Gundam Unicorn: Narrative of Truth
Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Unicorn, Gundam Narrative, or the Gundam franchise.
Location Unknown
September, UC 0097
Booting...
Systems operational
Weapons systems: online
Servos: online
Thrusters: online
Communications: online
Optical systems: online
Audial systems: online
Vocalization systems: online
Olfactory systems: online
Radar: online
Psychoframe: offline - activation pending
Newtype-Destroyer System: offline - activation pending
Minovsky Reactor: Online
Memory files: Online
Booting Files...
Files booted
Beginning startup sequence...
Sequence complete...
'Ugh... My head...'
Seph slowly felt himself coming back from the depths of oblivion.
His entire body ached, and for a moment he wondered if it had all been just a dream.
A laugh escaped him. 'Yeah. There's no way I became... a...'
His thoughts died off as the HUD came online.
'Oh... crap...' was his first thought as the information retreated to the corners of his vision. Static gave way to images as his new audios came back online.
"The Gundam's active!" One of the Ra Cailum mechanics panicked.
"You said that it was inactive!" Another yelled.
Seeing the Gundam's optics flash and move its head, Chase realized that the ship was in danger. Still piloting his Delta Plus, he quickly grabbed the Dracon's arms.
Seph let out a panicked yelp and tore his arm free, but his balance was way off, and he at once realized that his new frame was not just bigger, but taller as well. And that threw his sense of direction off. He felt a sense of vertigo overcome him and he actually staggered back, only to trip over his big metal feet as a result.
"Look out," Chase yelled as the mechanics scrambled out of the way.
The mechanics managed to get out of the way in time as the Gundam fell flat on his back, the wind knocked from his intakes. "Ugh... Man..." he muttered as he pushed himself into a sitting position, only to realize that the Delta Plus was looking at him like its pilot was ready for a fight. He squeaked and scrambled back until his back was right against the wall of the hangar.
Chase rushed forward, drawing a beam saber from his shield, but not turning it on. He drove the Delta Plus' knee into one of the Dracon's legs, used his left arm to push on the right arm, and put his beam saber right where the cockpit would normally be.
"Gundam pilot," Chase radioed, "power down your mobile suit or I will destroy your cockpit and kill you!"
Seph's head snapped to face him, and Chase saw something totally unexpected in those violet optics.
Terror.
Pure, raw, human terror.
'What the heck,' the Londo Bell was startled. However, he allowed his training to kick in,and kept his weapon trained. "You have five seconds to comply," he warned.
Seph shook his head. "I can't!" he cried.
"Wrong answer." The beam saber started to glow blue, as Chase's finger tightened on the switch.
"I'm serious!" Seph cried. "I can't power down!" He was starting to panic again, his frame beginning to glow slightly.
"Don't activate the NT-D," Chase warned, "I'll do it before you can blink. At least power down the psychoframe, then we talk."
Seph nodded frantically. "Y-Yes, sir..." he squeaked. "Just... get that beam saber away from my chest..."
He tried his best to keep it from activating, and much to his relief, it stopped glowing. Some part of him wondered if it was tied into his instinct for fight or flight, or something else. Seeing the Unicorn unit power down, Chase wasted no time grabbing it and pushing it against one of the cradles. "Restrain it. Now!"
"Hey! What gives?!" Seph blurted, trying to escape.
"Right, sir!" The hangar controller activated the cradle locks on the Dracon.
"Let me go!" Seph protested, straining against the locks. The locks strained, but they held firm against his strength.
Seeing that the pilot would not stop or open his cockpit, Chase called, "control, can we get an OS lock on this guy?"
Seph squeaked at that. He ceased all his attempts to escape, although he couldn't help but shake in his terror. "I-I'll stop!" he stammered. The controller at the same time inputted the commands for the OS lock.
Strangely, though, the OS lock wouldn't trigger. The controller looked at it and tried a few more times. "Sir, it's no good."
"What do you mean," Chase inquired.
"There's..." The controller handed the data tablet over. "The security is too good. But there's also something else." He highlighted the section in question. "There are NO cockpit controls... whatsoever."
Now THAT was news. Chase blinked for a bit before facing the Dracon. Seph tried to shrink back from the man's machine. His shoulders hunched as best they could in the locks. "..." He was silent, but then Chase saw it again.
That same terror within those violet optics. Pure, raw, human terror.
"Wait a minute..." he said aloud, "what is going on here? Why am I hearing from my hangar control that there are no cockpit controls to disable?"
"B...Because there aren't any..." Seph finally managed to whisper.
"What are you talking about?" Chase asked, "is this some sort of game?"
"No... It's not..." Seph began to shiver. "I... I'm not in the suit because... I AM the suit..."
A palpable silence fell over the hangar. No one said anything as an accompanying chill set in. Even the three Tri-Star pilors dismounting from their Jestas had no words for what was said.
Seph turned his head away, wishing he could bury his face in his hands, or even better, sink into the floor. "I... I don't even know how it happened!" he muttered, his voice cracking.
"You... you can't be serious," Chase said in disbelief, "are you?"
Seph looked to Chase, and he saw in those violet optics pure human emotion. "I'm not joking," he whined. "I really AM the mobile suit!" His shoulder shook as he began to break down crying.
Chase had been through some of the most surreal situations in his military career, including the Axis Shock of the Second Neo Zeon War. However, he was completely speechless and staring at the Dracon in the horrific realization that the pilot's mind was trapped inside.
Captain Bright's Office
"What's that," Bright's shocked voice rang out. Chase and Nigel were reporting to him on what had happened in their pursuit of the Dracon and the events inside the hangar.
"It's true," Nigel replied. "The kid said he WAS the suit, not inside it like we initially assumed."
"I had a thermal and x-ray scan of the mobile suit done by the techs," Chase added, "there are definitely no signs of any cockpit or human pilot inside. A system scan is also showing brainwave traces associated with human life." He handed over the tablet with the aforementioned charts to the captain. Bright took them and looked them over with a serious gaze in his eyes. "The machine is indeed an RX-0 model," Chase added, "with a complete psychoframe and NT-D."
"And a human mind inside the damn thing," Nigel muttered.
Captain Bright was deeply troubled. He had seen his fair share of illegal and unethical human experiments, but this one made them all look like bad pranks. He shuddered at what the pilot went through to be in theis state. "The pilot," he asked, "have you identified him?"
"He did give us his name," Nigel continued. "He said his name is Joseph Matthews, but that he prefers to be called Seph for short."
He then jerked a thumb back in the direction of the hangar. "The techies are wondering what we should do with the kid. We can't keep 'im locked up all the time."
"Neither can we let him off the ship," the Delta Plus pilot reminded, "he does not fit the profile of a psycho taking a prototype MS on a murder spree either. Something fishy is going on, and I have a feeling that we are being used."
Bright pursed his lips. "Hmm... well, for now, let the kid out of the locks every now and then. But keep him under guard. Until we know more about what's going on with the boy, he is to not be allowed off this ship. He can be allowed to move around in the hangar bay to keep the machine from locking up periodically, but that is it."
Chase acknowledged, "yes sir."
It was then that the door bell rang. "Captain Bright, permission to enter."
"Enter," Bright prompted.
The door slid open and Meran entered. "Sir, I have a report on the company responsible for the boy's... predicament," he replied.
"Well," Bright urged.
"First off, it turns out this particular machine was the result of a collaboration between the Ming Institute and Anaheim. Anaheim did most of the mechanics for the frame, but the program that... left the kid inside the frame was developed by the Institute," Meran replied.
"Ming Institute," Bright questioned, "isn't that a private research think tank on the Moon?"
"It is," Meran replied. "They specialize in studying past data and researching current events to try and compare the two. They then discuss the outcome and what can be done to try and achieve a better compromise for two parties to work together." He then paused. "At least that's what the gist of it is." He handed the tablet to Bright.
"Wait a minute," Chase interjected, "isn't there a Ming Institute facility operating here in Side 7?"
"There is," Meran replied. He turned to face the Delta Plus pilot. "But it's currently undergoing reconstruction. Why do you want to know?"
Chase took on a determined expression. "If this Ming Institute, and Anaheim are involved in this, it's all the more reason for us to investigate," he said, "psychoframe and psycommu developments are illegal, and if this is an attempt to circumvent the ban to create more Cyber-Newtypes, Londo Bell must intervene."
The lieutenant commander turned towards his CO. "Captain Bright, sir," he said, "I request permission to enlist the Tri-Star Team and the Ra Cailum marine detachment in apprehending the Ming Institute staff responsible for Seph's condition. We'll go for a surprise blitz and arrest the researchers."
Bright tented his fingers in front of his mouth. "Hm. Very well. But when you get back, I'd like you to try and help the boy with his balance and movement. I heard his impact with the hangar floor all the way up here."
Chase had to stop himself from groaning. 'Babysitting a boy... this was not in the job description.' "Will do, sir," he saluted, which Bright reciprocated.
With that, Chase prompted, "Nigel, get your team ready. We've got arrests to make."
Nigel grinned. "Yes, sir!" he replied. The two senior Londo Bell pilots departed the room, leaving Meran and Bright alone.
"Hope they succeed..." Meran mused softly.
"They will," Bright replied, "I'm not worried about that..." He pressed his hands together and squeezed. "However, given last year's conspiracy surrounding Laplace's Box and the psychoframe weapons," he said, "I'm starting to feel that we haven't seen the end of it."
Meran nodded. "And something tells me that the..." Here he hesitated, unsure of how to refer to Seph as either a human or Gundam. "The kid in the hangar... is a part of it..."
Bright looked to his second-in-command. "Whatever you do, don't take your eyes off the Gundam," he advised.
"I won't," Meran said as he turned to his superior. "And that brings us back to the next question. What do we do with the kid?"
Bright contemplated. It seemed that no matter what, from his friend Amuro Ray to Banagher Links, he was always catching boys falling into Gundams under his watch. Except this time, the boy WAS the Gundam. 'Noa Bright,' he thought to himself, 'what are you going to do with yourself...'
Chase launched ahead of the Tri-Stars, who followed in sequence. Just behind the Delta Plus and the Jestas were two landing shuttles, loaded with armed marines and mini-MS, ready to secure the port and the Ming Institute Branch inside Industrial Six.
"This is Crux," Chase radioed in, "we are enroute. ETA five minutes to target."
"Roger," the Ra Cailum acknowledged, "your objective is to escort Phantoms One and Two to their respective targets. You're cleared to engage or detain any hostiles you encounter."
"Roger," Chase accepted.
"Crux, this is Phantom 1," one of the marine leaders radioed, "we're moving to secure the LZ for insertion and extraction. We're counting on you and the Tri-Stars to get us to touchdown safely."
"Phantom 2 here," another called in, "we'll move into Industrial Six and secure the target."
"Copy that," Chase chimed, "we'll get you and your men down safe. Follow me." With that, he pushed his throttle forward, accelerating towards the colony. It was then that the Londo Bell mobile suit commander changed frequencies. "Attention, Industrial Six port control," he called out, "this is the Earth Federation Space Force's Londo Bell Task Force. In light of the recent pursuit in this airspace involving the unknown mobile suit, we are hereby invoking our authority to inspect the local facilities." He waited a few seconds, but there was just silence.
"Port control," Chase tried again, "I repeat, this is Londo Bell. We are coming in to inspect the colony facilities. Please confirm." Again there was no response. Chase could not even bring up a radio feed. "Industrial Six port control, please respond."
"Looks to me like there's something else going on," Nigel muttered. "The whole place seems to be dark."
"Either that or someone triggered a shutdown on accident," Daryl remarked.
"I dunno. I think something happened, like a virus or something," Watts said.
"Either way," Nigel finished, "it doesn't matter. We're going to find out what's going on."
"That's right," Chase concurred, "Phantoms, move in and secure the hangar."
"Roger that!" Phantom One replied. "Moving in now!"
Nigel waved at Watts towards the port opening. "Watts, escort Phantom Team into the port."
The other pilot nodded and started to guide the team in. His eyes were hard as he picked out a few good spots to set down. "Phantom Team is on the ground," Watts reported. The team started to spread out, searching for any of the targets.
Inside the Ming Institute, Side 7 Branch...
The engineers were worried.
The whole team was worried. And not just for the safety of the test pilot, but also because of what they had learned through the news.
One of the engineers was busy combing through the system using his tablet. "Crap... The whole system's shot!" he muttered.
"Any idea as to what caused it?" Dr. Lombardi asked.
"Yeah. It was one heck of a computer virus," the engineer replied.
"It's dark," one of the techies groaned, "who turned out the lights!?"
"It's the fault of that virus," the engineer replied. "Somehow it shut everything down as well as the prototype system."
Tina was trying the emergency release on the piloting pod.
"I could use some help here!" she cried. She pulled on the release a bit harder, but due to the power being out, it was almost impossible.
Dr. Lombardi took his tablet and wired it to the pod.
"It should take a minute," he said. His fingers danced over the tablet, but nothing happened.
"Nothing's working," Lombardi dreaded, "the whole system's crashed."
"Seph..." Tina looked at the pod in worry. "I hope he's okay..."
It was then that Tina's ears picked up on a bunch of noises just outside the door. Before she could listen in further, a loud sizzling sound, combined with a bright light and sparks emanated from the door.
"Oh, crud..." she whispered. "We're in trouble...!"
There were several hard pops, and the door came tumbling as men in tactical gear wielding rifles and flashlights stormed in.
"Londo Bell, hands up!"
"Get down on the ground!"
The entire crew did as they were told.
"What's Londo Bell doing here?!" she whispered to herself.
One of the EFF marines, most likely the leader, stepped out and barked, "which one of you is in charge here?"
Dr. Lombardi raised a shaking hand. "I am." The marine looked to his two subordinates next to him, and pointed at Lombardi. The two briskly walked forward and grabbed Lombardi by the arms. The marine on his left slapped cuffs on him quickly, and looking at his name-tag said, "Mr. Lombardi, you and your staff are hereby under arrest for illegal psychoframe development, human experiments, and releasing a lethal weapons system resulting in endangerment of the citizens of Side 7."
The scientist was surprised, but didn't protest. Off to the side, Tina raised a hand. "Um... I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have a bit of a situation here," she said, pointing to the pod. One of the marines shined a glaring light in her face. "What is it," he said in a tough tone.
"The pod won't open, and there's someone inside," Tina said.
The marine came up alongside the pod and examined it with his helmet light. He gestured towards the release latch with his rifle. "Have you tried this," he asked.
"I tried that," Tina said. "The whole system's shot. It won't open." She was clearly worried for the occupant.
Understanding what she meant, the Londo Bell operative whistled to his next comrade. "Blowtorch," he prompted, "get this thing open."
Meanwhile, the other marines began forcefully escorting the staff out, while ransacking the files and functioning laptops and tablets for intel. "Get moving, Anaheim scum," one marine shoved Lombardi along with his rifle. The scientist winced, but followed with the command.
Meanwhile another marine approached with a blowtorch and handed it over. "Here." Tina watched anxiously as the marines began to cut the pod open, even as she was being handcuffed. The pod was opened a few minutes later, and the marines were surprised to see that inside was a young man, about nineteen years old, dressed in a very unique pilot suit.
"Hey kid," one of the marines said as he lowered his rifle and stepped in. Seeing that he was not moving or responding whatsoever, the marine shook his shoulder, only for Seph to slump to the side. "Kid?" the marine asked again, but no response.
Tina jerked herself free from the marine holding her and ran towards him. "Seph!" she cried. "Hey," the marine beside the pod tried to stop her.
"He's the test pilot!" Tina shouted.
She knelt beside the still boy. "Seph, wake up!" The marine beside her worked to remove Seph's helmet, shining his light wherever he could. It was then that he found the latch and released it, allowing him to get the helmet off. As soon as it was off, the marine was greeted with the sight of a blank, lifeless stare.
"Come on, talk to me," the marine said as he held up Seph's face, slapping it and shining the light into his eyes. There was completely no reflex or response. "Kid?" Still no response.
Tina began to get worried. Had his mind been erased by the back flow of the Neuro-Link?!
Seeing the futility of it, the marine called out, "Sergeant, we've got one non-responsive here. Requesting assistance in triaging the pilot."
"Roger!" the sergeant replied.
As he came over, Tina began to weep softly. "Crux," the sergeant radioed, "this is Phantom 2, target secured and staff in custody. We've got one casualty, believed to be the test pilot in need of triage."
"Copy that, Phantom 2" Chase radioed back, "triage the casualty, pull out all staff and intel, and extract from the area. We're securing the airspace for your exfil."
"Affirmative," the sergeant acknowledged. He then took the sobbing girl by the arm. "Off we go." The team escorted the captives out of the facility, bringing Seph's body with them.
Outside in the colony hangar, Martha Preston, one of Seph's wingmen, waited nervously. "Geez... it's been days since he got that request..." she muttered. "Think he's okay?"
Hunter Jenkins' snort came over the comm. "Probably. Maybe they asked him to do more tests."
"Hunter, I'm serious!" Martha insisted. "He'd usually call us to inform us if anything like that happened!"
"Besides," Martha pointed out, "what's with the lights? It's so dark in here."
"Not sure," Hunter said. "I'm guessing a power failure or something?"
"Looks like it..." Martha then checked her phone for reception; there was none. "Great," she groaned, "I can't reach the Institute or any of our wingmen!"
"How are we gonna get in contact with them without power?" Hunter asked as he tried his mobile suit's comm systems. "Crud..." Hunter murmured as he got static on the radio.
"Any luck?" Martha asked.
"No jack," Hunter said, "at this point, the only logical conclusion would be to arm our suits, bust these doors open..." The PMC pilot glanced towards the jammed hangar bay doors. "...and make contact with the others."
It was then that they heard a pounding on one of the cargo hatches.
Martha's head shot over to the door as she aimed her machine's weapon at the door. "We got company!" she muttered.
It was then that the doors buckled and gave way, as several mini-MS and soldiers rushed in with weapons drawn.
"Contact, three o'clock, two MS," one of the soldiers in Federation uniform called out.
Martha yelped as she prepared to fire. "What's the Federation doing here?!" she blurted.
"They're targeting us, fire!" The mini-MS fired their heavy machineguns as the other marines dove for cover. Hunter looked back in shock as he closed his cockpit. He pulled his machine behind cover as Martha did the same. Her own cockpit closed up as she let loose a colorful swear in disbelief and shock. Her GM raised its rifle, trying to get a lock. But in the hangar, it was a lot easier said than done.
It was then that some of the Federation marines began laying down fire with light machine guns, going for the GMs' sensors. Two of the marines then began assembling their RPGs and aimed them right at the mobile suits.
Hunter tried to shield his GM's optics with a hand, but it was easier said than done with the other fire coming at him. Martha was also in the same situation. "We've got to get out of here," Hunter spoke to Martha, "we'll be surrounded at this rate!"
"I gotta agree on that one!" Martha remarked. "But how?"
One of the EFF marines fired his RPG at Hunter. He barely put up his shield to cover his main camera.
"Shoot out the hangar doors!" Hunter pointed over towards the exit.
Martha nodded. "Got it!" She aimed her beam rifle at the hangar doors, pulling the trigger for a charged shot. Both Hunter and Martha fired their rifles at the door, melting through the metal with repeated shots and causing the hangar to depressurize. "Let's bail!" Hunter cried as he kept firing, running for the hangar doors. The EFF marines grabbed onto whatever they could, even the mini-MS as the air rushed out of the air lock.
"Crux, this is Phantom 1," the marine sergeant called, "we've got two hostiles running in Hangar Five. Two GM Quels! Can you intercept?"
"Roger," Chase radioed back, "Tri-Star One and I have just finished mopping up the four hostiles outside of the colony. We'll take care of them. Secure Phantom 2's extraction route."
"Roger, we'll at least try to slow them down." The group proceeded to lay down fire to try and stop the GM Quels from escaping as well as to secure the extraction route.
"Go go go!" Hunter was about to take off when one of the RPGs hit one of his backpack thruster nozzles.
"There," one of the mini-MS operators pointed at Hunter's GM, "focus fire on that GM!"
"Hunter!" Martha cried. She moved into position, dodging the shots from the mini MS before grasping Hunter's GM from behind and igniting the flight pack. "Let's go!"
The two PMC pilots took flight out of the hangar, as Martha's GM went full thrust, while Hunter's GM struggled with output.
Hunter swore a bit. "Those guys have good aim..." he remarked as he looked at the damage to his sensors and some thrusters.
"Yeah. But then again, they are Londo Bell," Martha noted. She slowly drifted back to grasp his GM's hand. The two rocketed into the main bay of the colony's port. Martha expected a clean shot into space, but her radar alert blared as she picked up an EFF IFF. She turned her main camera towards the signature: an RGM-89 Jesta that turned around and spotted the both of them.
"Crud..." she whispered.
Watts aimed his machine's beam rifle at the duo. "There you are! Freeze!"
Martha reacted by using her GM to shield Hunter's. She aimed her gun and prepared to fire.
Watts opened up on the pair with full auto, beam impulses flying at them in bursts. Martha's machine jolted as she raised the shield, but it was to no avail. Her machine was damaged, losing an arm and leg, as well as sustaining damage to its thrusters.
"Martha!" Hunter raised his rifle and fired at the Jesta. Having some time to recover with some cover fire, Martha also raised her rifle and fired as she and Hunter tried to back away into space. Watts was forced to raise his shield as he tried to maneuver with the limited space inside the bay.
Crud... These guys are good!" Watts muttered.
Where were the rest of the reinforcements?
Hunter prompted, "let's get out of here!" He turned his GM Quel towards the exit, still holding onto Martha's MS.
The woman nodded as she proceeded to follow. "C'mon... Just a bit longer..." she muttered.
However, they had no idea they were backing right into a trap.
It was then that the radar alert sounded again. Before either of them could respond, a blue Delta Plus transformed out of Wave Rider mode at high speed up close to them and sliced through with his beam saber. The GMs' remaining limbs and main cameras floated off as the torsos with their cockpits drifted helplessly.
"That's two more in the bag," Chase muttered to himself as he sped around. Chase looked to Watts. "Secure these two and bring them back to the ship."
"Yes, sir!" Watts replied, giving a salute. As he collected the two cockpits, Chase's thoughts drifted back to the boy. He was not looking forward to his first 'babysitting duty' very much. Especially when the kid in question was stuck inside a powerful war machine. And when he had to train the kid to use said machine as his body.
Deep space...
The pilot of the ReZEL narrowed his eyes as he observed the flashing blue light. It was fast, and he knew what it was.
"This is Antares One," the pilot reported, "I have visual. Golden Wings sighted." The pilot of the black-colored RGZ-95D Stealth ReZEL stared out his cockpit as the monitor focused on the flashing blue light. It was going very fast, but he could faintly make out the gold from the figure inside.
"Good job, Antares," Beltorchika radioed back from her safe location, "what's its location and where is it heading?"
Antares double-checked his radar and map. "We're currently in the Shoal Zone around L5," he reported, "but Golden Wings seems to be flying around at random. It's as though its just free-lancing about."
"Hmm... Try to get in closer. I suspect it may be up to something."
Antares accelerated his Stealth ReZEL to top speed, turning into Wave Rider mode at the same time. The custom ReZEL wove its way around the debris as it tried to keep up with the Unicorn Phenex.
The glowing light weaved past some debris, with Antares on its tail. But that was what saved his life.
The last thing he expected was to be set upon by three black colored Jestas, each of them bearing an unknown emblem upon their shoulder guards. Antares gritted his teeth as he dodged their beam rifle fire, only to discover that their shots were missing. He glanced at his radar and was surprised to see that much further ahead off to the right was a cluster of those machines.
Ahead of him was the blue light, and he realized that the target had led him purposely away from the Jestas.
"What the heck?" Antares was befuddled. Not wanting to take any chances, he immediately transformed into MS form and aimed his beam rifle.
He fired at the Jestas, causing them to scatter and try to attack him from three different angles.
"Nuts," Antares, a Londo Bell veteran exclaimed as he initiated combat maneuvers. His eyes hardened as he swerved before aiming his beam rifle and firing again. This time he got a hit on one of them as it flew out of control, its missing leg only making it harder for the pilot to control it.
The lock-on alert blared in Antares' ears as one of the other Jestas fired missiles at him. He fired his head Vulcans, managing to scrap two of them, but the other two managed to get through. Antares raised his ReZEL's shield, blocking one missile, but the other made it through and blew the left arm clean off from the elbow down. "Ugh!"
"Nuts...!" he muttered. He aimed his beam rifle and fired again, only for one of the Jestas to pounce on him. He whirled around, trying to bring his remaining arm up to block...
And then it happened.
A wave of... something... slammed into the enemy and the Jesta was knocked back by it. His ReZEL was thrown back from the force and he righted himself, his eyes widening as he stared at the glowing golden mobile suit, its left hand outstretched as it shimmered with power. "The Phenex?" Antares was confused.
The golden machine looked in his direction, its yellow optics pulsing with an unknown light. Then it gestured as if to say 'go.'
Feeling both weirded out, and seeing the damage to his MS, Antares wasted no time transforming into Wave Rider mode and flying away as the other Jestas focused on the Phenex.
Antares fled. His machine's thrusters hummed in his hearing as he pushed it. "C'mon...!" he muttered. However, in his haste to get away, he failed to see another two Jestas coming up from behind, this time from the cluster he had just avoided. Antares saw beam shots zipping past his vision. He made an evasive barrel roll, but found the controls to be sticky from battle damage. "Come on," he urged his MS, "stay with me!" The ReZEL responded, but sluggishly.
A beam shot then grazed one of the stealth box binder units, knocking Antares into a spin.
"Agh!" The veteran ex-military pilot struggled to regain control as the Jestas closed in. His eyes narrowed as he gunned it. The battered ReZEL was still going, but he knew his machine couldn't take much more.
It was then that two speeding golden objects flew about the Jestas and slammed into them. One MS tried to shoot back at one of the objects, only to have another ram into him, causing him to lose his weapon.
Antares looked back in shock as the two golden objects revealed themselves to be shields. The golden mobile suit in question floated in front, its hands outstretched as if directing the shields at will. "Is it... protecting me?" This day keptgetting weirder. The golden machine looked back at him, and the weirdest thing happened.
He heard a voice inside his head. The voice sounded... young... and female.
'Go. You need to get back to safety,' the machine said. 'It is imperative you report this back to your superior.'
"W-who are you?" Antares was really having a freaky day!
'Just call me a friend,' was all the golden mobile suit said. 'And go! Now!'
Antares nodded and just kept flying straight, while the Phenex continued to fly in inhuman circles around the attackers. As he fled, all he could think about was the strange encounter. And for that matter, something seemed off about the golden mobile suit...
Luio & Company, New Hong Kong
The interior of the company building gave off a very unique vibe when one observed it. Within the center tower was a small Oriental building, a bunch of Asian lantern lights hanging around it. It looked more like a shrine, but it was far from it.
This small building was where Michelle Luio resided. In the solitude of her custom quarters, Michelle's eyes scanned over the files on the Unicorn Gundam and the powers it displayed over a year ago. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned them. "Singularity One..." she murmured, lifting a moving image and watching as the Unicorn fired its beam magnum. The official story had been that both the Unicorn and Banshee had been dismantled with inspectors present to assuage the public's fear. However, she and a select few knew it was not true. The Mineva Faction's secret pact with the Federation was a cover for the former to disappear into the shadows.
Michelle placed it down and scanned over another image, this time of the Unicorn attacking with its beam tonfas. "The power that lies within..."
Footsteps behind her caught her attention and she turned to look at the young man as he approached. With his grey hair and glasses, Brick Teclato looked the part of Michelle's straight-forward adjutant. "My lady," he said.
"Brick... any news?" Michelle asked as she looked at him. "On the whereabouts of Unit three?"
"We're tracking the Phenex," he reported, "but with the speed it's moving at, our information becomes outdated as quickly as it updates." He kept his composure as he said this. "So far," he added, "it has steered clear of inhabited areas of space to keep a low profile."
"I see. Make sure you don't lose sight of it," Michelle ordered. "And second, did you find any information on that dark colored mobile suit?"
"No, my lady," Brick said, "whatever information I can gather is restricted under Londo Bell authority. What I do know, is that it was the Ra Cailum under Noa Bright's command that captured it."
"Very well." Michelle scanned over the information on the Unicorn again, her gaze landing on an image hidden beneath the others. She pulled it out as it showed the pulse effect. "Hm. This..."
"That," Brick remarked, "was during the Laplace Declaration, when the Federation forces pursuing Magallanica suddenly ceased to function."
He then came over and brought up another image. "Upon recovery and examination," he explained, "they found that the mobile suits had their generators completely disassembled. It was as though they were never built."
Michelle's eyes widened at seeing this. "What...?"
This had to be... was it possible?
"What happened is unknown, but we can only theorize that the Unicorn somehow manipulated time," Brick explained.
"Hmm..." Michelle mused. If the Unicorn had the ability to reverse the time and age of a target...
That was it. She stood up. "Brick, keep tabs on the Phenex. Track its whereabouts and do not let it out of your sight." Her eyes hardened. "I know what to do next."
"You're planning on its capture," Brick deduced.
Michelle said nothing, but nodded.
"Very well," the faithful assistant said, "I shall see to the necessary preparations." With that he turned and left the room.
Michelle turned back to the images of the Unicorn. "The power to reverse time itself..." Her eyes narrowed. "I will have that power..."
Ra Cailum, around Side 7 space
"All hands, prepare to receive Phantom Team transports and mobile suits," the CIC announced across the hangar. Seph moved his Gundam head about, feeling jittery even as the cradle was holding him down. Though Chase and the Tri-Stars left, the former had ordered two of the other Ra Cailum's miscellaneous Jesta pilots to stand guard over him. Chase seemed to be less hostile, but given how Seph tried to run from him, he was not taking chances.
'Crud... How can anyone stand this?!' he thought, trying to get somewhat comfortable, which was a lot easier said than done. And it didn't help he felt something pressing into his back, either.
"Hey kid," one of the Jestas turned towards him, "stop rattling so much. Those cradles are not cheap, you know."
"I can't help it!" Seph shot back. "I feel so cramped in this thing!"
The other Jesta pilot sighed, "seriously, babysitting this man-child? How do we get stuck with all the weird crud jobs like this?"
Seph felt an unexplained urge to spread his wings (could he?), but since he was restrained, it wasn't like he could. But he could at least speak. "I'm not a man-child, you know!" he snapped. "I'm just uncomfortable!"
"Watch it kid," Jesta pilot 1 warned, "you don't want either Captain Bright or Commander Lee getting on your case any further."
"Yeah," Jesta pilot 2 concurred, "Captain Bright will put you down before you can blink." He then paused, before adding, "though now he'll need a mobile suit to do it."
Jesta pilot 1 laughed. "Imagine, Captain Bright giving an MS-sized slap," he jested, "real nasty!"
Seph's optics flared behind his visor as he felt his faceplate burning in embarrassment. He turned away to watch as the crews prepared to receive the transports and the teams.
"Tri-stars One and Two, coming in," the lead Jesta pilot, Nigel Garrett as Seph remembered his name, announced as he and his team came down onto the rear outer deck. Two of the Tri-Stars landed first, and one of them looked in his direction. The Gundam diverted his gaze, looking down at his big metal feet instead. Daryl quipped, "so, the new kid behaving himself?"
"As best as he can," Jesta 1 remarked. "Although he does say he feels uncomfortable in that cradle."
"How can a mobile suit feel uncomfortable anyway?" Jesta 2 joked.
Seph shifted as best he could, not that he could do much movement anyway. And what was causing this aching sensation against his back?! "Sheesh... What's this aching sensation?" he grumbled. "Feels like something's pressing into my back!"
Nigel looked over to Seph. He still found it hard to believe that the Unicorn Gundam Dracon was actually the pilot himself. "Hey, you," he called out, "don't even bother trying to break out. Even if you did, Commander Lee is just going to chase you down, bring you back, and really devise an OS lock that will really freeze you up."
"Like I could!" Seph retorted. "I can't even relieve this aching against my back like this!"
Now one of the Jesta pilots was agitated. "Okay," he remarked, "now you're just being ridiculous."
Seph was about to make a retort when he noticed Nigel looking at him and he immediately muted his vocalizer.
"All hands," the controller announced, "prepare to receive Tri-star Three and Commander Lee's Delta Plus."
Seph's helm perked up as he looked to where the last two members were coming in. A strange sensation filled his neck where his vocalizer was, almost like he had a lump forming there. It was so weird, and he made a noise akin to a nervous swallow before the sensation faded. He shuddered in the locks.
It was then that Seph heard Chase over the coms. "Crux here. Coming in with two cockpit sphere modules of captured hostiles. Have some of the marines prepare extra cuffs for them." His very frame began to shake at the implications. What hostiles?
As Chase walked his mobile suit in, he looked down at the cockpits and the shuttles. Setting his captured cockpit down, he prompted, "okay boys, let's get them offloaded."
Watts set down his captured cockpit and the Phantom teams began to offload their captives.
Seph shook in his cradle locks, and one of the Jestas leaned over to smack him upside the head. "Stop your rattling!"
"Let's go," one of the marines coaxed as a stream of handcuffed persons streamed out of the shuttles. Looking down, Seph recognized them as the staffers from the Ming Institute.
"Huh...?" Seph looked at them and his optics flickered as he recognized Tina. 'Tina!' Seph could not believe what was happening. If Tina was here...
True enough, Dr. Lombardi himself exited the shuttle, albeit with two marines training their rifles on him. "Okay! Move it!" the marine snapped.
It was then that Dr. Lombardi looked up. His eyes took on a morose expression as he saw the Unicorn Dracon in the hands of Londo Bell. However, something was off... Despite being in a cradle, the MS was active, with its optics focused on him.
"Dr... Lombardi..." Seph's optics widened a bit, and his very frame began to shake even more. His reactor began to increase its humming in his chest as he tried to stagger back, but couldn't because of the locks.
"What the..." Tina stopped as she saw the Dracon shifting about in its cradle.
Chase's radar lit up as Seph's reactor activity began to pick up. Realizing what it could mean, Chase immediately called, "Seph, stop. Your reactor levels are spiking."
Seph was in a full blown panic now. He was wriggling about, trying to get free to get away from the doctor. "Get... get away from me!" he screamed.
Chase reacted at once. "Seph!" He grasped the shaking, squirming mobile suit by his shoulders. "Calm down!"
Seeing that the Dracon's optics were focusing on something, Chase's main camera zoomed in on the apparent head of the project and his female assistant. 'They must have done this to him...' he thought as he regarded the scientists with anger. "Marines," he ordered as he continued to struggle, "get that man out of here and throw him into the brig, NOW!"
"Move it, Anaheim scum!" The marines ushered Lombardi out and into the hallway, but kept the girl with them. She seemed to have distanced herself from the engineer at the sight of Seph panicking.
Once he was out of the room, Seph seemed to calm down, but his reactor activity was still elevated slightly.
His optics then focused on the woman who was staring at him. She seemed to look on in disbelief at the Dracon, which was being held down by the cradle and the Delta Plus. "Seph?"
"Uh..." Seph was now in an awkward predicament. "Hello?" He slowly waved a hand.
Tina's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. Before she could react though, gunshots erupted from inside the second shuttle, and sounds of struggling ensued from beside the two cockpit modules.
Chase and Seph looked on in shock as two of the PMC pilots from the disabled cockpits shot at the marines trying to restrain them, with another group of similarly dressed PMC pilots to emerge from the shuttle with guns.
"Nuts," Chase realized, "the pilots are armed!"
Seph watched in shock as he recognized his wingmen shooting it out with the Londo Bell marines in the hangar. The staffers scrambled to the sides as gunfire flew about, while the marines and mechanics took cover behind mobile suits or dollies.
"Shots fired in the hangar," one of the marines radioed, "we need reinforcements down here!"
Nigel cursed aloud. "We can't use mobile suit weaponry in here!"
Seph's optics narrowed onto his two best friends, Hunter and Martha, who were hiding behind one of their wrecked cockpits and shooting at the marines.
"No way I'm going to jail like this," Martha yelled.
"Let's highjack their mobile suits," Hunter suggested, as Seph's audio sensors picked them up perfectly.
"Wait! Don't!" Seph blurted.
Martha and Hunter stopped as they were distracted by a familiar voice.
The two looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. "Seph? Is that you?" Martha called as she looked around.
Hunter cast his gaze onto the mobile suits, only to see that the dark purple one has its optics locked into them. "Wait..." His eyes narrowed as the machine then spoke again in a familiar voice.
"Just... don't..." the mobile suit said softly. Both stared in shock at what they heard.
However, the moment was cut short as one of the shuttles lifted off. Being hijacked by the PMC pilots inside, the minigun mounted on the transport began pointing and opening fire. Everyone not in a mobile suit was sent scurrying for cover, including Tina, Hunter, and Martha.
"This just went from bad to worse," Nigel groaned aloud as he shielded himself from a missile fired by the shuttle. With the narrow confines of the ship, there was no way he and Chase could bring down the shuttle themselves without damaging the Ra Cailum.
Seph's optics flashed as worry surged through him. "NO!" he cried. He struggled against Chase's Delta and the restrains, feeling his frame reacting to his fear of losing them. Time slowed down in Seph's mind, or rather his processor, as his sensors picked up one of the marines preparing his spare RPG for the rogue shuttle.
"Stop!" he cried, feeling his... psychoframe (was it?) reacting to his terror and fear.
The Gundam lit up a vibrant purple as the cradle started to creak and strain. Chase watched in horror as the Delta Plus' sensors went nuts from the energy readings. "No!"
Seph strained, not even noticing his frame bulking up as his armor shifted and opened to expose the glowing purple psychoframe. His terror at losing his friends drove him to finally break his restrains with the added strength of his psychoframe and he leapt - or more like sort of did a half jump half tumble move - and landed near his wingmen, using his own frame as a shield for them from the explosion he was sure would come.
However, he had no idea that the energy emitted from his frame also shorted out the shuttle's engines.
As the RPG made contact with the purple aura, instead of exploding, the missile completely came apart harmlessly.
People were surprised at the sudden disintegration of the projectile. They started to back away from the Gundam as he uncurled from around his friends.
Nigel and his team were completely floored.
"That's... the Unicorn," Daryl said in disbelief at its power.
Seph was visibly shaking now as he sat there in the middle of the hangar bay.
'What's...what's happening to me?!' he thought as he finally curled into a ball again, drawing his legs close to his chest and burying his head in them.
"He's going critical," one of the mechanics exclaimed.
"You," Chase turned to one of the Jesta guards, "EMP, now!"
The guard closest to Seph reacted and grabbed an EMP from his machine's grenade rack, pressing the timer and rolled it towards the shaking Gundam. Seph heard the beeping and looked down, only to panic as he suddenly got shocked with the grenade. The EMP was just the thing that was needed, as he screamed as the electricity surged through him.
Seph finally blacked out, his psychoframe fading back into dormancy as his armor slid back over it.
"Ugh!" Chase barely put up his shield against the EMP arcs. As soon as the blast faded, he lowered it, though his main camera glitched a little. "Everyone okay?"
The crew all nodded and a few even sounded off. In the middle of the room, Seph lay unconscious. His entire frame sparked a little as electricity danced over the dark colored armor, and behind his back, a pair of draconic wings lay partially unfolded.
"Commander..." Nigel spoke up, "I hate to admit this... but I'm starting to feel we're in over our heads here."
Chase glanced at the unconscious Gundam and frowned. It was clear that he was a potential threat. But at the same time, they couldn't just leave him. Or let him run around in that frame. "I feel you may be right. But we can't let the kid go if he threatens to go nuclear in his panic. So we'll have to tread lightly for now. Try not to do anything that could set him off."
As Chase moved the Delta Plus back towards its cradle, he ordered, "marines, secure the bay and the remaining prisoners. The rest of you get Seph back into a cradle."
"Sir, do you think it's even wise to keep the kid in a cradle? He might panic again," one of the techies pointed out.
Chase mused over this with consternation. True, he could panic, but it was clear that he had little control over his Gundam powers. He sighed, knowing that there was no other alternative.
"Get an OS lock on him," Chase ordered, "disable all of his motor and combat functions except for the main camera and his communications."
"Yes, sir," the techie replied.
"Commander Lee," the controller called, "Captain Bright wants you and Lieutenant Garrett in his office, ASAP."
"Oh... nuts," Chase muttered to himself.
Bright's office...
"You were in charge of the landing operation, AND watching over the Gundam, Commander," Bright said as his stern eyes bore into Chase, and Nigel to a lesser extent.
"I regret the damage that the Ra Cailum incurred, and take full responsibility for this," Chase admitted.
"Now we have to be extra careful because, according to one of the engineers, every time he panics, there's a chance he could destroy the ship when his reactor goes critical." Bright sighed heavily.
"This is a serious situation, Lt. Commander," he said.
"With all due respect," Nigel frowned, "that Seph kid is a walking time bomb waiting to happen."
Bright nodded. "But we can't just let him go. So we have to keep an eye on him. As well as try to keep him calm as much as possible." He directed his attention to Chase. "So, as of right now, Commander, you are to be the one to watch the boy."
Chase frowned at this. "With all due respect," he objected, "my duty here is to lead our MS units into battle. I can't sit around and babysit Seph all day."
Nigel looked at Chase sympathetically.
"If anyone can train him, it's you," Bright countered. "He could also learn a thing or two in combat from you." His eyes hardened. "And maybe even teach him a thing or two about how to stay calm rather than panic during battle conditions."
"Nigel would be better suited for that sort of thing," Chase fended off, "with all due respect, the Delta Plus is not exactly ideal for most standard formations, sir, and I'm have not exactly been a total team player."
Bright saw where he was going. "I do agree. But you are the one who brought him in."
Nigel frowned as he pursed his lips. "Well, I'm not too keen on training some kid who could go nuke."
"Enough, Nigel," Bright shot back. Before going back to Chase. "You're Amuro's best student," he reminded, "and you've followed the closest in his footsteps of all the pilots he's directly mentored."
Chase clenched his teeth behind closed lips. Bright had to bring up the memory of Amuro.
"Like I said. You are the best one suited for the task," Bright continued. He looked over at a picture of Amuro hanging on the wall of his office. "And I know he would want you to do the same he did for you."
Chase took a deep breath. He was not going to lose face. "Amuro was a different case. He was a Newtype, not to mention a veteran of four different wars up to his disappearance..." Chase hated remembering the last war. "I cannot match him for experience and mentorship..."
"True... but I know you can do it." Bright smiled. "And I know he would say something similar."
Chase knew he was not going to convince Bright otherwise. Ever since they first met just less than a year ago, Chase's skills behinds the Delta Plus, and his leadership and wit only impressed the old war veteran, looking for the next ace of aces to lead the way.
"Yes sir," Chase accepted reluctantly, "I'll see to the necessary preparations."
"Good. Now, the first thing you need to do is make sure that Seph is comfortable. And maybe try to get to know him a little," Bright suggested. "The last thing we need is for him to go nuclear on us."
"Yes sir," Chase acknowledged.
"Very well," Bright accepted, "you both are dismissed." As the two pilots saluted and departed, Bright smiled after Chase. 'Yes Amuro,' he thought, 'I know he can do it.'
Chapter 3 END
That's right, Lt. Commander Chase is the boyfriend of Beltorchika Irma, and Amuro Ray's best student from before the 2nd Neo Zeon War! Now he not only serves under Bright, but now finds himself having to mentor Seph as Amuro did him. :D
Third chapter at last, and now Rita/Phenex has made her entrance as the focus of mystery, though she saved one of Dr. Ming's hired MS pilots, Antares from unknown killers. Michelle herself prepares to make her move to capture Rita for her own purposes, even as Dr. Ming and others monitor the Phenex.
Well, I hope the rest of you are enjoying this. As always, faves, follows, and constructive reviews are appreciated. I do take time to read, and I may even start posting my individual responses to them in the future.
Take care, and God Bless you all! ;)
