Unexpected Betrayal

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

"Regular speech"

'Thought'

"Video call or voice chat"

Setsuna

Setsuna exited the medbay of the ship, finally happy his shoulder was as healed as it would be. Anew said the GN particles in his wound worried her a bit, but they had effectively been contained by something going on with him, so he wouldn't have to worry, though she admitted she couldn't explain it. 'I wonder if this is part of the changes Feldt and I are going through. I hope Soma and Allelujah can help explain this later.' He and Feldt had convinced the two super soldiers to answer or try to explain the changes the couple was going through.

As he reached a T-Junction, he saw Lyle standing there, his casual smile gracing his face. The Irishman looked at the raven-haired meister and spoke in a light tone, "How's the arm?"

"All healed. Anew says I don't need to check up with her anymore."

Lyle floated over and smacked him on the shoulder that hadn't been injured, "Good to see you are fully up and running. Can't be at our best without you."

Setsuna grunted from the hit, but gave him a slight smile back, "Thanks." He then noticed Lyle looking at him like the brunette wanted him to ask a question. Taking the bait, Setsuna asked, "Is there something on your mind?"

Lyle blushed slightly, unusually embarrassed, despite trying to hide it behind his normal relaxed attitude, "If I hypothetically had a girlfriend, what would you say? What would the rest of the ship think?"

"This is hypothetical?" Lyle nodded and Setsuna continued, "I would be happy for you. Being in love has made my life better, so I wouldn't have an issue with it as long as the person wasn't a threat to the crew." He thought for a second before looking Lyle in the eyes, "As for the rest of the crew, I can't see most of them having an issue. Feldt would be just as happy as me, probably more. The only one I can see being annoyed is Marlene, but that's because you keep pushing her buttons."

Lyle grinned at that, "I do tend to annoy her, yes. Your mother-in-law has always ridden my ass, though she's lightened up since my Katharon connection has gone public. And it's nice to know that you would be happy."

Setsuna's senses told him Lyle was hiding something, a tingle in the back of his head making him more suspicious. Setsuna gave him a small smile, "You are certain this is a hypothetical? Like you being a spy?"

"Funny guy." Lyle reacted a bit too quickly, making him more suspicious, "No, just a hypothetical. Not like I have a lot of options on the ship. Mileina is too young, Marlene doesn't like me and I'm pretty sure Sumeragi isn't really interested in romance, at least with any of the crew members."

Setsuna responded evenly, "You left out Anew on that list. I have noticed you have been hanging out with her and you two get along."

Lyle scratched the back of his neck, nervous tone lacing his voice, "Well she is an attractive woman, I won't deny that. But we are just friends. She's a bit too focused on her work to have time for a relationship. Not that I wouldn't complain if she was interested." Setsuna detected a hint of longing in his voice, but he couldn't tell if it was related to wanting to be with Anew or something else. 'Relationships still confuse me sometimes.'

Setsuna shrugged his shoulders, "If you say so. I would go for it if you are interested in her. It wouldn't hurt to have her know how you feel."

"Thanks for the advice, Casanova. I'll tell you how that goes." Lyle laughed and shook his head, "Well I got things to do, but I just wanted to check to see if you were in tip top shape. I'll see you later."

Setsuna once again realized he was lying, but chose not to pursue that, "Thanks. See you later."

Lyle saluted him and began to travel down the hallway he came from, and when he was out of sight, Setsuna chuckled to himself. He could tell Lyle definitely had feelings for Anew but wasn't sure if she returned them. He tried to imagine the Irishman with Sumeragi or Marlene but even he could tell that would be a no go. Marlene would never date again. and Sumeragi seemed too focused on the crew like a mother figure to have time for a relationship. 'I wish him the best with Anew. If they are together or do get together, than this ship is almost more couples than non-couples.'

Feldt

Feldt and Setsuna stood in front of the super soldiers in the observation room, holding hands, both trying to calm their nerves. The fact something had been happening to the two, growing stronger over the last four months, was something that had been a worry in the back of their minds. They had initially been hesitant to ask the pair for help due to Soma being rather moody before, but she had seemingly calmed down, so this was the perfect time to ask.

Feldt started, looking at the pair of super soldiers, squeezing Setsuna's hand, "Thank you for talking to us. I'm sorry if we sprung this on you."

Allelujah shook his head, smiling, "It's fine. It's a friend's job to be there for friends when they need help. What is going on?"

Soma looked at the pair with a more neutral look, "What do you need from us specifically? Or at least me?"

A slight bit of annoyance went through Feldt. She knew Soma was still a bit touchy and insensitive, and was trying her best, but she couldn't help but be annoyed, especially relating to this topic that had been making her nervous for the last couple months. She took a calming breath and continued, "Setsuna and I have been…changing, for lack of a better term."

Setsuna stepped in, continuing for her, "Ever since we have started piloting the 00 Raiser, our reflexes have become sharper, we can almost predict what the enemy is doing in combat and when we use trans-am, we are able to detect and sense people's emotions, sometimes even their surface thoughts." Setsuna took a deep breath, "Sometimes we enter a weird…dimension? I don't know how describe it besides it being kind of pastel. Feldt and I, along with anyone else in it, have their emotions easily be sensed and we can even talk telepathically."

Feldt nodded in agreement, happy he left out the fact they are both naked in the space, "I can almost read Setsuna like a book and vice versa with me. Both of us agreed that you would be the only people we can talk to about this, since some of this matches up with what you guys can do. We have no idea what is going on." Feldt looked at Setsuna then at the super soldier anxiously, hoping they have some sort of answer for them.

She squeezed her husband's hand as she watched Soma and Allelujah discuss something, a look of intense thought on both of their faces. Setsuna gave her a smile that washed away some of her nervousness and she intertwined their hands in silent thanks. After a few minutes of talking, the two super soldiers gave the couple pensive looks. Allelujah nodded at Soma and she began in an even voice, "I can see why you came to us. Most people on this ship wouldn't be able to understand…your issue." She smoothed her uniform, "Some of your abilities do match up with the features we were given, but what seems weird is that neither of you went through what we did. You both are certain you were never experimented on?"

The married couple nodded their heads, and Setsuna asked inquisitively, "How do you two access your abilities?"

Allelujah smiled slightly, "We both got implanted with a separate personality, so both personalities have to be sync'd up to be fully functional." He winced, "Let's just say that at least for me, that wasn't exactly the easiest road."

Feldt remembered Allelujah had another personality named Hallelujah, but it seemed he tended to not interact with the crew that much, Allelujah saying he left the boring stuff to the boring guy. 'At least he isn't a threat to the ship, though I hope Allelujah is ok with this.'

Soma nodded, "Marie and I are…working through things right now, but get along enough for combat. But back on topic, can you sense people's emotions outside of trans-am? Or is that only in it?"

Feldt responded quickly, "Sometimes I get little feelings in the back of my head, like when someone is lying or experiencing a strong emotion, but it disappears in a flash. Also, sometimes I have a strong pressure in the back of my head at random times." Feldt looked at Soma thoughtfully, "Come to think of it, it usually happened right before we were attacked."

Soma nodded at that, "I told your mother that after an…outburst. Granted I don't know how she could use that, but she did know."

Allelujah looked at Soma with a look of understanding, before looking at Feldt and Setsuna, "Then that confirms you have quantum brainwaves, whether you can use them actively or not." He chuckled, "It certainly seems nice to have those without having to deal with a temperamental other personality." He once again winced, "Calm down Hal! You are ok…mostly." He grunted in slight pain again, but seemed to go back to normal. 'Must be strange to have another person in your head.'

Soma shrugged her shoulders, "I don't mind it so much. But based on what you told us, you two are a different beast compared to us. Almost like us in terms of human evolution, but more natural, if that makes sense." The white-haired woman tilted her head as she looked the pair, curiosity clear, "Do you guys mind if I try something?"

Feldt looked at Setsuna nervously, but he just nodded, squeezing their linked hands, and she responded with her own, confidence filling her. Setsuna nodded, "Go ahead."

Soma put a hand on both her and Setsuna's shoulders, closing her eyes. Feldt began to feel a tingle in the back of her mind, as well as it strangely coming from…Setsuna? 'Why am I sensing this from him?' It was like there was a link between them or like a string that had been loose, that was now at max tension. She could see Soma sweating a little as she concentrated, her grip tightening. After a minute of this, Soma let go of them, taking in a deep breath, an intrigued look on her face.

"I don't know what is going on with you two, but there is something that is heavily shrouded, but growing inside both of you. And there is a bond between you two, like Allelujah and Marie. A connection that might even be more intense. Whenever it gets released, it will be overwhelming."

Allelujah's had widened eyes as he glanced at Soma, silently looking at her, to which she looked back and he simply nodded. Feldt looked at the pair confused. 'Were they communicating with quantum brainwaves?' She whispered quietly to Setsuna, "What do you think they are doing?"

Setsuna shrugged his shoulders, looking confused by all of this, "I have no idea. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this bond and suppressed abilities. This whole quantum thing is well…your thing."

Feldt sighed, knowing he was correct. Setsuna was actually pretty intelligent, but there was a reason she was better at running sensors than him. 'I suppose I have to make up for that. No one is perfect.' Feldt noticed out of the corner of her eye that Allelujah and Soma were quietly talking about something.

Feldt glared slightly at Setsuna, still whispering, "I'm an engineer, not a theoretical physicist. I am good with machines and technology."

"Then I guess we both are in the dark here."

Allelujah cleared his throat, drawing the married couple's attention back towards the super soldiers, "Soma and I have been talking, and while I can't say either of us can help you right now, since it seems more of your new changes are passive, we can try to help you once you figure out more." He smiled at them, "This is new for everyone it seems. Though I have a suggestion."

Feldt looked at him curiously, "What is it?"

"If that bond you two share is anything like the bond Soma and I have with our other personalities, then you two might be able to do something similar. You two might be able to read each other, but beyond that I'm unsure if it's the same as us with our other personalities. I have no idea if it will make you any faster or skilled, but your teamwork would be second to none."

Setsuna nodded, smiling, "Thank you. I appreciate you two helping us try to understand all this." He let out a sigh, "This is certainly going to be interesting."

Feldt chuckled nervously, "Well at least we can understand each other easily. That's comforting."

Allelujah shook his head, "Just doing what any good friend should do." Feldt smiled warmly, happy Allelujah was feeling better. Just looking at this conversation, it seemed to the two super soldiers, who had been in a rough state a few months ago, now at least could pretend to get along, though she hoped it wasn't pretend. The unease she felt earlier began to disappear, a sense of resolution in the back of her mind.

Soma spoke up, a slight smile on her face, "And while I wouldn't call you guys friends per se, I wouldn't want you guys to feel so confused and alone. Allelujah and I will be here if you ever need help."

Feldt smiled at her, "Soma, you are one of the crew. You don't need to feel like you aren't a friend."

Soma blushed slightly, smiling fully, "Thank you." Feldt smiled back, before kissing Setsuna's cheek. They didn't get all the answers that they wanted, but any information was better than none. They would have to figure this out, but at least they could come to someone for help.

Marlene

Marlene sat around the conference table with Sumeragi and Tieria, currently frustrated at what to do next. With the destruction of the second Memento Mori, they had dealt a final blow to the A-Laws superweapons, but it was tarnished slightly by the fact that left Celestial Being with no real long-term plan.

Marlene spoke up, mounting frustration obvious, "What do we do now? We still have no idea where the innovators are striking from. Or where Veda is." Not helping her mood right now was the fact her condition was only getting worse, the pain she was experiencing harder and harder to reduce. She was now effectively terminal, only a few months left at most. 'The violent coughs are a bit annoying.'

Sumeragi looked at her, sighing, "Marlene, you've mentioned it before. We do not have a plan right now. The innovades have been remarkably good at hiding Veda's Location."

"We could try to capture an A-Laws pilot. They might now where it is." Marlene was currently grasping at straws, wanting to come up with anything. They had fought the A-Laws and innovators over twenty times over the last four months, but that was not forward progress.

The tactical forecaster shook her head, "I already asked Soma. She said the only people who might know would be those at their headquarters, but based on what we've seen of these innovators, they hold themselves above humanity. I don't think they would share that type of information with them."

Marlene grimaced and didn't respond, hating how useless she was. She wasn't the plan person, but having any sort of plan would be comforting. Otherwise it felt like they were drifting through space, unable to visit any of their bases out of fear of being discovered.

Tieria, who has been silent this entire time, finally spoke up, a quiet confidence lacing his voice, "Then we need to capture one of the innovators."

Both women looked at him, eyeing him warily. Marlene narrowed her eyes, trying to run the idea through her head. She spoke first, "Capture an innovator? That sounds like a bad idea." There was a lot of risks with that, especially potentially letting the innovators getting access to their systems or taking their data.

Sumeragi shook her head at that comment, catching Marlene by surprise. Marlene blinked and Sumergai put a hand under her chin, humming under her breath, "That isn't the worst idea, now that you mention it." Marlene's head turned to face Sumeragi, a look of confusion on her face. Sumeragi began to explain, "Marlene, whenever we beat an innovator, they always seem to escape in some sort of escape pod. The only one that didn't do that was the one Tieria defeated on Earth." Tieria nodded at that and Sumeragi continued, "This presents the perfect opportunity to try to grab one of them as they try to escape."

Marlene gave the two an even look, "It sounds like a risk to take your focus away from other enemies to capture someone."

"Our enemies have been coming to us recently, so I don't think that's an issue." Tieria replied evenly, "Then that's the risk we will have to take. All of us meisters know the risks we face by going into combat. It's just another one on top of the bucket that we already have."

Marlene lightly bit her lip, hiding the fact her nerves were going off right now, "And we are sure that they can't do anything to our ship or Gundams? What are the odds they can hack into our systems?"

The tactical forecaster spoke with confidence, "Very unlikely. You need to manually be able to access our systems. Your daughter and Christina made sure of that. It was one of my worries when we started developing it."

Sumeragi then gave her a sympathetic look, brown eyes softening, "I know you are worried about the crew and organization. I am just as worried as you." Her voice took on a pleading tone, "But right now we have nothing to go on. I don't like this idea either, but it's the only one that we have."

Marlene quietly swore under her breath, "Damnit!" She raised her voice a bit, a hint of desperation in it, "Any clue if Wang Liu Mei would know?" Marlene would never want to trust the Chinese woman, but she could give them some info.

Tieria shook his head, "We haven't been in contact with her in months, so she's a no go. It's worrying that she's been so silent."

Marlene let out a deep sigh, knowing her two comrades were right. This was the only option they had. It was an immense security risk, but they were past the point when they could rely on their existing info network. She folded her hands together in front of her as she spoke, centering herself, "If we were go forward with this plan, what do we do?"

Sumeragi smirked confidently, Marlene feeling uplifted slightly by that, "I have some ideas."

Setsuna

With the battle to capture an innovator ongoing, Setsuna and Feldt had finally been able to defeat an innovator in a Garazzo, easily overpowering the enemy machine. It was gratifying to see the enemy that had so easily overpowered them at first get defeated so badly. It wasn't the first time, but it never got old.

But what surprised him was the fact that just as he was about to chase down the escaping artificial human, a bright light engulfed him and as he blinked to clear away the brightness, he saw the sight of the old island he and Neil had kept a pod for their Gundams, and he was currently wearing his casual uniform. 'What is this? Why are we here?' He could smell the sea breeze and hear the sound of the ocean lapping onto the sands, before rolling back into the ocean. It was nostalgic, but there was almost a tinge of bittersweet in the air.

He took a deep breath and saw Feldt standing there in her uniform, looking just as confused as him. She looked at him, eyes wide, "Why are we…?" She pauses for a second before continuing, "This is the beach where you told me about your past. Where I realized you were attracted to me. Aren't we normally in that void?"

Setsuna looked down at the sand, walking up behind his wife and resting his head on top of hers, trying to get the measure of what is going on. He knew this place wasn't real. 'But why would we be here?' He closed his eyes, trying to take in the feeling of the area. Every time the entered that strange place, emotion and thought was key, not regular logic. He could feel strings in the area, coming from both of them, the lines shooting into the endless sky and ground. The nostalgia and bittersweet feeling only increased and memories of the past flew through his mind, connecting more and more. This was the place they had peace for the last time four years ago. Before everything went bad, before Neil had died. Before Christina, Lichty and Dr. Moreno died. He and Feldt has been at peace, her playing in the ocean with Haro, him smiling softly at her, trying not to look at her chest. 'Oh.'

Keeping his eyes closed, he spoke softly and kindly, putting a hand on Feldt's hips, "Close your eyes, and just feel."

Her voice was weak, "What do you…"

He repeated his instruction, trying to impart his serenity and understanding to her. She must have gotten it because he could feel a sense of confusion being replaced by calmness, her hand laid on top of his on her hip. Kissing the back of her head, he let her just soak in the environment, hoping she came to the understanding that she did.

After about a minute, she turned around and he wrapped his arms around her waist, smiling warmly at her, her eagerly returning the expression, "This is us. A moment where both of us understood each other. Where we connected."

He nodded, breathing her in, "Our new abilities, whatever they are, draw from connection. The 00 Raiser or maybe us, brought us to a place important to both of us. Where I opened up to you and you trusted me going against the trinities. I will always be grateful for that."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, "And it made my heart race in a good way when you trusted me with your past. To have you open up your soul to me."

"Who else would I open up my soul to if not the woman I loved?" She giggled at that, causing warmth to bloom in his chest. Happiness was radiating off of her, which bubbled in his own chest. And the bond that Soma mentioned became obvious to him, almost like a translucent red string linking the couple.

She whispered softly to him, "Then we just have to figure out how to share this with others. To help people understand. Maybe that's how we awaken this hidden ability." The world began to break down around them, fading into the light.

Setsuna smiled one last time at her, "I think you might be right."

Marlene

Marlene sat in the captain's seat, looking out of the main window of the bridge. Sumeragi, along with most of the meisters, had gone to interrogate the captured innovator. 'The plan went smoother than I expected. Maybe things are going to right for once.' The battle had mostly gone without any hiccups, though Soma had to be saved by Allelujah. 'I told her searching for vengeance would cause this.' She didn't feel good about it and hoped she would get better. She knew that some lessons needed to be learned the hard way, but it was never fun to see. And she would have to hear Ian complain about yet another thing.

But a sense of victory and progress had infected the crew. They now had a potential route to capture Veda and beat the innovators. 'And for once I am happy my predictions were wrong.' The rest of the bridge crew had smiles on her face, Mileina humming happily. And even Saji was happy. It was nice to see Saji fully getting along with the crew and fully onboard with their mission.

She was caught by surprise when she saw and felt the ship changing course, moving to a different heading. She was about to ask what Anew was doing when Lasse beat her to it, "Anew, you are going off course. Please put us back on the right heading."

Anew didn't respond and suddenly Marlene saw Anew aiming her gun at Lasse, an audible click hanging in the air, a golden glow in her eyes. 'What is she doing?! And why are her eyes glowing?!' She called out to the apparently traitorous member of their crew, anger and confusion lacing her voice, "Anew, what are you doing!?"

The lavender-haired woman smirked condescendingly, something she had never seen on Anew's face before, "What am I doing? It should be obvious, as I am an innovator." She then squeezed the trigger as time almost stood still. In Marlene's peripheral vision, she saw Saji leap out of his seat, charging towards the woman with the gun. Marlene reached out to stop him, but the bullet hit Saji's shoulder before she could stop him, causing him to be launched into his seat, the Japanese man let out a loud grunt of pain, falling unconcious.

Marlene felt a surge of anger go through her. She had just begun to trust Anew. All of her mistrust that Marlene had been putting behind her came roaring back, Anew destroying any progress she had made with the blonde woman. The woman had shown herself to be a responsible crew member, and nothing had seemed up with her besides the occasional moment where she just paused for no reason. 'Wait, son of a…'

Anew casually turned her gun to point back at Lasse, smirking once again, "Now that that is done. I need to get out of here. So one of you is joining me." She pressed a button to open the door to the bridge, then pressed another command, the lights on the bridge shutting off. In her peripheral vision, she saw many of their sensors and other systems shut down. 'Was that a virus? How long had this been planned?' Emergency power turned back on, but the ship was dark, the primary lights turning off. 'At least life support didn't shut down.'

Marlene glared at her, trying to take control of the situation, "What did you just do?"

"Just taking something back that belonged to us. Don't worry about your ship. It won't be here for much longer." She aimed her gun between the three remaining uninjured crew members, as confident as ever. She looked at Mileina with a malicious grin, "I think I'll take the girl with me. I know no one will hurt me with her around."

Marlene immediately stood up, glaring more intensely, like a growing storm, "No. Take me. There's no need to hurt the girl." She dropped the gun on her belt and put her hands up, Anew quickly putting the gun to her head. Marlene looked over at Lasse, her expression unwavering, "You treat Saji's wound untill we can get him to the medical pod. And inform the others. Understood?"

Lasse nodded with a determined look and Mileina looked at the blonde woman with worried and desperate eyes, tears already running down her cheek, "Ms. Vlady…! Why are you-"

"As much as I love all this, we need to get moving." Anew pressed the barrel of the gun to the back of Marlene's head, her voice full of annoyance.

She grabbed Marlene's arm, shoving her forward as they made their way out of the bridge. Unable to see Mileina, she called out to the girl, trying to keep her voice relaxed, "Just stay here. Everything will be alright." She could hear the girl whimper, but not say anything. 'Stay strong. I will keep all of you safe.'

Author's Note

We are now in act 3! Things are starting to heat up and now we have drama! I hope you guys are enjoying it so far and I'll see you people next week! Please review and comment! I always love those!