Editing KSGU:Volume 2 Chapter 2

==Chapter 2 (continued)==

===Part 1===

“Return back to the ship?”

It’s 4:02pm. As the light of the artificial sun started to weaken, Marida was talking into the receiver on the public phone. (That’s right). Zinnerman answered.

(End the search for the time being and come back before the deal begins. Same goes for Alec and Besson.)

It’s been more than 2 hours since they lost her. They didn’t have a way to break through the large construction area, and it’s true that they were just wasting time. However, they ended their search too quickly. Marida looked at the electric car that was parked beside the public phone on the road. Alec, who was in the driver’s seat, was staring at the neighboring building—the school compound of Anaheim Electronics. It’s impossible to see from here, but Besson should be behind the school watching through the same method.

Of course, nobody could guarantee that the student will come back. But after the huge commotion in the construction area, it’s impossible for him to stay there, and there’re no other leads. Marida looked at the watch to see that there’s still some time before the transaction’s done, and said with a somewhat anxious voice, <‘the girl’ must have entered the space colony builder>.

“We know the identity of the student who helped her ‘escape’. Most likely, it may be something related to the Foundation. Once we wait for him to come back…”

“That Foundation contacted us already. The location of the transaction is changed to the space colony builder.”

The fingers holding onto the phone trembled. The Vist Foundation that made contact with ‘her’ is now requesting a change in location for the deal—and in their territory too. Feeling the irritation of having the initiative snatched from them, Marida asked: <what about the ‘girl’?> (Play dumb) Zinnerman said.

(We have no idea of what their intentions are, but we can only pretend that we know anything. Go get ready just in case something happens.)

Then, shouldn’t we be going to the colony builder together instead of going back to the ‘Garencieres’? Marida wanted to say instinctively, but swallowed her words. The assumption here Zinnerman’s thinking of isn’t something that can be handled with just one or two people being on guard, but mobile suits that have to be on standby.

It’ll be great if Vist Foundation, who deliberately opened their stronghold, hand her over. If not, at that time—Marida answered ‘understood’ as she watched the school gate of Anaheim Electronics. It seemed that it’s after school, and the students that were in plainclothes were laughing and walking out from the gate to the electric car carpark.

What causes them to laugh like this? Marida saw a young woman pushing a baby cart along, walking beside them, and felt really happy. It’s not because that she imagined these pedestrians getting involved in the ‘assumed situation’. Once they’re involved, it’s easy for their lives to vanquish easily. However, they will never dream of such a thing. They never actually thought about their deaths actively or subconsciously, and think that today’s just like yesterday. Marida was really unhappy as she understood that peace was just a mistake made by this group mentality, and that it was extremely fragile.

I took in too much air outside, she thought. Even though she wanted to capture that student called Banagher and interrogate him about ‘her’ whereabouts, she herself isn’t suited to do this kind of work. She wanted to get rid of this tight-fitting clothing and return to the ship…

(It’s finally time. Let’s go check out what’s in that treasure box.)

Zinnerman said through the phone, perhaps reading through her thoughts. Marida wasn’t looking at the strangers, but looked up at the sky of the warm space colony that made her uncomfortable.

===Part 2===

Below Marida’s feet, about 50m away from the inner walls, at the outer walls of Industrial 7 that’s in direct contact with vacuum, two objects were closing in.

The larger one was more than 15m in diameter, and the two objects that were of irregular shapes look like normal pieces of rock in the shoal space region. The pilot of the <<Geara Zulu>> that was hidden on the back of the solar panel, Savoir, saw it. It’s unknown whether it was a block of dirt from the destroyed portion of the space colony, or whether they’re debris from some mineral refining satellite. Either way, it’s moving at the same speed as Industrial 7, and even if it touches the space colony, it will only graze the outer wall. The port management’s radar should have detected it. If they decide that there’s danger, they can set up countermeasures like using the colony-defense missiles to change the trajectories and so on. Savoir made this conclusion, and didn’t pay attention to the enlarged visual of the CG.

If he focused attention on a certain point, the overall surveillance will be eased. He has been watching outside alone for more than 12 hours, and he had already listened to the music he took out to listen to pass the time once. He felt that his concentration was weakening. He opened the visor of the helmet and used a tissue paper to wipe away the sweat. Savoir looked at the numerous windows on the all-view monitor. The 4 miniature camera devices that were set around the machine showed their visuals over to the cockpit of the Geara Zulu. There were the lights of a civilian ship that came into the dock, the subway lights that’s running on the outer wall of the space colony, and the two blocks of rock that were closing in. Savoir checked that everything was normal, and thought that it will be over in another 3, 4 hours. Once the deal’s done, he can return to the <<Garencieres>> and stretch his limbs nicely. He, who hasn’t had more than a thousand hours of flying, was treated as a rookie by the crew of the <<Garencieres>>, and is finishing a day’s worth of recon without handing over his duties…

Suddenly, the surveillance camera showed a signal, and the broadcast channel music that was playing inside the cockpit became static. Savoir hurriedly put his hand on the arm-raker, amplified the volume of the high frequency wireless radio and concentrates his consciousness on the countless conversations through the statics. The signal vanished after about 10 seconds, and Savoir heaved a sigh of relief.

That’s probably interference from the Minovsky Particles! Someone must have scattered the particles around this region to jam the electric waves as it expand, but the interference this time is really big. For precaution’s sake, Savoir did all sorts of mechanical tests, and checked the visuals of the surveillance cameras. There was nothing different from before other than the two blocks of rock moving behind the space colony and entering the blind spot of the camera.

However, Savoir didn’t know that the Minovsky Particles interference for that moment was so strong that even the port radar that had shielding parts was covered. The two pieces of rock then used this moment to change directions, not being what Savoir expected.

The uneven rocky surfaces let out glows from the control boosters, and the two stone blocks were slowly approaching <<Industrial 7>>. During the short amount of time while the boosters let out thrust, the stone blocks attained relative velocity to the rotational speed of the space colony, and they were stuck on a part of the outer wall  that had the ‘Wheels’ on it. Then, the thing that looked like a stone block from the outside seemed to explode like a balloon; and what appeared inside was obviously an artificial object.

The tea-brown body that was inorganic like rock had limbs that didn’t seem to have anything to do with a solid object. Also, the eye-like visor that had the function of covering the sensor on the head made it seem like it’s a mobile suit humanoid weapon, but there’s a lot of characteristics that didn’t fit it. It copied the traditional look of the Federation Army made mobile suits, but its head is so flat that it feels like it was hit, and it is only 12m tall, 2 sizes smaller than a standard mobile suit. The mechanical shoulders do not have any hands at the wrists, only wrists that were designed uniquely for this squarish unit. The advantage of this mobile suit is that it’s very versatile in terms of use, as its arms can be used to holster weapons. Based on this, the state right now doesn’t look very efficient.

However, this is only one form of the D-50C <<Loto>> machines. The two <<Lotos>> removed their stone exterior—dummy balloons used for disguise, and got close to the space colony while being hidden in Minovsky’s Particles, and the machines that were obviously much smaller than mobile suits were facing the outer walls of the ‘Wheels’.

The stars in the background were moving relatively to the rotational speed of the colony, and the machines draw out the mechanical arms from under the wrists. The tip of the beam burners melt the outer wall of the ‘Wheels’. Unlike a beam saber that’s a concentrated form of beam, the beam burner shoots out hi-energy mega-particles directly, causing the outer wall of the ‘Wheels’ to melt like butter. Less than several seconds later, more than 10m square of the outer wall is sliced off, and both <<Lotos>> manage to successfully enter the place. One machine enters, and the second machine goes in to weld the outer wall from the inside. This is to simply weld the important parts and not spend too much time when escaping.

There’s no air filled in this outermost area of the ‘Wheels’ as the metallic frames were still being built. The ceiling is less than 10m tall, and the materials that were left aside were left behind the pillar, creating a view similar to the bottom of a ship or below a jumping board. As the <<Loto>> at the back is welding, the machine at the front sneaks into the narrow space, and ducks down as its feet touches the ground. It looks like it fell as it touched the ground because of gravity, but this is the correct operating process of this machine.

Just as its feet are about to touch the ground, the caterpillar units that are installed at the back are deployed; and the 2 set of crawlers that bore 4 wheels each bore the weight of the <<Loto>> unit as it land. Both legs then reached forward, and the thigh-equivalent parts were extended forward. The upper arms slide back, and the two wrist are attached to the left and right side of the machine, forming a machine with limbs all over the place.

[[Image:KSGU2 017.jpg|thumb]]

The flattened head is half-entrenched back inside the body, and the six-wheeled crawlers that are equipped behind the thighs of the <<Loto>> land on the ground. The <<Loto>> that’s not a humanoid shape but a tank now moves its four crawlers and went forward as a tank.  The <<Loto>> behind it transforms into a tank too without waiting for its ally to move far, and men in normal suits came out from the troop transport room behind it. They then leave the machine under zero gravity and use the boosters to go all over the place before quickly starting on their designated missions.

The smart normal suits that look like they’re for pilots to use have bulletproof vests with magazine pouches worn on the outside, and the holsters of the M-92F automatic pistol are attached onto their right legs. The arms and knees have hardened plastic guards, and there are recoilless rifles slung behind the shoulders. The men are all wearing this equipment, and didn’t do any unnecessary movements. The boosters that have jet fire caps to reduce the lights are moving, and the profiles of the people wearing helmets can be seen landing on the ground, not minding the gravity on their bodies as they begin to deal with the access hatches on the wall and the ground. They have to restore the alarm mechanism as the outer wall was melted, set up a mechanism for them to maintain contact with each other even with the effects of Minovsky Particles, and establish connections to control systems that manages lifelines and safety system. The assignment is completed in less than one minute, and during this time, the <<Loto>> that’s moving in front went down the split path and disappeared. In this faint passage with neither air nor sight of crowds, the rumbling of the caterpillars is slowly echoing as it moves further and further away.

The slight tremble echoed through the ground, causing the machine to jerk, and reach Commander Daguza Mackle in the control room. 45 seconds after the operation began, Daguza said ‘we’re through’, and a short (Go) went through the wireless communication, letting Daguza know that the relay device is set up.

“Safety system.”

(Go)

“Governor.”

(Go)

After a hushed exchange, the fully-armored men end their work and return to the <<Loto>>. The last one moves through the back of the vehicle, and Daguza indicate the pilot sitting at the front to start moving. The Strategic Naval Research Institute—SNRI developed mini core reactor gives off power that won’t lose to an ordinary reactor as it moves the 4 crawlers. Daguza’s <<Loto>> jerked as it does not move down the path the front unit went through, but through the narrow hatch.

The small size of the reactor allows the machine to be smaller, but the <<Loto>> can carry quite a few people. As a transforming mobile suit, it also has to fulfill the specs of a transport carrier during special missions, so, needless to say, it holds a transport room that can hold 8 troops inside. The control room can also contain 3 people, the captain, the driver and the communication personnel, and has the function of a command vehicle once it reaches a combat zone. On the screen at the captain’s seat, Daguza summoned out the map of <<Industrial 7>>. The flatscreen image of the space colony has the link between the space colony and the ‘Wheels’ as the center, and through the light spots, they’re able to tell where Team Alpha and Team Beta are at; allowing Daguza to realize how accurate the Inertia Navigation System (INS)—used to grasp locations through accelerations operation and time—is.

The operation has lasted for 1 hour and 40 minutes ever since they launched from the mothership <<Nahel Argama>>. There’s no delay in their journey, but Daguza isn’t taking any risks here. Earth, colonies, asteroids—to the members of ECOAS, special forces of the Earth Federation who believe in ‘fighting no matter where the location is’, invading colonies is just something normal for that. The problem is how to finish the mission without being seen. Daguza let the screen roll and focus on the stage of this battle. Down the inner wall of the ‘Wheels’, they will reach what’s basically equivalent to a dock of Industrial 7, the colony builder <<Magallanica>> that has a unique shape.

It’s a large facility governed as a public colony, but in fact, it’s the base of the Vist Foundation. That place has the target item, the <<Laplace Box>>. ECOAS’ mission is to confirm its existence, prevent them from handing it over to the third party, and if possible, reclaim it. It’s not stated, but Daguza knows that attached to the ‘stop’ word are the words ‘at any costs’, and ‘reclaim’ has the word ‘secretly’ attached to it. He knows this is a mission that the standard army can’t do and a mission that ordinary people can’t see, and that’s why the ECOAS are recruited. However, how much do their comrades on the command side know? They investigated through the insides of the <<Magallanica>> and the security system, but they have no idea of what the most important ‘box’ contains. Even if they find it out, he doesn’t know how to move it.

Thus, they have to confirm its existence. But with the involvement of the third party, the ‘Sleeves’, it can be said to be impossible for them to find this unidentified object. The success of this mission and the safety of the forces will all be in jeopardy unless they act ‘at all costs’. Daguza realize that they’re fighting with the savage title of manhunters, opened the visor of his helmet, pull the mask that was at his chin up to his nose before closing the visor.

Through the visor of the normal suit, what can be seen was only a cold expression. That nature of eliminating one’s own identity is ECOAS’ overall nature. In this get up, all members give up on their identities and become machines that will do their missions effectively, closing in on their targets silently and finishing the mission. They’ll disguise the results as an accident. Every person exists, and yet doesn’t, and are just a unit that forms ECOAS.

They will eliminate the waste that’s released from this huge organization called the Earth Federation without anyone knowing, clearing them without mercy. The way some forms of media portray them were right, but parts have no wishes, and won’t have any expectations. As long as they’re individuals or organizations, there’ll be wastage when people live. This is something someone has to do—Daguza use this philosophy he adheres to in order to shake away the doubt in his mind and turned his sights back to the screen in front of him.

The two <<Lotos>> use the short layer under the ground of the colony to quickly move through at top speed and gradually close in at the entry point of the space builder. The time now is 5:06pm, and the <<Nahel Argama>> is about to take action. Daguza exhales as he watches the time tick by. The breath that’s under the incombustible fabric mask brings about a presence of actual combat into the nose.

===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.”

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 is 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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