly, noise and tremors interrupted Banagher’s words. Banagher was shocked and ran beside Audrey before looking in front.

With the builder unit moving back, the colony started to extend. The ‘Wheel’ that covered the outer wall moved, and ‘Industrial 7’ slowly became longer. Inside it, Banagher and Audrey saw the airtight wall facing the moon backing off as the inner wall that’s sliced into a ring moved.

The cylinder that was 6.4km in diameter rumbled, and the airtight room and the gap between the inner wall of the ring gradually expanded. From between the expanding, through the first construction area that was under way and an area block that was only composed of frames, they could see the insider wall of the ‘Wheel’, and the ‘landscape’ of the colony that wasn’t completed was shown outside. The 6 colony units that were moving back through the cabled rails will enter the gap together to builder the outer wall of the colony, and then continue to move forward. It would continue to build the remaining area blocks in each construction area in order, creating new earth in the colony.

The earth rolled together with the ground, and the builder unit was trapped inside like a hill—this ‘creation of the earth’ seen was already a common sight to Banagher, but the majestic scene of this large movement would make anyone amazed no matter how many times he saw it. Audrey seemed to have the same feeling as she muttered, “Amazing…” she looked completely moved. The glow let out by the jade colored eyes seemed to show an expression a person of her age should have.

“Is this the first time you’re seeing this?”

Audrey nodded as she answered Banagher’s question, but her eyes couldn’t leave the scene in front of her. The clouds that were moving, the airtight wall that was moving further, the base of the artificial sun that got expanded, and the temporary storeroom that was floating beside like a spaceship—

“The world’s gradually becoming bigger…”

Audrey suddenly saud that. Her expression and thoughts weren’t like a girl who’s living in a path of Shura far beyond anyone’s imagination. It was a voice filled with similar thoughts and values. The anxiety and terror immediately disappeared as Banagher smiled. He stood beside Audrey, who wasn’t even aware of herself, and looked in front.

Unlike the faded streets behind, the brightness of the world in front of them obviously increased. Breathing the air of the ‘world’ that was just born, Banagher lifted his head and looked at the airtight wall with a metal bowl-shaped depression. At the base of it, the gate leading to the colony builder—the ‘Snail’ was covered in clouds, and they couldn’t see it.

===Part 10===

The expansion work on the space colony resonated with a side of the colony builder. It was 2.30pm, and the ‘Wheel’ finished moving. The ‘Magallanica’s retractable deck buzzed silently like how it was supposed to. However, this retractable deck of the ‘Magallanica’ could hold a battleship. As according to the nickname ‘Snail’, there’s a snail shell riding on its back. It’s more than 300m in diameter and 1km deep. This place was linked to the airtight wall facing the moon on Industrial 7, and was also the exit where building materials were moved. In that sense, it’s more accurate to describe it as a small scale port.

In one of the areas, Cardeas Vist was watching the silent buzzing—the packaging of the RX-0 ‘Unicorn’. The white machine had more than ten personnel preparing it, sealing the hatch or sticking warning labels all over it. That’s a common scene when exchanging goods, but the personnel realized that they weren’t doing an orthodox handing-over and kept silent. They weren’t using a normal mobile suit fixation unit but a special containment that’s highly confined, which is another reason why they were silent. The ‘Unicorn’, which was being packaged inside the box with spare parts and equipment, looked like a toy robot in a model shop. Or rather…a top secret machine in a box.

If there’s a need to mention something different, it’s that the manufacturer wouldn’t accept refunds or repairs, which was why they put in a large number of repair parts and waste materials. The limbs were tied together to prevent the person using it from spoiling it immediately. However, Cardeas himself suspected whether this would be effective or not. If the ‘Unicorn’ were to go full power, such a level of restrain could be destroyed. The unique frame, capabilities and limits of this machine wasn’t completely grasped too…

He thought about all these as he lifted his head to watch the beam rifle being dragged by a mini mobile suit. Gael wordlessly floated over to stand beside him. Seeing Gael move so fluidly under zero gravity and land on both feet, Cardeas wordlessly prompted him to state his intent.

“The second lift camera captured this footage just now.”

Gael handed over some photos of a girl’s face that was entering the cargo lift. Cardeas stared at the face that’s slightly above, and gasped.

[[Image:KSGU 217.jpg|thumb]]

“…Why is ‘she’…?”

“Not sure, but she’s coming here. There’s a report that said that there was an intruder that came in through the maintenance path of the artificial sun, but the identity and whereabouts were unknown. Maybe it’s ‘her’.”

She had brown short hair and a taunting expression as it looked like she was deliberately exposing her face and looking up at the camera. If it was a disguise, it would be too brilliantly done. For 10 years, she had never shown a photo of herself. However, 3 years ago, Cardeas saw a photo of hers that the Federation intelligence managed to capture successfully. He could only admit that she was here.

But why was she here? After shuffling through several photos, Cardeas saw the other person who rode the elevator with ‘her’, and couldn’t help but widen his eyes. A shock that was different from seeing ‘her’ face pierced through his heart, and he felt his own hand that’s holding the photo shaking.

“What about this boy?”

“Seemed like her companion. A little too young to be an escort…”

At this moment, Gael stopped, having definitely sensed his shock. Cardeas used his utmost will to control the trembling in his hand and finished looking through the remaining photos.

The dark brown eyes inherited from his mother, and the slightly round face. It couldn’t be a mistake. The ‘tumor’ in his life he kept till now actually appeared at such a moment, and with ‘her’—

“Do we have contact with the ‘Sleeves’?”

Cardeas spent 10 seconds just to let out a voice that didn’t tremble as he asked while ignoring Gael’s concernted look.

“No. But there’s a little commotion in the construction area. There may be a mutiny too.”

“So ‘she’s working on her own too…”

Considering the current situation with the sleeves, this isn’t impossible, but the reason as to why ‘she’ came over wouldn’t be enough to explain why the boy came with ‘her’. His life had no involvement with the ‘Sleeves’ in the first place. What happened? What caused him to come here? Cardeas didn’t want to talk about such ‘private affairs’ to the ‘corporate’ professional Gael as he continued to stare at the people in the photos.

“This may cause an obstruction to the transport of the ‘Box’. Must I send her back?”

Gael said. Cardeas looked at his upright stare, and then lowered his head as he looked back at the photos. At this point, the word dilemma came to his mind.

===Part 11===

Once they took the lift down and went through the defenceless gantry gate, they entered the closest elevator. Another 1,500m down to their destination and it was the residential area of the colony builder.

This was the inner area that was on the inside of the 'Snail'. This residential area that had only half the diameter of the space colony had only half the gravity. Banagher and Audrey floated out from the elevator and entered the plains with very little gravity. The outside was a complete green, and there weren't any people around, and neither were there the sounds of vehicle or mini mobile suits moving. The relaxed voices of the birds was the only thing accompanying the air. This shrill and peaceful silence that would hurt the ears made it feel like a completely different world from the noisy industrial space colony.

Under the flat artificial sun that was illuminating the ceiling, the green pasture looked like it filled the entire inner wall. To the people who would only think that there was only the sight of industrial resource facilities and worker dormitories, this scene would be too unexpected. As the gravity was weaker, the grasses and trees were taller than those in the space colonies, but looked like they were properly trimmed, which made them look odd. This place had tectonic plates that were of an even smaller scale, and if one didn't look around, it would appear to be flat ground. This place also had a luxurious looking villa, and the fountain in the garden was still flowing with water. One would feel that the name 'colony builder' was a lie as what anyone would see was similar to a garden commonly seen in old-century houses of the nobility and the fabled tycoon's private land.

“Just like what Micott said...”

The structure of the Vist Foundation villa itself was moved directly from Earth. Banagher stared at the villa in an engrossed manner that could only be described as 'luxurious'. This should be called a Tudor dynasty mansion, a stone structure that almost couldn't be seen at all in the space colonies. It was 100m wide and the corridor at the front had become all grey because of the erosion. The overwhelming feeling of a fortress would make any viewer feel fear. The wide blue sky and the clouds as a backdrop made it no different from Earth.

[[Image:KSGU 221.jpg|thumb]]

What should be an old-styled donut-shaped space colony was shown in the sky. The axis seemed to be like Industrial 7 itself, and the afternoon lighted the mansion tiredly. Banagher hid behind the shrub and looked at the situation at the villa. However, he was stunned by Audrey, who stood up out of a sudden. Even though they were able to walk in unguarded up till now, there wasn't any guarantee that they could pass through safely.

“Are you going?” On hearing these words, Audrey stopped and turned around with a look that seemed to say “What are you doing here?”

“I can go alone. You can head back.”

At this moment, she gave a tone that seemed to emphasize the end of the line. “Bu...” Banagher's voice was filled with doubt, and Audrey turned around.

“They found out that I'm here. They're ready to invite me in.”

“Do the Vist Foundation know you?”

Her eyebrows twitched, showing that she was wavering somewhat “So you really needed to meet someone of the Foundation...” without waiting for him to finish, Audrey turned around and walked off. Banagher snorted and moved off in larger strides than Audrey.

“Banagher-san...”

“There may be a terrifying big sister out there waiting for me. It's safer for me to go ahead.”

How could he turn around at this now that he came all the way here? “Also, call me Banagher.” After he said that, Banagher carried Haro, who couldn't move really well on the grass, and asked: “Right?” Haro energetically answered back “Haro!” as the voice echoed in his chest.

Banagher took this as a yes and started to walk to the villa. Forget about being served. If we're going to be captured, there's no need to lead us all the way here. He was thinking that since there was no danger, he might as well come to the inside of the 'Snail' since it was a rare chance itself. The colony builder was a mothership that was meant to develop the Jupiter Celestial area. Since he was a technical student who volunteered to go to Jupiter, he was interested in this technology.

In fact, through this viewpoint, moving the green pastures of the Earth to this residential areas was meaningful. To extract the radioactive fuel Helium-3, there was regular transport to Jupiter. However, the total journey of 1.6 billion km would take several years, and it's said that it's not uncommon to see cases where the crew members collapse mentally. Even the Earth would be buried amidst the deep outer space with countless stars in them—maybe it's because the colony builder was supposed to head to a place that's too far for the human soul to work at alone that such a haven was needed. More than half the human population were in space colonies, and became space residents that didn't understand real nature. However, it need not be just a visual thing, as a 'nature' that could be touched, stepped on and sniggered at could save the human soul.

“If we can't leave the ground, what Newtypes can we even talk about...”

She unwittingly muttered that. While Banagher answered back “Eh?”, Audrey gave a vague smile and moved her feet that stopped before. He didn't even know why he felt this way. He didn't have any interest in Zeon Deikun's Newtype theory. Was it because he just heard of the history lesson before?

After a short walk, the grassland that was as high as the knees became a flat green. They were already close enough to see the fine details of the villa. It seemed that there wasn't anyone around, and there wasn't any perimeter wall or gate surrounding the house. Maybe this entire land was private property, and that they entered the garden already.

In that case, they didn't need to think about intruding illegally. Banagher climbed up the stairs leading to the atrium and faced the two large doors. The doors were made of wood, and they were decorated with metal rings and lion heads. Banagher and Audrey nodded at each other and used the metal ring to knock on the door like how it was done in movies. They didn't know whether this could be used as a doorbell, but the sound of the metal knocking was deeper than what they imagined it to be as it seemed to ring through the entire silent area of the residential area. After seeing that the door didn't show any signs of opening, Banagher shrugged his shoulders, and Audrey went forward to grab the door handle. The unlocked door let out a creaking sound as it opened.

The ceiling that was at the second storey had a posh-looking chandelier on it. There was a wide set of stairs linking to the second level, and once they went up, it was a corridor in mid-air that felt like a deck was being repaired. The corridor looked like those in the movies when a posh-looking woman would be dressed up nicely and smiling as she invite them in. there was complete silence inside the dim place, and there wasn't any presence of any butlers coming out to serve them. There wasn't anyone else who questioned the duo who trespassed randomly other than the stares from the paintings on the wall, and the empty domestic presence surrounded Banagher.

It wasn't the emptiness of a house full of charms or the loneliness of an abandoned house. The number of furniture and house decorations made it feel like people once lived in here. However, the cold air didn't have any tinge of warmth too—feeling that his body was trembling, Banagher shouted: “Anybody home?” and didn't get any answer. He exchanged glances with Audrey and walked deeper into the first level.

It seemed that there was some regular maintenance as there wasn't any odour in the empty rooms or corridors. The sofas in the living room were covered with dustproof-cloth, and the glass windows with curtains drawn were wiped clean too. Unwilling to open the windows on his own, Banagher looked through the gap that showed a ray light looked around, and walked towards the balcony where he could look down into the atrium. The atrium was a Colosseum that was surrounded on all sides by the building itself, and amidst the different sizes, there were many sculptures beside the restroom area at the middle.

Each of these were things that Banagher saw in arts textbooks, so these shouldn't be the real thing themselves, but delicately crated duplicates. The sculptures remained inside the empty garden, and there was an empty and chilly sense of presence, making one feel that they may be moving before he was here.

A bird flew by and stopped on the face of a man's status that was deep in thought before flying off again. Banagher looked at the statue and felt that the statue was looking back at him. He swallowed his saliva, took a few steps back from the balcony and recollected his thoughts, saying 'there doesn't seem to be anyone around' and went back to the corridor.

“There should be a command area somewhere. Once there...”

Speaking halfway through, he stopped as Audrey wasn't around. Haro was rolling around on the floor. He looked around and couldn't find anyone. He frantically walked to the neighboring block, and found that there was a door opened downstairs. Banagher hurriedly ran to the exit, saw Audrey standing in the dim room and heaved a sigh of relief.

The side of her face was lit by the light that shone in through the curtains of the windows as she looked up at the wall. Banagher was about to say 'don't scare me like that', but he was stunned when he entered the room.

The ceiling was abnormally high, and on the wall of this room that was the largest he ever saw, there were six really large paintings on it. They were arranged together without leaving any space, and it seemed that the paintings themselves were the wall. No, those were paintings. They look like they were woven onto a piece of cloth. A large embroidery...it's called a tapestry, correct?

The six tapestries were all of different sizes, but the smallest one was 3m wide, and the height was about 5m. They should be related works as the base colors and structures of all these works were the same. They had a woman standing at the middle of a garden with flowers and animals woven in them. The imaginary world the woman was in would remind one of a small outer space. There were two beasts on both sides, and the completely different parties created 6 scenes. Amongst the two beasts, one of them was a lion, and the other one was one with the body of a horse and a long thin horn on its head—

“Unicorn...”

Audrey muttered to herself. Banagher heard his heart pulsate for a moment.

The memory of the white mobile suit he saw this morning in the subway train awoke in him, and the blood that moved inside his body started to rumble. He didn't know the reason, and he didn't have the strength to even think about it. The woman who was taking fruits from the tray the maidservant was holding; the woman playing the harp at the table; the woman making a crown of flowers...Banagher felt that something inside his mind was rumbling and about to break out from his skill as his eyes were enchanted by the tapestry.

The woman who let the unicorn rest on her knees and looked at the mirror; the woman holding a flag with a moon on it; and last of all, a woman standing in front of a small tent, putting her jewellery into a box a maidservant's holding. The unicorn and the lion were on both sides of the tent, and the woman who looked like she was putting her jewellery away was entering a tent. The tent had the words 'A Mon de Désir' written on it, and this was an ancient language that would only be understood by only a few researchers. The meaning was...

“...My only wish.”

He subconsciously said it out, and immediately felt a chill. I couldn't possibly read it. I couldn't possibly understand it. Banagher shook off Audrey's anxious expression and asked, “Is this a famous painting?”

“I don't know...but since it was Vist Foundation who shifted this piece of art over to outer space, I think it's something valuable.”

Audrey frowned in surprise as she noted. I know, Banagher told himself this in his mind. It doesn't matter whether it was famous or not. I know this piece of art, and it's not that I saw this before on TV or textbooks. No, I never even touched it before. A long time ago, I couldn't even get to the bottom of this tapestry. Someone carried me up and told me the meaning. At that time, that room also had the sound of a piano playing—

He slowly turned around. The piano that was beside the window as basked under the sunlight that came in. Banagher walked over to it and touched the piano that was covered in cloth.

“Seems like nobody's staying here. I'll go find the control room. You...”

“I remember.”

Muttering unknowingly, Banagher turned to look at Audrey: “I remember. I saw these before.”

“These tapestries?”

Looking at the tapestries that were hung on the wall, Audrey gave a look of disbelief back at him. Banagher was forced to move by this irritation he couldn't explain and said: “No, it's not like this...” At this moment, a third person's voice could be heard: “Do you like it?” causing him to gasp.

He looked around. A man was standing at the door. He looked at Audrey, who was frozen, and again looked back at Banagher. The man slowly entered the oroom. The somewhat dim light lit his silver hair and sharp eyes, and Banagher felt that the pressure in this room got even more intense. He subconsciously took two steps back, knocked into the piano, and the photo frame on the piano dropped down.

He instinctively turned back to look, and saw the face of a ten-year-old, slightly plump and giving a poker face. The boy seemed to have a man and a woman on both sides, most probably his parents. The woman, who seemed to be the mother, had her hand on the boy's shoulders as she smiled. The energetic man standing on the other side was also like the boy, showing a poker face. Looking at the man's face as he had that Chinese-styled collared shirt on, Banagher again turned around to stared at those sharp eyes in the dim place.

His cheeks were slightly skinner, and his hair had faded in color, but the man in front of him was completely identical to the man in the photo. Most likely, he's the owner of this villa. The stakeholder of Anaheim Electronics, and the one rumored to be the actual owner of the 'Snail', the leader of Vist Foundation—

““The Lady and the Unicorn”, author unknown. Most people thought that it was a tapestry made during the Middle Ages in France. This wasn't a copy. It's said that the ex-leader spent a lot of effort trying to get it during the One Year War.”

As he casually looked at the two intruders, the man—Cardeas Vist continued to talk. “The New Moon's Flag this woman's holding was the crest of someone who represented an advisor to the French King in the past, Vist Foundation, my family. Most likely, an ancestor requested someone to make it, and it ended up in his hands.”

The voice sounded steady, but had impeccable strength in it. Banagher put the photo frame that fell down back to its position and looked at the faces of the people in the family.

There was Cardeas, who was about 20 years younger than before, a woman who seemed to be his wife, and the boy. These were all faces he could no recognize, faces of strangers. After seeing that, the sense of 'recognition' became ambiguous, and the tapestry and the piano suddenly became unknown foreign things.

“Right now, the common idea was that this series of tapestries represented the 5 senses of humanity. The woman holding the fruit represented taste; the woman holding the harp represented hearing; the woman creating the crown of flowers represented smell; the woman holding the mirror represented sigh; and the woman touching the horn of the unicorn represented touch...” Explaining in order, Cardeas looked at the last picture, and his eyes narrowed. “And the last one was called the 'tent'. As for what this meant, there wasn't any decisive conclusion to this. The woman takes off the bracelet she was wearing and puts it into the box in the maidservant's hands. There was a tent behind it with the words 'My one desire' on it. The unicorn and the lion are leading her in. What does that tent mean? What does the 'box' represent?”

[[Image:KSGU 230.jpg|thumb]]

Audrey's eyes widened, and Banagher could feel her tension. Cardeas turned to look at her.

“Some said that the tent had her husband in it, and some said that the tent led to a mental world where one gives up everything. Right now, the commonly accepted explanation would be the latter. While giving up the bracelet, the lady wanted to give up the delight her five senses brought, and the desire that they bring before releasing herself to a zone only the sixth sense could feel...the free will ancient scholars talked about was 'release'. In other words, the 'my own desire' was a realm of realization, and the tent was a symbolization of it. The bracelet represented personal desire, and the 'box' was a symbol of an earthly seal. Of it could also be interpreted that as the 'box' was opened, the lady was able to give up on her personal desire and face the next world.”

“This unicorn's existence is also symbolic. This is a legendary beast that had many meanings to it, but our family interpret it as the beast of possibilities. It was a beast that was born out of everyone's belief and love. Humans use this possibility of existence to raise this beast, causing a situation where it didn't matter whether it existed or not...like what Riike's poem said. On one hand, it could be interpreted as the sign of the Virgin, but we shall use it as a more ordinary term. We symbolize it as the power of belief...the symbol of hope.”

Once Cardeas finished, Banagher saw that there was a crest sewn on his chest pocket, one that looked like a unicorn. Just when he was about to ask whether it was the crest of the Vist Foundation or something, Cardeas looked at Audrey and said: “Pardon me for my late introductions.”

“I'm the owner of this house. My name is Cardeas Vist.”

Though Audrey looked rather mild at the moment, her expression wasn't showing any smile at all. She inadvertently looked away and started to stammer. “I...” But she clenched her fists tight and again faced Cardeas' tall body.

“Sorry to intrude on you. I'm...”

Cardeas raised his hand gently to prevent her from continuing. “I know you. Please don't declare your name first.”

“But...”

“You don't want to get this boy involved, right?”

Saying till here, Cardeas looked over at Banagher, but as their eyes met, his eyes looked back at Audrey.

“If there's anything important, please hold on for a while. However, if you're the sort of person I think you are, I hope that you understand that we're meeting under dangerous circumstances. Your presence here would make your comrades feel betrayed.”

“Zinnerman's a cautious man, so he won't create any unnecessary trouble...”

“Unnecessary? Is the need to ensure your safety unnecessary?”

The fists that were tightly clenched trembled slightly as Audrey went silent. Unable to understand what they were saying, Banagher could only stare at them in a flabbergasted manner, and his eyes met Cardeas, who suddenly looked over at him.

“You risked yourself too much. She'll be under our protection. Head back then.”

No matter whether it was some bigshot in the monetary world or not, one shouldn't be giving such a condescending look at someone they just met for the first time. Banager stepped forward, but got taken aback by Cardeas' sharp expression as he continued to remain there. Cardeas' entire body gave a heavy presence as he closed the distance between himself and Banagher.

Cardeas' eyes scanned Banagher from head to toe and stopped at the Haro at his feet. “Such an old toy.” There was a mysterious crying-like tone in the voice. On hearing these unexpected words, Banagher looked straight at Cardeas' cold expression.

“Do you know why she's being pursued, and what kind of people were pursuing her?”

“Well...I don't know, but they're really scary people.”

“Scary?”

“I just had this feeling.”

Gripping his trembling fingers hard, Banagher answered without wavering, and Cardeas' eyes suddenly became kiner: “Saying such things that a Newtype would say...” The somewhat wry voice entered Banagher's ears. Of course, one didn't need to look at the expression to see that he was laughing at Banagher for arrogantly saying that in a childish manner.”

“I was born in a place where such people kept going in and out, so I could tell.”

That was the last straw. Banagher was already expecting to be laughed at, but the wryness in Cardeas' eyes vanished. “...I see. So you say that you can recognize people?” Banagher could tell that this voice again sounded like crying.

“Then, let's not waste what you know. Head back. If you continue to stay here, your future will be wrecked. This is not what the person who sent you to Anaheim Electronics wanted.”

The unexpected words caused him to be shocked. Was his cover blown? No, Banagher suddenly thought. This Cardeas may be a friend of his father who he never met and requested him to transfer into the College.

From the few words his mother spoke and the history up till now, he knew that his father should be someone of status. Though it was a vague memory, the feel of the room and the tapestries didn't seem to be just a false impression...so strong that if he never saw the family photo, he would have thought that this was his family.

“You...knew?”

Immediately afterwards, Banagher forgot about all of these and started asking. Cardeas moved his eyes away slightly.

“I'm the chairman after all, and I can check any student's particulars and expel them accordingly.”

The last words went through Banagher with a straight gaze. Since he was being watched the moment he and Audrey, who was being 'hosted', entered the 'Snail', it's easy to investigate their history. The cold reality of understanding this caused Banagher to lower his head dejectedly. The passion shown just now cooled off as he felt his knees lose strength.

“I'll give recognition to a young man's impulse. It's alright to believe in instincts. However, if your knowledge and ability isn't enough, your response would be the wrong one. Go back. Don't get involved in this.”

After this one-sided aggression, Cardeas left Banagher. Banagher couldn't say anything, didn't even have the strength to stare at his back, and lowered his head. He succumbed again. This time, he succumbed under the violence called authority, and was about to collapse again. But even though he had this feeling, his wilted nerves didn't feel like getting back up in a motivated manner. Banagher turned to look at Audrey.

Audrey looked back at him too. After their eyes met, she immediately looked away, which made Banagher feel despair as he already knew what Audrey was about to say next.

“That's enough, Banagher. Go back.”

Her eyes were looking at him again, and the words were what he imagined it to be as they pierced through his heart. “But...!” Banagher's tone was full of panic.

“It's enough that you brought me here. I'll handle the rest.”

After giving a stiff smile, Audrey looked over at Cardeas. On seeing those eyes that were filled with intense will, Cardeas wordlessly walked away. Banagher felt that Audrey was about to follow Cardeas, and before he could think, his feet stepped on the floor first.

Though his posture was tilting somewhat because of the lower gravity, Banagher blocked Audrey as she was about to walk to the door. “Audrey.” Banagher called her name, and her jade-green eyes were looking back at him.

“Before I met you this morning, I saw a white mobile suit in the subway train.”

After blinking a bit, Audrey lifted her head slightly. Banagher ignored Cardeas, who was eavesdropping on them, and continued to look at her face.

“After that, I wanted to go to work, but there was no work for the day. I went to the cafeteria with Takuya, and saw you floating near the sun. I don't know much after that, but I was really excited. It's like another world appeared right in front of me, or that something I couldn't see in the past appeared right in front of me...this was the first time I felt that. It's like I felt my comfort zone for the first time.”

Banagher himself knew how foolish these words were, but his mouth just couldn't stop. On hearing that Audrey was looking a little moody and becoming more so, Baangher himself continued.

“I don't care who you are. Just say that you need me, say that it's better for me to be here. Then I...”

“No.”

Audrey answered before he could finish. Shocked by the stiff expression and the impact of the voice, Banagher felt his body waver.

“The world you saw today was nothing. It's just a dark and cold world. You shouldn't be here.”

“Audrey...”

“Forget about it. Don't get involved with me. It's better for you.”

This time, it was really a tone to clear the divide. Audrey turned around, and Banagher was rooted there. All around the delicate yet obstinate profile, the dark red base of the tapestries appeared in the dim place.

Perhaps seeing that the little drama between both of them was over, Cardeas nodded his head slightly, and men in suits appeared at the door of the room, ushering Audrey in with a courteous demeanor. Audrey lifted her head and followed them out. Banagher instinctively tried to catch up, but he was stopped by the presence that suddenly appeared behind him. Unknowingly, two men appeared from a room and were standing behind Banagher.

“We'll send you back to you hostel.”

One of the men. The man who would remind one of the ferocity and viciousness of a hunter had the crest of a unicorn on the chest. Knowing that he would be suppressed if he tried to resist, Banagher looked at Cardeas, who turned around and said just when he was about to lead Audrey out of the room: “This would be better.”

“The people chasing her may view you as a target.”

It was logical. Though Banagher himself felt that this was just an excuse, he couldn't say anything. Banagher clenched his fists and lowered his head. The embarrassment and regret left a stinging feeling in his nose, and the unicorn on the tapestries became blurred.

Audrey went through the door of the room without turning back, and Cardeas followed her from behind. As he left, he looked back, and seemed to stop for a moment as he probably looked at Banagher. However, once Banagher lifted his head, the profile vanished, and the light that came in through the door remained in the room, causing Banagher to see remains of the world he lost.

<noinclude>
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| Back to [[KSGU:Volume_1_Chapter_1|Chapter 1]]
| Return to [[Gundam Unicorn|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[KSGU:Volume_2_Illustrations|Volume 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

KSGU:Volume 1 Chapter 2

2012-05-11T01:54:18Z

115.77.129.48: /* Part 11 */

==Chapter 2==

===Part 1===

In the starry universe, there was a biplane that’s flying with a propeller. It was a middle-century classical plane that operates on gasoline.

As he stared at the plane blankly, Riddhe Marcenas imagined himself to be sitting on it. He was wearing a flying visor, a white muffler around his neck, and using fighting flying skills that were like acrobatics to tease the enemy’s destroyer. A pilot had to be like this. Even if the propeller planes were all replaced by jet planes or even evolved into space fighter jets with g, pilots were all proud riders. A pilot shouldn’t be part of minor things like being called out by an older non-commission officer or pointed at by a senior pilot. That’s the bad customs that passed down from the navy. And the pilots after the mid-century occupy a unique atmosphere called the air force, and they’re an unique existence that had to be separated from ordinary soldiers. At least they shouldn’t forget about this…that’s what he thought.

However, reality was cruel.

“Ensign Riddhe, the captain’s calling you over to his room.”

A window opened in the space, and the Mechanical Officer Jona Gibney’s mustached face chuckled as he said that. He was the oldest and the most experienced of the maintenance staff, and he was one of those senior soldiers who would not hesitate to scold an officer. Riddhe was sitting on the linear seat and pouted, “Why always me?”

“You have to bring stuff to the captain’s room. This job is more or less suited for a rich boy!”

“I’m an officer too, you know! This has nothing to do with lineage, right?”

“Only those who shot down an enemy’s plane has the right to say that. Now go!”

Mechanical Officer Gibney’s face disappeared from the screen, and only angry roars echoed throughout the cockpit. Riddhe unhappily turned off the all-view monitor and grabbed the biplane model that was floating above his head.

Once the space simulated image disappeared, the screens that were connected on the inside walls of the ball, and the cockpit suddenly became a cramped and unpleasant cockpit. Riddhe used a plastic bag to wrap the plastic body of the biplane and put it behind the display guard before opening the door. The door that could only be passed through by bending down was right in front of him. The sound of welding, cranes and metals rubbing against each other entered the cockpit.

Also, there was a chatter behind him, and Gibney, who was in that jumpsuit that the mechanical staff would wear was showing blank white eyes. Riddhe kicked the linear seat and easily let his body float out of the cockpit. Gibney’s body didn’t move as he floated in the air, and he said with a heinous tone, “Were you meditating inside that cockpit again?”

“I’m embracing the time when I can be one with my beloved plane. Are you touched?”

“And you even dare to say that you brought a toy in!”

“Please don’t randomly touch and spoil it. That’s a limited edition. It was hard to get it!”

One has to strike the fine balance between being orderly and doing things one’s own way. One shouldn’t remember the grudges when there’s vexing words said, but to forget it after hearing it. Having grasped the secret to ship service, Riddhe took the documents he was to deliver and left. “Who cares about you, Mr Mania?” after leaving these words behind, Gibney looked like he exchanged places with Riddhe as he slipped into the cockpit. His underlings, 4 new technicians in spacesuits followed him from behind and looked into the cockpit from all directions.

Their job was to pay attention to all of Gibney’s actions and quickly hand the important tools to him. This deck was often filled with air, so there was no need to wear the bulky work spacesuit. However, Gibney wanted the rookies to wear them at all time. “What’ll happen if we’re attacked and there’s a hole in the wall? Once you’re sucked outside, the blood in your body will immediately freeze and you’ll immediately die.” That was Gibney’s saying, and he did see this personally on the ship he was on. Those who experienced the One Year War, the ones who fought in war, had the most weight in their words.

When Riddhe was first assigned to this ship, he would also show respect to this, and would wear a pilot’s spacesuit when he entered the deck. However, he would now be lightly dressed in a jumpsuit and a jetpack. Since he’s riding on a spaceship, he will die anyway if they were attacked, no matter where they were, and even Gibney himself wouldn’t wear a spacesuit before the siren rang. After seeing the tense profiles of the rookies, Riddhe thought that they were really pitiful…but this made Riddhe remember his own sadness, and he suddenly had an urge to drop the documents that he was told to deliver onto the floor. He took a deep breath, held back this urge, grabbed and messed up his blond hair that was a little longer, and used the steel cable to move alongside the floor.

As he was being dragged by the cable, he could see his personal suit fully as he went near the passage that’s located at the wall. It was a blue humanoid body that showed the artistry of straight and curved contours. This was the RGZ-95 ‘ReZEL’ that had a variable booster unit behind. As the front part of the booster was extended out from the back of the head, it looked a lot larger than an ordinary mobile suit. Gibney and his subordinates who were gathered at the cockpit right at the abdomen looked like they were the size of the ‘ReZEL’s fist.

On the large mobile suit deck that was more than 7 levels high, there were 7 similar-typed ‘ReZEL’ and the main forces of the Earth Federation RGM-89 ‘Jegan’ were also at their fixed positions and undergoing maintenance. The ‘Jegan’ was a mass-produced frame, and though the ‘ReZEL’ was classified as the latest transformable mobile suit, both mobile suits inherited the basic design from the Federation Army’s mobile suit, the RGM-79 GM, which wasn’t changed too much. Most notably, the visor protector on the head that blocks the optical sensor was of the exact same design. Riddhe’s personal suit, the ‘ReZEL’ had the identification number NA-R008 on the chest, and the visor that was basically its eyes was being washed.

There was no sign of any streamlined winged mobile suits, only the humanoid mobile suits that looked like they will pop out in old cartoons. This scene just looked like the rows of Buddha statues Riddhe saw with he was young and went on a trip to Asia, which irritated him again. The beauty of aircraft was created from the coordination of air resistance. Thus, it would be natural for machines that’s to be used in vacuum to display other characteristics. Also, the reason why space fighter units that resembled planes and replaced by mobile suits called ‘robots’ was because of the One Year War that happened when Riddhe was 6.

If one hasn’t found the new particles that would bring about the revolution to physics, the Minovsky Particles that would jam all electronic devices, there wouldn’t be humanoid machines that formed the basis of recent wars. If it wasn’t for the creation of mobile suits and the Principality of Zeon’s creation ‘Zaku’ being such a huge success that caused the Earth Federation which had overwhelming advantages to be on the brink of defeat, this hangar would still have signs of the descendant of the biplane, the space fighter jets.

Of course, the fighter jets didn’t disappear completely. The main machine of the Federation’s air force, the TIN Cod II was a fighter plane that resembled an aircraft. The space army still had the fighter planes that were used for long distance support, but they were already out, and the budget for new machines was already interrupted for so long. Also, once the air force finished clearing the remnants of Zeon Forces on Earth, they were treated like they fulfilled their purpose and were abandoned. No matter how much one liked planes, to this person who graduated from the Officer Cadet School with outstanding grades, it wasn’t an attractive path.

In the end, Riddhe came here. He was affliated to a top-notch large ship under the Federation, and became a pilot of a mobile suit. He managed to fulfill his dream since childhood…and he even used his links with his ‘family’. What he got was completely different from what he expected though. He was living in the world whether that brave pilot was gone and began living his life while being called a ‘young lord’ by experienced pilots and soldiers as he was told off every day.

Considering that he couldn’t get away from the pressure of his ‘family’ whenever he goes, this was still a surrounding he could compromise with. He continued to hold back the unhappiness within him and reached his hand out to the handle on the deck. Suddenly, he heard voices from under his feet going ‘what’s with that ugly and fake tank?’. A pilot who was being pulled by the cable was glaring at the two vehicles parked in the corner of the deck.

The dark brown machines that were over 10m in length were large crawlers. They did look like armored cars or tanks. While leaving ‘Lunar Two’, about 30 transport carrier personnel suddenly came in with the vehicles. As Riddhe watched these vehicles, other voices could be heard, ‘Did the special forces bring these people in?’.

“They had been using cover to cover it, and they didn’t allow us technicians to touch.”

“The killer squad of the hunters. Such annoying visitors.”

On hearing these bad words that were deliberately said for others to hear, the ‘visitors’ who were maintaining the vehicle—the special Federation space forces ECOAS glared over, but the pilots themselves didn’t seem to reflect on this as they went above while holding the cable. Instead of merely being crude, it was more like small fries acting childish, and Riddhe really felt like sighing.

The ECOAS, also known as the hunter squad, had quite the bad reputation. They would often have a clear divide from the ship crew, and they would cover their equipment with cloth and not allow others to get near. Riddhe really didn’t like such secrecy at all. However, it would be immature for him to return nail for nail. Basically, the training and regimentation of the space army were all like the navy, and the group mentality for each ship was too strong. An experienced soldier like Gibney could be so cool was because of the bad habit of experience triumphing over rank. The concept of the term ‘ship’ in space and bringing the seaman’s mentality into space was the cause of all this.

If the spaceship could be described as a large plane, learning the elements of the air force may be like becoming an independent organization that had open communication channels. While repeating the meaningless grumbles, Riddhe looked over at the armored car-like thin the ECOAS had. The squad members were getting ready as they started to pull the covers off the vehicles, most likely because they were getting close to their destination, and they gave a tense feeling from their backs, making that place look like a completely different world. They were dressed in impromptu T-shirts and army pants, but they were highly skilled in moving under zero gravity, and they wouldn’t shout randomly. They weren’t extremely muscular, but the abnormally thick upper body and the thick chest muscles made them look like they trained.

Riddhe’s eyes met one of them. It was the man who shot a glare at his crewmate for saying harsh words. Riddhe gave a smile as he tried to compensate for his crewmate’s unreasonable action. But the man didn’t smile as he looked at Riddhe like he was looking at a ‘thing’ and then looked away before continuing his work.

He didn’t look like he was looking at other people. The cold inorganic-like eyes was definitely of someone nicknamed a ‘hunter’. Riddhe felt like he was being held at knifepoint on the throat as he hurriedly left.

===Part 2===

The ship’s name was called ‘Nahel Argama’. It was an assault landing ship that belonged to the independent unit of the Earth Federation, Londo Bell. Right now, it was in between Earth and the moon, right before the dark wasteland space of L1. In three hours, they would be entering the space debris field, and they will deploy all forces to monitor the region.

The ship that was almost 400m in length had a mobile suit catapult launcher at the deck of the ship. The bridge was right in the middle like a bow, and there were 2 giant wings with hidden solar panels extending out from the back of the bridge and reaching out to both sides. If one were to designate the two engines that are equipped on the rear left and right sides of the ship as the hind legs and the catapult decks on both sides as the fore legs, it would look like a sphinx with wings or a large wooden horse. Based on this point, this ship could be said to have inherited the Pegasusc-class obile assault landing ship that was active during the One Year War—the Federation’s first mobile suit carrier ‘White Base’.

However, the ‘Nahel Argama’ didn’t belong to any class, and neither did it have a similar ship. If there’s a need to classify it, it should be classified as Nahel Argama, a one and only ship. That’s because it was a ship that wasn’t designed through standard National Security planning during the time after the war, in the internal tussle that divided the Federation Army into half—what one would call the Gryps War. However, it didn’t have interchangeability and was hard to deal with, so it was removed from the army’s reorganization plans. Though there was a large scale reconstruction after the Gryps War, Londo Bell, which took it, didn’t know what to do with it, and it wasn’t set as a cornerstone of a fleet. It was hard to mobilize, so there was no accompanying fleet, causing it to be mobilized as a single ship.

This ship of the external group of the space army Londo Bell was an isolated one…and the isolation caused a twisted group mentality. It couldn’t be helped that the old habits of rejecting others happened. Riddhe used this thinking to scatter the anger that he couldn’t purge and left the mobile suit deck to move towards the center of the ship.

These weren’t all bad things, and Riddhe could even say that it’s better for him to be isolated. Also, he didn’t really dislike this atmosphere completely. He was the one who volunteered to be assigned to Londo Bell, and he considered his position and suitability before being assigned to the ‘Nahel Argama’. If he was sent to a main fleet, that wouldn’t be all the pressure. He would probably end up with his superiors fearing him, his peers hating him, and he couldn’t fulfill his duty in such an environment.

The weight of his ‘family’ was this great. He was the eldest son of the important senator in the Federation Central Council Ronan Marcenas. It was a political family that once gave birth to a Prime Minister, and he was the heir to the Marcenas’ glory. This guy’s here to pilot a mobile suit? Impossible. He’ll most likely be decommissioned after a while. It’s not rare for a political heir to enter an officer cadet school as one would say that being outstanding in the Federation army would be a shortcut to being a politician. Most of the time, he would be intending to get along with future generals to creating camaraderie with the army…

No! But no matter how many times he emphasized this, such words continued to be echoed. I didn’t want to be a politician. My dream is a pilot, so I entered the Officer Cadet School even with my family against it. However, having entered officer cadet school for 4 years and the mobile suit learning squad for a year, Riddhe really felt that it was meaningless to argue back, and didn’t want to face these words already. In contrast, he started to search his way from the center. It was a place where high ranking officers wouldn’t try to latch on to him so that they would be outstanding in the future. Even if they teased him as ‘young lord’, this was a place where they wouldn’t have any ill intention, but treat him as a pilot—

However, it was unexpected that they would call him to be a runner. Grimacing inside, Riddhe let go of the moveable handle and used the momentum to float through the path and stop in front of the lift that would lead to the gravity area. Mihiro Oiwakken, who was his junior that graduated in the next batch, was coincidentally in the lift.

“Oh my, are you delivering these documents?” “Yeah.” Both of them continued to talk as the lift carried them. The inside of the ‘Nahel Argama’ had a cylindrical gravity area that was like a space colony. It uses centrifugal force to create gravity on the inside of the cylinder. Of course, as the diameter was smaller, it could only create a weak amount, but even if the object’s not fastened to the floor, it could keep it to the floor. When flying for a long time, especially while eating and undergoing military medical treatment, this design would be extremely important.

The lift went through the axis on the side of the gravity area and arrived at the rotary axis of the cylinder. Both of them were exchanging information this time about the emergency departure and the uncertain battle plan before the door opened again. The destination was the Construction Space Colony ‘Industrial 7’ that’s in the Dark Wasteland space. The main operation would be carried out by ECOAS, and the ‘Nahel Argama’ was in charge of sending them.

“Industrial 7’s Anaheim Electronics’ Space Colony, right? The Dark Wasteland Region a place where a new Side will be built on in the space colony redevelopment project…I don’t think that it’s a place where the ‘Sleeves’ will show up.”

“I don’t know about the details, but the atmosphere in the bridge is really bad. We’re already unhappy that the hunters are using us as a transport, and we may even end up in a real battle. First Mate Liam was forcing the captain to make the hunters tell the truth…”

“Captain Otto can’t hold on for long if that old hag’s going to continue pressuring him like that, right? Even I can’t handle it.”

“Yeah. It’s really hard to imagine him when he’s commanding.”

Even though she would say this, Mihiro herself looked like she was far from the active battle. Her dark brown eyes and hair showed a heavy Eastern heritage. She was wearing a grey officer uniform and was shorter than Riddhe. Perhaps it was her inferiority complex in her height that she was so hardworking, and she was giving the nickname ‘mini-tank’ in Officer Cadet School. However, she wouldn’t give a vexing feeling, and is a nice female officer who wouldn’t lose her cool. The way she rolls her eyes would give people the impression of a small animal like a chipmunk instead of a mini tank.

22 year old Mihiro was only deployed to Londo Bell for half a year, and Riddhe, who graduated a year earlier, went to the mobile suit learning squad, so he was assigned here at the same time as her, and for the two of them, it was their first duty in their first ship. It’s been three years since the war with the remnants of Zeon in what people called ‘Char’s Counterattack’, and right now, even Londo Bell, which was meant to be an immediate response team, had not fought for a long time. Thus, there were quite a lot of people who didn’t have actual combat experience. Recently, the renegade organization called ‘Sleeves’ were starting to move, and had fought against several squads under Londo Bell. However, the ‘Nahel Argama’, which was on the outside, didn’t take part in the assault, thus, new cadres like Riddhe weren’t the only ones who couldn’t imagine the actual scenario.

“Real battle…since we have the hunters on board, it won’t be an exercise, I guess.”

“It’s troubling to have to fight secretly in a civilian space colony. ‘Industrial 7’ has the school Anaheim Electronics runs, right?”

Mihiro said this as that student-like face of hers became gloomy. As he saw that delicate Eastern skin of hers, Riddhe’s thoughts became a little uncouth, and the lift reached the gravity area before opening. After saying goodbye to Mihiro who was heading to the bridge, Riddhe let his body float through the passage that looked like the axis of the rotating gravity area.

Once he landed on the gravity, the body that was captured by gravity creaked, and Riddhe felt like he was struck by dizziness. He grabbed the handle on the wall. Riddhe frowned as the blood in his body was being pulled down as he didn’t feel well about that. He moved past the weapons personnel who came over from the cafeteria and entered another lift. The captain’s room was at the lowest level in the inside wall, where the gravity was the strongest. After descending down the axis for another 50m, his body started to become heavier because of the zero gravity during the journey, which caused his body to expand.

In fact, the atmosphere in the captain’s room was rather heavy too. After reporting and calling out ‘excuse me’, Riddhe walked into the captain’s room, and immediately knew the reason.

The captain’s room of the Nahel Argama had the operation room and the reception room. The reception room itself was a wide space that was more than 60 sq meters large. The ship was being expanded continuously to match the current mobile suit capacity needed. However, the basic amount of facilities needed wouldn’t require that much space, which ended up allowing them to use as much space as they wanted to. Inside the reception room right now was captain Otto Midas leading the people in charge of the weapons and the navigation were here. However, they weren’t the ones who made the presence in the room heavy. In contrast to the tired looking captain, there was a commander sitting on the opposite sofa, and there was an organization where everyone was dressed in suits—the dangerous ‘guests’ who were riding on this ship. They were the ones who made the reception area feel so heavy.

Such a heavy feeling made him remember about his ‘family’. Once Riddhe entered the room, he immediately saw the mobile suit squadron leader, Norman Basilicok. He avoided the looks of the rest as he handed the documents over to the colonel. He wanted to immediately turn around and leave the room, but Commander Norm said, “I need to sign this. Please wait for a moment.” Causing him to remain where he was.

Sitting at a corner of the L-shaped sofa and signing the nominal roll, Norm’s face looked rather unhappy, and Captain Otto took off his cap, a rare feat for him. As they had to put on spacesuits in battle, the space army wouldn’t use military caps when riding in ships, but Otto would definitely wear the normal cap. This was to hide his reclining hairline, and it’s an open secret in the ship. Some vicious mechanics would even say, “Does he even need to worry about being bald when he looks like that?”

“We’re fine with ECOAS leading this battle.”

Otto touched that head of his that was lacking in hair and broke the silence. The voice of a middle-ranked officer bemoaning matched his face that looked like an old uncle in a civilian factory.

“But Londo Bell also has what Londo Bell needs to do. At least tell us your objective…”

“That’s classified. I personally have no rights to reveal this.”

Sitting opposite Otto was the fierce commander, who answered without an expression. He was the leader of the ECOAS squad, Daguza Mackle. His straightened back and those sturdy thighs of his would make one wonder whether he could still maintain the same position even when someone takes the sofa away. No matter whether it’s the stone-like expression or the sharp expression that would make anyone freeze, he does look like a man who could lead the hunters.

Commander Norm stopped his hand from flipping through the documents and stared at Daguza. Riddhe found that he was in a situation where he didn’t want to face at all, as his straight body froze harder. As the leader of the counter-terrorist Special Forces, Daguza had handled much more covert missions. Compared to his expression, Otto, who was forced onto the Nahel Argama which no one wanted, lost out a lot. Norman and all the crew on the ship saw that the captain was losing out a lot, and were obviously looking outraged. However, Daguza didn’t really pay much attention to these stares. Riddhe was right in the middle of the epitome of a messy situation.

“But this is to be held in a civilian space colony. At least make some explanation to reduce the causalities to the minimum…”

“That’s why I’m allowed to come along.”

Otto manned up his pride as a captain and spoke, and the one who interrupted him was one of the men dressed in suits beside Daguze. Amongst the men dressed in traditional suits, there was a man who was wearing a collared Nehru Jacket. He placed the Nahel Argama model he was playing in his hand back onto the table and looked around at everyone.

“I’ll reveal this then. There’s a deal that’s about to take place in Industrial 7. The parties involved are the ‘Sleeves’ and the leader of the Vist Foundation.”

The man said as he smiled and relaxed his plump face. He was a ‘visitor’ that came along with Daguza and the ECOAS members, and the one with the largest profile. They only knew that he was an important member of Anaheim Electronics, and his name was Alberto. This man had an arrogant smile, and he seemed to be telling everyone that the authority over this entire battle is in him. Otto asked back, “Did you say Vist Foundation…” and at this moment, Norman and Daguza narrowed their eyes in unison as they gave unhappy looks.

“That’s right. On the surface, it’s a philanthropic foundation that transports art pieces into space colonies, but in fact, we control practically all of the Vist Foundation’s wealth and power. Though there’s a difference in the authority wielder, it’s the major stakeholder of our company here.”

With his back facing the Earth Celestial Sphere map on the wall, Alberto ignored the unhappy looks everyone gave.

“Of course, Industrial 7 is our company’s asset. However, even if there’s some damage, we have to prevent the deal between the ‘Sleeves’ and the “Vist Foundation’. This isn’t Anaheim’s decision only, but also the conclusion the highest authorities of the Federation Army came to.”

His eyes with double eyelids made him look like he got a doll like face, but his demeanor and bulky frame really made it hard to tell his age. Though Anaheim Electronics was the largest military enterprise in the world, but for a civilian like Alberto to take part just because he was a crucial figure in this, for what reason did the highest authorities make such a decision? “What’s this…deal that we needed to prevent at all cost?” Captain Otto asked with a somewhat trembling voice.

“It’s the ‘Laplace Box’. The Vist Foundation intend to hand that thing over to the ‘Sleeves’.”

Immediately, the heavy damp air scattered all over, and Riddhe felt cold air blow through the reception room. “‘Laplace Box’…?” Otto frowned.

“No one knows what that thing is, or even what’s inside. But one thing’s certain. Once the ‘Laplace Box’ is opened, it would bring about the end of the Earth Federation government.”

Alberto leaned his back on the sofa as he gave a serious look. Captain Otto tried to force a smile, but wasn’t successful as his stiff expression started to ache in numbness. Daguza’s sharp expression remained on Alberto.

“The Vist Foundation hid the ‘Laplace Box’ and used that to preserve its wealth. Anaheim shares the same fate with it too. No matter what the aim is, we must stop the leader who lost his mind, if the thing that can topple the Federation government lands in the ‘Sleeves’ hands…things will become serious, captain.”

Alberto said as he gave a self-mocking smile. Facing the doubts and fears everyone showed as they remained silent, Riddhe could only curse himself for meeting such an unlucky and unfortunate situation.

===Part 3===

No matter how one walked on the side of the corridor, there was the sound of a fist slamming into flesh. Marida Crus let go of the moving handle and saw the back of Flaste Schole.

“IT’S BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T CHECK PROPERLY THAT WE DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THAT WE WERE USED AS TRANSPORT!”

Right in front of Flaste, who was roaring away, was a young deck crewman whose face was beaten till it was red and swollen. Under zero gravity, both of them had their feet stuck to the ground by magnets, so anyone who’s hit would be hurting. Even if Flaste held back, that hard metal-like punch that can’t be dodged landed straight on his face. The crewman swayed about and stood still, saying, “I won’t give any excuses for this.” While blood was dripping from his mouth.

“THAT’S JUST YOU TRYING TO ACT COOL! WHY DON’T YOU JUST GET ON YOUR KNEES AND APOLOGIZE!?”

Flaste grabbed the front of the crewman’s hair and looked like he intended to deliver a few more punches. However, he was stopped by a voice “Stop fighting.” Marida watched the human wall that was gathered on the passageway scatter, and Captain Zinnerman’s bearded face appeared.

He sounded calm, but the expression hidden under the captain’s hat showed utter distress. It’s been an hour since they got a signal from the headquarters ‘Palau’ that ‘she’ went missing. In the large Earth Celestial Sphere, the ‘Palau’ itself would be a lone island in the large ocean. If she disappeared, it’s likely that she would be hiding inside the ships that come in and goes out. After having checked the entire ship thoroughly, they found that one of the storerooms that was used as a storeroom had signs of a stowaway inside, which caused a huge commotion in the ‘Garencieres’.

Marida herself joined in the search, but ‘her’ presence wasn’t inside the ship. It seemed that she slipped out during the mess when they docked. It was the crewman’s mistake for not noticing that she left, and he should be punched by Flaste, but everyone knew that they couldn’t solve the problem by getting angry. Marida ignored the men who were staring at each other and went into the cabin ‘she’ looked like ‘she’ was in.

She looked through the window on the wall and out to the central dock, closed her eyes and concentrated. She couldn’t grasp the presence of people moving about, and the messy thoughts that was like heat from a crowd caused her head to spin. Though she felt a little hot on the forehead, she couldn’t detect ‘her’ presence. There were too many people. Marida could only be amazed about how the human presences she could focus on in the battlefield could move about messily at will. As expected, an artificial being couldn’t detect a specific presence—

“She’s inside this space colony…but it’s not good if we take action and get held at ransom by our trade partner.”

Zinnerman said outside the entrance. Marida wiped away the sweat on her hands that came out unknowingly and returned back to the corridor.

“Is it likely that the ‘girl’ made contact with the other party already?”

“It’s likely that ‘she’ was opposed to this right from the beginning. Most likely, she made contact with Vist Foundation…”

Once Flaste pushed the crewman aside and finished saying that, Gilboa Sant continued on. Zinnerman watched his two henchmen, said “Not really” and put on his captain’s hat.

“It’s impossible to make contact with the outside world from Palau. She most likely intends to make direct contact!”

Most likely, she wanted to prevent the deal of the “Laplace Box’. Zinnerman let air flow through his hair that’s linked to his beard and put on the old captain’s hat. His eyes showed bitterness and pride. During these past years, he put in his heart and soul to protect ‘her’, and to this man who viewed himself as her substitute guardian, he may be able to judge that ‘she’ would do this, and this was somewhat of a self-defeat feeling. Marida was thinking as such, but decided firmly that she didn’t understand this, and looked away from her master who looked somewhat old now.

She only knows one thing, and that is, this is a huge crisis that would bring about danger to the entire organization. If they lose her, the ‘Sleeves’ will lose their focal point, and the organization they were finally able to build will develop cracks. If she even ends up in the Federation’s hands, the problem wouldn’t be only about the organization called the ‘Sleeves’. It may even bring everything to an immediate halt, the 16 years of war—or even the struggle that originate about half a century ago. All the sacrifice, blood, sweat that were shed for this would lose all meaning. The ‘Sleeves’ and the members of the Garencieres will lose their support.

‘She’, who was really smart, couldn’t possibly not understand this. This was foolish…but as she thought this, Marida felt that doing this would fit ‘her’ nature, and thus she stopped thinking. No matter whether it was about ‘her’ or the ‘Sleeves’, all the necessary decisions were to be made by her master, and she only needed to obey. The more she thinks, the more she would hesitate when carrying out the order. It’s something an ordinary person would normally do. After using this logical thinking process of hers, Marida gave Zinnerman a look that showed that she was waiting for instructions.

“Please, Marida. That child doesn’t know about normal life, so she wouldn’t be too far off. She’ll probably leave clues behind.”

Perhaps sensing the stare over at him, Zinnerman looked over at her and said this. This was the minimum transmission of talking and breathing, the familiar voice of her master. After answering ‘understood’ simply, Marida left the scene. After hearing Flaste’s voice “Don’t create any commotion” from behind, Marida took the lift and head towards the bridge area.

The ‘Garencieres’, which had a vertical landing function, has the end of the ship as the floor when it lands; which made it look like a building, and the bridge at the front of the ship was at the highest level. While they’re docked with the port now, the floor inside the ship that’s parallel to the port is lying horizontally. The lift itself is moving horizontally, but under zero gravity, the scenery around would decide how it looked. Marida ‘ascended’ by about the equivalent of 10 levels and entered the bridge,. She then entered the bottom of the bridge—or rather—the back—where the server room was. In this small room that’s filled with communication equipment and screens, the crewman continued to stare at the screen all this while, and the sound of the keyboard being typed on never stopped.

Besides the colony news network that anyone could read, they could see the construction progress of Industrial 7, the blueprint and even the movement of the industrial workers. As they could use the network provided by the port while they were docked and connect to the colony’s network, a highly skilled hacker could check out a large amount of information. After plucking away the coffee tube from the air, Marida asked “How is it?” and the crewman didn’t look back as he tossed a printed paper over. What’s printed on it was the hottest selling news at the moment.

“A mini mobile suit was forced to land in the park. The student who used it insisted that he used it to save someone…is it?”

The sound of things piecing together rang in her mind. Marida looked at the time the news was broadcasted, and confirmed that the time was already past 9. She held onto the printed paper and left the server room.

===Part 4===

“…As described above, the One Year War ended at the large scale battle at A Baoa Qu. After that, the Principality of Zeon transferred control over to the new republic and signed a peace treaty, and where is the lunar city where the peace treaty was signed? Banagher Links?”

Fidgeting around and passing through the back of the classroom, Banagher was about to sit down at his seat, but was called out by his teacher, Mr Bancroft, and was immediately stunned.

“Yes. Un, that…‘Von Braun’?”

“It’s ‘Granada’.” BAM. After slamming the desk and correcting it, Mr Bancroft adjusted his glasses in an unhappy manner. “I heard about everything. Sit down.”

What’s going on? Banagher muttered inside his heart as he sat at a corner of the fan-shaped table. Takuya and the other students gave him looks as he plugged his laptop into the power port at the table. He opened out the retractable keyboard, entered his log in ID, and the world history definition that he missed out was shown on the screen.

It’s said that the advance in technology in the old century and the wireless network system weren’t rare at all—an age where even handphones could be carried along—right now, the network and phones were all wired. That’s because as humans are living in human colonies, such ‘intricate technology’, there’s a strict limit on the electric waves used. However, as there’s Minovsyu particles floating everywhere, the limit became meaningless. These Minovsky particles that were of unknown origin causes electric short circuits of all types to happen often. Although there were many protective measures for life support systems, it’s a habit after the One Year War to print a copy of data out.

In other worlds, this Earth Celestial Sphere still had Minovsky particles floating about after the war. To put it plainly, there’s still a need for it—war continues to happen. Banagher suddenly thought about this and felt that his neck was aching a little like it was twisted. Of course, it need not be a real battle. Particles were also scattered for battle training. Recently, it’s said that even trading ships would scatter the particles to deal with pirates. Some of them would definitely float over from a real battlefield, right? Maybe at this moment, someone’s betting his life and gets burned by a laser. Just like how he saw a mobile suit this morning amongst them remains.

''"A war. There’ll be a large-scale war again."''

The jade-colored eyes flashed through his mind as those words rang beside his ears. Banagher shook his head that was still swirling and gathered his concentration on the history lecture.

“The Principality of Zeon was a military country that was controlled by the Zabi family. The Zeonism that Zeon Deikum promoted described that humans in space shall bring a brand new ‘Newtype thinking’, and garnered lots of supports like Gihren Zabi. It wasn’t Deikum’s own intent, but after he died, his name was used by the Zabi family as an excuse for a war of independence. In a certain sense, it was still a dangerous thought.”

''Someone could actually say such words even though it’s not knowledge derived from their own experience. How does it feel?'' Seeing Mr Bancroft continue to talk away, he wondered as a chat window appeared in the corner of his laptop.

This was to be expected. He was the one who caused an uproar in the entire colony by uprooting a cable on the road. How would the other students who weren’t motivated let this off? Banagher impatiently pressed the button and let the chat window appear on his monitor.

“Master Icarus. How does it feel to be investigated by the police?”

Most likely, Takuya was asking on behalf of the entire class. “Icarus?” Banagher asked back, and then, there was a link to a webpage. Banagher clicked on the click to check.

It was the front page of the ‘Daily 7’ news that Anaheim Electronics run. Banagher saw the photo of the Torohachi in the lawn and the headline ‘The Icarus that challenged the Artificial sun sadly fell onto the park’, and immediately turned off the webpage.

He felt the students around him all holding back their laughter as they looked at him. “Am I wrong to save someone?” Banagher answered.

“I heard that the person you saved disappeared like smoke.” “What did the police say about you using a mini-mobile suit on your own and wrecking property?” “What about the College?” The students asked, and Banagher used one hand to support his face and he typed with one hand.

“The surveillance camera of the maintenance system captured the image of the girl, so it was deemed that I did save someone. I was given a severe verbal warning and acquitted of charges. From the way the counseling teacher came to get me from the police, it seems that I don’t have too much problems with the school, but I have to head to the principal’s office after school.”

The male students, who made up about 70% of the class, started to get excited and tap away at their keyboard “A girl!?” “Age, looks?” “What did you talk about?” “Where did she come about?”…On seeing the screen seemingly come to life, Banagher entered, “I don’t know. The police’s still looking for here.” At this moment, the sound of the lecture desk rang throughout the classroom.

“You people. Don’t think that you can slack around just because it seems that history isn’t so useful to your work. Anaheim won’t hire idiots who can’t even pass a high school standard. Don’t just stupidly believe that they will hire all you people!”

Mr Bancroft used his ultimate technique, and the students immediately closed their chat windows and looked back at the podium. The reason why vocations were quickly switched was because the vocational students know that their future jobs will lie in the teachers’ hands. Banagher sighed and focused on the lecture screen. The One Year War, the Gryps War, the two Neo Zeon war. As he looked at the boring timeline, Banagher couldn’t get rid of those jade green eyes spinning in his dizzy mind.

The bright eyes he saw several hours ago; the soft touch when he hugged her together with both hands; everything just felt so distant, so vague that it feels like he was seeing another person’s memory. Even Banagher himself couldn’t dare to believe that he stole a mini mobile suit to save her. He didn’t think that he would have such a reckless impulse. Why did he do this? Who was she?

As it was close to noon, there was a bright sunlight outside the classroom window. At the field in front of the vocation building, there were mini mobile suits that were used for training lined up over there, moving equipment that’s to be used for training. Opposite there was a stack of trapezoid layers of the school campus that was designed with the Coriolis’ Effect of the colony’s self-rotation in mind. And far over on the other side, there’s a large wall that showed the end of a space colony—the materials were still exposed to the airtight wall facing the moon. As it was blocked by the light of the artificial sun, it’s import to see the entire mortar-like war, but there’s a hatch in the center that’s connected to the colony builder, and right now, there should be equipment that’s to be used for building colonies that’s being moved in and out.

The colony builder collects the debris that’s floating around in the Dark Wasteland region and start to purify, refine and build ‘Industrial 7’. That’s the redevelopment plan of the Dark Wasteland region, often called the experimental phase of the ‘Frontier Project’. In other words, this colony was built from the debris of past wars, and the colony builder was a magic funnel that uses this junk to build a ‘world’—and because of the shape, this large facility was given the nickname ‘Snail’. Banagher couldn’t help but concentrate on this seemingly blurry airtight wall.

''That was the thing that built the space colony, this ‘world’. She said that she had to go there, that there’s someone she had to meet. For what? To prevent a war?''

“After the war, organizations that called themselves the remnants of Zeon created lots of conflict. They called for space migrants to be self-independent, pushed for Ere-ism, and viewed Earthnoids as enemies. However, don’t forget the Newtype thinking in the republic that maybe people saw. That’s why colonies and meteors were thrown down to Earth. It’s unknown how many people sacrificed their lives because of this, and as citizens of the Federation who follow the idea of democracy, we…”

Another voice rang through his ears, covering the voice of Mr Bancroft who sounded more and more agitated. ''“How spineless…!” Who cares about you,'' Banagher argued back at the girl in his mind.

''It has nothing to do with me. No, I can’t possibly be involved in this. Whether it’s this One Year War or the second Neo Zeon War 3 years ago—the so-called ‘Char’s Counterattack’, all these has nothing to do with me. That’s just something I only saw through the television screen, what happened in a far away world. It’s the same for all the students here and Mr Bancroft here too!''

''If there were countless billions of people who were sacrificed in the war, then including those that survived, it’s our job to rebuild Earth and develop.'' The commotion during the One Year War brought about the unification, and babies who were born after the war like Banagher grew up listening to these adults. Thus, even if there’s people trying to start a space migrant independence or even start a large scale war because of this, it basically has nothing to do with them. It’s only that they would feel uneasy about hearing that some colony got wrecked because of war, but one could think that the chances of it was like being hit by a huge meteor. They were too unlucky, and could just treat it as other people’s business and forget about this. Movements of independence were just what people who to vent their depression as they weren’t able to get used to society. The stand that ‘lucky children who don’t know about war’ will never change, and it’s undoubted that tomorrow would be the same as today.

That girl was about the same age as he was, but the war she said ‘war’ had a different force from what the teacher said. It’s like a membrane covering a greenhouse breaking apart, and a strong gust of wind blew in. it’s also like a black spot that appears in an overly bright space, and then the shadow of the entire world appeared—

“Our company allows every factory to be independent financially. Thus, a group of uncouth people accepted the orders from Neo Zeon, causing both ally and enemy to have machines made from Anaheim. Thus, people would view Anaheim as death merchants. However, do not forget that the people in charge will be punished too…”

Then, I, who’s attending Anaheim Electronics Industrial College, am already part of war. Thinking about this thing that he had never thought about before, Banagher’s brain suddenly remembered the pure white color of the mobile suit he saw this morning outside the subway train window, and felt bothered by his far-fetched thinking.

The unicorn that cut through the vacuum dragged its white afterimage of its mobile suit like it was soaring in space. It flew towards the “Snail’, the creator of this world, the place where the colony builder was at, where normal people were forbidden from entering. If that girl was correct, that place would be the most critical place where the ‘war’ will be associated with.

Something was about to happen. No, maybe it had already happen, it’s just that he only saw part of it. it’s like a curtain was drawn right in front of his eyes. Banagher again looked outside the window, saw the airtight wall that was filled with an unknown thing, and felt something in his heart throbbing. Mr Bancroft’s voice that was becoming more excited moved the air.

“4 years late, in Universal Century year 100, the Republic of Zeon shall give up on its self-independence and will be drafted back into the Federation as Side 3. When the country in the name of Zeon is destroyed, Zeonism shall fall, and humanity will be united again. Just like how our grandfathers or fathers continued to exist for Earth and humanity to create this united government called this Earth Federation after so many tribulations. To inherit such a great legacy and let the Earth Celestial Sphere continue to develop, you young ones…”

===Part 5===

“Idiot, treating such words as well. That girl must be someone who’s enthusiastic about activity, thinking that the capitalist Earth is all evil and sort. That’s why she must be going over to Chairman Cardeas Vist.”

Puffing her slightly brown face, Micott Bartsch simply said. Banagher kicked aside Haro lightly while it was shouting ‘idiot, idiot’, and uneasily drank up his remaining coffee.

Studying in the private high school beside Anaheim Electronics, Micott’s dress code and verbal mannerisms were all a lot more free than the vocational school, and she wouldn’t even hesitate about entering other people’s schools. She came over to the vocation school to discuss about the night’s party during lunch break, and while Banagher tried to explain what happened in the morning, that was the answer she got.

The reality the girl said was the best weapon to deal with a boy who wanted to do something and was being all pumped up. Dressed in a hooded coat and shorts, Micott raised her leg as she sat on the bench, and Banagher avoided her gaze and said, “The chairman, as in, our vocation school?” he tried to avoid the thought that this may be true, and anyway, even if there was nothing he could say, he had to find something to say.

“That’s right. There’s a photo when you entered the school, right? Cardeas Vist, the largest stakeholder of Anaheim Electronics, also known as the second generation leader of the Vist Foundation that was the secret owner.”

“That person lives inside the ‘Snail’?”

That girl said that there was ‘someone she had to meet no matter what’. On hearing the term ‘secret owner’, Banagher’s heart started to pulsate. However…

“Idiot, how could such a big hotshot stay in such a rural space colony? The chairman’s just a title to him. He never even appeared in the graduation ceremonies before.”

Sitting beside Micott, Takuya put down the magazine he read halfway through and interrupted. That was the robot related monthly magazine he would regularly buy, and there was a photo of a mini mobile suit tournament on the cross-pages picture.

“But it seemed that he really has a house here! It’s said that the house was directly moved over from Earth. Even the ‘Snail’ was said to be Vist Foundation’s property.”

Micott’s father was the factory owner of the 3rd Industrial area, so she would often hear about such underground news. The factory owner over here in ‘Industrial 7’ could be said to be like a mayor in the States, and even though Micott was a rich princess who’s studying in a private school, she would continue to come over to this vocation school where the smell of grease was thick. Maybe its because this space colony was supported by the industry. She herself even said that ‘the boys in our school are boring, all spineless princes’.

“But isn’t the colony builder managed by the colony builder management? Why is it that there’s rumors of it being the Foundation’s personal property?”

“That’s because the colony builder management had some members of the Vist Foundation, right?”

“The rich ones are really different. Launching an entire house into space, that’s crazy.”

Takuya looked like he didn’t have any other thoughts as he said what he wanted and continued to read his magazine. An open secret’s really scary, so scary that it can numb a person’s sense for the strange, Banagher thought. However, he himself never heard of the name of Vist Foundation. Was it because he was transferred in midway through, or was it that he was too dazed for a long time? Banagher really couldn’t tell which was the reason, and he looked through the trees in the school as he wondered what happened to the girl.

Anaheim Electronics wasn’t just the largest military producer in the Earth Celestial sphere, but there’s a house for the sponsor in the ‘Snail’. It’s no wonder that the crazy radicals will rush in to kill just to oppose war. In fact, there’s a lot of terror attacks on Anaheim every way, and it’s said that there’s a lot of expenses on safety. Even if the chairman of the Institute was just an open title, even Micott knew about the relationship between the Vist Foundation and Anaheim. It’s likely that this leader may be attacked.

However, the girl’s eyes made Banagher feel that things weren’t that simple. She had a strong will, but those eyes weren’t the eyes of a fanatic. It’s different from all the people he met till now. Those jade-green eyes had a strong allure to them—

“The police’s looking for her? You better not get involved with this. If the army gets hold on this, you might not even have a job.”

Perhaps reading through his own thoughts, Micott said the absolute truth and ended the current conversation before looking over at Takuya. “Speaking of which, tonight’s party…” Banagher wasn’t interested in this topic and took Haro away before leaving.

''Do you think I don’t know about all of this?'' On one hand, he felt really angry, but on the other hand, his rationale side had to admit that Micott was right. His emotions that were being built up inside was forming a vortex inside him. It’s better not to get involved with her, and I know that. At the police’s side, he may be questioned hard by the police, and also by those executives in suits. Most likely, they would be public security personnel. ''If they’re eyeing me, my path to Anaheim will always be closed, and I may even be expelled from school and return back to the old colony of Side 1.''

The old city Banagher grew up in was the first of the space colonies that were built, and was at a corner where it was past its durability use. Other than old residents, there were refugees from war, people with unemployment and frustrated activists who were practically useless and had to rely on others. It was a small town where the circumstances were really bad, where the public drainage were often so bad that stench would always come out from it. Both mother and son seemed like they were fleeing from the sights of the world as they moved to his hometown, and it was the best place to live in for someone with no place to go. He also had the money his mother left behind, and he should be able to continue living on. However, there’s no future in that town.

Then, what about here? He intended to continue relying on this father of his who he had never met before and join the bottom rungs of the enterprise, but there wasn’t anything really different, nothing that he hasn’t seen. He didn’t have a goal, had no interests, and just felt ‘disjointed’ as the days pass. Does this mean that he had no future—he continued to be pressured by the swirling thoughts, and just when he quickly moved past the door, he heard a clear and refreshing voice “Are you Banagher Links?”. Banagher stopped.

There was an electric car parked on the road in front of the school gate, and a woman was standing right in front of it. The woman was wearing a fitting coat and tight skirt, and her long hair was tied behind her. She lifted her head and straightened her back, and one could tell from afar that she had a good figure that resembled a secretary of a large company. However, her face that didn’t have any make up made her look younger. Even though one could feel that she would fit into the school with just her appearance, the impression would change when they look into her eyes.

The emotionless blue eyes made it hard to tell whether she was focusing on him. The dark blue eyes that would remind one of the deep seas on earth made it look like there were two holes in front of her eyes. Banagher started to have goosebumps and picked Haro up from beside his feet. At this moment, the woman passed through the gate and said “that’s good. I have a question I want to ask you” as she approached. She was wearing a business suit, but Banagher realized that she was wearing sports shoes underneath.

“Can you please tell me what did the person you saved this morning say?”

The woman merely showed a smile, and behind her, two men got off the electric car. Both of them were dressed really casually, but their expressions and looks didn’t look friendly at all. Banagher felt that his hands which were holding onto Haro were sweating and asked back, “Are you the police?” The media didn’t reveal his name, and these people didn’t look like reporters. That robotic smile the woman gave didn’t change as she answered with silence.

Banagher felt that the air around him went cold as his knees were trembling. Something’s not right with these people. They had the same stench as of those frustrated activists in his hometown—those who were already used to violence. He looked away and backed off, “I told all I should say to the police.” He quickly said that and wanted to get back into the school. Immediately, his shoulder was grabbed from behind, and the foot that was about to step out missed the ground.

“Just say the same thing you said to them. We won’t do anything else then.”

The hand that was grabbing onto the shoulder didn’t let go as her blue eyes closed in while she continued on. The force wasn’t great, but his body still couldn’t move. It felt like he would be taken down if he tried to struggle. Banagher just felt that this action was of someone who was extremely skilled and forced out a hoarse voice, “What do you mean by that…” and the woman whispered to him, “You don’t want to be involved in trouble, right?” and exerted even more strength in her grip.

There was a sharp pain in his neck, and he let out a cry before he could endure it. His upper body couldn’t help but twist, and Haro dropped off his numbed fingertips. Banagher couldn’t breathe normally as he moved the only free eye. There weren’t any students nearby, and there weren’t any signs of the old guard beside the gate. These two men were standing behind the woman and creating a blind spot. He wanted to cry out, but his abdomen couldn’t exert force, and he could only let his sights move about before seeing those blue eyes again.

It was killing intent. The term that matched her blue hole-like eyes accompanied this chilling fact as it went down Banagher’s body. Unlike those activists who lost their way, these men were professional. They knew how to wreck a human body, they were soldiers—people who would use violence without hesitation if necessary. Just when he thought about this, he heard the woman say “Where did ‘she’ go?” Banagher inadvertently said out carelessly “‘The snail’…”

“‘The Snail’?” the woman asked back as she exerted even more force. The pain that was added on struck Banagher as he answered, “The, the colony builder!”

“She said that she had someone she wanted to meet and talk with…”

He spoke too much. Just when Banagher felt that despair the moment he let out his voice, the pain suddenly vanished, and his body that regained its freedom took a few steps back. Banagher finally managed to support his knees and turned over to look at the woman who had already turned around. The two men who followed her from behind quickly left the school gate as if they weren’t looking at Banagher at all.

“You can’t possibly get over to the ‘Snail’…! It’s forbidden there. There’s also construction areas all around. You can’t even get over there!”

Banagher held his aching shoulder and shouted out unhappily. The woman stopped, and the beige hair that had a bit of orange was moved by the wind as she used those emotionless blue eyes to stare at Banagher.

“I’ll remember that. Thank you, Banagher-kun.”

It was a tone that was without compassion nor arrogance, which made Banagher feel all the more humiliated. The woman just took the electric car and left with the men. Banagher used his last ounce of courage to run out of the school gate and glared at the electric car that was gradually moving away. The electric car took a turn at the road beside the school and immediately went missing. Obviously, they were headed towards the Industrial area.

That girl was chased by people, and they weren’t the people—but more like guerillas who were like soldiers. “A war will happen.” “There’s still time” to stop it.” voices like this accompanied the weight of the current situation as they echoed in his head. However, Banagher didn’t think of what to do at this moment. He felt even more guilty that he succumbed to violence and let out these words.

Having stayed in the old city that was like a slum, Banagher developed a resistance to violence. He had a belief that if he had to fight or hide, he would be stronger than an ordinary boy. But the fact was that right now, he was no different from a child. He just said everything out just to avoid pain. He knew that this would bring about danger to the girl, but he couldn’t even muster a lie in his mind—no, he was just that spineless.

“I’m really…weak.”

He remembered those jade green eyes that had some anxiety in them. ‘How spineless’. The words echoed in his heart. Banagher gripped his fists hard and couldn’t help but run out.

At this moment, he didn’t even have the rationale mindset to think about his future as his body went hot from the impulse of trying to make up for his own mistake. Banagher and Haro, which caught up, went to the nearest electric car park.

===Part 6===

Having come all the way here, one would really feel that Industrial 7 was really a space colony that was being built.

The block that was completed was only 20km long, and right in front of it was the colony builder unit ‘wheel’, and the inside was 3.2km long and 1.6km wide. The construction area was divided into 4 parts. One of the land cabled structure has 4 territorial blocks that’s being built, and these were lined together without much any bumps. There’re 6 of these land cable structures that surround all 360 degrees on the inside of the wall of the space colony. This scene itself wasn’t just a congruent sight itself, but one would realize that if they peel off this foil of artificial earth, they would just be living in a cylinder. It’s a barren and lonely sight.

For the past 10 years, she had been to many places, including Earth, but she had never seen a space colony that was being built on the inside. As she stood in front of wire mesh that separated her from inside, the girl didn’t look bored as she looked at the large builder unit. The large unit builder was a large metal frame that was about the same as the area block. The lines that run on the rail were moving about, fastening the area block that was under construction, and the fully automatic machines will finish off the area blocks that they were supposed to construct. Simply put, these were extremely large industrial machines, the basis of the land making process.

Based on the information on the mesh wire, a construction would take about a week. The first construction will move onto the second one, and the second one will move onto the third one. It will move all the lines on the area blocks to be completed systematically as it progresses, and it will move back once the fourth construction was complete to the first construction. This was the day when the final construction will be completed, and the other side of the wire mesh look busy. Work vehicles and cars with supervising civil servants would move about to and fro. Once the construction group back off, a new ‘land’ will be completed, so the district office itself would be busy. They had to check the name of the area according to the city’s plan, and also check the electric cables and the underground sewage. There were a whole lot of things they had to do.

The land builder units would back away in all 6 lines and return back to the start. The wheel itself would back away too. In other words, the colony will increase in length by 1.6km. At that time, the colony itself would let a siren and get ready for a slight tremor that would coming with the growth. However, what would be the scene of 6 builder units rolling at the same time when they’re more than 3km long and about the height of 25 levels? Just thinking about it alone made it exciting, but right now, the current situation wouldn’t allow for her to sightsee leisurely. She looked away from the high builder unit and looked at the construction gate that’s between the wire mesh fence.

Though there were guards, the security wasn’t strict. Maybe vehicles could sneak in here. However, there was a problem. She didn’t know what the builder unit looked like, and even if she passed through it, there were still 3 blocks of area blocks that were under construction. She didn’t feel that she could walk 6km into this construction area without being discovered, and especially when there was the commotion this morning, it’s likely that the police may be watching them.

The girl looked up at the artificial sun that was shining through the clouds. She wondered if she could walk over through there. It’s impossible to see from here when the land builder was blocking, but the artificial sun that passes through the space colony would extend out to the airtight wall on the other side where the moon was, and it would form part of the basis of the gantry linking to the colony builder. The gantry would often let out construction materials and dust as cranes would then move these materials to the construction site. Thus, it should be easy to sneak in through the artificial sun.

And since this path is inaccessible, she could only move through the construction area if she wanted to get near the colony builder. The girl again looked at the gate of the construction site. As she noticed the cars and the guards who were busy dealing with them, kyururu…her stomach rumbled.

She immediately looked around. Luckily, there wasn’t anyone nearby. Even if there were though, the sounds of car moving through would overpower it so much that it couldn’t be heard. However, she still felt herself blushing unknowingly. The girl hasn’t ate for more than half a day, and wondered how she was actually able to be hungry at this moment. But on the other hand, she could understand the importance of eating. The girl sighed. She should have taken some dry food when she left the Garancieres, but it’s now too late to regret about this.

She was thirsty too, and in this situation, her concentration will drop. Also, it’ll be easy for someone to spot her when she remain at the same place for a long time. The girl left the scene and head towards the Industrial area in the street construction block. On the way, she went by a large trailer that had lots of mini mobile suits on, which caused her face to be covered with dust that flew off the road. At this moment, she suddenly remembered about that boy she met in the morning, his presence.

The boy who desperately reached his hand out of the mobile suit cockpit to save her life while she was floating in the air seemed to be an ordinary citizen. ''Why was he able to do that? What happened to him after that? I should have at least thanked him…''

===Part 7===

To ease the stress of being hidden in a sealed space, the space colony had routes that were designed to be part of the city’s plan. One of them was the commercial area that was right beside the construction area. The thin and long path had shops littered on both sides of the road, and each of the shops were set up to their ideal image, causing the street to look like those remaining shopping streets in those old cities on Earth. The back of the short roofs had builder units that were like hills, and clouds that covered the airtight wall facing the moon. The area just felt like a rural town.

It was 1pm, and all the eateries were no longer packed with workers. The shopping streets entered a time of relaxation. She snuck in between some old people and some housewives with children and continued walking down the street. There were bakeries, bookstores, customer service shops and eateries. At times, there would be the smell of hot dogs or oily Chinese food coming out from the messy row of streets. Though she could drink from the water cooler in the park when she’s thirsty, her empty stomach couldn’t be filled, and if she let her guard down, it would rumble again, which would make it embarrassing.

However, she was more worried about the housewives who were walking by and glancing at her. She had firm belief that she wasn’t caught on camera by the port’s surveillance camera, so nobody would suspect that she was the one involved in the incident this morning. Or maybe her clothing was rather strange for the people here? She checked on the internet for the latest fashion trend before she left for Palau and tried her best not to choose the most outstanding on. As she looked at herself through a glass window on a cupboard in a shop, the girl wondered whether it was because she buttoned up her collar. However, she didn’t want to opened her collar so randomly, so she started working again.

She made preparations before, but there would be lots of trouble when it came to reality. To her, who never carried money or credit cards before, she didn’t know that she couldn’t buy bread without having money as it was not part of her knowledge. Thus, she made the mistake of running out without taking the money. I really don’t understand social rules—the girl thought as she felt even more depressed. She had no experience of going out alone. Speaking of which, she did watch a romantic movie about a princess in a small country who slipped out onto the streets for a day of happiness. It was an old century film. The story was ordinary, but the actress who acted as a princess who did not know anything was really charismatic, and it was a movie she really liked. What was the name of that actress?

Thinking about it hard, the girl suddenly realized that she was seriously thinking of the actress’ name. She abandoned the useless dream behind her. The princess in the movie was just leaving a boring duty, but she had something she had to do. Ever since they knew that she was opposed to this deal, Zinnerman didn’t reveal anything more about this deal to her. Thus, she wasn’t certain when the interaction with Vist Foundation would be held, and where. However, some of the other crew members said that it would begin at evening, and it’ll be too slow for her if she continued to laze around. Palau should have found out that she was missing. She had to be faster—the girl left the shopping street, entered a complicated alley, and found a van parked in a dead end.

She looked at the van that was filled with metal filings, and thought that it would be impossible to get on. She then looked over at the driver’s seat. She didn’t want to use this method, but would it be possible to talk to the driver and let him help transport her into the construction area? She could say that she wanted to get closer to see the colony being built. If she’s successful, she could even get inside the area builder. If she could get in and understand the rough situation…

Suddenly, she felt a stare from behind. It’s like someone who had been prone suddenly lifting its face, a stare that was full of intent. Her body unknowingly tensed up, but she didn’t make the mistake of turning around carefully. The girl quickly turned around a corner, but there was a man who blocked his way on the alley, causing her to stop.

The man was dressed in a short coat, and his cap was kept low. The girl recognized his face. He was a member of the Garencieres. The girl intended to leave the alley before the man walked over, but two people were standing at the exit of the alley, blocking her escape.

The exhaust fan from the restaurant pumped out greasy smoke, and the alley only had dirty trash bins fallen about as there was no one else around. Knowing that she had nowhere to go, the girl hid her uneasy feeling as she faced the two people who blocked her getaway. She didn’t think of why she was discovered. She knew that the crew of the Garancieres could do this.

And if Marida joined in the search—the girl pulled about 3m away as she stared at Marida. Marida was wearing an office suit as a disguise, yet it couldn’t hide her ominous presence. The girl knew that she would be immediately caught at such a distance, and used her eyes to tell her not to be rude. Marida’s expression showed a shift, and one could tell that she was wavering,

“Let’s head back, princess.”

Heading that little wavering in her, Marida said, “The captain’s worried about you.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Please consider your position. If you’re discovered by the Federation at such a place, who knows what would happen…”

She stepped forward while wearing the sports shoes. Even if the disguise wasn’t perfect, it’s really Marida’s style not to wear high heels. “It’s because I thought of this that I did it.” The girl used a tone that fit her ‘position’ and prevented Marida from moving forward.

“Right now, we can’t use the ‘Laplace Box’. No matter what kind of thing it is, Full Frontal will only use it as a tool and start a meaningless conflict. You should know that, right?”

“I don’t understand. I just listen to orders.”

“You’re lying. You’re just escaping. The ‘power’ that was given to you normally wouldn’t be used in such a place.”

The girl didn’t just say this randomly. Marida, who would blindly listen to Zinnerman’s orders and never faced her own life—showed wavering in her blue eyes again and looked away from the girl, but the ominous presence on her body didn’t subside. Marida recollected her expressionless look as she looked over, “Princess…pardon me for my rudeness.”

With such a signal, the crew member standing behind put his hand on the girl’s shoulder. He did control his strength, the skilled move wasn’t something that could be shaken off whenever anyone wanted to. The girl saw Marida and the other crew member close in and shouted, “How rude! Let go of me!” as she continued to struggle. At this moment, a loud alarm suddenly rang throughout the entire alley.

The sound was so loud that it probably didn’t just ring through the alley, but also possibly through the road. Even Marida was stunned as she looked around. The girl saw the crew member beside her reach for a gun in his chest, and the force on her shoulder was weakened. She used this chance to struggle hard and escaped from his grasped.

The girl dodged past the hand Marida reached out for the first time and went around the corner. Amidst the siren, she could hear Marida call out “Princess…!”. However, the girl continued to run. She turned around several corners, went through a narrow alley, and was aiming for a main street with people on. However, the girl soon lost her way, and as she looked around at a crossroad, someone suddenly grabbed her on the wrist from beside her.

The soft hand was different from Marida and the rest. The familiar feeling appeared through the girl’s mind as she even forgot to struggle and looked at the owner of the hand. That was the face of the person who saved her from impasse.

The head that was full of sweat and the dark brown eyes were staring at the girl’s eyes. Why…? The girl thought, and then heard the boy’s shout, “Over here!” The girl was pulled away by the hand. She ran from behind, and the ball-shaped robot beside the foot started to roll. The noisy alarm suddenly stopped. It seemed that this mascot-like robot was the one that made the sound.

The boy pulled the girl along in this narrow alley and continued to run through complicated alleys without hesitation. The girl was certain that he was that boy through the robot and the deep blue jacket in front of him, and continued to follow him and run. It may be careless for her to follow a stranger, but right now, she couldn’t allow herself to be caught by Marida. The boy who seems familiar with this place is leading, so let’s have him lead. The girl continued to run between the gaps of the packed houses.

Also, the hands of this boy were easing themselves to prevent hurting her and yet grabbing tightly so and not letting go. She was helped by a lot of hands before, but the girl never grabbed such a hand that grabbed onto hers firmly and without hesitation. It was unexpectedly soft too; it had the weakness of age as it was tightly sticking to her skin.

''I was saved by these hands twice. Who is this boy?'' At this moment, the girl forgot that she was being pursued and seriously looked at the back of the boy.

===Part 8===

The self-defense alarm system inside Haro actually worked in such an unexpected manner. While sweating and holding onto the girl’s hand, Banagher moved through the alleys of the shopping area.

Banagher didn’t come to the construction site only one or twice, so he had roughly remembered the entire place. He just needed to head over to the distribution center to compare the vehicle license plate that terrifying woman and the rest used and confirm their location. It wouldn’t be too difficult for him to take the initiative. Banagher intended to use the complicated alleys to shake off their pursuers, that is, if they weren’t caught in the process.

He first heard the breath of the girl behind her. Then, it was Haro, who was bouncing like a ball as its body was of strengthened plastic with an enhanced layer of rubber. Haro used the spring inside its frame to jump, and as the center maintains the movement, it couldn’t turn right immediately. After turning around a few times, Banagher picked up Haro, put it in a gap that’s 50cm wide between two houses, and used his expression to call the girl over. He thought that she would hesitate for a while, but the girl actually followed Banagher and entered the gap.

The gap was so small that he had to tilt himself sideways just to walk through. After walking through it, they used the piled up garbage for footing to climb up the walls. Then, they continued to move down through a corridor in the air near the roofs. A granny who was watching television inside a window turned around in surprise. A stray cat was scared away by this sudden intruder, and someone angrily shouted, “WHO’S THAT BRAT!” While stepping on the cheap plastic roofs, Banagher continued leap off them, and the girl nimbly followed him as her purple shawl fluttered with the wind.

After moving for about 20m, the rows of roofs vanished, and a large space appeared in front of them. They arrived at the boundary of the commercial area and the industrial area. Normally speaking, the area was a road, but the houses here were built towards the wired fence. This was a screen that couldn’t be seen unless one deliberately look from the ‘wide space’ where there’s deliberately no set up. Banagher checked that he reached the end of the cable like as planned, looked at the colony builder units that’s several hundred meters in front of him, and again turned to look at the landscape from a height of about 3 levels.

There’s a small pile of dirt beside the fence, and there’s no construction worker. Thinking about this, Banagher thought that this would be faster than climbing down the fence and turned to look at the girl. But before he could ask whether they should jump, the girl’s determined look was facing him as she jumped onto the pile of dirt. I lost to her…Banagher thought and carried Haro before jumping.

Banagher’s feet landed into the soft dirt and beside the girl. He climbed out from the pile of dirt that was at his chest level, spit out the dirt that entered his mouth, and saw that the girl who had already climbed out from here and slid down. They ran for a long distance, and those who don’t know the landscape wouldn’t know such a path. Banagher wanted to take a short breath and called the girl “Oi…”, but the girl stared sharply back and him and shouted, “HURRY UP!”

“MARIDA WILL CATCH UP TO US LIKE THIS!”

The girl’s jade-green eyes showed anxiety. It was really the expression of that girl. “Marida, as in that scary big sister?” The girl angrily growled back without answering Banagher’s question, “Hurry up!” and started to run off. Banagher climbed out from the pile of dirt and hurriedly followed behind.

He grabbed the hand of the girl who was intending to run to the outside of the builder area, said “Over here” and was about to pull her back, but immediately felt the girl gasp. He looked over at where she was looking at, and found that it was the woman who went through the residential area and was standing on the layers of overlapping roofs. The pretty-looking woman called Marida was looking over. Her blue eyes narrowed to a fine line. The next moment, the feet with sports shoes on them stamped onto the ground, and the hair that was tied into a ponytail fluttered. The body easily leaped past the metal wire and the pile of dirt as she landed on the ground.

She was as nimble as a cat. “No way…” Banagher couldn’t believe it, and the girl grabbed his hand, shouting, “HURRY UP AND RUN!” Banagher pulled her hand and ran towards the builder unit. The pyramid-like large monorail track and the structure was like a hill. On seeing this structure that was so large that it occupied their line of sight, they ran to a workyard with construction materials and mini mobile suits.

“What should we do?”

“YOU WANT TO GET OVER TO THE ‘SNAIL’, RIGHT?”

Banagher roared as he answered the girl and saw the crowd that was scattering in front of the builder unit like ants. It’s about time for the colony to expand and the creation of new land. They were already moving through the workers that were moving back, and one of them who looked like the worker head shouted, “Oi! Who are you!” Banagher went by the man and got near to a slope near the monomial stop. Looking back, he saw Marida easily pushing aside the workers who were coming over, and they were less than 20m away. Banagher’s idea to stand up and adjust his breathing was gone as he desperately ran up the slope.

The mobile rail of the builder units—the monorail was located at a place 1.5 times the height of the units away, but 170m high. The construct that looked like a triangle from the front was set in front of both sides of the builder. And at the start, or the end, there’s a builder unit linked to the slope used for transportation. Banagher was climbing up this slope. In other words, if he continued to run up this slope to the top, he would reach the ceiling of the builder unit.

[[Image:KSGU 205.jpg|thumb]]

The ceiling was 25 levels high from the builder, and there’re another few levels to the link point of the monorail. It’s a slope where a cart could move, but it would be really tiring to run up about several hundred meters at one go. He panted quite a few times, but on the way there, his feet started to feel lighter, and it felt like the muscles on his waist seemed to be floating from his bones. That’s because the further he was from the ground—the further off from the inside of the colony made the centrifuge force weaker.

There’s no high-rise buildings inside the space colony, and one could tell that the centrifuge force could only be used for a height of about 5,6 levels. The higher he climbed, the more his body felt the weakening of gravity. Banagher felt that such physics laws was really useful for the first time as his running motion was like long jumping continuously. However, it would be the same for the pursuer ass well. Marida kicked the slope with much more leg power and suddenly accelerated. Her hand reached the back of the girl, and only missed her shoulder by inches. However, she didn’t mess up her rhythm as she continued to pull her distance close. She was just like a machine that didn’t know fatigue. ''We can’t run away, we’ll be caught in the next second.'' Getting ready for this, Banagher suddenly heard a deep-sounding alarm.

At the same time, the warning lights on both sides of the slope rang, and a slow tremor went through their legs. Banagher used all his strength to move his legs and pulled the girl over at him. Because of the tremor, Marida’s feet became slower, and the link to the slope was being dragged up, turning a straight lane to a 2m tall wall. Banagher shouted: “Jump!” and leaped at the wall that’s rising.

Shaking off the gravity that was less than half of usual, both of them jumped with Haro, and their fingertips reached the edge of the wall. Banagher grabbed the rising wall, and the girl did the same too, but her fingers nearly slipped. Banagher grabbed the girl’s hand and climbed the wall. They didn’t stop rising, but they saw Marida, who couldn’t jump in time, slowly becomg slower.

The builder unit was starting to move. The builder unit that was stuck on the new block of land rose up the monorail by 170m. It moved into the moving circuit before starting to move horizontally. The unit just moved though the builder circuit and retreated back to the airtight wall facing the moon before starting to work from the first construction area.

Banagher checked that the girl and Haro were both fine, and for a short while, didn’t have the strength to move a he looked at the landscape that was getting further and further away. Marida continued to remain on the broken slope as she looked over. There’s no anger or disappointment in her eyes, just eyes that were as empty as a cave.

===Part 9===

All the gates would be closed when they’re moving. Thus, nobody could enter the inside of the builder unit. Both of them dragged their tired legs and continued moving up the remaining part of the slope before reaching the top part of the builder unit. Right in front of their eyes was a hilly region that was composed of metal frames that was tilted towards the inside, creating a gradual gradient of materials that extend far beyond. This size wasn’t to be described with a number of football fields, but one that could accommodate the entire city.

Banagher spread his limbs out wide on the floor of the passage linking both frames. He felt like he was lying on the clouds, most likely because he felt that gravity was weakened. The girl sat beside him, and both of them spent a little time regaining their breaths. The builder unit was already starting to move, and the breeze that gently blew by felt refreshing on the sweaty body.

“We can ride on this to the airtight wall near the moon. We can get close to the ‘Snail’…the hatch of the space colony builder, but I don’t know whether we can get in.”

Having finally adjusted his breathing, Banagher said this, and the girl merely answered softly, “Is that so…” without even looking back. Her voice sounded drastically different like she couldn’t even keep up with the sudden changes around her, and she had already used up all her strength just looking around.

“My name’s Banagher, Banagher Links. What’s yours?”

Banagher sat up, wanting to catch the girl’s attention. The girl let out an “eh?” and exchanged looks with Banagher, but immediately averted her eyes and said softly, “Erm, I’m called Audrey Burne…”

Audrey. Banagher felt that this was a nice name, but he didn’t have the courage to say it out, and looked away unnaturally. Haro instead came in between them and shouted, “Haro Haro” as it fawned around. The girl’s tense expression became relaxed somewhat as she reached her hands out to grab Haro.

The first time he saw her smile, Banagher had a strange feeling that the artificial sun got brighter, and then told her, “It’s Haro.” But Audrey gave him a puzzled look.

“Don’t you know? This is a souvenir robot made by the ace pilot of the war. It’s rather popular when you were young, right?”

“No idea, I’ve been living in the countryside.”

''Which countryside?'' Banagher looked at her face that was becoming more earnest and wanted to ask more, but Audrey’s smile suddenly vanished as she asked, “Why did you save me?” Having been asked this, Banagher was at a loss of words.

“That’s because…I don’t want people to call me spineless.”

''Actually, it’s because I was unhappy that I was threatened by that big sister''…he didn’t want to say this, and he felt that it wasn’t just that too. However, Audrey frowned and looked aside. Right now, her confused mental state was full of doubts. Seeing her without any response at all, Banagher said, “That, that’s what you said!”

“Me?”

“Yeah. I was then caught by the police. And I met that scary big sister when I went back to school…”

“Then, you followed Marida and the others?”

Interrupting the misunderstood explanation, Audrey stared at his eyes and said. Just when Banagher was left speechless by her fast understanding, her clear jade-colored eyes shook, and her expression because gentle after understanding what happened. She suddenly blurted out a ‘sorry’, which stunned Banagher.

“If I told you off for being spineless, I’ll take that back. It seemed that I misunderstood you.”

“Misunderstood?”

“Misunderstood you for being a person trapped in your own little world.”

Such unrestrained words caused Banagher to be stunned. He stared at Audrey’s face, who in turn looked like she didn’t say anything wrong, and again felt unhappy for being hit on the sore point before shouting shrilling, “EVERYONE’S LIKE THAT!”

“Everyone’s been living in such an exaggerated cylinder. Can’t that do?”

“That’s not it. I apologize if my words do sound scathing…because I have never experienced such a life before.”

That somewhat shocked look on her face looked like she had never expected her words to hurt other people, and she looked like a strange creature who lived in a completely different habitat. Banagher asked in disappointment, “Are you some rich princess or something?” Audrey herself smiled as she answered,

“A duckweed floating about. That’s how I was born like.”

Her gaze turned to the builder unit that was moving on the lane beside them and said in a self-mocking manner. Banagher secretly glanced at her somewhat lonely looking face, and felt that she was someone who he could get along with, and said, “Is that so…then I’m the same too.” Audrey didn’t answer as the artificial sun that seemed to have gone brighter shone on the duo’s head.

The builder would spend about 30 minutes to retreat completely from the builder cable that’s more than 6km long and would dock at the airtight wall facing the moon. During this time, both of them cautiously moved through the wide roof and moved to the other side of the builder unit. It was on both sides of the roof, but the distance was about 1.6km. Once they finished walking, the builder unit had finished moving.

They were only moving about 20km per hour on the builder cable, but the wind that blew by was exceptionally strong too. Banagher let Audrey move in front and carried Haro as he followed from behind silently. This is in case Audrey was about to fall off in the wind, but even in low gravity, her body wasn’t blown away by the wind. The cabled rail didn’t let out any sounds of tremor as only the wind surrounded both of them.

“Who were your pursuers?”

After going through half of the roof, Banagher asked. This was the one question that appeared in his heart amongst the pile of questions.

“My allies. I escaped from them.”

The wind blew Audrey’s brown short hair as she casually sad. Banagher remembered what Micott said and tentatively said, “Are you an activist or something?”

“Activist?”

“Those that oppose the Federation or want the independence of spacenoids or something…”

“…Yeah. That’s sort of correct, but it may be scarier than what you think.”

Looking up at the airtight room where blocked her path, Audrey gave a wry smile. It’s unknown whether that expression was either to mock Banagher’s foolishness or herself. Banagher felt that a war that far exceeded his expectations was about to start and swallowed his saliva. He felt that he could be involved in it and lifted his head, and felt that his sweat and body went cold.

He looked up at the artificial sun that was gradually becoming yellow, and then looked at the watch which showed 2.15pm. He skipped all his lessons, and since it’s vocational classes where everyone’s split up, he couldn’t print notes from Takuya. ''What should I do? And I think I have to go to the principal’s office after school''…Most likely, his mind subconsciously forgot about his fear, and right now, he’s thinking about all these things. Banagher looked back and saw a street behind it. That was a familiar street that included Anaheim Electronics Industrial College, and the road just looked like it realy faded.

“You said that there won’t be any war, right?”

He turned to look at the girl’s back in front of him and said cautiously. Audrey immediately stopped.

“You said that you have to meet someone to prevent a war from happening. That’s…”

Suddenly, noise and tremors interrupted Banagher’s words. Banagher was shocked and ran beside Audrey before looking in front.

With the builder unit moving back, the colony started to extend. The ‘Wheel’ that covered the outer wall moved, and ‘Industrial 7’ slowly became longer. Inside it, Banagher and Audrey saw the airtight wall facing the moon backing off as the inner wall that’s sliced into a ring moved.

The cylinder that was 6.4km in diameter rumbled, and the airtight room and the gap between the inner wall of the ring gradually expanded. From between the expanding, through the first construction area that was under way and an area block that was only composed of frames, they could see the insider wall of the ‘Wheel’, and the ‘landscape’ of the colony that wasn’t completed was shown outside. The 6 colony units that were moving back through the cabled rails will enter the gap together to builder the outer wall of the colony, and then continue to move forward. It would continue to build the remaining area blocks in each construction area in order, creating new earth in the colony.

The earth rolled together with the ground, and the builder unit was trapped inside like a hill—this ‘creation of the earth’ seen was already a common sight to Banagher, but the majestic scene of this large movement would make anyone amazed no matter how many times he saw it. Audrey seemed to have the same feeling as she muttered, “Amazing…” she looked completely moved. The glow let out by the jade colored eyes seemed to show an expression a person of her age should have.

“Is this the first time you’re seeing this?”

Audrey nodded as she answered Banagher’s question, but her eyes couldn’t leave the scene in front of her. The clouds that were moving, the airtight wall that was moving further, the base of the artificial sun that got expanded, and the temporary storeroom that was floating beside like a spaceship—

“The world’s gradually becoming bigger…”

Audrey suddenly saud that. Her expression and thoughts weren’t like a girl who’s living in a path of Shura far beyond anyone’s imagination. It was a voice filled with similar thoughts and values. The anxiety and terror immediately disappeared as Banagher smiled. He stood beside Audrey, who wasn’t even aware of herself, and looked in front.

Unlike the faded streets behind, the brightness of the world in front of them obviously increased. Breathing the air of the ‘world’ that was just born, Banagher lifted his head and looked at the airtight wall with a metal bowl-shaped depression. At the base of it, the gate leading to the colony builder—the ‘Snail’ was covered in clouds, and they couldn’t see it.

===Part 10===

The expansion work on the space colony resonated with a side of the colony builder. It was 2.30pm, and the ‘Wheel’ finished moving. The ‘Magallanica’s retractable deck buzzed silently like how it was supposed to. However, this retractable deck of the ‘Magallanica’ could hold a battleship. As according to the nickname ‘Snail’, there’s a snail shell riding on its back. It’s more than 300m in diameter and 1km deep. This place was linked to the airtight wall facing the moon on Industrial 7, and was also the exit where building materials were moved. In that sense, it’s more accurate to describe it as a small scale port.

In one of the areas, Cardeas Vist was watching the silent buzzing—the packaging of the RX-0 ‘Unicorn’. The white machine had more than ten personnel preparing it, sealing the hatch or sticking warning labels all over it. That’s a common scene when exchanging goods, but the personnel realized that they weren’t doing an orthodox handing-over and kept silent. They weren’t using a normal mobile suit fixation unit but a special containment that’s highly confined, which is another reason why they were silent. The ‘Unicorn’, which was being packaged inside the box with spare parts and equipment, looked like a toy robot in a model shop. Or rather…a top secret machine in a box.

If there’s a need to mention something different, it’s that the manufacturer wouldn’t accept refunds or repairs, which was why they put in a large number of repair parts and waste materials. The limbs were tied together to prevent the person using it from spoiling it immediately. However, Cardeas himself suspected whether this would be effective or not. If the ‘Unicorn’ were to go full power, such a level of restrain could be destroyed. The unique frame, capabilities and limits of this machine wasn’t completely grasped too…

He thought about all these as he lifted his head to watch the beam rifle being dragged by a mini mobile suit. Gael wordlessly floated over to stand beside him. Seeing Gael move so fluidly under zero gravity and land on both feet, Cardeas wordlessly prompted him to state his intent.

“The second lift camera captured this footage just now.”

Gael handed over some photos of a girl’s face that was entering the cargo lift. Cardeas stared at the face that’s slightly above, and gasped.

[[Image:KSGU 217.jpg|thumb]]

“…Why is ‘she’…?”

“Not sure, but she’s coming here. There’s a report that said that there was an intruder that came in through the maintenance path of the artificial sun, but the identity and whereabouts were unknown. Maybe it’s ‘her’.”

She had brown short hair and a taunting expression as it looked like she was deliberately exposing her face and looking up at the camera. If it was a disguise, it would be too brilliantly done. For 10 years, she had never shown a photo of herself. However, 3 years ago, Cardeas saw a photo of hers that the Federation intelligence managed to capture successfully. He could only admit that she was here.

But why was she here? After shuffling through several photos, Cardeas saw the other person who rode the elevator with ‘her’, and couldn’t help but widen his eyes. A shock that was different from seeing ‘her’ face pierced through his heart, and he felt his own hand that’s holding the photo shaking.

“What about this boy?”

“Seemed like her companion. A little too young to be an escort…”

At this moment, Gael stopped, having definitely sensed his shock. Cardeas used his utmost will to control the trembling in his hand and finished looking through the remaining photos.

The dark brown eyes inherited from his mother, and the slightly round face. It couldn’t be a mistake. The ‘tumor’ in his life he kept till now actually appeared at such a moment, and with ‘her’—

“Do we have contact with the ‘Sleeves’?”

Cardeas spent 10 seconds just to let out a voice that didn’t tremble as he asked while ignoring Gael’s concernted look.

“No. But there’s a little commotion in the construction area. There may be a mutiny too.”

“So ‘she’s working on her own too…”

Considering the current situation with the sleeves, this isn’t impossible, but the reason as to why ‘she’ came over wouldn’t be enough to explain why the boy came with ‘her’. His life had no involvement with the ‘Sleeves’ in the first place. What happened? What caused him to come here? Cardeas didn’t want to talk about such ‘private affairs’ to the ‘corporate’ professional Gael as he continued to stare at the people in the photos.

“This may cause an obstruction to the transport of the ‘Box’. Must I send her back?”

Gael said. Cardeas looked at his upright stare, and then lowered his head as he looked back at the photos. At this point, the word dilemma came to his mind.

===Part 11===

Once they took the lift down and went through the defenceless gantry gate, they entered the closest elevator. Another 1,500m down to their destination and it was the residential area of the colony builder.

This was the inner area that was on the inside of the 'Snail'. This residential area that had only half the diameter of the space colony had only half the gravity. Banagher and Audrey floated out from the elevator and entered the plains with very little gravity. The outside was a complete green, and there weren't any people around, and neither were there the sounds of vehicle or mini mobile suits moving. The relaxed voices of the birds was the only thing accompanying the air. This shrill and peaceful silence that would hurt the ears made it feel like a completely different world from the noisy industrial space colony.

Under the flat artificial sun that was illuminating the ceiling, the green pasture looked like it filled the entire inner wall. To the people who would only think that there was only the sight of industrial resource facilities and worker dormitories, this scene would be too unexpected. As the gravity was weaker, the grasses and trees were taller than those in the space colonies, but looked like they were properly trimmed, which made them look odd. This place had tectonic plates that were of an even smaller scale, and if one didn't look around, it would appear to be flat ground. This place also had a luxurious looking villa, and the fountain in the garden was still flowing with water. One would feel that the name 'colony builder' was a lie as what anyone would see was similar to a garden commonly seen in old-century houses of the nobility and the fabled tycoon's private land.

“Just like what Micott said...”

The structure of the Vist Foundation villa itself was moved directly from Earth. Banagher stared at the villa in an engrossed manner that could only be described as 'luxurious'. This should be called a Tudor dynasty mansion, a stone structure that almost couldn't be seen at all in the space colonies. It was 100m wide and the corridor at the front had become all grey because of the erosion. The overwhelming feeling of a fortress would make any viewer feel fear. The wide blue sky and the clouds as a backdrop made it no different from Earth.

[[Image:KSGU 221.jpg|thumb]]

What should be an old-styled donut-shaped space colony was shown in the sky. The axis seemed to be like Industrial 7 itself, and the afternoon lighted the mansion tiredly. Banagher hid behind the shrub and looked at the situation at the villa. However, he was stunned by Audrey, who stood up out of a sudden. Even though they were able to walk in unguarded up till now, there wasn't any guarantee that they could pass through safely.

“Are you going?” On hearing these words, Audrey stopped and turned around with a look that seemed to say “What are you doing here?”

“I can go alone. You can head back.”

At this moment, she gave a tone that seemed to emphasize the end of the line. “Bu...” Banagher's voice was filled with doubt, and Audrey turned around.

“They found out that I'm here. They're ready to invite me in.”

“Do the Vist Foundation know you?”

Her eyebrows twitched, showing that she was wavering somewhat “So you really needed to meet someone of the Foundation...” without waiting for him to finish, Audrey turned around and walked off. Banagher snorted and moved off in larger strides than Audrey.

“Banagher-san...”

“There may be a terrifying big sister out there waiting for me. It's safer for me to go ahead.”

How could he turn around at this now that he came all the way here? “Also, call me Banagher.” After he said that, Banagher carried Haro, who couldn't move really well on the grass, and asked: “Right?” Haro energetically answered back “Haro!” as the voice echoed in his chest.

Banagher took this as a yes and started to walk to the villa. Forget about being served. If we're going to be captured, there's no need to lead us all the way here. He was thinking that since there was no danger, he might as well come to the inside of the 'Snail' since it was a rare chance itself. The colony builder was a mothership that was meant to develop the Jupiter Celestial area. Since he was a technical student who volunteered to go to Jupiter, he was interested in this technology.

In fact, through this viewpoint, moving the green pastures of the Earth to this residential areas was meaningful. To extract the radioactive fuel Helium-3, there was regular transport to Jupiter. However, the total journey of 1.6 billion km would take several years, and it's said that it's not uncommon to see cases where the crew members collapse mentally. Even the Earth would be buried amidst the deep outer space with countless stars in them—maybe it's because the colony builder was supposed to head to a place that's too far for the human soul to work at alone that such a haven was needed. More than half the human population were in space colonies, and became space residents that didn't understand real nature. However, it need not be just a visual thing, as a 'nature' that could be touched, stepped on and sniggered at could save the human soul.

“If we can't leave the ground, what Newtypes can we even talk about...”

She unwittingly muttered that. While Banagher answered back “Eh?”, Audrey gave a vague smile and moved her feet that stopped before. He didn't even know why he felt this way. He didn't have any interest in Zeon Deikun's Newtype theory. Was it because he just heard of the history lesson before?

After a short walk, the grassland that was as high as the knees became a flat green. They were already close enough to see the fine details of the villa. It seemed that there wasn't anyone around, and there wasn't any perimeter wall or gate surrounding the house. Maybe this entire land was private property, and that they entered the garden already.

In that case, they didn't need to think about intruding illegally. Banagher climbed up the stairs leading to the atrium and faced the two large doors. The doors were made of wood, and they were decorated with metal rings and lion heads. Banagher and Audrey nodded at each other and used the metal ring to knock on the door like how it was done in movies. They didn't know whether this could be used as a doorbell, but the sound of the metal knocking was deeper than what they imagined it to be as it seemed to ring through the entire silent area of the residential area. After seeing that the door didn't show any signs of opening, Banagher shrugged his shoulders, and Audrey went forward to grab the door handle. The unlocked door let out a creaking sound as it opened.

The ceiling that was at the second storey had a posh-looking chandelier on it. There was a wide set of stairs linking to the second level, and once they went up, it was a corridor in mid-air that felt like a deck was being repaired. The corridor looked like those in the movies when a posh-looking woman would be dressed up nicely and smiling as she invite them in. there was complete silence inside the dim place, and there wasn't any presence of any butlers coming out to serve them. There wasn't anyone else who questioned the duo who trespassed randomly other than the stares from the paintings on the wall, and the empty domestic presence surrounded Banagher.

It wasn't the emptiness of a house full of charms or the loneliness of an abandoned house. The number of furniture and house decorations made it feel like people once lived in here. However, the cold air didn't have any tinge of warmth too—feeling that his body was trembling, Banagher shouted: “Anybody home?” and didn't get any answer. He exchanged glances with Audrey and walked deeper into the first level.

It seemed that there was some regular maintenance as there wasn't any odour in the empty rooms or corridors. The sofas in the living room were covered with dustproof-cloth, and the glass windows with curtains drawn were wiped clean too. Unwilling to open the windows on his own, Banagher looked through the gap that showed a ray light looked around, and walked towards the balcony where he could look down into the atrium. The atrium was a Colosseum that was surrounded on all sides by the building itself, and amidst the different sizes, there were many sculptures beside the restroom area at the middle.

Each of these were things that Banagher saw in arts textbooks, so these shouldn't be the real thing themselves, but delicately crated duplicates. The sculptures remained inside the empty garden, and there was an empty and chilly sense of presence, making one feel that they may be moving before he was here.

A bird flew by and stopped on the face of a man's status that was deep in thought before flying off again. Banagher looked at the statue and felt that the statue was looking back at him. He swallowed his saliva, took a few steps back from the balcony and recollected his thoughts, saying 'there doesn't seem to be anyone around' and went back to the corridor.

“There should be a command area somewhere. Once there...”

Speaking halfway through, he stopped as Audrey wasn't aroudn. Haro was rolling around on the floor. He looked around and couldn't find anyone. He franticallywalked to the neighboring block, and found that there was a door opened downstairs. Banagher hurriedly ran to the exit, saw Audrey standing in the dim room and heaved a sigh of relief.

The side of her face was lit by the light that shone in through the curtains of the windows as she looked up at the wall. Banagher was about to say 'don't scare me like that', but he was stunned when he entered the room.

The ceiling was abnormally high, and on the wall of this room that was the largest he ever saw, there were six really large paintings on it. They were arranged together without leaving any space, and it seemed that the paintings themselves were the wall. No, those were paintings. They look like they were woven onto a piece of cloth. A large embroidery...it's called a tapestry, correct?

The six tapestries were all of different sizes, but the smallest one was 3m wide, and the height was about 5m. They should be related works as the base colors and structures of all these works were the same. They had a woman standing at the middle of a garden with flowers and animals woven in them. The imaginary world the woman was in would remind one of a small outer space. There were two beasts on both sides, and the completely different parties created 6 scenes. Amongst the two beasts, one of them was a lion, and the other one was one with the body of a horse and a long thin horn on its head—

“Unicorn...”

Audrey muttered to herself. Banagher heard his heart pulsate for a moment.

The memory of the white mobile suit he saw this morning in the subway train awoke in him, and the blood that moved inside his body started to rumble. He didn't know the reason, and he didn't have the strength to even think about it. The woman who was taking fruits from the tray the maidservant was holding; the woman playing the harp at the table; the woman making a crown of flowers...Banagher felt that something inside his mind was rumbling and about to break out from his skill as his eyes were enchanted by the tapestry.

The woman who let the unicorn rest on her knees and looked at the mirror; the woman holding a flag with a moon on it; and last of all, a woman standing in front of a small tent, putting her jewellery into a box a maidservant's holding. The unicorn and the lion were on both sides of the tent, and the woman who looked like she was putting her jewellery away was entering a tent. The tent had the words 'A Mon de Désir' written on it, and this was an ancient language that would only be understoof by only a few researchers. The meaning was...

“...My only wish.”

He subconsciously said it out, and immediately felt a chill. I couldn't possibly read it. I couldn't possibly understand it. Banagher shook off Audrey's anxious expression and asked, “Is this a famous painting?”

“I don't know...but since it was Vist Foundation who shifted this piece of art over to outer space, I think it's something valuable.”

Audrey frowned in surprise as she noted. I know, Banagher told himself this in his mind. It doesn't matter whether it was famous or not. I know this piece of art, and it's not that I saw this before on TV or textbooks. No, I never even touched it before. A long time ago, I couldn't even get to the bottom of this tapestry. Someone carried me up and told me the meaning. At that time, that room also had the sound of a piano playing—

He slowly turned around. The piano that was beside the window as basked under the sunlight that came in. Banagher walked over to it and touched the piano that was covered in cloth.

“Seems like nobody's staying here. I'll go find the control room. You...”

“I remember.”

Muttering unknowingly, Banagher turned to look at Audrey: “I remember. I saw these before.”

“These tapestries?”

Looking at the tapestries that were hung on the wall, Audrey gave a look of disbelief back at him. Banagher was forced to move by this irritation he couldn't explain and said: “No, it's not like this...” At this moment, a third person's voice could be heard: “Do you like it?” causing him to gasp.

He looked around. A man was standing at the door. He looked at Audrey, who was frozen, and again looked back at Banagher. The man slowly entered the oroom. The somewhat dim light lit his silver hair and sharp eyes, and Banagher felt that the pressure in this room got even more intense. He subconsciously took two steps back, knocked into the piano, and the photo frame on the piano dropped down.

He instinctively turned back to look, and saw the face of a ten-year-old, slightly plump and giving a poker face. The boy seemed to have a man and a woman on both sides, most probably his parents. The woman, who seemed to be the mother, had her hand on the boy's shoulders as she smiled. The energetic man standing on the other side was also like the boy, showing a poker face. Looking at the man's face as he had that Chinese-styled collared shirt on, Banagher again turned around to stared at those sharp eyes in the dim place.

His cheeks were slightly skinner, and his hair had faded in color, but the man in front of him was completely identical to the man in the photo. Most likely, he's the owner of this villa. The stakeholder of Anaheim Electronics, and the one rumored to be the actual owner of the 'Snail', the leader of Vist Foundation—

“The Lady and the Unicorn”, author unknown. Most people thought that it was a tapestry made during the Middle Ages in France. This wasn't a copy. It's said that the ex-leader spent a lot of effort trying to get it during the One Year War.”

As he casually looked at the two intruders, the man—Cardeas Vist continued to talk. “The New Moon's Flag this woman's holding was the crest of someone who represented an advisor to the French King in the past, Vist Foundation, my family. Most likely, an ancestor requested someone to make it, and it ended up in his hands.”

The voice sounded steady, but had impeccable strength in it. Banagher put the photo frame that fell down back to its position and looked at the faces of the people in the family.

There was Cardeas, who was about 20 years younger than before, a woman who seemed to be his wife, and the boy. These were all faces he could no recognize, faces of strangers. After seeing that, the sense of 'recognition' became ambiguous, and the tapestry and the piano suddenly became unknown foreign things.

“Right now, the common idea was that this series of tapestries represented the 5 senses of humanity. The woman holding the fruit represented taste; the woman holding the harp represented hearing; the woman creating the crown of flowers represented smell; the woman holding the mirror represented sigh; and the woman touching the horn of the unicorn represented touch...” Explaining in order, Cardeas looked at the last picture, and his eyes narrowed. “And the last one was called the 'tent' As for what this meant, there wasn't any decisive conclusion to this. The woman takes off the bracelet she was wearing and puts it into the box in the maidservant's hands. There was a tent behind it with the words 'My one desire' on it.the unicorn and the lion are leading her in. what does that tent mean? What does the 'box' represent?”

[[Image:KSGU 230.jpg|thumb]]

Audrey's eyes widened, and Banagher could feel her tension. Cardeas turned to look at her.

“Some said that the tent had her husband in it, and some said that the tent led to a mental world where one gives up everything. Right now, the commonly accepted explanation would be the latter. While giving up the bracelet, the lady wanted to give up the delight her five senses brought, and the desire that they bring before releasing herself to a zone only the sixth sense could feel...the free will ancient scholars talked about was 'release'. In other words, the 'my own desire' was a realm of realization, and the tent was a symbolization of it. The bracelet represented personal desire, and the 'box' was a symbol of an earthly seal. Of it could also be interpreted that as the 'box' was opened, the lady was able to give up on her personal desire and face the next world.”

“This unicorn's existence is also symbolic. This is a legendary beast that had many meanings to it, but our family interpret it as the beast of possibilities. It was a beast that was born out of everyone's belief and love. Humans use this possibility of existence to raise this beast, causing a situation where it didn't matter whether it existed or not...like what Riike's poem said. On one hand, it could be interpreted as the sign of the Virgin, but we shall use it as a more ordinary term. We symbolize it as the power of belief...the symbol of hope.”

Once Cardeas finished, Banagher saw that there was a crest sewn on his chest pocket, one that looked like a unicorn. Just when he was about to ask whether it was the crest of the Vist Foundation or something, Cardeas looked at Audrey and said: “Pardon me for my late introductions.”

“I'm the owner of this house. My name is Cardeas Vist.”

Though Audrey looked rather mild at the moment, her expression wasn't showing any smile at all. She inadvertently looked away and started to stammer. “I...” But she clenched her fists tight and again faced Cardeas' tall body.

“Sorry to intrude on you. I'm...”

Cardeas raised his hand gently to prevent her from continuing. “I know you. Please don't declare your name first.”

“But...”

“You don't want to get this boy involved, right?”

Saying till here, Cardeas looked over at Banagher, but as their eyes met, his eyes looked back at Audrey.

“If there's anything important, please hold on for a while. However, if you're the sort of person I think you are, I hope that you understand that we're meeting under dangerous circumstances. Your presence here would make your comrades feel betrayed.”

“Zinnerman's a cautious man, so he won't create any unnecessary trouble...”

“Unnecessary? Is the need to ensure your safety unnecessary?”

The fists that were tightly clenched trembled slightly as Audrey went silent. Unable to understand what they were saying, Banagher could only stare at them in a flabbergasted manner, and his eyes met Cardeas, who suddenly looked over at him.

“You risked yourself too much. She'll be under our protection. Head back then.”

No matter whether it was some bigshot in the monetary world or not, one shouldn't be giving such a condescending look at someone they just met for the first time. Banager stepped forward, but got taken aback by Cardeas' sharp expression as he continued to remain there. Cardeas' entire body gave a heavy presence as he closed the distance between himself and Banagher.

Cardeas' eyes scanned Banagher from head to toe and stopped at the haro at his feet. “Such an old toy.” There was a mysterious crying-like tone in the voice. On hearing these unexpected words, Banagher looked straight at Cardeas' cold expression.

“Do you know why she's being pursued, and what kind of people were pursuing her?”

“Well...I don't know, but they're really scary people.”

“Scary?”

“I just had this feeling.”

Gripping his trembling fingers hard, Banagher answered without wavering, and Cardeas' eyes suddenly became kiner: “Saying such things that a Newtype would say...” The somewhat wry voice entered Banagher's ears. Of course, one didn't need to look at the expression to see that he was laughing at Banagher for arrogantly saying that in a childish manner.”

“I was born in a place where such people kept going in and out, so I could tell.”

That was the last straw. Banagher was already expecting to be laughed at, but the wryness in Cardeas' eyes vanished. “...I see. So you say that you can recognize people?” Banagher could tell that this voice again sounded like crying.

“Then, let's not waste what you know. Head back. If you continue to stay here, your future will be wrecked. This is not what the person who sent you to Anaheim Electronics wanted.”

The unexpected words caused him to be shocked. Was his cover blown? No, Banagher suddenly thought. This Cardeas may be a friend of his father who he never met and requested him to transfer into the College.

From the few words his mother spoke and the history up till now, he knew that his father should be someone of status. Though it was a vague memory, the feel of the room and the tapestries didn't seem to be just a false impression...so strong that if he never saw the family photo, he would have thought that this was his family.

“You...knew?”

Immediately afterwards, Banagher forgot about all of these and started asking. Cardeas moved his eyes away slightly.

“I'm the chairman after all, and I can check any student's particulars and expel them accordingly.”

The last words went through Banagher with a straight gaze. Since he was being watched the moment he and Audrey, who was being 'hosted', entered the 'Snail', it's easy to investigate their history. The cold reality of understanding this caused Banagher to lower his head dejectedly. The passion shown just now cooled off as he felt his knees lose strength.

“I'll give recognition to a young man's impulse. It's alright to believe in instincts. However, if your knowledge and ability isn't enough, your response would be the wrong one. Go back. Don't get involved in this.”

After this one-sided aggression, Cardeas left Banagher. Banagher couldn't say anything, didn't even have the strength to stare at his back, and lowered his head. He succumbed again. This time, he succumbed under the violence called authority, and was about to collapse again. But even though he had this feeling, his wilted nerves didn't feel like getting back up in a motivated manner. Banagher turned to look at Audrey.

Audrey looked back at him too. After their eyes met, she immediately looked away, which made Banagher feel despair as he already knew what Audrey was about to say next.

“That's enough, Banagher. Go back.”

Her eyes were looking at him again, and the words were what he imagined it to be as they pierced through his heart. “But...!” Banagher's tone was full of panic.

“It's enough that you brought me here. I'll handle the rest.”

After giving a stiff smile, Audrey looked over at Cardeas. On seeing those eyes that were filled with intense will, Cardeas wordlessly walked away. Banagher felt that Audrey was about to follow Cardeas, and before he could think, his feet stepped on the floor first.

Though his posture was tilting somewhat because of the lower gravity, Banagher blocked Audrey as she was about to walk to the door. “Audrey.” Banagher called her name, and her jade-green eyes were looking back at him.

“Before I met you this morning, I saw a white mobile suit in the subway train.”

After blinking a bit, Audrey lifted her head slightly. Banagher ignored Cardeas, who was eavesdropping on them, and continued to look at her face.

“After that, I wanted to go to work, but ther was no work for the day. I went to the cafeteria with Takuya, and saw you floating near the sun. I don't know much after that, but I was really excited. It's like another world appeared right in front of me, or that something I couldn't see in the past appeared right in front of me...this was the first time I felt that. It's like I felt my comfort zone for the first time.”

Banagher himself knew how foolish these words were, but his mouth just couldn't stop. On hearing that Audrey was looking a little moody and becoming more so, Baangher himself continued.

“I don't care who you are. Just say that you need me, say that it's better for me to be here. Then I...”

“No.”

Audrey answered before he could finish. Shocked by the stiff expression and the impact of the voice, Banagher felt his body waver.

“The world you saw today was nothing. It's just a dark and cold world. You shouldn't be here.”

“Audrey...”

“Forget about it. Don't get involved with me. It's better for you.”

This time, it was really a tone to clear the divide. Audrey turned around, and Banagher was rooted there. All around the delicate yet obstinate profile, the dark red base of the tapestries appeared in the dim place.

Perhaps seeing that the little drama between both of them was over, Cardeas nodded his head slightly, and men in suits appeared at the door of the room, ushering Audrey in with a courteous demeanor. Audrey lifted her head and followed them out. Banagher instinctively tried to catch up, but he was stopped by the presence that suddenly appeared behind him. Unknowingly, two men appeared from a room and were standing behind Banagher.

“We'll send you back to you hostel.”

One of the men. The man who would remind one of the ferocity and viciousness of a hunter had the crest of a unicorn on the chest. Knowing that he would be suppressed if he tried to resist, Banagher looked at Cardeas, who turned around and said just when he was about to lead Audrey out of the room: “This would be better.”

“The people chasing her may view you as a target.”

It was logical. Though Banagher himself felt that this was just an excuse, he couldn't say anything. Banagher clenched his fists and lowered his head. The embarrassment and regret left a stinging feeling in his nose, and the unicorn on the tapestries became blurred.

Audrey went through the door of the room without turning back, and Cardeas followed her from behind. As he left, he looked back, and seemed to stop for a moment as he probably looked at Banagher. However, once Banagher lifted his head, the profile vanished, and the light that came in through the door remained in the room, causing Banagher to see remains of the world he lost.

<noinclude>
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| Back to [[KSGU:Volume_1_Chapter_1|Chapter 1]]
| Return to [[Gundam Unicorn|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[KSGU:Volume_2_Illustrations|Volume 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

KSGU:Volume 1 Chapter 2

2012-05-11T01:37:50Z

115.77.129.48: /* Part 8 */

==Chapter 2==

===Part 1===

In the starry universe, there was a biplane that’s flying with a propeller. It was a middle-century classical plane that operates on gasoline.

As he stared at the plane blankly, Riddhe Marcenas imagined himself to be sitting on it. He was wearing a flying visor, a white muffler around his neck, and using fighting flying skills that were like acrobatics to tease the enemy’s destroyer. A pilot had to be like this. Even if the propeller planes were all replaced by jet planes or even evolved into space fighter jets with g, pilots were all proud riders. A pilot shouldn’t be part of minor things like being called out by an older non-commission officer or pointed at by a senior pilot. That’s the bad customs that passed down from the navy. And the pilots after the mid-century occupy a unique atmosphere called the air force, and they’re an unique existence that had to be separated from ordinary soldiers. At least they shouldn’t forget about this…that’s what he thought.

However, reality was cruel.

“Ensign Riddhe, the captain’s calling you over to his room.”

A window opened in the space, and the Mechanical Officer Jona Gibney’s mustached face chuckled as he said that. He was the oldest and the most experienced of the maintenance staff, and he was one of those senior soldiers who would not hesitate to scold an officer. Riddhe was sitting on the linear seat and pouted, “Why always me?”

“You have to bring stuff to the captain’s room. This job is more or less suited for a rich boy!”

“I’m an officer too, you know! This has nothing to do with lineage, right?”

“Only those who shot down an enemy’s plane has the right to say that. Now go!”

Mechanical Officer Gibney’s face disappeared from the screen, and only angry roars echoed throughout the cockpit. Riddhe unhappily turned off the all-view monitor and grabbed the biplane model that was floating above his head.

Once the space simulated image disappeared, the screens that were connected on the inside walls of the ball, and the cockpit suddenly became a cramped and unpleasant cockpit. Riddhe used a plastic bag to wrap the plastic body of the biplane and put it behind the display guard before opening the door. The door that could only be passed through by bending down was right in front of him. The sound of welding, cranes and metals rubbing against each other entered the cockpit.

Also, there was a chatter behind him, and Gibney, who was in that jumpsuit that the mechanical staff would wear was showing blank white eyes. Riddhe kicked the linear seat and easily let his body float out of the cockpit. Gibney’s body didn’t move as he floated in the air, and he said with a heinous tone, “Were you meditating inside that cockpit again?”

“I’m embracing the time when I can be one with my beloved plane. Are you touched?”

“And you even dare to say that you brought a toy in!”

“Please don’t randomly touch and spoil it. That’s a limited edition. It was hard to get it!”

One has to strike the fine balance between being orderly and doing things one’s own way. One shouldn’t remember the grudges when there’s vexing words said, but to forget it after hearing it. Having grasped the secret to ship service, Riddhe took the documents he was to deliver and left. “Who cares about you, Mr Mania?” after leaving these words behind, Gibney looked like he exchanged places with Riddhe as he slipped into the cockpit. His underlings, 4 new technicians in spacesuits followed him from behind and looked into the cockpit from all directions.

Their job was to pay attention to all of Gibney’s actions and quickly hand the important tools to him. This deck was often filled with air, so there was no need to wear the bulky work spacesuit. However, Gibney wanted the rookies to wear them at all time. “What’ll happen if we’re attacked and there’s a hole in the wall? Once you’re sucked outside, the blood in your body will immediately freeze and you’ll immediately die.” That was Gibney’s saying, and he did see this personally on the ship he was on. Those who experienced the One Year War, the ones who fought in war, had the most weight in their words.

When Riddhe was first assigned to this ship, he would also show respect to this, and would wear a pilot’s spacesuit when he entered the deck. However, he would now be lightly dressed in a jumpsuit and a jetpack. Since he’s riding on a spaceship, he will die anyway if they were attacked, no matter where they were, and even Gibney himself wouldn’t wear a spacesuit before the siren rang. After seeing the tense profiles of the rookies, Riddhe thought that they were really pitiful…but this made Riddhe remember his own sadness, and he suddenly had an urge to drop the documents that he was told to deliver onto the floor. He took a deep breath, held back this urge, grabbed and messed up his blond hair that was a little longer, and used the steel cable to move alongside the floor.

As he was being dragged by the cable, he could see his personal suit fully as he went near the passage that’s located at the wall. It was a blue humanoid body that showed the artistry of straight and curved contours. This was the RGZ-95 ‘ReZEL’ that had a variable booster unit behind. As the front part of the booster was extended out from the back of the head, it looked a lot larger than an ordinary mobile suit. Gibney and his subordinates who were gathered at the cockpit right at the abdomen looked like they were the size of the ‘ReZEL’s fist.

On the large mobile suit deck that was more than 7 levels high, there were 7 similar-typed ‘ReZEL’ and the main forces of the Earth Federation RGM-89 ‘Jegan’ were also at their fixed positions and undergoing maintenance. The ‘Jegan’ was a mass-produced frame, and though the ‘ReZEL’ was classified as the latest transformable mobile suit, both mobile suits inherited the basic design from the Federation Army’s mobile suit, the RGM-79 GM, which wasn’t changed too much. Most notably, the visor protector on the head that blocks the optical sensor was of the exact same design. Riddhe’s personal suit, the ‘ReZEL’ had the identification number NA-R008 on the chest, and the visor that was basically its eyes was being washed.

There was no sign of any streamlined winged mobile suits, only the humanoid mobile suits that looked like they will pop out in old cartoons. This scene just looked like the rows of Buddha statues Riddhe saw with he was young and went on a trip to Asia, which irritated him again. The beauty of aircraft was created from the coordination of air resistance. Thus, it would be natural for machines that’s to be used in vacuum to display other characteristics. Also, the reason why space fighter units that resembled planes and replaced by mobile suits called ‘robots’ was because of the One Year War that happened when Riddhe was 6.

If one hasn’t found the new particles that would bring about the revolution to physics, the Minovsky Particles that would jam all electronic devices, there wouldn’t be humanoid machines that formed the basis of recent wars. If it wasn’t for the creation of mobile suits and the Principality of Zeon’s creation ‘Zaku’ being such a huge success that caused the Earth Federation which had overwhelming advantages to be on the brink of defeat, this hangar would still have signs of the descendant of the biplane, the space fighter jets.

Of course, the fighter jets didn’t disappear completely. The main machine of the Federation’s air force, the TIN Cod II was a fighter plane that resembled an aircraft. The space army still had the fighter planes that were used for long distance support, but they were already out, and the budget for new machines was already interrupted for so long. Also, once the air force finished clearing the remnants of Zeon Forces on Earth, they were treated like they fulfilled their purpose and were abandoned. No matter how much one liked planes, to this person who graduated from the Officer Cadet School with outstanding grades, it wasn’t an attractive path.

In the end, Riddhe came here. He was affliated to a top-notch large ship under the Federation, and became a pilot of a mobile suit. He managed to fulfill his dream since childhood…and he even used his links with his ‘family’. What he got was completely different from what he expected though. He was living in the world whether that brave pilot was gone and began living his life while being called a ‘young lord’ by experienced pilots and soldiers as he was told off every day.

Considering that he couldn’t get away from the pressure of his ‘family’ whenever he goes, this was still a surrounding he could compromise with. He continued to hold back the unhappiness within him and reached his hand out to the handle on the deck. Suddenly, he heard voices from under his feet going ‘what’s with that ugly and fake tank?’. A pilot who was being pulled by the cable was glaring at the two vehicles parked in the corner of the deck.

The dark brown machines that were over 10m in length were large crawlers. They did look like armored cars or tanks. While leaving ‘Lunar Two’, about 30 transport carrier personnel suddenly came in with the vehicles. As Riddhe watched these vehicles, other voices could be heard, ‘Did the special forces bring these people in?’.

“They had been using cover to cover it, and they didn’t allow us technicians to touch.”

“The killer squad of the hunters. Such annoying visitors.”

On hearing these bad words that were deliberately said for others to hear, the ‘visitors’ who were maintaining the vehicle—the special Federation space forces ECOAS glared over, but the pilots themselves didn’t seem to reflect on this as they went above while holding the cable. Instead of merely being crude, it was more like small fries acting childish, and Riddhe really felt like sighing.

The ECOAS, also known as the hunter squad, had quite the bad reputation. They would often have a clear divide from the ship crew, and they would cover their equipment with cloth and not allow others to get near. Riddhe really didn’t like such secrecy at all. However, it would be immature for him to return nail for nail. Basically, the training and regimentation of the space army were all like the navy, and the group mentality for each ship was too strong. An experienced soldier like Gibney could be so cool was because of the bad habit of experience triumphing over rank. The concept of the term ‘ship’ in space and bringing the seaman’s mentality into space was the cause of all this.

If the spaceship could be described as a large plane, learning the elements of the air force may be like becoming an independent organization that had open communication channels. While repeating the meaningless grumbles, Riddhe looked over at the armored car-like thin the ECOAS had. The squad members were getting ready as they started to pull the covers off the vehicles, most likely because they were getting close to their destination, and they gave a tense feeling from their backs, making that place look like a completely different world. They were dressed in impromptu T-shirts and army pants, but they were highly skilled in moving under zero gravity, and they wouldn’t shout randomly. They weren’t extremely muscular, but the abnormally thick upper body and the thick chest muscles made them look like they trained.

Riddhe’s eyes met one of them. It was the man who shot a glare at his crewmate for saying harsh words. Riddhe gave a smile as he tried to compensate for his crewmate’s unreasonable action. But the man didn’t smile as he looked at Riddhe like he was looking at a ‘thing’ and then looked away before continuing his work.

He didn’t look like he was looking at other people. The cold inorganic-like eyes was definitely of someone nicknamed a ‘hunter’. Riddhe felt like he was being held at knifepoint on the throat as he hurriedly left.

===Part 2===

The ship’s name was called ‘Nahel Argama’. It was an assault landing ship that belonged to the independent unit of the Earth Federation, Londo Bell. Right now, it was in between Earth and the moon, right before the dark wasteland space of L1. In three hours, they would be entering the space debris field, and they will deploy all forces to monitor the region.

The ship that was almost 400m in length had a mobile suit catapult launcher at the deck of the ship. The bridge was right in the middle like a bow, and there were 2 giant wings with hidden solar panels extending out from the back of the bridge and reaching out to both sides. If one were to designate the two engines that are equipped on the rear left and right sides of the ship as the hind legs and the catapult decks on both sides as the fore legs, it would look like a sphinx with wings or a large wooden horse. Based on this point, this ship could be said to have inherited the Pegasusc-class obile assault landing ship that was active during the One Year War—the Federation’s first mobile suit carrier ‘White Base’.

However, the ‘Nahel Argama’ didn’t belong to any class, and neither did it have a similar ship. If there’s a need to classify it, it should be classified as Nahel Argama, a one and only ship. That’s because it was a ship that wasn’t designed through standard National Security planning during the time after the war, in the internal tussle that divided the Federation Army into half—what one would call the Gryps War. However, it didn’t have interchangeability and was hard to deal with, so it was removed from the army’s reorganization plans. Though there was a large scale reconstruction after the Gryps War, Londo Bell, which took it, didn’t know what to do with it, and it wasn’t set as a cornerstone of a fleet. It was hard to mobilize, so there was no accompanying fleet, causing it to be mobilized as a single ship.

This ship of the external group of the space army Londo Bell was an isolated one…and the isolation caused a twisted group mentality. It couldn’t be helped that the old habits of rejecting others happened. Riddhe used this thinking to scatter the anger that he couldn’t purge and left the mobile suit deck to move towards the center of the ship.

These weren’t all bad things, and Riddhe could even say that it’s better for him to be isolated. Also, he didn’t really dislike this atmosphere completely. He was the one who volunteered to be assigned to Londo Bell, and he considered his position and suitability before being assigned to the ‘Nahel Argama’. If he was sent to a main fleet, that wouldn’t be all the pressure. He would probably end up with his superiors fearing him, his peers hating him, and he couldn’t fulfill his duty in such an environment.

The weight of his ‘family’ was this great. He was the eldest son of the important senator in the Federation Central Council Ronan Marcenas. It was a political family that once gave birth to a Prime Minister, and he was the heir to the Marcenas’ glory. This guy’s here to pilot a mobile suit? Impossible. He’ll most likely be decommissioned after a while. It’s not rare for a political heir to enter an officer cadet school as one would say that being outstanding in the Federation army would be a shortcut to being a politician. Most of the time, he would be intending to get along with future generals to creating camaraderie with the army…

No! But no matter how many times he emphasized this, such words continued to be echoed. I didn’t want to be a politician. My dream is a pilot, so I entered the Officer Cadet School even with my family against it. However, having entered officer cadet school for 4 years and the mobile suit learning squad for a year, Riddhe really felt that it was meaningless to argue back, and didn’t want to face these words already. In contrast, he started to search his way from the center. It was a place where high ranking officers wouldn’t try to latch on to him so that they would be outstanding in the future. Even if they teased him as ‘young lord’, this was a place where they wouldn’t have any ill intention, but treat him as a pilot—

However, it was unexpected that they would call him to be a runner. Grimacing inside, Riddhe let go of the moveable handle and used the momentum to float through the path and stop in front of the lift that would lead to the gravity area. Mihiro Oiwakken, who was his junior that graduated in the next batch, was coincidentally in the lift.

“Oh my, are you delivering these documents?” “Yeah.” Both of them continued to talk as the lift carried them. The inside of the ‘Nahel Argama’ had a cylindrical gravity area that was like a space colony. It uses centrifugal force to create gravity on the inside of the cylinder. Of course, as the diameter was smaller, it could only create a weak amount, but even if the object’s not fastened to the floor, it could keep it to the floor. When flying for a long time, especially while eating and undergoing military medical treatment, this design would be extremely important.

The lift went through the axis on the side of the gravity area and arrived at the rotary axis of the cylinder. Both of them were exchanging information this time about the emergency departure and the uncertain battle plan before the door opened again. The destination was the Construction Space Colony ‘Industrial 7’ that’s in the Dark Wasteland space. The main operation would be carried out by ECOAS, and the ‘Nahel Argama’ was in charge of sending them.

“Industrial 7’s Anaheim Electronics’ Space Colony, right? The Dark Wasteland Region a place where a new Side will be built on in the space colony redevelopment project…I don’t think that it’s a place where the ‘Sleeves’ will show up.”

“I don’t know about the details, but the atmosphere in the bridge is really bad. We’re already unhappy that the hunters are using us as a transport, and we may even end up in a real battle. First Mate Liam was forcing the captain to make the hunters tell the truth…”

“Captain Otto can’t hold on for long if that old hag’s going to continue pressuring him like that, right? Even I can’t handle it.”

“Yeah. It’s really hard to imagine him when he’s commanding.”

Even though she would say this, Mihiro herself looked like she was far from the active battle. Her dark brown eyes and hair showed a heavy Eastern heritage. She was wearing a grey officer uniform and was shorter than Riddhe. Perhaps it was her inferiority complex in her height that she was so hardworking, and she was giving the nickname ‘mini-tank’ in Officer Cadet School. However, she wouldn’t give a vexing feeling, and is a nice female officer who wouldn’t lose her cool. The way she rolls her eyes would give people the impression of a small animal like a chipmunk instead of a mini tank.

22 year old Mihiro was only deployed to Londo Bell for half a year, and Riddhe, who graduated a year earlier, went to the mobile suit learning squad, so he was assigned here at the same time as her, and for the two of them, it was their first duty in their first ship. It’s been three years since the war with the remnants of Zeon in what people called ‘Char’s Counterattack’, and right now, even Londo Bell, which was meant to be an immediate response team, had not fought for a long time. Thus, there were quite a lot of people who didn’t have actual combat experience. Recently, the renegade organization called ‘Sleeves’ were starting to move, and had fought against several squads under Londo Bell. However, the ‘Nahel Argama’, which was on the outside, didn’t take part in the assault, thus, new cadres like Riddhe weren’t the only ones who couldn’t imagine the actual scenario.

“Real battle…since we have the hunters on board, it won’t be an exercise, I guess.”

“It’s troubling to have to fight secretly in a civilian space colony. ‘Industrial 7’ has the school Anaheim Electronics runs, right?”

Mihiro said this as that student-like face of hers became gloomy. As he saw that delicate Eastern skin of hers, Riddhe’s thoughts became a little uncouth, and the lift reached the gravity area before opening. After saying goodbye to Mihiro who was heading to the bridge, Riddhe let his body float through the passage that looked like the axis of the rotating gravity area.

Once he landed on the gravity, the body that was captured by gravity creaked, and Riddhe felt like he was struck by dizziness. He grabbed the handle on the wall. Riddhe frowned as the blood in his body was being pulled down as he didn’t feel well about that. He moved past the weapons personnel who came over from the cafeteria and entered another lift. The captain’s room was at the lowest level in the inside wall, where the gravity was the strongest. After descending down the axis for another 50m, his body started to become heavier because of the zero gravity during the journey, which caused his body to expand.

In fact, the atmosphere in the captain’s room was rather heavy too. After reporting and calling out ‘excuse me’, Riddhe walked into the captain’s room, and immediately knew the reason.

The captain’s room of the Nahel Argama had the operation room and the reception room. The reception room itself was a wide space that was more than 60 sq meters large. The ship was being expanded continuously to match the current mobile suit capacity needed. However, the basic amount of facilities needed wouldn’t require that much space, which ended up allowing them to use as much space as they wanted to. Inside the reception room right now was captain Otto Midas leading the people in charge of the weapons and the navigation were here. However, they weren’t the ones who made the presence in the room heavy. In contrast to the tired looking captain, there was a commander sitting on the opposite sofa, and there was an organization where everyone was dressed in suits—the dangerous ‘guests’ who were riding on this ship. They were the ones who made the reception area feel so heavy.

Such a heavy feeling made him remember about his ‘family’. Once Riddhe entered the room, he immediately saw the mobile suit squadron leader, Norman Basilicok. He avoided the looks of the rest as he handed the documents over to the colonel. He wanted to immediately turn around and leave the room, but Commander Norm said, “I need to sign this. Please wait for a moment.” Causing him to remain where he was.

Sitting at a corner of the L-shaped sofa and signing the nominal roll, Norm’s face looked rather unhappy, and Captain Otto took off his cap, a rare feat for him. As they had to put on spacesuits in battle, the space army wouldn’t use military caps when riding in ships, but Otto would definitely wear the normal cap. This was to hide his reclining hairline, and it’s an open secret in the ship. Some vicious mechanics would even say, “Does he even need to worry about being bald when he looks like that?”

“We’re fine with ECOAS leading this battle.”

Otto touched that head of his that was lacking in hair and broke the silence. The voice of a middle-ranked officer bemoaning matched his face that looked like an old uncle in a civilian factory.

“But Londo Bell also has what Londo Bell needs to do. At least tell us your objective…”

“That’s classified. I personally have no rights to reveal this.”

Sitting opposite Otto was the fierce commander, who answered without an expression. He was the leader of the ECOAS squad, Daguza Mackle. His straightened back and those sturdy thighs of his would make one wonder whether he could still maintain the same position even when someone takes the sofa away. No matter whether it’s the stone-like expression or the sharp expression that would make anyone freeze, he does look like a man who could lead the hunters.

Commander Norm stopped his hand from flipping through the documents and stared at Daguza. Riddhe found that he was in a situation where he didn’t want to face at all, as his straight body froze harder. As the leader of the counter-terrorist Special Forces, Daguza had handled much more covert missions. Compared to his expression, Otto, who was forced onto the Nahel Argama which no one wanted, lost out a lot. Norman and all the crew on the ship saw that the captain was losing out a lot, and were obviously looking outraged. However, Daguza didn’t really pay much attention to these stares. Riddhe was right in the middle of the epitome of a messy situation.

“But this is to be held in a civilian space colony. At least make some explanation to reduce the causalities to the minimum…”

“That’s why I’m allowed to come along.”

Otto manned up his pride as a captain and spoke, and the one who interrupted him was one of the men dressed in suits beside Daguze. Amongst the men dressed in traditional suits, there was a man who was wearing a collared Nehru Jacket. He placed the Nahel Argama model he was playing in his hand back onto the table and looked around at everyone.

“I’ll reveal this then. There’s a deal that’s about to take place in Industrial 7. The parties involved are the ‘Sleeves’ and the leader of the Vist Foundation.”

The man said as he smiled and relaxed his plump face. He was a ‘visitor’ that came along with Daguza and the ECOAS members, and the one with the largest profile. They only knew that he was an important member of Anaheim Electronics, and his name was Alberto. This man had an arrogant smile, and he seemed to be telling everyone that the authority over this entire battle is in him. Otto asked back, “Did you say Vist Foundation…” and at this moment, Norman and Daguza narrowed their eyes in unison as they gave unhappy looks.

“That’s right. On the surface, it’s a philanthropic foundation that transports art pieces into space colonies, but in fact, we control practically all of the Vist Foundation’s wealth and power. Though there’s a difference in the authority wielder, it’s the major stakeholder of our company here.”

With his back facing the Earth Celestial Sphere map on the wall, Alberto ignored the unhappy looks everyone gave.

“Of course, Industrial 7 is our company’s asset. However, even if there’s some damage, we have to prevent the deal between the ‘Sleeves’ and the “Vist Foundation’. This isn’t Anaheim’s decision only, but also the conclusion the highest authorities of the Federation Army came to.”

His eyes with double eyelids made him look like he got a doll like face, but his demeanor and bulky frame really made it hard to tell his age. Though Anaheim Electronics was the largest military enterprise in the world, but for a civilian like Alberto to take part just because he was a crucial figure in this, for what reason did the highest authorities make such a decision? “What’s this…deal that we needed to prevent at all cost?” Captain Otto asked with a somewhat trembling voice.

“It’s the ‘Laplace Box’. The Vist Foundation intend to hand that thing over to the ‘Sleeves’.”

Immediately, the heavy damp air scattered all over, and Riddhe felt cold air blow through the reception room. “‘Laplace Box’…?” Otto frowned.

“No one knows what that thing is, or even what’s inside. But one thing’s certain. Once the ‘Laplace Box’ is opened, it would bring about the end of the Earth Federation government.”

Alberto leaned his back on the sofa as he gave a serious look. Captain Otto tried to force a smile, but wasn’t successful as his stiff expression started to ache in numbness. Daguza’s sharp expression remained on Alberto.

“The Vist Foundation hid the ‘Laplace Box’ and used that to preserve its wealth. Anaheim shares the same fate with it too. No matter what the aim is, we must stop the leader who lost his mind, if the thing that can topple the Federation government lands in the ‘Sleeves’ hands…things will become serious, captain.”

Alberto said as he gave a self-mocking smile. Facing the doubts and fears everyone showed as they remained silent, Riddhe could only curse himself for meeting such an unlucky and unfortunate situation.

===Part 3===

No matter how one walked on the side of the corridor, there was the sound of a fist slamming into flesh. Marida Crus let go of the moving handle and saw the back of Flaste Schole.

“IT’S BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T CHECK PROPERLY THAT WE DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THAT WE WERE USED AS TRANSPORT!”

Right in front of Flaste, who was roaring away, was a young deck crewman whose face was beaten till it was red and swollen. Under zero gravity, both of them had their feet stuck to the ground by magnets, so anyone who’s hit would be hurting. Even if Flaste held back, that hard metal-like punch that can’t be dodged landed straight on his face. The crewman swayed about and stood still, saying, “I won’t give any excuses for this.” While blood was dripping from his mouth.

“THAT’S JUST YOU TRYING TO ACT COOL! WHY DON’T YOU JUST GET ON YOUR KNEES AND APOLOGIZE!?”

Flaste grabbed the front of the crewman’s hair and looked like he intended to deliver a few more punches. However, he was stopped by a voice “Stop fighting.” Marida watched the human wall that was gathered on the passageway scatter, and Captain Zinnerman’s bearded face appeared.

He sounded calm, but the expression hidden under the captain’s hat showed utter distress. It’s been an hour since they got a signal from the headquarters ‘Palau’ that ‘she’ went missing. In the large Earth Celestial Sphere, the ‘Palau’ itself would be a lone island in the large ocean. If she disappeared, it’s likely that she would be hiding inside the ships that come in and goes out. After having checked the entire ship thoroughly, they found that one of the storerooms that was used as a storeroom had signs of a stowaway inside, which caused a huge commotion in the ‘Garencieres’.

Marida herself joined in the search, but ‘her’ presence wasn’t inside the ship. It seemed that she slipped out during the mess when they docked. It was the crewman’s mistake for not noticing that she left, and he should be punched by Flaste, but everyone knew that they couldn’t solve the problem by getting angry. Marida ignored the men who were staring at each other and went into the cabin ‘she’ looked like ‘she’ was in.

She looked through the window on the wall and out to the central dock, closed her eyes and concentrated. She couldn’t grasp the presence of people moving about, and the messy thoughts that was like heat from a crowd caused her head to spin. Though she felt a little hot on the forehead, she couldn’t detect ‘her’ presence. There were too many people. Marida could only be amazed about how the human presences she could focus on in the battlefield could move about messily at will. As expected, an artificial being couldn’t detect a specific presence—

“She’s inside this space colony…but it’s not good if we take action and get held at ransom by our trade partner.”

Zinnerman said outside the entrance. Marida wiped away the sweat on her hands that came out unknowingly and returned back to the corridor.

“Is it likely that the ‘girl’ made contact with the other party already?”

“It’s likely that ‘she’ was opposed to this right from the beginning. Most likely, she made contact with Vist Foundation…”

Once Flaste pushed the crewman aside and finished saying that, Gilboa Sant continued on. Zinnerman watched his two henchmen, said “Not really” and put on his captain’s hat.

“It’s impossible to make contact with the outside world from Palau. She most likely intends to make direct contact!”

Most likely, she wanted to prevent the deal of the “Laplace Box’. Zinnerman let air flow through his hair that’s linked to his beard and put on the old captain’s hat. His eyes showed bitterness and pride. During these past years, he put in his heart and soul to protect ‘her’, and to this man who viewed himself as her substitute guardian, he may be able to judge that ‘she’ would do this, and this was somewhat of a self-defeat feeling. Marida was thinking as such, but decided firmly that she didn’t understand this, and looked away from her master who looked somewhat old now.

She only knows one thing, and that is, this is a huge crisis that would bring about danger to the entire organization. If they lose her, the ‘Sleeves’ will lose their focal point, and the organization they were finally able to build will develop cracks. If she even ends up in the Federation’s hands, the problem wouldn’t be only about the organization called the ‘Sleeves’. It may even bring everything to an immediate halt, the 16 years of war—or even the struggle that originate about half a century ago. All the sacrifice, blood, sweat that were shed for this would lose all meaning. The ‘Sleeves’ and the members of the Garencieres will lose their support.

‘She’, who was really smart, couldn’t possibly not understand this. This was foolish…but as she thought this, Marida felt that doing this would fit ‘her’ nature, and thus she stopped thinking. No matter whether it was about ‘her’ or the ‘Sleeves’, all the necessary decisions were to be made by her master, and she only needed to obey. The more she thinks, the more she would hesitate when carrying out the order. It’s something an ordinary person would normally do. After using this logical thinking process of hers, Marida gave Zinnerman a look that showed that she was waiting for instructions.

“Please, Marida. That child doesn’t know about normal life, so she wouldn’t be too far off. She’ll probably leave clues behind.”

Perhaps sensing the stare over at him, Zinnerman looked over at her and said this. This was the minimum transmission of talking and breathing, the familiar voice of her master. After answering ‘understood’ simply, Marida left the scene. After hearing Flaste’s voice “Don’t create any commotion” from behind, Marida took the lift and head towards the bridge area.

The ‘Garencieres’, which had a vertical landing function, has the end of the ship as the floor when it lands; which made it look like a building, and the bridge at the front of the ship was at the highest level. While they’re docked with the port now, the floor inside the ship that’s parallel to the port is lying horizontally. The lift itself is moving horizontally, but under zero gravity, the scenery around would decide how it looked. Marida ‘ascended’ by about the equivalent of 10 levels and entered the bridge,. She then entered the bottom of the bridge—or rather—the back—where the server room was. In this small room that’s filled with communication equipment and screens, the crewman continued to stare at the screen all this while, and the sound of the keyboard being typed on never stopped.

Besides the colony news network that anyone could read, they could see the construction progress of Industrial 7, the blueprint and even the movement of the industrial workers. As they could use the network provided by the port while they were docked and connect to the colony’s network, a highly skilled hacker could check out a large amount of information. After plucking away the coffee tube from the air, Marida asked “How is it?” and the crewman didn’t look back as he tossed a printed paper over. What’s printed on it was the hottest selling news at the moment.

“A mini mobile suit was forced to land in the park. The student who used it insisted that he used it to save someone…is it?”

The sound of things piecing together rang in her mind. Marida looked at the time the news was broadcasted, and confirmed that the time was already past 9. She held onto the printed paper and left the server room.

===Part 4===

“…As described above, the One Year War ended at the large scale battle at A Baoa Qu. After that, the Principality of Zeon transferred control over to the new republic and signed a peace treaty, and where is the lunar city where the peace treaty was signed? Banagher Links?”

Fidgeting around and passing through the back of the classroom, Banagher was about to sit down at his seat, but was called out by his teacher, Mr Bancroft, and was immediately stunned.

“Yes. Un, that…‘Von Braun’?”

“It’s ‘Granada’.” BAM. After slamming the desk and correcting it, Mr Bancroft adjusted his glasses in an unhappy manner. “I heard about everything. Sit down.”

What’s going on? Banagher muttered inside his heart as he sat at a corner of the fan-shaped table. Takuya and the other students gave him looks as he plugged his laptop into the power port at the table. He opened out the retractable keyboard, entered his log in ID, and the world history definition that he missed out was shown on the screen.

It’s said that the advance in technology in the old century and the wireless network system weren’t rare at all—an age where even handphones could be carried along—right now, the network and phones were all wired. That’s because as humans are living in human colonies, such ‘intricate technology’, there’s a strict limit on the electric waves used. However, as there’s Minovsyu particles floating everywhere, the limit became meaningless. These Minovsky particles that were of unknown origin causes electric short circuits of all types to happen often. Although there were many protective measures for life support systems, it’s a habit after the One Year War to print a copy of data out.

In other worlds, this Earth Celestial Sphere still had Minovsky particles floating about after the war. To put it plainly, there’s still a need for it—war continues to happen. Banagher suddenly thought about this and felt that his neck was aching a little like it was twisted. Of course, it need not be a real battle. Particles were also scattered for battle training. Recently, it’s said that even trading ships would scatter the particles to deal with pirates. Some of them would definitely float over from a real battlefield, right? Maybe at this moment, someone’s betting his life and gets burned by a laser. Just like how he saw a mobile suit this morning amongst them remains.

''"A war. There’ll be a large-scale war again."''

The jade-colored eyes flashed through his mind as those words rang beside his ears. Banagher shook his head that was still swirling and gathered his concentration on the history lecture.

“The Principality of Zeon was a military country that was controlled by the Zabi family. The Zeonism that Zeon Deikum promoted described that humans in space shall bring a brand new ‘Newtype thinking’, and garnered lots of supports like Gihren Zabi. It wasn’t Deikum’s own intent, but after he died, his name was used by the Zabi family as an excuse for a war of independence. In a certain sense, it was still a dangerous thought.”

''Someone could actually say such words even though it’s not knowledge derived from their own experience. How does it feel?'' Seeing Mr Bancroft continue to talk away, he wondered as a chat window appeared in the corner of his laptop.

This was to be expected. He was the one who caused an uproar in the entire colony by uprooting a cable on the road. How would the other students who weren’t motivated let this off? Banagher impatiently pressed the button and let the chat window appear on his monitor.

“Master Icarus. How does it feel to be investigated by the police?”

Most likely, Takuya was asking on behalf of the entire class. “Icarus?” Banagher asked back, and then, there was a link to a webpage. Banagher clicked on the click to check.

It was the front page of the ‘Daily 7’ news that Anaheim Electronics run. Banagher saw the photo of the Torohachi in the lawn and the headline ‘The Icarus that challenged the Artificial sun sadly fell onto the park’, and immediately turned off the webpage.

He felt the students around him all holding back their laughter as they looked at him. “Am I wrong to save someone?” Banagher answered.

“I heard that the person you saved disappeared like smoke.” “What did the police say about you using a mini-mobile suit on your own and wrecking property?” “What about the College?” The students asked, and Banagher used one hand to support his face and he typed with one hand.

“The surveillance camera of the maintenance system captured the image of the girl, so it was deemed that I did save someone. I was given a severe verbal warning and acquitted of charges. From the way the counseling teacher came to get me from the police, it seems that I don’t have too much problems with the school, but I have to head to the principal’s office after school.”

The male students, who made up about 70% of the class, started to get excited and tap away at their keyboard “A girl!?” “Age, looks?” “What did you talk about?” “Where did she come about?”…On seeing the screen seemingly come to life, Banagher entered, “I don’t know. The police’s still looking for here.” At this moment, the sound of the lecture desk rang throughout the classroom.

“You people. Don’t think that you can slack around just because it seems that history isn’t so useful to your work. Anaheim won’t hire idiots who can’t even pass a high school standard. Don’t just stupidly believe that they will hire all you people!”

Mr Bancroft used his ultimate technique, and the students immediately closed their chat windows and looked back at the podium. The reason why vocations were quickly switched was because the vocational students know that their future jobs will lie in the teachers’ hands. Banagher sighed and focused on the lecture screen. The One Year War, the Gryps War, the two Neo Zeon war. As he looked at the boring timeline, Banagher couldn’t get rid of those jade green eyes spinning in his dizzy mind.

The bright eyes he saw several hours ago; the soft touch when he hugged her together with both hands; everything just felt so distant, so vague that it feels like he was seeing another person’s memory. Even Banagher himself couldn’t dare to believe that he stole a mini mobile suit to save her. He didn’t think that he would have such a reckless impulse. Why did he do this? Who was she?

As it was close to noon, there was a bright sunlight outside the classroom window. At the field in front of the vocation building, there were mini mobile suits that were used for training lined up over there, moving equipment that’s to be used for training. Opposite there was a stack of trapezoid layers of the school campus that was designed with the Coriolis’ Effect of the colony’s self-rotation in mind. And far over on the other side, there’s a large wall that showed the end of a space colony—the materials were still exposed to the airtight wall facing the moon. As it was blocked by the light of the artificial sun, it’s import to see the entire mortar-like war, but there’s a hatch in the center that’s connected to the colony builder, and right now, there should be equipment that’s to be used for building colonies that’s being moved in and out.

The colony builder collects the debris that’s floating around in the Dark Wasteland region and start to purify, refine and build ‘Industrial 7’. That’s the redevelopment plan of the Dark Wasteland region, often called the experimental phase of the ‘Frontier Project’. In other words, this colony was built from the debris of past wars, and the colony builder was a magic funnel that uses this junk to build a ‘world’—and because of the shape, this large facility was given the nickname ‘Snail’. Banagher couldn’t help but concentrate on this seemingly blurry airtight wall.

''That was the thing that built the space colony, this ‘world’. She said that she had to go there, that there’s someone she had to meet. For what? To prevent a war?''

“After the war, organizations that called themselves the remnants of Zeon created lots of conflict. They called for space migrants to be self-independent, pushed for Ere-ism, and viewed Earthnoids as enemies. However, don’t forget the Newtype thinking in the republic that maybe people saw. That’s why colonies and meteors were thrown down to Earth. It’s unknown how many people sacrificed their lives because of this, and as citizens of the Federation who follow the idea of democracy, we…”

Another voice rang through his ears, covering the voice of Mr Bancroft who sounded more and more agitated. ''“How spineless…!” Who cares about you,'' Banagher argued back at the girl in his mind.

''It has nothing to do with me. No, I can’t possibly be involved in this. Whether it’s this One Year War or the second Neo Zeon War 3 years ago—the so-called ‘Char’s Counterattack’, all these has nothing to do with me. That’s just something I only saw through the television screen, what happened in a far away world. It’s the same for all the students here and Mr Bancroft here too!''

''If there were countless billions of people who were sacrificed in the war, then including those that survived, it’s our job to rebuild Earth and develop.'' The commotion during the One Year War brought about the unification, and babies who were born after the war like Banagher grew up listening to these adults. Thus, even if there’s people trying to start a space migrant independence or even start a large scale war because of this, it basically has nothing to do with them. It’s only that they would feel uneasy about hearing that some colony got wrecked because of war, but one could think that the chances of it was like being hit by a huge meteor. They were too unlucky, and could just treat it as other people’s business and forget about this. Movements of independence were just what people who to vent their depression as they weren’t able to get used to society. The stand that ‘lucky children who don’t know about war’ will never change, and it’s undoubted that tomorrow would be the same as today.

That girl was about the same age as he was, but the war she said ‘war’ had a different force from what the teacher said. It’s like a membrane covering a greenhouse breaking apart, and a strong gust of wind blew in. it’s also like a black spot that appears in an overly bright space, and then the shadow of the entire world appeared—

“Our company allows every factory to be independent financially. Thus, a group of uncouth people accepted the orders from Neo Zeon, causing both ally and enemy to have machines made from Anaheim. Thus, people would view Anaheim as death merchants. However, do not forget that the people in charge will be punished too…”

Then, I, who’s attending Anaheim Electronics Industrial College, am already part of war. Thinking about this thing that he had never thought about before, Banagher’s brain suddenly remembered the pure white color of the mobile suit he saw this morning outside the subway train window, and felt bothered by his far-fetched thinking.

The unicorn that cut through the vacuum dragged its white afterimage of its mobile suit like it was soaring in space. It flew towards the “Snail’, the creator of this world, the place where the colony builder was at, where normal people were forbidden from entering. If that girl was correct, that place would be the most critical place where the ‘war’ will be associated with.

Something was about to happen. No, maybe it had already happen, it’s just that he only saw part of it. it’s like a curtain was drawn right in front of his eyes. Banagher again looked outside the window, saw the airtight wall that was filled with an unknown thing, and felt something in his heart throbbing. Mr Bancroft’s voice that was becoming more excited moved the air.

“4 years late, in Universal Century year 100, the Republic of Zeon shall give up on its self-independence and will be drafted back into the Federation as Side 3. When the country in the name of Zeon is destroyed, Zeonism shall fall, and humanity will be united again. Just like how our grandfathers or fathers continued to exist for Earth and humanity to create this united government called this Earth Federation after so many tribulations. To inherit such a great legacy and let the Earth Celestial Sphere continue to develop, you young ones…”

===Part 5===

“Idiot, treating such words as well. That girl must be someone who’s enthusiastic about activity, thinking that the capitalist Earth is all evil and sort. That’s why she must be going over to Chairman Cardeas Vist.”

Puffing her slightly brown face, Micott Bartsch simply said. Banagher kicked aside Haro lightly while it was shouting ‘idiot, idiot’, and uneasily drank up his remaining coffee.

Studying in the private high school beside Anaheim Electronics, Micott’s dress code and verbal mannerisms were all a lot more free than the vocational school, and she wouldn’t even hesitate about entering other people’s schools. She came over to the vocation school to discuss about the night’s party during lunch break, and while Banagher tried to explain what happened in the morning, that was the answer she got.

The reality the girl said was the best weapon to deal with a boy who wanted to do something and was being all pumped up. Dressed in a hooded coat and shorts, Micott raised her leg as she sat on the bench, and Banagher avoided her gaze and said, “The chairman, as in, our vocation school?” he tried to avoid the thought that this may be true, and anyway, even if there was nothing he could say, he had to find something to say.

“That’s right. There’s a photo when you entered the school, right? Cardeas Vist, the largest stakeholder of Anaheim Electronics, also known as the second generation leader of the Vist Foundation that was the secret owner.”

“That person lives inside the ‘Snail’?”

That girl said that there was ‘someone she had to meet no matter what’. On hearing the term ‘secret owner’, Banagher’s heart started to pulsate. However…

“Idiot, how could such a big hotshot stay in such a rural space colony? The chairman’s just a title to him. He never even appeared in the graduation ceremonies before.”

Sitting beside Micott, Takuya put down the magazine he read halfway through and interrupted. That was the robot related monthly magazine he would regularly buy, and there was a photo of a mini mobile suit tournament on the cross-pages picture.

“But it seemed that he really has a house here! It’s said that the house was directly moved over from Earth. Even the ‘Snail’ was said to be Vist Foundation’s property.”

Micott’s father was the factory owner of the 3rd Industrial area, so she would often hear about such underground news. The factory owner over here in ‘Industrial 7’ could be said to be like a mayor in the States, and even though Micott was a rich princess who’s studying in a private school, she would continue to come over to this vocation school where the smell of grease was thick. Maybe its because this space colony was supported by the industry. She herself even said that ‘the boys in our school are boring, all spineless princes’.

“But isn’t the colony builder managed by the colony builder management? Why is it that there’s rumors of it being the Foundation’s personal property?”

“That’s because the colony builder management had some members of the Vist Foundation, right?”

“The rich ones are really different. Launching an entire house into space, that’s crazy.”

Takuya looked like he didn’t have any other thoughts as he said what he wanted and continued to read his magazine. An open secret’s really scary, so scary that it can numb a person’s sense for the strange, Banagher thought. However, he himself never heard of the name of Vist Foundation. Was it because he was transferred in midway through, or was it that he was too dazed for a long time? Banagher really couldn’t tell which was the reason, and he looked through the trees in the school as he wondered what happened to the girl.

Anaheim Electronics wasn’t just the largest military producer in the Earth Celestial sphere, but there’s a house for the sponsor in the ‘Snail’. It’s no wonder that the crazy radicals will rush in to kill just to oppose war. In fact, there’s a lot of terror attacks on Anaheim every way, and it’s said that there’s a lot of expenses on safety. Even if the chairman of the Institute was just an open title, even Micott knew about the relationship between the Vist Foundation and Anaheim. It’s likely that this leader may be attacked.

However, the girl’s eyes made Banagher feel that things weren’t that simple. She had a strong will, but those eyes weren’t the eyes of a fanatic. It’s different from all the people he met till now. Those jade-green eyes had a strong allure to them—

“The police’s looking for her? You better not get involved with this. If the army gets hold on this, you might not even have a job.”

Perhaps reading through his own thoughts, Micott said the absolute truth and ended the current conversation before looking over at Takuya. “Speaking of which, tonight’s party…” Banagher wasn’t interested in this topic and took Haro away before leaving.

''Do you think I don’t know about all of this?'' On one hand, he felt really angry, but on the other hand, his rationale side had to admit that Micott was right. His emotions that were being built up inside was forming a vortex inside him. It’s better not to get involved with her, and I know that. At the police’s side, he may be questioned hard by the police, and also by those executives in suits. Most likely, they would be public security personnel. ''If they’re eyeing me, my path to Anaheim will always be closed, and I may even be expelled from school and return back to the old colony of Side 1.''

The old city Banagher grew up in was the first of the space colonies that were built, and was at a corner where it was past its durability use. Other than old residents, there were refugees from war, people with unemployment and frustrated activists who were practically useless and had to rely on others. It was a small town where the circumstances were really bad, where the public drainage were often so bad that stench would always come out from it. Both mother and son seemed like they were fleeing from the sights of the world as they moved to his hometown, and it was the best place to live in for someone with no place to go. He also had the money his mother left behind, and he should be able to continue living on. However, there’s no future in that town.

Then, what about here? He intended to continue relying on this father of his who he had never met before and join the bottom rungs of the enterprise, but there wasn’t anything really different, nothing that he hasn’t seen. He didn’t have a goal, had no interests, and just felt ‘disjointed’ as the days pass. Does this mean that he had no future—he continued to be pressured by the swirling thoughts, and just when he quickly moved past the door, he heard a clear and refreshing voice “Are you Banagher Links?”. Banagher stopped.

There was an electric car parked on the road in front of the school gate, and a woman was standing right in front of it. The woman was wearing a fitting coat and tight skirt, and her long hair was tied behind her. She lifted her head and straightened her back, and one could tell from afar that she had a good figure that resembled a secretary of a large company. However, her face that didn’t have any make up made her look younger. Even though one could feel that she would fit into the school with just her appearance, the impression would change when they look into her eyes.

The emotionless blue eyes made it hard to tell whether she was focusing on him. The dark blue eyes that would remind one of the deep seas on earth made it look like there were two holes in front of her eyes. Banagher started to have goosebumps and picked Haro up from beside his feet. At this moment, the woman passed through the gate and said “that’s good. I have a question I want to ask you” as she approached. She was wearing a business suit, but Banagher realized that she was wearing sports shoes underneath.

“Can you please tell me what did the person you saved this morning say?”

The woman merely showed a smile, and behind her, two men got off the electric car. Both of them were dressed really casually, but their expressions and looks didn’t look friendly at all. Banagher felt that his hands which were holding onto Haro were sweating and asked back, “Are you the police?” The media didn’t reveal his name, and these people didn’t look like reporters. That robotic smile the woman gave didn’t change as she answered with silence.

Banagher felt that the air around him went cold as his knees were trembling. Something’s not right with these people. They had the same stench as of those frustrated activists in his hometown—those who were already used to violence. He looked away and backed off, “I told all I should say to the police.” He quickly said that and wanted to get back into the school. Immediately, his shoulder was grabbed from behind, and the foot that was about to step out missed the ground.

“Just say the same thing you said to them. We won’t do anything else then.”

The hand that was grabbing onto the shoulder didn’t let go as her blue eyes closed in while she continued on. The force wasn’t great, but his body still couldn’t move. It felt like he would be taken down if he tried to struggle. Banagher just felt that this action was of someone who was extremely skilled and forced out a hoarse voice, “What do you mean by that…” and the woman whispered to him, “You don’t want to be involved in trouble, right?” and exerted even more strength in her grip.

There was a sharp pain in his neck, and he let out a cry before he could endure it. His upper body couldn’t help but twist, and Haro dropped off his numbed fingertips. Banagher couldn’t breathe normally as he moved the only free eye. There weren’t any students nearby, and there weren’t any signs of the old guard beside the gate. These two men were standing behind the woman and creating a blind spot. He wanted to cry out, but his abdomen couldn’t exert force, and he could only let his sights move about before seeing those blue eyes again.

It was killing intent. The term that matched her blue hole-like eyes accompanied this chilling fact as it went down Banagher’s body. Unlike those activists who lost their way, these men were professional. They knew how to wreck a human body, they were soldiers—people who would use violence without hesitation if necessary. Just when he thought about this, he heard the woman say “Where did ‘she’ go?” Banagher inadvertently said out carelessly “‘The snail’…”

“‘The Snail’?” the woman asked back as she exerted even more force. The pain that was added on struck Banagher as he answered, “The, the colony builder!”

“She said that she had someone she wanted to meet and talk with…”

He spoke too much. Just when Banagher felt that despair the moment he let out his voice, the pain suddenly vanished, and his body that regained its freedom took a few steps back. Banagher finally managed to support his knees and turned over to look at the woman who had already turned around. The two men who followed her from behind quickly left the school gate as if they weren’t looking at Banagher at all.

“You can’t possibly get over to the ‘Snail’…! It’s forbidden there. There’s also construction areas all around. You can’t even get over there!”

Banagher held his aching shoulder and shouted out unhappily. The woman stopped, and the beige hair that had a bit of orange was moved by the wind as she used those emotionless blue eyes to stare at Banagher.

“I’ll remember that. Thank you, Banagher-kun.”

It was a tone that was without compassion nor arrogance, which made Banagher feel all the more humiliated. The woman just took the electric car and left with the men. Banagher used his last ounce of courage to run out of the school gate and glared at the electric car that was gradually moving away. The electric car took a turn at the road beside the school and immediately went missing. Obviously, they were headed towards the Industrial area.

That girl was chased by people, and they weren’t the people—but more like guerillas who were like soldiers. “A war will happen.” “There’s still time” to stop it.” voices like this accompanied the weight of the current situation as they echoed in his head. However, Banagher didn’t think of what to do at this moment. He felt even more guilty that he succumbed to violence and let out these words.

Having stayed in the old city that was like a slum, Banagher developed a resistance to violence. He had a belief that if he had to fight or hide, he would be stronger than an ordinary boy. But the fact was that right now, he was no different from a child. He just said everything out just to avoid pain. He knew that this would bring about danger to the girl, but he couldn’t even muster a lie in his mind—no, he was just that spineless.

“I’m really…weak.”

He remembered those jade green eyes that had some anxiety in them. ‘How spineless’. The words echoed in his heart. Banagher gripped his fists hard and couldn’t help but run out.

At this moment, he didn’t even have the rationale mindset to think about his future as his body went hot from the impulse of trying to make up for his own mistake. Banagher and Haro, which caught up, went to the nearest electric car park.

===Part 6===

Having come all the way here, one would really feel that Industrial 7 was really a space colony that was being built.

The block that was completed was only 20km long, and right in front of it was the colony builder unit ‘wheel’, and the inside was 3.2km long and 1.6km wide. The construction area was divided into 4 parts. One of the land cabled structure has 4 territorial blocks that’s being built, and these were lined together without much any bumps. There’re 6 of these land cable structures that surround all 360 degrees on the inside of the wall of the space colony. This scene itself wasn’t just a congruent sight itself, but one would realize that if they peel off this foil of artificial earth, they would just be living in a cylinder. It’s a barren and lonely sight.

For the past 10 years, she had been to many places, including Earth, but she had never seen a space colony that was being built on the inside. As she stood in front of wire mesh that separated her from inside, the girl didn’t look bored as she looked at the large builder unit. The large unit builder was a large metal frame that was about the same as the area block. The lines that run on the rail were moving about, fastening the area block that was under construction, and the fully automatic machines will finish off the area blocks that they were supposed to construct. Simply put, these were extremely large industrial machines, the basis of the land making process.

Based on the information on the mesh wire, a construction would take about a week. The first construction will move onto the second one, and the second one will move onto the third one. It will move all the lines on the area blocks to be completed systematically as it progresses, and it will move back once the fourth construction was complete to the first construction. This was the day when the final construction will be completed, and the other side of the wire mesh look busy. Work vehicles and cars with supervising civil servants would move about to and fro. Once the construction group back off, a new ‘land’ will be completed, so the district office itself would be busy. They had to check the name of the area according to the city’s plan, and also check the electric cables and the underground sewage. There were a whole lot of things they had to do.

The land builder units would back away in all 6 lines and return back to the start. The wheel itself would back away too. In other words, the colony will increase in length by 1.6km. At that time, the colony itself would let a siren and get ready for a slight tremor that would coming with the growth. However, what would be the scene of 6 builder units rolling at the same time when they’re more than 3km long and about the height of 25 levels? Just thinking about it alone made it exciting, but right now, the current situation wouldn’t allow for her to sightsee leisurely. She looked away from the high builder unit and looked at the construction gate that’s between the wire mesh fence.

Though there were guards, the security wasn’t strict. Maybe vehicles could sneak in here. However, there was a problem. She didn’t know what the builder unit looked like, and even if she passed through it, there were still 3 blocks of area blocks that were under construction. She didn’t feel that she could walk 6km into this construction area without being discovered, and especially when there was the commotion this morning, it’s likely that the police may be watching them.

The girl looked up at the artificial sun that was shining through the clouds. She wondered if she could walk over through there. It’s impossible to see from here when the land builder was blocking, but the artificial sun that passes through the space colony would extend out to the airtight wall on the other side where the moon was, and it would form part of the basis of the gantry linking to the colony builder. The gantry would often let out construction materials and dust as cranes would then move these materials to the construction site. Thus, it should be easy to sneak in through the artificial sun.

And since this path is inaccessible, she could only move through the construction area if she wanted to get near the colony builder. The girl again looked at the gate of the construction site. As she noticed the cars and the guards who were busy dealing with them, kyururu…her stomach rumbled.

She immediately looked around. Luckily, there wasn’t anyone nearby. Even if there were though, the sounds of car moving through would overpower it so much that it couldn’t be heard. However, she still felt herself blushing unknowingly. The girl hasn’t ate for more than half a day, and wondered how she was actually able to be hungry at this moment. But on the other hand, she could understand the importance of eating. The girl sighed. She should have taken some dry food when she left the Garancieres, but it’s now too late to regret about this.

She was thirsty too, and in this situation, her concentration will drop. Also, it’ll be easy for someone to spot her when she remain at the same place for a long time. The girl left the scene and head towards the Industrial area in the street construction block. On the way, she went by a large trailer that had lots of mini mobile suits on, which caused her face to be covered with dust that flew off the road. At this moment, she suddenly remembered about that boy she met in the morning, his presence.

The boy who desperately reached his hand out of the mobile suit cockpit to save her life while she was floating in the air seemed to be an ordinary citizen. ''Why was he able to do that? What happened to him after that? I should have at least thanked him…''

===Part 7===

To ease the stress of being hidden in a sealed space, the space colony had routes that were designed to be part of the city’s plan. One of them was the commercial area that was right beside the construction area. The thin and long path had shops littered on both sides of the road, and each of the shops were set up to their ideal image, causing the street to look like those remaining shopping streets in those old cities on Earth. The back of the short roofs had builder units that were like hills, and clouds that covered the airtight wall facing the moon. The area just felt like a rural town.

It was 1pm, and all the eateries were no longer packed with workers. The shopping streets entered a time of relaxation. She snuck in between some old people and some housewives with children and continued walking down the street. There were bakeries, bookstores, customer service shops and eateries. At times, there would be the smell of hot dogs or oily Chinese food coming out from the messy row of streets. Though she could drink from the water cooler in the park when she’s thirsty, her empty stomach couldn’t be filled, and if she let her guard down, it would rumble again, which would make it embarrassing.

However, she was more worried about the housewives who were walking by and glancing at her. She had firm belief that she wasn’t caught on camera by the port’s surveillance camera, so nobody would suspect that she was the one involved in the incident this morning. Or maybe her clothing was rather strange for the people here? She checked on the internet for the latest fashion trend before she left for Palau and tried her best not to choose the most outstanding on. As she looked at herself through a glass window on a cupboard in a shop, the girl wondered whether it was because she buttoned up her collar. However, she didn’t want to opened her collar so randomly, so she started working again.

She made preparations before, but there would be lots of trouble when it came to reality. To her, who never carried money or credit cards before, she didn’t know that she couldn’t buy bread without having money as it was not part of her knowledge. Thus, she made the mistake of running out without taking the money. I really don’t understand social rules—the girl thought as she felt even more depressed. She had no experience of going out alone. Speaking of which, she did watch a romantic movie about a princess in a small country who slipped out onto the streets for a day of happiness. It was an old century film. The story was ordinary, but the actress who acted as a princess who did not know anything was really charismatic, and it was a movie she really liked. What was the name of that actress?

Thinking about it hard, the girl suddenly realized that she was seriously thinking of the actress’ name. She abandoned the useless dream behind her. The princess in the movie was just leaving a boring duty, but she had something she had to do. Ever since they knew that she was opposed to this deal, Zinnerman didn’t reveal anything more about this deal to her. Thus, she wasn’t certain when the interaction with Vist Foundation would be held, and where. However, some of the other crew members said that it would begin at evening, and it’ll be too slow for her if she continued to laze around. Palau should have found out that she was missing. She had to be faster—the girl left the shopping street, entered a complicated alley, and found a van parked in a dead end.

She looked at the van that was filled with metal filings, and thought that it would be impossible to get on. She then looked over at the driver’s seat. She didn’t want to use this method, but would it be possible to talk to the driver and let him help transport her into the construction area? She could say that she wanted to get closer to see the colony being built. If she’s successful, she could even get inside the area builder. If she could get in and understand the rough situation…

Suddenly, she felt a stare from behind. It’s like someone who had been prone suddenly lifting its face, a stare that was full of intent. Her body unknowingly tensed up, but she didn’t make the mistake of turning around carefully. The girl quickly turned around a corner, but there was a man who blocked his way on the alley, causing her to stop.

The man was dressed in a short coat, and his cap was kept low. The girl recognized his face. He was a member of the Garencieres. The girl intended to leave the alley before the man walked over, but two people were standing at the exit of the alley, blocking her escape.

The exhaust fan from the restaurant pumped out greasy smoke, and the alley only had dirty trash bins fallen about as there was no one else around. Knowing that she had nowhere to go, the girl hid her uneasy feeling as she faced the two people who blocked her getaway. She didn’t think of why she was discovered. She knew that the crew of the Garancieres could do this.

And if Marida joined in the search—the girl pulled about 3m away as she stared at Marida. Marida was wearing an office suit as a disguise, yet it couldn’t hide her ominous presence. The girl knew that she would be immediately caught at such a distance, and used her eyes to tell her not to be rude. Marida’s expression showed a shift, and one could tell that she was wavering,

“Let’s head back, princess.”

Heading that little wavering in her, Marida said, “The captain’s worried about you.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Please consider your position. If you’re discovered by the Federation at such a place, who knows what would happen…”

She stepped forward while wearing the sports shoes. Even if the disguise wasn’t perfect, it’s really Marida’s style not to wear high heels. “It’s because I thought of this that I did it.” The girl used a tone that fit her ‘position’ and prevented Marida from moving forward.

“Right now, we can’t use the ‘Laplace Box’. No matter what kind of thing it is, Full Frontal will only use it as a tool and start a meaningless conflict. You should know that, right?”

“I don’t understand. I just listen to orders.”

“You’re lying. You’re just escaping. The ‘power’ that was given to you normally wouldn’t be used in such a place.”

The girl didn’t just say this randomly. Marida, who would blindly listen to Zinnerman’s orders and never faced her own life—showed wavering in her blue eyes again and looked away from the girl, but the ominous presence on her body didn’t subside. Marida recollected her expressionless look as she looked over, “Princess…pardon me for my rudeness.”

With such a signal, the crew member standing behind put his hand on the girl’s shoulder. He did control his strength, the skilled move wasn’t something that could be shaken off whenever anyone wanted to. The girl saw Marida and the other crew member close in and shouted, “How rude! Let go of me!” as she continued to struggle. At this moment, a loud alarm suddenly rang throughout the entire alley.

The sound was so loud that it probably didn’t just ring through the alley, but also possibly through the road. Even Marida was stunned as she looked around. The girl saw the crew member beside her reach for a gun in his chest, and the force on her shoulder was weakened. She used this chance to struggle hard and escaped from his grasped.

The girl dodged past the hand Marida reached out for the first time and went around the corner. Amidst the siren, she could hear Marida call out “Princess…!”. However, the girl continued to run. She turned around several corners, went through a narrow alley, and was aiming for a main street with people on. However, the girl soon lost her way, and as she looked around at a crossroad, someone suddenly grabbed her on the wrist from beside her.

The soft hand was different from Marida and the rest. The familiar feeling appeared through the girl’s mind as she even forgot to struggle and looked at the owner of the hand. That was the face of the person who saved her from impasse.

The head that was full of sweat and the dark brown eyes were staring at the girl’s eyes. Why…? The girl thought, and then heard the boy’s shout, “Over here!” The girl was pulled away by the hand. She ran from behind, and the ball-shaped robot beside the foot started to roll. The noisy alarm suddenly stopped. It seemed that this mascot-like robot was the one that made the sound.

The boy pulled the girl along in this narrow alley and continued to run through complicated alleys without hesitation. The girl was certain that he was that boy through the robot and the deep blue jacket in front of him, and continued to follow him and run. It may be careless for her to follow a stranger, but right now, she couldn’t allow herself to be caught by Marida. The boy who seems familiar with this place is leading, so let’s have him lead. The girl continued to run between the gaps of the packed houses.

Also, the hands of this boy were easing themselves to prevent hurting her and yet grabbing tightly so and not letting go. She was helped by a lot of hands before, but the girl never grabbed such a hand that grabbed onto hers firmly and without hesitation. It was unexpectedly soft too; it had the weakness of age as it was tightly sticking to her skin.

''I was saved by these hands twice. Who is this boy?'' At this moment, the girl forgot that she was being pursued and seriously looked at the back of the boy.

===Part 8===

The self-defense alarm system inside Haro actually worked in such an unexpected manner. While sweating and holding onto the girl’s hand, Banagher moved through the alleys of the shopping area.

Banagher didn’t come to the construction site only one or twice, so he had roughly remembered the entire place. He just needed to head over to the distribution center to compare the vehicle license plate that terrifying woman and the rest used and confirm their location. It wouldn’t be too difficult for him to take the initiative. Banagher intended to use the complicated alleys to shake off their pursuers, that is, if they weren’t caught in the process.

He first heard the breath of the girl behind her. Then, it was Haro, who was bouncing like a ball as its body was of strengthened plastic with an enhanced layer of rubber. Haro used the spring inside its frame to jump, and as the center maintains the movement, it couldn’t turn right immediately. After turning around a few times, Banagher picked up Haro, put it in a gap that’s 50cm wide between two houses, and used his expression to call the girl over. He thought that she would hesitate for a while, but the girl actually followed Banagher and entered the gap.

The gap was so small that he had to tilt himself sideways just to walk through. After walking through it, they used the piled up garbage for footing to climb up the walls. Then, they continued to move down through a corridor in the air near the roofs. A granny who was watching television inside a window turned around in surprise. A stray cat was scared away by this sudden intruder, and someone angrily shouted, “WHO’S THAT BRAT!” While stepping on the cheap plastic roofs, Banagher continued leap off them, and the girl nimbly followed him as her purple shawl fluttered with the wind.

After moving for about 20m, the rows of roofs vanished, and a large space appeared in front of them. They arrived at the boundary of the commercial area and the industrial area. Normally speaking, the area was a road, but the houses here were built towards the wired fence. This was a screen that couldn’t be seen unless one deliberately look from the ‘wide space’ where there’s deliberately no set up. Banagher checked that he reached the end of the cable like as planned, looked at the colony builder units that’s several hundred meters in front of him, and again turned to look at the landscape from a height of about 3 levels.

There’s a small pile of dirt beside the fence, and there’s no construction worker. Thinking about this, Banagher thought that this would be faster than climbing down the fence and turned to look at the girl. But before he could ask whether they should jump, the girl’s determined look was facing him as she jumped onto the pile of dirt. I lost to her…Banagher thought and carried Haro before jumping.

Banagher’s feet landed into the soft dirt and beside the girl. He climbed out from the pile of dirt that was at his chest level, spit out the dirt that entered his mouth, and saw that the girl who had already climbed out from here and slid down. They ran for a long distance, and those who don’t know the landscape wouldn’t know such a path. Banagher wanted to take a short breath and called the girl “Oi…”, but the girl stared sharply back and him and shouted, “HURRY UP!”

“MARIDA WILL CATCH UP TO US LIKE THIS!”

The girl’s jade-green eyes showed anxiety. It was really the expression of that girl. “Marida, as in that scary big sister?” The girl angrily growled back without answering Banagher’s question, “Hurry up!” and started to run off. Banagher climbed out from the pile of dirt and hurriedly followed behind.

He grabbed the hand of the girl who was intending to run to the outside of the builder area, said “Over here” and was about to pull her back, but immediately felt the girl gasp. He looked over at where she was looking at, and found that it was the woman who went through the residential area and was standing on the layers of overlapping roofs. The pretty-looking woman called Marida was looking over. Her blue eyes narrowed to a fine line. The next moment, the feet with sports shoes on them stamped onto the ground, and the hair that was tied into a ponytail fluttered. The body easily leaped past the metal wire and the pile of dirt as she landed on the ground.

She was as nimble as a cat. “No way…” Banagher couldn’t believe it, and the girl grabbed his hand, shouting, “HURRY UP AND RUN!” Banagher pulled her hand and ran towards the builder unit. The pyramid-like large monorail track and the structure was like a hill. On seeing this structure that was so large that it occupied their line of sight, they ran to a workyard with construction materials and mini mobile suits.

“What should we do?”

“YOU WANT TO GET OVER TO THE ‘SNAIL’, RIGHT?”

Banagher roared as he answered the girl and saw the crowd that was scattering in front of the builder unit like ants. It’s about time for the colony to expand and the creation of new land. They were already moving through the workers that were moving back, and one of them who looked like the worker head shouted, “Oi! Who are you!” Banagher went by the man and got near to a slope near the monomial stop. Looking back, he saw Marida easily pushing aside the workers who were coming over, and they were less than 20m away. Banagher’s idea to stand up and adjust his breathing was gone as he desperately ran up the slope.

The mobile rail of the builder units—the monorail was located at a place 1.5 times the height of the units away, but 170m high. The construct that looked like a triangle from the front was set in front of both sides of the builder. And at the start, or the end, there’s a builder unit linked to the slope used for transportation. Banagher was climbing up this slope. In other words, if he continued to run up this slope to the top, he would reach the ceiling of the builder unit.

[[Image:KSGU 205.jpg|thumb]]

The ceiling was 25 levels high from the builder, and there’re another few levels to the link point of the monorail. It’s a slope where a cart could move, but it would be really tiring to run up about several hundred meters at one go. He panted quite a few times, but on the way there, his feet started to feel lighter, and it felt like the muscles on his waist seemed to be floating from his bones. That’s because the further he was from the ground—the further off from the inside of the colony made the centrifuge force weaker.

There’s no high-rise buildings inside the space colony, and one could tell that the centrifuge force could only be used for a height of about 5,6 levels. The higher he climbed, the more his body felt the weakening of gravity. Banagher felt that such physics laws was really useful for the first time as his running motion was like long jumping continuously. However, it would be the same for the pursuer ass well. Marida kicked the slope with much more leg power and suddenly accelerated. Her hand reached the back of the girl, and only missed her shoulder by inches. However, she didn’t mess up her rhythm as she continued to pull her distance close. She was just like a machine that didn’t know fatigue. ''We can’t run away, we’ll be caught in the next second.'' Getting ready for this, Banagher suddenly heard a deep-sounding alarm.

At the same time, the warning lights on both sides of the slope rang, and a slow tremor went through their legs. Banagher used all his strength to move his legs and pulled the girl over at him. Because of the tremor, Marida’s feet became slower, and the link to the slope was being dragged up, turning a straight lane to a 2m tall wall. Banagher shouted: “Jump!” and leaped at the wall that’s rising.

Shaking off the gravity that was less than half of usual, both of them jumped with Haro, and their fingertips reached the edge of the wall. Banagher grabbed the rising wall, and the girl did the same too, but her fingers nearly slipped. Banagher grabbed the girl’s hand and climbed the wall. They didn’t stop rising, but they saw Marida, who couldn’t jump in time, slowly becomg slower.

The builder unit was starting to move. The builder unit that was stuck on the new block of land rose up the monorail by 170m. It moved into the moving circuit before starting to move horizontally. The unit just moved though the builder circuit and retreated back to the airtight wall facing the moon before starting to work from the first construction area.

Banagher checked that the girl and Haro were both fine, and for a short while, didn’t have the strength to move a he looked at the landscape that was getting further and further away. Marida continued to remain on the broken slope as she looked over. There’s no anger or disappointment in her eyes, just eyes that were as empty as a cave.

===Part 9===

All the gates would be closed when they’re moving. Thus, nobody could enter the inside of the builder unit. Both of them dragged their tired legs and continued moving up the remaining part of the slope before reaching the top part of the builder unit. Right in front of their eyes was a hilly region that was composed of metal frames that was tilted towards the inside, creating a gradual gradient of materials that extend far beyond. This size wasn’t to be described with a number of football fields, but one that could accommodate the entire city.

Banagher spread his limbs out wide on the floor of the passage linking both frames. He felt like he was lying on the clouds, most likely because he felt that gravity was weakened. The girl sat beside him, and both of them spent a little time regaining their breaths. The builder unit was already starting to move, and the breeze that gently blew by felt refreshing on the sweaty body.

“We can ride on this to the airtight wall near the moon. We can get close to the ‘Snail’…the hatch of the space colony builder, but I don’t know whether we can get in.”

Having finally adjusted his breathing, Banagher said this, and the girl merely answered softly, “Is that so…” without even looking back. Her voice sounded drastically different like she couldn’t even keep up with the sudden changes around her, and she had already used up all her strength just looking around.

“My name’s Banagher, Banagher Links. What’s yours?”

Banagher sat up, wanting to catch the girl’s attention. The girl let out an “eh?” and exchanged looks with Banagher, but immediately averted her eyes and said softly, “Erm, I’m called Audrey Burne…”

Audrey. Banagher felt that this was a nice name, but he didn’t have the courage to say it out, and looked away unnaturally. Haro instead came in between them and shouted, “Haro Haro” as it fawned around. The girl’s tense expression became relaxed somewhat as she reached her hands out to grab Haro.

The first time he saw her smile, Banagher had a strange feeling that the artificial sun got brighter, and then told her, “It’s Haro.” But Audrey gave him a puzzled look.

“Don’t you know? This is a souvenir robot made by the ace pilot of the war. It’s rather popular when you were young, right?”

“No idea, I’ve been living in the countryside.”

''Which countryside?'' Banagher looked at her face that was becoming more earnest and wanted to ask more, but Audrey’s smile suddenly vanished as she asked, “Why did you save me?” Having been asked this, Banagher was at a loss of words.

“That’s because…I don’t want people to call me spineless.”

''Actually, it’s because I was unhappy that I was threatened by that big sister''…he didn’t want to say this, and he felt that it wasn’t just that too. However, Audrey frowned and looked aside. Right now, her confused mental state was full of doubts. Seeing her without any response at all, Banagher said, “That, that’s what you said!”

“Me?”

“Yeah. I was then caught by the police. And I met that scary big sister when I went back to school…”

“Then, you followed Marida and the others?”

Interrupting the misunderstood explanation, Audrey stared at his eyes and said. Just when Banagher was left speechless by her fast understanding, her clear jade-colored eyes shook, and her expression because gentle after understanding what happened. She suddenly blurted out a ‘sorry’, which stunned Banagher.

“If I told you off for being spineless, I’ll take that back. It seemed that I misunderstood you.”

“Misunderstood?”

“Misunderstood you for being a person trapped in your own little world.”

Such unrestrained words caused Banagher to be stunned. He stared at Audrey’s face, who in turn looked like she didn’t say anything wrong, and again felt unhappy for being hit on the sore point before shouting shrilling, “EVERYONE’S LIKE THAT!”

“Everyone’s been living in such an exaggerated cylinder. Can’t that do?”

“That’s not it. I apologize if my words do sound scathing…because I have never experienced such a life before.”

That somewhat shocked look on her face looked like she had never expected her words to hurt other people, and she looked like a strange creature who lived in a completely different habitat. Banagher asked in disappointment, “Are you some rich princess or something?” Audrey herself smiled as she answered,

“A duckweed floating about. That’s how I was born like.”

Her gaze turned to the builder unit that was moving on the lane beside them and said in a self-mocking manner. Banagher secretly glanced at her somewhat lonely looking face, and felt that she was someone who he could get along with, and said, “Is that so…then I’m the same too.” Audrey didn’t answer as the artificial sun that seemed to have gone brighter shone on the duo’s head.

The builder would spend about 30 minutes to retreat completely from the builder cable that’s more than 6km long and would dock at the airtight wall facing the moon. During this time, both of them cautiously moved through the wide roof and moved to the other side of the builder unit. It was on both sides of the roof, but the distance was about 1.6km. Once they finished walking, the builder unit had finished moving.

They were only moving about 20km per hour on the builder cable, but the wind that blew by was exceptionally strong too. Banagher let Audrey move in front and carried Haro as he followed from behind silently. This is in case Audrey was about to fall off in the wind, but even in low gravity, her body wasn’t blown away by the wind. The cabled rail didn’t let out any sounds of tremor as only the wind surrounded both of them.

“Who were your pursuers?”

After going through half of the roof, Banagher asked. This was the one question that appeared in his heart amongst the pile of questions.

“My allies. I escaped from them.”

The wind blew Audrey’s brown short hair as she casually sad. Banagher remembered what Micott said and tentatively said, “Are you an activist or something?”

“Activist?”

“Those that oppose the Federation or want the independence of spacenoids or something…”

“…Yeah. That’s sort of correct, but it may be scarier than what you think.”

Looking up at the airtight room where blocked her path, Audrey gave a wry smile. It’s unknown whether that expression was either to mock Banagher’s foolishness or herself. Banagher felt that a war that far exceeded his expectations was about to start and swallowed his saliva. He felt that he could be involved in it and lifted his head, and felt that his sweat and body went cold.

He looked up at the artificial sun that was gradually becoming yellow, and then looked at the watch which showed 2.15pm. He skipped all his lessons, and since it’s vocational classes where everyone’s split up, he couldn’t print notes from Takuya. ''What should I do? And I think I have to go to the principal’s office after school''…Most likely, his mind subconsciously forgot about his fear, and right now, he’s thinking about all these things. Banagher looked back and saw a street behind it. That was a familiar street that included Anaheim Electronics Industrial College, and the road just looked like it realy faded.

“You said that there won’t be any war, right?”

He turned to look at the girl’s back in front of him and said cautiously. Audrey immediately stopped.

“You said that you have to meet someone to prevent a war from happening. That’s…”

Suddenly, noise and tremors interrupted Banagher’s words. Banagher was shocked and ran beside Audrey before looking in front.

With the builder unit moving back, the colony started to extend. The ‘Wheel’ that covered the outer wall moved, and ‘Industrial 7’ slowly became longer. Inside it, Banagher and Audrey saw the airtight wall facing the moon backing off as the inner wall that’s sliced into a ring moved.

The cylinder that was 6.4km in diameter rumbled, and the airtight room and the gap between the inner wall of the ring gradually expanded. From between the expanding, through the first construction area that was under way and an area block that was only composed of frames, they could see the insider wall of the ‘Wheel’, and the ‘landscape’ of the colony that wasn’t completed was shown outside. The 6 colony units that were moving back through the cabled rails will enter the gap together to builder the outer wall of the colony, and then continue to move forward. It would continue to build the remaining area blocks in each construction area in order, creating new earth in the colony.

The earth rolled together with the ground, and the builder unit was trapped inside like a hill—this ‘creation of the earth’ seen was already a common sight to Banagher, but the majestic scene of this large movement would make anyone amazed no matter how many times he saw it. Audrey seemed to have the same feeling as she muttered, “Amazing…” she looked completely moved. The glow let out by the jade colored eyes seemed to show an expression a person of her age should have.

“Is this the first time you’re seeing this?”

Audrey nodded as she answered Banagher’s question, but her eyes couldn’t leave the scene in front of her. The clouds that were moving, the airtight wall that was moving further, the base of the artificial sun that got expanded, and the temporary storeroom that was floating beside like a spaceship—

“The world’s gradually becoming bigger…”

Audrey suddenly saud that. Her expression and thoughts weren’t like a girl who’s living in a path of Shura far beyond anyone’s imagination. It was a voice filled with similar thoughts and values. The anxiety and terror immediately disappeared as Banagher smiled. He stood beside Audrey, who wasn’t even aware of herself, and looked in front.

Unlike the faded streets behind, the brightness of the world in front of them obviously increased. Breathing the air of the ‘world’ that was just born, Banagher lifted his head and looked at the airtight wall with a metal bowl-shaped depression. At the base of it, the gate leading to the colony builder—the ‘Snail’ was covered in clouds, and they couldn’t see it.

===Part 10===

The expansion work on the space colony resonated with a side of the colony builder. It was 2.30pm, and the ‘Wheel’ finished moving. The ‘Magallanica’s retractable deck buzzed silently like how it was supposed to. However, this retractable deck of the ‘Magallanica’ could hold a battleship. As according to the nickname ‘Snail’, there’s a snail shell riding on its back. It’s more than 300m in diameter and 1km deep. This place was linked to the airtight wall facing the moon on Industrial 7, and was also the exit where building materials were moved. In that sense, it’s more accurate to describe it as a small scale port.

In one of the areas, Cardeas Vist was watching the silent buzzing—the packaging of the RX-0 ‘Unicorn’. The white machine had more than ten personnel preparing it, sealing the hatch or sticking warning labels all over it. That’s a common scene when exchanging goods, but the personnel realized that they weren’t doing an orthodox handing-over and kept silent. They weren’t using a normal mobile suit fixation unit but a special containment that’s highly confined, which is another reason why they were silent. The ‘Unicorn’, which was being packaged inside the box with spare parts and equipment, looked like a toy robot in a model shop. Or rather…a top secret machine in a box.

If there’s a need to mention something different, it’s that the manufacturer wouldn’t accept refunds or repairs, which was why they put in a large number of repair parts and waste materials. The limbs were tied together to prevent the person using it from spoiling it immediately. However, Cardeas himself suspected whether this would be effective or not. If the ‘Unicorn’ were to go full power, such a level of restrain could be destroyed. The unique frame, capabilities and limits of this machine wasn’t completely grasped too…

He thought about all these as he lifted his head to watch the beam rifle being dragged by a mini mobile suit. Gael wordlessly floated over to stand beside him. Seeing Gael move so fluidly under zero gravity and land on both feet, Cardeas wordlessly prompted him to state his intent.

“The second lift camera captured this footage just now.”

Gael handed over some photos of a girl’s face that was entering the cargo lift. Cardeas stared at the face that’s slightly above, and gasped.

[[Image:KSGU 217.jpg|thumb]]

“…Why is ‘she’…?”

“Not sure, but she’s coming here. There’s a report that said that there was an intruder that came in through the maintenance path of the artificial sun, but the identity and whereabouts were unknown. Maybe it’s ‘her’.”

She had brown short hair and a taunting expression as it looked like she was deliberately exposing her face and looking up at the camera. If it was a disguise, it would be too brilliantly done. For 10 years, she had never shown a photo of herself. However, 3 years ago, Cardeas saw a photo of hers that the Federation intelligence managed to capture successfully. He could only admit that she was here.

But why was she here? After shuffling through several photos, Cardeas saw the other person who rode the elevator with ‘her’, and couldn’t help but widen his eyes. A shock that was different from seeing ‘her’ face pierced through his heart, and he felt his own hand that’s holding the photo shaking.

“What about this boy?”

“Seemed like her companion. A little too young to be an escort…”

At this moment, Gael stopped, having definitely sensed his shock. Cardeas used his utmost will to control the trembling in his hand and finished looking through the remaining photos.

The dark brown eyes inherited from his mother, and the slightly round face. It couldn’t be a mistake. The ‘tumor’ in his life he kept till now actually appeared at such a moment, and with ‘her’—

“Do we have contact with the ‘Sleeves’?”

Cardeas spent 10 seconds just to let out a voice that didn’t tremble as he asked while ignoring Gael’s concernted look.

“No. But there’s a little commotion in the construction area. There may be a mutiny too.”

“So ‘she’s working on her own too…”

Considering the current situation with the sleeves, this isn’t impossible, but the reason as to why ‘she’ came over wouldn’t be enough to explain why the boy came with ‘her’. His life had no involvement with the ‘Sleeves’ in the first place. What happened? What caused him to come here? Cardeas didn’t want to talk about such ‘private affairs’ to the ‘corporate’ professional Gael as he continued to stare at the people in the photos.

“This may cause an obstruction to the transport of the ‘Box’. Must I send her back?”

Gael said. Cardeas looked at his upright stare, and then lowered his head as he looked back at the photos. At this point, the word dilemma came to his mind.

===Part 11===

Once they took the lift down and went through the defenceless gantry gate, they entered the closest elevator. Another 1,500m down to their destination and it was the residential area of the colony builder.

This was the inner area that was on the inside of the 'Snail'. This residential area that had only half the diameter of the space colony had only half the gravity. Banagher and Audrey floated out from the elevator and entered the plains with very little gravity. The outside was a complete green, and there weren't any people around, and neither were there the sounds of vehicle or mini mobile suits moving. The relaxed voices of the birds was the only thing accompanying the air. This shrill and peaceful silence that would hurt the ears made it feel like a completely different world from the noisy industrial space colony.

Under the flat artificial sun that was illuminating the ceiling, the green pasture looked like it filled the entire inner wall. To the people who would only think that there was only the sight of industrial resource facilities and worker dormitories, this scene would be too unexpected. As the gravity was weaker, the grasses and trees were taller than those in the space colonies, but looked like they were properly trimmed, which made them look odd. This place had tectonic plates that were of an even smaller scale, and if one didn't look around, it would appear to be flat ground. This place also had a luxurious looking villa, and the fountain in the garden was still flowing with water. One would feel that the name 'colony builder' was a lie as what anyone would see was similar to a garden commonly seen in old-century houses of the nobility and the fabled tycoon's private land.

“Just like what Micott said...”

The structure of the Vist Foundation villa itself was moved directly from Earth. Banagher stared at the villa in an engrossed manner that could only be described as 'luxurious'. This should be called a Tudor dynasty mansion, a stone structure that almost couldn't be seen at all in the space colonies. It was 100m wide and the corridor at the front had become all grey because of the erosion. The overwhelming feeling of a fortress would make any viewer feel fear. The wide blue sky and the clouds as a backdrop made it no different from Earth.

[[Image:KSGU 221.jpg|thumb]]

What should be an old-styled donut-shaped space colony was shown in the sky. The axis seemed to be like Industrial 7 itself, and the afternoon lighted the mansion tiredly. Banagher hid behind the shrub and looked at the situation at the villa. However, he was stunned by Audrey, who stood up out of a sudden. Even though they were able to walk in unguarded up till now, there wasn't any guarantee that they could pass through safely.

“Are you going?” On hearing these words, Audrey stopped and turned around with a look that seemed to say “What are you doing here?”

“I can go alone. You can head back.”

At this moment, she gave a tone that seemed to emphasize the end of the line. “Bu...” Banagher's voice was filled with doubt, and Audrey turned around.

“They found out that I'm here. They're ready to invite me in.”

“Do the Vist Foundation know you?”

Her eyebrows twitched, showing that she was wavering somewhat “So you really needed to meet someone of the Foundation...” without waiting for him to finish, Audrey turned around and walked off. Banagher snorted and moved off in larger strides than Audrey.

“Banagher-san...”

“There may be a terrifying big sister out there waiting for me. It's safer for me to go ahead.”

How could he turn around at this now that he came all the way here? “Also, call me Banagher.” After he said that, Banagher carried Haro, who couldn't move really well on the grass, and asked: “Right?” Haro energetically answered back “Haro!” as the voice echoed in his chest.

Banagher took this as a yes and started to walk to the villa. Forget about being served. If we're going to be captured, there's no need to lead us all the way here. He was thinking that since there was no danger, he might as well come to the inside of the 'Snail' since it was a rare chance itself. The colony builder was a mothership that was meant to develop the Jupiter Celestial area. Since he was a technical student who volunteered to go to Jupiter, he was interested in this technology.

In fact, through this viewpoint, moving the green pastures of the Earth to this residential areas was meaningful. To extract the radioactive fuel Helium-3, there was regular transport to Jupiter. However, the total journey of 1.6 billion km would take several years, and it's said that it's not uncommon to see cases where the crew members collapse mentally. Even the Earth would bd buried amidst the deep outer space with countless stars in them—maybe it's because the colony builder was supposed to head to a place that's too far for the human soul to work at alone that such a haven was needed. More than half the human population were in space colonies, and became space residents that didn't understand real nature. However, it need not be just a visual thing, as a 'nature' that could be touched, stepped on and snigged at could save the human soul.

“If we can't leave the ground, what Newtypes can we even talk about...”

She unwittingly muttered that. While Banagher answered back “Eh?”, Audrey gave a vague smile and moved her feet that stopped before. He didn't even know why he felt this way. He didn't have any interest in Zeon Deikun's Newtype theory. Was it because he just heard of the history lesson before?

After a short walk, the grassland that was as high as the knees became a flat green. They were already close enough to see the fine details of the villa. It seemed that there wasn't anyone around, and there wasn't any perimeter wall or gate surrounding the house. Maybe this entire land was private property, and that they entered the garden already.

In that case, they didn't need to think about intruding illegally. Banagher climbed up the stairs leading to the atrium and faced the two large doors. The doors were made of wood, and they were decorated with metal rings and lion heads. Banagher and Audrey nodded at each other and used the metal ring to knock on the door like how it was done in movies. They didn't know whether this could be used as a doorbell, but the sound of the metal knocking was deeper than what they imagined it to be as it seemed to ring through the entire silent area of the residential area. After seeing that the door didn't show any signs of opening, Banagher shrugged his shoulders, and Audrey went forward to grab the door handle. The unlocked door let out a creaking sound as it opened.

The ceiling that was at the second storey had a posh-looking chandelier on it. There was a wide set of stairs linking to the second level, and once they went up, it was a corridor in mid-air that felt like a deck was being repaired. The corridor looked like those in the movies when a posh-looking woman would be dressed up nicely and smiling as she invite them in. there was complete silence inside the dim place, and there wasn't any presence of any butlers coming out to serve them. There wasn't anyone else who questioned the duo who trespassed randomly other than the stares from the paintings on the wall, and the empty domestic presence surrounded Banagher.

It wasn't the emptiness of a house full of charms or the loneliness of an abandoned house. The number of furniture and house decorations made it feel like people once lived in here. However, the cold air didn't have any tinge of warmth too—feeling that his body was trembling, Banagher shouted: “Anybody home?” and didn't get any answer. He exchanged glances with Audrey and walked deeper into the first level.

It seemed that there was some regular maintenance as there wasn't any odour in the empty rooms or corridors. The sofas in the living room were covered with dustproof-cloth, and the glass windows with curtains drawn were wiped clean too. Unwilling to open the windows on his own, Banagher looked through the gap that showed a ray light looked around, and walked towards the balcony where he could look down into the atrium. The atrium was a Colosseum that was surrounded on all sides by the building itself, and amidst the different sizes, there were many sculptures beside the restroom area at the middle.

Each of these were things that Banagher saw in arts textbooks, so these shouldn't be the real thing themselves, but delicately crated duplicates. The sculptures remained inside the empty garden, and there was an empty and chilly sense of presence, making one feel that they may be moving before he was here.

A bird flew by and stopped on the face of a man's status that was deep in thought before flying off again. Banagher looked at the statue and felt that the statue was looking back at him. He swallowed his saliva, took a few steps back from the balcony and recollected his thoughts, saying 'there doesn't seem to be anyone around' and went back to the corridor.

“There should be a command area somewhere. Once there...”

Speaking halfway through, he stopped as Audrey wasn't aroudn. Haro was rolling around on the floor. He looked around and couldn't find anyone. He franticallywalked to the neighboring block, and found that there was a door opened downstairs. Banagher hurriedly ran to the exit, saw Audrey standing in the dim room and heaved a sigh of relief.

The side of her face was lit by the light that shone in through the curtains of the windows as she looked up at the wall. Banagher was about to say 'don't scare me like that', but he was stunned when he entered the room.

The ceiling was abnormally high, and on the wall of this room that was the largest he ever saw, there were six really large paintings on it. They were arranged together without leaving any space, and it seemed that the paintings themselves were the wall. No, those were paintings. They look like they were woven onto a piece of cloth. A large embroidery...it's called a tapestry, correct?

The six tapestries were all of different sizes, but the smallest one was 3m wide, and the height was about 5m. They should be related works as the base colors and structures of all these works were the same. They had a woman standing at the middle of a garden with flowers and animals woven in them. The imaginary world the woman was in would remind one of a small outer space. There were two beasts on both sides, and the completely different parties created 6 scenes. Amongst the two beasts, one of them was a lion, and the other one was one with the body of a horse and a long thin horn on its head—

“Unicorn...”

Audrey muttered to herself. Banagher heard his heart pulsate for a moment.

The memory of the white mobile suit he saw this morning in the subway train awoke in him, and the blood that moved inside his body started to rumble. He didn't know the reason, and he didn't have the strength to even think about it. The woman who was taking fruits from the tray the maidservant was holding; the woman playing the harp at the table; the woman making a crown of flowers...Banagher felt that something inside his mind was rumbling and about to break out from his skill as his eyes were enchanted by the tapestry.

The woman who let the unicorn rest on her knees and looked at the mirror; the woman holding a flag with a moon on it; and last of all, a woman standing in front of a small tent, putting her jewellery into a box a maidservant's holding. The unicorn and the lion were on both sides of the tent, and the woman who looked like she was putting her jewellery away was entering a tent. The tent had the words 'A Mon de Désir' written on it, and this was an ancient language that would only be understoof by only a few researchers. The meaning was...

“...My only wish.”

He subconsciously said it out, and immediately felt a chill. I couldn't possibly read it. I couldn't possibly understand it. Banagher shook off Audrey's anxious expression and asked, “Is this a famous painting?”

“I don't know...but since it was Vist Foundation who shifted this piece of art over to outer space, I think it's something valuable.”

Audrey frowned in surprise as she noted. I know, Banagher told himself this in his mind. It doesn't matter whether it was famous or not. I know this piece of art, and it's not that I saw this before on TV or textbooks. No, I never even touched it before. A long time ago, I couldn't even get to the bottom of this tapestry. Someone carried me up and told me the meaning. At that time, that room also had the sound of a piano playing—

He slowly turned around. The piano that was beside the window as basked under the sunlight that came in. Banagher walked over to it and touched the piano that was covered in cloth.

“Seems like nobody's staying here. I'll go find the control room. You...”

“I remember.”

Muttering unknowingly, Banagher turned to look at Audrey: “I remember. I saw these before.”

“These tapestries?”

Looking at the tapestries that were hung on the wall, Audrey gave a look of disbelief back at him. Banagher was forced to move by this irritation he couldn't explain and said: “No, it's not like this...” At this moment, a third person's voice could be heard: “Do you like it?” causing him to gasp.

He looked around. A man was standing at the door. He looked at Audrey, who was frozen, and again looked back at Banagher. The man slowly entered the oroom. The somewhat dim light lit his silver hair and sharp eyes, and Banagher felt that the pressure in this room got even more intense. He subconsciously took two steps back, knocked into the piano, and the photo frame on the piano dropped down.

He instinctively turned back to look, and saw the face of a ten-year-old, slightly plump and giving a poker face. The boy seemed to have a man and a woman on both sides, most probably his parents. The woman, who seemed to be the mother, had her hand on the boy's shoulders as she smiled. The energetic man standing on the other side was also like the boy, showing a poker face. Looking at the man's face as he had that Chinese-styled collared shirt on, Banagher again turned around to stared at those sharp eyes in the dim place.

His cheeks were slightly skinner, and his hair had faded in color, but the man in front of him was completely identical to the man in the photo. Most likely, he's the owner of this villa. The stakeholder of Anaheim Electronics, and the one rumored to be the actual owner of the 'Snail', the leader of Vist Foundation—

“The Lady and the Unicorn”, author unknown. Most people thought that it was a tapestry made during the Middle Ages in France. This wasn't a copy. It's said that the ex-leader spent a lot of effort trying to get it during the One Year War.”

As he casually looked at the two intruders, the man—Cardeas Vist continued to talk. “The New Moon's Flag this woman's holding was the crest of someone who represented an advisor to the French King in the past, Vist Foundation, my family. Most likely, an ancestor requested someone to make it, and it ended up in his hands.”

The voice sounded steady, but had impeccable strength in it. Banagher put the photo frame that fell down back to its position and looked at the faces of the people in the family.

There was Cardeas, who was about 20 years younger than before, a woman who seemed to be his wife, and the boy. These were all faces he could no recognize, faces of strangers. After seeing that, the sense of 'recognition' became ambiguous, and the tapestry and the piano suddenly became unknown foreign things.

“Right now, the common idea was that this series of tapestries represented the 5 senses of humanity. The woman holding the fruit represented taste; the woman holding the harp represented hearing; the woman creating the crown of flowers represented smell; the woman holding the mirror represented sigh; and the woman touching the horn of the unicorn represented touch...” Explaining in order, Cardeas looked at the last picture, and his eyes narrowed. “And the last one was called the 'tent' As for what this meant, there wasn't any decisive conclusion to this. The woman takes off the bracelet she was wearing and puts it into the box in the maidservant's hands. There was a tent behind it with the words 'My one desire' on it.the unicorn and the lion are leading her in. what does that tent mean? What does the 'box' represent?”

[[Image:KSGU 230.jpg|thumb]]

Audrey's eyes widened, and Banagher could feel her tension. Cardeas turned to look at her.

“Some said that the tent had her husband in it, and some said that the tent led to a mental world where one gives up everything. Right now, the commonly accepted explanation would be the latter. While giving up the bracelet, the lady wanted to give up the delight her five senses brought, and the desire that they bring before releasing herself to a zone only the sixth sense could feel...the free will ancient scholars talked about was 'release'. In other words, the 'my own desire' was a realm of realization, and the tent was a symbolization of it. The bracelet represented personal desire, and the 'box' was a symbol of an earthly seal. Of it could also be interpreted that as the 'box' was opened, the lady was able to give up on her personal desire and face the next world.”

“This unicorn's existence is also symbolic. This is a legendary beast that had many meanings to it, but our family interpret it as the beast of possibilities. It was a beast that was born out of everyone's belief and love. Humans use this possibility of existence to raise this beast, causing a situation where it didn't matter whether it existed or not...like what Riike's poem said. On one hand, it could be interpreted as the sign of the Virgin, but we shall use it as a more ordinary term. We symbolize it as the power of belief...the symbol of hope.”

Once Cardeas finished, Banagher saw that there was a crest sewn on his chest pocket, one that looked like a unicorn. Just when he was about to ask whether it was the crest of the Vist Foundation or something, Cardeas looked at Audrey and said: “Pardon me for my late introductions.”

“I'm the owner of this house. My name is Cardeas Vist.”

Though Audrey looked rather mild at the moment, her expression wasn't showing any smile at all. She inadvertently looked away and started to stammer. “I...” But she clenched her fists tight and again faced Cardeas' tall body.

“Sorry to intrude on you. I'm...”

Cardeas raised his hand gently to prevent her from continuing. “I know you. Please don't declare your name first.”

“But...”

“You don't want to get this boy involved, right?”

Saying till here, Cardeas looked over at Banagher, but as their eyes met, his eyes looked back at Audrey.

“If there's anything important, please hold on for a while. However, if you're the sort of person I think you are, I hope that you understand that we're meeting under dangerous circumstances. Your presence here would make your comrades feel betrayed.”

“Zinnerman's a cautious man, so he won't create any unnecessary trouble...”

“Unnecessary? Is the need to ensure your safety unnecessary?”

The fists that were tightly clenched trembled slightly as Audrey went silent. Unable to understand what they were saying, Banagher could only stare at them in a flabbergasted manner, and his eyes met Cardeas, who suddenly looked over at him.

“You risked yourself too much. She'll be under our protection. Head back then.”

No matter whether it was some bigshot in the monetary world or not, one shouldn't be giving such a condescending look at someone they just met for the first time. Banager stepped forward, but got taken aback by Cardeas' sharp expression as he continued to remain there. Cardeas' entire body gave a heavy presence as he closed the distance between himself and Banagher.

Cardeas' eyes scanned Banagher from head to toe and stopped at the haro at his feet. “Such an old toy.” There was a mysterious crying-like tone in the voice. On hearing these unexpected words, Banagher looked straight at Cardeas' cold expression.

“Do you know why she's being pursued, and what kind of people were pursuing her?”

“Well...I don't know, but they're really scary people.”

“Scary?”

“I just had this feeling.”

Gripping his trembling fingers hard, Banagher answered without wavering, and Cardeas' eyes suddenly became kiner: “Saying such things that a Newtype would say...” The somewhat wry voice entered Banagher's ears. Of course, one didn't need to look at the expression to see that he was laughing at Banagher for arrogantly saying that in a childish manner.”

“I was born in a place where such people kept going in and out, so I could tell.”

That was the last straw. Banagher was already expecting to be laughed at, but the wryness in Cardeas' eyes vanished. “...I see. So you say that you can recognize people?” Banagher could tell that this voice again sounded like crying.

“Then, let's not waste what you know. Head back. If you continue to stay here, your future will be wrecked. This is not what the person who sent you to Anaheim Electronics wanted.”

The unexpected words caused him to be shocked. Was his cover blown? No, Banagher suddenly thought. This Cardeas may be a friend of his father who he never met and requested him to transfer into the College.

From the few words his mother spoke and the history up till now, he knew that his father should be someone of status. Though it was a vague memory, the feel of the room and the tapestries didn't seem to be just a false impression...so strong that if he never saw the family photo, he would have thought that this was his family.

“You...knew?”

Immediately afterwards, Banagher forgot about all of these and started asking. Cardeas moved his eyes away slightly.

“I'm the chairman after all, and I can check any student's particulars and expel them accordingly.”

The last words went through Banagher with a straight gaze. Since he was being watched the moment he and Audrey, who was being 'hosted', entered the 'Snail', it's easy to investigate their history. The cold reality of understanding this caused Banagher to lower his head dejectedly. The passion shown just now cooled off as he felt his knees lose strength.

“I'll give recognition to a young man's impulse. It's alright to believe in instincts. However, if your knowledge and ability isn't enough, your response would be the wrong one. Go back. Don't get involved in this.”

After this one-sided aggression, Cardeas left Banagher. Banagher couldn't say anything, didn't even have the strength to stare at his back, and lowered his head. He succumbed again. This time, he succumbed under the violence called authority, and was about to collapse again. But even though he had this feeling, his wilted nerves didn't feel like getting back up in a motivated manner. Banagher turned to look at Audrey.

Audrey looked back at him too. After their eyes met, she immediately looked away, which made Banagher feel despair as he already knew what Audrey was about to say next.

“That's enough, Banagher. Go back.”

Her eyes were looking at him again, and the words were what he imagined it to be as they pierced through his heart. “But...!” Banagher's tone was full of panic.

“It's enough that you brought me here. I'll handle the rest.”

After giving a stiff smile, Audrey looked over at Cardeas. On seeing those eyes that were filled with intense will, Cardeas wordlessly walked away. Banagher felt that Audrey was about to follow Cardeas, and before he could think, his feet stepped on the floor first.

Though his posture was tilting somewhat because of the lower gravity, Banagher blocked Audrey as she was about to walk to the door. “Audrey.” Banagher called her name, and her jade-green eyes were looking back at him.

“Before I met you this morning, I saw a white mobile suit in the subway train.”

After blinking a bit, Audrey lifted her head slightly. Banagher ignored Cardeas, who was eavesdropping on them, and continued to look at her face.

“After that, I wanted to go to work, but ther was no work for the day. I went to the cafeteria with Takuya, and saw you floating near the sun. I don't know much after that, but I was really excited. It's like another world appeared right in front of me, or that something I couldn't see in the past appeared right in front of me...this was the first time I felt that. It's like I felt my comfort zone for the first time.”

Banagher himself knew how foolish these words were, but his mouth just couldn't stop. On hearing that Audrey was looking a little moody and becoming more so, Baangher himself continued.

“I don't care who you are. Just say that you need me, say that it's better for me to be here. Then I...”

“No.”

Audrey answered before he could finish. Shocked by the stiff expression and the impact of the voice, Banagher felt his body waver.

“The world you saw today was nothing. It's just a dark and cold world. You shouldn't be here.”

“Audrey...”

“Forget about it. Don't get involved with me. It's better for you.”

This time, it was really a tone to clear the divide. Audrey turned around, and Banagher was rooted there. All around the delicate yet obstinate profile, the dark red base of the tapestries appeared in the dim place.

Perhaps seeing that the little drama between both of them was over, Cardeas nodded his head slightly, and men in suits appeared at the door of the room, ushering Audrey in with a courteous demeanor. Audrey lifted her head and followed them out. Banagher instinctively tried to catch up, but he was stopped by the presence that suddenly appeared behind him. Unknowingly, two men appeared from a room and were standing behind Banagher.

“We'll send you back to you hostel.”

One of the men. The man who would remind one of the ferocity and viciousness of a hunter had the crest of a unicorn on the chest. Knowing that he would be suppressed if he tried to resist, Banagher looked at Cardeas, who turned around and said just when he was about to lead Audrey out of the room: “This would be better.”

“The people chasing her may view you as a target.”

It was logical. Though Banagher himself felt that this was just an excuse, he couldn't say anything. Banagher clenched his fists and lowered his head. The embarrassment and regret left a stinging feeling in his nose, and the unicorn on the tapestries became blurred.

Audrey went through the door of the room without turning back, and Cardeas followed her from behind. As he left, he looked back, and seemed to stop for a moment as he probably looked at Banagher. However, once Banagher lifted his head, the profile vanished, and the light that came in through the door remained in the room, causing Banagher to see remains of the world he lost.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[KSGU:Volume_1_Chapter_1|Chapter 1]]
| Return to [[Gundam Unicorn|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[KSGU:Volume_2_Illustrations|Volume 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

KSGU:Volume 1 Chapter 2

2012-05-10T09:18:28Z

115.77.129.48: /* Part 4 */

==Chapter 2==

===Part 1===

In the starry universe, there was a biplane that’s flying with a propeller. It was a middle-century classical plane that operates on gasoline.

As he stared at the plane blankly, Riddhe Marcenas imagined himself to be sitting on it. He was wearing a flying visor, a white muffler around his neck, and using fighting flying skills that were like acrobatics to tease the enemy’s destroyer. A pilot had to be like this. Even if the propeller planes were all replaced by jet planes or even evolved into space fighter jets with g, pilots were all proud riders. A pilot shouldn’t be part of minor things like being called out by an older non-commission officer or pointed at by a senior pilot. That’s the bad customs that passed down from the navy. And the pilots after the mid-century occupy a unique atmosphere called the air force, and they’re an unique existence that had to be separated from ordinary soldiers. At least they shouldn’t forget about this…that’s what he thought.

However, reality was cruel.

“Ensign Riddhe, the captain’s calling you over to his room.”

A window opened in the space, and the Mechanical Officer Jona Gibney’s mustached face chuckled as he said that. He was the oldest and the most experienced of the maintenance staff, and he was one of those senior soldiers who would not hesitate to scold an officer. Riddhe was sitting on the linear seat and pouted, “Why always me?”

“You have to bring stuff to the captain’s room. This job is more or less suited for a rich boy!”

“I’m an officer too, you know! This has nothing to do with lineage, right?”

“Only those who shot down an enemy’s plane has the right to say that. Now go!”

Mechanical Officer Gibney’s face disappeared from the screen, and only angry roars echoed throughout the cockpit. Riddhe unhappily turned off the all-view monitor and grabbed the biplane model that was floating above his head.

Once the space simulated image disappeared, the screens that were connected on the inside walls of the ball, and the cockpit suddenly became a cramped and unpleasant cockpit. Riddhe used a plastic bag to wrap the plastic body of the biplane and put it behind the display guard before opening the door. The door that could only be passed through by bending down was right in front of him. The sound of welding, cranes and metals rubbing against each other entered the cockpit.

Also, there was a chatter behind him, and Gibney, who was in that jumpsuit that the mechanical staff would wear was showing blank white eyes. Riddhe kicked the linear seat and easily let his body float out of the cockpit. Gibney’s body didn’t move as he floated in the air, and he said with a heinous tone, “Were you meditating inside that cockpit again?”

“I’m embracing the time when I can be one with my beloved plane. Are you touched?”

“And you even dare to say that you brought a toy in!”

“Please don’t randomly touch and spoil it. That’s a limited edition. It was hard to get it!”

One has to strike the fine balance between being orderly and doing things one’s own way. One shouldn’t remember the grudges when there’s vexing words said, but to forget it after hearing it. Having grasped the secret to ship service, Riddhe took the documents he was to deliver and left. “Who cares about you, Mr Mania?” after leaving these words behind, Gibney looked like he exchanged places with Riddhe as he slipped into the cockpit. His underlings, 4 new technicians in spacesuits followed him from behind and looked into the cockpit from all directions.

Their job was to pay attention to all of Gibney’s actions and quickly hand the important tools to him. This deck was often filled with air, so there was no need to wear the bulky work spacesuit. However, Gibney wanted the rookies to wear them at all time. “What’ll happen if we’re attacked and there’s a hole in the wall? Once you’re sucked outside, the blood in your body will immediately freeze and you’ll immediately die.” That was Gibney’s saying, and he did see this personally on the ship he was on. Those who experienced the One Year War, the ones who fought in war, had the most weight in their words.

When Riddhe was first assigned to this ship, he would also show respect to this, and would wear a pilot’s spacesuit when he entered the deck. However, he would now be lightly dressed in a jumpsuit and a jetpack. Since he’s riding on a spaceship, he will die anyway if they were attacked, no matter where they were, and even Gibney himself wouldn’t wear a spacesuit before the siren rang. After seeing the tense profiles of the rookies, Riddhe thought that they were really pitiful…but this made Riddhe remember his own sadness, and he suddenly had an urge to drop the documents that he was told to deliver onto the floor. He took a deep breath, held back this urge, grabbed and messed up his blond hair that was a little longer, and used the steel cable to move alongside the floor.

As he was being dragged by the cable, he could see his personal suit fully as he went near the passage that’s located at the wall. It was a blue humanoid body that showed the artistry of straight and curved contours. This was the RGZ-95 ‘ReZEL’ that had a variable booster unit behind. As the front part of the booster was extended out from the back of the head, it looked a lot larger than an ordinary mobile suit. Gibney and his subordinates who were gathered at the cockpit right at the abdomen looked like they were the size of the ‘ReZEL’s fist.

On the large mobile suit deck that was more than 7 levels high, there were 7 similar-typed ‘ReZEL’ and the main forces of the Earth Federation RGM-89 ‘Jegan’ were also at their fixed positions and undergoing maintenance. The ‘Jegan’ was a mass-produced frame, and though the ‘ReZEL’ was classified as the latest transformable mobile suit, both mobile suits inherited the basic design from the Federation Army’s mobile suit, the RGM-79 GM, which wasn’t changed too much. Most notably, the visor protector on the head that blocks the optical sensor was of the exact same design. Riddhe’s personal suit, the ‘ReZEL’ had the identification number NA-R008 on the chest, and the visor that was basically its eyes was being washed.

There was no sign of any streamlined winged mobile suits, only the humanoid mobile suits that looked like they will pop out in old cartoons. This scene just looked like the rows of Buddha statues Riddhe saw with he was young and went on a trip to Asia, which irritated him again. The beauty of aircraft was created from the coordination of air resistance. Thus, it would be natural for machines that’s to be used in vacuum to display other characteristics. Also, the reason why space fighter units that resembled planes and replaced by mobile suits called ‘robots’ was because of the One Year War that happened when Riddhe was 6.

If one hasn’t found the new particles that would bring about the revolution to physics, the Minovsky Particles that would jam all electronic devices, there wouldn’t be humanoid machines that formed the basis of recent wars. If it wasn’t for the creation of mobile suits and the Principality of Zeon’s creation ‘Zaku’ being such a huge success that caused the Earth Federation which had overwhelming advantages to be on the brink of defeat, this hangar would still have signs of the descendant of the biplane, the space fighter jets.

Of course, the fighter jets didn’t disappear completely. The main machine of the Federation’s air force, the TIN Cod II was a fighter plane that resembled an aircraft. The space army still had the fighter planes that were used for long distance support, but they were already out, and the budget for new machines was already interrupted for so long. Also, once the air force finished clearing the remnants of Zeon Forces on Earth, they were treated like they fulfilled their purpose and were abandoned. No matter how much one liked planes, to this person who graduated from the Officer Cadet School with outstanding grades, it wasn’t an attractive path.

In the end, Riddhe came here. He was affliated to a top-notch large ship under the Federation, and became a pilot of a mobile suit. He managed to fulfill his dream since childhood…and he even used his links with his ‘family’. What he got was completely different from what he expected though. He was living in the world whether that brave pilot was gone and began living his life while being called a ‘young lord’ by experienced pilots and soldiers as he was told off every day.

Considering that he couldn’t get away from the pressure of his ‘family’ whenever he goes, this was still a surrounding he could compromise with. He continued to hold back the unhappiness within him and reached his hand out to the handle on the deck. Suddenly, he heard voices from under his feet going ‘what’s with that ugly and fake tank?’. A pilot who was being pulled by the cable was glaring at the two vehicles parked in the corner of the deck.

The dark brown machines that were over 10m in length were large crawlers. They did look like armored cars or tanks. While leaving ‘Lunar Two’, about 30 transport carrier personnel suddenly came in with the vehicles. As Riddhe watched these vehicles, other voices could be heard, ‘Did the special forces bring these people in?’.

“They had been using cover to cover it, and they didn’t allow us technicians to touch.”

“The killer squad of the hunters. Such annoying visitors.”

On hearing these bad words that were deliberately said for others to hear, the ‘visitors’ who were maintaining the vehicle—the special Federation space forces ECOAS glared over, but the pilots themselves didn’t seem to reflect on this as they went above while holding the cable. Instead of merely being crude, it was more like small fries acting childish, and Riddhe really felt like sighing.

The ECOAS, also known as the hunter squad, had quite the bad reputation. They would often have a clear divide from the ship crew, and they would cover their equipment with cloth and not allow others to get near. Riddhe really didn’t like such secrecy at all. However, it would be immature for him to return nail for nail. Basically, the training and regimentation of the space army were all like the navy, and the group mentality for each ship was too strong. An experienced soldier like Gibney could be so cool was because of the bad habit of experience triumphing over rank. The concept of the term ‘ship’ in space and bringing the seaman’s mentality into space was the cause of all this.

If the spaceship could be described as a large plane, learning the elements of the air force may be like becoming an independent organization that had open communication channels. While repeating the meaningless grumbles, Riddhe looked over at the armored car-like thin the ECOAS had. The squad members were getting ready as they started to pull the covers off the vehicles, most likely because they were getting close to their destination, and they gave a tense feeling from their backs, making that place look like a completely different world. They were dressed in impromptu T-shirts and army pants, but they were highly skilled in moving under zero gravity, and they wouldn’t shout randomly. They weren’t extremely muscular, but the abnormally thick upper body and the thick chest muscles made them look like they trained.

Riddhe’s eyes met one of them. It was the man who shot a glare at his crewmate for saying harsh words. Riddhe gave a smile as he tried to compensate for his crewmate’s unreasonable action. But the man didn’t smile as he looked at Riddhe like he was looking at a ‘thing’ and then looked away before continuing his work.

He didn’t look like he was looking at other people. The cold inorganic-like eyes was definitely of someone nicknamed a ‘hunter’. Riddhe felt like he was being held at knifepoint on the throat as he hurriedly left.

===Part 2===

The ship’s name was called ‘Nahel Argama’. It was an assault landing ship that belonged to the independent unit of the Earth Federation, Londo Bell. Right now, it was in between Earth and the moon, right before the dark wasteland space of L1. In three hours, they would be entering the space debris field, and they will deploy all forces to monitor the region.

The ship that was almost 400m in length had a mobile suit catapult launcher at the deck of the ship. The bridge was right in the middle like a bow, and there were 2 giant wings with hidden solar panels extending out from the back of the bridge and reaching out to both sides. If one were to designate the two engines that are equipped on the rear left and right sides of the ship as the hind legs and the catapult decks on both sides as the fore legs, it would look like a sphinx with wings or a large wooden horse. Based on this point, this ship could be said to have inherited the Pegasusc-class obile assault landing ship that was active during the One Year War—the Federation’s first mobile suit carrier ‘White Base’.

However, the ‘Nahel Argama’ didn’t belong to any class, and neither did it have a similar ship. If there’s a need to classify it, it should be classified as Nahel Argama, a one and only ship. That’s because it was a ship that wasn’t designed through standard National Security planning during the time after the war, in the internal tussle that divided the Federation Army into half—what one would call the Gryps War. However, it didn’t have interchangeability and was hard to deal with, so it was removed from the army’s reorganization plans. Though there was a large scale reconstruction after the Gryps War, Londo Bell, which took it, didn’t know what to do with it, and it wasn’t set as a cornerstone of a fleet. It was hard to mobilize, so there was no accompanying fleet, causing it to be mobilized as a single ship.

This ship of the external group of the space army Londo Bell was an isolated one…and the isolation caused a twisted group mentality. It couldn’t be helped that the old habits of rejecting others happened. Riddhe used this thinking to scatter the anger that he couldn’t purge and left the mobile suit deck to move towards the center of the ship.

These weren’t all bad things, and Riddhe could even say that it’s better for him to be isolated. Also, he didn’t really dislike this atmosphere completely. He was the one who volunteered to be assigned to Londo Bell, and he considered his position and suitability before being assigned to the ‘Nahel Argama’. If he was sent to a main fleet, that wouldn’t be all the pressure. He would probably end up with his superiors fearing him, his peers hating him, and he couldn’t fulfill his duty in such an environment.

The weight of his ‘family’ was this great. He was the eldest son of the important senator in the Federation Central Council Ronan Marcenas. It was a political family that once gave birth to a Prime Minister, and he was the heir to the Marcenas’ glory. This guy’s here to pilot a mobile suit? Impossible. He’ll most likely be decommissioned after a while. It’s not rare for a political heir to enter an officer cadet school as one would say that being outstanding in the Federation army would be a shortcut to being a politician. Most of the time, he would be intending to get along with future generals to creating camaraderie with the army…

No! But no matter how many times he emphasized this, such words continued to be echoed. I didn’t want to be a politician. My dream is a pilot, so I entered the Officer Cadet School even with my family against it. However, having entered officer cadet school for 4 years and the mobile suit learning squad for a year, Riddhe really felt that it was meaningless to argue back, and didn’t want to face these words already. In contrast, he started to search his way from the center. It was a place where high ranking officers wouldn’t try to latch on to him so that they would be outstanding in the future. Even if they teased him as ‘young lord’, this was a place where they wouldn’t have any ill intention, but treat him as a pilot—

However, it was unexpected that they would call him to be a runner. Grimacing inside, Riddhe let go of the moveable handle and used the momentum to float through the path and stop in front of the lift that would lead to the gravity area. Mihiro Oiwakken, who was his junior that graduated in the next batch, was coincidentally in the lift.

“Oh my, are you delivering these documents?” “Yeah.” Both of them continued to talk as the lift carried them. The inside of the ‘Nahel Argama’ had a cylindrical gravity area that was like a space colony. It uses centrifugal force to create gravity on the inside of the cylinder. Of course, as the diameter was smaller, it could only create a weak amount, but even if the object’s not fastened to the floor, it could keep it to the floor. When flying for a long time, especially while eating and undergoing military medical treatment, this design would be extremely important.

The lift went through the axis on the side of the gravity area and arrived at the rotary axis of the cylinder. Both of them were exchanging information this time about the emergency departure and the uncertain battle plan before the door opened again. The destination was the Construction Space Colony ‘Industrial 7’ that’s in the Dark Wasteland space. The main operation would be carried out by ECOAS, and the ‘Nahel Argama’ was in charge of sending them.

“Industrial 7’s Anaheim Electronics’ Space Colony, right? The Dark Wasteland Region a place where a new Side will be built on in the space colony redevelopment project…I don’t think that it’s a place where the ‘Sleeves’ will show up.”

“I don’t know about the details, but the atmosphere in the bridge is really bad. We’re already unhappy that the hunters are using us as a transport, and we may even end up in a real battle. First Mate Liam was forcing the captain to make the hunters tell the truth…”

“Captain Otto can’t hold on for long if that old hag’s going to continue pressuring him like that, right? Even I can’t handle it.”

“Yeah. It’s really hard to imagine him when he’s commanding.”

Even though she would say this, Mihiro herself looked like she was far from the active battle. Her dark brown eyes and hair showed a heavy Eastern heritage. She was wearing a grey officer uniform and was shorter than Riddhe. Perhaps it was her inferiority complex in her height that she was so hardworking, and she was giving the nickname ‘mini-tank’ in Officer Cadet School. However, she wouldn’t give a vexing feeling, and is a nice female officer who wouldn’t lose her cool. The way she rolls her eyes would give people the impression of a small animal like a chipmunk instead of a mini tank.

22 year old Mihiro was only deployed to Londo Bell for half a year, and Riddhe, who graduated a year earlier, went to the mobile suit learning squad, so he was assigned here at the same time as her, and for the two of them, it was their first duty in their first ship. It’s been three years since the war with the remnants of Zeon in what people called ‘Char’s Counterattack’, and right now, even Londo Bell, which was meant to be an immediate response team, had not fought for a long time. Thus, there were quite a lot of people who didn’t have actual combat experience. Recently, the renegade organization called ‘Sleeves’ were starting to move, and had fought against several squads under Londo Bell. However, the ‘Nahel Argama’, which was on the outside, didn’t take part in the assault, thus, new cadres like Riddhe weren’t the only ones who couldn’t imagine the actual scenario.

“Real battle…since we have the hunters on board, it won’t be an exercise, I guess.”

“It’s troubling to have to fight secretly in a civilian space colony. ‘Industrial 7’ has the school Anaheim Electronics runs, right?”

Mihiro said this as that student-like face of hers became gloomy. As he saw that delicate Eastern skin of hers, Riddhe’s thoughts became a little uncouth, and the lift reached the gravity area before opening. After saying goodbye to Mihiro who was heading to the bridge, Riddhe let his body float through the passage that looked like the axis of the rotating gravity area.

Once he landed on the gravity, the body that was captured by gravity creaked, and Riddhe felt like he was struck by dizziness. He grabbed the handle on the wall. Riddhe frowned as the blood in his body was being pulled down as he didn’t feel well about that. He moved past the weapons personnel who came over from the cafeteria and entered another lift. The captain’s room was at the lowest level in the inside wall, where the gravity was the strongest. After descending down the axis for another 50m, his body started to become heavier because of the zero gravity during the journey, which caused his body to expand.

In fact, the atmosphere in the captain’s room was rather heavy too. After reporting and calling out ‘excuse me’, Riddhe walked into the captain’s room, and immediately knew the reason.

The captain’s room of the Nahel Argama had the operation room and the reception room. The reception room itself was a wide space that was more than 60 sq meters large. The ship was being expanded continuously to match the current mobile suit capacity needed. However, the basic amount of facilities needed wouldn’t require that much space, which ended up allowing them to use as much space as they wanted to. Inside the reception room right now was captain Otto Midas leading the people in charge of the weapons and the navigation were here. However, they weren’t the ones who made the presence in the room heavy. In contrast to the tired looking captain, there was a commander sitting on the opposite sofa, and there was an organization where everyone was dressed in suits—the dangerous ‘guests’ who were riding on this ship. They were the ones who made the reception area feel so heavy.

Such a heavy feeling made him remember about his ‘family’. Once Riddhe entered the room, he immediately saw the mobile suit squadron leader, Norman Basilicok. He avoided the looks of the rest as he handed the documents over to the colonel. He wanted to immediately turn around and leave the room, but Commander Norm said, “I need to sign this. Please wait for a moment.” Causing him to remain where he was.

Sitting at a corner of the L-shaped sofa and signing the nominal roll, Norm’s face looked rather unhappy, and Captain Otto took off his cap, a rare feat for him. As they had to put on spacesuits in battle, the space army wouldn’t use military caps when riding in ships, but Otto would definitely wear the normal cap. This was to hide his reclining hairline, and it’s an open secret in the ship. Some vicious mechanics would even say, “Does he even need to worry about being bald when he looks like that?”

“We’re fine with ECOAS leading this battle.”

Otto touched that head of his that was lacking in hair and broke the silence. The voice of a middle-ranked officer bemoaning matched his face that looked like an old uncle in a civilian factory.

“But Londo Bell also has what Londo Bell needs to do. At least tell us your objective…”

“That’s classified. I personally have no rights to reveal this.”

Sitting opposite Otto was the fierce commander, who answered without an expression. He was the leader of the ECOAS squad, Daguza Mackle. His straightened back and those sturdy thighs of his would make one wonder whether he could still maintain the same position even when someone takes the sofa away. No matter whether it’s the stone-like expression or the sharp expression that would make anyone freeze, he does look like a man who could lead the hunters.

Commander Norm stopped his hand from flipping through the documents and stared at Daguza. Riddhe found that he was in a situation where he didn’t want to face at all, as his straight body froze harder. As the leader of the counter-terrorist Special Forces, Daguza had handled much more covert missions. Compared to his expression, Otto, who was forced onto the Nahel Argama which no one wanted, lost out a lot. Norman and all the crew on the ship saw that the captain was losing out a lot, and were obviously looking outraged. However, Daguza didn’t really pay much attention to these stares. Riddhe was right in the middle of the epitome of a messy situation.

“But this is to be held in a civilian space colony. At least make some explanation to reduce the causalities to the minimum…”

“That’s why I’m allowed to come along.”

Otto manned up his pride as a captain and spoke, and the one who interrupted him was one of the men dressed in suits beside Daguze. Amongst the men dressed in traditional suits, there was a man who was wearing a collared Nehru Jacket. He placed the Nahel Argama model he was playing in his hand back onto the table and looked around at everyone.

“I’ll reveal this then. There’s a deal that’s about to take place in Industrial 7. The parties involved are the ‘Sleeves’ and the leader of the Vist Foundation.”

The man said as he smiled and relaxed his plump face. He was a ‘visitor’ that came along with Daguza and the ECOAS members, and the one with the largest profile. They only knew that he was an important member of Anaheim Electronics, and his name was Alberto. This man had an arrogant smile, and he seemed to be telling everyone that the authority over this entire battle is in him. Otto asked back, “Did you say Vist Foundation…” and at this moment, Norman and Daguza narrowed their eyes in unison as they gave unhappy looks.

“That’s right. On the surface, it’s a philanthropic foundation that transports art pieces into space colonies, but in fact, we control practically all of the Vist Foundation’s wealth and power. Though there’s a difference in the authority wielder, it’s the major stakeholder of our company here.”

With his back facing the Earth Celestial Sphere map on the wall, Alberto ignored the unhappy looks everyone gave.

“Of course, Industrial 7 is our company’s asset. However, even if there’s some damage, we have to prevent the deal between the ‘Sleeves’ and the “Vist Foundation’. This isn’t Anaheim’s decision only, but also the conclusion the highest authorities of the Federation Army came to.”

His eyes with double eyelids made him look like he got a doll like face, but his demeanor and bulky frame really made it hard to tell his age. Though Anaheim Electronics was the largest military enterprise in the world, but for a civilian like Alberto to take part just because he was a crucial figure in this, for what reason did the highest authorities make such a decision? “What’s this…deal that we needed to prevent at all cost?” Captain Otto asked with a somewhat trembling voice.

“It’s the ‘Laplace Box’. The Vist Foundation intend to hand that thing over to the ‘Sleeves’.”

Immediately, the heavy damp air scattered all over, and Riddhe felt cold air blow through the reception room. “‘Laplace Box’…?” Otto frowned.

“No one knows what that thing is, or even what’s inside. But one thing’s certain. Once the ‘Laplace Box’ is opened, it would bring about the end of the Earth Federation government.”

Alberto leaned his back on the sofa as he gave a serious look. Captain Otto tried to force a smile, but wasn’t successful as his stiff expression started to ache in numbness. Daguza’s sharp expression remained on Alberto.

“The Vist Foundation hid the ‘Laplace Box’ and used that to preserve its wealth. Anaheim shares the same fate with it too. No matter what the aim is, we must stop the leader who lost his mind, if the thing that can topple the Federation government lands in the ‘Sleeves’ hands…things will become serious, captain.”

Alberto said as he gave a self-mocking smile. Facing the doubts and fears everyone showed as they remained silent, Riddhe could only curse himself for meeting such an unlucky and unfortunate situation.

===Part 3===

No matter how one walked on the side of the corridor, there was the sound of a fist slamming into flesh. Marida Crus let go of the moving handle and saw the back of Flaste Schole.

“IT’S BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T CHECK PROPERLY THAT WE DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THAT WE WERE USED AS TRANSPORT!”

Right in front of Flaste, who was roaring away, was a young deck crewman whose face was beaten till it was red and swollen. Under zero gravity, both of them had their feet stuck to the ground by magnets, so anyone who’s hit would be hurting. Even if Flaste held back, that hard metal-like punch that can’t be dodged landed straight on his face. The crewman swayed about and stood still, saying, “I won’t give any excuses for this.” While blood was dripping from his mouth.

“THAT’S JUST YOU TRYING TO ACT COOL! WHY DON’T YOU JUST GET ON YOUR KNEES AND APOLOGIZE!?”

Flaste grabbed the front of the crewman’s hair and looked like he intended to deliver a few more punches. However, he was stopped by a voice “Stop fighting.” Marida watched the human wall that was gathered on the passageway scatter, and Captain Zinnerman’s bearded face appeared.

He sounded calm, but the expression hidden under the captain’s hat showed utter distress. It’s been an hour since they got a signal from the headquarters ‘Palau’ that ‘she’ went missing. In the large Earth Celestial Sphere, the ‘Palau’ itself would be a lone island in the large ocean. If she disappeared, it’s likely that she would be hiding inside the ships that come in and goes out. After having checked the entire ship thoroughly, they found that one of the storerooms that was used as a storeroom had signs of a stowaway inside, which caused a huge commotion in the ‘Garencieres’.

Marida herself joined in the search, but ‘her’ presence wasn’t inside the ship. It seemed that she slipped out during the mess when they docked. It was the crewman’s mistake for not noticing that she left, and he should be punched by Flaste, but everyone knew that they couldn’t solve the problem by getting angry. Marida ignored the men who were staring at each other and went into the cabin ‘she’ looked like ‘she’ was in.

She looked through the window on the wall and out to the central dock, closed her eyes and concentrated. She couldn’t grasp the presence of people moving about, and the messy thoughts that was like heat from a crowd caused her head to spin. Though she felt a little hot on the forehead, she couldn’t detect ‘her’ presence. There were too many people. Marida could only be amazed about how the human presences she could focus on in the battlefield could move about messily at will. As expected, an artificial being couldn’t detect a specific presence—

“She’s inside this space colony…but it’s not good if we take action and get held at ransom by our trade partner.”

Zinnerman said outside the entrance. Marida wiped away the sweat on her hands that came out unknowingly and returned back to the corridor.

“Is it likely that the ‘girl’ made contact with the other party already?”

“It’s likely that ‘she’ was opposed to this right from the beginning. Most likely, she made contact with Vist Foundation…”

Once Flaste pushed the crewman aside and finished saying that, Gilboa Sant continued on. Zinnerman watched his two henchmen, said “Not really” and put on his captain’s hat.

“It’s impossible to make contact with the outside world from Palau. She most likely intends to make direct contact!”

Most likely, she wanted to prevent the deal of the “Laplace Box’. Zinnerman let air flow through his hair that’s linked to his beard and put on the old captain’s hat. His eyes showed bitterness and pride. During these past years, he put in his heart and soul to protect ‘her’, and to this man who viewed himself as her substitute guardian, he may be able to judge that ‘she’ would do this, and this was somewhat of a self-defeat feeling. Marida was thinking as such, but decided firmly that she didn’t understand this, and looked away from her master who looked somewhat old now.

She only knows one thing, and that is, this is a huge crisis that would bring about danger to the entire organization. If they lose her, the ‘Sleeves’ will lose their focal point, and the organization they were finally able to build will develop cracks. If she even ends up in the Federation’s hands, the problem wouldn’t be only about the organization called the ‘Sleeves’. It may even bring everything to an immediate halt, the 16 years of war—or even the struggle that originate about half a century ago. All the sacrifice, blood, sweat that were shed for this would lose all meaning. The ‘Sleeves’ and the members of the Garencieres will lose their support.

‘She’, who was really smart, couldn’t possibly not understand this. This was foolish…but as she thought this, Marida felt that doing this would fit ‘her’ nature, and thus she stopped thinking. No matter whether it was about ‘her’ or the ‘Sleeves’, all the necessary decisions were to be made by her master, and she only needed to obey. The more she thinks, the more she would hesitate when carrying out the order. It’s something an ordinary person would normally do. After using this logical thinking process of hers, Marida gave Zinnerman a look that showed that she was waiting for instructions.

“Please, Marida. That child doesn’t know about normal life, so she wouldn’t be too far off. She’ll probably leave clues behind.”

Perhaps sensing the stare over at him, Zinnerman looked over at her and said this. This was the minimum transmission of talking and breathing, the familiar voice of her master. After answering ‘understood’ simply, Marida left the scene. After hearing Flaste’s voice “Don’t create any commotion” from behind, Marida took the lift and head towards the bridge area.

The ‘Garencieres’, which had a vertical landing function, has the end of the ship as the floor when it lands; which made it look like a building, and the bridge at the front of the ship was at the highest level. While they’re docked with the port now, the floor inside the ship that’s parallel to the port is lying horizontally. The lift itself is moving horizontally, but under zero gravity, the scenery around would decide how it looked. Marida ‘ascended’ by about the equivalent of 10 levels and entered the bridge,. She then entered the bottom of the bridge—or rather—the back—where the server room was. In this small room that’s filled with communication equipment and screens, the crewman continued to stare at the screen all this while, and the sound of the keyboard being typed on never stopped.

Besides the colony news network that anyone could read, they could see the construction progress of Industrial 7, the blueprint and even the movement of the industrial workers. As they could use the network provided by the port while they were docked and connect to the colony’s network, a highly skilled hacker could check out a large amount of information. After plucking away the coffee tube from the air, Marida asked “How is it?” and the crewman didn’t look back as he tossed a printed paper over. What’s printed on it was the hottest selling news at the moment.

“A mini mobile suit was forced to land in the park. The student who used it insisted that he used it to save someone…is it?”

The sound of things piecing together rang in her mind. Marida looked at the time the news was broadcasted, and confirmed that the time was already past 9. She held onto the printed paper and left the server room.

===Part 4===

“…As described above, the One Year War ended at the large scale battle at A Baoa Qu. After that, the Principality of Zeon transferred control over to the new republic and signed a peace treaty, and where is the lunar city where the peace treaty was signed? Banagher Links?”

Fidgeting around and passing through the back of the classroom, Banagher was about to sit down at his seat, but was called out by his teacher, Mr Bancroft, and was immediately stunned.

“Yes. Un, that…‘Von Braun’?”

“It’s ‘Granada’.” BAM. After slamming the desk and correcting it, Mr Bancroft adjusted his glasses in an unhappy manner. “I heard about everything. Sit down.”

What’s going on? Banagher muttered inside his heart as he sat at a corner of the fan-shaped table. Takuya and the other students gave him looks as he plugged his laptop into the power port at the table. He opened out the retractable keyboard, entered his log in ID, and the world history definition that he missed out was shown on the screen.

It’s said that the advance in technology in the old century and the wireless network system weren’t rare at all—an age where even handphones could be carried along—right now, the network and phones were all wired. That’s because as humans are living in human colonies, such ‘intricate technology’, there’s a strict limit on the electric waves used. However, as there’s Minovsyu particles floating everywhere, the limit became meaningless. These Minovsky particles that were of unknown origin causes electric short circuits of all types to happen often. Although there were many protective measures for life support systems, it’s a habit after the One Year War to print a copy of data out.

In other worlds, this Earth Celestial Sphere still had Minovsky particles floating about after the war. To put it plainly, there’s still a need for it—war continues to happen. Banagher suddenly thought about this and felt that his neck was aching a little like it was twisted. Of course, it need not be a real battle. Particles were also scattered for battle training. Recently, it’s said that even trading ships would scatter the particles to deal with pirates. Some of them would definitely float over from a real battlefield, right? Maybe at this moment, someone’s betting his life and gets burned by a laser. Just like how he saw a mobile suit this morning amongst them remains.

''"A war. There’ll be a large-scale war again."''

The jade-colored eyes flashed through his mind as those words rang beside his ears. Banagher shook his head that was still swirling and gathered his concentration on the history lecture.

“The Principality of Zeon was a military country that was controlled by the Zabi family. The Zeonism that Zeon Deikum promoted described that humans in space shall bring a brand new ‘Newtype thinking’, and garnered lots of supports like Gihren Zabi. It wasn’t Deikum’s own intent, but after he died, his name was used by the Zabi family as an excuse for a war of independence. In a certain sense, it was still a dangerous thought.”

''Someone could actually say such words even though it’s not knowledge derived from their own experience. How does it feel?'' Seeing Mr Bancroft continue to talk away, he wondered as a chat window appeared in the corner of his laptop.

This was to be expected. He was the one who caused an uproar in the entire colony by uprooting a cable on the road. How would the other students who weren’t motivated let this off? Banagher impatiently pressed the button and let the chat window appear on his monitor.

“Master Icarus. How does it feel to be investigated by the police?”

Most likely, Takuya was asking on behalf of the entire class. “Icarus?” Banagher asked back, and then, there was a link to a webpage. Banagher clicked on the click to check.

It was the front page of the ‘Daily 7’ news that Anaheim Electronics run. Banagher saw the photo of the Torohachi in the lawn and the headline ‘The Icarus that challenged the Artificial sun sadly fell onto the park’, and immediately turned off the webpage.

He felt the students around him all holding back their laughter as they looked at him. “Am I wrong to save someone?” Banagher answered.

“I heard that the person you saved disappeared like smoke.” “What did the police say about you using a mini-mobile suit on your own and wrecking property?” “What about the College?” The students asked, and Banagher used one hand to support his face and he typed with one hand.

“The surveillance camera of the maintenance system captured the image of the girl, so it was deemed that I did save someone. I was given a severe verbal warning and acquitted of charges. From the way the counseling teacher came to get me from the police, it seems that I don’t have too much problems with the school, but I have to head to the principal’s office after school.”

The male students, who made up about 70% of the class, started to get excited and tap away at their keyboard “A girl!?” “Age, looks?” “What did you talk about?” “Where did she come about?”…On seeing the screen seemingly come to life, Banagher entered, “I don’t know. The police’s still looking for here.” At this moment, the sound of the lecture desk rang throughout the classroom.

“You people. Don’t think that you can slack around just because it seems that history isn’t so useful to your work. Anaheim won’t hire idiots who can’t even pass a high school standard. Don’t just stupidly believe that they will hire all you people!”

Mr Bancroft used his ultimate technique, and the students immediately closed their chat windows and looked back at the podium. The reason why vocations were quickly switched was because the vocational students know that their future jobs will lie in the teachers’ hands. Banagher sighed and focused on the lecture screen. The One Year War, the Gryps War, the two Neo Zeon war. As he looked at the boring timeline, Banagher couldn’t get rid of those jade green eyes spinning in his dizzy mind.

The bright eyes he saw several hours ago; the soft touch when he hugged her together with both hands; everything just felt so distant, so vague that it feels like he was seeing another person’s memory. Even Banagher himself couldn’t dare to believe that he stole a mini mobile suit to save her. He didn’t think that he would have such a reckless impulse. Why did he do this? Who was she?

As it was close to noon, there was a bright sunlight outside the classroom window. At the field in front of the vocation building, there were mini mobile suits that were used for training lined up over there, moving equipment that’s to be used for training. Opposite there was a stack of trapezoid layers of the school campus that was designed with the Coriolis’ Effect of the colony’s self-rotation in mind. And far over on the other side, there’s a large wall that showed the end of a space colony—the materials were still exposed to the airtight wall facing the moon. As it was blocked by the light of the artificial sun, it’s import to see the entire mortar-like war, but there’s a hatch in the center that’s connected to the colony builder, and right now, there should be equipment that’s to be used for building colonies that’s being moved in and out.

The colony builder collects the debris that’s floating around in the Dark Wasteland region and start to purify, refine and build ‘Industrial 7’. That’s the redevelopment plan of the Dark Wasteland region, often called the experimental phase of the ‘Frontier Project’. In other words, this colony was built from the debris of past wars, and the colony builder was a magic funnel that uses this junk to build a ‘world’—and because of the shape, this large facility was given the nickname ‘Snail’. Banagher couldn’t help but concentrate on this seemingly blurry airtight wall.

''That was the thing that built the space colony, this ‘world’. She said that she had to go there, that there’s someone she had to meet. For what? To prevent a war?''

“After the war, organizations that called themselves the remnants of Zeon created lots of conflict. They called for space migrants to be self-independent, pushed for Ere-ism, and viewed Earthnoids as enemies. However, don’t forget the Newtype thinking in the republic that maybe people saw. That’s why colonies and meteors were thrown down to Earth. It’s unknown how many people sacrificed their lives because of this, and as citizens of the Federation who follow the idea of democracy, we…”

Another voice rang through his ears, covering the voice of Mr Bancroft who sounded more and more agitated. ''“How spineless…!” Who cares about you,'' Banagher argued back at the girl in his mind.

''It has nothing to do with me. No, I can’t possibly be involved in this. Whether it’s this One Year War or the second Neo Zeon War 3 years ago—the so-called ‘Char’s Counterattack’, all these has nothing to do with me. That’s just something I only saw through the television screen, what happened in a far away world. It’s the same for all the students here and Mr Bancroft here too!''

''If there were countless billions of people who were sacrificed in the war, then including those that survived, it’s our job to rebuild Earth and develop.'' The commotion during the One Year War brought about the unification, and babies who were born after the war like Banagher grew up listening to these adults. Thus, even if there’s people trying to start a space migrant independence or even start a large scale war because of this, it basically has nothing to do with them. It’s only that they would feel uneasy about hearing that some colony got wrecked because of war, but one could think that the chances of it was like being hit by a huge meteor. They were too unlucky, and could just treat it as other people’s business and forget about this. Movements of independence were just what people who to vent their depression as they weren’t able to get used to society. The stand that ‘lucky children who don’t know about war’ will never change, and it’s undoubted that tomorrow would be the same as today.

That girl was about the same age as he was, but the war she said ‘war’ had a different force from what the teacher said. It’s like a membrane covering a greenhouse breaking apart, and a strong gust of wind blew in. it’s also like a black spot that appears in an overly bright space, and then the shadow of the entire world appeared—

“Our company allows every factory to be independent financially. Thus, a group of uncouth people accepted the orders from Neo Zeon, causing both ally and enemy to have machines made from Anaheim. Thus, people would view Anaheim as death merchants. However, do not forget that the people in charge will be punished too…”

Then, I, who’s attending Anaheim Electronics Industrial College, am already part of war. Thinking about this thing that he had never thought about before, Banagher’s brain suddenly remembered the pure white color of the mobile suit he saw this morning outside the subway train window, and felt bothered by his far-fetched thinking.

The unicorn that cut through the vacuum dragged its white afterimage of its mobile suit like it was soaring in space. It flew towards the “Snail’, the creator of this world, the place where the colony builder was at, where normal people were forbidden from entering. If that girl was correct, that place would be the most critical place where the ‘war’ will be associated with.

Something was about to happen. No, maybe it had already happen, it’s just that he only saw part of it. it’s like a curtain was drawn right in front of his eyes. Banagher again looked outside the window, saw the airtight wall that was filled with an unknown thing, and felt something in his heart throbbing. Mr Bancroft’s voice that was becoming more excited moved the air.

“4 years late, in Universal Century year 100, the Republic of Zeon shall give up on its self-independence and will be drafted back into the Federation as Side 3. When the country in the name of Zeon is destroyed, Zeonism shall fall, and humanity will be united again. Just like how our grandfathers or fathers continued to exist for Earth and humanity to create this united government called this Earth Federation after so many tribulations. To inherit such a great legacy and let the Earth Celestial Sphere continue to develop, you young ones…”

===Part 5===

“Idiot, treating such words as well. That girl must be someone who’s enthusiastic about activity, thinking that the capitalist Earth is all evil and sort. That’s why she must be going over to Chairman Cardeas Vist.”

Puffing her slightly brown face, Micott Bartsch simply said. Banagher kicked aside Haro lightly while it was shouting ‘idiot, idiot’, and uneasily drank up his remaining coffee.

Studying in the private high school beside Anaheim Electronics, Micott’s dress code and verbal mannerisms were all a lot more free than the vocational school, and she wouldn’t even hesitate about entering other people’s schools. She came over to the vocation school to discuss about the night’s party during lunch break, and while Banagher tried to explain what happened in the morning, that was the answer she got.

The reality the girl said was the best weapon to deal with a boy who wanted to do something and was being all pumped up. Dressed in a hooded coat and shorts, Micott raised her leg as she sat on the bench, and Banagher avoided her gaze and said, “The chairman, as in, our vocation school?” he tried to avoid the thought that this may be true, and anyway, even if there was nothing he could say, he had to find something to say.

“That’s right. There’s a photo when you entered the school, right? Cardeas Vist, the largest stakeholder of Anaheim Electronics, also known as the second generation leader of the Vist Foundation that was the secret owner.”

“That person lives inside the ‘Snail’?”

That girl said that there was ‘someone she had to meet no matter what’. On hearing the term ‘secret owner’, Banagher’s heart started to pulsate. However…

“Idiot, how could such a big hotshot stay in such a rural space colony? The chairman’s just a title to him. He never even appeared in the graduation ceremonies before.”

Sitting beside Micott, Takuya put down the magazine he read halfway through and interrupted. That was the robot related monthly magazine he would regularly buy, and there was a photo of a mini mobile suit tournament on the cross-pages picture.

“But it seemed that he really has a house here! It’s said that the house was directly moved over from Earth. Even the ‘Snail’ was said to be Vist Foundation’s property.”

Micott’s father was the factory owner of the 3rd Industrial area, so she would often hear about such underground news. The factory owner over here in ‘Industrial 7’ could be said to be like a mayor in the States, and even though Micott was a rich princess who’s studying in a private school, she would continue to come over to this vocation school where the smell of grease was thick. Maybe its because this space colony was supported by the industry. She herself even said that ‘the boys in our school are boring, all spineless princes’.

“But isn’t the colony builder managed by the colony builder management? Why is it that there’s rumors of it being the Foundation’s personal property?”

“That’s because the colony builder management had some members of the Vist Foundation, right?”

“The rich ones are really different. Launching an entire house into space, that’s crazy.”

Takuya looked like he didn’t have any other thoughts as he said what he wanted and continued to read his magazine. An open secret’s really scary, so scary that it can numb a person’s sense for the strange, Banagher thought. However, he himself never heard of the name of Vist Foundation. Was it because he was transferred in midway through, or was it that he was too dazed for a long time? Banagher really couldn’t tell which was the reason, and he looked through the trees in the school as he wondered what happened to the girl.

Anaheim Electronics wasn’t just the largest military producer in the Earth Celestial sphere, but there’s a house for the sponsor in the ‘Snail’. It’s no wonder that the crazy radicals will rush in to kill just to oppose war. In fact, there’s a lot of terror attacks on Anaheim every way, and it’s said that there’s a lot of expenses on safety. Even if the chairman of the Institute was just an open title, even Micott knew about the relationship between the Vist Foundation and Anaheim. It’s likely that this leader may be attacked.

However, the girl’s eyes made Banagher feel that things weren’t that simple. She had a strong will, but those eyes weren’t the eyes of a fanatic. It’s different from all the people he met till now. Those jade-green eyes had a strong allure to them—

“The police’s looking for her? You better not get involved with this. If the army gets hold on this, you might not even have a job.”

Perhaps reading through his own thoughts, Micott said the absolute truth and ended the current conversation before looking over at Takuya. “Speaking of which, tonight’s party…” Banagher wasn’t interested in this topic and took Haro away before leaving.

''Do you think I don’t know about all of this?'' On one hand, he felt really angry, but on the other hand, his rationale side had to admit that Micott was right. His emotions that were being built up inside was forming a vortex inside him. It’s better not to get involved with her, and I know that. At the police’s side, he may be questioned hard by the police, and also by those executives in suits. Most likely, they would be public security personnel. ''If they’re eyeing me, my path to Anaheim will always be closed, and I may even be expelled from school and return back to the old colony of Side 1.''

The old city Banagher grew up in was the first of the space colonies that were built, and was at a corner where it was past its durability use. Other than old residents, there were refugees from war, people with unemployment and frustrated activists who were practically useless and had to rely on others. It was a small town where the circumstances were really bad, where the public drainage were often so bad that stench would always come out from it. Both mother and son seemed like they were fleeing from the sights of the world as they moved to his hometown, and it was the best place to live in for someone with no place to go. He also had the money his mother left behind, and he should be able to continue living on. However, there’s no future in that town.

Then, what about here? He intended to continue relying on this father of his who he had never met before and join the bottom rungs of the enterprise, but there wasn’t anything really different, nothing that he hasn’t seen. He didn’t have a goal, had no interests, and just felt ‘disjointed’ as the days pass. Does this mean that he had no future—he continued to be pressured by the swirling thoughts, and just when he quickly moved past the door, he heard a clear and refreshing voice “Are you Banagher Links?”. Banagher stopped.

There was an electric car parked on the road in front of the school gate, and a woman was standing right in front of it. The woman was wearing a fitting coat and tight skirt, and her long hair was tied behind her. She lifted her head and straightened her back, and one could tell from afar that she had a good figure that resembled a secretary of a large company. However, her face that didn’t have any make up made her look younger. Even though one could feel that she would fit into the school with just her appearance, the impression would change when they look into her eyes.

The emotionless blue eyes made it hard to tell whether she was focusing on him. The dark blue eyes that would remind one of the deep seas on earth made it look like there were two holes in front of her eyes. Banagher started to have goosebumps and picked Haro up from beside his feet. At this moment, the woman passed through the gate and said “that’s good. I have a question I want to ask you” as she approached. She was wearing a business suit, but Banagher realized that she was wearing sports shoes underneath.

“Can you please tell me what did the person you saved this morning say?”

The woman merely showed a smile, and behind her, two men got off the electric car. Both of them were dressed really casually, but their expressions and looks didn’t look friendly at all. Banagher felt that his hands which were holding onto Haro were sweating and asked back, “Are you the police?” The media didn’t reveal his name, and these people didn’t look like reporters. That robotic smile the woman gave didn’t change as she answered with silence.

Banagher felt that the air around him went cold as his knees were trembling. Something’s not right with these people. They had the same stench as of those frustrated activists in his hometown—those who were already used to violence. He looked away and backed off, “I told all I should say to the police.” He quickly said that and wanted to get back into the school. Immediately, his shoulder was grabbed from behind, and the foot that was about to step out missed the ground.

“Just say the same thing you said to them. We won’t do anything else then.”

The hand that was grabbing onto the shoulder didn’t let go as her blue eyes closed in while she continued on. The force wasn’t great, but his body still couldn’t move. It felt like he would be taken down if he tried to struggle. Banagher just felt that this action was of someone who was extremely skilled and forced out a hoarse voice, “What do you mean by that…” and the woman whispered to him, “You don’t want to be involved in trouble, right?” and exerted even more strength in her grip.

There was a sharp pain in his neck, and he let out a cry before he could endure it. His upper body couldn’t help but twist, and Haro dropped off his numbed fingertips. Banagher couldn’t breathe normally as he moved the only free eye. There weren’t any students nearby, and there weren’t any signs of the old guard beside the gate. These two men were standing behind the woman and creating a blind spot. He wanted to cry out, but his abdomen couldn’t exert force, and he could only let his sights move about before seeing those blue eyes again.

It was killing intent. The term that matched her blue hole-like eyes accompanied this chilling fact as it went down Banagher’s body. Unlike those activists who lost their way, these men were professional. They knew how to wreck a human body, they were soldiers—people who would use violence without hesitation if necessary. Just when he thought about this, he heard the woman say “Where did ‘she’ go?” Banagher inadvertently said out carelessly “‘The snail’…”

“‘The Snail’?” the woman asked back as she exerted even more force. The pain that was added on struck Banagher as he answered, “The, the colony builder!”

“She said that she had someone she wanted to meet and talk with…”

He spoke too much. Just when Banagher felt that despair the moment he let out his voice, the pain suddenly vanished, and his body that regained its freedom took a few steps back. Banagher finally managed to support his knees and turned over to look at the woman who had already turned around. The two men who followed her from behind quickly left the school gate as if they weren’t looking at Banagher at all.

“You can’t possibly get over to the ‘Snail’…! It’s forbidden there. There’s also construction areas all around. You can’t even get over there!”

Banagher held his aching shoulder and shouted out unhappily. The woman stopped, and the beige hair that had a bit of orange was moved by the wind as she used those emotionless blue eyes to stare at Banagher.

“I’ll remember that. Thank you, Banagher-kun.”

It was a tone that was without compassion nor arrogance, which made Banagher feel all the more humiliated. The woman just took the electric car and left with the men. Banagher used his last ounce of courage to run out of the school gate and glared at the electric car that was gradually moving away. The electric car took a turn at the road beside the school and immediately went missing. Obviously, they were headed towards the Industrial area.

That girl was chased by people, and they weren’t the people—but more like guerillas who were like soldiers. “A war will happen.” “There’s still time” to stop it.” voices like this accompanied the weight of the current situation as they echoed in his head. However, Banagher didn’t think of what to do at this moment. He felt even more guilty that he succumbed to violence and let out these words.

Having stayed in the old city that was like a slum, Banagher developed a resistance to violence. He had a belief that if he had to fight or hide, he would be stronger than an ordinary boy. But the fact was that right now, he was no different from a child. He just said everything out just to avoid pain. He knew that this would bring about danger to the girl, but he couldn’t even muster a lie in his mind—no, he was just that spineless.

“I’m really…weak.”

He remembered those jade green eyes that had some anxiety in them. ‘How spineless’. The words echoed in his heart. Banagher gripped his fists hard and couldn’t help but run out.

At this moment, he didn’t even have the rationale mindset to think about his future as his body went hot from the impulse of trying to make up for his own mistake. Banagher and Haro, which caught up, went to the nearest electric car park.

===Part 6===

Having come all the way here, one would really feel that Industrial 7 was really a space colony that was being built.

The block that was completed was only 20km long, and right in front of it was the colony builder unit ‘wheel’, and the inside was 3.2km long and 1.6km wide. The construction area was divided into 4 parts. One of the land cabled structure has 4 territorial blocks that’s being built, and these were lined together without much any bumps. There’re 6 of these land cable structures that surround all 360 degrees on the inside of the wall of the space colony. This scene itself wasn’t just a congruent sight itself, but one would realize that if they peel off this foil of artificial earth, they would just be living in a cylinder. It’s a barren and lonely sight.

For the past 10 years, she had been to many places, including Earth, but she had never seen a space colony that was being built on the inside. As she stood in front of wire mesh that separated her from inside, the girl didn’t look bored as she looked at the large builder unit. The large unit builder was a large metal frame that was about the same as the area block. The lines that run on the rail were moving about, fastening the area block that was under construction, and the fully automatic machines will finish off the area blocks that they were supposed to construct. Simply put, these were extremely large industrial machines, the basis of the land making process.

Based on the information on the mesh wire, a construction would take about a week. The first construction will move onto the second one, and the second one will move onto the third one. It will move all the lines on the area blocks to be completed systematically as it progresses, and it will move back once the fourth construction was complete to the first construction. This was the day when the final construction will be completed, and the other side of the wire mesh look busy. Work vehicles and cars with supervising civil servants would move about to and fro. Once the construction group back off, a new ‘land’ will be completed, so the district office itself would be busy. They had to check the name of the area according to the city’s plan, and also check the electric cables and the underground sewage. There were a whole lot of things they had to do.

The land builder units would back away in all 6 lines and return back to the start. The wheel itself would back away too. In other words, the colony will increase in length by 1.6km. At that time, the colony itself would let a siren and get ready for a slight tremor that would coming with the growth. However, what would be the scene of 6 builder units rolling at the same time when they’re more than 3km long and about the height of 25 levels? Just thinking about it alone made it exciting, but right now, the current situation wouldn’t allow for her to sightsee leisurely. She looked away from the high builder unit and looked at the construction gate that’s between the wire mesh fence.

Though there were guards, the security wasn’t strict. Maybe vehicles could sneak in here. However, there was a problem. She didn’t know what the builder unit looked like, and even if she passed through it, there were still 3 blocks of area blocks that were under construction. She didn’t feel that she could walk 6km into this construction area without being discovered, and especially when there was the commotion this morning, it’s likely that the police may be watching them.

The girl looked up at the artificial sun that was shining through the clouds. She wondered if she could walk over through there. It’s impossible to see from here when the land builder was blocking, but the artificial sun that passes through the space colony would extend out to the airtight wall on the other side where the moon was, and it would form part of the basis of the gantry linking to the colony builder. The gantry would often let out construction materials and dust as cranes would then move these materials to the construction site. Thus, it should be easy to sneak in through the artificial sun.

And since this path is inaccessible, she could only move through the construction area if she wanted to get near the colony builder. The girl again looked at the gate of the construction site. As she noticed the cars and the guards who were busy dealing with them, kyururu…her stomach rumbled.

She immediately looked around. Luckily, there wasn’t anyone nearby. Even if there were though, the sounds of car moving through would overpower it so much that it couldn’t be heard. However, she still felt herself blushing unknowingly. The girl hasn’t ate for more than half a day, and wondered how she was actually able to be hungry at this moment. But on the other hand, she could understand the importance of eating. The girl sighed. She should have taken some dry food when she left the Garancieres, but it’s now too late to regret about this.

She was thirsty too, and in this situation, her concentration will drop. Also, it’ll be easy for someone to spot her when she remain at the same place for a long time. The girl left the scene and head towards the Industrial area in the street construction block. On the way, she went by a large trailer that had lots of mini mobile suits on, which caused her face to be covered with dust that flew off the road. At this moment, she suddenly remembered about that boy she met in the morning, his presence.

The boy who desperately reached his hand out of the mobile suit cockpit to save her life while she was floating in the air seemed to be an ordinary citizen. ''Why was he able to do that? What happened to him after that? I should have at least thanked him…''

===Part 7===

To ease the stress of being hidden in a sealed space, the space colony had routes that were designed to be part of the city’s plan. One of them was the commercial area that was right beside the construction area. The thin and long path had shops littered on both sides of the road, and each of the shops were set up to their ideal image, causing the street to look like those remaining shopping streets in those old cities on Earth. The back of the short roofs had builder units that were like hills, and clouds that covered the airtight wall facing the moon. The area just felt like a rural town.

It was 1pm, and all the eateries were no longer packed with workers. The shopping streets entered a time of relaxation. She snuck in between some old people and some housewives with children and continued walking down the street. There were bakeries, bookstores, customer service shops and eateries. At times, there would be the smell of hot dogs or oily Chinese food coming out from the messy row of streets. Though she could drink from the water cooler in the park when she’s thirsty, her empty stomach couldn’t be filled, and if she let her guard down, it would rumble again, which would make it embarrassing.

However, she was more worried about the housewives who were walking by and glancing at her. She had firm belief that she wasn’t caught on camera by the port’s surveillance camera, so nobody would suspect that she was the one involved in the incident this morning. Or maybe her clothing was rather strange for the people here? She checked on the internet for the latest fashion trend before she left for Palau and tried her best not to choose the most outstanding on. As she looked at herself through a glass window on a cupboard in a shop, the girl wondered whether it was because she buttoned up her collar. However, she didn’t want to opened her collar so randomly, so she started working again.

She made preparations before, but there would be lots of trouble when it came to reality. To her, who never carried money or credit cards before, she didn’t know that she couldn’t buy bread without having money as it was not part of her knowledge. Thus, she made the mistake of running out without taking the money. I really don’t understand social rules—the girl thought as she felt even more depressed. She had no experience of going out alone. Speaking of which, she did watch a romantic movie about a princess in a small country who slipped out onto the streets for a day of happiness. It was an old century film. The story was ordinary, but the actress who acted as a princess who did not know anything was really charismatic, and it was a movie she really liked. What was the name of that actress?

Thinking about it hard, the girl suddenly realized that she was seriously thinking of the actress’ name. She abandoned the useless dream behind her. The princess in the movie was just leaving a boring duty, but she had something she had to do. Ever since they knew that she was opposed to this deal, Zinnerman didn’t reveal anything more about this deal to her. Thus, she wasn’t certain when the interaction with Vist Foundation would be held, and where. However, some of the other crew members said that it would begin at evening, and it’ll be too slow for her if she continued to laze around. Palau should have found out that she was missing. She had to be faster—the girl left the shopping street, entered a complicated alley, and found a van parked in a dead end.

She looked at the van that was filled with metal filings, and thought that it would be impossible to get on. She then looked over at the driver’s seat. She didn’t want to use this method, but would it be possible to talk to the driver and let him help transport her into the construction area? She could say that she wanted to get closer to see the colony being built. If she’s successful, she could even get inside the area builder. If she could get in and understand the rough situation…

Suddenly, she felt a stare from behind. It’s like someone who had been prone suddenly lifting its face, a stare that was full of intent. Her body unknowingly tensed up, but she didn’t make the mistake of turning around carefully. The girl quickly turned around a corner, but there was a man who blocked his way on the alley, causing her to stop.

The man was dressed in a short coat, and his cap was kept low. The girl recognized his face. He was a member of the Garencieres. The girl intended to leave the alley before the man walked over, but two people were standing at the exit of the alley, blocking her escape.

The exhaust fan from the restaurant pumped out greasy smoke, and the alley only had dirty trash bins fallen about as there was no one else around. Knowing that she had nowhere to go, the girl hid her uneasy feeling as she faced the two people who blocked her getaway. She didn’t think of why she was discovered. She knew that the crew of the Garancieres could do this.

And if Marida joined in the search—the girl pulled about 3m away as she stared at Marida. Marida was wearing an office suit as a disguise, yet it couldn’t hide her ominous presence. The girl knew that she would be immediately caught at such a distance, and used her eyes to tell her not to be rude. Marida’s expression showed a shift, and one could tell that she was wavering,

“Let’s head back, princess.”

Heading that little wavering in her, Marida said, “The captain’s worried about you.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Please consider your position. If you’re discovered by the Federation at such a place, who knows what would happen…”

She stepped forward while wearing the sports shoes. Even if the disguise wasn’t perfect, it’s really Marida’s style not to wear high heels. “It’s because I thought of this that I did it.” The girl used a tone that fit her ‘position’ and prevented Marida from moving forward.

“Right now, we can’t use the ‘Laplace Box’. No matter what kind of thing it is, Full Frontal will only use it as a tool and start a meaningless conflict. You should know that, right?”

“I don’t understand. I just listen to orders.”

“You’re lying. You’re just escaping. The ‘power’ that was given to you normally wouldn’t be used in such a place.”

The girl didn’t just say this randomly. Marida, who would blindly listen to Zinnerman’s orders and never faced her own life—showed wavering in her blue eyes again and looked away from the girl, but the ominous presence on her body didn’t subside. Marida recollected her expressionless look as she looked over, “Princess…pardon me for my rudeness.”

With such a signal, the crew member standing behind put his hand on the girl’s shoulder. He did control his strength, the skilled move wasn’t something that could be shaken off whenever anyone wanted to. The girl saw Marida and the other crew member close in and shouted, “How rude! Let go of me!” as she continued to struggle. At this moment, a loud alarm suddenly rang throughout the entire alley.

The sound was so loud that it probably didn’t just ring through the alley, but also possibly through the road. Even Marida was stunned as she looked around. The girl saw the crew member beside her reach for a gun in his chest, and the force on her shoulder was weakened. She used this chance to struggle hard and escaped from his grasped.

The girl dodged past the hand Marida reached out for the first time and went around the corner. Amidst the siren, she could hear Marida call out “Princess…!”. However, the girl continued to run. She turned around several corners, went through a narrow alley, and was aiming for a main street with people on. However, the girl soon lost her way, and as she looked around at a crossroad, someone suddenly grabbed her on the wrist from beside her.

The soft hand was different from Marida and the rest. The familiar feeling appeared through the girl’s mind as she even forgot to struggle and looked at the owner of the hand. That was the face of the person who saved her from impasse.

The head that was full of sweat and the dark brown eyes were staring at the girl’s eyes. Why…? The girl thought, and then heard the boy’s shout, “Over here!” The girl was pulled away by the hand. She ran from behind, and the ball-shaped robot beside the foot started to roll. The noisy alarm suddenly stopped. It seemed that this mascot-like robot was the one that made the sound.

The boy pulled the girl along in this narrow alley and continued to run through complicated alleys without hesitation. The girl was certain that he was that boy through the robot and the deep blue jacket in front of him, and continued to follow him and run. It may be careless for her to follow a stranger, but right now, she couldn’t allow herself to be caught by Marida. The boy who seems familiar with this place is leading, so let’s have him lead. The girl continued to run between the gaps of the packed houses.

Also, the hands of this boy were easing themselves to prevent hurting her and yet grabbing tightly so and not letting go. She was helped by a lot of hands before, but the girl never grabbed such a hand that grabbed onto hers firmly and without hesitation. It was unexpectedly soft too; it had the weakness of age as it was tightly sticking to her skin.

''I was saved by these hands twice. Who is this boy?'' At this moment, the girl forgot that she was being pursued and seriously looked at the back of the boy.

===Part 8===

The self-defense alarm system inside Haro actually worked in such an unexpected manner. While sweating and holding onto the girl’s hand, Banagher moved through the alleys of the shopping area.

Banagher didn’t come to the construction site only one or twice, so he had roughly remembered the entire place. He just needed to head over to the distribution center to compare the vehicle license plate that terrifying woman and the rest used and confirm their location. It wouldn’t be too difficult for him to take the initiative. Banagher intended to use the complicated alleys to shake off their pursuers, that is, if they weren’t caught in the process.

He first heard the breath of the girl behind her. Then, it was Haro, who was bouncing like a ball as its body was of strengthened plastic with an enhanced layer of rubber. Haro used the spring inside its frame to jump, and as the center maintains the movement, it couldn’t turn right immediately. After turning around a few times, Banagher picked up Haro, put it in a gap that’s 50cm wide between two houses, and used his expression to call the girl over. He thought that she would hesitate for a while, but the girl actually followed Banagher and entered the gap.

The gap was so small that he had to tilt himself sideways just to walk through. After walking through it, they used the piled up garbage for footing to climb up the walls. Then, they continued to move down through a corridor in the air near the roofs. A granny who was watching television inside a window turned around in surprise. A stray cat was scared away by this sudden intruder, and someone angrily shouted, “WHO’S THAT BRAT!” While stepping on the cheap plastic roofs, Banagher continued leap off them, and the girl nimbly followed him as her purple shawl fluttered with the wind.

After moving for about 20m, the rows of roofs vanished, and a large space appeared in front of them. They arrived at the boundary of the commercial area and the industrial area. Normally speaking, the area was a road, but the houses here were built towards the wired fence. This was a screen that couldn’t be seen unless one deliberately look from the ‘wide space’ where there’s deliberately no set up. Banagher checked that he reached the end of the cable like as planned, looked at the colony builder units that’s several hundred meters in front of him, and again turned to look at the landscape from a height of about 3 levels.

There’s a small pile of dirt beside the fence, and there’s no construction worker. Thinking about this, Banagher thought that this would be faster than climbing down the fence and turned to look at the girl. But before he could ask whether they should jump, the girl’s determined look was facing him as she jumped onto the pile of dirt. I lost to her…Banagher thought and carried Haro before jumping.

Banagher’s feet landed into the soft dirt and beside the girl. He climbed out from the pile of dirt that was at his chest level, spit out the dirt that entered his mouth, and saw that the girl who had already climbed out from here and slid down. They ran for a long distance, and those who don’t know the landscape wouldn’t know such a path. Banagher wanted to take a short breath and called the girl “Oi…”, but the girl stared sharply back and him and shouted, “HURRY UP!”

“MARIDA WILL CATCH UP TO US LIKE THIS!”

The girl’s jade-green eyes showed anxiety. It was really the expression of that girl. “Marida, as in that scary big sister?” The girl angrily growled back without answering Banagher’s question, “Hurry up!” and started to run off. Banagher climbed out from the pile of dirt and hurriedly followed behind.

He grabbed the hand of the girl who was intending to run to the outside of the builder area, said “Over here” and was about to pull her back, but immediately felt the girl gasp. He looked over at where she was looking at, and found that it was the woman who went through the residential area and was standing on the layers of overlapping roofs. The pretty-looking woman called Marida was looking over. Her blue eyes narrowed to a fine line. The next moment, the feet with sports shoes on them stamped onto the ground, and the hair that was tied into a ponytail fluttered. The body easily leaped past the metal wire and the pile of dirt as she landed on the ground.

She was as nimble as a cat. “No way…” Banagher couldn’t believe it, and the girl grabbed his hand, shouting, “HURRY UP AND RUN!” Banagher pulled her hand and ran towards the builder unit. The pyramid-like large monorail track and the structure was like a hill. On seeing this structure that was so large that it occupied their line of sight, they ran to a workyard with construction materials and mini mobile suits.

“What should we do?”

“YOU WANT TO GET OVER TO THE ‘SNAIL’, RIGHT?”

Banagher roared as he answered the girl and saw the crowd that was scattering in front of the builder unit like ants. It’s about time for the colony to expand and the creation of new land. They were already moving through the workers that were moving back, and one of them who looked like the worker head shouted, “Oi! Who are you!” Banagher went by the man and got near to a slope near the monomial stop. Looking back, he saw Marida easily pushing aside the workers who were coming over, and they were less than 20m away. Banagher’s idea to stand up and adjust his breathing was gone as he desperately ran up the slope.

The mobile rail of the builder units—the monorail was located at a place 1.5 times the height of the units away, but 170m high. The construct that looked like a triangle from the front was set in front of both sides of the builder. And at the start, or the end, there’s a builder unit linked to the slope used for transportation. Banagher was climbing up this slope. In other words, if he continued to run up this slope to the top, he would reach the ceiling of the builder unit.

[[Image:KSGU 205.jpg|thumb]]

The ceiling was 25 levels high from the builder, and there’re another few levels to the link point of the monorail. It’s a slope where a cart could move, but it would be really tiring to run up about several hundred meters at one go. He panted quite a few times, but on the way there, his feet started to feel lighter, and it felt like the muscles on his waist seemed to be floating from his bones. That’s because the further he was from the ground—the further off from the inside of the colony made the centrifuge force weaker.

There’s no high-rise buildings inside the space colony, and one could tell that the centrifuge force could only be used for a height of about 5,6 levels. The higher he climbed, the more his body felt the weakening of gravity. Banagher felt that such physics laws was really useful for the first time as his running motion was like long jumping continuously. However, it would be the same for the pursuer ass well. Marida kicked the slope with much more leg power and suddenly accelerated. Her hand reached r the back of the girl, and only missed her shoulder by inches. However, she didn’t mess up her rhythm as she continued to pull her distance close. She was just like a machine that didn’t know fatigue. ''We can’t run away, we’ll be caught in the next second.'' Getting ready for this, Banagher suddenly heard a deep-sounding alarm.

At the same time, the warning lights on both sides of the slope rang, and a slow tremor went through their legs. Banagher used all his strength to move his legs and pulled the girl over at him. Because of the tremor, Marida’s feet became slower, and the link to the slope was being dragged up, turning a straight lane to a 2m tall wall. Banagher shouted: “Jump!” and leaped at the wall that’s rising.

Shaking off the gravity that was less than half of usual, both of them jumped with Haro, and their fingertips reached the edge of the wall. Banagher grabbed the rising wall, and the girl did the same too, but her fingers nearly slipped. Banagher grabbed the girl’s hand and climbed the wall. They didn’t stop rising, but they saw Marida, who couldn’t jump in time, slowly becomg slower.

The builder unit was starting to move. The builder unit that was stuck on the new block of land rose up the monorail by 170m. It moved into the moving circuit before starting to move horizontally. The unit just moved though the builder circuit and retreated back to the airtight wall facing the moon before starting to work from the first construction area.

Banagher checked that the girl and Haro were both fine, and for a short while, didn’t have the strength to move a he looked at the landscape that was getting further and further away. Marida continued to remain on the broken slope as she looked over. There’s no anger or disappointment in her eyes, just eyes that were as empty as a cave.

===Part 9===

All the gates would be closed when they’re moving. Thus, nobody could enter the inside of the builder unit. Both of them dragged their tired legs and continued moving up the remaining part of the slope before reaching the top part of the builder unit. Right in front of their eyes was a hilly region that was composed of metal frames that was tilted towards the inside, creating a gradual gradient of materials that extend far beyond. This size wasn’t to be described with a number of football fields, but one that could accommodate the entire city.

Banagher spread his limbs out wide on the floor of the passage linking both frames. He felt like he was lying on the clouds, most likely because he felt that gravity was weakened. The girl sat beside him, and both of them spent a little time regaining their breaths. The builder unit was already starting to move, and the breeze that gently blew by felt refreshing on the sweaty body.

“We can ride on this to the airtight wall near the moon. We can get close to the ‘Snail’…the hatch of the space colony builder, but I don’t know whether we can get in.”

Having finally adjusted his breathing, Banagher said this, and the girl merely answered softly, “Is that so…” without even looking back. Her voice sounded drastically different like she couldn’t even keep up with the sudden changes around her, and she had already used up all her strength just looking around.

“My name’s Banagher, Banagher Links. What’s yours?”

Banagher sat up, wanting to catch the girl’s attention. The girl let out an “eh?” and exchanged looks with Banagher, but immediately averted her eyes and said softly, “Erm, I’m called Audrey Burne…”

Audrey. Banagher felt that this was a nice name, but he didn’t have the courage to say it out, and looked away unnaturally. Haro instead came in between them and shouted, “Haro Haro” as it fawned around. The girl’s tense expression became relaxed somewhat as she reached her hands out to grab Haro.

The first time he saw her smile, Banagher had a strange feeling that the artificial sun got brighter, and then told her, “It’s Haro.” But Audrey gave him a puzzled look.

“Don’t you know? This is a souvenir robot made by the ace pilot of the war. It’s rather popular when you were young, right?”

“No idea, I’ve been living in the countryside.”

''Which countryside?'' Banagher looked at her face that was becoming more earnest and wanted to ask more, but Audrey’s smile suddenly vanished as she asked, “Why did you save me?” Having been asked this, Banagher was at a loss of words.

“That’s because…I don’t want people to call me spineless.”

''Actually, it’s because I was unhappy that I was threatened by that big sister''…he didn’t want to say this, and he felt that it wasn’t just that too. However, Audrey frowned and looked aside. Right now, her confused mental state was full of doubts. Seeing her without any response at all, Banagher said, “That, that’s what you said!”

“Me?”

“Yeah. I was then caught by the police. And I met that scary big sister when I went back to school…”

“Then, you followed Marida and the others?”

Interrupting the misunderstood explanation, Audrey stared at his eyes and said. Just when Banagher was left speechless by her fast understanding, her clear jade-colored eyes shook, and her expression because gentle after understanding what happened. She suddenly blurted out a ‘sorry’, which stunned Banagher.

“If I told you off for being spineless, I’ll take that back. It seemed that I misunderstood you.”

“Misunderstood?”

“Misunderstood you for being a person trapped in your own little world.”

Such unrestrained words caused Banagher to be stunned. He stared at Audrey’s face, who in turn looked like she didn’t say anything wrong, and again felt unhappy for being hit on the sore point before shouting shrilling, “EVERYONE’S LIKE THAT!”

“Everyone’s been living in such an exaggerated cylinder. Can’t that do?”

“That’s not it. I apologize if my words do sound scathing…because I have never experienced such a life before.”

That somewhat shocked look on her face looked like she had never expected her words to hurt other people, and she looked like a strange creature who lived in a completely different habitat. Banagher asked in disappointment, “Are you some rich princess or something?” Audrey herself smiled as she answered,

“A duckweed floating about. That’s how I was born like.”

Her gaze turned to the builder unit that was moving on the lane beside them and said in a self-mocking manner. Banagher secretly glanced at her somewhat lonely looking face, and felt that she was someone who he could get along with, and said, “Is that so…then I’m the same too.” Audrey didn’t answer as the artificial sun that seemed to have gone brighter shone on the duo’s head.

The builder would spend about 30 minutes to retreat completely from the builder cable that’s more than 6km long and would dock at the airtight wall facing the moon. During this time, both of them cautiously moved through the wide roof and moved to the other side of the builder unit. It was on both sides of the roof, but the distance was about 1.6km. Once they finished walking, the builder unit had finished moving.

They were only moving about 20km per hour on the builder cable, but the wind that blew by was exceptionally strong too. Banagher let Audrey move in front and carried Haro as he followed from behind silently. This is in case Audrey was about to fall off in the wind, but even in low gravity, her body wasn’t blown away by the wind. The cabled rail didn’t let out any sounds of tremor as only the wind surrounded both of them.

“Who were your pursuers?”

After going through half of the roof, Banagher asked. This was the one question that appeared in his heart amongst the pile of questions.

“My allies. I escaped from them.”

The wind blew Audrey’s brown short hair as she casually sad. Banagher remembered what Micott said and tentatively said, “Are you an activist or something?”

“Activist?”

“Those that oppose the Federation or want the independence of spacenoids or something…”

“…Yeah. That’s sort of correct, but it may be scarier than what you think.”

Looking up at the airtight room where blocked her path, Audrey gave a wry smile. It’s unknown whether that expression was either to mock Banagher’s foolishness or herself. Banagher felt that a war that far exceeded his expectations was about to start and swallowed his saliva. He felt that he could be involved in it and lifted his head, and felt that his sweat and body went cold.

He looked up at the artificial sun that was gradually becoming yellow, and then looked at the watch which showed 2.15pm. He skipped all his lessons, and since it’s vocational classes where everyone’s split up, he couldn’t print notes from Takuya. ''What should I do? And I think I have to go to the principal’s office after school''…Most likely, his mind subconsciously forgot about his fear, and right now, he’s thinking about all these things. Banagher looked back and saw a street behind it. That was a familiar street that included Anaheim Electronics Industrial College, and the road just looked like it realy faded.

“You said that there won’t be any war, right?”

He turned to look at the girl’s back in front of him and said cautiously. Audrey immediately stopped.

“You said that you have to meet someone to prevent a war from happening. That’s…”

Suddenly, noise and tremors interrupted Banagher’s words. Banagher was shocked and ran beside Audrey before looking in front.

With the builder unit moving back, the colony started to extend. The ‘Wheel’ that covered the outer wall moved, and ‘Industrial 7’ slowly became longer. Inside it, Banagher and Audrey saw the airtight wall facing the moon backing off as the inner wall that’s sliced into a ring moved.

The cylinder that was 6.4km in diameter rumbled, and the airtight room and the gap between the inner wall of the ring gradually expanded. From between the expanding, through the first construction area that was under way and an area block that was only composed of frames, they could see the insider wall of the ‘Wheel’, and the ‘landscape’ of the colony that wasn’t completed was shown outside. The 6 colony units that were moving back through the cabled rails will enter the gap together to builder the outer wall of the colony, and then continue to move forward. It would continue to build the remaining area blocks in each construction area in order, creating new earth in the colony.

The earth rolled together with the ground, and the builder unit was trapped inside like a hill—this ‘creation of the earth’ seen was already a common sight to Banagher, but the majestic scene of this large movement would make anyone amazed no matter how many times he saw it. Audrey seemed to have the same feeling as she muttered, “Amazing…” she looked completely moved. The glow let out by the jade colored eyes seemed to show an expression a person of her age should have.

“Is this the first time you’re seeing this?”

Audrey nodded as she answered Banagher’s question, but her eyes couldn’t leave the scene in front of her. The clouds that were moving, the airtight wall that was moving further, the base of the artificial sun that got expanded, and the temporary storeroom that was floating beside like a spaceship—

“The world’s gradually becoming bigger…”

Audrey suddenly saud that. Her expression and thoughts weren’t like a girl who’s living in a path of Shura far beyond anyone’s imagination. It was a voice filled with similar thoughts and values. The anxiety and terror immediately disappeared as Banagher smiled. He stood beside Audrey, who wasn’t even aware of herself, and looked in front.

Unlike the faded streets behind, the brightness of the world in front of them obviously increased. Breathing the air of the ‘world’ that was just born, Banagher lifted his head and looked at the airtight wall with a metal bowl-shaped depression. At the base of it, the gate leading to the colony builder—the ‘Snail’ was covered in clouds, and they couldn’t see it.

===Part 10===

The expansion work on the space colony resonated with a side of the colony builder. It was 2.30pm, and the ‘Wheel’ finished moving. The ‘Magallanica’s retractable deck buzzed silently like how it was supposed to. However, this retractable deck of the ‘Magallanica’ could hold a battleship. As according to the nickname ‘Snail’, there’s a snail shell riding on its back. It’s more than 300m in diameter and 1km deep. This place was linked to the airtight wall facing the moon on Industrial 7, and was also the exit where building materials were moved. In that sense, it’s more accurate to describe it as a small scale port.

In one of the areas, Cardeas Vist was watching the silent buzzing—the packaging of the RX-0 ‘Unicorn’. The white machine had more than ten personnel preparing it, sealing the hatch or sticking warning labels all over it. That’s a common scene when exchanging goods, but the personnel realized that they weren’t doing an orthodox handing-over and kept silent. They weren’t using a normal mobile suit fixation unit but a special containment that’s highly confined, which is another reason why they were silent. The ‘Unicorn’, which was being packaged inside the box with spare parts and equipment, looked like a toy robot in a model shop. Or rather…a top secret machine in a box.

If there’s a need to mention something different, it’s that the manufacturer wouldn’t accept refunds or repairs, which was why they put in a large number of repair parts and waste materials. The limbs were tied together to prevent the person using it from spoiling it immediately. However, Cardeas himself suspected whether this would be effective or not. If the ‘Unicorn’ were to go full power, such a level of restrain could be destroyed. The unique frame, capabilities and limits of this machine wasn’t completely grasped too…

He thought about all these as he lifted his head to watch the beam rifle being dragged by a mini mobile suit. Gael wordlessly floated over to stand beside him. Seeing Gael move so fluidly under zero gravity and land on both feet, Cardeas wordlessly prompted him to state his intent.

“The second lift camera captured this footage just now.”

Gael handed over some photos of a girl’s face that was entering the cargo lift. Cardeas stared at the face that’s slightly above, and gasped.

[[Image:KSGU 217.jpg|thumb]]

“…Why is ‘she’…?”

“Not sure, but she’s coming here. There’s a report that said that there was an intruder that came in through the maintenance path of the artificial sun, but the identity and whereabouts were unknown. Maybe it’s ‘her’.”

She had brown short hair and a taunting expression as it looked like she was deliberately exposing her face and looking up at the camera. If it was a disguise, it would be too brilliantly done. For 10 years, she had never shown a photo of herself. However, 3 years ago, Cardeas saw a photo of hers that the Federation intelligence managed to capture successfully. He could only admit that she was here.

But why was she here? After shuffling through several photos, Cardeas saw the other person who rode the elevator with ‘her’, and couldn’t help but widen his eyes. A shock that was different from seeing ‘her’ face pierced through his heart, and he felt his own hand that’s holding the photo shaking.

“What about this boy?”

“Seemed like her companion. A little too young to be an escort…”

At this moment, Gael stopped, having definitely sensed his shock. Cardeas used his utmost will to control the trembling in his hand and finished looking through the remaining photos.

The dark brown eyes inherited from his mother, and the slightly round face. It couldn’t be a mistake. The ‘tumor’ in his life he kept till now actually appeared at such a moment, and with ‘her’—

“Do we have contact with the ‘Sleeves’?”

Cardeas spent 10 seconds just to let out a voice that didn’t tremble as he asked while ignoring Gael’s concernted look.

“No. But there’s a little commotion in the construction area. There may be a mutiny too.”

“So ‘she’s working on her own too…”

Considering the current situation with the sleeves, this isn’t impossible, but the reason as to why ‘she’ came over wouldn’t be enough to explain why the boy came with ‘her’. His life had no involvement with the ‘Sleeves’ in the first place. What happened? What caused him to come here? Cardeas didn’t want to talk about such ‘private affairs’ to the ‘corporate’ professional Gael as he continued to stare at the people in the photos.

“This may cause an obstruction to the transport of the ‘Box’. Must I send her back?”

Gael said. Cardeas looked at his upright stare, and then lowered his head as he looked back at the photos. At this point, the word dilemma came to his mind.

===Part 11===

Once they took the lift down and went through the defenceless gantry gate, they entered the closest elevator. Another 1,500m down to their destination and it was the residential area of the colony builder.

This was the inner area that was on the inside of the 'Snail'. This residential area that had only half the diameter of the space colony had only half the gravity. Banagher and Audrey floated out from the elevator and entered the plains with very little gravity. The outside was a complete green, and there weren't any people around, and neither were there the sounds of vehicle or mini mobile suits moving. The relaxed voices of the birds was the only thing accompanying the air. This shrill and peaceful silence that would hurt the ears made it feel like a completely different world from the noisy industrial space colony.

Under the flat artificial sun that was illuminating the ceiling, the green pasture looked like it filled the entire inner wall. To the people who would only think that there was only the sight of industrial resource facilities and worker dormitories, this scene would be too unexpected. As the gravity was weaker, the grasses and trees were taller than those in the space colonies, but looked like they were properly trimmed, which made them look odd. This place had tectonic plates that were of an even smaller scale, and if one didn't look around, it would appear to be flat ground. This place also had a luxurious looking villa, and the fountain in the garden was still flowing with water. One would feel that the name 'colony builder' was a lie as what anyone would see was similar to a garden commonly seen in old-century houses of the nobility and the fabled tycoon's private land.

“Just like what Micott said...”

The structure of the Vist Foundation villa itself was moved directly from Earth. Banagher stared at the villa in an engrossed manner that could only be described as 'luxurious'. This should be called a Tudor dynasty mansion, a stone structure that almost couldn't be seen at all in the space colonies. It was 100m wide and the corridor at the front had become all grey because of the erosion. The overwhelming feeling of a fortress would make any viewer feel fear. The wide blue sky and the clouds as a backdrop made it no different from Earth.

[[Image:KSGU 221.jpg|thumb]]

What should be an old-styled donut-shaped space colony was shown in the sky. The axis seemed to be like Industrial 7 itself, and the afternoon lighted the mansion tiredly. Banagher hid behind the shrub and looked at the situation at the villa. However, he was stunned by Audrey, who stood up out of a sudden. Even though they were able to walk in unguarded up till now, there wasn't any guarantee that they could pass through safely.

“Are you going?” On hearing these words, Audrey stopped and turned around with a look that seemed to say “What are you doing here?”

“I can go alone. You can head back.”

At this moment, she gave a tone that seemed to emphasize the end of the line. “Bu...” Banagher's voice was filled with doubt, and Audrey turned around.

“They found out that I'm here. They're ready to invite me in.”

“Do the Vist Foundation know you?”

Her eyebrows twitched, showing that she was wavering somewhat “So you really needed to meet someone of the Foundation...” without waiting for him to finish, Audrey turned around and walked off. Banagher snorted and moved off in larger strides than Audrey.

“Banagher-san...”

“There may be a terrifying big sister out there waiting for me. It's safer for me to go ahead.”

How could he turn around at this now that he came all the way here? “Also, call me Banagher.” After he said that, Banagher carried Haro, who couldn't move really well on the grass, and asked: “Right?” Haro energetically answered back “Haro!” as the voice echoed in his chest.

Banagher took this as a yes and started to walk to the villa. Forget about being served. If we're going to be captured, there's no need to lead us all the way here. He was thinking that since there was no danger, he might as well come to the inside of the 'Snail' since it was a rare chance itself. The colony builder was a mothership that was meant to develop the Jupiter Celestial area. Since he was a technical student who volunteered to go to Jupiter, he was interested in this technology.

In fact, through this viewpoint, moving the green pastures of the Earth to this residential areas was meaningful. To extract the radioactive fuel Helium-3, there was regular transport to Jupiter. However, the total journey of 1.6 billion km would take several years, and it's said that it's not uncommon to see cases where the crew members collapse mentally. Even the Earth would bd buried amidst the deep outer space with countless stars in them—maybe it's because the colony builder was supposed to head to a place that's too far for the human soul to work at alone that such a haven was needed. More than half the human population were in space colonies, and became space residents that didn't understand real nature. However, it need not be just a visual thing, as a 'nature' that could be touched, stepped on and snigged at could save the human soul.

“If we can't leave the ground, what Newtypes can we even talk about...”

She unwittingly muttered that. While Banagher answered back “Eh?”, Audrey gave a vague smile and moved her feet that stopped before. He didn't even know why he felt this way. He didn't have any interest in Zeon Deikun's Newtype theory. Was it because he just heard of the history lesson before?

After a short walk, the grassland that was as high as the knees became a flat green. They were already close enough to see the fine details of the villa. It seemed that there wasn't anyone around, and there wasn't any perimeter wall or gate surrounding the house. Maybe this entire land was private property, and that they entered the garden already.

In that case, they didn't need to think about intruding illegally. Banagher climbed up the stairs leading to the atrium and faced the two large doors. The doors were made of wood, and they were decorated with metal rings and lion heads. Banagher and Audrey nodded at each other and used the metal ring to knock on the door like how it was done in movies. They didn't know whether this could be used as a doorbell, but the sound of the metal knocking was deeper than what they imagined it to be as it seemed to ring through the entire silent area of the residential area. After seeing that the door didn't show any signs of opening, Banagher shrugged his shoulders, and Audrey went forward to grab the door handle. The unlocked door let out a creaking sound as it opened.

The ceiling that was at the second storey had a posh-looking chandelier on it. There was a wide set of stairs linking to the second level, and once they went up, it was a corridor in mid-air that felt like a deck was being repaired. The corridor looked like those in the movies when a posh-looking woman would be dressed up nicely and smiling as she invite them in. there was complete silence inside the dim place, and there wasn't any presence of any butlers coming out to serve them. There wasn't anyone else who questioned the duo who trespassed randomly other than the stares from the paintings on the wall, and the empty domestic presence surrounded Banagher.

It wasn't the emptiness of a house full of charms or the loneliness of an abandoned house. The number of furniture and house decorations made it feel like people once lived in here. However, the cold air didn't have any tinge of warmth too—feeling that his body was trembling, Banagher shouted: “Anybody home?” and didn't get any answer. He exchanged glances with Audrey and walked deeper into the first level.

It seemed that there was some regular maintenance as there wasn't any odour in the empty rooms or corridors. The sofas in the living room were covered with dustproof-cloth, and the glass windows with curtains drawn were wiped clean too. Unwilling to open the windows on his own, Banagher looked through the gap that showed a ray light looked around, and walked towards the balcony where he could look down into the atrium. The atrium was a Colosseum that was surrounded on all sides by the building itself, and amidst the different sizes, there were many sculptures beside the restroom area at the middle.

Each of these were things that Banagher saw in arts textbooks, so these shouldn't be the real thing themselves, but delicately crated duplicates. The sculptures remained inside the empty garden, and there was an empty and chilly sense of presence, making one feel that they may be moving before he was here.

A bird flew by and stopped on the face of a man's status that was deep in thought before flying off again. Banagher looked at the statue and felt that the statue was looking back at him. He swallowed his saliva, took a few steps back from the balcony and recollected his thoughts, saying 'there doesn't seem to be anyone around' and went back to the corridor.

“There should be a command area somewhere. Once there...”

Speaking halfway through, he stopped as Audrey wasn't aroudn. Haro was rolling around on the floor. He looked around and couldn't find anyone. He franticallywalked to the neighboring block, and found that there was a door opened downstairs. Banagher hurriedly ran to the exit, saw Audrey standing in the dim room and heaved a sigh of relief.

The side of her face was lit by the light that shone in through the curtains of the windows as she looked up at the wall. Banagher was about to say 'don't scare me like that', but he was stunned when he entered the room.

The ceiling was abnormally high, and on the wall of this room that was the largest he ever saw, there were six really large paintings on it. They were arranged together without leaving any space, and it seemed that the paintings themselves were the wall. No, those were paintings. They look like they were woven onto a piece of cloth. A large embroidery...it's called a tapestry, correct?

The six tapestries were all of different sizes, but the smallest one was 3m wide, and the height was about 5m. They should be related works as the base colors and structures of all these works were the same. They had a woman standing at the middle of a garden with flowers and animals woven in them. The imaginary world the woman was in would remind one of a small outer space. There were two beasts on both sides, and the completely different parties created 6 scenes. Amongst the two beasts, one of them was a lion, and the other one was one with the body of a horse and a long thin horn on its head—

“Unicorn...”

Audrey muttered to herself. Banagher heard his heart pulsate for a moment.

The memory of the white mobile suit he saw this morning in the subway train awoke in him, and the blood that moved inside his body started to rumble. He didn't know the reason, and he didn't have the strength to even think about it. The woman who was taking fruits from the tray the maidservant was holding; the woman playing the harp at the table; the woman making a crown of flowers...Banagher felt that something inside his mind was rumbling and about to break out from his skill as his eyes were enchanted by the tapestry.

The woman who let the unicorn rest on her knees and looked at the mirror; the woman holding a flag with a moon on it; and last of all, a woman standing in front of a small tent, putting her jewellery into a box a maidservant's holding. The unicorn and the lion were on both sides of the tent, and the woman who looked like she was putting her jewellery away was entering a tent. The tent had the words 'A Mon de Désir' written on it, and this was an ancient language that would only be understoof by only a few researchers. The meaning was...

“...My only wish.”

He subconsciously said it out, and immediately felt a chill. I couldn't possibly read it. I couldn't possibly understand it. Banagher shook off Audrey's anxious expression and asked, “Is this a famous painting?”

“I don't know...but since it was Vist Foundation who shifted this piece of art over to outer space, I think it's something valuable.”

Audrey frowned in surprise as she noted. I know, Banagher told himself this in his mind. It doesn't matter whether it was famous or not. I know this piece of art, and it's not that I saw this before on TV or textbooks. No, I never even touched it before. A long time ago, I couldn't even get to the bottom of this tapestry. Someone carried me up and told me the meaning. At that time, that room also had the sound of a piano playing—

He slowly turned around. The piano that was beside the window as basked under the sunlight that came in. Banagher walked over to it and touched the piano that was covered in cloth.

“Seems like nobody's staying here. I'll go find the control room. You...”

“I remember.”

Muttering unknowingly, Banagher turned to look at Audrey: “I remember. I saw these before.”

“These tapestries?”

Looking at the tapestries that were hung on the wall, Audrey gave a look of disbelief back at him. Banagher was forced to move by this irritation he couldn't explain and said: “No, it's not like this...” At this moment, a third person's voice could be heard: “Do you like it?” causing him to gasp.

He looked around. A man was standing at the door. He looked at Audrey, who was frozen, and again looked back at Banagher. The man slowly entered the oroom. The somewhat dim light lit his silver hair and sharp eyes, and Banagher felt that the pressure in this room got even more intense. He subconsciously took two steps back, knocked into the piano, and the photo frame on the piano dropped down.

He instinctively turned back to look, and saw the face of a ten-year-old, slightly plump and giving a poker face. The boy seemed to have a man and a woman on both sides, most probably his parents. The woman, who seemed to be the mother, had her hand on the boy's shoulders as she smiled. The energetic man standing on the other side was also like the boy, showing a poker face. Looking at the man's face as he had that Chinese-styled collared shirt on, Banagher again turned around to stared at those sharp eyes in the dim place.

His cheeks were slightly skinner, and his hair had faded in color, but the man in front of him was completely identical to the man in the photo. Most likely, he's the owner of this villa. The stakeholder of Anaheim Electronics, and the one rumored to be the actual owner of the 'Snail', the leader of Vist Foundation—

“The Lady and the Unicorn”, author unknown. Most people thought that it was a tapestry made during the Middle Ages in France. This wasn't a copy. It's said that the ex-leader spent a lot of effort trying to get it during the One Year War.”

As he casually looked at the two intruders, the man—Cardeas Vist continued to talk. “The New Moon's Flag this woman's holding was the crest of someone who represented an advisor to the French King in the past, Vist Foundation, my family. Most likely, an ancestor requested someone to make it, and it ended up in his hands.”

The voice sounded steady, but had impeccable strength in it. Banagher put the photo frame that fell down back to its position and looked at the faces of the people in the family.

There was Cardeas, who was about 20 years younger than before, a woman who seemed to be his wife, and the boy. These were all faces he could no recognize, faces of strangers. After seeing that, the sense of 'recognition' became ambiguous, and the tapestry and the piano suddenly became unknown foreign things.

“Right now, the common idea was that this series of tapestries represented the 5 senses of humanity. The woman holding the fruit represented taste; the woman holding the harp represented hearing; the woman creating the crown of flowers represented smell; the woman holding the mirror represented sigh; and the woman touching the horn of the unicorn represented touch...” Explaining in order, Cardeas looked at the last picture, and his eyes narrowed. “And the last one was called the 'tent' As for what this meant, there wasn't any decisive conclusion to this. The woman takes off the bracelet she was wearing and puts it into the box in the maidservant's hands. There was a tent behind it with the words 'My one desire' on it.the unicorn and the lion are leading her in. what does that tent mean? What does the 'box' represent?”

[[Image:KSGU 230.jpg|thumb]]

Audrey's eyes widened, and Banagher could feel her tension. Cardeas turned to look at her.

“Some said that the tent had her husband in it, and some said that the tent led to a mental world where one gives up everything. Right now, the commonly accepted explanation would be the latter. While giving up the bracelet, the lady wanted to give up the delight her five senses brought, and the desire that they bring before releasing herself to a zone only the sixth sense could feel...the free will ancient scholars talked about was 'release'. In other words, the 'my own desire' was a realm of realization, and the tent was a symbolization of it. The bracelet represented personal desire, and the 'box' was a symbol of an earthly seal. Of it could also be interpreted that as the 'box' was opened, the lady was able to give up on her personal desire and face the next world.”

“This unicorn's existence is also symbolic. This is a legendary beast that had many meanings to it, but our family interpret it as the beast of possibilities. It was a beast that was born out of everyone's belief and love. Humans use this possibility of existence to raise this beast, causing a situation where it didn't matter whether it existed or not...like what Riike's poem said. On one hand, it could be interpreted as the sign of the Virgin, but we shall use it as a more ordinary term. We symbolize it as the power of belief...the symbol of hope.”

Once Cardeas finished, Banagher saw that there was a crest sewn on his chest pocket, one that looked like a unicorn. Just when he was about to ask whether it was the crest of the Vist Foundation or something, Cardeas looked at Audrey and said: “Pardon me for my late introductions.”

“I'm the owner of this house. My name is Cardeas Vist.”

Though Audrey looked rather mild at the moment, her expression wasn't showing any smile at all. She inadvertently looked away and started to stammer. “I...” But she clenched her fists tight and again faced Cardeas' tall body.

“Sorry to intrude on you. I'm...”

Cardeas raised his hand gently to prevent her from continuing. “I know you. Please don't declare your name first.”

“But...”

“You don't want to get this boy involved, right?”

Saying till here, Cardeas looked over at Banagher, but as their eyes met, his eyes looked back at Audrey.

“If there's anything important, please hold on for a while. However, if you're the sort of person I think you are, I hope that you understand that we're meeting under dangerous circumstances. Your presence here would make your comrades feel betrayed.”

“Zinnerman's a cautious man, so he won't create any unnecessary trouble...”

“Unnecessary? Is the need to ensure your safety unnecessary?”

The fists that were tightly clenched trembled slightly as Audrey went silent. Unable to understand what they were saying, Banagher could only stare at them in a flabbergasted manner, and his eyes met Cardeas, who suddenly looked over at him.

“You risked yourself too much. She'll be under our protection. Head back then.”

No matter whether it was some bigshot in the monetary world or not, one shouldn't be giving such a condescending look at someone they just met for the first time. Banager stepped forward, but got taken aback by Cardeas' sharp expression as he continued to remain there. Cardeas' entire body gave a heavy presence as he closed the distance between himself and Banagher.

Cardeas' eyes scanned Banagher from head to toe and stopped at the haro at his feet. “Such an old toy.” There was a mysterious crying-like tone in the voice. On hearing these unexpected words, Banagher looked straight at Cardeas' cold expression.

“Do you know why she's being pursued, and what kind of people were pursuing her?”

“Well...I don't know, but they're really scary people.”

“Scary?”

“I just had this feeling.”

Gripping his trembling fingers hard, Banagher answered without wavering, and Cardeas' eyes suddenly became kiner: “Saying such things that a Newtype would say...” The somewhat wry voice entered Banagher's ears. Of course, one didn't need to look at the expression to see that he was laughing at Banagher for arrogantly saying that in a childish manner.”

“I was born in a place where such people kept going in and out, so I could tell.”

That was the last straw. Banagher was already expecting to be laughed at, but the wryness in Cardeas' eyes vanished. “...I see. So you say that you can recognize people?” Banagher could tell that this voice again sounded like crying.

“Then, let's not waste what you know. Head back. If you continue to stay here, your future will be wrecked. This is not what the person who sent you to Anaheim Electronics wanted.”

The unexpected words caused him to be shocked. Was his cover blown? No, Banagher suddenly thought. This Cardeas may be a friend of his father who he never met and requested him to transfer into the College.

From the few words his mother spoke and the history up till now, he knew that his father should be someone of status. Though it was a vague memory, the feel of the room and the tapestries didn't seem to be just a false impression...so strong that if he never saw the family photo, he would have thought that this was his family.

“You...knew?”

Immediately afterwards, Banagher forgot about all of these and started asking. Cardeas moved his eyes away slightly.

“I'm the chairman after all, and I can check any student's particulars and expel them accordingly.”

The last words went through Banagher with a straight gaze. Since he was being watched the moment he and Audrey, who was being 'hosted', entered the 'Snail', it's easy to investigate their history. The cold reality of understanding this caused Banagher to lower his head dejectedly. The passion shown just now cooled off as he felt his knees lose strength.

“I'll give recognition to a young man's impulse. It's alright to believe in instincts. However, if your knowledge and ability isn't enough, your response would be the wrong one. Go back. Don't get involved in this.”

After this one-sided aggression, Cardeas left Banagher. Banagher couldn't say anything, didn't even have the strength to stare at his back, and lowered his head. He succumbed again. This time, he succumbed under the violence called authority, and was about to collapse again. But even though he had this feeling, his wilted nerves didn't feel like getting back up in a motivated manner. Banagher turned to look at Audrey.

Audrey looked back at him too. After their eyes met, she immediately looked away, which made Banagher feel despair as he already knew what Audrey was about to say next.

“That's enough, Banagher. Go back.”

Her eyes were looking at him again, and the words were what he imagined it to be as they pierced through his heart. “But...!” Banagher's tone was full of panic.

“It's enough that you brought me here. I'll handle the rest.”

After giving a stiff smile, Audrey looked over at Cardeas. On seeing those eyes that were filled with intense will, Cardeas wordlessly walked away. Banagher felt that Audrey was about to follow Cardeas, and before he could think, his feet stepped on the floor first.

Though his posture was tilting somewhat because of the lower gravity, Banagher blocked Audrey as she was about to walk to the door. “Audrey.” Banagher called her name, and her jade-green eyes were looking back at him.

“Before I met you this morning, I saw a white mobile suit in the subway train.”

After blinking a bit, Audrey lifted her head slightly. Banagher ignored Cardeas, who was eavesdropping on them, and continued to look at her face.

“After that, I wanted to go to work, but ther was no work for the day. I went to the cafeteria with Takuya, and saw you floating near the sun. I don't know much after that, but I was really excited. It's like another world appeared right in front of me, or that something I couldn't see in the past appeared right in front of me...this was the first time I felt that. It's like I felt my comfort zone for the first time.”

Banagher himself knew how foolish these words were, but his mouth just couldn't stop. On hearing that Audrey was looking a little moody and becoming more so, Baangher himself continued.

“I don't care who you are. Just say that you need me, say that it's better for me to be here. Then I...”

“No.”

Audrey answered before he could finish. Shocked by the stiff expression and the impact of the voice, Banagher felt his body waver.

“The world you saw today was nothing. It's just a dark and cold world. You shouldn't be here.”

“Audrey...”

“Forget about it. Don't get involved with me. It's better for you.”

This time, it was really a tone to clear the divide. Audrey turned around, and Banagher was rooted there. All around the delicate yet obstinate profile, the dark red base of the tapestries appeared in the dim place.

Perhaps seeing that the little drama between both of them was over, Cardeas nodded his head slightly, and men in suits appeared at the door of the room, ushering Audrey in with a courteous demeanor. Audrey lifted her head and followed them out. Banagher instinctively tried to catch up, but he was stopped by the presence that suddenly appeared behind him. Unknowingly, two men appeared from a room and were standing behind Banagher.

“We'll send you back to you hostel.”

One of the men. The man who would remind one of the ferocity and viciousness of a hunter had the crest of a unicorn on the chest. Knowing that he would be suppressed if he tried to resist, Banagher looked at Cardeas, who turned around and said just when he was about to lead Audrey out of the room: “This would be better.”

“The people chasing her may view you as a target.”

It was logical. Though Banagher himself felt that this was just an excuse, he couldn't say anything. Banagher clenched his fists and lowered his head. The embarrassment and regret left a stinging feeling in his nose, and the unicorn on the tapestries became blurred.

Audrey went through the door of the room without turning back, and Cardeas followed her from behind. As he left, he looked back, and seemed to stop for a moment as he probably looked at Banagher. However, once Banagher lifted his head, the profile vanished, and the light that came in through the door remained in the room, causing Banagher to see remains of the world he lost.

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