AN: Yay! So I've decided to keep going with this seeing as I didn't really have any projects on the go that I was enjoying, and I've been thinking about this storyline a lot. I do have a pairing idea in mind, but we'll see how the plotline goes first. On that note I should say that the plotline is going to follow more of the behind-the-scenes times onboard the Ptolemaios as I feel that some characters were underdeveloped to keep the plotline going at warp speed. There won't be a lot of Mecha-fighting in this story per se, don't hold me to it though. It will follow the series with additional happenings, but I don't want to rewrite battles you've all seen already. By staying in the background this story can hopefully help flesh out my interpretations of the characters as people rather than plot devices.

I didn't listen to anything in particular to write this chapter. Also, the codename chosen doesn't exactly translate as written here, but it was as close as I could get when mixing Canadian French and High German without adding a bunch of useless words.

Let me know what you think!

Naishu

Reverie Traum

"This heart, broken apart, is dreaming of a new start."

Chrystanthium - Rockefeller Rage

"So she's really the one that VEDA chose, isn't she?" the on-duty doctor asked, flipping through her file.

"So it would seem." Tieria replied. "Was any new information found regarding her?"

The short-haired man nodded. "When we ran through her physical assessment we found this." He said, parting the girl's hair just above her left ear to reveal an inch-long jagged scar. "and in addition to that we found extremely high levels of GN Poisoning consistent with the original Pseudo GN Drives that were unrolled four years ago. Through this assessment I was able to run through military health records and found one that fit."

"But there were no records left of her. Anywhere." Tieria said assuredly. He'd looked himself.

"It seems someone got sloppy. This little lady was an assistant tactical forecaster aboard one of the vessels taken down at the joint military exercise nearly four and a half years ago."

"For which faction?"

"The records are from the AEU. She also seems to have a working history in mechanical engineering, although she traded fields after the first three years of her training program."

Tieria nodded. It still didn't give any real explanation for why she would have been chosen by VEDA. They had mechanics and they had a tactical forecaster…a good one, he grudgingly admitted. Why did they need this twenty-five year-old woman?

"There's something else." The doctor said, drawing Tieria's focus away. "I'm not sure how much support I give to this assessment, but according to the AEU medical facility that she recovered in she can hear thoughts."

This made Tieria raise a skeptical eyebrow. "Is that possible in your professional opinion?" he asked.

The doctor sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, we don't really know the full effects that the pseudo GN particles had on the human body, let alone the mind. The scar is from a piece of shrapnel that embedded itself in her brain, I'm assuming from a GN beam saber that tore through her ship. To have pseudo GN particles introduced directly into the brain could give completely unpredictable effects."

"Is she sane?" Tieria asked.

"We won't be able to tell that until she wakes up. The rest of her medical checked out though, so at least the major damage has been identified."

"I see." The purple-haired meister replied. "Let me know when she wakes, I'd like to get her accustomed to Celestial Being before the others arrive. Also, forward the file you found to me."

The doctor nodded. "Understandable. I'll move her into a recovery unit for the time being."

The ability to hear thoughts.

Tieria found it hard to believe the file in front of him, but it was documented in exacting detail. Apparently it was possible, and apparently the AEU had done everything in their power to antagonize the side effects of her injury. The file detailed trials where she was attached in a circuit with a pseudo GN drive, where she was pumped full of adrenaline and given mental-focus tasks revolving around prisoner's thoughts, and the last entry in the file detailed a surgery that was supposed to have taken place three years ago – to put a second piece of the same metal in her brain. Apparently she disappeared before that though, leaving the AEU behind without a trace and sending them into a frenzy to find her.

What stood out to him the most was the effect that she could have on pseudo GN drives. In most of the tests which involved one of the pseudo GN drives she'd inadvertently reduced their efficiency by up to forty percent. This, he decided, was the reason that VEDA had chosen her. If she could have that kind of efficiency with an incomplete drive, what would happen if she were to come in contact with one of the drives aboard the Ptolemaios II?

She's human, Tieria. Don't forget that.

Lockon. He was always in the back of Tieria's mind, almost as though he'd become his conscience. "But this ability could be irreplaceable. What if she could cut down entire units by even twenty percent?" he said aloud.

That won't mean anything if you turn her back into a test subject in the process.

The purple-haired meister sighed. He could almost see the knowing smile that would accompany the warning, complete with dancing blue-green eyes. He put the thought away for now but he knew he would revisit it later. Besides, he didn't have time to continue thinking about Celestial Being's newest member. Shortly he'd be leaving to help with the liberation of Katharon's members from Space Colony Proud. Hopefully he'd be reuniting with Setsuna as well. The idea excited him. Ever since it had been decided that Celestial Being would begin operating again he'd felt a sense of eager anticipation, something that had previously been foreign to him. He wanted to see everyone back together.

Well.

Everyone that could return.

The thought sent a pang of bitter sadness through him but he pushed it down and made his way to Seravee. He didn't have time to revisit the grief that had consumed him years ago.

Five days later

She sat up suddenly, gripping her head and cursing as her forehead collided with the PlexiGlass of the tube-like recovery unit. She lay back down and took a few deep breaths as a dull headache started to throb lightly from the offended area.

"That's some kind of hello…" she mumbled as she felt along the side of the tube for the release button that she knew was there. Her head may have been pounding but she felt a million times better. She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep, but it had definitely been long enough to bring her back to a normal state of mind. She turned her hands over to examine the veins in them and sighed in relief when they weren't the telltale black of an overdose.

The fact that she'd had more than one was a depressing thought that she pushed to the back of her mind. When she was rested she was a completely different person from the depressed, anxious, and fragmenting shell that would find comfort in a bottle of pills. Unfortunately it didn't take much to bring her to that point of exhaustion. She closed her eyes and listened to what she assumed to be the ship she was on. She could hear the hum of the crew on the bridge, the technical-jargon chatter of the mechanics, and she picked up a few people dreaming here and there, most likely resting after their shift. She pushed their sounds out of her mind, a luxury that being well-rested could afford her to a certain extent.

She looked around the room and realized that her clothing had been washed, folded, and was sitting neatly on the shelf next to the unit she'd been sleeping in. Her half-gloves hovered over her clothing, a signal that she was in an environment with pseudo-gravity. Space. She'd fallen asleep in Nuremburg…how long had she been passed out? She changed and folded the medical gown she'd been wearing. Might as well be nice, right? Obviously she wasn't under any kind of guard, she wasn't hooked up to a dozen machines, and she had no idea if the people on board even knew about her abilities. She needed to be sure though…

The clipboard at the end of her recovery unit was quickly snatched up and her eyes scanned the notes that had been taken.

They did know.

She felt a jolt of panic run through her, then she squelched the feeling. They knew, but they hadn't done anything about it.

-About time she was checked on…she should wake up any time now…-

Crap! She thought, realizing that the thoughts belonged to someone who was steadily approaching the room. She looked around but knew that finding a weapon was hopeless. Back to the wall, let's hope for the best. It was always strange to her when she could clearly hear her thoughts. The door handle turned and a white coated man entered.

"You're awake!" he said, smiling. "I thought you'd never wake up." –I'll bet you didn't think you would either.-

"You're right." She said, responding to his thought more than his words. "That was the plan, anyways."

"The plan?" he stared at her curiously for a moment, then smiled. "Right. I'd forgotten." –You can hear me.-

She nodded. He took a step forward but she raised a hand. "Stay there."

-What?-

"I'm grateful that you saved me, but I'm sure you can understand that I don't know what's going on here. Until I do I'm sorry to say I won't be very trusting."

The man nodded and smiled. "I understand." He dug in his pocket and pulled out a white information drive. "Take this, it has everything you need to know." He tossed it to her and let it glide in the semi-weightless room. –A lot more than I'd share initially, but I guess that wasn't my decision.-

She caught the drive and examined it quickly before looking up at the man again. "Before you leave, what organization is this?"

He just nodded and looked at the drive. "All in there, as I said."

-Celestial Being.-

He stepped out of the room and left her alone with his last thought. The little white drive seemed suddenly much heavier than it should have in her hand.

"Celestial….Being?"

She stood in silence for a moment, then chuckled, then laughed. Celestial Being. It was completely absurd.

Right?

She'd managed to escape the lab three years ago and dodge the former AEU's repeated attempts to catch her only to end up in the hands of the organization that had been the reason for all of her problems. Her laughter became completely uncontrollable as she opened the file and realized that she really was in the possession of Celestial Being.

Funny, funny world.

She calmed down and sighed, then started to read through the file. She wanted to know exactly what she'd gotten mixed up in before she left the room and started asking questions. One thing was certain though, unlike her own allies, Celestial Being so far had a better track record of treating her like a normal human being…and she'd only been awake for ten minutes.

After being moved to what seemed like a padded cell, Karen had been reading through the contents of the data drive. She couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that ran through her. Celestial Being wasn't the reason for her disability, a rogue set of Gundams, the Thrones, were.

The unsettling feeling wasn't a result of losing the basis for revenge as most would think. Despite the undeniable link between Gundams and her injury, she'd never harbored any personal resentment for Celestial Being. Revenge wasn't something that she'd ever seen a point in, and as such she'd never placed blame on the organization. The truth was that aside from the almost-surgery courtesy of the AEU, she didn't have a bad past. The experiments run by the military had been run with her consent. Her family life was normal, bland. She had no great dilemma. The unsettling feeling came from how easily she accepted her situation. Could she really become a member of this organization? The one the world blamed for terrorism, murder, and reform? Did it really matter if the world blamed them?

No.

It didn't. It didn't matter what the world thought because the world didn't think. She of all people would know. After listening to the thoughts of people's daily lives, the droning of useless wants and needs and misinterpretations, she couldn't accept their assessment of anything political. She had to make her own decision. Even if she decided to leave, where would she go? There was no place for her to call home…the only things waiting for her were exhaustion, depression, and a family that believed she was a junkie because she couldn't tell them the truth. That was no way to live. She couldn't help anyone that way…she couldn't help herself that way. She would stay with this organization as long as she believed that it could make a difference, and she would help in any way she could.

-I hope it hasn't gone cold, I should have dropped this off before going to the hangar…-

Karen's thoughts were interrupted as a pink-haired girl opened the door, balancing a tray on her other hand, a bag hanging from her arm. The girl looked at her with passive curiosity as she slid the tray into the groove made for it in the wall of the padded room.

"I'm sorry I didn't bring this by sooner, you must be hungry." She said, looking down. There was something sad about this girl, Karen wanted to know what.

"That's alright, I wasn't hungry before now anyways." Karen set the data drive down and watched the girl stand awkwardly.

-I don't know what to say…I don't know how much she knows already…Tieria will be mad if I say more than I should…-

"Who is Tieria?" She asked, standing and picking up the bottle of juice from the tray. She guessed it was magnetized in the light-gravity atmosphere.

The girl bit her lip and looked at the brunette curiously when she realized that her thoughts had been heard. "He's one of the Pilots here." She said.

"What happens when he gets mad?"

-Not very much, he just has that brooding expression.-

The pink-haired girl bit her lip again and stared at the brunette anxiously.

"Let's try this again." Karen said. "What's your name?"

"Feldt."

"Hello Feldt. I'm Karen. Why don't you sit down. I don't bite, I'm just a little weird."

The girl released her lip from between her teeth and managed a smile. "I'm sorry, I just don't really know how much you know." She said. "I'm sure you can understand how secretive we have to be here."

Karen nodded. "I understand. Maybe I should share first then. I've almost made up my mind to stay here with Celestial Being."

"Really?" Feldt asked, surprised by how quickly the decision had been made. "Why?"

-She's only been awake for an hour and a half…how can she know so quickly?"-

"Because I've spent months, years, listening to everyone around me obliviously make judgements about what is right and what is wrong…about who really has everyone's best interests in mind. I've listened to them support the A-Laws and cast judgement on cities which are rotting away because they don't want to bend to the will of a corrupt government. I've listened to them not care when others' lives are ripped apart to support the federation's standard of living. I can't think of any other group that is as dedicated to the alignment of the world as Celestial Being is. I want to be a part of something so dedicated. You've all given your lives to this organization and I want to do whatever I can to help you." The girl flinched as she heard the last reason and Karen studied her intently, surprised by the reaction.

-Lockon-

A face. Warm green-blue eyes, pale skin, unruly chestnut hair. This girl felt strongly for this man, that was why the image floated in Karen's mind. The sadness attached to the handsome face told a story, one of regret and bitterness. "Are you alright?" Karen asked the girl.

She nodded stiffly. –Lockon…he gave his life, but it wasn't for Celestial Being.-

"Who was Lockon?" Karen asked, biting her tongue when she heard the interrogative tone in her voice. Over the years of dealing with her abilities she'd become painfully blunt and it wasn't necessary now. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer." She said, offering an apologetic smile.

Feldt nodded. "I'll tell you about him sometime, but for now I think it's best that stone lay unturned."

-In truth, I don't think I can talk about him without crying, still.-

Karen nodded. "Well, until then I won't bring it up again."

"I have to be getting back to the bridge…I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer."

"It's alright, I'm sorry that I crossed a line." She did so frequently.

Feldt stood to leave, then stopped, opening the bag she'd brought and pulling something out of it. "Here, you should take this. It's your new uniform."

Karen accepted the brightly colored uniform. From what she could immediately see the shirt was charcoal gray, the jacket that sat folded under it was an electric light blue. "Thank-you." She smiled.

"I'm sorry the shirt and jacket don't match…I couldn't find a matching set for your measurements."

"That's alright" Karen said. Her German heritage had gifted her with a tall frame and strong bones, things that made fitting usually petit women's clothing difficult. At five foot seven she wasn't surprised.

"And this is from Tieria." Feldt handed her a sealed envelope with her name written in the most beautiful cursive she'd ever seen. "I'll leave you alone to open it."

-I think you'll fit right in here.- The girl's thought made Karen smile. She hoped so.

Feldt slipped out of the room quietly and Karen was left with the small envelope. She pulled the unsealed flap open and withdrew the single piece of manila paper that was inside.

Codename: Reverie Traum

Welcome to Celestial Being.

Reverie Traum. Karen tilted her head. Whomever had chosen the name seemed to know much more about her than she immediately assumed. She wondered if the German term "Traum" was coincidental or of they were aware that her native tongue wasn't English.

"To dream of dreaming." She said aloud. It was very fitting. Much moreso than her own name was. It was more than that though, it was a promise of a fresh start, of a new chapter of life.

Maybe this one could mean something.

She shed the clothing that she'd put on two hours earlier and slipped her new uniform on. Pants. Shirt. Jacket. Boots. She easily wove her hair into a loose braid to keep it out of her way. She folded her old clothing and set it on the ground in the padded room, then sat back against the wall. She absentmindedly ran her finger along the edge of the meal tray the girl had brought as she stared at the pile of fabric. That was the old her, the one who didn't have a hope of changing the world around her. The one that had become nothing but a freak in the eyes of her comrades, the one who could listen to her mother think that she was a drug addict. The one that couldn't explain the truth because no one would believe it.

She looked down at herself in the brand-new uniform. This was the new her, the useful her.

This was Reverie Traum.