Disclaimer's Note: I do not own Gundam Seed or Gundam X
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Phase 27: Endless Rondo
March 26, C.E. 71, Onogoro Island, ORB Territory
"The sixth workgroup will proceed to Deck 13 and start work from there."
"Engineering and armor repair class, please remain on standby at Booth 7."
"It's kind of surprising," Neumann remarked as he watched the workers from the bridge on the Archangel, "I never expected them to start repairs so soon."
"Yeah," Natarle nodded next to him, "It's something to be grateful for, but…" At that moment, the door to the bridge opened and Murrue walked in, feeling at ease today.
"Good morning," she said to the crew as she walked by.
"Good morning," Pal nodded from his seat.
"Good morning," Neumann and Natarle said simultaneously, both turning to salute the Captain.
"Good work," Murrue smiled, returning the salute, "How are the repairs coming?"
"The technicians have already arrived from Morgenroete," Natarle answered, dropping her hand as Murrue did the same, "They have already begun working on the ship."
"I see," Murrue nodded as she sat down, "What about Ensign Yamato and Mouri?"
"They both went off to the factory with the person who greeted us yesterday," Natarle said.
"Alright then, thank you," Murrue smiled and typed in a few commands on the monitor on her armrest before noticing that Natarle was giving her what looked like a glare. "Is something wrong, Lieutenant Badgiruel?"
"It's nothing," Natarle replied, shaking her head and the glare vanished, "I was simply thinking that now would probably be a good time to take a look at the ship's internal systems." With that, she snapped a quick salute and turned to leave.
"Thank you," Murrue said as she passed by and Natarle acknowledged her with a nod before stepping out of the door.
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At the same moment, Morgenroete senior engineer Erica Simmons was busy doing a bit of research. During the previous day, she had been visited by the pilots of the Archangel's Strike and X Gundams, Ensign Kira Yamato and Ensign Ryo Mouri. Although much of the initial meeting had been for explanations and introductions, Erica had also managed to extract much of both the Strike's and X's combat data. Now, during the present day, she was busy reviewing the data for possible use. For future use, she was recording the research using her own voice.
"As it has been reported up until now," she said into a headset that she was wearing, "It's a fact that these Mobile Suits possess far greater potential than initially assumed." She brought up a recording on the computer screen in front of her as she continued, "According to the report made by Colonel Ledonir Kisaka…" At that moment, she was interrupted by the ringing coming from the computer and she sighed a bit before muttering, "Pause recording. Communication channel online." The recording immediately paused as the communication feature of her headset activated, "Hello?" She paused to listen to the person on the other line and then laughed as she got up, glancing at a picture of her family hanging on the frame of the screen, "Yes, that's right, mom's still working." She listened a bit more and then said, "Well, I can't go home until Ryuta goes to bed, so why don't you have dinner with dad today?" As the person on the other line talked, she walked over to the coffee machine and poured herself a cup. "Yes, I know," she said as she put the pot back, "The next time I get off from work, I'll make sure to never let this happen again." She laughed as she picked up the mug, "Come on, have I ever broken a promise to you?" Walking back, she smiled and said, "Okay then. Listen to your father…wash your face, brush your teeth, and go to bed. Yeah, okay, bye." As soon as she heard the connection cut off, she muttered, "Communication channel offline."
Heading back to the computer where she had been sitting, she sat back down and started typing. "Erica Simmons," she said, "Find file, index 2125, section delta. Resume recording." When the recording started again, she leaned back in her chair and continued where she had left off, "According to the report made by Ledonir Kisaka, the power possessed by the Earth Alliance's Mobile Suits are at an overwhelming level. It should be noted, however, that the second unit, the X, was in fact, constructed by the ZAFT forces." She paused to take a sip of coffee, "Regardless of model, the fact remains that both Mobile Suits themselves must rely on the skills of its pilot in order to bring out its full potential. Commence special file 0358 and 0359 of 722." The image on the screen changed to show a profile shot of Kira Yamato in his civilian clothing and a similar picture of Ryo Mouri on the side. The images then shifted to profile shots of the Strike and X Gundams side by side.
"Ensign Kira Yamato, pilot of the GAT-X105 Strike and Ensign Ryo Mouri, pilot of the ZGMF-X099 'X'," Erica continued, "Both possess a series of battle records that are prefect examples of this point." Erica then brought up a video that had been recorded by the Strike's combat computer. It was a clip of the Strike's first engagement against an enemy Mobile Suit, which was a Ginn. It started out at when Murrue was at the controls, during which the Strike had to rely on its agility and Phase Shift armor to defend itself from the Ginn. It also included an audio recording of Kira's argument with Murrue about the Strike's OS, which had been, at the time, useless for battle.
"It has been previously suggested by several staff members that there was a need to re-inspect the OS of the Strike, which had been modified at an incredible speed by Kira Yamato," Erica said, "Simply speaking, it's an undeniable fact that the abilities of Coordinators can far exceed those possessed by Naturals." She added as she watched the clip from when Kira had modified the OS and then taken the controls, "If the interface's performance is identical, it is a clear fact that Coordinators will be able to bring out even more potential from these machines." She watched as Kira completed the OS update, dodged the Ginn's assault rifle attack, drew the Strike's Armor Schneider knives (after complaining about how poorly armed the Strike was), and then disabled the Ginn by stabbing its shoulder and neck joints; all within a matter of minutes.
"If a Natural wishes to utilize a Mobile Suit up to par with a Coordinator's performance, they will require the appropriate software," Erica added, "However, there was only one such emergency situation and I can only express it as ironic, as we had no other choice but to leave that situation for a pair of Coordinators to handle." She went to another clip in which the activated Aegis retreated from the battlefield before the Strike had engaged the Ginn.
"In the beginning, the Naturals developed a weapon to fight against and repel the Coordinators," she said, "And yet, in the end, they were helped by the very abilities of the people they were fighting against. The same goes for ORB as well." The clip went to footage of the battle between the Earth Forces' 8th Mobility Fleet and ZAFT's Creuset Team.
"Command, hyperlink file 52," Erica said, "The contribution of the Coordinators to our country's military industries should be mentioned as well. The technicians of PLANT who sent the ZAFT's Mobile Suits out into battle for the first time believed that they would be the weapons that would lead fights and control the progress of the battles that they engaged in." The clip turned to an old recording of the first space battle between Mobile Suits and Mobile Armors, "They performed much more effectively than conventional fighters. These were machines that needed to be weapons that could rival the firepower of a battleship and at the same time, be agile while having armor stronger than that of a tank. In the end, that assumption became an established view." Getting up, Erica walked over to a second desk behind her, which was laden with three screens instead of one.
"However, the technicians had overlooked one crucial fact," Erica added as she worked on the middle keyboard, "It was that the Mobile Suits that they had created weren't limited to being effective only in space. Later, they would realize this and design even more variants, including terrain, atmospheric, and amphibious models." Reaching over to a second keyboard with her left hand, she began to work on that one as well.
"Command, temporary file 0629," Erica said, "The ZAFT forces' elite unit, the Creuset Team led by Commander Rau le Creuset, has persistently pursued the Earth Alliance's new warship, the New Model Mobile Assault Ship Archangel, ever since it escaped from the destruction of Heliopolis while carrying the Strike and X." She shifted to work on the center and right keyboards as she continued, "As a result, many Earth Alliance personnel and ships were destroyed, including the Eurasian Federation's space fortress Artemis, and the entire 8th Mobility Fleet. Despite the sacrifices, the Archangel failed to descend into their intended vector and was forced to descend into ZAFT territory on Earth."
"At the time, it seemed that the crew of the Archangel had internal conflicts within its chain of command," she added, "Most of these disputes were between acting Captain Lieutenant Commander Murrue Ramius and Head of CIC Lieutenant Natarle Badgiruel." The clip turned to a recording on the bridge of the Archangel during its final battle against the Waltfield Team. During this particular segment, Murrue had denied Natarle's request to use the Archangel's Lohengrin cannons, arguing that the pollution would be too much for the environment to handle.
"While the Archangel succeeded in throwing off all pursuit in the end," Erica said, "It is widely believed that most of the efforts were made by the desperate fighting of the pilots of the Strike and X, Kira Yamato and Ryo Mouri. I believe that the temperamental issues and hostility within the executive command of the ship need to be monitored closely. " The video went to a second recording from the Archangel's bridge, this time of when Murrue and Natarle were arguing whether or not to send out a search party to look for Cagalli and Ryo. It was shown in the video that Murrue was willing to put the well-being of the crew ahead of the regulations.
"Commander Andrew Waltfield," Erica said, turning to another file, "Known by his alias as 'The Desert Tiger', he is one of ZAFT's greatest commanders in terms of both piloting and tactical skills. While unaware of his presence, Waltfield's commanding squad attacked the Archangel using a terrain-warfare based model of Mobile Suit, the TMF/A-802 BuCUE." The video went to a recording from the Strike's combat computer which showed its encounter against the Mobile Suits, "Strike and X, which had been in their testing phases at the time, were not adapted for desert combat and had trouble against the enemy units. It was during this battle that Ryo Mouri showed his leadership skills to help Kira Yamato hold his ground." The clip showed as Kira struggled to keep the Strike upright in the continuously shifting sand while under attack from ZAFT combat helicopters. It then cut to when the BuCUEs appeared and Kira's brief but fruitless attempts to hit them. The Strike and X both to the air and both pilots began to modify the OS of their Mobile Suits again, "However, upon suggestion from Ryo Mouri, both he and Kira Yamato were able to confront the issue by recalibrating the control programs of the respective Mobile Suits during battle and eventually overcome the risks. As a result, the two were able to defeat any BuCUEs that they encountered and eventually overcame Waltfield's new personal unit, the TMF/A-803 LaGOWE."
The video showed the later encounters with the BuCUEs and then Kira's final duel against Waltfield, which ended with a climactic clash between the Strike, battery close to dead and armed with only an Armor Schneider knife, and the LaGOWE, missing one of its legs and its beam cannons severed from its back. In the end, it was the Strike that emerged victorious when it jammed the blade of its knife into the LaGOWE's already damaged back. "The Archangel then entered the Red Sea, expecting a swift journey to their destination in Alaska," Erica continued, "However, ZAFT knew of this and had cast a net into the waters and were waiting for the ship." Another clip from the Archangel's bridge showed their first sea-battle, in which they engaged a pair of Dinns and a two GOOhNs. "AMF-101 Dinn," she said, "UMF-4A GOOhN and UMF-5 ZnO. When confronted with these specially made Mobile Suits, the Archangel had responded with the Strike, X, and two support fighters, the FFX-550 Skygrasper." The clip shifted from the Strike's first battle against the GOOhNs to the combat computer of Mu's Skygrasper, in which he sunk the Morrassim Team's mother ship with the help of Cagalli and Ryo in their respective units. "With the support of the Skygraspers and their ability to transport spare Striker Packs out onto the battlefield, the Strike's usefulness on Earth took a considerable leap application and changed in terms of mobility." The clip shifted to Kira's encounter of Morrassim's personal ZnO, in which he also had a bit of a problem fighting against the new Mobile Suit.
"Command, find file 1350," Erica said, "A solution to the questionable application in space needs to be referenced." She watched as the Strike slowly adapted to the new conditions and eventually defeated the ZnO, "Either way, the synchronicity between Kira Yamato and the Strike resulted in another astounding performance even in unfavorable conditions. It can now be confirmed that the abilities of both Kira Yamato and Ryo Mouri clearly and overwhelmingly exceed those of older, more experienced Coordinator pilots."
Erica then went to a new file and continued, "It should be noted that Ryo Mouri was amongst the first to volunteer to stay aboard the Archangel. Born to the late Junius City representative Oliver Mouri, he is possibly the only survivor of the Bloody Valentine Tragedy." Erica paused before resuming, "Although only in his mid-teens, his exploits as a Mobile Suit pilot and as a tactician both on and off the battlefield can be considered quite extraordinary." A second profile shot of both Ryo and Kira, now in uniform, appeared on the screen as she said, "Though reported to be older, Ryo Mouri also shows a stunning physical resemblance to Kira Yamato, which may lead to controversies about their biological histories."
"As it is an assumption, as well as the analysis of numerous experts, the issue that had sparked a controversy when it was announced at the institution. The supernatural phenomenon known as 'Superior Evolutionary Element Destined-factor' codenamed 'SEED' is to be considered. If possible, an accurate and concise investigation of both Kira Yamato and Ryo Mouri…" At that, she paused for a moment and mulled over her words as she took a sip of coffee before adding, "Delete last item. Recording complete. Erica Simmons, create personal password, 1414072, on new file and save. Session complete." No sooner did she say that than the intercom installed in the door went off and she turned, "Come in." The door opened and a junior engineer walked into the room.
"Chief Simmons," he said, "We've brought Ensign Kira Yamato and Ensign Ryo Mouri back. They're on their way down as we speak."
"Thank you," Erica nodded, "I'll be right there." As she got up, she took off her headset and placed it on the desk before stepping out of the room. Meanwhile, the Strike and X were being lowered down a slope into the lower levels of the factory via platform. When the two reached the bottom floor, the security doors opened and inside the Strike, Kira looked around curiously before noticing a group of people on the floor in front of him. In the X, Ryo also noticed them and unbuckled his safety harness.
"Well, Kira," he said, opening his cockpit, "It's just like we did before." Kira nodded and climbed out of the Strike's cockpit and slid down the zip-line as Ryo did the same. Once on the ground, the two went forward to the group in front of them, which was led by a familiar young woman in a red Morgenroete jacket. As they did, Ryo briefly recalled his first visit to this strange place, as he had been here just yesterday.
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Flashback
"So, you must be the two pilots," the woman smiled, "Welcome to Morgenroete. I'm Erica Simmons, senior engineer and head of technology."
"I'm Ensign Kira Yamato," Kira nodded, "Nice to meet you."
"Ensign Ryo Mouri of the Archangel," Ryo said, "And don't you forget it!"
"Don't worry, I'm not one to forget things!" Erica laughed and then turned as the group around her separated to let them pass, "Come on, I'll show you around." With Erica leading them, Kira and Ryo walked through the vast hallways of the Morgenroete Factory, each room filled with sights they would have never imagined seeing in a neutral nation.
"This place…" Kira muttered, "How…?"
"This facility has enough manpower to repair both the Strike and X," Erica told them proudly, "In a way, it's like living in a mother's home." Kira and Ryo both nodded and laughed a bit as she smiled but as soon as she turned around, Ryo turned to Kira and nudged him in the ribs.
"Do you have any idea of what that's supposed to mean?" he whispered, glancing at Erica strangely.
"No idea," Kira shrugged as they stopped in front of what appeared to be the doorway to a hangar.
"I'm sure that you have a lot of questions," Erica told them, "But I'm sure that it will be easier to answer you when you've seen it."
"Seen it?"
"In here," Erica said to them, "This is what I wanted you two to see." The door hissed open and Erica led them inside. What the two pilots saw next would forever change their views on ORB. Because stored inside of the hangar was a small army of Mobile Suits, but completely unlike any that either of the two had seen before. It was built somewhat similarly to the Strike, except it was black and red and looked sleeker than the aforementioned Mobile Suit. Each one was armed with two beam sabers, a beam rifle, and a laminated shield, along with a pair of Igelstellung guns on the sides of its head. On its back was what looked like a small support pack for flying around in the atmosphere.
"Th-these are…" Kira gaped, looking around the hangar.
"ORB Mobile Suits…" Ryo finished quietly, gazing at the small army in awe.
"There's no reason for you two to act that surprised," Erica laughed, "After all, you both saw the Strike at Heliopolis, didn't you?"
"Now you see the true face of ORB," a voice said next to them and they all turned to see Cagalli in her civilian clothes standing there, "The so called 'neutral' nation." It didn't take long for Kira and Ryo to notice a glaring red mark on Cagalli's right cheek and the two couldn't help but stare for a bit.
"Cagalli…" Kira blinked.
"Geeze, did you get into another fight or something?" Ryo asked, "What the hell happened to your face?"
"This is the M1-Astray," Erica interrupted, drawing their attention back to the Mobile Suits, "Designed for ORB's military forces. It's a Morgenroete original."
"What does ORB plan on doing with these?" Kira asked a bit suspiciously.
"Plan?" Erica asked.
"They are to be ORB's protectors," Cagalli explained, walking up to them, "You know this too, don't you? ORB will not attack another nation, will not allow other nations to attack them, and will not intervene in the affairs of other nations." Turning to the two pilots with a look of determination on her face, she added, "These will give us the power that we need to fulfill that."
"Yes," Erica nodded, "I see that you understand our position here, Miss Cagalli…"
"No, I'm just saying that ORB used to be that kind of country," Cagalli frowned, "Until my father decided to betray it!"
"My goodness, are you still saying that?" Erica laughed, shaking her head in amusement, "I've already told you that's not the case. Lord Uzumi never knew of the development of the Earth Forces' Mobile Suits on Heliopolis…"
"Don't give me that!" Cagalli snapped, cutting her off, "Do you honestly think I'm gonna believe an excuse like that? If the highest ranking official in charge here doesn't know about the doings of his own country, then that's just a total load of crap!"
"Still," Erica said, "He did take responsibility for it, didn't he?"
"He only gave up the title of Chief Representative to his brother," Cagalli frowned, "He's still making all the calls from behind the scenes. Can you honestly believe that anything's change?"
"It can't be helped," Erica sighed, "Lord Uzumi is someone who's needed in ORB."
"Why would they need a coward like that?" Cagalli demanded.
"You know, Cagalli…" Ryo started but was immediately cut off.
"You stay out of this!"
"I dunno about you, but whenever I used to talk about my old man like that, I'd get in trouble like you wouldn't believe," Ryo continued, un-phased by the outburst, "I think you should be glad to have a dad who just gives you a quick slap to the face and then lets you go, much less a dad at all."
"He's right," Erica nodded, "You shouldn't be like this after all that your father has done for you. He doesn't have much to be happy for, you know." Cagalli sighed and looked down at her feet, fidgeting in her spot. "On top of that, you made quite the scene yesterday," Erica added, "I can't say much now, even if you were slapped." Kira blinked at this and looked at her, causing Cagalli to rub the red spot with the back of her hand. "Come on, leave the foolish lady here and follow me, please," Erica said to the two pilots, "The place that I need to take you to is just ahead." With that, she turned and walked further into the hangar, with Kira following behind. Ryo started to follow but then turned and saw Cagalli skulking behind them.
"Hey, are you gonna stand there and pout all day?" Ryo asked, "Come on already!"
"Alright, alright," Cagalli scowled, hurrying after them to catch up, "Give me a break, will ya'?" A few minutes later, Erica led the three into a smaller room, which reminded Ryo of a Combat Control Center. Technicians were sitting in front of computers inputting commands left to right but what really got their attention was the large window at the end of the room. The window overlooked an enormous training field with a floor made of rocks and dirt and standing inside the field were three Astray units, standing shoulder to shoulder. Erica led the three in front of the window and put on a headset while Cagalli put one on herself.
"Hey, how come you guys get headsets?" Ryo asked, pointing at Cagalli's.
"It's not like you need one," Cagalli replied, "These are for technicians only."
"Hey, I'm going to be helping out here in the future, you know," Ryo pointed out, "Besides, you're not a technician. Unless, you actually are and were hiding it this whole time…"
"Shut up."
"Alright, that's enough, you two," Erica smiled before directing her attention to the three Astray units in the field, "Asagi, Juri, Mayura!"
"Yeah," a trio of voices replied and Kira was visibly surprised when the voices turned out to be female.
"Hey, isn't that Miss Cagalli?"
"Huh? Hey, it is!"
"Back already?"
"Well, excuse me…" Cagalli scowled at the three Astray pilots.
"An all female Mobile Suit team, huh?" Ryo asked, visibly amused, "Just when I thought I'd seen it all…"
"Actually, these three are our test pilots," Erica explained to him, "They're among the best that we have."
"That's right!" one of them, Mayura, exclaimed over the speakers, "So you'd better watch yourself, kid!"
"Bark all you want, I should be telling you that," Ryo said calmly, "You know, even though ORB and the Earth Forces are two separate factions, I technically outrank you."
"Now, now, that's enough," Erica interrupted, stepping in before the argument got any worse, "You three, please start the test run."
"Yes ma'am!" the three Astray pilots chimed and the eyepieces of their Mobile Suits flashed green briefly before the lead unit, Asagi's, took a slow, lumbering step forward. The other two followed suit and Ryo was doing everything that he could to keep himself from laughing. The movements of the Astray units were greatly exaggerated and the speed that they moved at was just about as slow; they seemed to be stumbling all over the place as if drunk rather than walking. Then, the three units moved in separate directions before striking the most ridiculous-looking martial arts poses that Kira and Ryo had ever seen. By now, Ryo was having a silent fit of laughter and Kira was so stupefied by the performance that all he could do was stare stupidly at the three units for a while.
"So these are the top pilots of ORB, huh?" Ryo remarked when he had gotten his laughter under control.
"Ugh, it's still the same," Cagalli sighed, shaking her head.
"Well, they are moving twice as fast as they were before," Erica said thoughtfully and at this, Ryo lost all restraint and nearly fell over laughing while Kira gaped at Erica as if she had suddenly struck a pose similar to the ones that the Astray units were doing.
"T-twice as fast!" Ryo laughed, clutching his stomach as he stood back up, "No wonder you guys chose to remain neutral!"
"Yeah," Cagalli admitted, "Even if they're improving, these things would get destroyed before they can even lift up their weapons." They watched as Asagi's Astray suddenly lost its footing and stumbled a bit before she added, "They're completely useless! I can't believe you spent all this time just to build an oversized scrap heap!"
"Hey, that's mean!" Asagi complained from inside her unit.
"Now what?" Cagalli groaned as the other two Astray pilots joined the argument.
"Do you have any idea how hard we're trying to do this?" Mayura asked from hers.
"You think the enemy's gonna know? Or care?" Cagalli retorted, getting more fed up by the second and Kira began to slowly inch away from her.
"You don't even know how to pilot this thing!" Juri said from hers, which was balancing on one leg.
"Is that all you have to say? You want me to go in there and try?" Cagalli fumed and both Ryo and Kira could tell that she was just about ready to explode. Just then, she wheeled upon them and asked them, "I can do it just fine! Right guys? You've seen me fight before! I can handle one of those easily!"
"Um…" Kira gulped, trying desperately to think of an answer that would satisfy the Astray pilots and at the same time, keep Cagalli from throwing him through the viewing window, "Well…I, uh…"
"I'm sure you could, Cagalli," Ryo said, patting her on the shoulder, "But it'll take a lot of practice on your part. Either that or a really descriptive tutorial."
"Alright, alright, alright! Everyone stop arguing!" Erica finally ordered and everyone fell silent before she sighed and added in a more calm tone, "However, what Miss Cagalli is saying is true. These machines…they really won't be anything more than toys until the Operating System can catch up with the technology it uses."
"Oh, come on, don't be so hard on yourself! You did a great job with them!" Ryo said, trying to shed some light on the situation, "I mean, they look cool enough! And I guess you could always just use them to put on a tai-chi show or something like that…" At this, the Astray pilots' arguments were immediately redirected towards him and he couldn't help but wince a bit as their combine voices made quite a ruckus in the room.
"Ladies, please!" Erica sighed and then turned to Ryo, "I appreciate the comment, but the situation is more serious than you think. If we're going to be able to defend ORB, we need these machines to be able to perform up to par with the Strike and X, even when piloted by a Natural."
"I see," Kira nodded, "That's why you needed our help, isn't it?"
"That's right," Erica nodded, "We would greatly appreciate your cooperation, since you two have some experience in this area."
"Anything in particular that you need done?" Ryo asked.
"We would like you to help develop a support OS for the M1 Astray," Erica explained, "So that it's user-friendly even with Naturals."
"I suppose we could," Ryo said after contemplating this for a bit, "But…I'm gonna need to test a few things out, first…"
End flashback
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"Am I good to go?" Ryo asked, glancing at the left view-screen. The previous day, he had told Erica that he would need to test out some of the systems first in order to get the proper calculations. He figured that the easiest way to do that would be to just jump into one of the machines and see for himself. Now, he was sitting inside the cockpit of one of the Astray units and he found it to be not much different from the interior of the Strike's cockpit, which he had seen on a few occasions.
"Hold on a minute," Erica replied over the speakers, "We're still getting some calibrations done."
"Alright then," Ryo nodded and looked over the things that he had brought into the cockpit. A stopwatch and a notepad with a pen was all that he figured he would need and so far, he didn't see anything mission.
"Okay, we're ready," Erica told him, "Go ahead."
"Alright, I'm starting it up!" Ryo nodded and pushed a lever forward, activating the main battery. Holding up the stop watch with one hand, he pushed another lever forward and started the watch at the same time. He watched from the center view screen as the Astray unit slowly raised its right arm and he waited until it was pointing straight up before stopping the watch. "Six point eight seconds," he muttered, jotting it down on to the notepad as he lowered the arm. He ran several more tests, most of them involving how fast the unit could move individual parts of its body in certain directions. He then had it walk around a bit, testing out different speeds and then gradually came to a stop.
"How's it going in there?" Erica asked.
"Well, I can really see why you need a new O.S. for these things," Ryo remarked as he jotted down some last measurements, "A sloth could probably outmaneuver this thing!"
"You're telling me," Cagalli grumbled next to Erica.
"Well, I'm gonna tweak the O.S. a bit to better suit my conditions," Ryo told them, bringing down the keyboard, "Kira and I will reset it later after we've made the new one." After typing in a few commands, he folded the keyboard back up and did the same tests again. This time, the machine moved much faster and smoother as well, which pleased Ryo before he reset the O.S. and later, when he was back in the viewing room, he held up the notepad and said, "Well, I've got the basic calculations for the new O.S. It shouldn't take Kira and I too long to get it done, we'll just need to finalize these and then start working."
"I dunno," Kira frowned, taking the notepad, "These look a little abstract."
"Hey, can I help it if it's hard to write stuff down while in a Mobile Suit cockpit?" Ryo asked a bit crossly before adding, "Besides, it's just a computer program. How hard could it be?" Little did he know, Ryo was going to be spending the next two days figuring that out.
Phase 27: End
To the reviewers:
Infinite Freedom- I'm afraid I can't disclose any information regarding why I'm not doing a Destiny fic. because doing so will leak major spoilers for this one, especially for the later parts.
