KSGU:Volume 10 Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Part 1

The metallic walls kept sliding, covering the sky. After a relative distance of 2km, the space colony no longer resembled a building. The silver cylinder that had a little cyan to it flashed numerous warning lights, forever maintaining itself as a self operating planet--the 'world' that encompassed millions of lives within exerted its presence, on a similar level to the Earth and the moon, upon the people viewing it. Unlike the typical space colonies that are usually opened to the outside, this 'Industrial 7' space colony, shielded by a metallic wall, exerbated such a presence. A quarter length of this sealed colony was covered by a colony builder unit called the 'Rokuro', and the cylinder it was building floated in space silently, as though the chaos that happened within the past hour never existed. The zero gravity industrial area facing Earth was completely silent, with nary a transport ship nor a space shuttle to be seen. There were no lights of the linear cars traveling by, only the solar panels surrounding the space colony reflecting some light upon the cylinder.

"Even the subway's down...?"

To the people living within the inner walls of the cylinder, the linear cars that run underground--the outer walls are the easiest way for the residents living inside the space colony to connect with the outside world. The linear cars stopped moving for some unnatural reason, and surely it had to be related with the current predicament. Feeling somewhat startled, Otto looked at the outer walls of 'Industrial 7'. Though located within the shoal region, the area around the space colony was cleared, and there were no signs of space debris to be seen from the bridge. The thoroughly battered 'Nahel Argama' silently wandered through the space that had no ships around, welding lights flashing as emergency repairs were made all over the ship.

"Port management remains silent. I'm guessing it's way more likely that the comms system are blocked by some way rather than them being hushed up. The residents living there are completely sealed inside."

Liam held the straw of the nutritional jelly with one hand as she commented, looking at the outer walls of the colony. It had been ten minutes since the air pressure within the ship was maintained with the assistance of the emergency response teams, and that orders were made for rations to be given to the entire crew. The mobile suits escorting the ship returned, and the relief after the prior perilous events left the atmosphere in the ship relaxed, but the abnormal situation of 'Industrial 7' isolated from the outside world triggered a new wave of uneasiness. Mihiro faced the communications panel, her petite body quivering, "Is it the work of Anaheim...the Vist Foundation?" she muttered, her face showing an anxiety completely different from a battle.

"It's possible...but it feels like there's a stronger force at work. Maybe it's the 'Magallanica' controlling the systems of the space colony."

Liam answered as she directed her stare beyond the ‘Rokuro’, where the colony faced the Moon. If the self-rotational residential area was the shell, and generated its own gravity through self-rotation like a colony, then shape of the ‘Magallanica’ itself could be described as similar to a horned snail. Otto finished the tasteless nutritional jelly as he stared at the rocky cliffs gathered upon the shell of the colony builder. The colossal structure extracted materials from the rocky plates formed upon the rotational residential area, along with the space debris floating nearby, creating a massive structure from the ‘Rokuro’. This structure, possessing the power to create a ‘world’, remained silent along with ‘Industrial 7’. The docking bay within the cylindrical core remained in lockdown, and there was no response despite many calls. Warning lights at various places continued to flicker regularly, but there were faint lights blinking at the windows of the bridge located at the head of the snail, and one could not dismiss the notion that the shell was completely empty.

Previously, they managed to enter through Alberto’s word, but it seemed not to be the case this time. If it did contain the ‘Laplace Box’, there might be several traps or defensive installations designed to fight off intruders. Otto’s eyes drifted towards the Type-94 Base Jabber approaching the docking bay. Conroy and the ECOAS vanguard were riding upon it, managed to meet the ‘Unicorn’, the latter merely a little speck compared to the ‘Magallanica’ as it drifted in a corner of the screen. The white frame of the ‘Unicorn’ was kneeling there, looking down at the massive gates of the docking bay, and to a bystander, it resembled a heavily-armored knight of the Middle Ages facing the gates. This master of the city had passed through many tribulations, and finally returned with the key to open the ‘box’—

“Return of the King, huh…?”

He blurted out, and Liam turned to look at him in surprise, “Is there any movements from the ‘Magallanica’?” Otto asked Mihiro,

“Nothing. The ECOAs tried to enter, but it seemed the airlock was shut off. They said it’s likely they’ll have to burn it down with a burner.”

“No other choice. Can’t turn back now when we’ve come this far. What about our pursuers?”

“Density of the Minovsky particles is decreasing. No signs of the Neo Zeon fleet approaching on the optical sensors.”

The sensor operator answered. “Our friendlies?” Though knowing it sounded sarcastic from him, Otto asked,

“It appears the fleet stationed by the Moon has taken action. Also, while beyond our range, we have detected trackers coming from the Moon. The forces that sent in the second ‘Unicorn’ unit.”

The intentional voice from the sensor operator caused Otto, who was exchanging looks with Liam, to look over to Mihiro. “Any response from Ensign Riddhe after that?” Otto asked, “Nothing.” And Mihiro answered with a softer voice.

“A communicator can probably reach him. Keep calling…Ensign Mihiro, reach out for him with your words.”

After adding on to his words with his look, “Yes…” Mihiro softly responded, and went back to work on the operator. The wireless signal from the ‘Banshee’ was not the only thing she received. She heard his ‘voice’. Otto repeated the many ‘voices’ he heard, once again experiencing a surreal feeling he was unsure off, stood away from the Captain’s seat, and looked towards the window.

That ‘voice’, turbulent like a storm, was no longer around. After a torrent of madness, a terrifying silence of space engulfed the ‘Nahel Argama’. The vacuum of endless darkness engulfed Lieutenant Marida, along with the lives of many. Ensign Riddhe, who had lost his way and was drifting around, was also in this darkness—

“Is that alright? He is an enemy who attacked us.”

Liam stood by Otto’s side, asking with a volume only audible to him. He turned his eyes towards her,

“Vice Captain, you did hear it, didn’t you? That ‘voice’.”

“…It sounded like he’s crying.” Liam immediately averted her eyes sheepishly, only to posture a hardened stance back at him, “But, that has no—”

“I know.

“I know. There is nothing to prove it's reality. If that's caused by the resonance of the psycoframes, our position requires us to doubt if the enemy predicted this and used it to jam our signals." "Yeah."

"But at the same time, there's no proof that it isn't reality."

Otto could hear Liam gulp down the urge to argue back, and turned his sights outside. Once again, he closed his eyes, the mysterious lights flickering within his eyes returning to darkness. "We've come this far." He said silently.

"I'm not going to ask everyone to believe blindly, but we shouldn't decide with our old-fashioned minds, lest we miss out on many important things in this critical moment."

Liam's little snort was the answer, and Otto stared at her sidelong face, her silence affirming that answer. He exhaled, and looked back at the "Magallanica"

"We can only accept what has happened. Before us is a secret that can topple the world──"

"Something's happening to the "Magallanica"!"

A shout suddenly occurred, and the sadness from before instantly vaporized. While every bridge member froze, "What's going on?" Liam's voice echoed through the space. Otto hurriedly returned to the captain seat, "It's the docking bay. The space hatch opened!" and once the sensor operator responded, he hastily looked to the monitor.

Like an old-fashioned shutter camera from ages before, the circular-shaped wings of metallic plates slowly slid away. Otto stared at the visuals sent from the dispatch team, along with the "Magallanica", "Any other movements?" muttering away, "No changers...no, beacon's signalling". The officer reported. "No response in the commns. Command block is quiet." Mihiro's voice came. The gates were open at this time, little beacons of last flicking on the transmitted footage..

"ECOAS said they're going in to investigate."

"Let them go. Our fleet will approach the "Magallanica", and keep watch on the perimeter."

Otto gave the order without hesitation, and stared at the slightly blurred visuals. The port had scars from the battle a month ago, but it did not look any different from before. Beyond the space gate was the central port, along with the docks for massive ships, and beyond that partition was the industrial block forming the core of the "Magallanica". Was someone controlling within? Or that the "Magallanica" recognized the return of its owner? In any case, there was no shop docked at the central, and neither was there working personnel. The base jabber continued to ferry the "Unicorn" slightly through the round gates. The vast space of the port was magnified on the monitors, and once the contrast adjusted to the darkness, one could see scorch marks all over the walls.

"…Let's go in a look."

Otto's little blurt had Liam raising an eyebrow, "Captain?" Otto didn't look away from the monitor as he continued, "If the port facilities can still be used, we can use it for emergency repairs."

"The "Nahel Argama" is at its limit. It can't fight against any pursuers. If we get in before the port closes, the "Magallanica" can act as a shield."

"Is that so…"

"It's equally dangerous to stay here. I want to make sure that we can remain as safe as possible."

Both sides knew well that their ships could barely remain airtight. Neither could expect their fighting strength to recover. Liam herself had no desire for more casualties, her eyes giving a look of agreement, "Wait." but another voice interrupted them.

"If we all enter now, our external surveillance will weaken. We should stay and wait for the "Unicorn"."

Zimmerman stomped in through the bridge door, bellowing. "Captain…" Liam's response was terse, probably worried that Zimmerman was still highly affected by the destruction of the "Kshatriya". Nevertheless, the former was unperturbed as he went to the captain seat with eyes upon him. "I just checked on the situation", he said with a relieved look, and Otto stared back into the eyes that had seemingly washed away their anguish and hesitation.

"The emergency team is working hard. We're back to a state where we can duke it out with the Zeon ships."

"But there's a limit to how much we can repair in vacuum. We have to recover till full strength as much as possible while the 'Sleeves' aren't able to move—"

"The "Rewloola" is still out there."

He responded, giving a look to Otto who had apparently forgotten about this. "The Federation has been dragging their toes, and I'm concerned about that too." he continued, drifting towards the window.

"They might be thinking of how to eliminate us all at once. It's best for the ship to remain outside, so that no matter what happens, we can deal with it as best as we can."

"I know that logic…"

"Marida told me that."

The eyes looking over the shoulder were giving off a clear light, stinging into Otto's heart. "Something's aiming for us." While Otto was still speechless, Zimmerman continued,

"We'll wait for the "Unicorn". It's time for us as adults to protect him."

He looked into the void, his eyes withstanding everything despite not having lost everything. If they were to remain defensive, all their sacrifices would be in vain. Now is the time for us to step up, is that what you're saying? Otto muttered as he looked at the back of the one who sacrificed more than anyone else, before looking over to the "Unicorn" that was gradually sucked into the "Magallanica".

The bonfire-like beacon lights flickered, guiding the white armor through its city gates. Judgment has arrived, so this thought suddenly occurred, causing Otto goosebumps.

Part 2

The many feathers gathered in a circle slowly closed as they opened. The hole leading to the outside world shrank, concealing the light beacons and the white frame of the "Nahel Argama" drifting in space.

"The hatch is closing. Can we still make contact?"

Conroy's voice came from the Type 94 Base Jabber behind. '"Actuator, confirmed." Banagher heard Lieutenant Gariety's voice as he turned his eyes left and right. The spacious spaceport swallowed the "Unicorn" and the base jabber, filling the vision of the all view monitor. He saw the charred marks of the beam rifle, back at the 500m wide rectangular space, and the partition gate slid apart. The space behind the gate seemingly invited them in, and was relatively dim compared to the port. There should be some docks for massive ships, but the lighting was heavily dimmed.

"Is someone controlling it?"

"No, looks like it's a machine response. Did the "Magallanica" systems identify the "Unicorn"? Looks like we can only go in."

Banagher heard the conversation between Conroy and Gael, passing through the partition wall large enough for the "Nahel Argama" to pass through. The first impression he had of this place was the scorched hole. Most of the lighting was faulty, unable to illuminate the port, along with the cranes that had collapsed and drifted in space; all of these were scars of the battle a month ago. The partition gate too had a hole, but it was patched up, with signs of the bare minimal repairs involving air pressure.

It appeared the drones had executed repairs. The hole however was covered with new steel, and Banagher recalled it being the mark the "Unicorn" punctured through, the hole he made that instant when he was tossed into the cockpit without knowing what was going on, just trying to eliminate Marida's "Kshatriya".

There were similar, obvious looking patch marks. Opposite it was an industrial block, along with the hangar of the “Unicorn”. Was that man’s corpse lying somewhere in this darkness? The new memories suddenly filled Banagher’s heart, his hand on the joystick frozen. However, another hand reaching from the side was placed on his. The warmth reached him through the glove, as though siphoning away the extra strength.

Audrey leaned forward from the co-pilot seat, gently nodding to him. Her eyes were affirming to him, I am here, and he nodded back, suppressing his rising feelings as he looked forward. The latch behind them closed, and the massive wall before them began to slide. The ‘Base Jabber’ remained on standby, and on Conroy’s command, the two “Lotos” accompanying it accelerated, moving before the “Unicorn”.

The ECOAS special units had transformed into mobile suits, and passed the partition into the next block. The 920 wielding the anti-aircraft machine gun on the right shoulder was occupied by Conroy and the others, while the 729 “Loto” with the gatling gun was one boarded by Gael. The “Unicorn” followed the two 12m tall units, passed through the doors, and the hatch 200m wide began to close. The four walls concealed the Base Jabber, the flowing winds pelting upon the “Unicorn”. As the winds continued to shuffle from everywhere, Banagher descended to the bridge with the “Lotos” flanking him.

Air was gushing in and filling the massive space, allowing for the booster thrusters and mobile frames to be heard in the cockpit, along with many others. Banagher’s ears were long used to the vacuum, and while feeling a sharp pain from the air, he let the “Unicorn” advance to the partition. The “Loto” hooked their feet anchors into the grooves of the ground, allow their brown units to move forward. The air finished filling before the three units arrived at the partition, so large it dwarfed the mobile suits as it slowly slid aside.

Before them was the industrial block that was always filled with air. The space looked extremely dark, a forest of steel formed by countless overlapping cranes and conveyor belts. Most of them were violently severed, their charred remains floating in zero gravity, the WIP materials drifting in the darkness. Naturally, there was no functioning facility, and all communications with “Industrial 7” seemed to have ceased. There appeared to be nary any human activity, let alone repair works. There were piles of cold debris in the bottomless darkness, and a time-stopping silence roamed in the core of the”Magallanica”.

They would see the “Laplace Box” at the end of this darkness. There was a warmth lingering in his chest, neither fear nor excitement, as he looked through this wasteland of an industrial block. The 729 on the shoulder took a step forward. “There’s an elevator to the gravity area”, so Gael said.

“There’s probably a cargo lift for mobile suits to use. Let’s go.”

The 729 “Loto” pushed aside the twisted debris with its manipulator, moving further in. While the “Unicorn” tailed it, the 920 “Loto” advanced with footsteps ringing. “Don’t let your guard down”. Conroy’s tense voice echoed through the wireless. The three units spaced themselves sufficiently such that they would not be shot at once, advancing through the dim industrial block. Banagher raised the Beam Magnum, currently with two rounds, and advanced while making sure the unit did not deviate off course.

‘There’s the hiding place of Vist Foundation founder beneath this mansion…a cryo room? I can believe it exists, but I don’t understand why it does.”

Conroy’s tentative murmur echoed through the wireless as they passed the industrial block and reached the path leading to the elevator block. “You mean?” Gael answered.

“The construction of the “Magallanica” is by itself part of the Founder’s plans, but even though the plans that were leaked, I don’t understand why he hid his residence in such a simple place like a basement. That woman called Martha had checked through all the Foundation’s facilities thorough, right”

“You searched through the mansion during your prior operation, but you found nothing.”

“That is true…”

“There are blind spots, like the bottom of a lamp, and features not easily detected. It’s not wrong to say it is beneath the mansion, but not completely correct.”

Conroy did not respond further to Gael’s deliberately obfuscated words. The three units arrived at the elevator block, and stopped before the spiral doors the size of a mobile suit.

Their current position was located at the core of the rotating residence area, and they descended at least 500m down the elevator. The gravity block was located within the inner walls of the ‘snail’ shell, and within it was the mansion the Vist family transported from Earth. Banagher pressed the button using the mechanical arm protruding from the elbow,. The 729 “Loto” had boarded, and moved aside to let the “Unicorn” in. The 920 “Loto” took a step back, “We’ll wait here.” Conroy’s voice came through the wireless.

“Banagher, keep communicating, and no matter what happens, deal with it calmly. Don’t forget, we got your back covered.”

The guiding voice was truly Conroy’s way of guidance. Banagher felt a little relaxed, “Yes”, and replied thus. The spiral gates closed, and the elevator began to descend. The 920 “Loto” instantly flowed upwards, and once the elevator doors shielded their vision, all that were left were fleeting lights at regular intervals.

“I can’t say that I know everything. This “Magallanica” is managed by the organization directly affiliated to the leader. Even the colony management familiar with Master Cardeas has no idea of the actual layout.”

The weight of gravity bore upon the blood pressure along with the descending ceiling. Banagher had the “Unicorn” turn its head about, looking down at the “Loto” that was merely as tall as the “Unicorn” waist.

“If Master Cardeas had not informed me of this failsafe, even I would not have known about this cryo. The Founder himself has equivalent value to the “Box” given his knowledge of all the secrets.”

So he had to spend his life fending against assassins? Banagher sensed another reason why his blood pressure rose, muttering, “Founder of the Vist Foundation…Syam Vist.” This seemingly unacquainted name resonated with Alberto’s words, the man who killed his own son. “He is your great-grandfather.” Gael continued, but every single fact was so hard to accept, the fragmented words merely dancing in Banagher’s heart.

“I’m not going to say what kind of person he is. Do determine with your own eyes. What I can say now is my guess, the “Laplace Box” is with Master Syam. I never thought the cryo and the ‘box’ would be at the same place, but since the La+ Program points to this place, I can’t think of any other. Looking at the simple structure of the cryo, I don’t think there’s an additional place to hide”

“A secret hidden within a secret. He lived a hundred years using such a dangerous thing like cryo…”

Audrey muttered with amazement and pity. The emotion Banagher had once gulped rose again, “That has nothing to do with this.” And he retorted with a stiff voice,

“Many…too many have died. If that thing is not worth the sacrifice…”

The heat being suppressed in the heart was scorching his organs, tormenting him to the point of breathlessness. Banagher could sense Audrey being tentative to tell him something as he kept staring at the lights flowing down to up. A little while later, the lights stopped, and another dazzling light filled the all-view monitor. The spacious artificial air and earth of the gravity block revealed itself before the “Unicorn”.

The ceiling 200m tall or so was projecting blue skies and clouds, and one could see a large arching grassland from above. Despite this, it was a dazzling sight to the eyes that had just trevassed the vacuum battlefield, the vibrant colors and lights melting away all tension at once. The elevator slid through the transparent, plastic well, slowly landing upon the gravity block covered in plantation. Banagher felt slightly dizzy as he was unaccustomed to the sudden change in visuals, and the elevator, having arrived at the lowest level, let out a dull metallic buzz.

The spiral hatch opened, and the “Unicorn” exited the elevator, taking a large step forward. The empty space before the elevator was trampled upon, and there were grass patches to the flanks of the barren dirt road. It seemed they had arrived at a more distant block, for the Vist residence was nowhere to be seen. A flock of birds, probably terrified by the footsteps of the two large giants, left the trees and flew into the artificial sky in a unified arch. It was a month ago when Banagher met Audrey; his memories of the encounter awoke as he basked in that fresh greenness for the time being.

His hair was a little longer, and physically, he was no different. However, he was a completely different person in terms of how he viewed things, and how he rationalized them. He could not comprehend how it affected it, “We’ll wait here.” So Gael said, the miniature “Loto” behind Banagher taking a step back.

“Please guide the “Unicorn” forward. The seal of the La+ Program has been released. You should be able to get a reaction by going close.”

Gael did not hint further, for he probably was still servient to Cardeas, and swore to keep the cryo a secret. The “Unicorn” would determine its most appropriate pilot, and lead the way to “Laplace Box”. Banagher recalled the words Cardeas said, exchanged nods with Audrey, opened the throttles, and stepped on the pedal.

The thruster jets blew upon the still “Loto”. The “Unicorn” stomped off the ground, racing through the short blue sky. Banagher watched the altimeter as he stuck close to the ceiling, descending and hopping whenever he saw an empty space, moving through the round, donut-like scenery. Looking down from above, he saw that there were more empty spaces than he had assumed. The were empty spaces before the elevators spaced apart regularly, along with the forests and grassland. There were paths big enough for large trucks to pass through. The forest boundaries were clearly trimmed, and there were artificial objects wherever he landed. These were likely to be portholes, shared tunnels that would provide supplies to any places with signs of life.

“Banagher, this is…”

“Yeah…this isn’t an ordinary space. Feels like it’s designed to be capable of holding an additional warehouse or school or large facility.”

Banagher nearly blurted out words like base or barracks or the like, but swallowed it back as he looked forward. There was a foundation to rebuild the world after the ‘box’ was opened. He recalled Gael’s words as Cardeas’ dreams unfolded before him, and he felt a slight chill. Beyond the holographic clouds, the Vist family’s mansion appeared.

The trimmed garden and the Earth-weathered artificial stone structures were exactly the same as they were during his last visit a month ago. Banagher saw a driveway at the porch, “We’re landing”, and had the “Unicorn” descend before Audrey could not. The short bursts of the thrusters caused the unit to decelerate and descend in an arch. The “Unicorn” landed while facing the house, captured by gravity as its feet sank into the porch, the thruster winds blowing upon the garden.

The little shrubs in the garden swayed slightly, the water bursting from the fountain splashing apart. The windows shook, but not massively so for this 100m building. Despite being a three storey building, each level was extraordinarily tall, the roof taller than the “Unicorn”. Looking over from the main camera in the head, he could see the sculpture right above the main entrance, the clock in the middle pointing to 11.30pm.

The windows curtains were all pulled down, and there was no presence to be felt. Banagher wondered if there would be anyone welcoming them in, “Shall we go…?” Audrey asked, and they exchanged looks, but the main monitor suddenly showed the “La+” words, and Banagher felt a gust rising from beneath his feet, striking his shull

──You found it?

The gust became a voice, flashing through his forehead as a light. The kind voice sounded so familiar. Who is it? So Banagher quietly called out, but the visuals on the all-view monitors vanished, and the cockpit fell into brief darkness. Banagher instinctively grabbed Audrey’s hand, and when a screen was switched on again, he saw a picture.

There was a lady standing before a little tent, putting her jewellery into the box of a waiting lady. Flanking her sides with a unicorn and a lion, pulling the entrance aside as they raised their front legs, inviting her in. It was no simple painting; every pattern and animal on the crimson background was stitched on the cloth. These were the six tapestries, the last of them depicting the lady and the unicorn together…Banagher recalled the words Cardeas said to him, that the other five tapestries symbolized the human five senses, and nobody knew what the last called the ‘tent’ meant. That person told him that as they did not know, they had to draw, to think, to seek the unspeakable knowledge and truth, and to understand the meaning of the ancient words ‘à mon seul désir’.

“My only desire…”

The ‘voice’ that had asked if he had found it permeated through his body again, exploding in light. Banagher could not answer except for an inexplicable expression as he stared at the ‘tent’, and there was a heavy rumbling rising from beneath his feet.

It was not the “Unicorn” trembling, but the plates of the gravity block. The earthquake tremor shook the unit, the auto balancers twirling their bodies around, the strong gusts blowing loudly on the external amplifiers. “Banagher…”Audrey groaned, and Banagher grabbed her hand as he stared at the tapestry broadcasted on the all-view monitors. The tent opened before the lady was shaking, as though there was a darkness swallowing secrets rumbling away.

Part 3

It all started before a familiar man made a call.

‘You really haven’t improved at all. You’re the commander of Londo Bell, and you still can’t negotiate with the politicians? Any soldier in this situation should be looking for a senator to help and prepare for elections now, are you?”

Kai Shiden was never one to mince his words, and in the same phone call, briefed three issues. First, Senator Ronan Marcenas had summoned him to Dakar, trying to involve him in the political conflict against the Vist Foundation. Second, the senator mentioned Bright by name in an attempt to gain leverage. Finally, this current senator was so desperate to deal with the “Laplace Box”, it seemed the military and the Senate were planning to end it once and for all, in a certain manner, though half of that last point was conjecture.

As a reporter, all Kai could do was to discern through the state of the world, but he, who had served alongside Bright on “White Base”, would never say such empty conjectures. Bright made a few phone calls to affirm the information provided, and though he was reassigned, they could not cut off his contacts altogether. His deputy Meran was still on the ”Ra Cailum” that was under repair, and through his assistance, he grasped the situation without the assistance of Luio & Co, to whom he owed a huge favor to.

It became widely known that Martha led several of the highest ranking senators into the migration council. Through the defense forces of Dakar, Bright learned that she dragged Ronan out of the senate onto a private flight to Cheyenne Base in North America, but no further clues. What were the leaders of the Vist Foundation and the Settlement Issues Council planning to do, hiding in the Cheyenne Base that was a relic of the old century? Bright had no means of contacting the ”Nahel Argama”, and it seemed there was limited information on what he could convey verbally. Thus, he chose the reckless action of taking the flight prepared by the temporary commander of Londo Bell towards the scene.

Using his reputation as the captain of the ”White Base”, hero of the One Year War, he broke through the security perimeter with various hasty excuses like ‘emergency support’, ‘don’t you know who I am’, and practically barged into the control room, seeing a massive monitor clearly displaying their conspiracy. There were “Industrial 7”, the “Nahel Argama”, and the infamous colony laser of the Gryps Conflict. Behind the communication officers at the controls, Ronan and Martha were scowling away, the base commander in name hastily checking on the battle and their faces. Bright was in no mood to check the tanned face of Commander Aidres, nor did he look at a stunned looking Martha. Instead, he stared intently at the unflinching Ronan, whose back was turned on him

Bright tidied the collar that was messed from tussling with the guards, flattened his hair, and with a calm voice, he spoke once again, “What’s going on?” Ronan continued to face the monitor, unfazed.

“I didn’t know the colony laser was repaired, let alone directing it at a civilian colony—”

“We shall limit its damage to the minimum, only at the “Magallanica”. It is under the colony management committee, but it is still property of the Vist Foundation”

Martha spoke up for the unmoving Ronan. “And so you have the right to destroy it?” Bright retorted, leaving Martha to ruffle her hair with an impatient look, turning away to look at the monitor behind her. Bright then pointed to the high seat of the commander, “This is clearly illegal”, pointingly directing his words at Aibres.

“Cease firing immediately. If you refuse, I shall report.”

“Captain Bright, this is an emergency measure to maintain our security, and approved after much planning. Please leave this room. You are now illegally interfering with classified military information and command. ”

“What excuse are you using to appeal to the public this time!? Are you going to burn down a colony because it contains secrets that threaten the Federation!? This is what Zeon and the Titans did!”

“You are the cause of this situation.”

Aibres’ nonchalant expression was almost at its limit, and Martha turned back, causing Bright to turn back to her as though he was checkmated.

“It’s you who allowed the “Unicorn” and Mineva Zabi to escape, and rendezvous with the “Nahel Argama”. The nerve of you to say such words when our options were taken. ”

“The premise of this was that you are not allowed to interfere with the military. I’m just going along with the situation.”

“Yes. You act on emotions; unlike us, who act to maintain the necessary order. ”

Her eyes and voice had Bright momentarily doubting if he was in the wrong. “We are not taking this lightly.” She continued without a pause, now turning towards Bright.

“Correcting things will simply crumble the entire system, and collapse the world order. You have family too, no? How about you be smarter and think for your children’s sake?”

“I just want to be a father who won’t bring shame to my own children.”

Even in the clash of words, Bright had no intention to budge, causing Martha to look increasingly heinous. “Seriously…men are truly unreasonable creatures.” So she muttered, her devious tone causing Bright to shiver.

“Such vanity and expression of ego is the source of all conflicts. Why have you not realized? Humans are conceited, thinking they can do better, to have whatever they want, and walked down the wrong path. Are we do is to develop knowledge to mitigate the fragileness of the flesh, no different from other creatures. All we need to do is to simply repeat the cycles of life and death. There is no need to do foolish things like murdering each other. We should be content with whatever we can reach …”

Bright saw Martha’s fingertips tense up as they twirled her bangs. She was not directly those words at him, but to a certain person who was not present, and Bright stared at her sidelong face while withholding his trepidation.

“But it is difficult for men who live in such ways…the males of humanity, to do so. While there were some tendencies towards the feminine in the old age, the males have forgotten their lessons once they got to space, and repeated their mistakes again. For the females to be the rulers is—”

“Madam Martha, this isn’t a good place to debate.”

Ronan suddenly spoke, and Martha’s seemingly possessed eyes shivered. She blinked, seemingly oblivious to her whereabouts, and recovered, muttering, “…Yes. My apologies.” Bright stared at the unexpected response of the leader of the Vist Foundation, realizing that she was not just a woman coveting power. However, he immediately diverted his eyes towards Ronan, whose back was facing him.

He was the only one Bright could have a proper conversation with. “Senator Ronan.” Ronan turned his massive neck slightly in response to Bright’s words.

“I shall contact the”Nahel Argama” and expedite the situation. Please do not be hasty to decide. We should be able to contact them directly through relay satellites given the facilities here. ”

“And what will you do after contacting them? Tell them that the colony laser is aimed at them?”

Ronan turned back, his eyes basically lamenting, I would have done so if it was me. That stare had Bright dumbfounded, before it looked aside, “It appears no advice will work.” He quipped with a blank look.

“One single ship tore its way through the Neo Zeon fleet, reaching its destination. They probably acted without knowing what the contents of the ‘Box’ is…as I said, the choice is theirs, not ours.”

“But…!”

“Nevertheless, they will be dumbfounded to see the true identity of the ’Box’. ”

The slightly lowered sidelong face was filled with the self-deprecation of one who understood the truth. Bright remained speechless, and Ronan looked at him, before looking over at Martha watching with bated breath, before looking over at “Industrial 7” on the monitor.

“By itself, it has no value, and there is nothing impressive about knowing it. But we have to admit that the moment we recognize its existence, the Federation will collapse. We cannot let the ‘Box’ open, not in this reality where the ‘possibility’ of Newtypes exist…”

Bright could not understand what he was saying. No, his instincts were telling that if he knew, there would be no turning back, and that left him speechless, taking a step back as he trembled in fear. Martha’s eyes narrowed, her eyes showing a dim light, seemingly realizing something. “Is it…” the moment she spoke, “target’s showing anomaly!” the operator yelled, causing the mood in the room to freeze.

“Expand the visual.” Aibres said. One of the six monitors showed an expanded live visual of “Industrial 7”. Connected at an end of the long, narrow cylinder was the colony builder, the “Magallanica” primed as the target of the colony laser by the personnel at this base. Bright stared at the visuals that were constantly being corrected by CG, becoming clearer, looking as though there was magic causing him to blink constantly.

Atop the long and slim main body exceeding 6,500 meters was the residential block shaped like a snail snail. Its ring slowed down greatly, as though snared by something. The ring with diameter exceeding 1,600 meters spun in the opposite direction from the exterior impact belt 50m thick, negating the rotational torque, and causing it to stop. “The gravity block…！”“Is it stopping?” Bright stared at the large monitor in cold sweat. The gravity block no smaller than a massive space colony stopped in its tracks, and to any Spacenoids, it was akin to a planet ceasing to revolve. The centrifugal force was gone, preventing all lifeforms from moving; it was similarly destructive to a hole punctured in a colony’s outer walls.

It was not the only change however, as the inner cylinder that had once stopped began to spin in the opposite direction. The exterior impact belt too spun, half of what the cylinder did, like a safe deposit box code of the past. The double ring structure kept spinning and stopping, the massive snail structure changing massively.

“What’s going on!?”

“The revolving residential block is moving irregularly─”

“I know that! Investigate the reason”

Aibres roared with all his might. Bright did not look over at the perturbed comms operator, but towards Martha standing next to her. He had expected her to have some anticipation of this, that she would unabashedly declare the “Magallanica” to be possession of the Foundation. However, she merely looked up at the monitor skeptically. The white dot of the “Nahel Argama” continued to drift at the docking bay, located in the core as the residential block continued to spin. This strange motion continued to spin and stop, as though unlocking a tip of the colony itself—

“Is the seal broken…?”

Ronan groaned as he stared at the anomaly happening 300,000km away. With a look of trepidation, Bright stared at the monitor intently.

Part 4

The gusts within the gravity block hammered away at the “Unicorn”, the water of the severed fountain blowing down, the forests surrounding the Vist residence, the trees too rumbled, the windows shaking, almost sounding like they were about to break, the noises echoing throughout the porch..

Banagher, having climbed out of the cockpit and was about to descend the simple ladder, was met with an unexpectedly strong gust of wind, causing him to be blown back and pinned onto the “Unicorn” No artificial installation could have caused such a massive gale, nothing would have, except for a breach in the outer wall. Letting air escape into vacuum—

“You’re saying this will happen every time?”

“Yes. Once the gravity block stops revolving, the air will move on inertia, and the cryo…will…’

The howling noises of the wind jammed the signal, and Banagher could not hear Conroy and Gael’s words completely, “Mr Gael!” Banagher called. “Banagher, look!” But Audrey’s voice rang, and he looked into the cockpit.

“The fountain’s water…!”

The all-view monitor covered the cockpit, showing the fountain behind the “Unicorn”. The water spewing out was scattered aside into countless droplets, and the basin receiving the water was throbbing like jelly. “Has gravity weakened?” banagher muttered, and clearly felt the force weaken on his body. The residential block stopped spinning, resulting in loss of gravity, and the air that flowed became strong gales, but what did that have to do with the cryo? The tremors at the feet continued, and as Banagher looked around with skeptical eyes, “Oh…!” Audrey’s sudden cry had him jolted.

“It’s like an old styled rotary lock. This revolving residential block is a double structure.”

“A double structure?”

“There’s another residential area outside of where we are, and normally, both sides spin in different directions. They only stop when the cryo’s going to open, so the entrances in the outside block and here are connected. ”

Is she referring to the impact belt? After some thought, “Is the cryo in the outer block?” Banagher figured it out “Probably.” Audrey answered, passing through the cockpit hatch.

“Both sides usually move in opposite directions, so that side’s moving quickly at relative velocity underground. It’s not wrong to say that it’s beneath the house, but not completely incorrect either…they couldn’t find the cryo, because it’s not at a single place. ”

Banagher shielded Audrey from the incoming gales, looking at his feet. The gravity block of the ”Magallanica” was half the size of a typical colony, revolving at 200km per hour. If the cryo was located in the impact belt revolving in the other direction, it would mean it was revolving beneath this gravity block at a high relative velocity. Only when both blocks stopped, when the house was connected to the cryo, would the door leading there open. “Mr Gael!” Audrey exclaimed, ignoring Banagher as he finally understood this.

“Where is the entrance to the cryo? We have to hurry in while it’s still connected…!”

The noise got dire, fudging Gael’s usual voice… “The seal of the ‘Box’…is opened…” Banagher stared at the wall that was no more than 10maway from him, then at the second floor window pelted by the wind. The shut window was shaking, probably because the wind had seeped through the gap, like the seals were slowly being unraveled—

“…Over there. ”

The tapestry image he imagined shot through his mind as an instinct of firm belief. “Banagher?” Audrey lifted her head, and Banagher held her hand, taking a step out of the cockpit, looking at the front entryway of the house at his feet. Luckily, the wind was blowing towards the residence, and the “Unicorn” would shield them as they went down. “Let’s go.” So Banagher said with this thought, and Audrey held his hand, nodding firmly, looking towards the front entryway. He cupped her shoulder, held his breath, and stepped off the cockpit hatch.

With his head looking down to the ground, Banagher went down the machine. Though they were caught in the currents, but he and Audrey stomped off the “Unicorn” knee, practically rolling into the corridor before the entryway. They were in no mood to check the door rings shaped as lions, and nudged aside the unlocked doors, shoved in by the gales, passing through the entryway before their feet could land.

The air they scented upon was the same as it was a month ago, the icy scent lifted by the incoming gales, causing the grand chandeliers hanging upon the high ceilings to sway slightly. As they drifted as though they were upon an alien spaceship drifting in space, Banagher removed his helmet, and before he could call for Audrey, she called out, “I know. That one, isn’t it?” She closed the door, hopped off the floor, and drifted with the momentum into the corridor. Banagher gave chase after the spacesuit that showed no hesitation, kicking his legs towards the room.

They passed the entryway, glancing aside at the garden with various sculptures, and moved along the long corridor. They entered the connected building, made a trn, went down another corridor, and arrived at the tall room with six tapestries. Banagher was driven by the memories of this residence a month ago—no, the days he spent living here much earlier, and walked towards the mahogany doors. There was no other place he remembered. Within this room, his mother was playing the piano, his father’s voice narrating about the depictions of the tapestries. He opened the heavy doors with bated breath, and his legs weakened as he saw the scenery before him.

There was the wall with the six tapestries hanging upon them, along with the grand piano placed in a corner. It was no different from his memories.

The photo fame atop the piano had Alberto and his mother giving seemingly reproaching looks at the intruders, but it was not the reason why his legs were buckling. Suddenly protruding in the room was a conical, tent-like thing resembling the tapestry. The stone structure three meters tall opened a dark hole, probably leading to the underground. It appeared to be a structure lying underground, floating up as the changes occurred in the gravity block. While Banagher was mentally prepared for this, he was momentarily unable to process this development, and cautiously stepped into the room with his heart throbbing wildly.

Atop the conical structure were the embossed words ‘A Mon Seul Desir’. This structure akin to the ‘tent’ was too dark, and large enough for a person to pass through, but there did not appear to be stairs leading to the underground. Faced with this opening of the darkness, Banagher and Audrey exchanged looks. The latter’s emerald eyes were saying that they had to do, and Banagher nodded back, took a deep breath, and leapt into the darkness. For a moment, he felt himself floating in the air, and then there was the roar of a beat, the two of them instantly sucked underground, a falling sensation engulfing them.

It was not that gravity had returned. One could sense a shaft, or a similar machine, being activated, pulling them down. Unable to see anything in the darkness, Banagher grabbed Audrey’s hand to his chest, shriveling as much as he could to endure the fear of falling. The entrance above his head instantly vanished, and they were probably tugged around in the tunnel. He had lost all sense of direction, not knowing whether he was going down or up. They were moving at high speeds down the dark corridor, the wind pressure delivering them further into the abyss.

A minute later, or shorter, the sensation suddenly stopped, and both of them were tossed into darkness devoid of noise. They stared at the darkness, their eyes not blinking. Soon after, there was a weak light by their feet, lights forming one after another, drawing a straight line. At the same time, the lights on both walls to the sides were lit, and only then did they realize they were floating on a narrow path.

There was a wall behind him, the floor and ceiling showing no signs of an exit. There was only a metal door at the very end of this windowless path, and they had no idea where they were, how they got here. Having witnessed this pitch dark space, Banagher and Audrey exchanged looks, their elbows hitting the wall. Once they touched, the gravity bogged their bodies down, their floating bodies dragged to the floor.

“Gravity has returned…”

“This is the outer block…isn’t it?”

It was half a G, but the sudden gravity left them with the heaviness of flesh and blood being ripped from their bodies. Holding themselves up, their feet stepped on the lit path as they once again looked at the metal door 30 meters away, blocking their path. This was the cryo room of the Vist Foundation’s leader, where the “Laplace Box” rested. They grabbed each other’s shoulders, their palms showing tension as they gulped, before they gingerly took the first step forward.

The lights vanished one after another as they walked on, the path behind them erased by the darkness. Since gravity had occurred again, the spinning function of the residential block should be back to normal, and there was no option to return to the Vist residence. Seemingly pursued by the darkness, Banagher stopped before the slightly curved door. The final light extinguished, and the door slid aside like a sigh. Beyond it was a space as pitch dark as the path, the returning darkness covering their eyes.

“I’ve been waiting for a long time.”

There was a voice coming from deep within the darkness, the echoing voice seemed to imply a massive space. Their shoulders shook, their still bodies frozen in place.

“All to tell you one thing.”

A weak light seeped through, stinging the eyes already used to the darkness. Countless silver lights were flickering, and one could tell those were stars of the galaxy. There was nothing distinguishing the floor, walls and ceiling, all everything within the eyes was an endless sea of stars, that one would have a feeling of being tossed into space. With Audrey’s shoulder as his only vantage point, Banagher took a firm step on the floor he could not see. The door slammed shut behind him, and it too showed the stars. The gaps on the floor could not be seen, and a panorama view of the starry space surrounded the two of them.

No, not two. There was a source of the voice in the darkness, and with focused intent, banagher stared at the starry space with a high detailed definition. Banagher convinced himself that it was simply a ridiculously oversized all-view monitor, easing himself from panic, but there was a black shadow appearing in his eyes. Center of what was probably a spherical cryo was the shape of a bed, illuminated by the surrounding stars, a lone shadow there. Banagher could tell there was a person on it.

On the slightly tilted bed was an old man with his hands outside the blanket, looking back at them. Banagher was instantly reminded of Cardeas Vist’s eyes, his still body quaking.

Banagher could not voice out, not because he was overly shocked, but that the moment he saw the eyes, the searing emotions in his chest exploded, the scattering shrapnel stuffing his throat. He clenched his fights, looking back at the eyes similar to his own reflection. Standing next to him, Audrey eked out a hoarse voice, “So you are the leader, Syam Vist…am I correct?” The old man remained on the bed, still motionless as he turned his eyes towards Audrey. The head brace functioning as a vitals control glittered like the stars, his frail face making a smile or sorts. There was an irresistible impression within Banagher’s heart that told him, yes, he knew this man.

“The descendant who inherits our bloodline, and the Princess of Zeon…there are none more worthy to inherit the ‘Laplace Box’ than you.”

An earnest smile appeared on his lips, the dark brown eyes giving a look of geniality and kindredness. That forlorn smile stabbed deeply into Banagher’s heart, but he did not look away from the face of Syam Vist. The eyes lost no sharpness despite the smile, shining a sharp glint back at him. There was no trace of intimidation, merely a silent stare faltering unwittingly, shone a lonely glint after a passage of years.

Part 5

The residential block had once ceased to revolve, and it slowly began to revolve. It did not stop at any point, but continued at how it usually did, gradually accelerating, giving the impression that it was completely over.

The impact belt surrounding the cylinder began to move in the opposite direction, accelerating its relative velocity, and everything appeared to be returning back to normal. Riddhe exhaled, and looked forward from the massive dryer-looking residential block of the “Magallanica”. Whatever happened could only be left up to imagination, but the anomaly that happened surely had something to do with the “Box”. So Banagher had arrived, so he vaguely convinced himself. His eyes had nowhere to go as they drifted in the empty voice, and the “Banshee” drifted towards “Industrial 7” lifelessly, acting as part of the space debris.

The closer he got towards the space colony, the thicker the space debris. If he kept drifting he might end up leaving the meteor cluster he was hiding in. Riddhe was in no mood to fear the opening of the “Box”, and he did not know what he should do thereafter. The reason for his presence, for his arrival, had become ambiguous. He callously looked over at the “Industrial 7” the size of his arm, and perhaps it was due to him being on the other side that he could not see the healed scars on the outer wall a month after it was damaged in the battle. The white silhouette of the “Magallanica caused Riddhe’s numb heart to ache again.

I heard your voice too. Everyone’s waiting for you. Come back, Ensign Riddhe—Mihiro’s voice kept calling for him, but he could not hear it. Everyone was too distracted due to the anomaly of the “Magallanica” , but Riddhe found himself to be lucky. How can I go back now? I could have shot at the bridge of the “Nahel Argama” if not for her…Marida Cruz. I could have killed everyone on the ship, including Mihiro. How can I possibly go back now? To whom do I beg for forgiveness? Looking away from the ship that caused his eyes to sear, Riddhe pulled the joystick, and let the drifting “Banshee” turn around, wanting to leave the scene before they called for him, only to see another unit beyond the countless debris.

It was a Base Jabber, their identification tags indicating they belonged to the “General Revil”, but was not the one ferrying the “Banshee”. Riddhe expanded the visual, saw the many crates it ferried, and gasped upon instant realization. Feeling much pain in his heart again, he tried to flee the scene, “Is that you, Riddhe?” but a familiar man’s voice rang through the wireless.

Riddhe could not move upon hearing this voice; he had no answer for “Alberto……”Riddhe groaned, looking at the seemingly floating Base Jabber.

He had no idea why Alberto would enter the battlefield while ferrying a spare psycoframe, but Riddhe did sense that he ignored his own family problems, his grudge against Banagher, and had the utmost desire to seek a certain person. The passing thoughts linked together, the countless ‘voices’ of yearning, loss and pain echoed distantly, causing ripples in Riddhe’s heart again. The latter looked away from the flat looking Base Jabber. The pain, the guilt he could not shift, they were all what he deserved, for he did something that could not be taken back …

“Sorry, I…she—”

“Don’t mention it.”

Riddhe’s eyelids twitched once he was interrupted by the terse voice, “This isn’t what I’m talking about.” the heavy voice rang through the wireless.

“It doesn’t matter now…”

A heavy silence beckoned. The guilt grew in his heart, the blame he could not shift as he clamped up, having no right to say anything. The two units had no intention to approach, and no intention to separate as they simply drifted in the void. Time merely passed on, allowing them to recognize the importance of their losses. The surrounding debris seemed still, “Industrial 7” and the “Magallanica” merely flickering as they continued to move endlessly.

“…I investigated the movements of the “Magallanica”.

After a while, Alberto muttered, and Riddhe lifted his lowered head.

“The strange movement is to allow the residential block and the impact belt to resonate and interact at a certain point., opening the path from the residential block into the impact belt. It’s like the leader’s cryo is inside there.”

Riddhe’s mind was not fully sober, but he too felt it was the most plausible explanation. He stared at the revolving residential block with multiple layers of the snail-like “Magallanica”, “And that’s not all.” So Alberto continued.

“‘I can see the outer layer of the impact belt moving, so it’s probably three layers. This part is usually fixed to the outer shell, and it looks like it covers the gaps of the revolving block—”

“The space where the “Laplace Box” is hidden…?”

Riddhe answered. The residential block, impact belt, and the secret layer on the outermost sidelined together, creating a massive passcode. After a terse silence, “So the seal has been undone.” Alberto’s heavy voice sounded so pessimistic.

“Everything will come to an end…can you tell me now?”

There was no pretense, no spite. Riddhe’s eyes looked towards the relatively tilted Base Jabber.

“Before the contents of the “Box”…the true identity of the curse that binds us vanishes.”

Vanishes. This saying was not simply a metaphor, but Riddhe was in no mood to question further, the word ‘curse’ instead resonated in his empty heart. Whatever, since the seal of the “Box” had been undone, since everything will be cleared up, Alberto too had the right to know earlier. He too was bogged down by the gravity of his family, by that overly serious personality of his, leaving him with nowhere to escape. Even the one wish he wanted to fulfill could no longer be done. Alberto was a man who, the more he sought, the more he lost. Riddhe too felt much empathy as he looked at the “Magallanica” that was covered in rocks. Countless beacon lights flickered like fireflies, along with the connector at the wheel, and other items. There was an intense white light brighter than the beacons, a needle-like flash—

“Light signal…?”

It was a flash probing on its own, ignoring the various beacon lights. A different angle caused it to be blocked by the “Magallanica”. Riddhe tried to pursue it in his “Banshee”, only for a shrill siren to echo in the cockpit, and in his shock, he looked towards where it indicated.

There were two lights moving at high speeds, passing through the debris and approaching “Industrial 7”. Riddhe saw the lights instantly enter the connector, and after a brief silence, explosions of light occurred.

The fireballs expanded wordlessly, illuminating the “Magallanica” silhouette along with the space colony shrouded by the ‘wheel’. It was too far for the impact to be felt, but the light remained bright, and the visor could not filter it completely, vaporizing the shrapnel caused by the explosion pressure , and illuminating the floating debris and Base Jabber.

“Missiles…!?”

There was no other possibility. Someone fired at the “Magallanica” , the long range missiles hitting the colony connector. Riddhe had the “Banshee” raise its beam rifle, seeking the enemy towards where the missiles came from “What? What came flying!?” Alberto yelled flustered, and several beams shot through the void. The mega particles flew in from the same direction as the missiles, becoming thinner due to the long distance, yet still causing another explosion on the “Magallanica” and the space colony.

Part 6

The multi-sided monitors positioned before them caught sight of a strong flash upon “Industrial 7”. The massive light showed it was a direct hit, and once it vanished, the noise that occurred thickened the particle density, the long range visual erratic as a result.

“A direct hit! Targeting error range is 0.1. ”

The radar operator’s report echoed throughout the battle bridge of the “Rewloola”, which was located right beneath the normal bridge, the ceiling only tall enough for a person to not bend over, and there was no empty space beyond the seven sections and the panels. Hill Dawson stared at the wide-viewed monitor specifically for captain usage, “What’s the signal from the Captain?” the comms operator reported “Code 10S, active. Continue attack.” Hill had the urge to remove the helmet from his spacesuit, and slam it onto the floor.

It was a terrible feeling. No spacenoids could remain calm at the prospect of firing missiles or beams at a colony. It was an iron-clad rule that even in battle, they would not attack enemies whose backs were facing the colony, and nobody would dare to think of using the colonies as shields unless they were at tremendous disadvantage. The silver cylinder contained millions, even tens of millions of lives, and bombarding it would add new guilt to the old Republic military.

But several minutes ago, they detected a light signal, one fired from a corner of “Industrial 7” before it entered firing range, indicating that they were to attack the colony. Using the base position of the L1 Lagrange, the space colony’s absolute coordinates were calculated. The signal was a decoy, and the long ranged missiles were fired upon the connector between the colony and the builder. There were lots of debris in the trajectory, and it felt like a needle shooting through a hole, but once the trajectory was aligned, it was much easier to make a second shot. No matter the reason for this forbidden act, the important thing to Hill was that it was an instruction given by Full Frontal. The light signal was clearly from Frontal, the instruction given once he detected the “Rewloola”.

It had been half a day since the original rendezvous destination at L1 Lagrange was devastated and they proceeded to the shoal space region. During this time, this flagship of the ”Sleeves” had clashed with the “Mock Trojan Horse”, and were almost completely annihilated. Most of their fleet had been ravaged, and this “Rewloola”, along with two other Musaka-class, were the only ones battle ready. They had lost contact with Angelo and the rest of Frontal’s guards, and if they had no chance to regroup, they would lose the crux of their fighting strength, the backbone.

In a mere half day, the situation had changed completely. After the changes over the previous night, they lost contact with Monaghan Bakharov of the Zeon Republic, and at this point, Neo Zeon was losing its guise as a military organization. There was no one leading them, no directive given. However, as long as Frontal remained alive, the Red Comet, the Second Coming of Char, they had a chance to see the light of day again. Hill lifted his head from the monitor, “What’s the “Mock Trojan Horse” response?” asking the radar operator, Unable to detect. It’s hiding behind the colony builder, not moving. ” Hill then stared at the CGI corrected visual.

“So the Captain’s aiming for the “Laplace Box”…”

“The “Mock Trojan Horse” has predicted where we’ll be attacking from, and is hidden in a blind spot. Since they were not moving, it appeared Frontal had a different objective in ordering the bombardment. The colony builder contained the “Laplace Box”, which meant the game was not over yet. Hill had no doubt, “Main cannons 1 and 2, fire at the same target.” He ordered, putting on the helmet .

“We’re out of range, but we should be able to hit the outer wall of the colony. Make sure we don’t hit “Industrial 7”. Just aim for the connector linking the colony and the builder.”

Voiced repeated his command, echoing in the cramped battle fridge, and the second wave of rounds were primed. His crew functioned as his limbs, able to quickly react, giving power to his commands. Neo Zeon itself had a military hierarchy, and if the organization crumbled for a third time, orderliness and command would be gobbled up by chaos. When the crew lacked hierarchy and a chain of command, they would be overwhelmed by the desire to live, and fall into the chaos thereafter. Hill quietly yelled to himself that he would never see this again. “Correcting error.” “Ready to fire.” Once these voices were called out, he exerted strength into his lower abdomen that was filled with anxiety and fury.

“Fire!”

The main cannons loaded on the flanks of the bright red ship, firing two consecutive charged beams from their cannons. At that moment, the light ignited in the form of mega particles at maximum range, and the four beams were fired from the”Rewloola”, flying at sub-light speed through the gap between the debris, stabbing into “Industrial 7” a sub-second later. An explosion appeared on the long ranged visual, noise appearing on the monitor that was not CG corrected in time.

Part 7

The expanding explosion illuminated the revolving residential block of the “Magallanica”, showing countless charred shrapnel. The shockwaves then knocked down the round scout units, causing the main monitor visuals to be filled with noise.

“Confirming direction! It’s from where the”Rewloola” is attacking!”

The operator quickly tapped at the panel, readjusting the position of the ball-shaped camera connected by steel wires to the bridge of the “Nahel Argama”, which had hidden behind the “Magallanica” to avoid the ”Rewloola” offenses. The remote ball camera was the only way they could eliminate the blind spot. Before visuals were regained, “How close are they?” Otto yelled, “About 10,000! Location and speed unchanged!” The operator answered with a volume rivalling Otto, and the ship shook slightly due to the shock waves.

“It’s completely beyond firing range. They’re attacking from far range after affirming the absolute coordinates…are they trying to shoot down the colony and lure us out?”

The dispersal weakened the power, but it was still a beam weapon. The connector between the “Magallanica” and “Industrial 7” took direct hits from the missiles and the cannons, showing the biggest possible crack spanning hundreds of meters, embittering blueish-white sparks. Right at this moment…Otto gritted his teeth as he looked towards Liam standing next to him. His deputy could not answer to his guess as she looked back, “Are we sending out the MS squads?”

“How many units can we mobilize?”

“Romeo 010 can be deployed immediately. Golf 001 can be deployed in 5 minutes. ”

In other words, they could only deploy a weary “ReZEL” and a “Geara Zulu”. Such firepower was insufficient against a “Rewloola” leading two Musaka-class. Otto resisted the urge to click his tongue as he muttered, “Shall we pull the “Unicorn” back…?” The revolving residential block stopped eerily, and the “Magallanica maintained a terrifying calm. The seal to the “Box” might have been undone, and nobody could guarantee that the next strike would not pierce the revolving residential block. Liam’s eyes were lamenting that they could only rely on the “Unicorn” at this point, but immediately agreed wordlessly at the next moment. She was about to brief the dispatch team, but Zimmerman’s gruff voice interjected, “No, it’s just a direction.”

“It’s not normal for them to just attack a colony carelessly…to be forced to do such a thing. My guess is that they’re trying to get their ally in, or to get us to leave the colony, one of the reasons. ”

Zimmerman’s definitive voice had Otto shivering. There’s an enemy blasting a hole through the “Magallanica” and trying to invade it—“Is that…”Liam groaned, “There’s no confirmation he’s downed.” Zimmerman continued, his voice suppressing his anxiety.

“Tell ECOAS to watch out! If that’s the case, he’s already—”

“We received an emergency notification from friendlies!”

A sudden yell had Zimmerman silenced from shock. “Friendlies?” Liam barked, and Otto looked back at the communicator operator seat. Mihiro was nervously holding the headset with the communicator connected,

“They call themselves the Tri-Stars of Londo Bell, now pursuing an enemy unit suspected to be the Red Comet. They’re requesting to speak to the commander.”

Mihiro repeated monotonously, her wavering eyes looking towards Otto. “A group of Tri-Stars? Why are they here…?” Liam muttered, and the radar operator reported. “Two high heat sources approaching. One of them is a new Federation unit in the “Unicorn” database. Otto did not hear it completely, merely thinking of the term ‘Red Comet’; he exchanged looks with Zimmerman, and barked at Mihiro with a changed tone,

“Get the comms back online!”

Part 8

‘…Yes. We have no intention to attack your ship now. We’re working together with the “Unicorn”!’

An incensed Daryl yapped away at the wireless, and Nigel was in no mood to hear what the captain of the”Nahel Argama” answered, his eyes focused on the outer walls of “Industrial 7. The shrapnel caused by the bombardment drifted by, and nothing else moving. There was nothing detected on the radar, merely the allied “Jesta” flying net to him being marked..

There’s no way he disappeared. Nigel clearly saw a red machine hiding amongst the debris, approaching “Industrial 7”. They were shaken off his tail, and within five minutes, a ship cannon’s beam attacked the place the red machine disappeared at, the connector linking to the colony builder, so they had to be related. Nigel had a vague idea of why the connector was attacked

“We are stationed at a similar point as the “Banshee”, but we’re acting independently. This isn’t a view our squad agree with, just a platoon…

Daryl’s explanation was increasingly erratic, but it was to be expected, for the positions both sides had was complicated beyond words. “I’ll leave the explanation to you, Daryl>” Nigel said, and piloted his “Jesta”, taking caution to evade the bombardment on the outer wall as he closed in on the colony builder.

Once he passed the outer wall of the ‘wheel’ that was different in color, he moved along the slightly round tip, and saw the connector covering the entire docking bay. The structure should be more appropriately called the sky corridor, a round pillar exceeding a 1km diameter that connected the colony and the builder, often still and not revolving on its own. Its walls showed fresh scorch marks from the beam, the massive cracks rendering bluish-white gases visible. It wasn’t scorched red, but the melted, distorted hole had yet to cool, the surrounding shrapnel floating around scorched by the after-heat, the heat sensor showing countless reactions, like lights dancing about.

The red machine, the “Sinanju”, had completely disappeared. Nigel clicked his tongue as he peered at the crack large enough for a mobile suit to pass through

“Are we too late…?”

Is the ambush in the colony? Or the builder? If Nigel was to be wary of ambush, he could only give up on giving pursuit. He, left with no choice, looked up at the revolving residential block of the colony builder. The residential block was reminiscent of a snail shell when looked from afar, and the hole in the shell exposed the revolving layer, forming a massive wall before the”Jesta”.

Part 9

The crawlers located on the inner sides of the calves slid, the belts covering 4 wheels spun with a rumbling sound. The wheels beneath the feet too spun, lots of dust sputtering by the feet of the “Loto”. The tank form belts were used as roller skates, and the waist was lowered in humanoid form, rolling on the ground. The dust flew high due to low gravity, and the “Loto” with the numbers 729 on the shoulder slid into the elevator, sparks flying on the floor as the frame slammed the brakes

“We’ll begin patrol near the connector. 729 will be stationed near the elevator. There appears to be one enemy approaching, but don’t let your guard down. It’s hard to communicate once the cryo opens.”

The spiral hatch closed, and until the elevator began to ascend, they could hear Conroy’s voice through the wireless, but the noise was cluttered. After the cryo was opened, there was a jamming of the comms akin to the release of Minovsky particles “Magallanica” all over the place. “Roger that. On alert around the elevator.” The leader responded, and Gael, whose back was turned on him, looked towards the personal monitor of the co-driver. The sensors and other apparatus were affected by the electromagnetic waves, almost all failing. Perhaps there was a system preventing any eavesdropping protecting the cryo while the “Box” seal was undone.

What concerned Gael most was the “Unicorn” that was unmanned, parked before the Vist residence. Its mission as the key to the “Box” was over, yet it was an indispensable armor that could continue to protect Banagher Links. Shall we leave the scouting to Conroy and the others in the 920 and stay inside the residence instead? While Gael was thinking, the "Loto” scaled the elevator exceeding 500 meters, leapt off the floor, and floated towards the zero gravity block. Gael tapped at the keyboard on the monitor, logging into the “Magallanica” security system.

The crew carrier hatch in the back opened, and the 8 ECOAS members quickly scattered with land movers on their backs. There were eight cargo elevators linking from the equivalent of the revolving residential block core. There were at least double the elevators for human use, however. These elevators were situated within the inner walls of the revolving residential bloc, and it was impossible to supervise all the positions given the massive circular path, let alone the countless elevators there might be. Gael continued to tap at the keyboard, not listening to the reports of the crew. The leader, upon seeing Gael fighting hard, asked with an anxious voice, “Can’t we just cut off the power to the elevator”

“I’m trying, but it’s difficult. It seems all controls are delegated to the cryo. Even my password’s rejected.”

The word ‘rejected’ appeared and disappeared over and over again, the security system showed no signs of opening. If they could intercept the surveillance footage within the facility, they could at least do something. The leader’s eyes continued to stare at the periscope, “Now that the secret of the century’s going to be opened, this is going to be expected.” This undaunted voice had Gael stop typing for a moment, and look over. The leader had lost his commander during the battle of “Palau”, and based on hierarchy, he took command of ECOAS 729. His age and rank were no higher than Conroy, but he had the dignity to lead a platoon. Neither had given their names, but Gael found comfort in knowing he could entrust his life to the man, especially in this clueless situation.

As it was a loop, the path to the elevator block was like an endless uphill, and their eyes were already used to the brightness of the gravity block, the pathway looking relatively dim. One third of the lights were extinguished as power was being conserved, resulting half the ceiling exceeding 100m in height being shrouded in darkness, the outer wall of the shaft unable to be seen. Vision on the infrared camera was poor, and they could only rely on their naked eye, the “Loto” flickering its flashlights on the right shoulder, slowly drifting down the corridor as it looked around. The trio inside the machine watched with bated breath when the leader suddenly spoke up, “Which force were you from?” Gael gave a wry smile upon hearing that definitive voice. Ever since they regrouped on the “Nahel Argama”, Gael had never mentioned his personal information, but it appeared the habits he was ingrained with would show themselves in his actions.

“I did a lot of things during the war. After the war, I was at the intelligence branch for 3 years or so.”

“Of course…” The leader answered, giving a wry smile. This ECOAS member, a self-admitted worker of the Federation’s dirty deeds, might have imagined the intelligence branch had some unspeakable work. “Not used to life after the war?” He continued to chat, “I don’t have the willpower.” Gael too answered in a leisurely tone.

“So I once decided not to follow my Masters…but things don’t always go as planned.”

“Well, I get that. Those rotten ones who betray everyone can’t do this job. We’re dogs, but top dogs.”

The driver said, half-joking, and Gael smirked, wrinkles forming on his face, only for a cold air to suddenly descend above him, passing through the spacesuit, his hairs standing.

No, it was not the air. It was a sneering presence hidden somewhere in the darkness, looking down upon them. It was mocking them for merely being dogs, dispelling the cordial mood as it instantly engulfed the “Loto”. Before they could wonder if they were overimagining “What…?” the leader muttered, his eyes looking from from the periscope, while the driver next to him turned the main camera up, shining upon the ceiling, the strange-shaped object hidden in the cavity of the wall deeply engraved into Gael’s eyes.

For a moment, Gael assumed it was a statue warding against demons. It was a giant as serene as a god, yet strangely deformed. The monoeye flickered on its scorched face, leering away, reminding Gael of the source of that cold presence. There was a masked man with lush blond hair, and Gael froze upon realizing they might not be able to escape. The next moment, the strangely shaped giant, now with the loss of an arm, flickered its burners, blending into the darkness like an illusion.

“The Red Comet…!”

The leader yelled, and the driver tried to evade, but it was too late, even for Gael who tried to report into the wireless. The “Sinanju” quickly escaped the range of the flashlight, and drew its beam saber. The light particles buzzed as it flashed, momentarily showing the red armor with melted marks all over it. Following that, Gael’s senses were engulfed in the intense light and explosion.

The “Sinanju” beam saber swung horizontally, lopping off the “Loto” above its chest. The generator did not explode, but in an instant, it lost its head and hands, the legs and scorched severed surface of the body left behind. Gael ducked in time, and did not die immediately, but he saw the burned lower bodies of the driver and leader upon the charred seats. Everything was blown away by the rushing heat wave, countless shrapnel blending into the darkness. The “Sinanju” raised the beam saber, its massive frame in his eyes.

Half its face mask was severed, the monoeye range and cables exposed, resembling an eyeball rumbling madly. The scorched armor swayed like a tumor, and the humanoid machine devoid of its left arm struck from above. Gael lost his lost vestiges of consciousness, his body engulfed by the beam saber before his eyes, thrown into the seat of the scorching light.

Part 10

A shockwave occurred far away, the cryo filled with stars shaking on its floor. It was much weaker than when the “Magallanica” was shaking, but Banagher instinctively realized it was closing in.

“More pursuers…”

Syam seemed to sense the slight tension, and spoke up. He looked up at the unwavering starry space, the eyes made it difficult to determine if he was similarly a human, his speaking voice seemingly amassed with ‘time’. Banagher continued to listen as he watched the former’s shrivelled body reclined in the bed. This man knows, so his heart of stone muttered. Syam knew of what was happening, what had happened, and what might happen in the future.

“You saw it?”

Banagher took a step forward, saying subconsciously. So Syam looked over, and Audrey seemed tensed up.

“Have you seen everything…that happened to us, all from here?”

The heat suppressed in his chest oozed from his mouth in a hiss. If this was truly the case, the man was no different from Full Frontal, secretly hiding in this underground bunker, watching sacrifice after sacrifice occur, waiting like a god awaiting the winner after all the elimination.

Syam’s head, buried in the pillow twitched, and he did not answer immediately, instead looking towards the ceiling. His slightly wavering eyes were covered by his eyelids, and he opened them again, staring into the illusion of stars. “Yes, I did.” The response flew like a wind, the heat in Banagher’s heart throbbing wildly.

“Not everything though, just what I can know from here…”

There was no arrogance, no reproach. It was the voice, the expression of a man who had to endure everything. Banagher sensed the throbbing heat in his heart suffocating him, and was about to take a step forward, only to stop as his arm was grabbed from behind.

Audrey did not let go of his arm, and instead, she took a step forward, looking towards Syam. “It was an intense war.” She eked out a repressed voice.

“We sacrificed the people who were bewitched by the “Laplace Box”, and many other innocents. Who we are, what bloodlines we inherit, these do not matter. I hope you understand that we stand here representing the casualties of this war.”

The warmth flowing from the palm was telling Banagher to calm down, and he took a deep breath, relaxing his fists. Syam’s eyes squinted to the point of nothingness. “I have heard your words.” His heavy voice echoed through the cryo.

“But despite that, I have to express my thanks. It is because of someone like you that he is able to make it here safely.”

Saying that, he gave Banagher a familial look, only to erase his emotions immediately. “I shall tell you everything then.” So he said, a cruel glint appearing in his eyes. Once again, Banagher clenched his relaxed hands.

“You shall have to choose the price however. To open the “Box”, or to keep it sealed, or to destroy it without care for the consequences. You may also leave without asking.”

The probing eyes were looking at Banagher, who exerted strength into his practically trembling legs, looking back.

“The decision lies in your hand. You understand?”

After exerting strength for the last time, Audrey’s hand finally let go of Banagher, who took a step forward, nodding towards the expression reminiscent of Cardeas. Syam’s eyes flickered as he reached his hand beyond the bed. A cylindrical panel silently rose from the floor, and the hand that was seemingly weathered over a century was placed on it, like there was a side table fixed to the table.

Banagher sensed a tremor rising up from the floor, potentially causing him to shiver. The floor right before the bed stopped projecting space, and there was a 3 meters wide quadrilateral hole, rising next to the space hologram. Banagher and Audrey stepped back in unison, staring at the object rising from the abyss. The faint light from the star cluster shone upon its glossy surface, though not particularly distinct, as it gradually showed itself. It was a hexagonal block placed on a pedestal. Banagher had an impression of it. Perhaps it was similar to something he had seen before?

With a tremendous throbbing in his heart, Banagher looked towards the object that rose from the floor. The hexagon approximately 1 meter in length had countless words on it, resembling a honeycomb. The object giving off a silver glint was—

“The stone tablet, of the Universal Century charter…?”

Audrey eked a hoarse voice. “It used to be called the Laplace Charter.” Syam answered, and Banagher went towards the stone tablet with quite a few damages.

On the day the Universal Century started, it was the foundation of the Federation government as they declared the change of calendar. Representatives of various countries, led by the Premier, engraved their own signatures on the hexagonal Charter with many chapters. Banagher saw the same thing in the Central Senate Hall at Dakar. Loni Garvey said it was a replica, and the original stone tablet was destroyed during the “Laplace Incident”.

So, in other words, this was the original? But so what? Banagher could not understand at all. This thing, this, was the “Laplace Box”—? His thoughts froze momentarily, and was about to turn into rage, “Banagher, look!”Audrey’s tense voice entered his ears.

“It is different from what we know. There is an additional chapter.”

Audrey pointed at the Charter, her finger shaking. Banagher himself learned of it in school, but he was never the model student to memorize it all. “Beneath article 14, chapter 7.” So with Audrey prompting, Banagher looked towards the engraved text ‘Chapter 7 Future’. The words were engraved into his eyes as he focused his will on understanding it.

Chapter 7. Future.

The Earth Federation needs lots of hopes and expectations, and have prepared the following articles for Humanity’s future.

Article 15.

1, The Earth Federation shall broaden research and preparation to defend any biological emergencies beyond the Earth celestial sphere.

2. In future, if the existence of new space-adapting humans is confirmed, their inclusion in the running of the government is to be prioritized.

“If the existence of new space-adapting humans is confirmed, their inclusion in the running of the government is to be prioritized…”

Audrey’s monotonous voice as she recited the message exploded in Banagher’s mind, his heart jolting. While she was mesmerized and not leaving the tablet at all, Banagher turned his back on her as he stared at Syam unflinchingly. It happened all because of this, this one thing…Banagher could not stop his thoughts from running wild, and Syam took on that confusion as his eyes flicked silently, the face sunk into the pillow staring into the distant stars.

“This is the “Laplace Box” the truth to the curse binding us over a hundred years.”

The sigh that encapsulated a hundred eyes shook the air in the cryo, piercing through the body and heart. It seemed the object called time was speaking as Banagher’s eyes returned to the stone tablet floating in the void.

“At the same time…it was a prayer.”

Syam continued. These words overlapped with the voice of the ghost Banagher heard at “Laplace”, and unwittingly approached the tablet, reaching his hands towards the relatively scarred hexagon. The polished stone reflected himself wearing the white pilot suit, the reflected silhouette becoming an unknown youth who similarly reached his hand towards this stone tablet a hundred years ago, and their hands touched across time—

Part 11

“That’s…it…?”

The voice eked out was unwittingly hoarse, shaking. Alberto subconsciously moved his head, checking the pilot seat of the dim Base Jabber, and his wavering eyes looked towards the window before him. The lieutenant driving never returned from the engine room, and right beyond the window was the face of the “Banshee” that was up close. The “Magallanica” half hidden behind it was no longer bombarded into oblivion, the strange snail shell-like appearance quietly floating in space.

Yes, nothing would change. Even with the erased article from original tablet, he found the world would not really change. Is that truly the secret capable of overturning the Federation government? All the plotting and enduring, the countless sacrifices that could not be recovered, all those for this thing? Alberto showed neither rage nor anguish, nor was he truly flustered; his mind was simply blank. His eyes returned to the “Banshee” informing him of the truth, and the back mask was staring into a spot in space. “It’s not the biggest reason.” Riddhe’s heavy voice echoed once again.

“But Ricardo Marcenas did use the sealed space called “Laplace” to insert this article, the “Laplace” that formed the prime minister’s residence drifting in space, the land where the Universal Century began…the tablet with the Charter was supposed to have the signatures of each country’s representative. They planned for it to be held in “Laplace”, hoping that no dissident forces would have the change to interfere. The government had universally felt that even if there was a possibility, they should not promise the spacenoid too much power. Yet Ricardo, who added this article despite it all, could be said to be a true idealist. His personality, and the truth of this Universal Century…was simply a disguise to the brazen truth of an abandonment policy—”

“But he became an obstacle, to the people who felt there was no need for additional humans to join the government.”

Alberto continued without realizing, clasping together the fingers as his blood stilled. They started with the space migration plan to ensure the longevity of Earth, heavily burned by global warming and population explosion. It was fated for the Federation to exert merciless arrogance, to alleviate the impacts on every country, every person. The largest authoritative organization in human history required Ricardo Marcenas as an ideal face…as his heart chilled increasingly, looked towards the “Banshee”. The golden horns dropped slightly, “Yes.” And Alberto had an impression that the “Banshee” was the one talking.

“But it was really as they wished. I think the conservatives never truly viewed thought that the people adapting to space would be deemed a danger. Too many people feel that the liberal advocate Ricardo was being too obstructive, and the tablet presented an opportunity to strike. So they decided to begin the assassination, disguising it as a terrorist attack done by separatists. That was the grand place to destroy “Laplace” at the change of the calendar, along with the representatives allied to Ricardo. At the same time, it was the perfect plan to quell the rising call for terrorism, eliminate the separatists, and strengthen the Federation’s authority. So to execute this plan, they hired some terrorists that were to be disposed of. Syam Vist…your great grandfather, was one of them, and the representative acting as main conspirator was George Marcenas. The man commonly known as Marcenas Junior, the third prime minister, Ricardo Marcenas’s son.”

George Marcenas took over the will of his assassinated father, and after taking over as acting deputy prime minister, he became the prime minister. His call of “Never forget Laplace” involved hardline stances against terrorism for another 20 years until ‘all conflicts on Earth was annihilated’. The Federation government inherited the vices of an overly massive organization, cronyism distinct from society rampant, but there was quick, if not overwhelming brutality against the dissidents. The Federation maintained this nature all because George’s administration had cultured this. Because of the assassination, Junior and the others had the expected outcome of the Federation maintaining Emergency Relief Authority.

Alberto was speechless. Filicide, patricide—it all continued as gears of cause and effect, but to think it all started from then. He realized he was part of this cause and effect, and understood how Riddhe, who called this a real ‘curse’, was brooding over it. Once again, he looked towards the “Banshee” speechlessly, and saw the bitter look on the sidelong face. “The plan worked, except for a minor miscalculation” His voice seemingly vanished into the darkness as he continued.

“Nobody knew how Syam Vist survived…and how he obtained the Laplace tablet. It was over ten years since the incident when Syam first contacted the government, and the original tablet he had consisted of the article the current one doesn’t have. It’s just a prayer to be entrusted to the future, but it concerned the future of the spacenoid, and one could imagine that the manner to deliberately eliminate and assassinate was all a government conspiracy…you can now imagine how the conspirators panicked. They probably had at least a hundred plans to assassinate Syam, but Syam was a smart man. Even though he would blackmail the government, he would not demand too much. Instead, he would ask for a little convenience compared to the main problem at hand, to invest in a certain startup back then called Anaheim Electronics. He would not appear on the surface, but remain as a back of that company, the Vist Foundation that was established, and dabble in the essentials industry—”

“That started a coexistence relationship with the Federation, a system maintained by hiding the original tablet…the “Laplace Box”. It didn’t matter what it was. The “Box” became the symbol of world order …”

The ex-terrorist scaled up the social ranks through the capital of the secret he somehow obtained, and the Federation government chose to coexist with him instead. Alberto and Riddhe were living in the results formed by this twisted history. All ambitions and plotting they had had vaporized, and they were simply ordinary people who wanted to protest the interests they already had—the currently existing world. Once he learned of the fact that it all started from his relative, Alberto let out a heavy sigh.

“At first, it was merely blackmail material on the government. Even if the truth was revealed, it would not topple the Federation government, and would not have any big effect on the space migration policies. The government did also have the option to recognize the original stone tablet and rerelease the clause. At least 20 years later however, when the Federation and the Vist Foundation had their coexistence relationship stabilized, problematic thought. His ideas soon spread over the Earth celestial sphere, changing the meaning of the “Box” completely.”

The eked voice landed in Alberto’s heart, causing his heart to jump. He widened his eyes, staring at the “Banshee” sidelong face while it looked afar.

This was the true meaning of the magic of the “Box”. Riddhe had said, “When the One Year War happened…everything changed” “Syam, and the others who walked down the path he paved, realized the significance of what they did, and discovered the real ‘power’ of the “Laplace Box”.” Looking over at where the “Banshee” was looking at, Alberto saw the moon flicking amongst the debris, and once he realized what Riddhe was getting at, he was shocked speechless.

They could not see from here, but there was no doubt it was the colony cluster behind the moon. A certain man brought his troublesome ideas and spread it across the Earth celestial sphere, on a certain Side 3—

"The Newtype theory Zeon Deikum advocated was that mankind can continue to evolve, and it was an attractive idea to the spacenoids who were abandoned citizens to begin with. That idea, along with the spacenoids movement to gain independence, brought about the whole new concept, and the “Box” became a real taboo. If the existence of new space-adapting humans is confirmed, their inclusion in the running of the government is to be prioritized…what was supposed to be a prayer for the distant future became reality within half a century, and became a curse toppling the Federation government…”

Part 12

With the moon as the backdrop, an endless array of ships fired their cannons in unison. Tens, hundreds of ships fired beams through the space of eternal night, shooting into the opposing fleet, and rings of light of various sizes lit up like lights.

The counterattack trail of fire continued to fly through the fireballs appearing and vanishing, crossing the second wave of beam barrages as the mega particle cannons scorched space. The lights spreading above their heads were so dazzling, Banagher had the urge to cover his eyes, his still body faltering. A Zeon Principality Musai-class ship took a direct hit, and exploded, and a Federation ship got hit in the hull by missiles, engulfed in a fireball. A flare exploded from a Federation’s ship engine, crashing into its allied units, and another side, a platoon of Zakus fired their handheld bazookas, the ammunition pulling its gaseous trails as they blew up the bridge of the ship, the other combatants caught in the shockwave being more of the Zaku’s accomplishments.

There was no Federation mobile suit to be seen. Before the War, the Federation army knew that Zeon was developing these weapons called mobile suits, but they were said to have committed the cardinal sin of underestimating the enemy, resulting in their complete defeats during the preliminary stages of the One Year War. Banagher quietly noted to himself that this might have been a record of that era as he saw the battlefield projected in the cryo. The Federation ships were buried one after another, and they were headed towards an open space colony. The Musai-class ships seemed small like peanuts compared to the massive colony they surrounded, its massive cylinder appearing in the space battlefield, not fixated at its position. On its other end, there were nuclear pulse engines blaring, moving slowly along with the Musai-class ships. The three mirrors on the cylinder had been severed, the silver outer walls stained with countless scorch marks, but the cylinder 30km in length continued to accelerate.

It was headed towards the sphere with the blue atmosphere, Earth. It was getting close. Earth, entering the camera along with the colony, might not appear so big, but the powerful gravity was already at work, and it appeared the colony was pulled in by Earth. The attacks of the pursuing Federation fleet was useless, and the colony approaching with the Zeon fleet kept accelerating, finally entering the planet’s silhouette, becoming an arrow as it shot a long trail upon the atmosphere like a blackened stain.

“I remember when the colony fell.”

Syam noted quietly, his bed seemingly floating on Earth’s silhouette. Next to Banagher, Audrey seemingly tensed up, but he stared at Syam’s sidelong face.

“20 years passed since we heard of Zeon’s name. The nightmare we feared would happened finally happened on that day. But what I remembered clearly was neither fear nor anguish, but clear condescension. The feeling I felt when I first saw this…yes, I did see the imagery of the colony falling. Just as I did 100 years ago…the day “Laplace” was blown up.”

Earth’s reflective light showed Audrey’s astounded frowning face. The words ‘“Laplace” was blown up’ had Banagher reeling greatly, but he continued to look at Syam, who was covered by the backlight.

“I always thought it was an illusion. Even I had forgotten about the matter until I saw that scene become reality. But I did see the demon-like “Zaku” army along with the colony burned by the atmosphere. Back then, the term mobile suit did not exist…that was a scene of the future the ghosts of “Laplace” showed me. They wanted me to stop it, to use the “Laplace Box”—the true Universal Century Charter, to prevent this destructive development…”

The tip of the colony approaching Earth touched the atmosphere. Its body was scorched red and torn apart by friction, the peeling outer walls becoming an elongated tail as it sank into the atmosphere. The colony as it was could no longer be seen, the scorching tip causing it to resemble a massive arrow, covered by grey dust as it tore through the atmosphere, landing onto the earth. It formed an ugly scar upon the Earth, and became an unprecedented event of a colony crashing into the earth.

“I once had a chance to stop it. If I had opened the “Box” before the One Year War, if I had proven that the original Federation government…had a provision for space-adapting humans to join the Central government, there might have been a different future. The ‘supposed future’ sealed in the “Box”…was truly in my hands.”

The eyes were reflecting the tragedy before him, but Syam’s flickering eyes were looking at something else. At this moment, the ‘power’ to topple the Federation finally materialized in Banagher’s heart, and he looked towards the “Laplace Box”—the stone tablet with the original Charter of the Universal Century.

Zeon Zum Deikun had advocated that space-adapting humans could evolve into Newtypes, and became the hope of the people who were abandoned in space. The Federation government only knew to suppress him, but the original Federation had hopes for space-adapting humans—Newtypes, and had wished for them to coexist with the government. Result-wise the Federation personally buried the existence of this ideal along with the “Laplace Incident” till this day. If the spacenoids who believed in Zeon knew of this Truth that could have changed their futures—

“But I forgot about the illusion that day, or I might say, deliberately chose to forget. The Vist Foundation was founded for the “Box” to be entrusted to the future, but it lost its objective without knowing, just becoming bigger and bigger…I, along with the organization that should be part of identity, lost ‘my only desire’. We merely held onto the blood-stained present, and not reached our hands towards the future …”

Syam brought his withered hands before him, and behind him, the colony vanished beyond the horizon, a flash forming as it landed, bright like the morning sun as it scorched the Earth a burning color.

Audrey pursed her lips, turning her head aside in disgust. Banagher looked towards Syam’s hands that were lit by the light. The palms that had killed his own son, crushed the ‘promised future’ had eased down, the fingertips left with an emptiness that could not grasp anything. The light of the colony calmed soon after the flash of the colony drop, leaving behind the darkness of the stars shrouding the sultry sidelong face of the old man.

Part 13

The body and heart filled with shock and trepidation sank in the cold darkness. The shockwaves grew distant, some aftershocks. There were no feelings involved in Alberto’s heart, and no clear hatred, just anguish flowing with the waves lingering in his heart. Was his aunt, Martha Carbine, going to aim the colony laser at this area? So he wondered, but even then, this notion seemed so unrelated to him. He looked towards the space outside the window with his empty eyes “Can’t be helped.” a hoarse voice came from the stationary “Banshee”.

“There is no scientific proof that the Newtypes exist, and it can be taken as fake if we look at it the other way. Most importantly, the Federation itself buried this clause, and this fact is the biggest weapon to those believing in Zeonism. If the spaceboids know of the “Box” existence and lead an insurgency under the name of Zeon…the population of 3.5 billion on Earth can only choose to remain silent, and protect the secret, all so that this world doesn’t turn into Hell.”

The idea of a Newtype brought hope to the spacenoids who were practicing abandoned citizens, but at the same time, it became the source of the symptoms. It brought a new period of class segregation, and the finally united humanity became divided once again. It was because the “Laplace Box” existed that the Federation had been highly oppressive, partially out of fear, but it finally forced the Principality of Zeon to call for independence. Recognizing the existence of Newtypes and giving them priority to join the government was akin to letting the abandoned spacenoids occupy the palace, and they could not allow that.

“But Hell broke loose. The One Year War…we lost half our population, and the Federation managed to defeat the Principality of Zeon, but at a great cost. The War proved the existence of Newtypes, and the curse of the “Box” was heavier. Nobody knew what the content was, fear was the only thing ingrained in their hearts. Do not open the “Box”, The Federation government will be doomed if you do…father and the others could only continue to hide this secret. Not just to hide the skeleton in the closet, but also to protect the billions of people. Faced with the terror of another destructive war, humanity chose to live in this twisted establishment, down the path of being fed till they die.)

After the War, the remnants of Zeon were hunted down, and the Federation government began thorough politics centered upon Earth. They oppressed the spacenoids excessvies, creating the right wing extremists that were the Titans, dividing the Federation army into two again. The Federation army weakened, and Neo Zeon seized the opportunity to start two Neo Zeon wars. The Federation barely managed to win after much hardship, preserving its pride as the highest authority, but the disillusionment of the spacenoids had become widespread, and the after war society remained unstable.

While the anti-government forces had quietened down, Neo Zeon maintained their presence as the “Sleeves”, and one could see some factions in the Republic of Zeon backing them. It was a regimented dispute that was quelled under economic sanctions, but there was a tense feeling that a misstep could ignite the situation, and the nightmare of a full scale war remained. In such a situation, Riddhe’s father, his cronies, and the Vist Foundation secured the secret of the “Box” together, and planned a Federation military reassembly when the Republic was to be dissolved. The acts of the Settlement Issues Council were completely correct, if taking the perspective of protecting the Federation government. They would banish the myth of Newtypes, and execute the UC plan to eliminate Zeonism forever…Alberto himself felt they should not be blamed for trying to get back the Universal Century that should be.

The secret of the “Box” was so heavy. The tragedy of the One Year War resulted in the ghosts of half the population, bearing it down all the more. Who dared say that if the assassination did not happen, that the original charter of the Universal Century was announced, the Newtypes would be accepted a blessed? Could they have progressed to a society centered around Newtypes if the One Year War and the future conflicts did not happen?

It was impossible. There would be a war in a different manner. It would not have been Federation vs Zeon, but Earthnoids vs Spacenoids—the people who abandoned and the abandoned people, a full scale bloody conflict. The Federation government would have fractured, and the first united government in human history would have crumbled within a hundred years.

But at the same time—one could not deny the possibility that if the “Box” was opened before Zeonism reigned, before the One Year War happened, the Principality of Zeon would not be the cause of much violence. If Zeon Deikum had known there was a clause to head over governance to the Newtypes, he might not have gone about spreading his ideas of the Newtypes, and the ruling Zabis might have acted differently Nevertheless, it was all just a possibility. Nobody could be sure of the ‘future they should have’, and their ancestors who were ordinary men and not Newtypes chose the most appropriate action, to eliminate this ‘possibility’—or to seal it. How could they be reproached? It was for the sake of protecting the world. If he and his allies were in the same position, they too would have done the same, to maintain the status quo.

And then…they lost everything; not just the future, but also the hope and development of every future minute, every future second, becoming mere blocks of flesh who wept over the lost possibilities. They however were not the only ones; every person in the Earth celestial sphere had lost the compass leading them to the next day, a collective society that had failed to progress. They were simply focused on trying to fit in as one of the billions of people out there. “But what order are we protecting by doing this?” Riddhe’s voice rang, and Alberto mistakenly took them as his own voice.

“I did something that can’t be taken back. I heard her voice, Marida Cruz. We only brushed past each other, and I never talked to her before, I never knew of her name, but I heard her ‘voice’. What’s going on? People can understand each other, people have such a possibility. I said I would protect, but I never believed in the ones I wanted to protect. I disappointed everyone…I lost everything…”

The words got increasingly hotter and damp, reverberating in his body and mind that were drifting in the endless voice. Yes, they could not believe, they could not entrust themselves into this act of trust, and merely feared that they, or the world, would change. Alberto looked away from the seemingly weeping “Banshee” with its head lowered, and towards the still silent “Magallanica”.

“Everything is made by Man, for Man…huh?”

Everyone, including Syam, Cardeas, and the Marcenas family, had the same distrust and despair, and chose the act they felt was best. They did not know how to trust others, and resulted in having to bear every result, stuck in the sturdy cage called reality. What did Syam and his father believe in when they chose to open the “Box” even if it meant being the enemies of the world? Just a redemption for the possibilities and futures they had sealed away? …Alberto hoped not. He hoped they wanted to open the “Box” because they believed in something he did not know of. Otherwise, that would be too tragic.

No matter how outstanding a person was, he was still merely a feeble human. Having finally understood the weight of loss and guilt, he could finally understand their troubles from their perspective. Cardeas Vist never got to express his true sentiments when he was murdered by his son. In the final moment of his life, he had the coincidence of meeting his other son, who was entrusted with the “Unicorn”. That might have been the only miracle Cardeas ever got to experience in his life. Even though they shared the same bloodline, as a fellow man, Alberto was grateful for this miracle. Surely his father would not have expressed the true sentiments, especially when they could not communicate with each other—

“Just one word…if you had said just one word…”

I would have devoted my all to you if that happened. Alberto berated his father for the last time, and then focused the rage on himself for being unable to confess to Marida. The lingering grudges slowly melted away as he stared at the “Magallanica” filled with Cardeas’ soul, and all he could not was to keep crying.

Part 14

The hand touched the cylindrical control panel, the space on the cryo walls vanished, beckoning a new visual. Some light flicked far above their hands, forming a dim world of black and blue that seemingly exerted heavy pressure. The deep blue color similar to Marida’s eyes appeared on the all view screen.

“The lifeforms borne from the seas moved upon land after thousands of billions of years…it will take countless rises and falls, thousands of billions of years again for them to take the form of Man.”

Guided by Syam’s words, the cryo located at the bottom of the sea. From the deep blue world, they went to a world of blue and green. The fish scales were sparkling silver, gathering like clouds, clustering the monitor. Suddenly, everything dispersed, and opposite them was a sparkling water surface. The silver colored fish were filled with breathtaking life, and the sunlight kept shining upon the Earth for billions of years. Shaken by the light filled with ostensible life, Banagher blocked his eyes with his hands, and the cryo cut past the water surface, moving on the sea.

The bubbles bursting everywhere had light refracted upon them, causing a prism effect and creating a rainbow in the blue skies. The clouds were drifting amidst the thick atmosphere, and beneath it was a vast ocean, some traces of land visible across the horizon. The cryo cut past the skies, wading upon the sea, headed to a patch of land. A blue sky and sea filled with various hues dashed by in a blurr, and Banagher brought his shoulder close to Audrey’s, fearful that he would be blown away.

“Such is Evolution. An individual’s lifespan is insufficient in experiencing so. What Newtypes have is the ability to expand their cognition…prompting a change in individual awareness.”

They surged past the seas, but showed no signs of stopping as the cryo continued to enter deep into land. The barren plains departed from their feet, and then there were hordes of animals gathering like ants. These caribous resembled deer as they covered the plains, silently moving forward as they moved towards warmer lands. Driven by instinct, it continued to move, and no river or rocky walls could stop them. They continued to march arduously to escape the fate of hunger, cold and illogical threats. Such unreasonable impulses could also be used to describe the actions of the flocks of birds escaping the cold.

Hundreds, thousands of birds flapped their wings together to pursue that Promised Land, and they formed a blanket covering the sky and the ground. They knew not to stop as they encircled the cryo, slowly departing in the back. Above where the birds left, Banagher saw an old propeller plane leaving a trail of clouds behind. Its shadow fell upon the treacherous cliffs, and it was the wings humans obtained through their own knowledge. There was no reason why humans could not do what birds could—humanity was driven by this impulse to create a product borne out of knowledge, and it could be said the most natural thing to do was for Man to defy nature.

“Using knowledge, we evolved for knowledge…as far as we know of, Man is the only creature with knowledge and blood. Given that humans used its knowledge to distinguish itself from other lifeforms through the evolution of intellect and the creation of new systems, the prior examples would have been meaningless. The Evolution Theory we know of is a change caused by physical evolution. We have yet to see an example of the mind, a formless ‘power’, evolving. ”

The plan slowly glided by the ground, and a large passenger craft equipped with jet engines flew about it, and above that, there was a small trail of white smoke, probably a shuttle headed towards space. It was headed to an altitude even the birds could not reach, and the cryo pursued the shuttle, breaking free of gravity as it flew into the skies. The endless earth hastily drifted by, showing the shapes of the continents, soon before the stars began to sparkle in the blue skies that were becoming deep blue, a darkness similar to the deep blue sea filling Banagher’s eyes.

The lifeforms born in the deep darkness surged past the flooding of colors, and entered darkness again. So it ended…was it really the endpoint, after thousands of billions of years of evolution? Banagher looked around the eternal night that was space, and felt a poignant terror. At the same time, he heard a thud shaking through the space.

It was not the end, so the voice told him. The space of eternal night shall be the Promised Land for a new beginning. The voice resonated with his heartbeat, slowly filling the space. They were the end of their physical evolution, and then proceeded with the evolution of their intellect—they showed humanity’s power and kindness to the world through the possibilities within them. Zeon Deikum’s ideals, along with the new evolution his own father deemed as a responsibility, began to throb in the endless darkness. The billions of lives that had finished their first journey were gathering energy for the next phase of their journey, their rhythms reaching him. As he stood upon the cryo cutting through the void, Banagher looked towards the source—the silver eggs forming the cradles of evolution

There were five silver eggs between the Earth and the moon, five Lagrange Points blinking countless warning lights as they revolved on their own, millions, tens of millions of lives breathing within these cylinders. Humanity had created artificial land in space, and hundreds of colonies were giving off silver glow. Banagher heard them pulsating like eggs waiting to be hatched, the healthy throbbing sounds akin to the primordial lifeforms throbbing in the deep sea devoid of light.

“As the guardian of the “Box”, I have spent an overly long time for a physical body…and I have ‘one only word’.”

The quiet voice negated the throbbing, echoing through the cryo and pulling their drifting consciousness back upon their bodies. Banagher recovered as he blinked his eyes, and looked towards Syam on the bed.

“If there is truly the existence of a Newtype…and if, as the stone tablet says, there are new forms of humans adapted to space, I wish to entrust the “Box” to them. We old humans might not be able to do so, but they may be able to use the “Box” better, and obtain the ‘promised future’…all I am doing is to repeat the prayer a century ago. Perhaps the ghosts of “Laplace” possessing me are making me think so…if the human consciousness…if the technology to touch the human heart is completed, I do want to see for myself. ”

The rainbow lights throbbed hazily, gradually filling the cryo. The light of the psycoframe, the curtain of aurora looked comforting as they beckoned the heart. Banagher saw the resonating light takeshape, forming a psycofield as it orbited around the Earth. The little planet slowly pulling towards Earth due to gravity was the Neo Zeon space base "Axis”. The visual was clearer than what Aaron had shown, and “Axis” forming a massive meteor, was on a collision course with Earth, but a rainbow belt captured the black shadow, changing its course and extending towards the sun. Following that, a white giant giving off the same glow appeared on the all view screen.

The key to the “Box”, the “Unicorn Gundam”, used the psycoframe as its flesh and blood as it dragged a rainbow trail. There formed a rainbow flood in the eternal darkness…it appeared to be life borne from the darkness of the deep sea. Was it a light reflecting the resonating thoughts of humanity, the next light of the next world the primordial life saw? Beyond the rainbow as the road continued—

“After UC 0100, the Republic of Zeon shall be dissolved, and Zeon’s history shall end. The term Newtype shall be gone with the wind, and one day, the curse of the “Box” will be turned to nothingness.”

Syam continued. The departing “Unicorn Gundam” vanished together with the rainbow.

“So until then…before all is forgotten and swallowed in the abyss, we have to reveal the truth of the “Box” to the world, while the ‘prayer’ can be conveyed as a ‘prayer’ when the ‘curse’ remains a ‘curse’ …”

“But this will start another war.”

A firm, adamant voice had Syam tilt his head slightly, and Audrey did not look back at Banagher, who was staring at her, as she took a step forth and stared at Syam.

“Since it has the signatures of various representatives, the clause written on the original stone tablet should be legally binding. It is the unique weapon that can defeat the Federation, for Neo Zeon, or Monaghan Bakharov of the Republic. If they are forced by the Federation to respond with force, it may be a repeat of the One Year War…a conflict encompassing all the spacenoids and the earthnoids. If that is the price for the ‘promised future’, that will be too—”

“This is why I want to entrust this to you, the Newtypes.”

The calm, yet resolute voice answered gently, rendering Audrey with no resolve to continue. Syam’s eyes remained the same as he looked back at her.

“You may choose not to “Box”, or destroy it. If you cannot accept so, you may destroy my old body and kill me off.”

The final words, along with the stare, were directed towards Banagher, who clenched his trembling fists, enduring the innate, sharp stare from Syam.

“But…I have a more somber prediction of the future when the “Box” is opened. A future where nothing is changed.”

He looked up to the clusters of stars in the skies, his sidelong face shrouded in shadow. “Nothing, will change…?” Audrey’s little mutter ended Banagher’s eyes softly.

“Words are simply words, and the law can be interpreted according to Man’s convenience. In the short term, there will be a huge uproar. There may be a turnover of political authority, some activists requesting for those clauses to be invoked. But, that is all. Are Newtypes simply those who have adapted to space? Do Newtypes really exist? There are countless experiments and counterpoints, and the dispute has ended without a firm resolution. A sharpened debate will lose to the words of the masses, and one day, it shall be ignored…”

It probably──no, would surely end up this way. The unconditional belief froze Banagher’s body as he stared at Syam’s face. Audrey stumbled back, “Then…for why exactly…” She let out a hoarse voice. Without saying a word, Syam reached for the control panel by his bed.

The actual visual of space vanished, and the all view screen depicted the scene of a certain park. It was not Earth, nor was it the image within the colony. The skies at 60-70 meters tall at most were covered by the checkered light-capturing windows, the sunlight shining through the refractive mirrors from the outside. The ground was an endless, gentle gradient, and every direction appeared to be a slope. It was a donut-shaped space a ring smaller than the revolving residential block of the “Magallanica.”

Within a corner of this inner wall was the wall of a white building similar to a concert hall, with trimmed shrubs next to it. There was a massive podium at the roof of this hall, the background of the twenty meters wide Earth Federation flag as the background. The flag covered the light retaining windows, and on both ends of the flag, there were large monitors, 800 inches in width that could show a person speaking on the podium.

It appeared the podium had a unique writing pad upon it, and after every person dressed in suit stood upon it, they placed their personal signature. There were no fewer than fifty who went about putting their signatures, and they took turns, quietly signed off, and left the podiums. One of the large monitors showed their hands signing, another was showing the hexagonal tablet, along with the words engraved upon it. Whenever there was a new signature on the podium, the crane arm would move along and engrave the same signature on the edge of the hexagon. One by one, the signatures of the various global representatives were added, harkening the completion of the stone tablet that was the Universal Century charter—

“On the last day of Anno Domini…the day the Universal Century began, that thing was completed.”

Syam said. The contents of the charter remained a secret before it was released, so it must have been a pre-record. There were none in the reporters’ booth, and few attendees to the event. The only ones present were the representatives who signed it off, along with their families, and involved personnel. Banagher stared at the “Laplace Box” that was about to be born.

It was the Eve 96 years ago…hours before they would change to the Universal Century, the last day of Anno Domini. The monitors and other facilities were relatively old, but the appearances were none too distinct from the present. The people on hologram appeared to be within reach, passing by before him, slowly agitating the solemn mood of “Laplace”.

“Races, religions, countries…the Federation government was created as an absolute mediator for disputes and negotiations between many parties with their own vested interest. They know this stone tablet shall bind the spacenoids in the future, and become the basis of the space migration completion. It will end with far too many abandoned into space…but this cruel act is the only way to save the dying Earth, for humanity to live on. They have known of their own sins, and shall shine a ray of goodwill into the distant future. ”

These words resonated with something buried deep within his heart, the hologram before his eyes filled with flesh and blood. “Goodwill…” The ghosts from a hundred years ago passed through the muttering Banagher, and he walked over while staring intently. Which country’s representative was that? The old gentleman in suit exchanged words with a representative dressed in Arabic clothing, before returning to his seat with his family awaiting him. Hopping off the seats was a five year old boy, definitely the grandson. There was some block noise on the old gentleman as he carried the boy, and Banagher was reminded that it was a visual.

“They added this ‘future’ chapter, intending to entrust it to certain lifeforms who shall surpass themselves, the present. This irresponsible prayer…was entrusted to humans a thousand years later, tens of thousands of years. That night, they unleashed the god called possibilities between space and Earth. Yet they did not know they would be shattered immediately, imprisoned in the “Box” for a hundred years…”

The boy ignored his mother’s reproach as he sat on the old gentleman’s knees. The latter patted his grandson’s head, whispering a few words, before his smile faded immediately as he stared at the stone tablet with bitterness, as though lamenting this was the most he could do, and also seemingly saying to his young grandson that this was the only thing he could leave for them.

“It was a box containing the new covenant between humanity and the world…there was no god’s name. Following that was the last judgment, and surely it was the stalemate wrought by our souls, that everything shall be decided upon our hands, so that man said.”

The visual changed, showing the situation that happened ‘that night’. The reflective lens would change angle at night, ensuring that the sunlight would not shine into “Laplace”. He could see a man standing on the brightly lit podium. The arena was thoroughly packed, and there was an array of cameras from the reporters’ seats. The first prime minister of the Federation government had his back turned upon the stone tablet, the Universal Century charter that was covered in cloth, speaking to the masses with a gentle look. The voice of the ghost echoing in “Laplace was his. Ricardo Marcenas' eyes were sparkling due to the bright lights shining upon him, the colors resembling Riddhe’s ingrained deeply in Banagher’s vision.

“An ever-changing future that is filled with all sorts of hidden possibilities. Don’t be troubled about other people writing the scripts in my life. To use the God in me to look clearly at the future…these were the words said to none other than myself, the pitiful youth who was manipulated by the script others have written, and blew up “Laplace”…I too saw that ‘light’.”

Syam narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the podium, the eyes similar to Banagher’s in color filled with some light. His eyes overlapped that with the boy who had visualized the stone tablet, and the moment Banagher was about to approach the bed, a sudden flash filled the arena.

The light retaining windows on the ceiling were shattered, the cylindrical residential area consumed by the colors of flames. The audience were blown up along with their seats, and as the venue was eroded, Ricardo Marcenas was sucked away from the podium, into space, and the noisy visual was cut off.

The all-view screens then switched to show the external appearance of Laplace. The donut ring was twisted, the heaps of material, external panels and glass had been shattered from within, scattered everywhere. The torrent pelted upon the two refractive mirrors above and below the donut ring, twisting the axis shaft in the core. This was the fate of the prime minister residence “Laplace” that had been seen many times on historical documentaries aired on TV…Banagher had no time to look towards Audrey next to him as he stared at the countless shrapnel floating in space. The torn outer panels were mixed together with the steel frames, and the people sucked into space were devoured by death, unable to look back at their families in time. This would include the old gentleman and the boy on his knees.

The mirrors lost their light, and all the warning lights had vanished, “Laplace” itself becoming a dark wasteland drifting in low orbit. The twisted donut slowly began to erode, the endlessly dispersing shrapnel scattering powdered light in all directions. One of them was giving off a strong light, a silver one, slowly approaching them. The hexagonal stone tablet was released from its seat, drifting aimlessly in space, the frosted air engulfing it like lamé, it slowly revolved as it got increasingly big, the words engraved on it reflecting the distant sunlight.

“With a once in a billion chance, I encountered the stone tablet of “Laplace”…the kindness upon which it showed me the ‘light’, the ‘light’ dedicated to the distant future. It told me everything is dedicated to a person’s kindness, and shall return to the ‘light’…if it has not all turned to regimentation, it will lose its light, swallowed by the lives of billions, to be returned to the “Box” that will never be opened.”

The words were merely words, but if one did not accept it wholeheartedly, it was all a mindless spiel. Banagher accepted the reality, neither feeling doubtful nor disappointed, as he saw the bedridden Syam reach the hand out towards the stone tablet. In his youth, the latter was guided by coincidence in an encounter with the stone tablet, and the sidelong face reminiscent of Banagher was shown..

“But if there is just one person, out of thousands, who can sense this ‘light’, he will know that the world is not completely built on despair, just like me…that ‘light’ shall forever remain in their hearts, residing deep within their souls, carrying on for generations…it will believe that until all of humanity, the ‘light’ shall remain, no matter how weak it is, along with the god called possibilities…”

The stone tablet in the visual became the actual, and the boy’s face shown on it resonated with Banagher’s. At that moment Banagher felt that he had inherited everything. His legs grew tense, not wanting to cave to the pressure.

It was no restraining bolt, and it was not built just for redemption. It was all out of goodwill, to show the possibilities for those who inherited that kindness. Banagher held Audrey’s hand firmly, gaining courage from the tightly clasped hand, and turned to directly face the stone tablet called the “Laplace Box”. Would it become a prayer to be heard everywhere, or would it beckon destruction as a curse? It was not something he alone could decide, so he gathered his concentration, hearing the voices of the masses gathered in this cryo.

“It does not matter whether it’s just or unjust, but it is necessary to them. They need to have something to believe that there is still room for kindness, to fight the despair, and to live on the cruel, shackled world…”

“It is no curse. It is a prayer.”

“Probably the only one capable of piloting it is the pilot’s heart. It is a heart that easily empathizes, is easily hurt, a hurt that causes terror in others. It is weak, lacking efficiency, and some even feel it is better not to exist—”

“How sad. We lived on to cast away our sadness…why did this happen…?”

“It’s been almost a hundred years since mankind first lived in space. We cannot just accept rules for what they are; whatever we should change, we need to.”

“An individual is powerless, but personal wills banded together can pull the world back from the dark abyss. Don’t let the situation crush you. If you’re a Newtype, summon your courage, and force back all thoughts of despair.”

“The inherited ideals that surpass years will continue to evolve, linking to the future. The peak at the very end are Newtypes, don’t you think so?”

“Those who despair about the future now have no right to talk about the future. The future is the result of today. If we continue to remain in the darkness, the future we hope for will never arrive. If we do not walk to the light, we will…”

The many words that formed who he was at this point caused the humanoid-shaped ‘light’ to throb and resonate, forming a situation. Yes, I cannot decide the fate of the “Box” without finding an answer everyone can accept. Banagher closed his eyes, and finally listened to his father’s voice linger deep within his consciousness.

“There is a certain thing surpassing the present, one the human senses can’t feel…it may be what people call god, or may be a delusion borne out of human wishes. But by believing in its existence and nudging the world on, we can possibly change relationship.”’

Only the humans had god, and they could create their ideal, exerting greater strength as they tried to approach the ideal.The people gathered in “Laplace” a hundred years ago weaved a prayer for the future, showing Syam the ‘light’. The ‘light’ changing his reality’ continued to glow within him. It passed on over generations, and was about to return to him.

“The possibilities within us shall show humanity’s power and kindness to the world…it is a necessary responsibility for humans seeking an exit in space. Do not fear, and go believe, believe in your possibilities. Believe, do whatever you can, and you’ll naturally forge a path on. Do what you feel you should do.”

Even though the ‘light’ lasted only a moment, even though it could not shine upon all of humanity, and would be merely a candle to be devoured by the unchanging future—Banagher widened his eyes, staring at Audrey and himself reflected upon the stone tablet. There existed the beast of possibility in the silver mirror, along with her heart. Just as the ancients left a poem, the two profiles shown on the silver plate merged together, the words engraved on it slowly appearing.

“This is, my ‘one desire’.”

Syam said, losing his appearance as a youth as he returned to being a husk lying on the bed. Banagher bore not the time experienced, but the eyes and voice from Syam as he turned towards the bed seemingly floating in space.

“Every person’s ‘desire’ is different. What are you hoping for? Wishing for…?”

The answer was already decided. Banagher checked his clenched palms, took a deep breath, let go of Audrey’s hand, and took a step forward.

“If the Newtypes are what the new humans should be like…I suppose current humans have no ability to decipher. They simply use the name for convenience sake, as a way to describe those with supernatural abilities.”

The words spoken left Banagher himself stunned, his eyes neither agreeing nor disagreeing as he exchanged looks with Syam, continuing on undaunted.

“I am recognized by the “Unicorn”, but only by the machine. There is nothing proving I’m a real Newtype. I don’t think I have the nature you desire, and I don’t know what the best choice is.”

Banagher took another step forward. He could sense Audrey following him from behind. Supported by Cardeas, Marida, and many others, he looked towards Syam’s face that was within reach.

“But as a human, I am here because of you, because of my father. As a part of humanity that had gradually progressed through the ages…I have the answer.”

Audrey agreed, her body warmth reaching him along with her fragrance. Her warmth overlapped with his, resonating, creating a new passion required for the next era, and he stood before his great grandfather as a cog in the chain. Syam stared back with a silent look, and averted his eyes without probing further, for he understood without having to ask. The grim look vanished from Syam’s face, and showed the first smile they ever saw from him.

“I am already prepared.”

Syam closed his eyes once, and then opened them again, his eyes reflecting the cluster of stars in the sky. At the same time, the cryo floor shook, and something was rumbling deeply, causing the air in the room to shake.

Unless the explosions from before, it was a deep tremor that shook the “Magallanica” to the core. Syam remained silent as the tremors got bigger, shaking the cryo floor without pause. Banagher and Audrey grabbed each other, warily lifting their heads towards the starry skies shaken by the tremors.

Part 15

The explosive bolts set at regular intervals were ignited one after another, severing the joints. Hundreds of explosion rings surrounded the round cylinder exceeding five hundred meters in circumference, slightly shaking the connector linking the “Magallanica” and “Industrial 7”, the docking bays on both sides disengaged and starting to split.

While still under construction, the mass of the “Industrial 7” 20 kilometers in length was incomparable to the colony builder at its tip. Unlike a colony remaining in a fixed orbit, the “Magallanica” appeared to be bouncing off, but it was not the kinetic energy caused by the explosion. The structure resembling a snail exuded its thrusters in all directions, and the “Magallanica” shook its massive body of 6,500 meters, breaking free from “Industrial 7” using its own thrust. The bow slowly turned around, the turbines gathered at the wheels gave a weak glow, the rocks absorbed upon the revolving residential block showing cracks all over.

The massive rocks cut from the mineral-rich asteroids were eroded from within when building the colony, but they retained their appearance when clinging onto the “Magallanica”. At this point, this pile of rocks were showing cracks due to the inner pressure, the rocks of various sizes scattered everywhere, the skin clinging onto the snail shell peeled in blocks. The numerous scatter rocks became a vortex, the torrent of meteorites dispersing near “Industrial 7”, and the “Magallanica” broke free from the colony as it activated its thrusters, the flares as big as a big warship blaring away. The colony builder appeared to be on autopilot as it quivered silently, the rocks crushed by its massive frame and dispersing everywhere.

The rocks remained hundreds of meters in diameter even after being shattered, grazing the hastily retreating “Nahel Argama”. The white object drifting by the vortex of brown might have appeared to be one of the scattered rocks. Sirens blared all over the ship as Otto stared at the torrent through the bridge window. The relative velocity was not fast, but every piece was overly massive, and the“Nahel Argama” shall be shattered to smithereens if a rock heavier than the ship crashed into it.

“Accelerate the turbines! Pull the ship back, hurry!”

Liam gave the first command as she sat on the vice commander seat. Otto sensed an urge to steer aside before awaiting his command, “Don’t move!” so he bellowed.

“It’s safer to follow the “Magallanica”. Maintain relative distance at 0.5, fix position before the docking bay!”

Liam, seated in her chair, turned around in shock, only to repeat the command loudly. If the “Magallanica” was to steer back at this distance, the “Nahel Argama” would be crushed, but the chances of survival would be higher than getting caught in the meteorite torrent. As he looked up at the “Magallanica” docking bay that blocked the starboard view completely, “What in the world happened…” he muttered. They lost all communications with Conroy and the dispatch forces, and nobody knew the whereabouts of the Red Comet that had invaded. Who started the “Magallanica” , and for what reason? Even disposing of the mineral asteroid used to build the colony—

“The nuclear pulse engine has been ignited. Is it really going to break free from “Industrial 7”…”

Liam said as she stared at the monitor visual feed from the ball shaped camera. The plasma accelerating link was proof of the “Magallanica” thrusters being in operation. If the bow and stern of the residential block had a helium-3 tank, it would mean the “Magallanica” had the ability to navigate to the Jupiter Celestial sphere alone. As he stared at the engine blares of the nuclear pulse push the massive body akin to the size of a small colony. “But, why in the world…” Otto was about to comment, “Over there! Expand that!” Zimmerman suddenly shouted, nearly causing the former’s heart to jolt over.

The ball camera visual zoomed in phases, enlarging the shell of the revolving residential block as the rock plates peeled from it. Beyond the flying dust, there was a silver glow from the cylinder buried amongst the rock, and Otto felt terrified for some reason. It was not just one cylinder, but 500m in length, nearly 100m in diameter, and there were two pairs of nine animal limb-like legs on both top and bottom of the circumference in a radial shape. Were they the refineries used to extract minerals from the rocks and transported to the “Magallanica” factories…? This logical train of thought was immediately broken by the following phenomenon, leaving Otto and the other gasping.

There were countless shutters opening on the side of the cylinder, revealing two mega particle cannons. Many dark holes could be seen from the neighbor shutters, probably barrels for large missiles. Other shutters opened as well, and the smooth cylindrical surface became a complex protrusion. Anti-air missile launchers, mega particle cannons equipped with I-field generators to spread them──

“This is…”

Zimmerman groaned, and was left speechless. “There too!” Mihiro shouted, and the command module at the tip, the main body of the “Magallanica”, opened its shutters like a long snail body, and CIWS cannons started propping out. The body itself was overly massive, and the CIWS cannons were so small to be seen, but they were not all randomly placed. They were lined along the top and bottom of the cannons surrounding the revolving residential block. Otto immediately understood the position must have been pre planned in its design, and the rocks were just a disguise. He stared at the “Magallanica” with trepidation, and the massive body abandoned its rocky exterior as it slowly emerged from the torrent of rocks. The piles of cylinders shook off the dust as they basked in the moonlight, and the armaments were reflecting light distinctly.

“This isn’t some colony builder. It’s a fortress…a huge battleship.”

Zimmerman muttered as though groaning, and nobody disagreed. Otto’s mind was stumbling as he bellowed the only question he could think of, “What about the enemy unit that gotin!? Have we not made contact with ECOAS?” The bridge crew reeled as they focused on their controls. The “Magallanica” finally revealed its true appearance as it pulled its distance from “Industrial 7”.

There was no air distortion, so the scenery simply resembled a spaceship about to move. It would be ridiculous to imagine the ship being 6,500 meters in length if not for “Industrial 7” in the background. The “Nahel Argama” stuck close to the revolving residential block, and resembled more like a small shuttle in comparison.

There was one ship exceeding 1km making a two-way trip to Jupiter, but such a ‘ship’ itself was unprecedented. As he remained wary of the incoming rocky rubble, Riddhe stared at the “Magallanica” through the main camera of the “Banshee”. Yes, it was a ship. The rocks that had gathered upon it had vanished, and one could see it was originally designed for navigation.

“So that’s the true appearance of the “Magallanica” …”

It was the space colony builder “Magallanica”──no, the space battleship “Magallanica” was the perfect description as he spotted many cylinders appearing at the base of the rocks. The barrels of cannons and missile launchers seemed to imply sufficient firepower to match a battleship. There was no other reason to think why it was built, and Riddhe stepped on the pedal in a daze. As the “Banshee” began to advance, a bunch of spinning rocks closed in from up close, passing the black machine by while it evaded away. The rocks grazed the Base Jabber approaching from behind, and the flat tank carrying its cargo shook like leaves.

The Base Jabber managed to evade in the nick of time, activating its thrusters as it dodged the cluster or rocks. Alberto sat upon the bumpy seat as he stared at the “Magallanica”. Due to such irregularities during the repairs, the engine was not completely stable. The Lieutenant held onto the sticks firmly, and just maneuvering around was wearing him out. “We’re breaking off!” his voice echoed in Alberto’s ears with a heaviness cutting through the latter’s body.

At this point, Alberto could not say no, and he did not answer as he observed the “Magallanica”. Since the “Box” had such a secret, it was not surprising that the “Magallanica” concealing it had weapons. It probably was an automated defense system at work. The problem however was that it was too obvious. The sight of the “Magallanica” shaking off its minerals had been captured by the approaching “General Revil” and the people watching from Earth. It was unlikely that they would remain inactive when faced with such a drastic change.

“Not good…”

The colony laser shall fire. Alberto, having already forsaken everything and apathetic, felt a shiver through his body as he looked around. Through the meteorites, he searched for the “Banshee”, and shouted into the wireless, “Riddhe, can you hear me?” Even with the Minovsky particles interfering, they could still communicate, but the “Banshee” did not respond immediately. The black machine appeared to be waiting for something. Beyond it, the “Magallanica” shook off the rocks and turned its bow, the revolving residential block lit by the moonlight, giving off a strong glow.

Part 16

Beyond the increasingly sparse rocks, one could see “Industrial 7” slowly moving away. It was then half blocked by a new display window, and the 3D profile of the battleship “Magallanica” was projected.

There were at least ten hologram windows being deployed, showing the conditions of the nuclear pulse engines, along with the data of the 36 weapon pods. While it appeared they were in the bridge of a large battlefiship, the only thing they could do in the cryo was to watch, and the various controls appeared to be gathered in the bridge. Banagher searched for clues through the window, and stared at the “Magallanica” full scale map amidst the wire frames, but he was distracted by the various other windows popping out one after another.

All the names and positions of the central satellite visuals within the Earth Celestial Sphere were identified, from the military laser communications to the satellites operated by civilian communications companies. There were at least a thousand of these artificial satellites gathered around Earth and the moon, along with the satellites surrounding the 7 Sides. This data then vanished one after another, and Banaghr looked towards Syam’s face that was lit by the reflection of the monitors. The “Magallanica” wire frame was enlarged, as though blocking their vision, and the comms area near the bow was blinking red.

“The facilities here can interfere with all signals and broadcast systems in the Earth Celestial Sphere. The Federation army will do its best to jam, but this ship can withstand such a level of physical barrage, at least long enough for you to do whatever you should do.”

Syam remained still on the bed as he looked up, merely commenting away. Did he prepare a central satellite facility to broadcast anywhere? It was not something that could be easily assembled even with the organization ability of the Vist Foundation—no, perhaps for Syam, the Vist Foundation was created for this very purpose, and it could. All of Banagher’s shock had gone numb, as he repeated the terms like jamming, physical bombardments and the like, sensing the gravity of these words as he clenched his hands. The changes to the “Magallanica” had been detected, and the Federation government would surely not stay idle in the face of a situation that could overturn the century of status quo.

“The broadcast content is pre-recorded…but Your Highness Mineva, I wish you will personally deliver the message. Your words have the kindness to reach people’s hearts. As for Banagher…do you understood?”

This “Magallanica” was a real fortress, and Banagher was needed to protect it at all costs, until the “Box” was opened, and until the broadcast was made. As he looked at Syam’s eyes, Banagher nodded in unison with a lightly inhaling Audrey.

“The beast of possibilities…the “Unicorn” shall grant you strength. The lion appears to be waiting outside too.”

Syam’s li[s curled into a smile as his eyes stared towards the display showing an external footage. From amidst the drifting meteorites floating in space, Banagher identified the black “Banshee” blending into the darkness, his heart suddenly feeling hurting.

The black machine seemed to have a desire to approach, only to hesitate as it merely watched the “Magallanica” from a certain distance. It appeared to be waiting for something. Would Riddhe too accept this choice? Banagher no longer thought of him as the enemy who shot down Marida, and recalled the resonating feelings they felt. “Banagher…!”Audrey shrieked, and he turned around in shock.

Audrey covered her mouth as she stared at an erratically breathing Syam looking in pain. The latter’s already pale skin was losing the color of blood, gradually turning pale like paper. Banagher recalled the scene of his mother’s death, and immediately dashed towards the bed.

“Syam…gramps!”

The words he said ignited the the sentimental feelings of flesh and blood. In his memories, he recalled his father bringing him to the bedside, and saw a completely wrinkled sidelong face from the edge of the bed—you got to be kidding, please don’t do this to me. We finally just met, and I’m going to lose him again. I don’t want to experience this a second time. He passed through a few upright displays, intending to approach the bed. “Don’t come here!” only to be stopped by a sharp tone. Syam’s lingering breathing was gathered upon his eyes, creating an invisible wall, giving off a stronger glint than the displays as he stared at Banagher..

“There’s no time. Do what you have to do.”

“But you’ll…!”

“My time as the custodian has ended. It was decided beforehand.”

The headband wrapped around his forehead was blinking red, along with a display. The physical body had lived at least a century through repeated cryo sleep, and the life support was cut off once the “Magallanica” awoke. Was Syam’s life the last key to open the “Laplace Box”? Banagher found it to be really ridiculous, but at the same time, he had a feeling that syam was the type of person to do so, to force Banagher himself to stand before the bed, not knowing what to do. So Syam closed his eyes, “Go on, Banagher.” He said silently.

“A person’s life is very short. Being alone is merely a meaningless, instant moment of ‘light’. That is why you have to love others. In despair, seek out the best thing to do. Only by continuing on and resonating will the ‘light’ gain meaning.”

Everything relied not on words. The souls resonating with the hearts could turn all the accepted words into a ‘prayer’, or a ‘curse’. Banagher sensed that he was carrying a new “Box” as he nodded silently, and Syam’s eyes flickered slightly. Forgive me, so his thoughts reached Banagher silently, looking a little anguished. He closed his eyes, falling limp into the bed, the wrinkles by his lips showing traces of suffering, yet he was giving a peaceful smile at that moment.

“Go light it up, and make contact with that ‘light’ of possibilities.”

Once he said those words, Syam did not open his eyes anymore. The headband stopped blinking, and a deep silence gathered upon the body that had lived a long time. “Mr Syam…” so Audrey muttered, wanting to approach, but Banagher grabbed her shoulder, watching the custodian who had fulfilled his duty.

Banagher had inherited the curse and prayer, and there was no turning back. The battle that would span a lifetime was about to begin—he hopped off the ground shaking with the nuclear pulse engine, facing a still Audrey. The all view screens vanished one after another, leaving behind weak lights in the cryo. As her emerald eyes sparkled, he looked back at them, determined that he would not run away again. He looked towards the rocks flowing to the back, swa that the “Magallanica” and the “Nahel Argama” were safe, “Let’s go.” And said so to Audrey.

“Everyone is waiting.”

Everyone, not just the people gathered. There were other countless ‘lights’ that had yet to wake, embraced by the cradle called space. At the bottom of Earth’s gravity, there were many ‘lights’ that did not know where to fly to, waiting to encounter the possibilities locked in the “Box”. With quivering eyes, Audrey met Banagher’s, nodded, and they took the first step out of the cryo.

The cryo doors opened, guiding lights flickering like bonfire as they opened the way in just as they entered. They would be entering a comms area that could connect and broadcast throughout the Earth Celestial Sphere. Banagher recalled the “Magallanica” wire frame he saw, and for the last time, looked at the bed Syam slumbered in.

Syam’s face remained unmoved as he laid on the bed in the void, looking at the stars. He found his one wish at the very end of his life. The man’s face was lit by the stars, the cryo filled with a genial atmosphere. Without looking back, Banagher left the cryo. The road was dark and cold, and he held hands with Audrey, feeling the warmth as it became his only pillar.

Part 17

The ship left the meteorites behind in the void as the ship devoured the “Laplace Box”, flying through the shoal space region. While it had shed its rocky shell and lost its appearance as a living creature, it then showed what appeared to be rumbling legs, maintaining its appearance as a snail. The only difference was the countless protrusions from the edge of the revolving residential block, and it appeared to have legs on both sides, but nobody in the “Kavkaz Forest” paid any heed to that.

The target began to move, and there was no further report. All in the control room remained still with bated breath as they watched the colony builder move on the monitor. This included Ronan, the speechless Martha, along with Bright. “Industrial 7” slowly moved sideways on the screen. “Target has left the colony completely.” The report was clear and obvious, the tense mood in the room subsided.

“Correct the coordinates immediately! The ‘system’ may be able to fire now. Don’t forget to account for Earth’s gravitational effect!”

Aibres, standing on the commander seat and thinking he had reacted quickly, yelled alone before looking towards Ronan. The latter looked aside, towards the “Magallanica” that had taken on its true appearance as a battleship, understanding that they could no longer drag this on, letting out a heavy sigh. There was no time to hesitate. The “Magallanica” itself was the “Laplace Box”, and its initial movements signified that—

“Looks like we have an answer.”

Martha said. Ronan exchanged looks with her, concealing his emotions as he looked towards the other monitors displaying the “Gryphios 2”. Doing this foolish thing…though Ronan wanted to curse, there was nothing he could salvage. The answer was revealed, and the “Box” was to be opened, that the administration was to be entrusted to the Newtypes who had adapted to space—he could not let the curse his ancestors left behind be revealed in the world where Zeon and the Newtypes were not completely eradicated.

“Execute.”

He said, but did not feel anything. “Yes!” Aibres answered, and looked at the operators. The commands echoed, and the originally silent control room seemed to regain some life, but it was a different world to Ronan altogether. The hundred year curse would vanish, and the Marcenas and the Vists would bear the same guilt. Ignoring Martha’s gleeful expression, Ronan’s eyes stared at the “Magallanica” that the colony laser was aiming at, “Wait a moment!” A bellow echoed from behind.

“The “Nahel Argama” is still there. Are you really intending to scorch them as well?”

Bright’s questioning eyes were oozing outrage as he stormed into Ronan’s sights, the latter remained silent, the cringe on his face the only response.

“At the very least, we should coax them to retreat. If this keeps up—”

“Are you serious? The “Magallanica” is already moving on its out. If we tell the “Nahel Argama” to retreat, it will escape together.”

Martha had her arms folded as she spoke with impatience. “But…!” Bright bellowed, but Martha ignored him, “And then it will release the poison elsewhere.” She continued with a cold voice, and Ronan sighed.

“A real poison, is it not? There is no other chance to prevent infection..”

Bright clenched his fists as he gave a questioning glare at Ronan, Is that what you think too? Ronan did not look back, instead answering with continued silence, and he sensed Bright turning to leave. The surrounding mood suddenly shook, “Where are you going?” Martha questioned.

“I can’t sit back and remain idle when this is just murder, even if it is for the sake of protecting the order.”

An adamant voice echoed behind Ronan, and Bright’s footsteps rang again, but the faint metallic sounds stopped him, a tense atmosphere lingering in the room. “I should have said so.” Martha sounded as though she was not bothered to check on Bright, and Ronan looked back over his shoulder, seeing this scene that was to be expected.

“You are an accomplice. Watch until the very end with us.”

Martha coldly stated, and the guards next to her had raised their assault rifles, the metal hooks on the straps clanking away. Bright gritted his teeth while surrounded by many guns, and Ronan did not look in his eyes as he turned forward, his back facing them in this unacceptable outcome.

Perhaps his one redemption was not involving Riddhe in this. Ronan recalled the stiff sidelong face the last time they met. Once he found himself wondering where Riddhe was, he cut off her thoughts, and stared at the “Magallanica” on the monitor. The large ship ferrying the “Box” drifted solemnly in the end, seemingly not knowing its fate to be eradicated.

Part 18

The spiral gates opened, the noise of steel folding aside echoed in the vast empty space. The white frame of the “Unicorn” kicked off the floor in this space that had regained zero gravity, and floated out of the elevator.

The hatch slid along the inner walls of the revolving residential block shaft, the elevator block remaining in the dark as before. There was nothing else moving aside from the “Unicorn”, the machine’s rumbling noises echoing away, yet Banagher felt a tense ‘presence’ lingering around. He recalled the explosions that had reached the cryo, and he had the main camera look around. He did not see the 920 “Loto” that should be present, just some charred debris, seemingly from the industrial block, drifting about and emptily reflecting the night lights.

“Mr Conroy, “Nahel Argama”, this is the “Unicorn”. Please respond if you hear me. We’re back at the elevator block.”

Audrey, seated in the assistant seat, called into the wireless, but there was no response, only noise echoing in the ears. Gael and the others in the 729 “Loto were supposed to be in the gravity block, but they had vanished. Did they proceed to fight the Neo Zeon pursuers? The floating wreckage might have been the scars left behind by the battle, and Banagher’s tense look met Audrey’s. “Shall we return to the “Nahel Argama first?” so she worriedly asked, “No need.” Banagher responded, summoning the 3D map of the “Magallanica on the monitor.

“Let’s go. If the pursuers have entered, they might try to destroy the “Magallanica” from the inside. It’ll be over if the comms modules are wrecked.”

No matter how powerful a fortress was, it could not last long when being destroyed from the inside. Once he sensed Audrey nodding behind, Banagher piloted the “Unicorn” down the road they came from, towards the industrial block.

His eyes scanning for enemies, Banagher stared into the darkness, and went towards the ship using the 3D map given from the cryo. The revolving residential block of the “Magallanica” was maintained by the board-shaped axis shaft and the ship area, and the only way to the comms modules was through the tunnel within that shaft. If the revolving residential block could be described as a giant wheel, the board structure would be the wheel fork holding up the axle. The board was approximately 700m in length, and as it was purposed for goods transportation, it was large enough for a mobile suit to pass through, and the “Unicorn” flew to the very end in an instant.

They then took a detour down the path to the mass driver, large enough for a mobile suit to pass through, basically a straight path down. The path towards the shp was relatively cramped, and even for transporting goods, it was barely large enough for a small mobile suit to pass through. Banagher stopped the”Unicorn” before the mass driver rail, opened the helmet visor, waited for Audrey to do the same, and opened the cockpit door.

This block was filled with air, so there was not much difference in air pressure within the cockpit. However, there might be enemies waiting prone in this darkness, and a chill seep through his pilot suit. Banagher pulled the automatic handgun from the ankle strap, slid the chamber as he learned from the movies, and a hard sound echoed as the first round was loaded, and the steel instantly became a dangerous item, the weight felt through his palm.

“You know how to use it?”

“Impossible.”

It was the gun Conroy once gave Banagher, who had it with him the entire time, never even brandishing it once. He did not look at Audrey’s nervous look, made up his mind, and left the cockpit.

Audrey followed him out of the cockpit, and the duo landed upon the cargo entrance. The passageway about 7, 8 meters in width was overly massive for a body of flesh and body. It appeared to be built for mini mobile suits and construction machinery to pass through, so there was nothing to latch upon, just a tunnel dimmed by the night lights into the distance. There should be passages for humans to use, but they were complex like a maze, and easy to get lost in when there was no map. Banagher determined it would be faster to use a gun, and with his hand holding the gun he was still uncomfortable with, he took the first step

For every 50m or so, there was a cross junction leading to the sides, each entrance having an arrowhead and a serial number of every block. Banagher suddenly opened his visor, partially to stand guard against an enemy that might attack suddenly, or to feel the outside air. At every junction, he would lean his body on the wall, and peer by the junction, before running past the zero gravity tunnels. Once they got into the ship area, they could easily approach the comms in the “Magallanica” central module using the lift grips, and could hijack all broadcast and communication facilities within the Earth Celestial Sphere. They were almost there.

“Will I alone be able to get everyone to understand?”

Right when they were about to pass the 50th crossing, a mutter entered Banagher’s ears, and he nearly tripped over as he looked back. Audrey’s head was lowered, her face concealed by the helmet, her expression unclear.

“The thoughts of Mr Syam, and those who left the stone tablet…”

“You can do it. Just say what you feel.”

Banagher embraced her shoulders, his feet landing on the cross junction. They leaned on the wall, saw that there was nobody at the junction, and he looked at her face. Her emerald eyes looked a little gloomy as she looked back at his face.

“If there’s no emotion in the messenger, the words are just information. We accepted the wishes of those who left the “Box” behind, so this time, we can definitely do it, and we have to, through our own words.”

“But I do not know if it is appropriate …”

“Just say what you want. Someone will surely feel your wishes—”

At that moment, a frosty killing intent rained upon Banagher, shushing him.

“That is just self-conceited of you, young Banagher.”

A familiar voice rang from the other side, within the darkness the night lights could not reach. Banagher nudged a stiffened Audrey behind him, staring at the shadow forming in the darkness. ‘He’ gathered and icy ‘presence’, the footsteps tapping loudly in the tunnel, and a human could be seen within the dim lights.

“Letting your thoughts reach others completely is simply brainwashing. I suppose that is how you destroyed Angelo.”

The red profile was lit by the night lights, the helmet reflecting a dull light. It was their first time seeing him wearing a pilot suit, and considering the functions, it was a tid light, but there were excessive functions on the fine areas. The suit was pretty much completely red, other than the life function vests, the black on the shoulders pads and the sleeves, along with the golden Neo Zeon emblem—

“You can destroy other Newtypes just upon contact…and now you want to destroy this world too?”

The masked face showed a mocking sneer beneath the red helmet. Ignoring how his muscles tensed up, Banagher raised the handgun in his hands

“I had enough of your despair!”

Banagher yelled, and aimed his gun at the masked face. Full Frontal showed no fear, the massive body looming from the darkness, lit by the night light, the blurry shadows extended all over the intersection. Banagher took on the killing intent that was overly massive for a body of flesh and blood, grounding his feet as he knew he could not take a step back.

Part 19

“…729’s shot down…the enemy unit…is at the command module…we’re…)

Conroy’s interrupted voice rang amidst the noise. The ship did its best to get into position, but the signal did not seem to have improved. Otto looked towards the portside window, the imposing revolving residential block of the “Magallanica”. “Haven’t we found the “Unicorn”s position!?” he bellowed into the microphone, but there was increasing noise responding to him, the obstructed voice echoing raspy in the bridge

“The gravity block is already…Banagher and the others too…”

These were the final words, and all communications were broken up. Half of the dispatch ECOAS forces were sacrificed to the intruders, and they could not grasp the location of the “Unicorn”. As he reflected upon this worst case scenario, Otto looked towards the comms. Liam handed the ear headset to Mihiro, and gave Otto a worried look, hissing,

“We can’t contact the Tri-Stars either.”

“The “Magallanica” is giving off powerful electromagnetic waves, powerful enough to burn any living body to crisp when up close. Looks like it can fire laser comms too …”

“And the content is?”

“Not sure. Looks like some code. It’s coming from many locations, starting to move, probably to an area where the comms can reach.”

Even in the shoal space region filled with much debris, there were many positions to fire laser comms depending on the location. This would be the most location deduction given how the thrusters of the “Magallanica” were extinguished, but where was it primed at, to whom? Otto was silenced by the massive ship appearing to be in autopilot, and gulped for the umpteenth time, as he suddenly thought of something, “Get Aaron the technician here.” So he ordered.

“He used to work on the “Magallanica”. Maybe he knows something.”

He knew the chances of that were slim, but there was no other way. If they did nothing, their minds would be filled with the worst case scenario, and his mind would crumble in a panic. From the side of his eyes, he saw Liam prepare to call for Aaron, “What about the “Rewloola”?” and asked the sensor operator. “We’re currently seeing it on the optical sensors.” A tense voice echoed.

“It’s coming towards us. Will be within firing range in thirty minutes, though not acting extraordinarily. It doesn’t seem to have deployed any mobile suit.”

“Keep waiting. If the enemy that entered the “Magallanica” is Frontal, there’s probably some code out there—”

“Captain! It’s Romeo 008 …Ensign Riddhe’s messaging us!”

Unexpected words came from the comms, and the already panicking bridge suddenly faltered. Otto looked back at Mihiro, the latter clearly unable to calm down, “From Ensign Riddhe…?” he muttered again, his eyes turned towards the sensor panel.

They were unable to grasp the whereabouts of the black “Unicorn” ever since the “Magallanica” began to move. Zimmerman, seated on the cannoneer seat, had his head shake a little. “Can we get where the signal’s coming from?” Liam softly prompted the operator, and Otto took the captain’s headset. Once Liam confirmed with a look that they found him, “Switch to private line.” He ordered Mihiro.

“I’m Captain Otto of the ”Nahel Argama”. Ensign Riddhe, is that you?”

In a corner of his eye, Otto sensed Zimmerman listening intently, and his voice into the microphone was unwittingly hushed. “Leave that for later, Captain Otto.” The terse voice rippled amidst the noise, leaving Otto anxious

“Listen calmly. The colony laser is aiming at this space. We don’t know when it’s going to fire.”

The following words jolted Otto’s heart, and after his mind went blank for half a second, “What did you say…?” he barely eked out these words.

Part 20

“…Absolutely correct. The Federation fleet hasn’t shown any movement because they’re wary of getting involved. Please leave the space immediately. If you can contact it, please leave along with the “Magallanica”.”

Riddhe called into the wireless as he stepped on the pedal, letting the “Banshee” move forth. He knew the “Magallanica” was giving off strong electromagnetic waves, but the comms strength should be improved. He pricked his ears at the wireless full of noise, and looked towards the monitor, clearly seeing the severely damaged “Nahel Argama”. It was close enough to be seen with the naked eye, and the way it stuck to the belly of the “Magallanica” resembled a little fish sticking onto the body of a big fish.

The “Magallanica” possessed a myriad of armaments, and even a fleet could have much difficulty taking it down. However, the colony laser that would be fired from a 6km barrel could easily devour a massive ship of 6,500 meters length. The protrusions on both bow and stern would be instantly melted, the remaining residential block would be vaporized without a trace, and the”Nahel Argama” would merely be one of the shrapnel caught in the fire.

Riddhe was covered in cold sweat, the pits of his pilot completely damp. He opened the rear window, watching the trailing Base Jabber. According to Alberto, the Vist Foundation and the Settlement Issues Committee were colluding together to use the colony laser. It would be a misfire caused by so many mistakes, but such an act was no longer barbaric; it was asinine. Was his father part of the lot? Ever since the Dakar incident, Riddhe could only imagine his father’s predicament and mental state, his eyes drifting unwittingly towards Earth. “But we haven’t been able to contact the “Unicorn”.” Otto’s reply came.

“The “Magallanica” appears to be invaded. One of the ECOAS platoons has been eliminated.”

“The “Sleeves”?”

‘Probably Full Frontal alone.”

The Red Comet, the red mobile suit’s that shushed its killing intent as it slaughtered Norm’s squadron one by one. The imagery appeared in Riddhe’s heart as he exerted unnecessary strength in his stick. Did the bombardment on “Industrial 7” and the “Magallanica” happen so that he could enter? The delayed understanding had Riddhe gritting his teeth. “Ensign Riddhe, regroup with us first!” Otto’s replay came, and Riddhe was taken aback as he stared at the “Nahel Argama”.

“There’s an empty space on the mobile suit deck. No matter what happened in the past, you’re still a crew member of the “Nahel Argama”. Come back.”

The eyes had lost all anxiety, and the white ship with some navigation lights on looked so dazzling. Riddhe found himself nearly obeying the command, only to stop the “Banshee” and face the “Magallanica” . What should I do? No, what can I do? While he pondered, the Base Jabber passed by, “Riddhe, we’re going into a position where the laser comms can be fired.” Alberto’s voice rang.

“I’ll try to get my aunt to stop the attack. We should be able to contact Earth using the “General Revil” as a relay.”

“Can it work?”

“I know it’s not likely, but we’ll do whatever we can try, as long as there’s a possibility.”

The Base Jabber paid no heed to the drifting “Banshee” as its flat body, befitting the nickname of a ‘clog’, returned back. “Don’t look away from the “Magallanica” .” Alberto reminded for the last time, and went by above Riddhe. Unlike the latter, he had already discovered what he should do. As he muttered alone to himself, Riddhe again looked towards the “Magallanica”, trying his best to have the plain word of ‘possibilities’ roam closer to him.

The uncertain future still had room to improve. The world—as Riddhe summoned those words in his mind, he looked towards the silvery revolving residential block,reflecting the moonlight, which contained Mineva, Banagher, and the Red Comet. What appeared to be a massive mirror was beckoning the still “Banshee”.

Part 21

The massive red silhouette standing a mere ten meters away was completely defenseless, and paid no heed to the gun pointed at him. He did not think that he would be shot, nor thinking that he could die. One would have suspicion that even if Banagher fired, he would have easily dodged the bullet.

No, that’s not it. He knows I’m not used to wielding a gun. He thinks I won’t be able to hit. He’s looking down on me. In fact, Banagher himself felt that he might not be able to shoot, his fingertips clamping down on the shivering gun. He knew everything, about their thoughts, the exit to ward them off. He had been this way right from the start, that sneering mask seemed to have noticed their intents beforehand, saying that it is pointless to do anything—

“If you are planning to open the “Box”, my advice is to stop.”

As expected, Frontal said so before they could, taking a step forward. Banagher took a step back instinctively, his back bumping into a still Audrey behind him

“What you are going to do is only going to seal off possibilities. Secrets shall only remain as secrets, a tool to scare the Federation, and sealing it will bring real development and prosperity to the spacenoids.”

“Approach me any more, and I’ll fire.”

Banagher leaned his shoulder on Audrey, who was unwilling to take a step back, and pointed the gun forward. However, Frontal did not stop, the magnetic boots landed once, twice on the floor. “I told you.” His intimidating voice echoed.

“It is a mistake to be overly expectant of humanity and the world. Humans don’t change, and they don’t learn. They’re born from the darkness, and return to the darkness. They’re merely a flash lasting not more than an instance.”

“Move aside, Full Frontal. Save your words. You don’t believe in humanity’s future!”

Audrey poked her body over the shoulder, interrupting with a poignant voice. Frontal stopped, the lips under the mask contorted with a leer.

“Do you still not understand? Your Highness Mineva? I am your tomorrow. Those that have met humanity and the world’s truth will have the same thoughts as me, just like you and young Banagher.”

The cold leer had a furious Audrey wanting to step forward. Banagher blocked her off with one arm, and exchanged looks with Frontal again.

“None of these are my personal thoughts. This is simply the will of the unintelligent humans. There is no need for possibilities. The “Laplace Box” has value just by being shut. If you do not understand—”

An explosion of killing intent had Banagher’s heart jolting wildly. He expected Frontal’s right hand wielding the gun to move quickly, and instinctively moved his handgun.

“I’ll kill you then.”

Frontal naturally raised the gun, the black muzzle pointed at Banagher. Two gunshots rang, the scorching air grazed the helmet, and the impacted body spun half a round, bumping Audrye aside, and falling onto the ground. Just a moment before, Banagher witnessed sparks exploding on Frontal’s face, the massive red body flying backwards.

The bright red pilot suit flew several meters back, blending into the darkness. It was a recoilless gun, but his hands went numb after firing it, and the unprecedented shivers he had as he fired the gun at someone passed through his body. Was he—dead? The recoil off the floor had both Banagher and Audrey floating, and Banagher sought Frontal’s presence as he endured the disgust in his heart. The darkness the night lights could not reach into remained heavy and intense, and he could not identify the profile that had blended in.

“Banagher…”

Audrey called with a quivering voice, her eyes widened as she stared into the darkness. Banagher did manage to hit, either out of coincidence or luck, but he did see the bullet enter the masked face. He would have assumed Frontal to be shot dead, but he dared not lower the gun as he brought his other hand close to her waist. At this moment, something within the darkness stood up, the echoed footsteps entering Banagher’s ears

Thud, thud, something gathered in the darkness, and it broke through the membrane of the darkness, seeping red under the lights, a left hand holding down the face. You’re kidding, that’s impossible. Banagher gasped as his feet landed, nearly tripping over as his mind went blank, staring at the profile before him.

“…I saw the thoughts of humanity surrounding Earth in light.”

His hand on the left side of his face, Frontal’s back was arched as he spoke with a heinous voice. The right eye on his mask shot an emotionless stare as blood kept falling between his fingertips, and Banagher heard a bone-chilling voice.

“I was swallowed by the light, pushed out of the Earth Celestial Sphere. With my own eyes, I saw the abyss of the universe.”

A red black liquid was seeping from the half of the mask that was shattered, irregular droplets formed outside the helmet. Even though the mask managed to block the bullet, such damage was abnormal, never mind how he was able to stand up. What is that guy? Banagher wanted to run, but his legs would not obey, and he could only raise the gun weakly. The words ‘abyss of the universe’ caused him to experience another chill.

During the battle before, he saw the emptiness in Frontal’s heart. He preached that humanity was merely a flash in a pan, so was the darkness of the universe the abyss he saw? A certain Neo Zeon commander saw the light that was the collective human consciousness wrap around Earth, the light of the psycofield that eliminated the space asteroid “Axis”. He was the crux of this incident, yet he vanished—swallowed in the light, pushed out of the Earth Celestial Sphere, and saw the abyss of the universe.

“Even though I witnessed that miracle, humanity hasn’t changed. They know that change is meaningless. There’s nothing before them, and no matter where they go, there’s only the same darkness before them. Even if they finally find a way to leave the galaxy, all shall return to the darkness …”

The eye beneath the shattered mask had become twisted, along with the voice curdling the darkness. He was no longer Full Frontal, the man resembling Char, nor did he resemble human. This creature was giving a grey glint, and Banagher felt his legs turn limp.

“Are…are you really Char…?”

Frontal held down the bloodied mask as he stumbled two steps forward. “No!” Audrey yelled at this moment, charging out from behind, and she stood next to Banagher before the latter could stop her.

“I know Char. He praised me for playing the violin well. That Char Azanable is not a hollow human like you!”

The eye containing fury and anguish was giving a more intimidating pressure than the gun. She glared back at the red profile, which did not falter, “Then what am I?” he taunted back,

“The Red Comet of the “Sleeves” acts just like Char, and has voiced Char’s despair. Where is he born from though?”

“You’re created by the Republic of Zeon…Monaghan Bakharov. An enhanced human made to imitate Char.”

Audrey immediately answered, her reply shaking Banagher’s heart as a heavy hit. She ignored the stunned banagher as she stared forth with a tragic look. “Oh?” Frontal hissed, and lifted his face slightly.

“Monaghan needed pieces for the Sides to establish a co-prosperity sphere, and yearned for a Neo Zeon as an organization for many to gather towards. The two purposes resulted in a common interest, that a puppet like you can be dubbed the Second Coming of Char. You did not fool everyone, but that everyone fooled themselves, including me. Our fragile hearts desired an existence like Char, the power he brings…redemption for each and every one of us.”

The Red Comet here is just a hallucination borne from our grudges. Banagher recalled the similarly spiteful voice from the previous night, and looked towards Frontal again. As it was hollow, everyone projected their illusions on the empty mask. Once he recognized this in his own words, the darkness cracked, and the tunnel space became clear.

“This might have been the case in the beginning.”

The palm pressing down on the face remained tense, and Frontal stopped leering, muttering away. Banagher sensed that on the wall behind him, there was an emergency air canister.

“But I am not hollow now. This body as a vessel has several things inside it, and shall bring forth Char’s curse.”

Audrey gulped lightly, and Banagher could sense her backpedalling, his eyes still on Frontal, his consciousness on the gas canister in a corner of his eyes.

“Actually, I have no idea who exactly is the person who injected this hatred and despair in this artificial body—”

Frontal immediately raised the right hand, the muzzle pointed at them, “Get down!” But Banagher yelled before then, jumping to the side as he pushed Audrye down, squeezing the trigger.

The ricochet flew about messily, one passing by Frontal as it hit the canister. Banagher was in no mood to notice his hands and the sparks from the bullet. The flash swallows his visions, creating a loud explosion that would have cratered his skull, the heat and the gales blowing above his head.

They dodged the first impact, but the impact off the wall swelled as gales of searing heat. Banagher shielded Audrey while being dragged off the floor. He spun in the air as she clung firmly onto him, and he saw the burning wall over her shoulder, along with countless shrapnel floating in the air. The partition wall started to close as a fire was detected, and Frontal too became one of it, passing through the wall towards the residential block. He did not return to the ship block they were headed, and instead vanished into the path he came, causing Banagher to assume something was amiss.

Frontal was hiding his mobile suit. If the “Sinanju” wrecked havoc in the ship, there was no way the “Box” could open. Banagher kicked off the wall, landed on the floor, and with his back facing the searing gales, he pulled Audrey’s shoulder close. “Audrey, go ahead!” He said as he looked into her eyes, her fiery colored eyes quivering slightly.

“I’ll go chase after Frontal. Who knows what he’s going to do if we let him escape.”

“But…!”

“This is caused by my weakness. I couldn’t do anything when seeing him right before me, even though I could do it in a mobile suit.”

It was not that he did not want to kill, but that he did not want to directly accept that he killed. “Banagher…” Audrey muttered, and half the wall nudged aside the smoke, gradually blocking their path. “Go!” Banagher called as he shoved her out of his clutches.

“I’ll definitely be back. No matter what happens, I’ll return to your side.”

The emerald eyes were filled with anguish, and Audrey bit her lips firmly as she turned to leave. Right then, Banagher had an impulse to retract his words, a desire to embrace her, but he knew he should not be doing such things. Once he saw her pass through the partition, he waved aside the surrounding smoke as he wandered off in the other direction.

The wall was about to close completely, doing as it was supposed to as it stood before him. Banagher made a mad dash, reaching his body forward at the last moment, sliding through when the wall was 50cm away from the floor. Once he got into the neighboring wall, the sealed walls let out a heavy thud that echoed through the tunnel, the sounds of the flames vanishing in an instant. Audrey’s presence too vanished along with the heat, and a cold silence beckoned again, surrounding Banagher.

The enemy’s killing intent lingered in the tense darkness, just like before, but he had no time to stand and shiver. At the very least, there was no place to hide the “Sinanju”. Frontal must have come from another place, and the “Sinanju” was hidden there. Banagher raised the gun as he hopped off the floor. He felt so useless passing through the vast corridor alone, and Frontal appeared to be hiding in every single shadow he passed.