KSGU:Volume 7 Chapter 2 - Revision history

92.251.211.238: /* Part 5 */

2013-05-27T19:52:11Z

Part 5

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:52, 27 May 2013
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	“I’m not going to space on this ship?”		“I’m not going to space on this ship?”

	“Our relationship with the ~~Foundaiton~~ isn’t good. They won’t let us search for the treasure with them.”		“Our relationship with the Foundation isn’t good. They won’t let us search for the treasure with them.”

	Bright shrugged as he said simply. His relaxed attitude would make one suspect if this was a trap to lower Banagher’s guard, but the latter did not feel this deliberate action from the other man’s bitter smile. Also, there certainly was a relaxing atmosphere inside the room. Banagher exhaled a little and sat on the chair.		Bright shrugged as he said simply. His relaxed attitude would make one suspect if this was a trap to lower Banagher’s guard, but the latter did not feel this deliberate action from the other man’s bitter smile. Also, there certainly was a relaxing atmosphere inside the room. Banagher exhaled a little and sat on the chair.

Teh Ping at 08:36, 26 May 2013

2013-05-26T08:36:31Z

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Teh Ping: /* Part 13 */

2013-05-24T02:05:01Z

Part 13

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:05, 24 May 2013
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	Banagher interrupted as he spoke up. “What did you say…!?” Zinnerman muttered, and at the same time, sparks appeared on the front of the front glass. Besson quickly spun the steering wheel, and the snaking trailer was rubbing against the left inner wall. The frictional sound was deafening, “MISS MARIDA’S HERE TOO!” and Banagher yelled with a voice no softer than that.		Banagher interrupted as he spoke up. “What did you say…!?” Zinnerman muttered, and at the same time, sparks appeared on the front of the front glass. Besson quickly spun the steering wheel, and the snaking trailer was rubbing against the left inner wall. The frictional sound was deafening, “MISS MARIDA’S HERE TOO!” and Banagher yelled with a voice no softer than that.

			“Princess Mineva’s on the transport carrier outside, while Miss Marida’s piloting the black “Unicorn”. Tell the others not to attack it. She doesn’t know who I am anymore.”
	“Princess Mineva’s on the transport carrier outside, while Miss Marida’s piloting the black “Unicorn”. Tell the others not to attack it. She doesn’t know who I am anymore.”

	“What’s going on? Why are the Princess and Marida…”		“What’s going on? Why are the Princess and Marida…”

Teh Ping: /* Part 10 */

2013-05-24T02:04:09Z

Part 10

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Teh Ping: /* Part 9 */

2013-05-23T02:20:15Z

Part 9

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:20, 23 May 2013
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	===Part 9===		===Part 9===

			In terms of outcome, there was no need for Riddhe to correct his opinion on the Torrington Base. The local time was 1330, and the base took in the “Ra Cailum” that was expected to dock in. it was a place of paved concrete in a corner of the wilderness.

			A desolate mountain range—naturally, these mountains did not originally exist. They were the rocks left behind from the impact—the base 2km wide was fenced up with the mountains at the backdrop, and the headquarters, barracks and hangars, these impersonal buildings were everywhere within this place. The garrison mobile suits in the hangar comprised of the old machines from the initial 3rd generation machines, but there was no sight of the latest “Anks”a" mobile suits. There was a little war memorial in the base, filled with the mobile suits’ debris that were exploded and burnt, but this was most probably the result of haggling over the expenses for the asphalt. The base did not look like it came to life, even with the flagship of the Londo Bell docked in here out of a sudden, but even when looking from afar, the operatives that were obviously demoted looked emotionally drained. It seemed that the barren sight at the end of the world was overlapped with the gloomy day as even the music from the welcoming band seemed melancholic.

			The “Ra Cailum” turned the cooling plate at the bottom of the ship 90 degrees inwards and landed on the temporary dock located at the western end of the base. There were countless landing pads on the docking ground, bearing the weight of the 500m long ship equally. However, though it was called a temporary dock, there was not a single wall around. The “Ra Cailum” was sitting in a corner of the base undefended, but there was no need to worry about it being spotted by anyone in this empty wasteland. Once the landing was done, Riddhe, Nigel and company got down to the mobile suit deck. The entire ship was to be on guard until the “Unicorn” and the “Banshee” were moved. Riddhe, who was still excluded from the squad, had to check the heavy repairs done to the “Delta Plus”.

			This stop had to remain low profile, so all ceremonies of having soldiers lineup or the base commander invite them were omitted, but the inside of the ship was still in a frantic mess as the two mobile suits were moved out. The deck crewmen were all running around without rest, either packaging the spare parts of the “Banshee” or coordinating the large trailer moving the “Unicorn”. The shutter leading to the deck at the back were all opened, and even as the air outside was flowing into the mobile suit deck, Riddhe continued his own work. “We came all the way here, and they still want us to remain on standby? There has to be a limit to how cautious we can be.” Watts once complained, but his view would definitely change if he had known that Mineva Zabi was on this ship. Either way, it was a good thing for Riddhe now that he had a job he could focus on. He would not have to worry about any other thing during this time, and he would not have to curse himself for being unable to do anything or feel out of place for being unable to vent his frustrations.

			Even till this point, he had not established contact with his father, and though he had looked for Captain Bright, the situation had not improve, and Mineva would definitely be taken to space with the people of the Vist Foundation. He spotted the large Medea-type transport carriers on the runway outside, and wondered, ''how are they intending to head into space?'' The white frame of the “Unicorn” was lifted by the two “Jestas” and laid down horizontally on the trailer, and as he glanced aside at this, Riddhe blankly let his mind thing. Unlike the “Banshee” that was moving into the “Medea” on its own, the “Unicorn” was dragged over by the trailer, and the reason for this was due to the only pilot, Banagher, refusing to work with the Vist Foundation.

			''That’s his style alright''…he thought, but felt Alberto’s words appear in his mind again, and bit his lips in the cockpit alone. His rational side was telling himself that there was no reason for him to feel angry, but he could not understand why he felt cheated, and this goosebump he could not leave alone continued to swirl in his heart.

			''That guy gave that ordinary look like he simply got involved in this—no, there was already an abnormal feel about him right from the beginning. If he really has the Vist bloodline, I can only describe my two battles alongside him as ironic. He’s supposed to belong to the other side, but I got fooled by him saying ‘you’re a man of your word’, and ended up knowing the fate of my cursed family. I’m like a clown performing here.''

			''Is this the curse of the “Box” at work too?'' Riddhe ended up thinking back about the “Box” again, and just when he wanted to shake off this thought from his mind and gather his focus on the inspection, a familiar chestnut-colored hair appeared in the corner of his sights and he felt his heart, which had been beating loudly up till this point, suddenly went silent.

			She, with that natural chestnut-colored hair on her, was flanked by the surrounding Vist subordinates in black suits, and was about to get onto the electric car parked at the deck. She appeared on a window of the all-view monitor that was fully switched on during this system check, and her back was clearly shown on it, and Riddhe’s heart, which stopped once, started to beat wildly. He snuggled out of the cockpit like he was trying to leap out from it, and jumped onto the gondola parked beside the hatch. “AUDREY!” he immediately pressed the button to move the gondola down. “What now!?” Sergeant Hanna’s voice rang from before, but Riddhe got down to the deck and yelled, “IT’S ME, AUDREY!” as he leapt off the gondola.

			Mineva’s eyes widened as she looked back, and she wanted to break away from the ranks, only to be restrained by the subordinates in black suits. Riddhe however did not care about Martha’s piercing stare as she walked in front as he continued to dash down the mobile suit deck. Mineva could be seen occasionally through the gaps between the subordinates as they waited for the car to pass by, and just when RIddhe was about to see her face, “How troublesome”, Alberto said as he got in front of them.

			“I should have told you that you’re not to see her, Ensign Riddhe.”


			Alberto’s round face looked hideous, and the pilot of the “Banshee” appeared behind him. Her face under the black helmet looked like a watchdog that would leap at all criminals on her master’s command. Riddhe stopped in his tracks, watched Mineva get accosted away from beyond Alberto’s shoulders, and let out a restrained voice as he said,

			“Just let me talk to her for a moment.”

			“This is my issue with her. You don’t have the right to stop—”

			“We DO have the right to stop you. I should have said before that we have to protect Her Highness Mineva.”

			“You dare to say protect when you’re using her as a hostage!? Handle your family inheritance issues in the family! She shouldn’t be involved in such vulgar stuff!”

			“If that’s the case, I do feel that it’s more vulgar of a Federation soldier to have a crush on her.”

			Upon seeing the fat face sneer, an enraged Riddhe unwittingly walked forward. “Ensign Riddhe…!” Mineva, who was behind the “Banshee” pilot blocking him, was about to be carried up the electric car. ''You’re the only one I’ll definitely protect. That’s what I promise. I suppressed my inner heart and came here just to protect you, but I can’t do anything. We won’t be able to meet again—''this premonition caused his gut to sink, “AUDREY!” and he yelled out without a care for anything else in the world as he merely thought of pushing aside this pilot in front of him and charge right at the electric car. The pilot quickly dodged, reached her arm to grab his arm from the side, and pulled him towards her by using the momentum of the charge. Surprisingly, Riddhe’s legs left the floor easily, and he spun half a round in the air as he landed on the ground.

			The tall ceiling of the mobile suit deck appeared in front of Riddhe’s eyes, and the face of the black-suited pilot did not twitch as it appeared in front of him. The electric car door was slammed shut, and the sound of the engine grazed by as the car drove off. Riddhe did not have the time to feel pain, and his sense of rationality was immediately broken as he got up and grabbed the pilot.

			“You puppet…!”

			''I won’t show mercy even if you’re a woman,'' Riddhe decided as he immediately reached his arm out at the pilot’s chest, but the pilot was faster as she grabbed Riddhe forcefully on the throat. Riddhe grabbed that springy hand and intended to pull it away, but he spotted some emotion flash by the bottom of the pilot’s eyes.

			There was a dull light deep within that eyes that were reminiscent of hollows, and the azure blue eyes widened before she stopped moving. The strength of the hand grabbing onto the throat suddenly weakened, and Riddhe forcefully shook it off intently. The pilot backtracked due to the force of the release, and she showed a pained expression as she put her hands on the helmet covering her head. A certain emotion flashed through the bottom of her void eyes, and her eyes which were then filled with life immediately closed up.

			“What is it? Is your head starting to hurt again!?”

			Alberto turned pale as he pushed aside the flabbergasted Riddhe and went to the pilot. The pilot pushed the hands away and reached her hands for the handrail of the trailer, only to collapse onto the floor. Her hand, pressing onto her head, was tensed up, and her trembling fingers were pressing into her helmet as she ostensibly tried to rip it out—no, she looked like she was trying to squash the skullcap together with it and rip out the brains inside.

			“Call Bentner in, quick.”

			On hearing Alberto’s restrained voice, the subordinates hurriedly turned around and left. Riddhe did not understand what was going on, and originally intended to look at the pilot’s face as she knelt down. “DON’T APPROACH HER!” Alberto yelled with spite and furor, shocking Riddhe enough to stop him in his tracks.

			“It’s because you did too many excessive things that things ended up like this. That’s why I said not to let her take the same ship…!”

			Alberto ignored the expressions on the subordinates’ faces as he showed his true emotions and glared defiantly at Riddhe. He then knelt down and got behind the pilot. “Excessive things, you say…?” Riddhe answered, but Alberto did not care about this response as he was only concerned with the pilot, and spoke, “Oi, hang in there. I’ll tell someone to move the “Banshee” there. Head there to rest.” Riddhe took a step back from the place, and looked over at the shutter leading to the aft of the ship. The electric car ferrying Mineva would head through the mobile suit deck in the ship, exit the landing deck on the aft, and head down onto ground. He wondered if there was any way he could catch up, and looked around the mobile suit deck, only to hear a vague cough-like hoarse voice enter his ears.

			“The enemy’s, coming…”

			He could barely hear these words, and Alberto inadvertently turned to look at the pilot, who shook off the arm on her shoulder as she got on her trembling legs and turned her unsteady eyes at a certain spot.

			“This feeling, master…?”

			She muttered, and her eyes showed anxiety as there was a certain will rising up from the dark hollow to the surface of her eyes gradually—those were the eyes of a human. Riddhe followed the eyes that were suddenly full of life and stared at the pilot’s face. “Wrong, I’m your master.” Alberto immediately said as he got up, his pudgy back blocking Riddhe’s sight.

			“I’m your guardian, I’m the only one who can protect and support you. Repeat this with me, the “Gundam” is the enemy—”

			Alberto grabbed the pilot’s shoulders and looked right into her eyes. She turned her eyes, perplexed, and was attracted to his eyes as she repeated, “The “Gundam”…is the enemy”. Her eyes lost all glow, and Riddhe, who did not understand the situation, suddenly felt that this situation simply felt weird as he backed away. At this moment, the alarm rang without warning, causing him to tense up.

			The red alarm set on the wall flashed, and everyone working on the mobile suit deck immediately stopped. Riddhe exchanged looks with Alberto, felt a sense of discomfort within him, and was driven by it to respond as he dashed without waiting for the bright to broadcast the report.

			He darted past the work vehicles transporting the materials and sprinted towards the “Delta Plus” on the hangar. He was not sure why this was happening, but after witnessing the abnormality of the “Banshee” pilot, he understood that something abnormal was about to begin.

			===Part 10===

Teh Ping: /* Part 8 */

2013-05-22T09:48:40Z

Part 8

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:48, 22 May 2013
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	===Part 8===		===Part 8===

			The ship descended in height, and after the final cloud became mist and floated above them, the surface of the Sydney Bay suddenly appeared in their eyes.

			They descended from 800m in height and continued to descend. As the ship had already slowed down to its original speed, one would be fine even if they were to appear on the open deck. Riddhe waited for the immigration surveillance to deploy as he came to the open deck together with the inspector on standby. The bridge back made it possible to shelter him from the wind, but the winds blowing upon his face was still very cold. The Tri-Stars zipped up their flight jumpers from their chests as they too accompanied him, and like tourists who were visiting without thinking, felt suspicious about this unexpected cold as they looked down at the Sydney Bay below them. In fact, it seemed that they did not think about how the seasons would be different in the South as compared to the North, and thought that it was merely a difference between the climates. The day was May 6, and it was in mid-autumn.

			Basically, the reason why they felt cold was not simply because of the temperatures. Riddhe looked past the nozzles of the main thrusters protruding right below his eyes as he stared down at the land that was on the distance horizon. The tea-brown color that appeared faintly in the cloudy day looked like the shadow of an island when looking from the ocean. However, what was surprising was that there was a curve expanded to both left and right side, creating a thing veil on both left and right sides of the horizon as well. “Hey, there’s really a round hole there.” Watts leaned his body out from the handrails as he said this with a rather pale expression, in stark contrast from the usual teasing tone.

			“Is this the place where the colony dropped?”

			“800km diameter, said to be one-sixteenth the size of the entire Australian continent; well, an entire area of land was blown up from the old Sydney to the inland…”

			Daryl answered beside them as he tensed up his slightly tanned Latin face. Riddhe felt the cold air remain in his chest as he turned his sights to the shadows of the land. Right, this place was not the ocean in the place. As the landscape around the place had seemingly indicated the place, the “Ra Cailum” had approached the skies above the Australian continent. 17 years ago, the “Island Iffish” space colony was dropped upon this place, causing Sydney to be dug up from the continent together with the state of New South Wales, and formed a huge crater in the southwestern side of the Australian continent. A part of the circumference overlapped with the coast in the past, and though it was directly connected to the Southern Pacific, the circle that was blown up inland looked more like a lake than a port. It was impossible to imagine that there was originally land on this place, the largest lake in the world ever since the world was born—and people stupefied over this scar of devastation instead of seeing it as a spectacular scene. But either way, this was too concealed to be considered a sea, and too open to be considered a lake; a certainty to confuse an observer’s sense of geography. It was a natural scene, but it could not fit in with nature, and could be considered a distorted space.

			“But what happened to the land that was originally here? Is it blown up into space or something?”

			It seemed that there were changes on the crust, and some parts were buried in the sea, while the majority was blown up into the atmosphere and still remains as dust in the skies. That’s why the horizon looks so blurry. It was said that the horizon could be seen very clearly when the weather was fine before that colony dropped onto Earth.”

			“Such a large mass of land got blown up as dust floating in the air…” Watts retracted his upper body poking out from the handrail and cringed his shoulders. “I really don’t understand . those guys on Earth really don’t want to let go of this world.”

			This line indicated the thoughts of Spacenoids, and Riddhe felt that it was a little unexpected as he turned his head around. Watts continued to look down at the sea surface at his feet without moving, and Nigel, who was standing not too far away, glanced over. His usual unconcerned expression was still hiding an intent to observe in the eyes. Riddhe found himself uneasy as per usual and started looking for a place he could rest his eyes on at a place closer in. he found several objects protruding from the brown wasteland devoid of greenery.

			That was most likely the debris of the colony. In the past, the coast of Sydney was blown off with a range reaching hundreds of kilometers, and the burnt black debris of the colony was still scattered upon the landscape like a tombstone. Riddhe once heard that the reason why this place was never replaced was because the crust had not stopped changing, and there was difficulty removing the debris scattered around. Some of the colony debris were several hundred meters in height, and such exceptionally large rubbish was something no large construct on Earth could compare to. If there was a need to talk about its one worth, it would be that this field of rubbish could be used as a modern obstacle course for mobile suit piloting training. One could certainly praise the Federation army for having quite the foresight to keep Torrington Base after the war, whether it was for the sake of obscurity, or that the land it was on could not be used for any other purposes. Perhaps it was because it set up as an Achilles heel, as its geography meant that it was isolated, that it was once attacked by Zeon remnant forces soon after the war, and was once used as a nuclear weapon storage site, something that was forbidden in the Antarctica Treaty. However, the media attention on it had become a thing of the past, and this base, which was treated as a nearly forgotten shanty until recently, could only be described as a remote place.

			The base should be set up at less than 20km away from the coast, but they could not see any signs of it from the ship. There was nothing moving on the land that was shrouded under the clouds, and one would certainly mistake it for a barren land on Mars as it extended beyond the horizon in front of everyone. “There’s nothing here.” Watts said, and Riddhe had no disagreement about that as he merely stared at the continent that expanded beyond unwittingly. The clouds that were roaming down low, right above his head, were thick and heavy, seemingly lighting up a fire in his gloomy emotion.

			“I suppose we’ve arrived on land now, and we can only think wildly in the base’s rest room at most. What do the people in Torrington normally do everyday?”

			“Most likely, I think they’ll just chill out and enjoy nature. I head that the sunset at Sydney Bay is quite the unforgettable sight.”

			“How boring…we’re going to continue hunting Zeon remnants after we let those Foundation people off at the base? I’ll really bore to death if I can’t find a place to spend the time. Besides, even if we don’t talk about it, the air in the ship has been really stale.”

			Watts said as he gave a reproaching look at Riddhe, who had been getting used to this for the past few years. The latter decided to ignore the former’s stare, “What I’m concerned is why they chose this place.” And looked over at Nigel who raised the question.

			“It seems that those people from the Foundation are intending to switch over to a space shuttle, but Torrington Base doesn’t have any Mass Driver launch facilities. How do they intend to launch into space?”

			Nigel did not respond to Riddhe’s stare as he said that with an unconcerned look. “Maybe they’ll probably use an equipped booster to launch into space?” Daryl answered with a bored tone.

			“Torrington is really a backwater region, so even if the “Ra Cailum” is docked there, it won’t be too conspicuous. It sure seems like an idea those people with ulterior motives will have.”

			“Maybe, but they’re going to head into space with 2 “Unicorns” on it too. I don’t think the Torrington Base had that kind of large space shuttle, and it’s not easy to get one either. Maybe there’s another way.”

			“Another way?” Watts asked, and Nigel pointed his chin silently into the sky. Riddhe followed Daryl and Watts’ stare as he looked up and spotted two machines flying between the clouds.

			The soft sound of the engines became louder, and the silhouettes of the two disc-shaped machines were gradually closing in. The lifting bodies of the two machines glided past, leaving beside a rotor sound right above the “Ra Cailum” as it disappeared into the clouds. “What’s that? Some Base Jabber?” Watts reached out his short neck hard as he watched the machines leave and muttered, while Nigel answered, “No.” as he stopped looking for the machines in the sky.

			“That’s a transformable mobile suit. I think it’s a new elite machine of the Federation army, called the “Anksha”. Read through the data before.”

			“Ah, the next generation machines following the Asshimar-type? I heard that it could transport mobile suits in its transformed form.”

			Daryl said. Riddhe himself recognized the “Asshimar”; it was a transformable mobile suit type with a unique shape, and was assigned to important points on Earth 10 years ago. Once its round head and arms were retracted in, the upper body of that mobile suit would show a disc shape, like an illusion. He recalled how shocked he was when he saw it on the news for the first time. To the Federation after the war, the “Asshimar” was a machine that hardly had the chance to operate effectively under gravitational conditions, but that was still not the driving force behind Riddhe’s willing to join the air force. To a plane hobbyist, this round-disc flying mode was complete unorthodox and simply ridiculous.

			The “Anksha” seemed to be the successor, and the legs below the disc were made to be more aerodynamic in shape, and the sides of the lifting body seemed to have two long barrels of beam launchers. Riddhe was not very certain, but he could see a platform used to ferry a mobile suit on top of it. “Torrington Base has that kind of thing?” Watts asked, and he and Riddhe looked over at Nigel. If this were the case, he would have to change his view on Torrington Base. “Who knows?” Nigel answered as he looked up at the sky shrouded in grey clouds.

			“Most possibly…”

			The wind blew by as it swayed his hair, and his eyes were hinting at other possibilities as he looked into the sky. Riddhe frowned and looked over at Nigel’s face that seemed to be hiding something.

			===Part 9===

Teh Ping: /* Part 5 */

2013-05-22T01:34:26Z

Part 5

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Teh Ping: /* Part 4 */

2013-05-21T03:39:57Z

Part 4

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Teh Ping: /* Part 3 */

2013-05-21T01:26:16Z

Part 3

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Teh Ping: Created page with "==Chapter 2== ===Part 1=== “Torrington Base?” It was a name Alberto had never heard of before, and he could not help but parrot it in his mouth again. “Right, it’s ..."

2013-05-20T08:27:43Z

Created page with "==Chapter 2== ===Part 1=== “Torrington Base?” It was a name Alberto had never heard of before, and he could not help but parrot it in his mouth again. “Right, it’s ..."

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==Chapter 2==

===Part 1===

“Torrington Base?”

It was a name Alberto had never heard of before, and he could not help but parrot it in his mouth again. “Right, it’s a Federation base located in Australia.” Martha answered while seemingly annoyed by this hassle.

“After that Zeon remnant attack, it seemed that the Central government has forgotten about that place. The base is surrounded by wilderness without people, so it shouldn’t attract a lot of attention even if the “Ra Cailum” heads there. We’re going there to get on a ship to space.”

Martha sank into a sofa that had brand new cushions and sighed. “Looks like our holiday in the Mediterranean is going to be delayed.” She rested her head on the back of the sofa as she gave a glance aside with that bewitching expression on her face. Ever since she brought Mineva Zabi onto the ship, she had been trying to show off her bewitching charms. Alberto gulped, “Aren’t we taking this ship to space?” and asked with a stiff voice.

“We can’t rely on this ship that exchanges information with Ronan if we want to find the “Box”, right? Besides, it seems that Captain Bright is a sly old fox that’s not easy to deal with. We have to find a way to keep the “Ra Cailum” on Earth.”

Martha finished, and closed her mouth, ostensibly annoyed to talk any further. It was ostensibly the sight of a chairwoman who just finished a day’s worth of work and lounging in a suite room, whether it was the 5m long room isolated from the bedroom or the thoroughly carpeted floor, but of course, this place was not a hotel. This VIP room was installed in a corner of the “Ra Cailum”, and was only used when special guests visit the ship. From the small window, the Indian Ocean 1000m below could be seen from the sky. This room was the last arrangement Captain Bright made when Martha demanded to have the commander room. As the commander and captain, Bright was staying inside the captain’s room, and the commander’s room that was often kept empty should be okay for anyone’s use, but this was a serious problem to the military. The disputes between Martha and Bright had been becoming a common scene to the crew, but it could be said that this room was the start of the dispute between the two.

In fact, this was not the reason behind Martha’s fatigue and anxiousness. “Then, how’s it going?” Martha stopped rubbing her eyes and gave a sharp glance as she questioned, causing Alberto’s shoulders to jerk in shock.

“Well…he insists that he won’t provide the correct information if we don’t release Her Highness Mineva.”

“It has been two days, and you haven’t made any progress? How useless.”

She frowned as she reached her hand for the coffee mug on the table. It had been two days since they used Mineva Zabi as a hostage, and 4 days had passed since the day they reclaimed the “Unicorn”. Alberto’s interrogation on Banagher was completely futile, and the former could only lower his eyes, lifting his eyes to peek at Martha’s expression from time to time.

“Maybe he’s just bluffing about the next coordinates pointing to space? I don’t want to be led on a wide goose chase.”

“Hm…but it appears that the appearance of Her Highness Mineva was a great shock to him. I feel that there’s no room for him to bluff his way. He’s still a kid no matter how he forces things—”

“He’s Cardeas’ child after all. Don’t forget that.”

Martha interrupted with a forceful tone as she set aside the coffee mug somewhat violently. The sound of the china clashing reached Alberto’s ears, and he hurriedly lowered his stare to the floor.

“He’s obstinate, stubborn, and gives the look that he’s bearing the weight of the world…you inherited your mother’s characteristics, but that child called Banagher is practically a clone of Cardeas. They were definitely living separate from each other. How inexplicable.”

Martha’s voice softened as she made this conclusion, and got up from the sofa. She walked to the window and looked at the ocean surface that was awaiting dusk. Her slender back profile appeared in the sunset, and her long shadow was dragged till Alberto’s feet.

“But perhaps he was not lying. The chances of the “Laplace Box” being in Founder Syam’s hands are very high, and I don’t think that grandfather’s cryo room would be located on Earth.”

Only a few people, namely, the Foundation leader and the direct associates to the Founder knew the location of Syam Vist’s cryo room—the room installed with cold sleep installation. The Founder’s direct associate organization was a different entity from the Foundation, and the common practice was that the Foundation leader was to take charge and manage both. With the current leader dead, there was no way Martha could make contact. After Cardeas’ death, Martha once tried to investigate the information she received thoroughly, but she did not find even an avenue with the Founder’s direct organization, let alone where the cryo room was located. The extent of this secrecy made Alberto and Martha deduce and believe firmly that the “Box” was hidden in the hidden location of a Founder.

The problem was that without the recognition of the Founder, and without the knowledge of the “Box”, there was no way Martha could be accepted officially as the Foundation’s leader. She managed to get the approval of her family simply by proposing to prevent the “Box” from being opened, and got up to the seat of the substitute leader, but there definitely was not just one executive amongst the Foundation’s management who was repulsed by her forceful actions. The Founder Syam had already known the truth behind Cardeas death, and when adding everything together, there was no guarantee that he was trying to prevent her plan. Alberto timidly looked at the back of the person in front of him, and Martha probably sensed that she was on thin ice as her back, covered by the shadow, looked even more tense than before.

“We still have to carry out the estimates for our course. I want to get the correct coordinates before we leave Earth…well, never mind. He’ll have to accompany us until the end. Let’s try to convince him slowly by bringing Her Highness Mineva along.”

Martha turned her face back, and the temporal moment of feebleness disappeared from her face, replaced with a radiant smile. The shadow reaching Alberto’s feet went away, and once he sensed the usual atmosphere of isolation descend upon them again, “About this.” he said tentatively.

“If we want to bring the “Banshee” together with the specimen into space, I suppose it’s best if she doesn’t take the same ship as Banagher or Her Highness.”

“Why?”

“They knew each other before the adjustments. If there’s a long time interaction, it’ll probably cause a mental burden on the specimen. President Bentner also reported that there seems to be signs of that—”

“Alberto.”

Martha looked like she was mocking a child as she showed a pitiful bitter smile on her face, causing Alberto to be unable to finish what he wanted to say. “From what I hear, you aren’t talking about a ‘specimen’, but showing your concern for a ‘lover’.” The words that followed caused his body to suddenly heat up.

“Your protection for her ends here. The reason you’re chosen as her master is because the data shows that opposite genders are easier to control. As long as the memory in her mind is reset to zero, this relationship will end. You should understand, right?”

Martha walked towards Alberto as her blond hair let out a rasping sound and the strong perfume aroma swarmed him. ''It’s the smell of night.'' As he immediately thought, her fingers touched his lower belly, “If you like to play with dolls, it’s fine.” and her whisper entered through his ears.

“But is this good? She can only use her mouth.”

He felt the pressure gathering below his belly for an instant vanish because of this line, and inadvertently withdrew back as he glared back at Martha. “WAKE UP!!” The angry chiding voice suddenly rang like a slap to his face.

“If unit 1 is the Unicorn, the “Banshee” as unit 2 is the lion. It’s just like the symbolism on that tapestry, they’re the complimentary beasts protecting the “Box”. You’re the successor to the Vist Foundation, so you better make them listen to you.”

The heavy presence of the tapestry, “The Lady and the Unicorn” that was moved Vist residence in the “Magallanica”, appeared in Alberto’s mind, dampening his burning head. The rage that suddenly swelled up in him a moment ago became vague because of this, and he could only lower his head quietly.

“If you can’t make them object, you’ll be left to feed on the scraps. Right now, even though the “Unicorn” is chained up, it continues to roam the wilderness. If you don’t want to lose to your little brother, you better not let go of the lion.”

''Little brother.'' This term, which bore no relation and yet felt extremely realistic, seeped into Alberto’s heart, and the last ounce of will to argue back melted. His restrained body and mind were hardened, as he felt himself sinking into floor as he answered with a murmur, “…yes.” . Martha snorted back and turned her face away, obviously having nothing to inform left.

===Part 2===

Alberto arrived outside the room, and found Marida Cruz waiting at the door. He gasped as he saw the deep blue eyes looking right at him, and averted his gaze as he walked down the corridor with her behind. “…Are you alright?” He asked.

“Yes. I had President Bentner carry out the adjustments.”

Marida followed Alberto on the right side as she answered with a monotonous voice. Two days after her direct meeting with Banagher, her neural waves were once messed up to a point that she nearly could not resonate with the psycommu, and though the symptoms had subsided, the frequency of the headaches she had was obviously increasing. Bentner indicated that Marida took hypnotism with drugs, and that they would need to carry out external operations if they wanted to carry out proper ‘adjustments’. Since they did not have the time to carry out the operations, they could only carry out treatments against the symptoms to ease and eliminate the headaches caused by the reactions.

But could she still remain as herself even after the operation on the brain? No, if everyone’s mind could be rewritten, there would be no need to let her remain as herself. It was just like what Martha said in her mocking, he was just restrained by meaningless thoughts. Alberto thought to himself as looked over his own shoulder at Marida, dressed in Vist Foundation formal clothing. Her original consciousness was sealed by drugs and hypnosis, but she did not seem as helpless as those of sleepwalkers, and her footsteps seem no different from an ordinary person. However, there was no shred of emotion in her eyes that were looking back at Alberto, and they looked like two hollow glass eyes, extremely unnatural.

He thought that those were the eyes of a puppet. The deep blue eyes that once covered him, the eyes of the woman who had both fortitude and gentleness were not present. Once he confirmed this, his chest felt a little gloomy, and he stopped in the middle of the corridor. He looked back at Marida who stopped as well, and averted his sights, “…Don’t endure it if you’re having it tough.” He squeezed out a voice as he said,

“If you feel the slightest bit unwell, tell me.”

“Yes.”

“The “Banshee” is not an ordinary mobile suit. If you can’t perform your best like usual, it’ll affect the machine’s abilities.”

“Yes, I’ll do my best.”

The glass pearl-like eyes did not waver at all as Marida merely answered blankly. ''Play with dolls,'' Martha’s voice rang in his mind, and an inevitable rash of anxiety suddenly rushed up his heart, “DO YOU UNDERSTAND OR NOT!?” he yelled clumsily,

“IF YOU FIND IT UNBEARABLE, UST SAY IT. IF YOU SAY THAT YOU CAN’T CONTINUE TO PILOT IT, I’LL GET THEM TO SWITCH YOU OUT!”

Alberto inadvertently grabbed Marida by her upper arms and looked into those dull-looking hollow eyes. However, the latter did not back away, and her unwavering eyes merely blinked once.

“If you have that intent, I can take you away from here if you want to. Think more for your own sake, I—”

“Is that an order?”

The thoroughly emotionless stare and voice cornered Alberto, and his arms lost strength. He grabbed Marida by the arms, but he just could not make a proper grip. “This isn’t what I mean…!” Alberto spoke halfway through, “Is that woman the pilot of the “Banshee”?” However, a third person’s voice caused him to jolt with shock.

He looked back, and found Riddhe Marcenas standing at the cross junction of the corridor, “It confounds me to think that this lady here is a Cyber-Newtype.” Riddhe said as he frowned and approached Alberto. ''Since when has that guy been standing there watching?'' Alberto resisted the urge to click his tongue and turned to face Riddhe, ostensibly trying to block Marida’s sights.

“She’s most likely a kidnapped orphan, am I right? Does the Vist Foundation deal with human trafficking too?”

“What is it you want, Ensign Riddhe?”

Alberto used his hand to restrain Marida, who had an intent to fight, and gave a refusing look to the man in officer uniform in front of him, telling him not to approach. At about approximately 2m distance, Riddhe stopped in his tracks and, “I hope to meet Mineva Zabi.” He said fiercely.

“Just 5 minutes. I’m the one who brought her to Earth in the first place. There’re some things I want to know.”

“I should have said before that it’s impossible. Currently, Her Highness Mineva is under the protection of the Foundation. Even if it’s the prince of the Marcenas’ family, we can’t allow Her Highness to meet an officer of the Federation.”

“Then let me see Banagher.” Riddhe continued to mutter as his fists showed the restrained anger. “I was ordered directly by the Senate Council, and it’s my duty to report everything that happens on this “Ra Cailum” to the superiors. As a civilian, you have no right to give me instructions.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t allow that each. If we’re talking about authority, I’m acting under the authority of the Senate Council chairman. If you want a request to talk directly, please obtain the permission of the superior.”

Upon seeing the speechless Riddhe, he felt like gloating over it. He moved his legs that were still, walked by the other man, “First, a family issue isn’t something the military should interfere with, right?” and added.

“Banagher Links is the son of the ex-Foundation leader, Cardeas Vist. He’s an illegitmate child, but he does have the Vist family name.”

“Banagher’s a member of the Vist family…?”

Stupefied. Riddhe’s face showed this description as he frowned and turned his widened eyes at Alberto. ''During the escape two days ago, this man once intended to help Banagher escape. The situation surrounding the “Box” is one thing, but what sort of change will happen to his emotional state after the sense of camaraderie with Banagher as allies?'' Alberto sneered, “You should understand, right?” and deliberately emphasized in a cocky manner.

“This is simply gossip, nothing to do with the “Box” and the “Unicorn”. His existence itself is a shame to the family. I hope that you as an outsider will ask less next time.”

Upon seeing Riddhe’s legs crumble as he retreated to the wall, Alberto felt that he vented out all his frustrations, and intended to leave the scene. However, a little snicker suddenly rang, causing him to stop in his tracks.

Riddhe was leaning against the wall as his body, arched forward, trembled, and his throat let out a croaking laugh. His voice got louder, “This is really amazing?” he let out a stiff laughter, and his laughing voice entered Alberto’s voice.

“So I’ve been actually fighting against the 100-year-old enemy…even if this is caused by the “Box”, this is really set up too perfectly. It’s really a joke.”

Riddhe’s bitter smile had a tint of gloominess to it, and he slammed his trembling fist at the wall. Alberto felt a chill that could cool his heart, “What do you mean?” and frowned as he asked. “Go ask Syam Vist yourself!” Riddhe answered back furiously as his expression changed, and turned a hideous look at Alberto.

“What did your Founder do 100 years ago, and how did he get the “Box”, build the Foundation? Once you know that, you can only laugh dryly at it.”

The bitterness swelled out from Riddhe’s shoulders as well, and before Alberto could ask, he turned away and left. The unexpected counter was not the only thing that shocked Alberto, and it felt like there was something more basic shaking his inner heart as he stared at that back with the speechless Marida.

Alberto clearly remembered the Foundation’s history, when he married into the Vist Foundation. However, the basic development of the Foundation—how Syam obtained the “Laplace Box”, and the “Box” itself were classified. There were no reasons for any outsiders to know about it, and the family members did not care about it. The Vist Foundation was a huge establishment, the “Box” had become a revered object that would not normally become a conversational topic, and nobody would talk about the Foundation Syam as well. Alberto had not talked to him ever since he retired from his position as the leader of the Foundation. Alberto himself only knew of the other man when he was introduced as the great-grandson during the grand retirement party, but that was just a vague memory from his youth.

Despire this, Riddhe sounded like he knew Syam. He called the Vist Foundation his 100-year-old enemy, and told Alberto to understand how Syam obtained the “Box”. ''As the descendant of the first prime minister of the Federation government, maybe he’s hiding some secret that’s not to be known?'' Alberto had this vague understanding as he felt an unknown chill surge up his body, and he looked very tentative as he stared at the back that was leaving.

''Does he know what’s inside the “Box”—?''

===Part 3===