Kidou Senshi Gundam UC Vol 4 Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Part 1

The “Unicorn”s body that was fastened in the spare hangar was an industrial product whose elegance was said to be distilled, and could be described as an art piece. On one hand, it preserved the strokes and the flat surface of a ma.s.s product silhouette, while on the other hand, there armor itself was enhanced through a complicated procedure. The lone horn extending out from the forehead showed a remarkable presence of an art piece, and the mysterious appearance which matched the name was granted on the standing giant.

“This high mobility state…or the Gundam mode, I should call it? When that is activated, a system called the NT-D acts as the OS. As for the Laplace Program, you can imagine it to be activated with the NT-D, and it will reveal some encrypted data in phases.”

The 40-year-old technical officer said as he poked his head out of the abdomen. Why can’t those who’re so called proficient in technical data talk appropriately to each person’s status? Angelo felt unhappy inside as he reached for the raised platform and peered through the dim and opened c.o.c.kpit hatch.

As the backup power was the only thing activated, the all-view monitor was not activated as it remained in the darkness that felt like it was about to converge everything. The display board on the linear seat let out a light indicating standby, flickering a logo that could be read as “La+”. Ever since it fell into Neo Zeon’s hands, the “Unicorn” kept refusing all external interference and remained silent, and this was the only sign it had been showing. La+—most likely, it was a light indicating the coordinates of the Laplace Box. Angelo felt a chill up his spine, and behind him, Full Frontal spoke, “In phases, you say?”

“In other words, the seal will be undone every time the NT-D is activated, and will show new information. This was activated twice from the pilot was registered. The first time was to let the system get into a standby phase, while the second showed these coordinates, and that’s all. Maybe it’ll show new information the next time it’s activated, and to be honest, I don’t know for sure. However, it’s more natural to a.s.sume that there’s still unrevealed information from the percentage of s.p.a.ce the Laplace Program occupies the hard disk.”

“You can’t release all the information during this current phase?”

Frontal quipped. The tall masked figure standing on the raised platform stroked his chin, seemingly showing off alone in this unpleasant maintenance factory. The technical officer did not seem to have slept much after 2 days of nonstop work as he investigated the “Unicorn”, and answered, “We can try.” and weakly dropped his shoulders.

“It already took this much time for us to extract the information that was given. If we randomly try to interfere with it, we might end up causing all the data to be erased. I’ll try if you’re willing to do this, but I won’t recommend this. it’ll be advisable to let it reveal itself according to the process.”

“Can’t you remove the pilot’s biological register?”

If we can do that, we can extract the information immediately, and there’ll be no need to control that boy called Banagher. The technical officer glanced aside at Angelo who interrupted with an anxious voice, and continued to tidy up the large number of cables floating around as he turned his back and answered, “There’ll be a risk too.”

“The pilot recognition system is linked to the Laplace Program. When a registered pilot activates the NT-D, the Laplace Program will be able to operate in the next phase. In this sense, we can say that this process is sort of a stepping stone. That’s because a special wave is needed to be detected before the NT-D can be activated.”

“So that’s why it’s called the Newtype-Drive system, is it?”

The technical officer gave a meaningfulness opinion, and Frontal gave a response that seemed to indicate that he understood something. So we can only rely on Banagher Links? Angelo only managed to understand this and lost all interest in this entire incident as he took a step back from the “Unicorn”s c.o.c.kpit. The technical officer however continued “Yeah. But even so, its design is still rather amazing.” Angelo basically ignored half of his words as he looked over at the wide maintenance factory.

The maintenance factory was located amongst “Palau”, formed by 4 asteroids. The largest block was called “Calyx”. At this place, the “Unicorn” and more than 20 mobile suits could be seen lined up and undergoing repairs and checks. There was a large thick green mobile suit “Geara Zulu” standing 2 hangars away from this point. Beside it was a “Geara Doga” that was part of the Geara models, and the machine that had the sleeve emblem on it had its maintenance hatches opened. The long machine standing right in front of it was the “Gaza”-type that was the main fighting force of Neo Zeon in the past. It was a simple ma.s.s-production model that was 10 years old, developed from the remnants of the Old republic, but the machines with a transformable frame was not a poor choice in use, and even at this point, it could be used for scouting or investigations. The Sleeve design that was newly imprinted on it showed ingenuity in that they would not realize their weaknesses by using numbers. In this sense, this feeling described the machines fittingly, and it also brought about a sense of unity despite it being a unit of the “Sleeves”.

He looked up at the top, and saw the lights of the s.h.i.+ps parked above the gla.s.s window at the ceiling. The silhouette that looked to be only the size of a thumb from this point was probably a patrolling “Musaka”-cla.s.s s.h.i.+p. The military port of “Palau” was designated at the gap formed where the 4 asteroids were linked together, under the mortar-shaped depressions facing each other. The gaps were all covered by the asteroids facing outside, and it was impossible to see the military port from the outside. They could see the lights of the port from some angles, but it was hard to observe from the outside because of the asteroids linked together, giving a net function. Even though, it was not as concealed as a st.u.r.dy fortress. If the fissure at this point could be described as an anchorage, the light would be 5km away from this point on the “Calyx” in diameter, while the deepest part would be about 2km away. The fissure itself was protruding at the tip like an umbrella, and the beauty of the scene observed from below could only be described as majestic. If the connecting shafts could be described as stone pillars, this would be a stalact.i.te cave in s.p.a.ce.

Amidst, this large hole, there were 30+ s.h.i.+ps docked, and the workboats and mobile suits looked like toys as they were floating through the dock. The randomly a.s.sembled remnant organization could be seen basically as a patrol squad, and though there were s.h.i.+ps that could not be used as fighting strength, they could a.s.semble enough personnel if they wanted to. If we can unravel this thing called the Laplace system or something and get hold of the “Box”, it’s not impossible for us to wipe out the enemies at one go. But even so Angelo gritted his teeth as he looked up at the head of the “Unicorn”. “I see, we might have to call it a drive, but its nature is a little intense.” Frontal’s tone caused him to hurriedly look forward.

“Yes. Leaving aside what the people who installed this Laplace Program were thinking, this thing itself is a hunting machine. It can be said that these two kinds of paradoxes were combined together. Captain, the ‘madness’ you said you felt from it might come from this.”

“I understand. Cardeas Vist sure left the Laplace Box to an unbelievable monster to tend to.”

Frontal’s lips under the mask curled as he heard the technical officer’s conclusion. I missed something important. Angelo did not even have the time to waver as Frontal called him “Lieutenant Angelo”, causing him to get into a still position.

“As what I commanded before, notifying the entire army and follow the instructions.”

“Yes!”

At this moment, Angelo instinctively stamped, and then reflected on what he heard. The given instructions were the response to the predicted attack. The Federation would come over to “Palau” to battle. He felt his blood boiling, but also realistically remembered that he had to bring over the freeze-dried rose. He stared at the back of the crimson red figure in front of him. Frontal put his hand on the c.o.c.kpit hand and asked the technical officer, “So where’re the current coordinates pointing to?”

Angelo did not hear the reply of the technical officer who slipped into the c.o.c.kpit. That might be the coordinate data of the “Box”, so there’s no need for me to hear it. Angelo intended to peek in through the c.o.c.kpit, only to be taken aback by Frontal’s retreating figure, and could only make a way.

“…I really hope that’s a joke.”

Frontal faced the glow of the blinking “La+” and smiled as he said. At this, Angelo could only frown.

Part 2

At the same moment, April 12th, 00.25, the supply s.h.i.+p “Alaska” finished the resupply to the Nahel Argama and left the shoal s.p.a.ce region as it returned back to the Moon.

The “Alaska” was a support s.h.i.+p under the Columbus cla.s.s, 145m in length and 110m wide. Its shape could be described as completely rectangular, and though its length was not even two-thirds of the escort Clop-cla.s.s s.h.i.+ps, the s.h.i.+p s.p.a.ce it occupied could take up two container block, and its capacity could be said to be sufficient enough to hold a mobile suit squadron. The s.h.i.+p finished its mission, and once pa.s.sed through a peaceful time as it was commanded to head back under the jurisdiction of the normal Naval Bureau, but at this point, the situation it was involved in was definitely not peaceful.

There were other Clop-cla.s.ses s.h.i.+ps that were escorting it from the moon, and on the way back, the Irish-cla.s.s sent over from Side 2 joined them. Two Jegan mobile suits were escorting it from the front and back on standby, flickering warning lights. It was expected that there would be escorts when supplying, but this formation was more cautious than even during a battle, and it was a special exception to see more defenses on the way back than it was going forth. The fleet command did not explain much about this, so the crew of the “Alaska” could only feel puzzled by it. However, there were some amongst the cadres who detected that something was up. The fleet command that stated that they found it troublesome to send reinforcements would not just send in escorts on the whim. The issue here was the ‘baggage’ they received from the “Nahel Argama”.

The list of the ‘baggage’ included a pilot who was ordered to return back from the s.h.i.+p and two civilians said to be detained from “Industrial 7”. There was also a prisoner said to be involved with the “Sleeves”, but this person was accompanied with people from the Central Intelligence Branch, and her name and details were not revealed to the “Alaska”s crew at all. Most likely, the issue was regarding ‘her’—the prisoner in this incident was a girl, this eyewitness report was spread throughout the s.h.i.+p through the crew. The excessive number of guards was definitely drafted in to escort ‘her’. This moving of the prisoner was the main mission of the “Alaska”, more important than the resupply to the “Nahel Argama”. This was the truth.

Speaking of which, even if they knew of about this, things would not change. If the Intelligence Branch was involved, it would be suicidal to pursue things. The crew would just treat the rumors as such, and it would be fine if they did not reveal their true thoughts until the end of the mission. Even the Captain, who was sitting on his seat at the center of the bridge as he watched the “Nahel Argama” drift far away, had this thought too. The white s.h.i.+p frame shown on the main monitor lost its entire portside catapult deck, and even the ventral fin at the tail was collapsed. It looked like they needed to be repaired in a factory, but the Senate Council ordered them to carry on their mission, and would not even allow them to send back the injured. This was a secret mission being carried out, but the only thing one could a.s.sume from this was that they wanted the entire crew to die together.

“I don’t know what kind of thing they got, but that s.h.i.+p sure drew the worst straw there…”

The Captain, who had a military career of 28 years, and was still working as an honest supply s.h.i.+p captain while most of his graduated peers from military cadet academy had all become outstanding, had no other feelings about it. This was not something he should be involved in. Anyone in an organization, whether it was the military, would often have danger around, and he had to face caves he could not avoid. I just have to hurry back to the Moon and drop the troublesome ‘baggage’. As the Captain thought about this, he turned his eyes to the screen, and the alarm rang, ripping through the stable air flowing within the “Alaska”.

“We got a fire alarm coming from the 4th deck! Investigating it immediately.”

“The incident happened in the second living quarters. The area is filled with smoke.”

The operator immediately shut off the alarm and reported. “What did you say?” The Captain felt his moaning face stiffening as he turned his body to the console on the side of the bridge. The multi-screen monitor that showed the situation inside the bridge was covered in white smoke. The damage control board indicated the location of the report—

“Isn’t that the block where the prisoners are held…?”

The second living quarters located inside the s.h.i.+p’s gravity block was indicated on the damage board of the “Alaska”s cross-sectional view, and that flickering light was definitely there without a doubt. The Captain yelled out before he even thought about the significance, “ACTIVATE THE EMERGENCY STEERING TEAM!”

“PUT OUT THE FIRE. EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM, GO ENSURE THE PRISONER’S SAFETY…!”

“A new fire’s reported! In the first container deck.”

A second red alarm followed the voice of the operator, flickering in a corner of container block. A fire was detected there after there was a fire detected at the prisoner block. The Captain was not suspecting whether it was a bogus report or a coincidence anymore as he remained stunned for a while. “What’s going on…?” He inadvertently mused, but no one answered as the words of the reports and the term emptiness overlapped each other as they went by his mind.

Part 3

The dome-shaped block that was rotating with the weak gravity generated within the walls required an airlock facility for artificial flow. Under zero gravity, where temperature difference did not exist, the air would not be able to flow easily, and this caused the danger of a vacuum belt in the s.h.i.+p.

The smoke that was created within the gravity block relied on this theory, and it flowed through the s.h.i.+p since the artificial airflow could not be stopped easily, causing the white mist to spread through the entire block. They could have sealed off the part.i.tion walls once they evacuated successfully, but the crew, who were all ordinary people, was not agile enough, and 1 minute was already wasted on teaching them the basics countermeasures. The only people who could pull out the Oxygen Breathing Apparatus after detecting this anomaly were most likely the Central Intelligence people who were in charge of watching the prisoner.

The 2 civilians that were also kept within the “Nahel Argama” were left to the crew of the “Alaska” for keeping. The 4 Intelligence Branch officers who were sent over to move the prisoner had already started moving. Two of them were standing in front of the prisoner detention room, while two others went to check on the situation. They did not feel that the enemy’s special agents would be able to sneak into the s.h.i.+p, but it was hard to imagine so many fire outbreaks happening at the same time being a coincidence. Two Intelligence Officers were dressed in suits and OBA masks as they kept their wary stares looking down the smoke-filled pa.s.sages, pulling out their G-17 recoilless automatic pistols. All countermeasures were allowed, with the priority being that their prisoner was to be kept safe. Their guns were pointed at the floor, but their hands were holding onto the safeties of the G-17, and their expressions were already those of a soldier in battle.

At this moment, the smoke got thicker and thicker, making it harder to ensure their vision. If this was a fire that was deliberately started, the only reason they could think of would be misdirection. We can’t let the prisoner move around so easily, but it would be too late for us to evacuate. The two Intelligence personnel thought, and a person wearing an officer normal suit appeared on the other side of the smoke. He ignored the duo with their handguns raised as he yelled to them while running, “YOU GUYS, IT’S NOT ENOUGH TO WEAR OBAs!” and handed them three normal suits under his armpits.

“Hurry up and put those on. Those inside too.”

That person did not wait for their responses as he reached his hand to the detention door with an electric door. The Intelligence Officers quickly stopped him and said, “We’ll do this.” as they stared at this crew member who seemed to be from the emergency response. The emergency response crew member had the guns pointed at him, but he, who had his helmet pulled down, did not show signs of fear as he roared to the Intelligence Officers with killing intent, “HURRY UP THEN!”

“I’m in charge of fire prevention in this area! It’ll be on me if anyone dies here! Don’t just point that thing around here! Hurry!”

The Intelligence Officers exchanged glances and started putting their feet into their normal suits. One of them continued to remain on watch, while the other put on the helmet nimbly and pulled down the visor. After changing for less than 30 seconds, both of them entered a pa.s.sword only they knew and opened the electronic lock. One of them remained at the door to cover, while the other walked into the detention room.

At this moment, the emergency response member standing beside took action as he touched the Intelligence officer walking into the room by the neck. He pressed the emergency b.u.t.ton on the seam of the helmet located at the back of the life support system, causing a status light to flicker. The Intelligence Officer noticed this anomaly and intended to activate the device again, only for the helmet to be filled with a transparent gas.

It was an anesthetic gas used to reduce oxygen consumption to the minimum when floating in s.p.a.ce. Of course, this function would not be activated so easily, and it would require many countless procedures before it would be used normally. However, this normal suit that was tinkered with before would release the gas with the press of a b.u.t.ton. The Intelligence Officer was knocked out in 2, 3 seconds, and the other person who noticed this anomaly walked into the room. The emergency crew member however responded before the gun was even pointed at him as he slammed the Intelligence Officer, and reached his hand towards the neck of the opponent who rolled onto the floor.

“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d…!” The Intelligence Officer groaned as his face relaxed and his body slumped. The emergency crew member pushed aside the sleeping Officer and tried to get up, staring right into the prisoner’s eyes as she stood in a corner of the detention room, dumbfounded. He poked his head outside to check that there was no one else around, and pulled aside his helmet visor.

“Ensign…Riddhe?”

The widened emerald eyes stared at the face deep within the visor. “Put this on.” Riddhe Marcenas simply briefed as he handed over the normal suit be brought along to her.

“We’re getting out of here. Pull down the visor and follow me.”

The prisoner—Mineva Lao Zabi did not say anything unnecessary. Her stared stopped on Riddhe, who was giving a serious look in his eyes, and received the Officer-use normal suit. She heartily took off her purple cape and brought the hefty normal suit onto the slender shoulders with the blouse on without taking too much time. Both of them rushed out of the detention room and pa.s.sed through the pa.s.sage with the canister giving off white smoke.

Part 4

They pa.s.sed through the gravity block and went to the portside container block, also called the first container deck. It was unknown how many gas canisters Riddhe set up at which locations and it was a layer of thin mist once they pa.s.sed through the air lock. It was unknown where the smoke came from in the wide s.p.a.ce that was 100m long and not less than 30m wide and tall. The piled up containers, preparatory goods and the hanging crane arms from above were all covered with a thin veil. It seemed that new air was being switched in, but they probably could not turn off the air flow. The smoke continued to disperse in from the air ducts, and it looked like the damage was spreading.

“If we don’t know where the fire’s starting from, can’t we just turn off the air flow?”

“We should know where the reported area is from, right? What do you mean that you can’t detect the heat source!?”

Growls echoed all around as the agitated crew members were scurrying around. If the source was a gas canister, they would not be able to pick up the location through a heat signature sensor. Mineva looked down at the chaos from the catwalk railing, and nearly knocked into Riddhe, who suddenly stopped. Riddhe grabbed her hand and pulled her nearly floating body back. He leaned near the communication panel and picked up the microphone on the deck.

“All hands, prepare for vacuum. We’ll now draw away the air on the container deck. Those without normal suits are to evacuate. There’s 30 seconds till the hatch is open.”

The voice that rang throughout the s.h.i.+p’s speakers caused the scattering crew members to stop immediately. The next moment, the black wave of fear started to fill the container deck, and they started moving at a speed several times that of before.

Some leaned towards the lockers with the normal suits inside, some were heading towards the airlock leading to the bridge, leading people in. “Who’s the one making that broadcast? I never heard of such a thing!?” “Hurry up and confirm with the bridge!” The officers’ voices rang as they fought for the. However, these voices would not be able to calm them down. Mineva saw the figures in normal suits rus.h.i.+ng around, and stepped on the floor of this pa.s.sage on Riddhe’s prompting. She grabbed onto Riddhe by the shoulder as he was using the cable gun, and both of them glided past the pa.s.sage of the container block. They were headed to a s.p.a.ce launch on a launching pad. Over there, as the smoke floated around thinly, a green ball-shaped object suddenly appeared from the shadow of the s.h.i.+p, and it rolled its way into Mineva’s sights.

“Haro…?”

She unwittingly called out, and people dressed in normal suits appeared behind it as they waved over. One of them waved over at them, while the other carried Haro and watched their surroundings before hiding inside the launch. Mineva did see that face that was without a helmet on despite her wearing a normal suit. It was Micott Bartsch—so in that case, the one waving over at us would be Takuya Irei, is it? Mineva did not have much time to think as the white frame of the s.p.a.ce launch was right in front of them, and Mineva followed Riddhe as she reached for the ceiling.

Both of them used inertia to glide to the launch and grabbed onto the open hatch on the portside. Riddhe slipped into the launch first. “Hurry up” a familiar voice could be heard from behind. Mineva got into the s.p.a.ce launch together with what looked Takuya in a normal suit.

This s.p.a.ce shuttle had been used by the Federation before the One Year War, and there were 4 laser rocket engines installed on the frame that was less than 10m in length. It had a capacity of 10 people excluding the driver. At this point, Micott was sitting on the pa.s.senger seat, and she was looking tense and pale as she stared at the steering seat. She met Mineva in the eyes, and looked away awkwardly as she clinged onto Haro on her knees. Mineva felt a sharp pain at the bottom of her stomach as she pa.s.sed by Micott and moved towards the steering seat in front. The console lights were already indicated, and Riddhe sat on the seat as he did the checks before take-off.

Mineva sat on the co-pilot seat and fastened herself down with the safety belt. She felt pressured by this atmosphere as she got all the way till here. Are we going to escape using this s.h.i.+p? This doubt that came way too late spread inside her, but she did not have time to speak up. Takuya closed the hatch, panted and grabbed onto the back of the pilot seat. “Is the airlock opened enough?” He asked as he stared at Riddhe’s face, who did not stop moving his hands as he continued the checks and answered.

“This kind of s.p.a.ce launch can be used as an escape shuttle, so it’s possible for us to access the deck controls from here…those guys have finished evacuating, right?”

Riddhe’s voice caused Takuya to bring his helmet-covered head to the concave canopy window and checked the container deck filled with white smoke. The alarm showed no signs of stopping, but there were no signs of any crew members on the deck. “Looks like it’s over.” Takuya answered, and Riddhe answered, “Alright, let’s go.” and quickly operated on the console. The ‘Air’ flickered on the deck wall, and the warning lights on the floor started spinning for a few seconds. They could feel the continuous alarm sounds fading away rapidly.

The smoke outside the window immediately vanished, and the part.i.tion walls in front gradually opened. The large hatch of the pressure room split aside up and down, and the 4-sided s.p.a.ce outside the hatch appeared right in front of them. It was the sound of the s.h.i.+p breaking away from the restraints and leaving, and it seemed that Riddhe and the rest were intending to escape from this s.h.i.+p. Where are they going? Mineva tried to think, but cringed due to the sudden impact.

A hammer-like sound rang twice, thrice as it rocked the s.h.i.+p, causing bright sparks to scatter all over the place, and the windows were jerking. Gunshots. Mineva realized this, and Micott screamed, “THEY’S SHOOTING AT US…!” “Don’t worry, hang on tight!” Riddhe growled. Mineva looked outside the window, and saw two people in normal suits pointing handguns at them as they approached the s.p.a.ce launch. Flares popped out from their muzzles, causing sharp impacts to rocked the shuttle.

“We’ll cut the countdown. I’m going to make things rough here. Don’t bite your tongue!”

Riddhe spoke so loudly it was not drowned out by the bullets. Mineva looked back in front and held her breath. The s.p.a.ce launch rockets ignited at practically the same time, and the G-force that struck from the front surrounded their bodies. The sight of the container deck instantly disappeared from behind, and the vacuum, where neither the Moon or the Earth could be seen, occupied the windows.

The monitor at the back showed the rectangular supply s.h.i.+p, moving further and further away. The pressure of the acceleration on their organs weakened within several seconds, and Micott’s heaving sound could be heard from behind. “Alright…!” Takuya shouted with a restrained voice, and Haro’s voice rang too “Haro”. Mineva too heaved a sigh of relief, but at this moment—

“It’s not over yet. There’re still mobile suits in the s.h.i.+p.”

Riddhe said with a tense voice that never relaxed, and as a result, Mineva continued to look at the monitor behind. The Federation mobile suits escorting the s.h.i.+ps were there, and obviously, this s.p.a.ce launch would not be able to beat them. If this heart of the fusion with four limbs floating in vacuum were a fusion core reactor as the heart, the old s.p.a.ce launch would be caught be it immediately.

How many seconds pa.s.sed before the s.h.i.+p grasped the situation and was ordered to pursue us—how much distance can we gain during this time? Mineva and the other three stared at this 5 inch monitor. There was a small light spot the size of a small thumb appearing on the screen with a white trail.

The sensors showed two “RGM-89s” closing in quickly onto the s.p.a.ce launcher. They started their pursuit, and they would be caught up in less than 10 seconds. Do you have a plan? Mineva intended to ask this as she glanced at the side of Riddhe’s face, who was looking intently as he focused on piloting. She suddenly felt the s.h.i.+p shaking, and frantically looked in front again.

A small rock flashed by the canopy window, turning the s.h.i.+p slightly with a small impact. The s.p.a.ce debris flew in like bullets, faster than the motion sensors that showed many objects, and this showed that the s.p.a.ce launch was moving into the shoal s.p.a.ce region. The sizes ranged from pebbles to rocks larger than the launch. Though they were moving through the debris, they could not even slow down by one kilometer relatively. The debris field of past colonies continued to close in on them, moving through the body and floated back. They moved by a large rock, and 100m later, the minute debris that were scattered all over the place covered the s.h.i.+p like a sandstorm. Cracking sounds that bullied the armor caused the launch to tremor unstably.

“Wait, are we really alright?”

“I checked the path. If there’s no Minovsky particles scattered, the radar…”

Riddhe answered Micott’s shrieking voice and swallowed what he was about to say. He was wondering what was s.h.i.+ning in front, only to find that a material the size of a human was rus.h.i.+ng right at them. He immediately tilted the launch greatly, and the safety belt was pressed down on their shoulder muscles. Haro slid out of Micott’s hands and slammed into the wall, and Takuya cried out, “Is it really alright?” “We won’t be able to escape if we just do those cautious things…!” Riddhe answered as he continued to steer. He was already losing focus trying to stare at the settings panel. The sensors would capture the locations of the debris, and he had to use these to find the most suitable escape route. The monitor on the panel showed rectangular blocks entering, all repeating as they formed a 3-dimensional corridor.

The mobile suit pursuers were deliberately slowing down while being wary of the debris, but their speed was still very fast. Both mobile suits used the AMBAC function to dodge around, moving over at a speed the launch could not match. There’s still a little while until the computer calculates the course— Mineva saw that the navigation setting panel showed a bar that stated the progress, and looked back at the pursuers’ positions on the sensors, seeing that they were right in front of them. “Alright. It’s here!” Riddhe then yelled and clenched his sweaty fists.

“LET’S GO! GRIT YOUR TEETH!”

At that moment, the 4 laser rocket engines burst out flares, causing the launch to move forward at maximum speed. The hull let out a rattling sound, and everyone was forced down onto the seat. The path calculated by the computer was a complicated route of twists and turns through the debris, and Mineva and company were basically pa.s.sengers sitting on a roller coaster as they did not know which side was up or down. As Takuya and Micott screamed out, the launch continued to repeat the complicated maneuvers that tested its limits and entered the shoal s.p.a.ce region. The sea of debris floated by messily, and the beam a mobile suit fired raced into the flowing starry s.p.a.ce, causing the debris that were hit directly to let out lights of explosions.

The scattered debris spurted out from a parallel level, and what sounded like a large number of pebbles being carried tortured their ears. “It’s just to scare us!” Mineva heard Riddhe’s shout as she looked at the large debris floating over from the front. That was the debris of a mirror that brought sunlight to a colony, and the cracked surface floated in the vacuum together. The launch in automatic mode continued to dodge the fragments floating around as it rushed right at the mirror.

“I’m going to do an emergency brake. There’ll be G-force coming from the back. Get ready.”

He stared at the countdown timer indicated on the navigation setting panel and shouted, 4, 3, 2…ignition . Riddhe’s fist slammed onto the console switch, causing the launch that was headed to the mirror to let out its front exhausts to the maximum. The G-force that struck at that moment rendered Mineva breathless.

Everything that was not held in place were flying to the front of the body, and the safety belts stretched out so much they felt like they were going to snap as they quashed into the body. Mineva spent so much effort preventing her eyeb.a.l.l.s from popping out as she did not lift her head. After several seconds that felt like eternity, the launch that braked suddenly stopped its reverse jets—and moved in amongst the debris of the mirror. The s.h.i.+p was moving at a relative velocity completely identical to that of the surrounding debris as it slowly floated in s.p.a.ce.

Cough. It was unknown who coughed. The launch was dark inside most probably because the engine lights were shut off. Mineva slowly closed her eyes and stared at the sensor image that was the only thing giving off light. The pursuers’ markers looked like they were puzzled as they scattered aside. This launch rushed into the shoal s.p.a.ce region at a reckless speed and slammed into debris…whether this sounds crazy or not, it’s true that they lost sight of us. After what seemed like an exceptionally long time, Riddhe said, “Let’s go.”. Mineva however looked up at the canopy, and could see a pale green machine dragging a trail of thruster jet as it floated through numerous materials.

At this point, no one had the strength to yell out; only sighs of relief could be heard from the gang in this dim launch. Haro, who was bouncing around, finally seemed relaxed as it flapped its ears and asked things like, (Are you alright, Audrey?) This alias that Mineva thought up at the last moment—but was designated onto her during the past few days made her unable to answer as she merely lowered her eyes. Riddhe glanced at her secretly, and spoke up while trying to end things off, “We’ll spend the time here.”

“Once those guys leave, we’ll take action again.”

Riddhe pushed Haro over to Micott, and removed his helmet while looking like he was avoiding Mineva’s stare. He’s really an overly empathetic person. Mineva thought as she asked, “What do you intend to do?”

“We’ll take immediately once we get back onto the Nahel Argama.” Riddhe exchanged looked with Mineva for a while, and continued, “We can still catch up to them at this distance, and once we make contact with them, it’ll be the start of the battle. At that time, the communication channel will be sealed off, so they can’t possible contact the “Alaska”. Logically put, it’s impossible for us to be brought back.”

“And then?”

Mineva did not think that things would improve just by them reaching back onto the Nahel Argama. Does this man knows what fate will befall on him for taking away a troublesome prisoner like me and stole a military resource to escape? She took off her helmet, gave a doubtful look, and was shocked by another voice “We can only do that.”.

It was Micott. She lowered her eyes, not daring to look at anyone, and her hands held Haro onto her knees tightly. The backup power was connected at this time, and a red light appeared inside the launch, revealing Micott’s bitter and depressed expression.

“We saw what we shouldn’t be seeing, whether it’s that Gundam or you, so there’s no reason for us to be allowed back home safely, right?”

“Besides, there were a lot of people who died or were deemed missing in that battle at “Industrial 7”. We might be counted amongst them at all.”

Takuya followed up. They’ll kill people to protect their secrets— Mineva gave a confirming look to Riddhe, who stuttered “Eh, I don’t think things will develop to such an extent so easily…” as he looked up to the canopy.

“But if that were the case, what should we do? Even if we get back onto the Nahel Argama…”

“I already thought of it.”

Riddhe was only able to go straight to the point at this moment as he clenched his hands on the control sticks.

“It’s a risky gamble, but it’s not like it won’t work. According to the report I got before I left the “Nahel Argama”, it seems that their battle will start before afternoon on the 12th. That’ll be the moment when “Palau” is closest to earth.”

Mineva did not understand what she just heard. “Battle? Did you just say “Palau”…Mineva asked back, and Riddhe gave her a look while saying, “I hope you can help me.”

“This isn’t simple. I don’t know whether it will be successful, but as long as I meet you, even my father will…”

Riddhe stopped here and looked outside the canopy again. “Father…your father?” Riddhe said with a forceful tone to block off Mineva’s musing, “It can’t be helped.”

“If this keeps up, everything will be swept under the table. I hope you can entrust your life to me in order to ensure your safety, and these two’s.”

The determined expression on Riddhe’s face as he left the detention room appeared as they landed on Mineva, causing her to look away immediately. No matter what Riddhe was thinking, his expression showed obvious consideration into this decision. She did not feel that she could simply agree to this easily, and as the void of silent time acc.u.mulated, Micott’s voice rang in her ears, “This is to save Banagher too.”

“I know this shouldn’t be something I should be saying. But sorry, I have no intention of apologizing to you. Your army was the one that decimated our colony.”

Micott spoke to Mineva, and suddenly looked down as she clasped her hands that were holding onto Haro. Mineva could only watch the face of this girl who looked more frail than anyone else in this launch silently.

“But I want to apologize to Banagher. If I don’t, I…”

The end of her words was vague due to her crying. Micott did not intend to speak up anymore as the silent time descended on the s.h.i.+p again. Riddhe seemed to realize that he was on a path of no return as he gave a determined look; Micott’s lowered angry face was trembling with wet eyes; and Takuya could only glance at Micott, wanting to reach his hand to her shoulder, but could not. Everyone’s feelings filled this launch, making the air inside hot and hard to breathe, and Mineva was forced to look for a place where she could lay her eyes on in the midst of this starry s.p.a.ce with countless debris.

What expanded in front of her eyes was merely a frozen darkness, and she could not find anything to look at. However, the feelings of the people gathered here were running towards a certain place, intending to look for another place. Maybe I am look for some place I can run to, just like how I was guided by what warm hand. But to where? Mineva’s could not think properly as she closed her eyes and sighed out hot air. Even if we stay in the darkness, we can’t continue on to the next scenario. We have to start running—

Part 5

“…This is originally an incomplete weapon. The reason why it wasn’t removed during the large Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) was simply because of budget issues. We did carry out formal regular activation tests, but we never actually fired for once.”

Despite looking tense in front of the Captain, the cannon operator said without hiding his stiff expression. Before Otto could speak up, the gunnery squad leader on standby at the back walked to the front and said,

“Leaving aside the issues regarding the design, I have absolute faith in the maintenance. If you don’t mind just one shot, I’ll show you how it can hit its target with 120% power.

The well-refined looking muscular body remained still as his energetic voice rang through the power room. Stop yapping so much. The cannon operator stared at him with such an expression, not because he was unhappy about how he spoke up while ignoring this officer here, but probably that this gunnery squad leader should not say things he was not confident in. This man’s doubting att.i.tude became a fault, and he had the tendency to focus on failures in his heart. “Yes, we’ll rely on precision in this battle here. I look forward to your performance.” Otto kept his words till this point and just pretended to merely listen to the gunnery squad leader’s reliable words. “Yes!”, the gunnery squad leader raised his hand to salute and turned right to his workplace.

The cannon operator observed his Captain’s expression, and then kicked the floor to return back to his work. The place he was headed to had a standby battery one would mistake for the s.h.i.+p’s main engine, and the gunnery team could be seen carrying out their inspections. The soldiers briskly attached the connecter cables of the backup power source that were so thick they needed to be wrapped around with both arms. In contrast, the cannon operator who was left aside was not that excited. He would occasionally give some instructions, but his volume was never as loud as that of the squad leader. The soldiers were obviously ignoring him as well, “This really can’t do.” First Officer Liam lamented as she observed this same scene.

“It’s good that he’s serious, but he lacks a sense of authority. Such words won’t be able to move officers.”

She stated coldly while her stare under those thick eyelids were looking at the cannon operator. I didn’t expect to have the same view as this troublesome woman I have no relation with. Otto grimaced secretly as he answered, “Well, it’s not unreasonable after all.”

“Probably no one thought that we would need to use this to blow some things up one day.”

The front end of the energy condenser, 10m in diameter and more than 20m in length, had a mega particle generator that was far larger than normal, a beam generator. The mega particles would accelerate through 8 phases, gather inside the ring, and rise through the cannon that was 18m in diameter and monstrously large. If one included the energy, it would be said that this ‘grand cannon’ that was 50m in length could not be held inside the s.h.i.+p as it was too big, and could only be kept right under the 1st catapult deck, sticking out from the Nahel Argama from the hull of the s.h.i.+p. This was of a different cla.s.s from the 4 main cannons that were designed on the s.h.i.+p. There had been no weapon like this weapon the s.h.i.+p was ferrying, and it was a mega-particle cannon that exceeded common sense—

“In theory, a hyper mega-particle is a weapon that can match the power of a colony laser and can be aimed at a location…but I’ve never seen it being fired for real once, even though I did see footage of it.”

“I’m the same as you as well. I guess the only ones equipped with such monstrously large things are the last generation’s “Argama” and this s.h.i.+p, right? We saw it fail in the end during the Neo Zeon War after all.”

This hyper mega particle cannon that caused the Captain and First Officer to say this in unison was basically a beam weapon that was an enlarged version of an ordinary mega-particle cannon. It was expected that one shot would be enough to bury a large s.h.i.+p, and if they adjusted the firing angle, it was possible to wipe out an entire fleet. This was basically similar to the large-scale ma.s.s killing weapon hanging on a colony frame as a cannon, the colony laser hailed as the ultimate cannon weapon. The problem was that the cost effective was worse off, and one hit would use up all the power on the s.h.i.+p.

They had to transfer all the main power in the s.h.i.+p’s main generator to the backup, and in that case, they would not be able to use other mega-particle cannons, and even pilot it. Of course, it did not have a rapid-fire option as the cooldown and reload times were all too long. Thus, there was only one chance of using it in battle. It was useful during the First Neo Zeon war, at the battle of Axis, where they were using it to break through, but it would not be efficient when it was a s.h.i.+p on s.h.i.+p battle. In this phase, the war against Zeonism was in the purging stage, and a targeted attack a.s.sumption here was basically zero, so the Federation army naturally never had the reason or ability to ma.s.s produce limited resources, and could not transfer this over to the other s.h.i.+ps. If the costs for the FRAM was not ideal, this hyper mega-particle cannon would definitely be sc.r.a.pped and sent to a war museum. It would be more efficient for them to turn the empty s.p.a.ce to contain mobile suits, which would increase their fighting strength. That would be the case.

But in this battle, this monster that was behind times would become the crux. It would become the lynchpin in this battle to reclaim the RX-0—or rather, to save the civilian. Otto recalled Daguza’s seemingly ridiculous idea as he stared at the enemy scape, and sighed out all the heavy air from deep within his stomach. Liam reacted fast as she turned her eyes to him, and spoke with a probing voice, “Are you feeling unsatisfied?”

“No, this might be a reckless strategy, but it does make sense. If we want the Nahel Argama to stake on “Palau” alone, there would be no better plan than this. I too hope to save Banagher Links, but if we focus on this too much…”

What could have may never happen. Otto turned to look at Liam, who had this intent in her incomplete words.

“If we want to reclaim the “Unicorn” too, the risks of this operation will increase as such. I’m thinking whether I’m making our crew risk their lives because of some personal feelings, and I’m still wandering about this.”

“In this situation, the only one who can activate the RX-0 is Banagher Links. If we can’t save him together with the RX-0, we can’t consider ourselves as having reclaimed the “Laplace Box”.”

“Though that’s true…”

That’s just trying to talk our way out of it. Basically, there’s no need for us to be at the Senate Council’s whim and risk our lives on this mission to retake the “Laplace Box”. We do have the option to just fight with the motions and escape with our tails behind our back. Otto continued to stare at the gunnery squad soldiers who were focused on their work, and lowered his stare to the floor. Liam did not say anything as she took out a photo from her officer uniform pocket and stealthily handed it over to Otto.

The photo that was covered with a layer of coated sheet had a 15,16 year old boy there. He looked rather handsome, and that naïve looking expression did look rather similar to Liam. Otto tensed up slightly and asked, “Your kid?” Like usual, Liam answered without smiling and said to him, “Yes. He’s going to be 17 this year.”

“My husband died in the battle of Solomon, and my mother’s taking care of him. It has been more than half a year since I last saw him…”

Liam continued, and looked at the photo, quipping, “He’s like my life.“ and kept it back into her pocket. It was hard to imagine hearing this line from this person who acted like a woodblock, and Otto could not help but widen his eyes at his First Officer.

“I don’t really understand politics, but I told my son that momma’s working in the army to carry out justice. I don’t think justice will be in this mysterious “Box”, but it’s another thing trying to save another person. I suppose my son will understand and forgive me even if I can’t return home because of this.”

Liam said this with a serious face and continued, “I suppose the other crew members are the same too, and kept her mouth shut.” That direct att.i.tude of hers and the enigmatic look was something he did not like about his First Officer, but she looked rather affectionate at this point, causing Otto to say “Is that so.” And smile.

People will sometimes end up in tough situations, and when they have nowhere else to rely on, they would rely on existences beside them that were like treasures. Otto thought that there was no need for them to give up their life so easily, and at that moment, a short alarm indicating an emergency meeting rang inside the power room.

(We’ve received an emergency contact from an allied s.p.a.ce launch. Captain, First Officer, please head to the Bridge.)

The broadcast that indicated merely the bare minimum caused Liam to change expressions and mutter, “A launch?” It was unexpected to hear an ally contacting them so casualty in this s.p.a.ce where there might be enemy s.h.i.+ps patrolling. “At this time…!” it was unknown whether the groan came faster as Otto kicked the floor and floated to the power room door. He rushed through the communication shaft of the cannons department and left the hyper mega-particle cannon area at the hull. He returned back inside the s.h.i.+p, and the elevator leading to the bridge was right in front of him.

Part 6

The elevator door just opened, and Liam entered the bridge at a speed she would never lose to. Otto used his hand to stop Ensign Mihiro who was about to get up, and spoke, “Whose s.h.i.+p is that?”

“Yes. The identification code cla.s.sified it as a launch from the “Alaska”, but…”

Mihiro put her hand on the headset, and turned her face that grasped this vague situation to the communication console. The monitor was full of noise, and it was impossible to see the person’s face. As Otto frowned, a familiar voice rang through the voice box, (Can you hear me, Ensign Mihiro?), causing the air sucked into his nostrils.

(We don’t have enough thruster fuel here. Please hurry up and allow us to land. Is Uncle Racc.o.o.n there!?)

Raccon. This word itself caused everyone on the bridge to look at Otto. Of course, no Captain would be able to remember the voices of more than 200 crew member, but Otto heard this voice before. He coughed to clear the abnormal air here, and said, “Who are you? Are you a crew member of ours?” ignoring Liam as he picked up the microphone on the console.

(To the launch approaching here, this is the Uncle Racc.o.o.n of the “Nahel Argama”. Specify the pa.s.sengers’ ranks and names.)

After an awkward pause for about 2, 3 seconds, (Yes, I’m Ensign Riddhe Marcenas of the Nahel Argama mobile suit squad!) a voice came from the speakers. The face of the “prince” he faced several days ago clearly appeared in his mind, making him speechless. “Ensign Riddhe…?” Liam mused as both of them looked at each other, and Otto turned his unfocused stare to the communication monitor that was full of noise.

(I’m approaching the Nahel Argama with 2 civilians here. Please allow me to board.)

“What’s going on? What happened with the “Alaska”?”

(I didn’t receive any instructions from the “Alaska”, but came to the Nahel Argama on my own.)

The atmosphere inside the bridge suddenly tensed up. Otto quickly held onto the microphone and asked Mihiro, “Can we contact the “Alaska”?”. Mihiro answered, “We can’t. It’s impossible if we don’t leave the shoal s.p.a.ce region.” and Otto stared at the launch’s current position on the navigation monitor.

If they believed the information the Senate Council sent over, there would be less than 20,000km direct distance to the area the enemy patrols would be at. Otto stared at the monitor that caught sight of the launch, and made the conclusion that it did so despite knowing the consequences, and spoke into the microphone, “Why did you come back?”

(I’m a pilot of the Nahel Argama. I came back because I want to live and die together with the s.h.i.+p.)

“You should understand that this is against military orders, right?”

(I realized it already. Regarding the two civilians, I considered that it might be dangerous to hand them over to the Senate Council like this, so I brought them along.)

“He said they will be in danger…” Mihiro muttered and stared at Otto. These civilian had already known about cla.s.sified military secrets, and the Senate Council would not just let them head back home so freely. Otto himself did think of this possibility before, but could not answer for certain, causing him to look away awkwardly. Otto exchanged understanding looks to Liam, and in place of doubtful answer, he simply told her to “Allow them to land.” and handed the microphone over to Mihiro.

Otto deliberately avoided looking at Mihiro’s doubtful look as she took the microphone. “To the approaching launch, our s.h.i.+p will allow you to land. Please match our relative velocity and abide by the deck manager’s instructions to enter from the back.” Mihiro said this, and Otto had his back turned on her as he again looked up at the visual on the sensor screen. No matter whether the “Nahel Argama” survives or not, Ensign Riddhe’s military career will be at an end. He did such a reckless thing…well, I can say that, but no half-baked determination is going to allow him to use such a small launch to shake off the “Alaska”s detection, pa.s.s through the shoal s.p.a.ce region full of debris and catch up with us. What prompted him to do this? Such a doubt started to appear in Otto’s mind.

If they just wanted to ensure the safety of two civilians, it would be a weird thing to think of escaping to the “Nahel Argama” preparing for battle. From Riddhe’s words of wanting to live and die together with the s.h.i.+p, it’s clear that he knew how dangerous the battle that was about to start was. It was logical of him to contact them when communications were sealed off, and obviously, this was not something thought of at the spur of a moment— The indecisive thoughts started creeping up in him, and as the navigation operator asked, “Is this really alright?” Otto was at a loss of words. Liam stepped forward in place of Otto, and said,

“There’s still less than six hours before the battle. We can’t send them back now anyway. Tell the guards to carry out a thorough check on the launch.”

“Captain.” Liam added on for confirmation, and the navigation operator gave a believing look as he looked back at the console. Just ask the person himself. Otto nodded at Liam, who gave this expression, and looked at the watch.

9.07am. It’s definitely less than 6 hours before the first phase of battle at 15.00. Should we view this as a lucky omen, or…

Part 7

The activation switch was pressed, and the low buzzing of the power flow shook the exterior of the machine, and the aged motor sound roared as it spun. The conveyor belt soon started operating, and the gears of the crusher could be heard activated it rattled.

“Amazing!” It moved!” Tikva ignored the cheers of the children as he poured the rocks on the cart onto the conveyor belt. The large fist-sizes rocked would first get crushed by the crusher, and then get polished by grease before being washed by a jet stream of water. The minerals would be stuck on the grease, so they would not be washed away by the water, and the remaining rock sc.r.a.ps would be removed easily here. The chosen pieces of minerals would then be set aside and poured into a bag at the end point.

This machine was set up behind Gilboa’s house, in a workshed smaller than a garage, so it was definitely not a large machine. The minerals they could obtain were just a teeny-weeny portion, but to Tikva and the rest, this was an important machine supporting their family income. “How did you do it?” The second son asked with excitement. “The gears had oil stains all over it. I just cleaned them up.” Banagher answered as he covered the maintenance hatch of this sorting machine. He used the towel hanging on his neck to wipe away his sweat, and the 4-year-old daughter pointed at him and laughed, “Your face is all black!”

Banagher touched his face, and noticed at the towel was already stained thoroughly by grease. Gilboa’s wife seemed to chuckle unwittingly as she said, “You helped us a lot.” and handed a new towel over to him.

“It’s a lot easier now. I did ask my husband to repair this before, but he would always be busy doing something during the rare times he come back...Tikva, you have to learn from big brother Banagher here. You have to learn how to repair it on your own even if daddy’s not around.”

“Got it. I saw it and remembered.”

Tikva sat down on a barrel of machine oil and answered with a tantrum. There was no reason for a prisoner to teach him…or rather, it could be said the reason why Tikva threw a tantrum was because that at his age, he would resist those who treated him like a child. Banagher inadvertently gave a smile and switched off the power source for the time being. “I’m telling you, mama used this to sort the rocks that can and can’t be used!” Banagher patted the young daughter who got over to his side and explained, and looked up at the sky through the roof workshed. The light that shone in through the brown clouds was the artificial sun of “Palau” he got used to seeing after the second day.

During the day, most of the men would head out to the excavation field, while the women would focus on choosing the rocks, or make screws or all sorts of things. The proper quarry plant was located outside the “Palau”, and they did everything from refining to molding, so the families’ factory produce as a whole was just a small percentage. The rocks inside the rocks storage of the living quarters—all the rocks dug out when the living block round cylinder, the s.h.i.+eld machine was working—would be moved out, and one of the work specifics was to sort out these rocks sc.r.a.ps, and in nature, they were just ‘family handicraft’ where they could only earn so little despite working so hard. The efficiency here was very low compared to the automated system of “Industrial 7” and the machinery here was so old it was reminiscent of the Middle Ages. But the residents of “Palau” had viewed this form of living as a way of life, and spent many days doing so. The reality Banagher himself faced at this point was to kill time by repairing machines.

Marida and Gilboa went out, and the children had to head to school. He was left alone as a prisoner, and had nothing else but time to spend. Banagher went around Gilboa’s house randomly, found this faulty machine, and told himself to repair this on Gilboa’s wife request. He borrowed a set of tools that was said to be left behind since Gilboa’s grandfather’s generation, and wrestled against this installation that could be said to be an antique. It was better than being alone—and even though it was just this level of manual labor, but after hearing the sound of this sorting machine regain its life, and heard the cheers of the children coming back home, Banagher had to admit that he felt a sense of fulfillment he never had before.

No matter who that person was, it was not a bad feeling when someone got thanked by another person. Banagher could feel that he was actually helping someone by doing this, and to him, it was a source of hope that could help him continue to live. Don’t think of any unnecessary things when working. Just focus on the job at hand. What will happen to me after this, and what I’m doing—I don’t have to worry about this. It’s true that I’m running away from reality, but it’s true that I can relax my mind by moving my body and working out some sweat. I never worked seriously on the machines when I studied like an apprentice monk, studying for several hours—or maybe that’s because I’m being relied for something? Banagher recalled Marida’s face inside the cave church, and landed his sights on the grease-stained hand. “Where did you learn such things?” Tikva said, and he lifted up his head.

“From school. Anaheim Electronics Industrial College. That’s a place to learn how to take care of machines.”

“I know Anaheim. It’s a company that produces mobile suits, right? The “Geara Zulu” daddy pilots and the Captain’s “Sinanju” are made by Anaheim.”

Tikva said confidently as he let the toy glider fly. Banagher a.s.sociated the term ‘Captain’ with the masked man, and asked back, “The “Sinanju”, as in that red mobile suit?”

“Yeah. But the rumors that Neo Zeon stole it were all lies. Anaheim did not want to show that it was helping Neo Zeon, and