Gundam Unicorn: Narrative of Truth

Chapter 7

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.


Three days after Martha Vist Carbine's disappearance...

Side 3, Republic of Zeon

Darcia Bakharov pondered as he watched the birds outside of his mansion. His eyes fixed on them, and for a moment, he felt envious of them. They didn't have to worry about the potential for assassination by his former allies, the Noblesse. they could just fly and enjoy themselves. The mansion itself was a gilded cage, as his son was part of the accursed group, and had the house under tight watch. If only he could make amends somehow for all the chaos they put people through... Or maybe do something to disrupt their plans...

It was ironic... Darcia helped carry out Degwin's hopes of negotiating peace with the Federation... and now his son was exploiting his Noblesse connections for his own warmongering ends. He wondered if there was any way he could redeem himself for his actions in this whole mess. He sighed as he pondered his future.

'Won't be long before they make their move to seize Magallanica...' Darcia thought. He knew from his inside government connections about Magallanica, and the fact that Mineva Lao Zabi and her followers were being holed up in the colony builder. Personally, he wished in some way to warn her. He could see that now the future of the Universal Century hung in the hands of the next generation, but that his 'old friends' wanted to stop change from coming. 'Ironic, that Zeon itself is a tool for their ambitions...' he thought.

Little did the former prime minister of Zeon realize that his chance for redemption was about to come in by mail... literally. He glanced back, hearing the knock at his bedroom door. Curious, he walked over and opened it. The aide standing there held in her hands some mail for him. "Your mail, sir," she said.

Darcia took it. "Thank you." As the aide left, Darcia found himself curious at the sight of the envelope. It was the first letter he received in ages. With modern digital communications these days, people did not usually write letters unless it was for very special reasons. Darcia slowly pried it open, and his eyes widened at the contents. It looked like a bunch of gibberish, but he knew all too well what it contained.

'This is the Enigma Code from the old Principality of Zeon,' he realized. Knowing what to do, he went to his bookshelf. Clearing away some books, he unveiled a safe and began to work the combination. It didn't take him long to get the safe open. Within minutes he had the decoder machine and code book out and was working away at the code.

'Clever that they wrote this in a code that has been all but forgotten,' Darcia mused, 'but who would write to me, and why?' He got his answer less than fifteen minutes later.

'It's an email address,' he realized, and there was a set of instructions with an introduction from the writer.

"Dr. Ming...?" Darcia was confused. He knew Ming to be the head of his Newtype research thinktank, that both Zeon and the Federation respected. But why would he send him a message, and in code, at that? Darcia frowned as he started to read the letter.

'Greetings Former Prime Minister,

If you received this message, then things are getting quite dire. Send the following code to the designated email address...'

Darcia frowned, but decided to do as requested in the letter. He went to turn on his computer. Accessing his private email, he frowned upon remembering that it was likely being monitored by his staff. So he had to try something else. Darcia pursed his lips. There was another way. He just thought he'd never have to use it again.

He slowly brought up a second window on the computer and activated a secret program meant to reply to any shadow emails sent to him in the Enigma Code. "Alright, let's see what your game is, Ming," Darcia muttered to himself. The computer took a minute or two to boot up. He was still amazed that it could work after all these eighteen years.

The email flashed, and he was in the hidden network. It was then that the screen flashed with a text messaging request from none other than Dr. Ming. Darcia typed up a response. 'I am here,' he typed cautiously.

'I see you got my message,' came the reply.

Darcia frowned. 'What do you want,' he replied.

'As I have said in my message, things are getting dire,' Dr. Ming typed up. 'The Noblesse are after the Unicorns... as I am sure you are aware.'

Darcia was floored. He typed furiously, 'how did you know of the Noblesse!? Who are you!?'

'I am a friend. As for how I know...it has taken me years to discern the truth. I have always found it strange that the colonists had no representation, least of all how this came about. So I delved into the unknown after the terrorist attack... and discovered who was really behind the scenes. Be warned, Minister. The Noblesse are everywhere.'

'I know that,' Darcia typed back. He rolled his eyes at Ming stating the obvious.

'Then you will know this. The Noblesse are planning something... to keep the truth from coming out... You must warn Mineva. And her allies as well.' Dr. Ming's email carried with it an unseen urgency in those words.

Darcia agreed to the urgency of that moment, but sweat ran down his face, praying that these communications were secure. 'I am currently under watch by my own staff,' he wrote, 'as you probably know, my own son is Noblesse, but that is so that he can revive Zeon for his own ambitions. However, if Princess Mineva and I make the wrong moves, we'd have to contend with both Zeon and the Federation coming after us.'

'For the moment,' came the reply. 'Rest assured though, there will be a time when the people of both Earth and space will have to make their choices. And that choice, I pray, will be made once the Noblesse are brought out into the open. To do so... it would be to finally bring about the redemption of the Deikun family name... as well as release the truth that the Zabi family also was framed in the death of Prime Minister Marcenas when the Universal Century first began.'

Darcia stopped as his mind went back to his final days with Degwin before the latter's untimely demise.


Flashback

Dec. 29, UC 0079

Degwin Zabi and Darcia Bakharov stood together, both alone in the latter's private office.

"Darcia... Things will soon take a turn for the worse..." Degwin said solemnly.

The prime minister of Zeon turned towards his sovereign. "That is why you wish to negotiate with the Federation for an end to this war," he said.

Degwin nodded. "But that is only part of this..."

"Oh... your son..." Darcia frowned at the thought of Supreme Commander Gihren Zabi. He and Degwin shared their mutual concerns about Gihren's lust for power and total war that would bring the downfall of Zeon if he was not stopped.

Degwin only nodded. "But there is a greater danger afoot..."

"What do you mean?" Darcia could think of no greater danger than the eldest Zabi son who wanted to emulate the dictators of the 20th century.

"All I can say is that there is a grand force at work that has been shaping the Universal Century to what it is now..." Degwin sighed, "and to my eternal regret, I have been a part of this scheme in my shortsightedness."

Darcia's eyes widened. "What... what are you saying?"

Degwin looked to Darcia with solemness. "Prime Minister," he said, "it's time I told you a secret that has troubled the Zabi family since the beginning of this century."

As such, Degwin gave his heartfelt confession and revelation of the Noblesse to his faithful prime minister, just a day before his assassination by his own Gihren's hands...


Present

'Degwin...' Darcia remembered his friend, who was sad and repentant to the end. His email beeped and he turned back to the present situation at hand.

'I am currently downloading relevant information regarding the Noblesse, as well as previously unseen psychoframe research the group tried to cover up.' The email flashed as a download bar appeared on his screen.

"What's this," Darcia muttered. The data that popped up on his screen made his face go pale.

The data that streamed across the data was... to put it bluntly, startling. The fact that there had been two types of psychoframe all along was startling enough, but to learn that there had been mobile suits developed with the Type O psychoframe was disturbing. And add in the fact that the Laplace's Revelation of the true Universal Century charter wasn't doing as much as Dr. Ming had hoped only led to the confirmation that the Noblesse had something to fear regarding Newtypes.

'This is far deeper than I had ever imagined,' Darcia realized, 'and the Noblesse and Newtypes are at the center of it...' Now he was beginning to understand what was at stake. Newtypes were what the Noblesse feared. Mostly because of their ability to promote understanding and peace by breaking down centuries' worth of lies as told by the organization. And the Unicorns held a part that made them the targets of the enemy.

Darcia now REALLY needed to let Mineva Zabi know about this... but the Noblesse and his son had eyes on him wherever he went. It was then that the shadow email beeped again. Ming was uploading something else. Darcia's eyes widened in surprise at the contents of this next download.

It was a program, and Ming put the following description:

'This program will cover up your true identity. As long as it is active, your face will not be seen on any electronic surveillance equipment your home has been bugged with. The spoof program will also work for the rest of Side 3's colony surveillance systems.'

So Ming was intending for him to escape, he figured. Perhaps to warn Mineva in person. Darcia responded. 'Understood.' He looked to see that there was an execution command for the spoof program. He clicked on it, and watched as the virus uploaded itself into the surrounding network. He waited for a few minutes to make sure it would work as intended.

It was then that Ming wrote back, 'I have confirmation. You are now officially a ghost on cameras.'

Darcia smiled. 'Thank you, Dr. Ming,' he typed.

Now that he was essentially invisible electronically, he needed to get out without being seen visually. The best bet Darcia could think of was a disguise. And he had a few of those in case he needed to avoid the press every now and then.

It was then that the email flashed one more time. 'If you are able to sneak out...' Darcia looked at the email as he watched it finish typing. '... I hired an old escort of yours to rendezvous with you. You will recognize him when you see him. Please do not be late. Godspeed.' Darcia cut the connection and then proceeded to gather up some stuff for a trip... so to speak. He pulled out one of his disguises and got it on.

'I hope I still have what it takes,' Darcia thought as he put on his fedora, wig, and shades. He took one last glance around before he left the room, closing the door shut behind him. He walked the halls of his gilded prison quietly, watching for guards that would try to stop him.

'I better still not speak, in case the audio devices pick up my voice,' the disguised Darcia thought as he made his way down the the basement, avoiding staffers and guards along the way. The basement entrance loomed just ahead.

'I hope they didn't find and bug the exit...' Darcia finally entered the basement. He knew of one way to escape, which no one else knew of. He stopped close to the entrance of the hidden tunnel. Pressing on a secret panel, there was a bit of a squeaking sound. Darcia winced a bit as the old escape slowly creaked open. 'Note to self. If I live through this, oil the hinges once a month,' he thought as he crept inside. As the door closed behind him, Darcia made his way through the old, but functional escape tunnel.

Now all he had to do was meet his old friend, and then he could get out alive.


Abandoned Colony Hangar

Hidden within the shadows a humanoid figure crouched, optical visor pulsing as it scanned the surroundings. "The boss did say he'd be coming through here..." the veteran MS pilot muttered.

The old hangar was eerily quiet, and Ford Romfellow was not too keen on the eerie silence. But he did have a mission to complete. His eyes flicked to the main monitor to check once more.

And he was rewarded when he saw a familiar shape come out of the old door. "There..." the man was disguised, but Ford knew from his briefing from Dr. Ming that the man was Darcia Bakharov, the former Zeon prime minister. It was towards the end of the One Year War that Ford met him as a Federation Gundam ace. Just shortly after the Battle of A Baoa Qu, he and his former ship, the Thoroughbred, escorted the former enemy prime minister to the peace talks on Granada to end that war, when the Zeon remnants tried to assassinate Darcia.

Ford hummed to himself. "I'd better make sure." He waited until Darcia had approached his machine, and he scanned all around using his thermal and infrared sensors. The ex-Federation pilot found no signs of pursuers in the vicinity. Now seeing that it was safe, he lowered his stealthy ReZEL D to its knees and extended his right arm. The old former PM silently regarded the black-colored ReZEL for a bit, before he got onto the mobile suit's hand.

"Good. We're leaving now." Ford stood his machine up, slowly lifting the hand up to the cockpit.

Darcia looked up in wonder at the ReZEL D, as he did not know of this particular model. The pilot lifted the hand up to the cockpit and it opened. "Darcia Bakharov," Ford greeted.

Darcia blinked his eyes upon seeing who it was. His mouth was slightly open as he recognized the pilot. Darcia let out a laugh. "Ford Romfellow!" he remarked with a smile.

Ford blinked at Darcia's reaction. "Y-you remember me?"

"Of course. You did escort me to Granada," the ex-minister replied, "I never did thank you and your crew properly for protecting me and my ship," the older man bowed his head humbly."

Ford smiled. "The least I could do," he said.

Darcia chuckled as he crawled in beside Ford. "It's ironic... counting on Federation pilot to protect me on the way to my destination from my enemies inside Zeon. This will be the second time."

Ford blinked again, before shaking his head with a smile. "Yeah... but only that I've actually retired."

"What do you mean?" Darcia asked, confusion flooding his features.

"I'm no longer with the Federation military," Ford clarified, "after the whole shtick with the Titans, I just could not continue in good conscience anymore."

Now Darcia understood. "It appears that good conscience is not dead after all," he said with some relief.

Ford nodded. "Now let's get you someplace safe, old friend."

"Right," Darcia replied, "but what about the territorial patrols out there?"

"Don't worry. This ReZEL was made for stealth," Ford assured his passenger. The former ace pilot then activated his thrusters and lifted off gently. As Ford flew steadily through the hangar tunnel, Darcia was very quiet, not daring to interrupt Ford's delicate flying patterns. The whole time, he was thinking about what had to be done. 'I just pray that it's not too little too late,' Darcia thought, 'God... strengthen and guide me during this journey...'


Magallanica...

To the duo currently overlooking the vastness of space, the mood was anything but enjoyable.

Banagher had not even changed out of his pilot suit, havingj ust come back from an armed intervention against a group of Zeon remnants that were planning terrorist attacks. His body was tense as he sighed. "Another mission completed," he muttered.

Mineva shook her head. Zeon terror attacks were continuing to escalate in frequency. "At this rate, it will not be long before..." Her voice trailed off and she gritted her teeth. Mineva shook her head in disgust.

Banagher knew how she felt. And in all honesty, he hated it as much as she did.

"What have I done, Banagher?" Mineva asked, "what did we ever accomplish then?"

"We did our best," he said, trying to reassure her.

"No," Mineva moaned, "I underestimated how powerful the Federation was in suppressing the Declaration and everyone else who dared to dissent. Nothing has changed in the slightest, except to put the people who trusted me in danger."

Banagher had no answer to that. Mineva began shedding some tears. The ex-Unicorn pilot placed his arm around her and hugged her close, trying to offer some comfort.

"Banagher..." Mineva allowed herself to sob.

"Somehow we'll get through this..." Banagher muttered. "I'm not sure how... but we will..."

Mineva clasped Banagher's arm as she sobbed silently. Neither one of them knew what to do, but the two decided to take solace in each other's presence to sooth over the wounds and disappointments. However, they had no idea help was coming... in a very unexpected way.


Outside Magallanica...

Ford continued to quietly maneuver his ReZEL D in Autistic Mode. While it meant that the stealth mobile suit had a small electronic profile that allowed it to slip past the patrols' sensors more easily, it meant that his radar was also offline along with most other functions, except for the camera and other basic operations. As such, Ford had to rely on his old-fashioned human senses to slip past the Zeon forces. His eyes narrowed as he adjusted his course, homing in on the massive structure of eyes narrowed as he adjusted his course, homing in on the massive structure of Magallanica.

"It's strange..." Darcia remarked, "we're flying around in a mobile suit, and we're hardly being noticed." He looked at a group of Gelgoogs that were flying by, unaware of the black ReZEL just a few hundred meters away.

"All I can say is that this stealth mode helps, but at a price in that we're down to basic systems," Ford mused.

"No wonder..." Darcia said, taking note of the lack of radar, many instruments, and the darkened cockpit, "so we're really down to our eyes."

Ford nodded. "Yes. It's basic, but it works." The ReZEL pilot then refocused on what was in front of him. He travelled amongst the various colony structures, making sure not to stick out too much as he headed for what appeared to be a mining asteroid. "That's got to be it..." Ford said as he slowly transformed from MS to Wave Rider mode, "good place to hide a colony builder..."

"Doesn't look heavily patrolled," Ford remarked as he cruised, "but we'd better watch it."

The ex-minster nodded and after a bit of thinking, started looking at the main camera monitors for anything out of the ordinary. The cruise had a tense silence as the ReZEL approached the asteroid.

Ford scanned with his eyes for any sign of the colony builder/fortress. Its shape was distinct and easy to recognize, if he could spot the darn thing. Hiding it within an asteroid's shadow was a smart move, he figured. "Should be okay now... disengaging Autistic Mode and resuming optimal functions." With that, the cockpit lit up as several of the sensors came online. The ReZEL continued on as its systems resumed normal operations. With his HUD fully functional, Ford selected an option from his menu. It brought up data on Magallanica's structure. With his HUD fully functional, Ford selected an option from his menu. It brought up data on Magallanica's structure.

"You know where you're going," Darcia said in more of a statement than a question.

Ford nodded, "of course. This is the only place they could hide such a thing." The One Year War veteran moved his joysticks, vectoring towards the estimated location of the colony builder. His eyes glimmered as he saw it, nested against the rock. "Bingo," he said.

Darcia squinted his eyes upon seeing the size of the vessel. "It's huge..." he breathed.

Ford pursed his lips. "It's a heck of a lot larger than the images suggested." The stealthy ReZEL D made its way to the loading docks. "There's our entry point." The HUD blinked to show the target point, where a large cable interface was located next to the harbor entrance. Ford adjusted his course to target that entry point. As he closed in, he raised his MS hand towards the interface. Wires extended from the ReZEL's palm, connecting to the ports in the interface. Ford then pressed on a command to transmit the appropriate codes to Magallanica. It was a few tense seconds before the interface beeped and ACCESS APPROVED flashed on the main monitor.

The harbor doors then started to slowly open. Ford scanned the area with his radar to see if anyone was present, but the screen was clear. "Clear." However, neither of the two men realized the warning sensor had gone off.


Vist Mansion...

Banagher and Mineva were startled as a warning alarm blared throughout the mansion. The former Unicorn pilot's blood ran cold. "Someone's entered the colony builder!" Banagher realized, "but how?"

Mineva frowned as she thought of who it could be, and what they were after. Right now they had to be wary. They also had to increase security on the Unicorn, just in case.

Banagher looked at Mineva. "I'll get the Silver Bullet ready for combat," he determined, "you get to safety."

"I'm staying," she said resolutely.

"Mineva-"

"If they are here to steal the Unicorn and Banshee, I've got to help organize our inner defenses," Mineva told Banagher, "I'll have that covered while you buy us time."

The former Gundam pilot pursed his lips, but recognized that she was going to stay. So he nodded. "Right."

Mineva nodded. "Go Banagher," she prompted, "I'll do my part." The pilot nodded and bolted for the hangar. Mineva glanced outside with a determined expression. Even with all the doubts in her mind about the Laplace Declaration, one thing was certain...

'Whoever it is... they will not take the Unicorn or Banshee.'


Ford flew the ReZEL D through the tunnel into the interior. He whistled to himself at the size and complexity of the maze he found himself in.

"How much further?" Darcia asked.

"We'll need to gain access to the Vist Mansion in the central habitat," Ford said, but looked around anxiously, "though that's probably easier said than done in this mess."

Darcia felt a bit uneasy as well. The place was a virtual maze of corridors. "Isn't there an alternative location we can fly to?" Darcia posed.

Ford scanned around, looking for such a location. His eyes landed on what appeared to be a large hangar bay. "There."

"I don't know, Ford," Darcia cautioned, "these people might attack us for barging in..." Ford knew his friend did have a point. So he decided to compromise. "We go in stealth," he said, switching to Autistic Mode. The cockpit dimmed as Ford slowly increased the engine thrust towards the hangar. The cockpit dimmed as Ford slowly increased the engine thrust towards the hangar. Ford's ReZEL then quickly shifted into its Wave Rider form, and with judicious thrust application, slipped through the hangar doors. Ford's ReZEL then quickly shifted into its Wave Rider form, and with judicious thrust application, slipped through the hangar doors. It was then that Ford and Darcia's eyes stared at the ship right in front of their sensors...

The Nahel Argama.

It was currently at dock undergoing maintenance, but it was there all the same.

"The Mock Trojan Horse," Darcia marveled from his booster seat. He had heard about the Nahel Argama by its nickname due to its resemblance to the Trojan Horse of the One Year War. While he knew Mineva was in the fortress, but he never expected to see the Nahel Argama docked here of all places.

The two men watched as they drew nearer to the ship, unaware that they were being observed.

The reputation of the ship was well deserved, as it had seen plenty of action during the Laplace Conflict... or rather, the prelude to a new war.

Banagher observed the intruder from his Silver Bullet Suppressor in its hiding place. He gripped the controls tightly as he saw the model of the mobile suit the intruder was using. "The Federation..." Banagher muttered as he looked upon the black ReZEL. It looked to be a new variant, with it's sleek and angled shapes giving it an almost alien appearance. He waited until the MS was about to turn its back. Banagher drew his beam saber, and charged.

Ford's gaze snapped to the main monitor as he saw the incoming dark greyish-purple colored mobile suit. He grabbed his own beam saber and drew it, bringing the blade up in a blocking motion. "Crud!" Ford exclaimed as he clashed with the Gundam-like mobile suit.

"So much for your silent entry," Darcia remarked as sparks flew about, "now what!?"

"Resuming optimal operations!" Ford disengaged Autistic Mode and finally grunted, shoving the beam saber of this unknown machine aside and preparing for his own attack. He opened the right arm compartment for the homing grenades. He hesitated the briefest of moments before he seized his chance as the unknown mobile suit came back around for another strike. Ford fired his two homing grenades, which tracked towards the Silver Bullet.

Banagher's radar went off and he tensed, jerking his machine left to avoid the grenades. With the Silver Bullet Suppressor's improved sensors and maneuverability, Banagher easily dodged as he used his beam saber to silce the projectiles in half. He turned back towards the black ReZEL, detaching his wire-guided beam guns. "INCOMs, engage!"

"Not good!" Ford grunted.

Banagher commanded the guns to fire at low power settings, so as not to cause collateral damage. The guns lanced out with blue lasers, forcing the pilot of the ReZEL to dodge, relying on his darker colored armor to escape detection as best he could. But it was easier said than done at this point. Ford held back a curse as he dodged, but his maneuverability was limited by the confines of the hangar.

Ford fired his head vulcans at the INCOMs, which proved to be very elusive targets. "We didn't come here to fight!" The veteran pilot shouted at the attacking mobile suit, not expecting a response in particular. The communications system crackled to life at that point, and the unknown machine's pilot's voice came over the speakers.

"Calling out to unidentified mobile suit," Banagher spoke to the ReZEL D pilot, "unknown mobile suit, respond!"

Darcia recognized the voice from the dark Silver Bullet. "That's Banagher Links!" He looked towards his pilot in a prompting glance. "Ford, can you open a line to him?"

Ford agreed; they had come this way, specifically for Banagher Links among other things. He keyed the comm system. "This is Ford Romfellow, Banagher Links, do you copy?"

In the cockpit of the Silver Bullet, Banagher's eyes went wide at the name. It sounded familiar...

"I copy," he replied warily, "first off, how did you get inside Magallanica? Are you Federation?"

"Uh... Not... exactly..." Ford replied. "I'm...retired, so to speak. But that doesn't mean I don't have my reasons to be here. How I got inside doesn't matter. What I have to tell you does."

"What do you mean?" Banagher gripped the controls tightly.

"Believe me, Banagher... The fate of the future is at stake," Ford said grimly.

Banagher frowned, having heard this sort of thing before. "What future?" He had a cynical tone.

"The true future of the Universal Century..." Here Ford hesitated before he decided to drop the bombshell. "...that the Noblesse fear." Silence fell between the two MS pilots.

Banagher was dumbstruck. "The who?"

"The Noblesse," Ford said again, "the very people that your dad and great-granddad risked so much to rebel against."

Now Banagher was wary, as well as confused. "Explain!" he demanded.

Ford looked to Darcia. He nodded. It was time to tell the pilot the truth. Ford turned back to Banagher on his screen. "Let's meet someplace safe. Then we can talk."

Banagher continued to stare warily at the ReZEL D through his main camera. From the corner of his vision, he saw a muzzle of a beam rifle from the Nahel Argama's flight deck. He pursed his lips as he made a decision.

"Riddhe... stand down," Banagher prompted. Ford perked up at what Banagher said and looked to the side. True enough, there was a standard ReZEL C that was aiming at him from the Nahel Argama's flight deck.

Riddhe sighed, and reluctantly powered down the rifle and lowered it. With that done, Banagher turned his attention back to the dark colored ReZEL. "Follow me. But if you try anything..."

"The only thing I'll be trying is warning you," Ford reassured, "I promise."

It was then that Darcia spoke up. "You and Princess Mineva can trust us, Links. What we're about to tell you could mean the difference between life and death."

Banagher wasn't too keen on trusting these men, but if what they said was true, then maybe there could be a chance...


Minutes later...

Mineva Lao Zabi pursed her lips as she, Captain Otto, and Zinnerman sat together in the Vist family main hall.

"The former prime minister of Zeon himself," Otto mused with an interested expression, "color me surprised. I never expected him to make such moves."

"Well," Zinnerman contemplated, "given that his differing political beliefs and methods earned him numerous assassination attempts by Gihren loyalists, I wouldn't be too surprised."

Mineva pursed her lips. "I wonder what caused him to defect..."

The Nahel Argama captain frowned. "What I'd like to know is how he and his escort pilot got past Magallanica's defenses," Otto said, "how do we know that they're not spies trying to probe our vulnerabilities for a larger attack?"

Mineva pondered their options. "There's only one way to find out..." As she muttered that, she felt two familiar presences approaching the main doors to the room, along with their two 'guests'. She rose with a slight smile in recognition of the former two, though with slight apprehension over the other two they had brought to her. "They're here."

The door slid open and in walked the four men. "Banagher, Riddhe," Mineva greeted the two former Unicorn pilots.

"Mineva," Banagher returned with an affirming smile.

"Here are our two guests," Riddhe said as he glanced back warily at the former Zeon prime minister and the pilot of the black ReZEL, "they were very adamant about seeing you themselves."

Mineva studied the two men briefly before she nodded. "Very well." She looked towards the older man, whom she recognized from images and memoirs regarding her grandfather. "Prime Minister Darcia," she addressed.

"Princess Mineva," Darcia bowed respectfully, to his dark grey-suited pilot's slight surprise. "I am happy to see you again after so many years."

"I wish I could say the same for you, Minister," Mineva said somberly. Darcia's heart almost tore up at the sight of Mineva's silent struggle. It was hard to see someone that young shouldering so much responsibility, and going through disillusionment.

"Princess, for what it is worth... I am sorry you have to shoulder this burden," he told her. Darcia sighed as he continued, "after your father, Colonel Dozle was killed at Solomon, your grandfather saw to it that you and your mother were as far removed from the rest of the Zabi family's infighting."

Mineva vaguely remembered that. "I can vaguely recall that," she stated.

This caused the former prime minister to quirk an eyebrow. She was just a baby then... How would she?

"At least I can remember my mother telling me that," Mineva added before Darcia asked. The former prime minister then remembered the kind Lady Zenna who captured the hard and tough Dozle's heart.

"Your mother, Lady Zenna..." the old former prime minister inquired, "what of her? Is she alright?"

"My mother, unfortunately, passed away when I was young," Mineva said solemnly.

Darcia hummed in disappointment. Of the Zabi family, aside from his friend Degwin, Darcia found Dozle and his wife to be the most inspiring and goodhearted of the bunch. He truly believed that they and their beautiful daughter were the best chance for Zeon's future at the time, especially with the rest of the Zabi family proving either incompetent or scheming charlatans with selfish and evil plans. Lady Zenna was a positive influence in Dozle's life, and she would be truly missed.

"Mr. Bakharov," Otto stepped in. Darcia looked to the captain of the Nahel Argama. "You're obviously here for more than just a social call," Otto began, "first off, we'd like to know how you got inside, and who you're working for." The captain glanced over to Ford, gesturing for emphasis.

"Let's just say we're working for someone who wishes to see the future change for the better," Ford began. "And by that, I mean expose the real rulers of Earth and space and bring them out into the open."

"You mean the Vist Foundation," Mineva said warily. Much to her surprise, Darcia shook his head.

"No. They were the rebels to this real group," Darcia replied.

"Rebels?" Zinnerman was incredulous, "but they were the ringmasters behind Laplace's Box!"

"Yes... But there was a reason for that," Darcia stated. "The real reason behind the revelation of the Box was to try and bring to light the real rulers. To inspire people to encourage change in the Government."

Then he paused. "But what happened in the aftermath? Nothing. No changes were made. The reason... is the Noblesse."

"You keep talking about these Noblesse," Mineva noted.

"Because they are the ones who secretly rule the Earth... and space," Ford clarified. "They are the ones who ordered Ricardo Marcenas killed back in UC 0001, and thus led to the current state of affairs as we know it."

Otto then eyed the pilot more closely. He looked like someone he had seen. "And who are you?"

"My name is Ford Romfellow," the ReZEL pilot introduced himself.

"Romfellow..." it was then that a lightbulb lit up in Otto's brain. "You were one of the Gundam aces at the end of the One Year War," he remarked.

Ford smiled a bit. "That's right. I was Gundam Unit 5's pilot aboard the Thoroughbred, escorting Darcia here to Grenada for the peace talks."

Both Mineva and Zimmermann stared in shock. "You were there?!" Zimmermann exclaimed.

"Yep," Ford quipped, "you could say that I prevented the war from dragging on." As it came back to him, Ford suddenly laughed. "But you should have seen the toys the Gihren loyalists were bringing to the party! They had advanced Gabaldy prototypes, Action Zakus with freaking beam rifles... oh, and don't forget a freaky Newtype mobile armor that nearly did me in! All that, and somehow I pulled it off!" In spite of the seriousness of the situation, the group couldn't help but laugh as well.

Zinnerman found the situation ironic. "You know," he remarked, "back then, I would have cursed your for shooting down those Zeon pilots..."

"Yes. But now, we are on the same side," Ford remarked.

The Princess of Zeon gave Ford a cool look. This made Banagher shoot a warning glance at the older pilot.

"You both wished to change the world for the better. But things didn't exactly go according to plan," Ford said hastily.

"And that is where the Noblesse come into play," Darcia stated. "They are those who, as I have said, caused the destruction of the original Laplace back when the UC calendar was ushered in. But what you don't know is the true history... because it was hidden from everyone."

"What history?" Mineva was growing weary of this. The former prime minister was a confidant of her late grandfather, but this cryptic talk about the Noblesse was getting nowhere.

"The history that the Noblesse wish to keep hidden." Ford was serious as he said this. "There was a reason that Ricardo put that article in the charter. And it has to do with the Zabi family as well." A pall fell over the room with a deafening silence. Banagher and Riddhe looked between themselves with shock and confusion on their faces. They then looked at Mineva...

"How does this tie into my family?" Mineva asked with narrowed eyes. She did not know much of the Zabi family's history beyond their notorious involvement in the One Year War. Whatever records of the family that once existed were either destroyed or lost in the confusion of the war. It was said that her grandfather Degwin kept extensive records of history from the AD calendar through the UC calendar, but vanished either during Gihren's purges or the Federation occupation of Side 3.

Darcia's face fell as the weight of the moment was shouldered upon his shoulders. He looked between the Unicorn, the Black Lion, and the Princess, all gathered in the same room. "My friend's new...boss, so to speak... has uncovered an old conspiracy that led to the rise of the Zabis prior to the One Year War," Darcia began. "And along with it, you family's drive for Spacenoid independence." He then addressed Riddhe specifically, "and believe it or not, your family has ties to the Zabis all the way back to the AD era as well."

Now things were getting serious.

End Chapter 7


Finally, I got these three chapters out! After struggling with juggling between fanfics and real life, I managed to breathe more life into Narrative of Truth with Titanic X. Amazing what you can do with a lot of time on your hands (and a maddening case of cabin fever).

Anyways, I hope you readers are doing well and staying safe during these tough times. I hope you guys continue to read, fave, and review this. As always, constructive criticism is welcome.

Take care, God Bless you all, and don't go mad! XD