The First Steps

Scene from my first story and regular canon happen if they are not contradicted.

"Regular speech"

'Thought'

"Video call or voice chat"

Marlene

The 00 passed by the bridge of the ship, heading towards Proud. Marlene looked out evenly from the captain's seat, hiding her nerves. The 00 was going out alone to investigate the likely attack on the colony, though she had the Seravee ready to be launched just in case Setsuna needed back up. Neither of the suits had been tested in real combat, so it would be essential they did well. 'If they can't, then we might as well stop now.'

She looked over to her daughter, who she could tell was nervously looking at her sensors. While she was long past her clinging phase, her daughter hadn't been truly separated from Setsuna in a long while, so this would be new to her too. 'She'll tough it out.' In a commanding voice, she called out to Lasse, "Move the ship into cover and wait for future orders."

The dark-haired man responded evenly, "Understood Ma'am." The Ptolemy 2 moved near some asteroids, breaking up the frame of the ship for any observers. 'Now we wait.' Setsuna had all the resources he needed to deal with the threats that were approaching the colony. 'Please save as many people as possible.' Dying in space, in a colony or not, was not something she wished on anyone innocent.

Letting out a sigh, she eased into her chair, memories of the past flowed unbidden into her mind. It had been a long time since she had been woken up by Ian, something she had been shocked by.

Blinding light. That was all she could see as her eyes slowly opened. 'Where am I? The last thing I remember was crashing down to earth.' The light began to clear up as she blinked a few times, a medical room filling her sight. She saw and felt a medical gown on herself as she lay in a sealed regeneration chamber. Her throat was dry and when she tried to move, she felt weak and sore. 'Did Celestial Being recover me? Why do I feel so weak?' She tried to move on her side, but once again she could barely move. She needed to find her daughter. Her husband and Chall had told her to leave for her. A tear came to her eyes. 'Ruido. Chall. I'm so sorry.'

She was surprised when she heard the door open and a familiar figure entered the room, though looking different than she remembered. Ian stood in the doorway with wide eyes, looking like he had aged a decade or more. 'I always thought he was an old man before…' She called out to him, her throat croaking weakly, "Ian…"

Ian rushed over, lowering the regeneration pod walls, "I'm surprised to see you awake so early. How are you feeling?"

She reached out to her old friend, coughing, "…Water." Ian nodded at her, bringing over a bottle of water floating nearby. Marlene drank it like a man dying of thirst in the desert, immediately feeling better, if only a little. She had so many questions to ask, so much she wanted to know.

Her first question was a painful one, but she had to rip the band aid off immediately, "Ian… are Chall and Ruido…"

Ian just shook his head sadly, "They didn't make it. I sorry." Tears began to flow down Marlene's cheeks, too weak to sob. 'Why Ruido? I just wanted to be by your side. We could have saved Chall. Feldt would have had…' Her eyes widened. 'Feldt!' Her voice, still a bit hoarse, called out to Ian in a panic, "Where is Feldt?! I need to see her!"

Ian let out a deep sigh, "Marlene, a lot has happened since you fell into a coma."

Marlene looked at him, confused, "Coma? What do you mean a coma? I must only have been out for a short time."

Ian shook his head, "Marlene, it's been ten years since you were recovered." Marlene looked at him, scanning to see if he was lying to her. The serious look on his face and seeming weight on his shoulder told her everything she needed to know. 'It's been ten years? How? Wouldn't I have woken up sooner?' Testing her body again, the weakness she felt before made more sense. If she had been in a ten-year long coma, then her muscles would have atrophied.

Her mind shifted to analysis mode. 'What did I miss? What happened to my daughter? What was Celestial Being like?' She looked up at Ian, the first question coming out of her lips, "I have many questions. But I need to know if my daughter is safe."

Ian nodded, smiling at her, "She is safe currently. She's a tough girl." Ian ran a hand through his hair, "A lot has happened recently and I assumed you would want to wait, but I suppose now is as good a time as ever." Ian pulled a chair up, sitting down next to her, "What do you want to know?"

Ian had caught her up during their talk, Marlene absorbing everything she could. The seriousness of the situation caught her by surprise, especially the loss of Veda. Ian had sounded incredibly stressed and Marlene had tried to tell him he did a good job, but Ian just shook his head, saying she was exaggerating. Marlene was then curious if she would get visitors, but Ian had said he wanted to make sure Marlene was feeling better before she had any visitors. Marlene had reluctantly agreed, not wanting her daughter to look at her in such a weakened state. She wanted Feldt to see her as a strong woman, not a weakened coma patient. However, the next major shift in her life had happened a few weeks into her physical therapy.

Marlene put the new uniform she had been given Ian. It had been a few weeks since she woke up and more of her old strength was returning. That, along with a combo of regeneration treatments, had done wonders for her. She probably wouldn't ever reach her old physical fitness, but this was much more tolerable than when she first woke up.

Ian had even kept her up to date on her daughter. She had apparently come out of her room and begun to be social again. 'I'm sorry my daughter had to lose part of her crew.' Marlene's heart ached at her daughter's pain. She completely understood where she was coming from. As far as Marlene know, she and Ian were the only survivors of their team. She had privately grieved for her husband, Chall and the rest of the team, though the pain didn't fully go away. 'I wonder if it ever will.'

The door to her room opened and Ian's wife, Linda, walked in. It had been a shock to learn he was married, and even had a daughter that was only a few years younger than Feldt, but the blonde woman had proved herself to be intelligent, friendly and professional. 'He chose well.'

Linda smiled at Marlene, "How are you feeling?" The woman had a mini-terminal in her hand, Marlene unable to see the display. 'What is she looking at?'

The former meister responded evenly, "I am well. Just trying on this new uniform. It's strange to see us actually have a uniform."

"We thought it might help with creating a strong bond within the organization. We are currently working on the design, so it might change." Marlene nodded at Linda's words. The uniform was comfortable, so she had little to complain about. Linda's expression then changed to a frown, piquing Marlene's curiosity, "I have… unfortunate news for you."

Marlene steeled herself, "What is it?" Life had thrown her several curveballs already, so what was one more?

Linda let out a breath, "Well, we found something strange when we looked at your medical scans and looking further into it, it's not good."

Marlene tapped her foot impatiently, "Just tell me the bad news."

Linda pursed her lips, "You have GN particle poisoning. When you got hit by all those particles on that mission, they affected your body, slowly killing you." Marlene looked at her, confused and Linda continued, taking into account Marlene's confusion, "It's similar to cancer. The cells are slowly tearing apart your body and we have no way to stop them, not fully. The regeneration chamber you were in during your coma must have kept them from hurting you, but now that you are out…"

Marlene replied in a slightly shaky voice, "How long do I have?"

Linda looked at her terminal before looking back up at her, "We estimate five or so years? As long as you don't do too much physically stressful work, it should keep it from accelerating. Regen treatment have shown to delay it, so that will help you."

Marlene nodded blankly, "Thank you." Marlene didn't know what to think, a stunned look on her face. 'How do you react to being told you only a few more years to live?'

Linda just nodded her head respectfully, "I'll leave you alone." The blonde woman left the room, the door closing behind her. Marlene balled her fist in frustration. 'Five years? I only have five years left.' The information explained why Marlene always had a sense of dull pain, and it certainly also hurt emotionally. She only had that much time left, not only for herself, but also for her daughter. Just as she was about to enter her daughter's life again, it would be taken away. 'Why is life this cruel?' A tear rolls down her cheek, the tragedy of the situation hitting her.

Marlene shook her head, steeling herself. Right now, she needed to be strong. She would use what time she had left. Once she was recovered, she would spend time with her daughter and help Celestial Being as much as she could. 'Feldt didn't need to know.' She wouldn't want to scare the girl who just got her mother back immediately.

And soon after that, Ian had offered her the position of commander of Celestial Being, which Marlene had accepted. She had noticed the pain had been getting worse over the years, but it was manageable for now. 'I just hope we have enough time that I can make this count.' She shook her head, pushing the past into the back of her mind. Right now was not the time to be unfocused.

Feldt's voice broke the calm of the bridge, "The 00 has engaged three enemy mobile suits!"

Marlene nodded in understanding, speaking calmly, "Keep tabs on his opponents and communications lines open." Feldt responded affirmatively, focusing on her terminal. Marlene kept her focus on the main windows of the bridge. 'It looks like the info we got was accurate. And thankfully, it's only three suits. It shouldn't be too much of an issue for Setsuna.'

Setsuna

Setsuna exited his Gundam, lowering himself to the floor. As he reached the ground, Saji stepped out angrily, shaking in pent up rage, "Setsuna F. Seiei! Were you the pilot of one of the Gundams four years ago?!"

Setsuna just stared at his old neighbor, "Saji Crossroad." It had been strange to see him here, but he was happy he saved him. And now that they were in the clear for now, he could relax.

Saji yelled desperately at him, "Answer me!"

Setsuna nodded, "Yes, I was a Gundam Meister five years ago. And I still am." He could see Saji's growing anger, but didn't understand why. 'What did we do to him?'

Saji balled his fists, glaring at Setsuna, "Do you know what you've done! Because of you guys, a lot of people died! It's all your fault!" Saji looked at him, waiting for a response. Setsuna could see the desperation in Saji's eyes, the anger clearly rooted in it. 'I guess I learned something from Feldt.' Saji took a step closer to Setsuna, his grief becoming apparent, "Because of you guys, the woman I love got hurt and lost her entire family. And then all I had left was my sister." He took a shuddering breath, "She crossed paths with Celestial Being and got killed too."

Setsuna internally frowned at Saji. He didn't know Saji went through all that, but there was nothing he could have done back then. 'Is Saji ignoring the innocent people who died here?' The Japanese man began to cry, shaking, "I lost Louise. And my sister! And they're gone now! Say something!"

Setsuna stayed silent, not knowing what to say. He didn't want to say anything that would upset the man, but he didn't know how he could help Saji. Saji suddenly charged him, punching Setsuna in the face, sending Setsuna stumbling back in surprise, and reached down for the meister's gun. Setsuna recovered quickly, stepping back, not wanting to hurt the man, getting the gun out of Saji's reach. Saji took another swing at him and Setsuna sighed, knowing he couldn't talk the man down. Not right now. Another untrained punch came in and Setsuna took advantage of that, grabbing him by the arm to get behind him, quickly restraining him by both his arms.

Saji yelled out in frustration as he fruitlessly struggled against Setsuna, tears flowing from his eyes. Setsuna winced slightly, his cheek where he got punched beginning to hurt. 'That's gonna bruise.' After half a minute, Saji's struggle stopped and Setsuna let go, the man dropping to the floor, crying. 'I'm sorry it had to come to that. I really am.' Setsuna knelt down in front of the man, his voice soft, "Saji, I need to leave. You can either come with me or stay here, waiting for whatever happens. They probably think you are a rebel, so I can't know for sure if you will be safe. What do you want to do?"

Saji wordlessly looked between the door they came in on and the 00 a few times, before looking at the 00 and sighing. Setsuna smiled slightly internally, 'I think you made the right choice. At least one person got out safely.'

Setsuna could feel the 00 being pulled back into the hanger of the Ptolemaios 2, his mission complete. Proud had definitely been attacked by the A-Laws, the place full of Automatons who had been massacring the population of the place. After dealing with them, he had fought off a team of three mobile suits, one of which was a new model. The new model and one of the other suits had escaped, but they had been stopped. 'I wish I had gotten there earlier.' It also frustrated him he couldn't use the trans-am. 'I might have gotten them all if I had that.'

He glanced to his right to see Saji looking at the forward display vacantly, completely lost. He had found his neighbor from Japan, Saji Crossroad, as a prisoner at the colony, being held as a Katharon rebel. 'There was no way he would do that, based on how he had reacted to the 00.' The Japanese man's first reaction to the 00 had not been good, having fallen to his knees in despair. After having rescued him and beaten the enemy mobile suits, he had arrived back in the hanger and Saji had not reacted well.

The 00 settled into its position in the hanger, and Setsuna opened the hatch, pointing to Saji to exit the Gundam. Saji nodded blankly, leading the way out of the 00. During the travel over, he called the ship to prepare the brig for someone he found, having cuffed him before he got on the 00 at the colony. The hanger was empty at the moment, though he would be sure that Ian would come to check on the 00 soon.

Quickly exiting the hanger, Setsuna and Saji made their way to the brig and when they reached the T-junction that led to it, he was surprised to see Feldt coming towards them. Feldt waved at him, to which he waved back, and she looked at Saji curiously, "Who is this?"

Setsuna looked at Saji, wondering if he would answer, but when he said nothing, Setsuna spoke up, "This is Saji Crossroad. He was caught up in everything at Proud, so I brought him here to safety."

Feldt nodded, but then looked at him like she realized something, "Wasn't Saji your neighbor you mentioned a long time ago?" Setsuna nodded and Feldt looked at Saji kindly, "I'm sorry you had to go through all that. We'll try to let you out as soon as possible."

Saji just ignored her, which slightly annoyed Setsuna, but he remembered Saji wasn't in the best mental state, so he let it go. Setsuna took a deep breath and just as he was about to lead Saji to his cell, Feldt touched the bruised side of his face, causing him to flinch.

Feldt frowned, her eyes full of worry, "What happened?"

Setsuna gave her a weak smile, "It's nothing. Just happened when I was fighting." Guilt settled in his chest. Feldt being worried about him always seemed to make him feel guilty.

He saw Feldt didn't fully believe him, but she didn't seem to want to press him further on the details, "Please get that looked at? For me?"

Setsuna blushed slightly and nodded, "Ok. I will." He looked down the hallway where she came from, which led to the bridge, "I'm sure your mother wants you back." Feldt nodded, giving him a warm smile and headed back the way she came.

Saji's angry voice interrupted the happy moment, "Who was that?"

Setsuna looked at him evenly, "That was my girlfriend." The side of his mouth quirked into a small smile. It was still nice to say it, even after the last several months they had been dating.

Saji just glared at him, "How come you get to be happy when I lost everything? I didn't do anything wrong!"

Setsuna kept his cool, once again moving towards the brig, Saji behind him, "I'm sorry that you suffered, and I wish that didn't happen to you, but all we can do is try to make it right." He knew Saji was out of the loop and wouldn't know about Setsuna's relationship with Feldt or even the rest of what was going on four years ago. 'Who killed his sister? None of us were involved.' Saji was another person who lost everything due to their interference. 'I hope he can get the full story soon.' It was regrettable that all of that had to happen and Setsuna didn't know what he could say that wouldn't piss Saji off.

Saji had once again gone silent, and when they reached the room, Setsuna opened the door, showing a padded cell. Setsuna looked at Saji apologetically, "I don't want to have to hold you like this, but these are orders from our commander. You will be given food at every meal and please don't try to escape. None of us want to hurt you unnecessarily."

Saji just wordlessly entered the room, Setsuna closing the door behind him and locking it. He didn't know if Marlene would talk to Saji, but if she did, he hoped it wouldn't be too brutal.

Feldt

Feldt sat at her station on the bridge, which was currently empty except for her and Tieria, who was sitting at helm. Setsuna had just left to gather Sumeragi and the new recruit from Earth, leaving the rest of the crew to wait for him to get back. Feldt frowned as she typed on her digital keyboard. 'I hope Setsuna took my advice. Ms. Sumeragi was not in the best shape when she left.' Feldt looked at the ceiling, wringing her hands. 'Why did everything seem to compound.' She looked over at Tieria, who caught her eye and gave her a concerned look, "Are you ok? I can understand if Setsuna being gone again bothers you."

Feldt shook her head, "No, that's fine. I got over that worry a while ago. I knew my mother would send him on missions like this." Feldt gave Tieria a smile, then frowned, "I guess I'm just concerned about Ms. Sumeragi is all."

Tieria nodded his head knowingly, "Yeah, me too. She was not in a good state when she left us. You really cared for her, didn't you?"

Feldt smiled sadly, "She was like the mother to the bridge crew. Even when she was buzzed, she was always there for us. She even called Christina and I her girls when we were designing the new operating system." Feldt leaned back in her chair, "It hurt to see her so despondent and caught up in drinking. I wish I could have helped her, could have talked to her. Maybe she wouldn't have left us."

Tieria shook his head, his voice comforting, "Feldt, I don't think any of us could have helped. Not in the state any of us we were in. We all had our issues at the time. You shouldn't beat yourself up about it. And she seemed to take the loss of Christina, Lichty, Dr. Moreno and Neil particularly bad."

The redhead sighed deeply, "I know. It just…still hurts a little bit." Feldt looked down at her console intently, thinking back on that time period. It was a time of intense emotions for her. 'I was so focused on either finding Setsuna or burying myself in work.' In her mind, she knew that a teenage girl going through her own trauma wouldn't have helped that much, but in her heart, she felt a bit of guilt for not being there for the older woman.

She looked back at Tieria, her voice slightly nervous, "Do you think she will come back to us?"

Tieria nodded confidently, "I'm certain Setsuna will be able to convince her to rejoin us. Hopefully, he doesn't have to resort to just grabbing her and running. She knows we need her."

"But what if she doesn't want to help us? Maybe she's too hurt?" Feldt had no idea where she went after she left, so Feldt had no idea if she got any help. 'I hope she did find someone to help her. Maybe she found family or a friend?' That would be the best case, because at least she was not on the streets or anything like that.

Tieria smiled warmly at her, "Feldt, I'm certain we will be able to get through to her. She cared about all of us, no matter how much of an ass some of us were." The purple-haired man chuckled to himself, "I bet it'll be a shock to see the group as it is."

Feldt joined him in chuckling, "Yeah. My mom is alive, Setsuna and I are dating, and you are actually nice. Oh, and Ian had a daughter."

Tieria shook his head good naturedly, his voice wistful, "Another person to have to suffer the endless curiosity of her. I still am surprised she is related to Ian sometimes."

Feldt giggled, a hand over her mouth, "Yeah. I'm pretty sure he gets more annoyed with her than any of us do. Especially when she distracts the Haros."

"My ears were ringing the last time she got him yelling."

Feldt grinned, "Well, she wouldn't be Mileina if she wasn't a ball of curiosity and energy." Taking the girl under her wing had been more exhausting than she expected, not that she was truly complaining. It was nice to see such positive energy coming from someone. It was strange to be in the place Christina was to her, but felt nice.

Tieria let out a laugh, but then his voice became more serious, "What do you think of this new recruit we are getting?"

Feldt's expression tightened for a second before going to an even look, looking at her display, "I'm certain Wang Liu Mei picked a suitable pilot. Especially if they are most likely a Katharon recruit." Wang Liu Mei had given the group information on the pilot but said she couldn't fully confirm if they were a member of the rebel group or not.

Tieria's voice was even as he replied, "It's going to be interesting to bring an outsider into our crew. Though I assume your mother will put them through the ringer."

Feldt silently nodded at that, "Most likely. I hope she's not too rough. We should at least give them the benefit of the doubt." Even if she was internally frustrated at still not being able to pilot, she wouldn't want to be judged because she was an outsider in a new group and the same should apply to this new person.

She could hear Tieria's smile as he spoke, "Yeah. Maybe you should apologize for your mother."

Feldt laughed bitterly, "I might have to." She heard Tieria laugh for a second before stopping, and the room descended into silence, her and Tieria getting back to work. As the minutes passed, the happy feelings began to subside and some of Feldt's frustrations began to bubble up in her mind. She had been accepting of the fact her mother would never let her become a meister, but with the knowledge that they would be on the ship in a few days, the realization she wouldn't pilot a Gundam had reared its ugly head.

She had had a faint hope that her mother would realize it was better to pick her than try to recruit someone from the outside, but that hadn't happened. The Cheridum was going to be piloted by someone else and there was nothing she could do about it. It felt almost like slowly boiling water thinking about it. She couldn't help but feel piloting was something she needed to do. 'I know it's selfish, but I'm a good pilot! I hate sitting on the bridge, after all I went through four years ago! I just want to protect people. I want to keep what happened to Christina and Lichty from happening again.'

It was an ugly feeling and she hated that it wouldn't go away. It made her feel angry and frustrated with her mother, and she didn't want to do that. Her mother had been gone for so long in her life and Feldt didn't want to push her way or drive a wedge between them. 'I wish she would just tell me why. What is so wrong with me piloting?' She knew her mother supposedly promised she would get the next machine Celestial Being made, but she had a sinking feeling that was a pipe dream as well.

Feldt shook her head, shoving away the negative thoughts. She had to work on the bridge to protect the crew. She couldn't dwell on these pipe dreams. She had a task in front of her and she would do it to the best of her abilities. 'Is this what it's like for Setsuna? To have to do something you don't enjoy?'

Author Note

Another chapter done! Now the plot begins! I'll see you guys next week and please comment, review, kudos, etc.!