Gundam Unicorn: Narrative of Truth

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Unicorn, Gundam Narrative, or the Gundam franchise. Chase Lee, Antares, and Johann Revil are among my OCs. Seph Matthews, Tina Hendricks, Dr. Lombardi, and Dr. Ming belong to Titanic X.


Ra Cailum, Von Braun Lunar Base

September, UC 0097

Chase barreled through the hallways towards Bright's office, several crewmembers moving out of his way. He hurriedly reciprocated the salutes he got, but kept his focus on the meeting. 'So what's your game, Vist?' Chase wondered as he arrived outside of Bright's quarters. He opened the door, Chase could already see that Bright, Meran, and Nigel were all present, along with their 'guest', Alberto Vist.

"Ah. Good. Now we can begin," Bright noted.

It was then that Alberto turned to face Chase. "You must be the Delta Plus pilot who pulled us out of Anaheim."

Chase exhaled. "That's me." He was half expecting Vist to be his sniveling self by reputation.

Alberto was actually more relieved than sniveling. "And for that, I thank you, especially considering the cargo I have." He gave a glance at his tablet and that was all Chase needed to grasp.

Bright leaned forward. "Whoever is really pulling the strings with Anaheim and the Vist Foundation now," he began, "wanted you to make sure that you never came to us alive. What is it in that tablet that they wanted to kill you for?"

Chase looked to Bright. "With all due respect," he chimed in, "are you sure we can trust him? He was at the center of the Vist Foundation conspiracy."

Bright was silent. "While that may be true," he said, "if someone was willing to kill him for the information on that tablet, then it's safe to say that something else is going down." His eyes narrowed. "And we need to know who we can and cannot trust."

"For the record," Alberto dedended himself, "ever since the Laplace Declaration, I've been a marked man with a falling out with the group you all now know as the Noblesse."

Chase remained skeptical however. "For all I know, you could be a plant."

It was then that Bright's email notice rang from his computer. Bright arched an eyebrow before he brought up the email in question. It was an email from Colonel Revil.

'Captain Bright,

I am well aware of 'Al' being brought aboard your ship. No one else besides us should know of this. My friend has sent him to you to relay important information. He can be trusted.

Colonel Revil.'

Bright looked to Alberto, then back to the email. He sighed, closing it down. "Okay. It seems you check out."

Alberto smiled. "Revil anticipated my arrival," he added, "don't worry, he'll cover for us until we have to leave port."

Bright nodded. "Right. So, what exactly do you have on that tablet?"

Alberto set it down and motioned for Bright to activate it. As Bright did, the tablet did a scan of the whole room. Given that he recognized the make of the tablet Revil used, Bright was less startled compared to Chase, Meran, and Nigel. "SCAN COMPLETE. NO SURVEILLANCE DEVICES FOUND." the text read. Once that was done, the tablet shifted its screen to show the contents.

The screen turned into a map of the entire Earth Sphere, then started to narrow in on a specific location.

"What is this?" Meran muttered.

"Side 3," Alberto dropped it, "that's where our missing query is."

Bright narrowed his eyes as he picked up the tablet.

Bright's eyes widened a bit as he recognized it. "The Magallanica?" he whispered.

Chase shook his head in surprise, while Nigel got up from his seat. "Wait, what?" Nigel questioned as he leaned over the pad.

Alberto smiled a bit as photographs surrounded the specific blip at Side 3.

Sure enough, nestled amongst the cluster of colonies, was the shape of the former colony builder. It was concealed inside a resource satellite, but Bright could make out Magallanica from the live footage of Industrial 7 just a year ago.

"That's where it's been hiding all this time, the Republic of Zeon," Bright said aloud.

"They've been there all this time?" Chase was floored at the revelation.

"Then," Nigel mused aloud, before looking at Alberto, "the Nahel Argama..."

Bright's eyes glimmered as he began to realize the implications. "He knew... Revil knew of where the Nahel Argama was..."

Chase walked up to Alberto, standing over him. "Alright, who is giving us this intel, and for what reason? What is going on here!?"

Alberto put his hands up defensively. "Hey, let me explain-"

However, Bright stepped in, giving Alberto a trusting look. "I got this," he assured as he faced his confused mobile suit commander. "Well, Commander, to put it simply... there is something bigger going on here than we originally thought," Bright began. Bright went on the explain the role of the Noblesse in the events leading up to the Laplace Declaration and the sealing away of the Unicorn Brothers, along with how they had shaped the events of the Universal Century, from the destruction of Laplace to the founding of Zeon itself. During the whole time, Chase's eyes went wide as Meran and Nigel fell silent, their mouths hanging open in their shock. Alberto meanwhile was serious as he looked at the group.

"Unfortunately, it's all true," Alberto admitted, "and I'm ashamed to admit that my aunt and myself were both members and pawns of the secret society, Noblesse. It's also how Zeon has continued to maintain ties within Anaheim itself. Many of the current Republic of Zeon officials are themselves members of the conspiracy, including Foreign Minister Bakharov and his father."

"So... then... who can we even trust?" Nigel wondered. "And how does that kid fit into this?" he added, referring to Seph down in the hangar bay.

Alberto grunted over the Gundam stored inside the hangar. "The Dracon is the latest of the Unicorn Gundam series. It was designed directly by its creator for the purpose of combating other psychomachines the Noblesse are planning to use."

"So a deterrent?" Meran asked.

"Correct," Alberto confirmed, "and even against the other Unicorns."

Bright looked to Chase, anticipating his question. "That's right..."

Chase spun back to Alberto. "You're telling me that there are still other units out there!?" He had a dreadful tone to his voice.

All the ex-executive could do was nod. "As you know, both the Unicorn and Banshee were present during the Laplace Declaration," Alberto explained, then followed up with, "tell me, Commander, what happened afterwards with those two Gundams?"

"They were dismantled," Chase responded. He then added with a somewhat skeptical tone, "at least that was the official report."

"Well... they were wrong," Alberto said, his tone becoming grim. He pointed to the image of Magallanica. "The Unicorn and the Banshee are stored aboard the Nahel Argama, inside Magallanica."

Chase shook his head, trying to stave off the headache from information overload. "But why go to such lengths," Chase asked, "to make us believe otherwise?"

Alberto hummed with a slight frown. "It's because they fear the Unicorn's power," he said.

Nigel just raised his him, Alberto was stating the obvious. "Who doesn't? We hardly can control, let alone understand what the Unicorn and its psychoframe are capable of," he said.

"It's not just that," Alberto said. "The Unicorn's power can do more than just what it did during the Laplace Incident."Here he paused before sighing. "What you need to understand is that the more people start to understand one another, the greater its power can become. That is what they fear the most."

"True, but have you also seen the kind of destruction those things are capable of," Chase objected, "I can still remember the destruction of Torrington from that mobile armor utilizing the psychoframe. Don't forget that Neo Zeon and the Titans have used them before as weapons of mass destruction." His gaze narrowed at Vist. "Many of those weapons were constructed by your own company, Mr. Vist," he reminded.

"Enough. What happened in the past happened in the past. What matters is how we deal with this going forward," Bright suddenly interjected. "And from what I can gather, that kid down in the hangar bay has something to do with this. So we need to focus on that... as well as how to uncover the truth behind the Noblesse and their objectives.

"But how can we know that the Unicorn series are even safe to handle," Chase pointed out, "I've already had to prevent a few meltdowns from Matthews."

Bright glared at Chase, not wanting him to reveal the full details of the kid's condition yet. But he looked to Alberto who shifted nervously before he began to speak. "Actually," Alberto began, "there is much about the psychoframe that has not been revealed, even to much of the Federation leadership."

Now everyone looked at him. "Hm?" Meran let out a questioning hum.

The former executive then tapped on his pad. "This is why the Noblesse are so desperate to destroy the Unicorn and its sister units." The group gathered around. Meran leaned in to see schematics of the psychoframe... or rather two psychoframes, Type G and Type O, with data indicating that the former was unique to the Unicorn series.

"The Unicorns... have this... Type G psychoframe?" Meran inquired.

"The Type G is actually the true form of psychoframe. The other type, termed Type O, is actually the more dangerous of the two because of the fact that it was machined within gravity, in comparison to the Type G which is machined solely in zero gravity. The Type O is, due to its machining, actually more unstable in comparison to Type G, which is far more stable," Alberto explained.

"How does this stability affect psychoframes?" Bright was now intrigued.

"Other Unicorns," Chase questioned, "wait a minute..."

"The stability makes them easier to control," Alberto answered. "If they are unstable, then they gain greater powers, but at a risk of becoming consumed by negative emotions. The Type G, which is more stable, can be controlled, and its power is drawn from the understanding that we humans are capable of." Then he looked down. "At least, according to the theories I was told..."

Chase's eyes widened. "You're kidding... really?"

Bright sighed. "He's right. The Type G is inherently more stable while the Type O, which is the type that was used by the Neo Zeong, is more powerful... and more dangerous," he concluded.

"Not only that, until the development of the Nu and Unicorn Gundams..." Alberto Vist dropped the next bomb, "every psycommu weapon, including the bio-sensor used inside the Zeta Gundam... you could say that they were actually pre-Type O psychoframes. That was why they were particularly destructive and detrimental to many of their pilots' minds." Now the group was stunned.

Bright in particular could not believe what he had heard. All this time, they had been dealing with unstable psycommus and psychoframes meant for one purpose: mass destruction, and the Unicorn was meant to be the weapon to counter them all. But there was one thing that was bothering him. "But why develop something so dangerous?" he asked.

Here Alberto was solemn. "To make Newtypes seem like demons..." he whispered. "...so they could justify their extermination and keep people in fear." He closed his eyes. "Because Newtypes of good heart and soul have the capability to break down the barriers of hostility and fear between the people around them."

Silence filled the room at that.

"Because that is the only way to expose them and reveal the depths of their corruption," Alberto added, "and with no Newtypes using the Type Genesis psychoframe to stop them, they will in due time develop even more powerful Type Oblivion psychoframes with their own controlled Newtype enforcers to use as weapons."

Now the truth was out, and it worried Bright. Chase himself frowned at the implications of what he was being told, and his mind drifted to the kid in the hangar bay. "The Dracon..." he whispered at last.

"The Unicorn's designer created it for the purpose of seeking out a Newtype who is able to find other Unicorns," Alberto revealed, "and either recapture or destroy them to keep them from falling into Noblesse hands. It's only as well that you Londo Bell pilots captured it before the Federation or Zeon could."

"More like capture the kid himself," Nigel muttered under his breath as he looked away.

"Okay..." Chase grimaced over the conspiracy he and Seph were caught in. "So... if we can trust you and this dource of yours," he asked, "what are you expecting us to do?"

Alberto hummed to himself. He then faced Chase. "The pilot of the Dracon," he said, "he was able to activate the NT-D, correct?"

Chase was flabbergasted that Alberto knew of that. But then he brushed it aside and became serious. "Yes, he was..." His voice trailed off in wariness.

"If so, then it's all the more reason to brief him on the situation," Alberto stated, "if he's going to pilot the Dracon, he needs to know what he's gotten himself into. Can you bring him here?"

Bright, Chase, and Nigel all looked at one another nervously. "Um... There's a bit of an issue with that..." Nigel said, looking at Bright for some ideas or help.

The veteran captain pursed his lips. There was no point hiding it from Alberto.

"Actually... to be frank, the kid can't be brought here, and for a good reason," Chase began. Time to reveal. "He is the Gundam." Silence fell again upon the room.

Alberto was silent before he blinked. "S-Surely you're joking," he remarked.

"I'm afraid not," Bright chimed in with a headshake.

The former executive stared in shock, sympathy crossing his face. "How did that happen? What's his condition?"

Chase grunted. "Best that you see for yourself..."


In the hangar...

Seph squirmed a bit in his cradle, trying to get somewhat comfortable, although the sensation of being locked in was not something he enjoyed.

Dr. Lombardi was also present with Tina, working on a panel connected to Seph's frame. He and Tina were working to analyze traces of the virus that got Seph stuck inside the Unicorn Gundam unit. The sentient Gundam had to admit, being in the same proximity as Lombardi was enough to make his systems crawl. It was all he could do to suppress a shudder that wracked his frame.

Lombardi stared at the diagram of the system architecture. "Hmm... that virus did a number on the Neuro-Link's synapse regulators and the analysis interfaces. It hardly resembles anything we can read at this point."

"Yeah," Tina noted. "There's no way we can have it repaired in a few months."

Seph didn't quite understand the technobabble, but the way the two spoke indicated that he would be stuck like this for quite some time.

"Take a look at this though," Tina pointed, "can you see how the system is less organized and more organic-looking?"

"Yes. That must've been from when the backflow lodged his mind inside the module," Lombardi mused.

Tina scratched her head. "This is DEFINITELY going to be a lot of trouble..."

Seph looked to Tina. "So... what exactly does that mean for me?" he asked, shifting nervously.

Tina sighed as she looked up. "It means that we're no longer dealing with conventional computer architecture in the traditional artificial sense..."

The Gundam let out a questioning hum as he tilted his helm to the side in confusion. "Uh...English?"

It was Lombardi who answered, "basically, we're looking at the Dracon not as a machine per se; with the psychoframe's properties melding you with the Neuro-Link System, the Gundam has essentially become a psuedo-human body of sorts. It could mean that you now have a symbiotic link to your mobile suit."

Seph began to shake a bit. "Y-You mean I could be stuck like this... forever?!" he squeaked.

"That at worst," Lombardi indicated, "or far better, you could be returned to your human body, but because your brainwave patterns seem to have become some strange synthesis of human and machine patterns, you'd need cybernetic implants to return. In that scenario, you'd still maintain some sort of connection to the Dracon, but we're not entirely sure at this moment."

"Anything's better than being stuck like this forever!" Seph blurted, unaware that some certain people were coming in at that point.

"Woah!" Seph heard a sudden shout. His head snapped over in the direction of the speaker, and he felt his reactor hitch in his chest. "Oh... crud..." he squeaked, spotting the group. Chase hardly reacted, even as Alberto made sounds of surprise.

"Y-You weren't kidding..." Alberto finally managed to stutter out.

From his perspective, the Gundam's violet optics were locked onto them, and the machine itself shook a bit in its cradle. That right there was proof of their claim alone.

"Meet Ensign Kyle Ray," Chase introduced, "alias for Joseph Matthews."

The former executive could now see that the boy was nervous, if not scared. He felt a pang of sympathy for him. He opened his mouth, but couldn't find the words to speak to the kid.

"Joseph, I'm sure you recognize Alberto Vist?" Bright asked.

The Gundam felt his reactor leap into his throat and he gulped, but nodded.

True enough, his HUD did a scan of the group, revealing the portly man in the middle as a high-ranking Anaheim executive. Now Seph was nervous, knowing Anaheim's reputation. His reactor began to increase its humming in his chest and he started to shake a bit more. "H-Hello...?" he managed to squeak out.

Alberto regained his composure, straightening his posture and collar. He then faced the sentient Gundam with a more serious expression. "You must be the pilot... or Gundam that's been giving Commander Lee a run for his money."

Seph flushed a beet red at that. "Yeah..." he admitted, looking down at his feet.

Alberto hummed a bit with a slight smile to try and lighten the mood. "I was informed of your predicament, and to start things off on a better note, I wish to express my sympathies for what happened to you."

"Thanks," Seph muttered. Then he looked at him directly. "So... why are you here?"

Alberto glanced to Bright, who nodded in agreement. Chase then took Alberto up towards the gantry around the Dracon's cradle.

Seph squirmed a little, trying to remain calm. He gulped softly as the two approached him at optic level.

Alberto turned to face Lombardi and Tina. "You two can stay for this, as it concerns what's happened to the boy," Alberto said. Tina nodded, as did Lombardi. He then looked the sentient Gundam in the optics. Taking a deep breath, Alberto spoke, "I don't have the details of what happened with you on your test flight, and I probably don't want to know it all."

Seph nodded, feeling somewhat at ease. At least this man was considerate of his feelings. "Yeah. It's something I don't want to even relive..."

"However," Alberto continued, "before transmission was cut, the Dracon did send data of you activating the NT-D just as you were being pursued. You did that despite all the safety limiters placed on the software."

Here Seph's faceplate turned a beet red beneath his face guard. "I was scared..." he muttered.

The former executive stroke his chin. "For someone scared," he remarked, "you've got some power to break all those limiters and unleash the Dracon. In a sense, the Neuro-Link still served its purpose."

Seph was now confused. "What do you mean?" he asked, tilting his helm to the side inquisitively.

Tina too was confused, but Dr. Lombardi had a knowing expression to him.

"The Neuro-Link Project was never meant to actually spur the development of unmanned mobile suits," Alberto explained, "not in totality anyways..."

"Wait..." Seph began to get a bad feeling in his gut at this. "What... what was its real purpose then?" His wings twitched a bit.

Alberto paused for a bit, before finally saying it. "It was a way to search for a suitable pilot for the Dracon."

"... So...this whole time, it was just a ruse to find a pilot?" Seph asked, feeling a bit angered. His wings bristled as loudly as they could in the locks.

Dr. Lombardi spoke out, "I'm sorry, but it was our way of assessing potential pilots without the risk of them stealing or activating the Dracon's NT-D inside a traditional cockpit. Using the Neuro-Link was meant to be a fail-safe."

"Well, some good that it did... Now I'm stuck like this!" Seph grumped.

"Seph," Lombardi protested, "someone hijacked the Neuro-Link, remember!?"

"Oh... Right..." Seph looked down.

"The Neuro-Link was supposed to be a means to prevent such an incident from occurring, but seeing as how you're now the Gundam, it means that only you can activate the NT-D," Lombardi continued.

"As such," Alberto concluded, "only you are capable of controlling the Dracon as is, and you already show a great amount of power and potential for the mission it's meant for."

"What kind of mission?" Seph asked, narrowing his optics beneath his visor.

"Dr. Lombardi, what is going on," Tina herself was confused, as she and the others were not in on the secret.

The engineer sighed. Now was the time to tell them everything.

"The Dracon's first mission, is to recover the Unicorn and Banshee," the doctor revealed.

Seph was stunned. "Wait... You want me to go out and find those two? Weren't they dismantled?" he asked.

"You're joking," Tina said with wide eyes.

"Afraid not, kids," it was Chase who spoke up. He grimaced as he looked Seph in the optics. "Hate to tell you all that someone feed us a tray full of fake news."

"So... we were lied to this whole time? Why?!" Seph blurted. He then narrowed his heated gaze on Alberto. He loudly strained in his cradle.

"The reason for the lies is simple: to make Newtypes out to be the enemy... All of them..." Alberto said, trying not to cower away from the Gundam.

Seeing how delicate the situation was, Chase held his hand out. "Seph," he coaxed.

The Gundam looked to Chase and then huffed through his vents. He relaxed, though he still felt miffed at having been lied to.

"If it helps," Chase huffed, "Bright and I actually bought that bogus stuff. We're just processing everything Vist here is telling us."

"Guess I'm not the only one," Seph muttered.

"Hold on. Why do you want the two Unicorns to be retrieved?" Tina asked finally. "And how can Seph do that when he has little control over his own NT-D?"

Alberto composed himself a bit before continuing, "it is because the people who tried to kill me, want the Unicorn and Banshee for themselves, along with their pilots, Banagher Links and Riddhe Marcenas."

"So... it's to keep them from getting that power..." Seph mused. He glanced down at his own hands, or one of them, and flexed it. "Like..." His voice trailed off as he shivered and gulped audibly.

"And how is the kid supposed to retrieve them when he can't even control his own NT-D?" Nigel asked.

Alberto sighed. "Yes. That is an issue," he admitted. "But since he is the Gundam now, it should be a matter of getting him to control it properly."

"Yeah, especially with his lack of combat experience," Nigel snidely remarked. This earned him a glare from Chase.

"So, what's gonna happen with me then?" Seph asked Bright.

"You are already part of Londo Bell, Ensign Kyle Ray," Bright reminded, "and based on Vist's latest intel, we can expect even more action going forward very soon."

Seph looked down. "Oh..." His optics dimmed a bit beneath his visor.

Bright then looked to Alberto, who nodded in the affirmative. "In the meantime," Alberto said, "it's time I brought you all up to speed on the threat of the Noblesse."

"Uh... Okay. I'm confused now." Seph twitched a hand as if he wanted to scratch at his helmet in confusion. "Who are these Noblesse, anyway?"

Alberto's expression grew grim. "They are the reason why the Universal Century is what it is..."


EFF Rocky Mountains Supermax Prison Camp, Colorado, North America

In her cell, Martha Vist Carbine looked at her reflection in the mirror above the sink. She looked rather haggard, with hardly any of the finesse and proud status she held as the head of the Vist Foundation just over a year ago. "So much for trying to uphold Federation values..." she muttered to herself.

She had done everything right by the Federation and the Noblesse she was once a high-ranking member of. However, with the Laplace Declaration, her past accomplishments were wiped away, and those who were once her allies were nowhere to be found. Now she was just a disgraced prisoner at the mercy of the very political system she once upheld, and she knew why.

Banagher Links and his allies, but she knew something they did not. "They only want me alive, because they are missing the Phenex," she told herself. However, she knew it was only a matter of time before they found out about it. And then Martha herself would be killed.

Of course, no one was aware of the large shape huddled behind some trees, observing the exterior of the detention center.


Antares positioned his stealth ReZEL D in a secure position as he verified Martha's location via thermal. Normally this would have been a tricky task slipping his MS through the Federation no-fly zone, but the ReZEL D's passive and active stealth measures made it quite easy and quiet. "Target located..." he muttered to himself.


Flashback

Antares stood before the desk of Dr. Ming, his eyes wide. Sure he knew his mission was to reinforce the Ra Cailum and act as an observer, but to be given a secondary mission as well? He still didn't like the fact he had to retrieve Martha Vist Carbine from prison, but given the circumstances, it was necessary, Dr. Ming told him.

"But... why?" Antares asked.

"To make sure that none of their plans come to fruition," the old engineer replied. His eyes narrowed. "She knows more about their plans than anyone else. And that kind of knowledge they are going to kill to keep secret. If we get there first... then we can use that knowledge against them, and slowly bring them out into the open. War always means to use whatever assets you can. Including spies. Or in this case, former members."

Antares finally grasped what his superior was saying, even if he didn't fully understand the background.

"I'll do my best, sir!" he replied with a thumbs up.


Present

It had been a few days since Ming had him discreetly transported back to Earth. Upon reaching his operation area, he received information regarding a secretive transfer of Martha from this prison to an undisclosed location. Based on the intel from a repentant source inside the government, the Federation and their Noblesse backers were wanting to make her disappear for good to prevent details about the Phenex from leaking out. Antares' job was to make sure that did not happen. There was no way they could get her, least of all the knowledge of the Phenex. Antares narrowed his eyes as he prepared to make his move to retrieve the target.

"They'd better move her soon," he muttered, "otherwise I'll be spotted sooner or later. No sooner had he said that than he spotted a few vehicles moving in towards the facility. "Oh... Looks like they're right on time," he mused. He brought up his mission clock, which was counting down to the time when he would have to act. Antares had only one shot to do this. He slowly breathed in and out, keeping his eyes on the main monitor.


Martha was aroused from her daydreaming by a loud creak. She looked up, and her eyes narrowed as the door to her cell opened.

"Ms. Martha," a Federation agent greeted her with a guard, "please come with us."

The former Vist Foundation executive stood up and prepared to leave with them. As they walked, Martha decided to ask. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to be transferring you to a more secure facility," the guard said, keeping his weapon trained on her at all times.

"Is there a reason?" Martha probed. She had a gut feeling about why, but wanted to hear it nonetheless.

"Why, for your safety of course," the agent leading her said with a creepy smile, "we can't have a material witness having something bad happen to her now, can we?"

Martha shuddered at that, knowing the implicit threat behind the superficially kind words.


The former Londo Bell pilot watched as the vehicles pulled up, with their escorts Jegans, Ankshas, and Gustav Karls. He gripped the controls tightly. It was now or never. The clock continued to count down as he anticipated Martha showing up on thermal with whatever guards were escorting her. He did not have to wait long.

One by one, Antares started to see the guards and federal agents filing out. "Come on," he muttered, "show me the prize..." Then he saw her. In the middle of the group was Martha Vist Carbine.

"There she is," Antares said to himself, just as the clock neared zero. He powered up the thrusters as he prepared for his surprise attack. He didn't even waste a second; as soon as the clock hit zero, he made his move.

"Let's do this!" Antares made his ReZEL D leap forth from the tree line, zeroing in on Martha. As he flew towards her position, Antares primed one of the EMP grenades specifically mounted for this mission.

Martha and her captors flinched at the sight of a dark colored ReZEL sporting blue optics. "Get the mobile suits into the air!" one of the guards yelled.

The ReZEL hovered next to the troop transport meant for Martha, blasting its thrusters with enough power to knock over the transport and everyone to the ground. Martha hit the floor as the ReZEL landed next to her.

"Stop him, open fire," the lead Federation agent ordered the mobile suit escorts.

Antares moved swiftly before the guards could react. The mobile suits were caught off guard by the suddenness of his attack.

"Too bad your electronics aren't shielded like mine," Antares remarked as he deployed the EMP grenade from his left arm launcher. Grabbing it with his right arm, he primed the grenade to go off on contact and reared it back to slam onto the ground.

Martha's eyes widened as she braced herself for what she thought was an explosive. She ducked down, only for the "explosive" to go off. She felt nothing, but around her she could hear the sparking of machinery as it overloaded and shorted out. She looked up. The mobile suits other than the black ReZEL began to creak and groan loudly as electricity arced all over their frames, shorting them out with their optics visibly fading. It was then that the unaffected mystery MS turned to face her. She squeaked as the machine knelt.

The ReZEL then extended a metal hand in a savior-like gesture.

"Come with me if you want to live," the pilot beckoned on loudspeaker.

"What do you want?" Martha asked, wary now. Who was this man, and had the Noblesse sent him?

"No time, just get on," the ReZEL pilot boomed.

It was then that the guards who were not knocked out began aiming their rifles at the two. Martha pursed her lips, but decided to take a chance. She scrambled into his mobile suit's hand just as the other was lowered to act as a shield against the bullets.

Antares safely raised her in his ReZEL's hands to cockpit level. Opening the hatch, he was greeted by the sight of the former Vist Foundation head in her prisoner's jumpsuit. Shaking off the thought of the irony, Antares pointed to the booster seat installed for his passenger. "Welcome to Antares' Private Airline," he joked.

Rolling her eyes, the ex-executive clambered into the seat and buckled in. The radar alert went off as Antares closed the hatch. Three Ankshas were airborne and two minutes out from intercepting him. "No point sticking around," Antares said as he looked to Martha, "hold on tight." She braced for the coming flight.

The agents and soldiers continued to shoot, but with all their heavy weapons and MS disabled by the EMP, they were of no consequence to Anatres as his thrusters powered up. The ReZEL took flight, leaving the detention center behind. As he reached altitude, the veteran pilot transformed the MS into its stealthy Wave Rider mode, and went into supercruise to gain speed.

To Martha, this was completely crazy. And how could she even trust this man? But he had bailed her out of being transferred... So perhaps... maybe he wasn't working for the Noblesse...

She hoped.

Antares could see that the Ankshas were in pursuit of his ReZEL, but because the D model had improved thrusters and aerodynamics over the ReZEL C, he was easily outpacing the clunkier mobile suits in their mobile armor modes. His eyes narrowed as he started to weave through the air, aiming for the mountains ahead. His hands gripped the controls tightly, his breath remaining controlled despite the tension in his body.

It was then that the radar alert rang again. Three additional mobile suits appeared on the radar, which the sensors identified as ReZEL Cs. They were faster than the Ankushas, and were just above and behind him. "We've got company," Antares remarked. Martha looked at the radar screen and she squeaked in terror. The Federation ReZELs barrel rolled down towards Antares.

"Hold on, I'll lose them," Antares reassured as he maneuvered towards a valley. Antares narrowed his eyes as he zeroed in on the mountains. Maybe he could lose them there...

A beam flashed by the ReZEL D. Martha winced at how close the beam had come to them. Antares ignored the flash as he flew, though.

"Hardly close," he said, "they're not as accurate with this D model's reduced cross section..." His eyes were hard as he pushed his machine to its limits. The ReZEL D rocketed through the canyons as the ReZEL Cs tried to follow. Martha looked back out of concern and worry. Would they make it?

"What are you going to do?" Martha looked to Antares, whose face was concealed behind the tinted visor.

"Don't worry," Antares said, "this is perfect."

She wasn't too sure if this was a good idea, but seeing as how he had bailed her out of the detention center, she decided to take a chance and trust in him.

The enemy ReZELs continued to fire upon Antares' ReZEL, which proved a very nimble unit. Antares smirked behind his helmet. He then tapped on the panel for the ReZEL D's countermeasures. There was something very special he had. Martha watched in wariness. What was he going to do? He suddenly began slowing down rapidly.

"What are you doing?!" Martha blurted.

"Just trust me!" Antares said as he steadied his thumb on the trigger for the countermeasures.

Martha was very tempted to grab the controls, but she held back. Like she had any other choices now.

She pursed her lips and grabbed the edges of her seat.

The enemy lock on alert rang loudly just as the ReZEL Cs ganged up on the ReZEL D.

"Now!" Antares tapped on the countermeasures, causing the pods on the wing roots to jettison a blinding metallic cloud.

Martha was surprised at this. The metallic cloud seemed to be blinding the ReZEL Cs, as they were weaving and trying to avoid colliding with one another. Antares then transformed into MS mode and took the opportunity to fly in another direction. He landed inside a narrow ravine covered with trees and knelt.

"Activate Autistic Mode," he commanded. The cockpit then turned dim as the ReZEL D's thrusters and weapons shut off. The sensors and radar also shut off as the reactor activity slowed, leaving only the main camera to run. Externally, the mobile suit's optics dimmed, leaving it almost completely black with its surroundings.

The former executive looked at the man who had saved her. "What's going on?" she asked.

"That was a radar diffusion scatter cloud I used," Antares said, "it messes with radar to allow this D model to make quick escapes. We're now in Autistic Mode so they can't track my electronic and heat signature through the stealth coating."

Martha hated to admit it, but his plan had been impressive. Not that she would admit it, of course. The ReZEL Cs flew out of the cloud, but in the wrong direction. Antares and Martha watched as their pursuers scattered around in confusion, having lost their target. Martha couldn't help but smirk. Something about seeing them fly around in confusion just amused her slightly. Antares watched as the enemy started to fly away in various directions. The Federation was unable to detect his ReZEL D.

"Alright," Antares said, "we should be able to make the rendevous with my allies in Galveston." A quick check of his radar ensured that they were clear. Within minutes he lifted off the ground and sped off to the rendezvous point.

"This is Antares," he spoke on a special channel, "I have the package. I'll meet you all at the designated rendezvous point for transit in two hours."

"Copy Antares," an agent on the other side said, "your ferry is ready for pick up. Safe flight."

Martha finally took the time to settle back and gazed around. She had expected to be assassinated... not rescued by someone. Unless it was an assassination that was to take place in silence.

"Thank goodness I showed up before the Noblesse or Luio & Company could make their moves with you," Antares suddenly said, "they nearly did in your nephew just yesterday."

Her eyes widened. "How do you even know about that?!" Martha asked harshly. "What do you know of Alberto, and who are you?!"

Antares held out his hand. "Slow your horses," he said, "he's alright. A Londo Bell team rescued him from Anaheim. I can assure you that I'm not with the Noblesse. My boss sent me to prevent them from making you disappear."

"Oh? Why would anyone want to save me?" Martha asked, her eyes narrowing.

Antares looked at the woman through his visor. "Your knowledge of the Noblesse's inside workings is valuable," he was straight forward, "and not to mention that you have connections with the pilots of the Unicorn and Banshee, Banagher Links and Riddhe Marcenas."

Martha's breath was nearly taken, not just by Antares' uttering knowledge of the Noblesse and the Unicorn Brothers, but his even and calm tone about them."That... is true..." she mused. "Who sent you?"

Antares mused to himself. He then decided that since Martha was going to meet 'him' anyways, she had the right to know. "My boss...is the one who actually developed the psychoframe to begin with," he began. "He is the one who sent me."

"Dr. Ming?" For once, Martha was gobsmacked. Her mouth fell open in shock.

Antares chuckled and nodded at her question. "Yes. The one and only. Ming knew all along. He's very sharp for his age."

"Knew everything?" Martha asked as the ReZEL continued its flight.

"Yes, including how the Noblesse authorized the Federation's test flight of the third Unicorn unit, the Phenex."

Now Martha began to understand. Dr. Ming had known everything from the start. Why he wanted to save her though... was he planning something? "So what would he want with me and Alberto?" Martha ventured to ask.

Antares clarified, "you two know more about them than anyone. And that... makes you a threat to their ambitions. So Dr. Ming has started making plans to bring them out into the open... and exposing them for the hypocrites they are." He paused for a bit to see Martha frown a bit at the mention of her past history before continuing. "Now that you've fallen out of favor with them, it's unlikely they'll simply let the both of you be. Furthermore, they're already making plans to take the Unicorn Gundam units and the secrets they possess for themselves. Should that happen, nothing will stop them from ruling the Universal Century for the next one hundred years."

Martha scowled. "And if that happens, then it's all over, am I right?" she asked.

"You would probably know," Antares quipped, "and they have agents in the Federation and Zeon to make that happen."

Martha's eyes narrowed. "Why though? Why bring them out into the open?" She could not see his expression, but he said in an incredulous tone of voice.

"Well, they didn't exactly do you any favors locking you up like that," the veteran replied, "so are you really obligated to keep their secrets now?"

Martha pondered his answer, then shook her head. "No. Not now," she said.

"My point exactly," Antares concluded. With that, the rest of the flight was silent as he continued to fly towards Galveston to the south.

End Chapter 6