KSGU:Volume 6 Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Part 1

Marida Cruz was pushed hard by the back, and nearly fell as she barely managed to stand upright. The door was then closed, and the loud sound rang behind her.

There was darkness all around her. From the echo, she knew that she was in a rather wide place. Marida Cruz was not so reckless as to make a careless move, and she first closed her eyes, took a deep breath, let her eyes get used to the darkness, and scanned the place. There were no windows or anything similar inside this room, and she could see that there was a firefighting installation lamp. It was dark and hard to tell, but the ceiling was shockingly high. Is this a mobile suit hangar? The moment she thought about that, the handcuffs locking her hands let out a slight sound, and she felt them fall off.

(Ple Twelve)

The handcuffs that were remotely removed dropped onto the floor, and a woman’s voice rang through the darkness. Marida’s body jerked as she used her sight to track the source of this sound.

(That is your name, right? Answer me. You should obey your master’s instructions.)

The voice that echoed throughout was mixed in with the darkness, striking Marida’s heart and soul. Is this a new kind of experiment? Marida recalled the checks she went through for the past 10 days as her body and even her mind were cruelly investigated, and she inadvertently clenched her fists that were free. The continued use of drugs in the experiments caused her head to hurt, but she felt that her body had recovered to the point of adapting to the 1G gravity. She was only wearing a thin surgical tunic, but her movements were rather unrestrained.

If they had any intent to check on her body functions, it would not be a bad idea for her to move as much as possible and treat it as rehabilitation. Marida exerted strength on her legs that might turn limp if she relaxed, “You’re not my master.” and answered with a calm voice. At that moment, there was a flash that came from the front, seemingly with a voice, and her sights were dyed completely white.

Marida inadvertently raised her hands to block and narrowed her eyes to stare at the source of light. Her vision that recovered several times faster than an ordinary person showed two silhouettes with their backs facing the light. She could see the silhouette of a woman and a short stocky man with the many lightings instruments behind them, walking towards her. Is the man Alberto Vist? Marida thought secretly as she stared at the duo that were undefended, not wielding handguns or tasers, and her body froze as she took the stare that was several times more intense.

The woman’s blond hair looked rather dazzling with the light against her, and she stared right at Marida. “It’s dangerous.” Alberto said as he tugged at the woman by the sleeve, “It’s fine.” but was shaken aside by the woman who answered this. Her feet that were wearing the high-heeled shoes stood about 3m away from Marida.

“This girl can’t protect herself on her own without her master’s instructions.”

Just like what she heard at first, that voice with a heavy pressure surrounded Marida. The woman did not look away from her as her lips that had lipstick on curled up, saying, “Isn’t that right?”

“If that’s not the case, it’s impossible for her to be tortured till such an inhumane state, and she can possibly escape whenever she wants to, right?”

The woman lowered her stare at Marida’s stomach, her pale and skinny face showing no signs of pity. If the woman had read through the results of the checks, she would definitely know that Marida’s body was “incomplete” in some sense. At that moment, Marida deeply felt the humiliation that caused her body to tremble, but she immediately turned her lips into a smile, “It seems that I’m being misunderstood here.” and said to the woman with a restrained tone,

“Currently, I am a Neo Zeon officer. I have a duty to protect myself as a soldier. I don’t need a master to instruct me.”

I can choose to take you as a hostage and escape from this disgusting experimental facility. Marida expressed this meaning with silence as she darted her eyes to look at the dark space in front of her that looked like a hangar. “Impressive.” The woman answered as she gave Marida an unwavering stare.

“But you sure are pitiful, having to come up with such a reason to protect yourself.”

“Pitiful…?”

“That’s because you’re trapped by the logic of men. Don’t you feel that we women should live more freely?”

The testing eyes of the woman relaxed slightly, and she smiled as she stepped towards Marida, who inadvertently backed away.

She was similar to the people Marida saw in the filthy Red Light district filled with sour stench—and she definitely could not allow herself to let her guard down against these people who would smile in such a way. They would first let the other party relax before going rough. Marida was able to sense the fear almost instinctively, and she gathered her concentration on the woman’s actions under her emotions. However, “I am Martha Vist Carbine.” the voice rang, shocking her.

“I’m not a soldier, and I’m not a researcher here. There’s something I want to ask of you.”

The woman’s tone was different from before as it had a business-like flair. She reached her hand forward, and Alberto, who waited on standby like a shadow, approached her, and handed the notepad terminal over. Then, the woman who called herself Martha showed what she was doing. There was a 3-panel display of a mobile suit, and Marida’s stare was fixated on the display before she could even think.

It was the silhouette of a Federation-styled machine; and the head that formed its features and the unique structure of this machine were even more unmistakable to Marida. “This is…” Marida gasped as she saw this, and Martha did not look away from her once as she said with a hard and stern voice, “We call it the “Banshee”.”

“I hope that you’ll become its pilot.”

The face that said was vastly different from those of the residents in the Red Light district, and looked like a powerful elite who had established her authority. Marida could not believe her instincts at first, and looked cautiously at Martha.

“I suppose you understand very well that this isn’t a machine that a pilot can use. Only a completed Cyber-Newtype like you will be able to accomplish this, and you can definitely fulfill its capabilities to 100%...or even more.”

Martha closed the terminal and handed it over to Alberto behind her. Marida felt an intimidating chill from the determined look deep within the cold light in her expression.

“The problem is that you are too complete, and it’s hard for us to carry out adjustments on you. However, I feel that a pilot like this is able to become the pilot of the “Banshee”. It is not in my interest to put in a puppet whose memories can be swapped easily. What I want is…”

The skin of a powerful elite was shed away, and Martha again showed a smile that was hard to comprehend. What exactly is with this woman? Marida’s face felt a chill as she saw the finger that was as thin as a lath approach her, and she forcefully waved it aside.

“I said that I’m a Neo Zeon officer. There’s no reason for me to help you.”

“That’s just you trying to convince yourself that. Your soul actually wants to fly somewhere else…”

“Even so, I don’t want to fly in the place you provide. You might as well readjust me or interrogate me if you want me to help you.”

This woman is dangerous. Marida was able to sense this as she felt an irritating poison on her that would spread to everyone related to her. “Y, you, you should watch you mouth there…” Marida immediately gave an antagonistic look at Martha while ignoring Alberto who said this with an agitated voice. At that moment, the smile disappeared off Martha’s face, and she bellowed, “You shut up!”

Alberto’s silhouette could be seen with the backlight, his shoulders trembling. At the next moment, Martha’s expression then broke into a smile as she stared at Alberto that said, “you should understand, right?”

“This is a conversation between women. We have to listen to what she has to say, right?”

Martha’s stared at Alberto and his outstretched arm, and patted down his abdomen to the lower abdomen. This alone cause Alberto’s strength to be sucked away from Martha, and as he cringed like a dog with its tail between its legs, Marida immediately looked away from them.

Their relationship was not just that of superior and subordinate, and they were not just relatives. Marida could sense some sort of twisted rotten presence of a man and a woman—and Martha quickly shot a heinous stare over that was about to pierce her, causing her to look in front in shock.

“This girl’s instincts as a woman are enhanced too? What a troublesome woman…!”

Even though you’re just a created being. Martha gave such an unexpected tone from her expression and raised her right hand above her head. The hand that was raised did not swing down at her as this time, the lights in front of Marida went out, and the ones at the back lit up the dark and dim hangar. The object that was shrouded in darkness appeared in front of Marida’s eyes, causing her to be unable to breath for a few seconds.

The indigo colored machine that looked like a gathering of darkness had its limbs lying weakly, and it had a wrecked monoeye and a burnt black head. It was definitely a mobile suit, but the curved profile clearly indicated that it was not a Federation mobile suit. The two elegant flower-like large binders on its shoulders and the refined profile on the front end of their toes were part of a product of civilization not created under Earth’s gravity—what would be called the embodiment of Zeonism appeared right in front of her eyes. After the war, the Zeon remnants that escaped to the asteroid belt built this machine to preserve their memories of their country. In a way, it could be viewed as a symbol of Zeon. There was paranoia and nostalgia in this abnormally shaped machine…

“This is the mass-produced “Qubeley”, a machine all of you piloted.”

Martha said. Marida’s heart beat her chest wildly, and she was unable to breathe easily as she clutched onto her tunic.

That’s right, that’s the machine I, we rode on. It can be considered part of our bodies, and it should have been destroyed with my sisters, so why did it appear here? Whose machine was it? Marida felt puzzled. The machine serial number on the left torso was burnt black and unidentifiable , and the serial number at the legs could not be seen as they were blocked by the shadow of the toes. The binders on its shoulders were sagging weakly, and the giant leaned on the wall as it slumped down. Marida carefully examined the giant, and her sights were laid on the cockpit hatch. She stared right at it, not moving at all. The force of the explosion was enough to cause the hatch to explode, but the ejection pod showed no signs of shooting out. The machine did not take a direct hit, and the dim cockpit that was opened looked completely intact. Maybe there might be other survivors—

Suddenly, she felt goosebumps, and there was a sense of disgust rising up in her. Impossible. Her body that was crying this out started to tremble wildly, and she hurriedly looked away from the machine in front of her. She did not know why her body showed such a rejection that was so strong she could not believe it. Perhaps there was some other lifeform like her existing on this world, and for some reason, Marida felt disgusted by this biologically.

It felt like a nightmare becoming reality. As she was driven by this suffocating fear, she subconsciously backed off. No, I won’t be able to remain as myself if I stay here. I have to leave this place as far as possible. I have to hurry and get away from here. She thought.

“Look closely.”

Marida got grabbed by the arm, and her body that was being forcefully dragged entered Martha’s clutches, and her chin was held as she was forced to face the machine.

“That’s how you look. You’re still inside the cockpit of that machine. Even if you want to act as the human called Marida Cruz, your soul is still imprisoned in there.”

The dark opening of the cockpit entered her eyes, but she was unable to close them. She could shake the hand off if she wanted to, but her body could not exert strength at all. Stop it! Her own intent was unable to become a voice, and she could only face her separate identity helplessly.

“Do you know why that’s so? That’s because you’re a product of men’s logic. You were created by men, who only know how to fight until their heads bleed, as a tool of war. You’re created from a woman’s womb, so don’t you find it unnatural?”

Marida was sweating, and her heart was beating faster. That’s right, I’m just a tool. Once I lost my purpose for battle, I could only be used to satisfy men’s lusts there was a thought that brewed in her body, shocking her so badly that she started to twist and struggle. Martha’s hand however remained unmoved as her thin fingertips that were pressing Marida’s face spread their icy body temperature onto her.

“But no matter the origin, it doesn’t matter. You do exist as yourself after all, and there’s no need for you to restrain yourself to fulfill men’s logic. Let me bring you out of that machine.”

Martha’s icy cold fingertips went down from the face to the throat, and then stroked past the curves in front of the chest. Marida felt like her strength was sapped away completely as she tried her best to stand straight.

“The world outside is interesting too. There won’t be anything that will restrain you, and you can use your own strength freely. As long as I have this strength of yours, it will be possible to restructure this world. Come with me. Let’s walk out of this dark place and save this world that follows men’s logic and is heading to its doom .”

The lips that broke into a smile curled up, and Martha showed a grudging look in her gloomy eyes. The “Qubeley” that had its monoeye blown off overlapped with her face, and Marida could not help but let out a voiceless scream.

Part 2

The club for the tee shot swung down, and the unique sound of a hard ball gliding through the wind as it passed through the sky highly. The ball that was sent flying flew above the fairway entered the blue sky, and the eyes could not find it.

To an outsider, this shot was nicely hit, and there was a little applause from the crowd. The man understood that this should be a form of etiquette, but he did not understand golf at all, and he had no intent of mixing around with the crowd just like that. Bright Noa stared at the back of the man, Ronan Marcenas, standing at the tee ground, who picked up the tee and handed the club to his caddy. Ronan seemed to notice Bright’s stare as he exchanged some words with the elderly man at the tee ground and showed a smile while keeping a sharp look on Bright.

“This way, please.”

Patrick Marcenas, who was standing beside Ronan, seemed to notice his intent and whispered. Once he heard the news from the Senate Council, the son-in-law went right to the dock at Sasebo to welcome Bright, not forgetting to introduce himself as the public secretary as he led the other man as someone working behind the scenes. Bright understood that Patrick was showing respect to him, and he did not show any signs of actual contempt under his polite and attentive appearance, but he felt uneasy about this overly exaggerated method that was used. Leaving aside this, there was also no reason why he had to meet Ronan, let alone wait for him on a golf course.

Ronan, who was wearing a pink polo shirt and a visor, withdrew himself from his golf buddies and sat on the passenger seat of the cart. With the overly serious look from Patrick behind, Bright walked towards the man, and adjusted the tie he was unused to wearing. He continued to remain still, partly to annoy. Ronan stared at the dazzling greenery on the course, “Sorry to make you come all the way here.” and spoke up first.

“I wanted to invite you to our house, but unfortunately, the outside world is sticking its eyes too tightly on us.”

“No…what would you, as the chairman of the Settlement Issues Council, have with a soldier like me?”

Bright restrained his tone, but still expressed his intent. Ronan moved his face slightly and gave a sharp probing look on the other man. “You don’t play this?” after asking that, he turned his sights to the wide golf course.

“This isn’t popular in space.”

Bright felt that his answer was not appropriate, but he had nothing else to answer. At that moment, the sound of the wind could be heard as the next player swung the next shot, and Ronan applauded courteously as he said with a wry look, “You’re really an honest man!”

“It’s good to know that you’re a man just like what they said, but at this point, I really have to ask you to play along for now. I hope that you’ll call me as if you’re familiar with me. The car’s waiting at the clubhouse.”

The sharp glance briefly showed the majesty Ronan had as a heavyweight politician, and he then, he showed a casual smile as he got up from the golf cart. At this moment, his fat body swayed slightly as he nearly tumbled onto the ground with his knee. Bright wanted to reach out his arm to help, only to see Ronan’s fat face look right back at him and wink with a smile. Having understood that the ‘skit’ had started, he frowned. “What’s wrong?” the other players asked as they showed their concern.

“It’s fine, don’t worry. I’ve not been feeling well this morning.”

“That won’t do. Do you want to head back first?”

“I guess, since I managed to pull quite a lead in the last round…”

With the caddy supporting him, Ronan sat on the golf cart. Bright did not look at the back of the man as he exchanged looks with Patrick, did not look at the other players who seemed like influential figures as he left the tee ground.

There was an impressive looking clubhouse after they went by the lush green carpet of the 7th hole. To soldiers, who did not have much hope in standing out, there were not many chances for them to walk amidst Mother Nature, let alone step onto a member-only golf course. Bright refused to sit on the cart together with Patrick, who invited him on, and decided to walk to the clubhouse as Ronan, who would reach back earlier, would need some time to change clothing. Since there were eyes from the ‘outside world’ watching, Bright determined that it would be best if they did not move at the same time.

Bright was invited to ride on the private jet at the Sasebo factory located in the Eastern half of Asia, and more than 6 hours passed before he reached the golf course in Atlanta on North America. The radiating and dazzling light that was shining down here gave a sense of appropriate greenery, and it felt completely different from the light humid air in the Far East. The green fields on the golf course were lined up neatly like how it was in a colony, but they did not give the feeling that they were able to hide the climate of the landscape. This lifeforce that could not be restrained was Earth’s characteristic, and as Bright understood that he was amongst this, his unhappiness over being summoned here out of a sudden was more or less quelled. Thinking back, he realized that he had been moving between the dark ship bridge and the docks ever since he came to Earth, and did not manage to walk under the sun properly for once. He viewed this as a temporary solace; that it was not a bad idea to bask in the forest of a high-class golf course. To him, who was in the latter half of the 30s, a lack of exercise was an issue he could not take lightly.

But once he takes a step out of this place, he would have no choice but to understand the intention why Ronan summoned him. As the commander of the independent force Londo Bell, the politicians would view him as a pawn that could be summoned easily. Since the other party had arranged this private meeting through a minister of the General Staff, there had to be some reason why the other party took the trouble to look for him. The situation was such that they had to keep it a secret from the media and even the stares from the government—either way, he hoped not to be ferried to the Marcenas mansion forcefully by being stuffed into the trunk. As he played around with this imagination that could not be considered a joke, he strolled past the turf that was mysteriously trimmed neatly. The strong sunlight of Southern USA caused his head, which was still not used to the jet lag, to hurt somewhat.