Editing KSGU:Volume 8 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 5===

The masked man leapt off the gondola and started to float around in space; though he was in front of them, he felt so unrealistic. He looked like Char during the One Year War, and the uncanny resemblance was such that he was ostensibly brought alive from a documentary. Takuya Irei’s eyes were subconsciously attracted by this, and then saw Mineva leap off the gondola, followed by Banagher’s white pilot suit. The Neo Zeon pilot sticking to Banagher from behind was most probably Full Frontal’s escort team.
 
That hand was holding onto a recoilless handgun as it was aimed at Banagher, who was moving in front. The black hole of the barrel was leading to a hole of empty darkness. A shot from it could wipe off a person’s life and turn the body into must. The terror of a Garencieres crew member aiming his gun at a person appeared in Takuya’s mind clearly again, and he clenched his trembling fist.
 
He had been living in a ship on active combat service for a month, and thought that he had more or less grew some guts in him, but the terror of being pointed at with a gun was another thing altogether. His body, which was already used to fighting back at AEIC, was unable to move due to fear. If not for the fact that they were in zero gravity, his legs would have collapsed, and he could have knelt down on the floor if the enemy told him to do so. The gun that was transferred to him together with antagonistic intent had such power; this little hole could remove him from the human world, and this unreasonable and cruel logic numbed his mind as he could not help but think of anything other than death.
 
''Is that guy alright?'' He looked towards the group of people moving towards them slightly, “Banagher…” and immediately turned his head aside the moment he heard this weak voice. Micott did not notice his stare as she continued to look on at the white pilot suit approaching her. Haro, which was in her lap, remained silent as it could not sense its own approaching, making things unbearable. The Republic soldiers demanded that it was either to be confiscated, or to be shut down, and they naturally chose the latter.
 
Takuya may be rather open-minded about this, but Micott still had some affections for Banagher. She knew that this was unrequited, but she continued to live through this situation with such feelings. ''And what am I doing now?''
 
''To Banagher now, Micott and I are just two out of the 400 people on board the deck. We can’t rely on the adults around us, and Micott has to rely on me for support, but I can’t say anything that can make her relax. I’m trying using up all my strength just to support myself, looking at Banagher aimlessly—and putting my hopes in him.'' He felt gutless because of this, and bit his lips as a result. “Oi, Takuya.” At that moment, a hushed voice rang at his ears, and his heart throbbed in shock.
 
“I’ll create some commotion. Once I give you the signal, run to the hatch nearby.”
 
It was the voice of Jona Gibney. This man was the most experienced of all the mechanics, and was the representative of Takuya’s group as the mechanics were divided into three platoons. Takuya consciously turned his head around, “Don’t turn your head!” but a roar turned his tense face forward. He rolled his eyes to check the movements of the invigilators, “What do you intend to do?” he asked softly,
 
“They’ll pass by above us. I’ll get the Princess as a hostage, so use this opening to run to the Bow Thrusters engine room.”
 
“No way…! You’re get killed!”
 
“Those guys from Zeon view that Princess as the star of their hope. We can more or less buy some time here. Those guys from Zeon are all rookies.”
 
The invigilators were in pairs, and after every 30 minutes, one of the two would switch around. However, all of them were young and nervous. Mineva, who was approaching from above, would attract their attention to a point where they could not see two people whispering to each other. To Takuya, they looked like rookies too. “Do you know how to operate the Bow Bhrusters manually?”Gibney continued, and Takuya instinctively nodded its head.
 
“The thrust it creates will present ECOAS a chance to counterattack. You’re not a formal crew member, and it’s possible for you to sneak away even if you’re missing.”
 
“But…”
 
“We won’t know what’ll happen when we become Zeon prisoners. Can you endure seeing her being treated as a plaything?”
 
Takuya’s shoulders jerked slightly, and he looked at Micott sidelong. The latter probably realized his presence as she showed an uneasy expression on her face as she looked back, causing him to look away.
 
''Banagher can’t deal with that much now, Gibney and the rest don’t have the time to care about such stuff. I’m the only one who can take care of Micott—''he felt the burden Micott brought as she started to rely on him unconsciously for the past month, glanced at Gibney, and decided to take action. Gibney patted him on the shoulder and left from the back. The tense atmosphere of the mechanics around them reached Takuya, and it seemed that they were ready for this. “Takuya…” in the midst of this tense atmosphere, Takuya tried to look for an opening, and Micott looked at him with a nervous expression.
 
“I’ll be fine. Don’t move.”
 
“Don’t be reckless. We’re not soldiers here.”
 
“But Banagher isn’t…don’t worry, at least I can protect you.”
 
He did not look at Micott, who gasped for a short moment, and saw that the closest airlock was about 30m away. ''They probably think that we can’t do anything just by breaking off our link with the higher-ups. There’s no decent invigilation here, and the enemy doesn’t have the manpower needed to keep a close eye on everyone in the ship. Once I leave the mobile suit deck, I’ll find a way; it’ll be fine.'' He tried to convince himself in his worried heart, “Erm, sorry, but I need the toilet…” a mechanic spoke up, causing Takuya’s shoulders to jerk.
 
It began. “I told you that the representative is to say it.” The Republic soldier answered with an adamant voice. “Ye-yes, what’s the matter now?” Gibney got up while pretending to play dumb, and the Red Comet and the rest were about to pass by from above. “DON’T YOU STAND UP RANDOMLY!” the roaring soldier focused his attention on Gibney, while the other soldier was distracted by this commotion. At this time, the mechanics got into action,
 
Many hands quickly got into action to cover the mouths of the Republic soldiers, grab their automatic rifles, and pull them to the floor. Gibney too got up and knocked into Mineva who was around 10m above him. Frontal, who was leading the procession, turned his head around, while Banagher and the escort squad seemed dumbfounded as they panicked. “Hurry up and go!” However, Takuya did not have the time to check as someone’s deep growl prompted him, and he kicked the floor in a dazed manner.
 
“Takuya…!” he turned his back on Micott, who cried out with a hushed voice, and let his body float to the airlock. “Don’t shoot!” “Her Highness…!?” Takuya sensed the numerous voices, and the sudden noisy atmosphere of the deck pricked his skin as he gritted his teeth and focused on the door in front of his eyes. He thought he stepped off the floor with all his strength, but his body was not moving as fast as he though. He floated away at a distance not too far from the floor, and was about to touch the hangar in front of the airlock, but a gunshot caused him to miss his footing off the hangar.
 
He turned his body around, and the scene on the mobile suit deck appeared in his eyes. He saw many frozen figures, and the color of blood sprayed in the air caused his mind to turn blank.
 
The blood was wriggling like amoeba between Banagher and Mineva, who were showing shocked expressions. The trail of blood from Gibney’s head formed a reddish-brown stain that appeared in the wide space. The blood trail split apart to form blobs of all sizes, and Gibney’s body lost half its head, letting out blood as he spun in the air. On the other size, the man holding the handgun that was giving off smoke was—
 
“YOU BASTARD…!”
 
The sudden roar caused the time that stood still to crack. Full Frontal glanced at Captain Otto, who was restrained by the invigilator as he wanted to get close, and put the handgun that killed Gibney back into the holster. This action seemed like a code that caused many frozen figures to move. “Mechanic officer…!” “Petty Officer Gibney was…!?” The wails of the crew rang together with the call from the Republic soldiers, “Don’t you move! Anyone that moves will be shot!” There was a scream that came a moment later, ''Is that Micott?'' The moment Takuya thought of this, several Republic soldiers closed in on him and held down his floating body.
 
What happened next felt like a dream. Takuya felt pain in his twisted arm, but it was only a distant feeling. As he could not move a single finger, the scenery in front of him started to move. The inertia of the gunshot floated in the air, and Gibney’s corpse hit the wall with a heavy thud. “DON’T LEAVE YOUR DESIGNATED AREA!” “TELL SOMEONE TO BRING A BODY BAG!” The hollering Republic soldiers and the added invigilators pointed their guns at the kneeling mechanics. These figures passed by his vision, and Micott’s face was the only thing that explained everything. She hugged Takuya without saying anything, bringing him to some levels of normalcy. ''Looks like I’m back to square one,'' Takuya thought in his blank mind, and he looked over Micott’s shoulders and up at the scene above him.
 
Gibney’s blood was still floating in mid-air, and Banagher was held back by the escort squad from behind. “THERE’S NO NEED TO KILL HIM, RIGHT!? THERE ISN’T…!” the moment he shouted out, Mineva stood in the air, clenching her fist, “Are you hurt anywhere, Princess…?” and she did not look at the soldier asking her as he approached. “Deal with the body properly.” Frontal said, and the expression from her face vanished after she took a deep breath. She told the soldiers to back down, and descended to where they were.
 
The expression that was filled with an adamant will met his, and his dreamlike membrane was completely ripped off. It seemed that Micott sensed the abnormal atmosphere as she pushed her body away from Takuya and looked up. “Princess, you mustn’t!” However, Mineva ignored the loud plea from the soldier as she looked down at Takuya and Micott.
 
She looked around at the mechanics who were giving her hostile looks as the Republic soldiers pointed guns at them, and met Takuya in the eyes again. “This is really an unfortunate accident.” She let out a cold voice, causing Takuya to blink his dazed eyes.
 
“The same action will only lead to the same outcome. Please choose your actions well. After saying that, Mineva reached her hand out. “Princess! You mustn’t reach your royal hand out like that…!” a soldier exclaimed from above, and Takuya, who looked at the outstretched hand, was about to hold it back, “As expected, you’re…!” but Micott’s voice caused his heart to jolt.
 
“YOU’RE AN ACCOMPLICE OF THOSE MURDERERS!”
 
Micott stood up and swung a hand at Mineva’s hands. Their bodies crashed into each other at this moment, “YOU!” before the soldiers above shouted, the Republic soldiers showed a marked change in expressions as they charged over. Before they could reach their hands out, Takuya grabbed Micott by the waist. Micott’s momentum as she left Mineva caused the duo to float in the air, and the mechanics formed a human wall to block them as he held his breath to cover her. “What accident! How is it…!” Takuya cried out in tears, and though he took a few punches from the struggling Micott, he let his body tense up as he covered this life in his arms.
 
“You bastards, move aside!” “There’s a limit to your insolence! Hand over that woman!” several Republic soldiers growled as they reached their hands out. “What are you saying when you killed Chief Mechanic Gibney!” “You’re the ones that got careless!” The mechanics hollered back, and at the apex of their argument, “Alright, that’s enough.” Mineva’s stern and regal voice rang.
 
“But…!”
 
“We deserve to be hit for what we did. Let’s go!”
 
She glanced over to them with her hand on her cheek, and there was a hidden meaning in that action. Once he saw Mineva kick the floor and float up, Takuya turned to look at the sobbing Micott. He could see the Republic soldiers sulk and leave, and brought his mouth to her ears, “Calm down, Micott.” He quickly said with a hushed voice.
 
“Just endure this for now. Look at your right pocket too.”
 
Micott’s drenched eyes widneed, and she separated from Takuya, ostensibly pushing him away. There should be no doubts about this; she hid something in her hand wanted to hand us something. The moment she scuffled with Micott, Mineva stuffed something into her chest pocket.'' “Check it later.” Takuya warned Micott, who was inadvertently about to take it out, and lifted his head slightly to see Mineva laving.
 
''I don’t know how to deal with this situation, but I had to be careful with what she gave us.'' This thought injected life into his fear-riddled body. He pulled the half-believing Micott close to him and hugged her shoulders. The bloody smell that was filled with the stench of grease told him how important this warmth that reached his hands was.