Editing KSGU:Volume 2 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 3===

(All personnel, get to type-2 alert. Mobile Suits are to get ready for launch. Release the airlocks. Pilots, back down.)

The audio broadcast rang through the fleet, and the mobile suit starboard ‘AIR’ red warning light was flashing. Riddhe Marcenas was checking that the two layers of his helmet were attached as he jumped into the cockpit of the 8th unit of the <<ReZEL>> .

The core reactor was starting to run. Once he turned on the full-screen mode, the screens on the inner wall of the ball-shaped cockpit were being activated one by one, showing all the 20m tall <<ReZELs>> that were around him. On this wide mobile suit deck, the <<Jesta>> painted with the serial number NA-J005 left the fixate and was moving towards the lift leading to the catapult. The mechanic holding the baton was floating in the air. The next machine that left the fixator was the 4th <<ReZEL>> unit . The warning light <<AIR>> was lighting, indicating that the catapult launch deck and the mobile suit deck’s airlocks were opened, and air was drawn out. The sound of the mobile suit activation mechanism and the sounds of the alarm quickly vanished, leaving only countless wireless sounds ringing in Riddhe’s ears. The sortie team’s preliminary checks, the signals on the bridge, the squad leader’s instructions; he has to hear the necessary information from amidst the large amount of sounds and answer them all, and that’s the job of a pilot.

(Romeo 001 notifying all units. Ian’s squadron will launch after Norm’s squadron. Once Norm’s squadron enters the battle zone, we’ll begin surveillance on Industrial 7. Norm’s squadron will enter the standby area and provide cover for the assault squad and the fleet. The ‘Sleeves’ may have entered Industrial 7, so don’t let your guard down thinking that we just need to protect ECOAS.)

As he carries out the checks as according to the textbook, the mobile suit squad leader, Lieutanant Commander Norm Basilicock was talking to everyone. Norm was the one in charge of leading all the mobile suits on the <<Nahel Argama>>, but for this launch, he’s leading a squadron, and the remaining forces are left for Commander Ian to command. Riddhe belongs to Ian’s squad, and amongst them, there are 4 <<ReZEL> codenamed Romeo and two <<Jegans>> codenamed Juliet. The Norm’s squad is positioned far away from the <<Nahel Argama>> to prevent any accidents.

Prevent accidents—contact with the ‘Sleeves’. Riddhe thought for a moment and was about to stop his hand when the mechanical officer Jona Gibney suddenly barged into the cockpit cabin. Gibney ignored Riddhe, who’s spaced out, leaned his body over, and asked, (Did you hear that?)

(It’s the 2nd fleet’s <<Clop>> that fought against the Sleeves. I heard 3 units were taken down.)

Both of them had their helmets sticking together to pass their words through vibrations. This ‘intimate conversation’ is very useful for those who don’t want their conversations to be overheard through the wireless network. Riddhe forgets about the misfortune of seeing Gibney’s bearded face up close and says in surprise, “Three?” He did hear of a battle happening near the shoal space region during the explanation just now, but he didn’t hear the details. It’s really a shocking thing to hear that three mobile suits were taken down.

(Really, what in the world are they doing in such a colony? Don’t damage the machine.)

Perhaps Gibney was able to see Riddhe’s pale face through the visor as he deliberately uses a casual tone to say that, slaps Riddhe on the helmet, and leaves the cockpit. Riddhe instinctively closes the hatch, checking whether there’s any problems with the air flow from the pump, and remembers his peer pilots that were also assigned to the <<Clop>>>.

He remembers that the <<Clop>> that’s assigned to the second fleet of Londo Bell has 6 units. They might not be all taken down at the same time, but for 3 units to be taken down; ''is it a large number of forces fighting, or did the ‘Sleeves’ have some ace pilot?'' No matter what it is, it means that the enemy with such firepower may be hiding at Industrial 7, and the hunters are going to start something over there—

(Ensign Riddhe, do you copy me?)

This time, squad leader Norm’s face appeared on the window. Riddhe hurriedly answered “Yes!”

(Never ever mention what you just heard. Forget about it.)

It’s not a communication throughout the entire fleet, but a one-on-one conversation. This is forbidden in battle, but to the members of the <<Nahel Argama>>, Norm’s words carry more weight than a textbook. Riddhe remembers the heavy atmosphere in the captain’s room and the term ‘Laplace’s Box’ that’s full of mystery, before answering, “Yes, I understand.”

(There’re some things that are better for you not to know of. In your position, even if you don’t want to hear it, you will one day hear the truth.)

“I don’t want to walk down the path of politics…”

(I know, but it’s the same no matter what you think.) Norm grimaces as he interrupts the sullen looking Riddhe, (Anyway, don’t get hurt in this stupid battle. I don’t want to be watched by Senator Marcenas.)

Norm uses a normal captain’s snark to end this and closes the communication screen. He probably doesn’t want his subordinates to feel goosebumps in their hearts. Riddhe feels that on one hand, this man isn’t to be underestimated, but on the other hand, he experiences the trustworthiness of this captain, and feels much more relaxed. But at the same time, he feels a strong sense of tension after thinking that anyone with such a mindset can die in a real battle, and his butt crack starts to tighten up.

After the preliminary order, it’s finally Riddhe’s turn, and he lets the <<ReZEL>> no. 8 come out from its fixtate. He follows the instructions of the mechanic waving the baton and takes the beam rifle from the armaments rack. This kind of basic action is already part of the computer process, so there’s no need to operate it manually. The <<ReZEL>> grabs the beam rifle in a fluid motion that’s like a human and heads to the lift. For every step it takes, the hooks at its feet will latch onto the barbs on the deck, and the tremors and sound of metal colliding with each other reaches the cockpit.

While moving up the lift, Riddhe starts to think of the ‘home’ that he left for a long time. ''Does dad know about the <<Laplace Box>> that will end the Federation government when it’s open?'' He randomly thought, but feels that this is stupid and tries to get rid of the notion. At this point, the lift reached its destination, and Riddhe’s ears hears the tense voice of a female (Romeo 008, please head to the 3rd catapult and launch after Juliet 4.) At a corner of the all-view monitor, in the communications screen that’s 10cm wide, Mihiro Oiwakken’s tense face was shown there.

It seems that it’s not just the pilot who was feeling fear and thrill from being involved for the first time and facing a real battle, as even the operator is showing the same thing. ''So the ‘Mini-tank’ can feel scared too,'' Riddhe thought for a moment, and an unknown impulse appeared in his mind. Riddhe doesn’t think too much into this as he says,

“Understood…Ensign Mihiro. Do you want to go catch a movie with me once we disembark?”

(Juliet 4, path’s clear. Please launch.) Following Mihiro’s uninterruptable voice, the <<Jegan>> that’s codenamed Juliet 4 launches, and the light green humanoid-shaped machine sides down the catapult. ''Did she not hear it, or did she ignore it?'' Feeling awkward, Riddhe lets the feet of the <<ReZEL>> latch onto the catapult that’s bounced back. He watches the mechanic wave the baton beside his feet, and the sight of outer space on the other side of the catapult enters his eyes. Mihiro suddenly brings her face closer to the communications window and whispers (You’re the third person to invite me out.) “Is that so?” Riddhe asks as he checks whether the lights on his individual circuit is on.

(This is the first time I’m being so popular. Do guys like to invite people out in such crazy moments?)

“Ahh…maybe. Just want to have something on my mind.”

Riddhe realizes that he was being too honest once he saw Mihiro cringe her chin back angrily, but it was too late. The lights on the individual circuit vanishes, and Mihiro reverts back to being an emotionless operator as it seems impossible to ask her out. ''Doesn’t actually matter;'' Riddhe feels really sorry as he says it to himself in his heart. She’s not used to this kind of thing, and if she can just easily say ‘okay’, guys will definitely fly out happily.

(Romeo 008, equipping catapult. Launch preparation complete.)

Mihiro says with a completely unrestrained voice. Riddhe half-reluctantly grabs onto the control stick, and then hears a whisper (I don’t like horror movies.) Unable to realize in time that she may have said this to everyone, Riddhe shouted in his heart ‘got it’, and his voice is so energetic that it’s really awkward,

“RIDDHE MARCENAS, ROMEO 008, LAUNCHING!”

The countdown beside the catapult shows 0 and the operator lets out the launch signal. The cable-powered catapult is shot out, and immediately, 5G’s worth of gravity is pressing down on Riddhe.

The <<Nahel Argama>>, which looks like a large wooden horse, has an opened-air deck on the right foreleg—and both top and bottom sides can be used as runways in zero gravity. The <<ReZEL>> rides on the catapult and glides down. Once it reaches the launching point of the catapult, it stamps hard and leaps into the vacuum like a snowboard jump.

The relative velocity of the catapult launch and the machine’s own thrust out increases as compared to the mothership. Riddhe sees from the corner of the all-view monitor that the <<Nahel Argama>> is moving further and further away, and checks whether the laser signal is working. The laser signal can tell the ship its position and allows for coordination in the bridge. It’s the only lifeline with Minovsky Particles all over the place. Without this, he will get lost in the wide outer space, and even shot by friendly fire. So no matter what, he has to check the laser signal. The training tells him that he can leave everything aside once he checks the air flow in the machine and his allies’ positions. In this outer space where radar can’t be used, what awaits one who loses communication will be a slow and drifting death.

The instructors who have been flying before the One Year War started, in the era of radar, would often remind them about this, but to the current generation that includes Riddhe, that’s not even a form of teaching, just common knowledge. To the pilots who’re learning how to fly in the sea of Minovsky particles, it’s a given premise that they can’t use radar, and it’s as simple as not being able to breath in vacuum. Riddhe finishes his checking on the laser signal before the acceleration ends, checks the positions of his allies, and then lets the machine transform. The head of the <<ReZEL>> tucks in like a turtle, and the part that forms the chest is elevated together with the cockpit. The two arms are bent inwards, and the feet at the base are spread aside, keeping the parts above the knees on both sides. The shield that’s equipped on the left wrist covers the head and two wrists, forming the lower body of the machine and making the <<ReZEL>> a non-human machine. It transforms into a space fighter jet that has the thruster group moved from the back to the back, the ones at the feet becoming the main thrusters—the ‘aircraft’ called Waverider.

The transformation merely took 0.5 seconds, and this kind of transformable mobile suit can only be made through a malleable mobile structure that can form a mobile suit’s frame and a light but strong gundarium alloy. It has a complicated transformation frame, so the costs of making it are high, and it’s a lot more complicated to assemble it. However, its high mobility and wide use of being a transport plane that can carry out long-range attacks are enough to make up for its flaws. The thrusters are all focused in a single direction because of the transformation, and the <<ReZEL>>  gets thrust that’s far more than its own mass requires, which allows it to move other mobile suits too.

Once the transformation is complete, Riddhe moves the control stick to the left. He sees the <<Jegan>> no.5 quickly catch up after the <<ReZEL>> no.8 launched. The laser signals react for both parties to reach relative velocity. Doing a motion they’ve practiced hundreds of times, the arms of the <<Jegan>> grabs onto the hook on the <<ReZEL>>’s thrusters. At the same time, the interaction channel is online, and a coarse voice came through the wireless radio, (So my limousine’s driving by the young lord.” It’s the pilot of the <<Jegan>> no.5, Juliet 5. 

“Yeah, where are we going, dear guest?”

(Drive me to the gathering point of those ‘Sleeves’, and remember to drive safely.)

Riddhe steps on the gas without hearing him complete the sentence, and the thrusters let out white and hot glows. The machine frames of the <<ReZEL>> and the <<Jegan>> that looks like it’s grabbing onto a beatboard accelerate (You got nerve…! I’m going to lodge a complaint to your dad!) Riddhe hears the scream from the wireless radio cheerily and gives a smile. ''I should be able to do this,'' he thought. He feels a lot more relaxed, and his body does the motions he was trained to do. ''Even if we’re starting a real fight, I can tackle this fearlessly. I have self-confidence, and for this, I paid double the effort anyone else made. I’m a real pilot.''

The feeling of acceleration when the <<ReZEL>> transforms into the Waverrider state is different from the mobile suit state. It’s like he became a bullet and flew in a straight line, and it makes him feel like how he always stated his dream of becoming a pilot when he’s young. Riddhe lets the machine turn and join Ian’s squad. With squad leader Ian leading, 2 of the 4 waverride-state <<ReZELs>> are transporting <<Jegans>>. This looks just like a flying formation. ''It’s this''...just when Riddhe’s feeling intoxicated by this feeling, he remembers that the biplane model is still in the cockpit, and frowns.

He wanted to take it to his room before launching, but forgot. He wrapped it up in a plastic bag, but it might be damaged if he accelerates too much. Riddhe looks over at where he left the model, and mutters ‘forget it’.

''I’ll just check it when I go back.'' It’s the same with the date with Mihiro, the more things I have to do once I get back to the ship, the better. Riddhe feels relaxed that he can still think about this, and focuses on maintaining formation.

In front of him is the shoal space region with countless blocks of remnants and stone. As he looks at the most up-to-date version map of space, the Ian’s squad dodges the obstacles and head to the standby area. The battlefield, <<Industrial 7>>, can’t be identified through the countless space dust.


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