"Mobile suit entering atmosphere, heading: north by northeast. Altitude, 2300 feet." The workers at the control tower were checking the monitors. "Checking database… It's a Full Armor Enhanced." The Captain chuckled, knowing who it was. "2000 feet."
"It's okay. Just a regular." The Captain walked over to the comm. panel and picked up the radio, calling the mobile suit. "Welcome back, Cole. Land on Platform 6." Inside the cockpit of the ZZ, Cole nodded, pressing down on the pedals and allowing the computer to take care of the adjustments. The ZZ fired its thrusters and slowed its descent to Onogoro. It slowed almost to a halt as it turned and descended at a slow speed, its feet finally moving under it. The suit blew off some steam as it landed on the ground, some maintenance trucks driving by. As Cole climbed out of the cockpit, one of the technicians called up to him.
"Hey! Need any repairs?" The technician yelled up at Cole as he tethered down to the ground.
"No, just needs a long rest, that's all," Cole smiled at the technician as he drove to around the suit. He looked towards the base and saw a jeep pull up to him. Inside were the Captain and an Ensign who was driving. "Yo. I came to hang out." The Captain smiled, motioning to Cole. He jumped into the back of the jeep and it sped towards the base.
"It's been a while, Cole… She was especially angry when she heard you left so suddenly." Cole sighed, knowing whom the Captain was speaking of. "Who could blame her? Seems like you have a reputation for breaking hearts around Aube."
"It wasn't really my fault." Cole rubbed the back of his head, watching the front door of the base slowly come into view. The jeep halted suddenly, jerking Cole to the side a bit. He climbed out and looked back at the Captain.
"You'll be greeted by the secretary and taken to the designated waiting room. I'll speak with you later on." The Captain waved his hand, the Ensign pushing down the gas and driving off. Cole turned and entered the base, immediately greeted by the secretary, a young lady in a blue uniform and blonde hair.
"Welcome to Morgenroete, Mr. Leonix." Cole smiled, a bit bothered by being called 'Mr.' , but not enough to be rude about it. The secretary led Cole to the second floor, into a spacious waiting room with a view of the mountainside that faced the building. "I'll go on ahead and call in the Director of R&D." the woman bowed and exited the room, leaving Cole to gaze out of the window.
"Man… Last time I was here, I couldn't get even a small ounce of time to myself like this." He walked to the window and watched as a few random mobile suits walked by. His smile faded a bit. "And to think I was doing the same thing only a month or so ago. Of course I was just there as a test pilot, free lance." One of the mobile suits turns to the window and lifts its hand, making a peace sign. Cole smiled and laughed, peace-signing back. "And yet the others haven't changed one bit." He turned and sat down on one of the couches, waiting for the Director.
After a few minutes of waiting, Cole dozed off tired from the descent and his pre-descent battle. After staying asleep for so long, Cole opened his eyes slowly, seeing a face surrounded by chestnut-colored hair right above him. He jerked forward and jumped into the air, almost hitting the window. He turned and looked to see who it was. In horror, Cole backed up a bit more. It was a woman with dark green eyes, and a blue dress-uniform.
"Um. Why are..? What are..?" Cole tried to remain calm, but to no avail. The woman walked up to him, glaring.
"That's all you can say after you just left without notifying me!" The woman got in Cole's face. Cole laughed nervously, backing away from her.
"Come on, Melina! I had to leave right when I got the message! I couldn't call you because first of all, you weren't at your office and second of all my mind was completely set on going back into space!" He finally gained some courage and moved forward on Melina, making her back up a bit.
"Oh! And a few seconds couldn't have hurt, huh! You could have come and told me where you were going! I don't care how late or early it is! I want to know when one of my projects is taken into space!" Melina had finally found something that made Cole quiet. After a few minutes, Cole sighed and walked past her. "You were supposed to contact me if you ever needed to take the ZZ anywhere."
"Still worried about the mobile suit and not the pilot?" Cole looked back at Melina. His question had put them back on equal footing. After a few minutes of silence, Cole shrugged his shoulders and faced Melina. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you but it was on short notice. Now why don't we put that behind us and move on to the business at hand." Melina looked down for a few seconds and then turned her head, accepting his proposition disdainfully.
The two left the waiting room and headed towards the eastern wing of Morgenroete. Melina kept silent as Cole followed her towards the Research and Development floor. "Come on, Melina... You know I didn't mean to, I was just preoccupied, that's all." Melina remained quiet, not answering him. Cole sighed as he caught up and got in front of her, stopping her. Melina looked at him, wondering why he stopped her. "I didn't mean to forget about you, but there were a lot of things on my mind. So..." Cole steps back and bows to Melina. "I'm sorry for not calling you. Please forgive me." Cole looked up at Melina, seeing her surprised face change into a smile. She giggled a bit and walked past him.
"I'm not that angry about it. I just wanted to hear you apologize is all." She kept moving. Cole sighed and stood straight, shrugging his shoulders. He ran up to her side and walked with her. "So, you want to know all that you can about the lost technology? How much do you know so far?" Cole rubbed the back of his head.
"Just start from the beginning and work your way into the finer details," Cole replied. "I don't want to miss any details at all, even if they're simple matters." Melina nodded and turned into one of the elevators, holding the door for Cole. When Cole got in, Melina pressed one of the buttons and the doors shifted closed. The elevator shook and started going up.
"The lost technology was discovered many years ago while scientists were trying to find a way to get rid of the Neutron Jammers that were planted into the ground as a result of the Bloody Valentine." She pulled out a folder from her clipboard and handed it to Cole. "The first lost technology was a mobile suit, specifically this model." Cole opened up the folder and saw the title "RX-78 Gundam". "After that, mobile doll technology, Minovsky fusion reactors, and even the Minovsky Drive engines were discovered and a large array of mobile suit and mobile armor designs. What's most interesting is there was even data on all of the technology that was readable by our computers." She took the folder from Cole, who was done reading its contents.
"And the lost technology was first discovered by Morgenroete, right? If I remember correctly, by your father." Melina nodded, watching the floor number change on the elevator panel. "He was the one who worked on the Minovsky ultracompact fusion reactor and the I-fields... for peaceful applications, of course."
"Yeah... But the Earth Alliance and ZAFT were pissed off about us having the lost technology and improving it for our armies. Therefore, a treaty was signed that allowed the lost technology to be shared amongst the factions while allowing Aube to keep its neutrality. The bad part was that Earth and ZAFT used the lost technology to make even stronger weapons. The worst one of all being a specific Gundam mobile suit." The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Melina and Cole walked out onto a platform that looked onto the mobile suit hangars, the Full Armor Enhanced ZZ in one of the places. Cole smiled down at the ZZ as they moved on through the bay.
"I'm guessing you mean the Devil? How exactly did that thing get off the Earth, huh?"
"It was brought into space in order to be worked on by our technicians from Heliopolis." Melina walked up to a large metal door and slid her ID card through the reader, punching in the code. The door opened slowly and the two walked into the dark, gloomy room. Cole turned the lights on, revealing a large supercomputer with a main screen and four sub-screens. Melina walked to the computer and turned it on, the monitors shifting on, showing a diagram of a large Gundam with what looked like an upper torso connected to a larger head-like body by a long neck. "This is it. The Devil Gundam." Cole walked up to the computer, glaring at it. "They thought it could be used for peaceful applications, but--"
"That thing killed my friends." Melina turned to Cole, a bit surprised. "It killed every single one." Cole lowered his head a bit, still glaring upward. His hands closed into fists as the screen flipped over to another diagram and a long list of the Devil's weapons and equipment. "I'd recognize that thing anywhere." Melina backed up a bit, afraid of what Cole might do. However, Cole stood in place, not moving. Cynthia... Cole turned and rammed his fist into the ground, making a small crater. Melina gasped and backed up a bit more. "I'll get it this time. I'll make sure and destroy it!" He stood back up, his eyes red. "I'll send it back to hell or die trying!" Melina watched Cole as he looked back at the computer, glaring at the next screen, which was an actual photo of the Devil Gundam's face, which seemed to glare back down at Cole.
- - - - - - - - - - -
"Where to this time?" Melina was standing in front of Cole, who was about to get into the ZZ. She looked worried because of how angry Cole acted in the data room. He smiled and looked back at the ZZ. "I was hoping you would stay a bit longer."
"Sorry, but if I run into any hostiles, I'll need the ZZ. It's best suited for my style of combat. Plus I'm so used to its cockpit configuration, it'd be pointless to switch now." He turned and started heading towards the ZZ's cockpit. "I'm going to Josh-A to meet with some of the Earth Alliance officials about the Devil. I have a nagging suspicion it's going to reactivate and attack some unknowing civilians." Cole looked back at Melina as he walked. "Don't worry, the ZZ'll be in one piece once he and I come back." He climbed in and closed the hatch, turning on the main power. The ZZ stood up, its eyes glowing green. It walked a few steps forward and lifted its left arm, giving Melina a thumbs up as it blasted off and left the hangar. Melina lifted her clipboard and sighed.
"Name: Cole Leonix. Birth date: August 23, C.E. 151. Birthplace: Unknown. Current address: Unknown. Medical Status: Normal..." She looks at the open hangar door. "Hard to believe he's a natural and yet so strong. I guess it did have an effect on him." She turned and walked out of the hangar. Outside, The Full Armor Enhanced ZZ jetted away from Onogoro and to the Northeast, heading to Alaska.
- - - - - - - - - - -
The ZZ flew past the Aube territorial waters, the orange sun reflecting off the waves. Cole's mind stayed on the Devil Gundam. "Why would anyone in their right mind recreate such a weapon if it is indeed uncontrollable?" As he finished speaking, a beam shot came from above, passing the ZZ's side. Cole grabbed the controls and veered to the right, spinning around and hovering in the air. He looked up and saw the Buster on a subflight lifter, aiming its combined cannons at the ZZ. "What? Again! Don't you ever give up, Zns!" The Buster fired its cannon at the ZZ repeatedly. The blue suit dodged every shot with relative ease.
"It's X! X!" Xns yelled as the Buster kept firing. The ZZ dodged one last shot and then held its hands back. It dashed towards the Buster and pulled its arms outward. "What the..!" The hands glowed and jabbed at the Buster, slicing the beam cannons and the its arm into pieces. Xns grunted and opened fire with the remaining weaponry at point blank. "DIE!"
"Not a chance!" The ZZ descended and then came back up, its beam saber drawn and powered. It rose up and slashed into the Buster's other arm from underneath. "There's still someone I need to avenge and I don't have time to mess around with some small fry!" Cole moved the other hand at the Buster's head and crushed it. The ZZ then kicked Buster away and blasted off, its heading still for Alaska.
"DAMMIT!" Xns yelled as the Buster plummeted to the waters below, the subflight lifter flying out of control. The sun began to set behind the ZZ, shining a golden blue color from the dusk.