Two Years
Canon scenes happen like normal
"Regular speech"
'Thought'
"Video call or voice chat"
Setsuna
Setsuna looked at the screen, the date reflecting back in his eyes. '2310. I can't believe it's been that long.' Setsuna finished inputting the data he had been working on for a while, looking up at the plain ceiling in the formerly abandoned room. Yawning, he thought back on the past. Two years had passed since Fallen Angels and Setsuna had been forced to operate alone. Initially he tried to find anyone else, but after a few months, he had given up on that. He knew Celestial Being would have secret bases throughout space, but he had no doubt they had been in lockdown mode to hide from the UN forces. Not that he blamed them. He had stayed especially low in the immediate aftermath of the battle, finding an abandoned facility to let him do some repairs on the Exia, getting it back to a workable condition.
Once he had realized that he would never be able to find Celestial Being, which had especially hurt because he felt like he was breaking his promise to Feldt, he kept his head to the ground, keeping an eye out for what the world was doing, especially after they unified into the Earth Sphere Federation. What he saw was not good. While on the surface they appeared to be nice, there was a dark undercurrent. Nations who refused to cooperate getting coerced into joining or suffering for not. People disappearing, especially critics of the government. Information control through the media. Despite uniting the world, it was no better that it was before, arguably worse. This was Celestial Being's fault. This new world was partially of their creation. This had hardened his resolve to bring about change.
More disturbingly, there had been a growing number of massacres done by some black ops group, particularly targeting the growing rebel group Katharon, learning it through his scouting and infiltration of government facilities. He wasn't sure if they belonged to the government, or were just being paid, but they had killed hundreds of people so far and there seemed to be no sign of it stopping anytime soon. They were also good at hiding their tracks, Setsuna only able to track them because no one expected there to be any more Gundams. As far as the public was concerned, the Gundams and Celestial Being were dead and gone. There was a peace on Earth, even if there was a shadow of a fist floating above it. It had taken him a while to put it together, but this secret black ops group must have been trying to make the rebel threat seem like it wasn't as widespread as it was. Katharon continued to hang on, despite all that was being thrown against them, which Setsuna had to respect. Fighting outnumbered and having to use clever tactics reminded him of fighting in Celestial Being.
Setsuna tried to strike back against the government, raiding their facilities for intel and supplies, destroying supplies he couldn't keep, and sometimes went undercover as a simple worker, wanting to see what it was like on the ground as well as gather supplies he needed to survive. At that point he was on the move, but that had all changed six months ago.
He had found an abandoned Kathron facility in space, one of the computers having some of their intel on it. Nothing seems ruined or attacked, just an empty facility. It was a fairly plain facility, clearly a mining operation done with very easy to construct, modular setup. As he scavenged through the facility, which had been his initial plan, he found intact generators and a large supply of non-perishable foods. Setsuna had realized he had lucked out and quickly began to setup the place to live, finding the closest room to the hanger of the facility. The Exia was able to act as a power supply for the generators, giving him some power to work with. With a place to come home to, he took a few more risks, doing more damage than he did before. He was still alone, but now he had a permanent base of operations.
But even after two years of being alone, his heart still ached from being apart from Tieria, Allelujah, Ian and especially Feldt. At the time of the battle, he knew he liked her a lot. She had made her way into his heart, but he had no idea how far she had gotten at that time. He had heard the phrase 'distance makes the heart go yonder', but for him it was the opposite. Being away from her had put his feelings in perspective. He often found himself yearning for her to be there, to talk to him. He wanted to hold her, the loneliness hitting him harder than he had expected. He had been alone before, but after connecting with her so intimately, living alone became more of a torment than he ever expected it to be. All of the regrets for not coming back still weighed on him. He knew it wasn't his fault by this point, but his heart still wouldn't let that go.
And he realized he loved her. He wanted her to be in his life. He wanted a future with her, whatever it was. He didn't know how long that would be, but he wanted her to know what she meant to him. He hoped she wouldn't be too mad at him for taking so long to get back to her, though he wouldn't blame her. 'I hope she's safe, wherever she is.' He gently caressed a framed picture of the picture that Christina took of him and Feldt. At the time he complained and frowned, but he would give anything to get times like that back. 'I really was a bit too stiff.'
Setsuna looked at the mirror in his room, chuckling at his appearance. He had definitely grown, which was annoying when he had to find new clothes to fit him, along with a new pilot suit. It was all black, which wasn't his preference, but it would have to do. His hair had also grown out. Due to realizing he was not so great at cutting his hair, he had decided to put his hair into a small ponytail. It kept it out of his eyes and made it less annoying to deal with. 'I wonder how Feldt has grown.' His mind conjured images of her, taller and hair longer, her hips…
He shook his head at that, shaking away the image. He knew she would only get more beautiful with time, but he couldn't focus on that, not when he knew it would only make his yearning for her worse. He knew his desire for her had become a bit more sexual, which he blamed on one of his coworkers he had when he went undercover. At first, he had been reluctant to think of her that way, but had come to become more ok with it, remembering her shyly smiling at him when he was checking her out at the beach. 'I'll have to ask her when we meet again.' He glued his eyes back on the computer screen, hoping boring reports would distract him from his thoughts. He hoped this intel would be of use to Celestial Being whenever he found them, because he wasn't getting too much out of it. 'Tieria and Feldt were always much better at analyzing things for data.'
A wave of exhaustion began to force his eyes close. Yawning, he saved the data and shut off the computer. Laying on his bed, he closed his eyes, sleep quickly catching up with him, the image of Feldt in her kimono the last thing on his mind, a common thought on his mind right before he went to sleep.
Feldt
"In breaking news, the military managed to identify and capture one of the pilots of the mobile suits known as 'Gundams' a week ago in a raid on an anti-government facility. They have not given us their name, but they are to go to trial in an unknown time. We will get back to our audience when we have more info, but public opinion suggests that he get the death penalty." Tears came down Feldt's eyes as she looked at her terminal, the news report from Earth showing images of a bruised and beaten Setsuna in a prisoner's uniform. 'No! He was supposed to come back to us! To me! We need to rescue him!' A hand came to her shoulder, her mother looking at her with downcast eyes. The older woman began to speak…
Feldt's eyes opened in a flash, sweat all over her face. She sat up in her bed, placing her hands on her face. 'It was just a nightmare. It wasn't real.' Her hands fell to her side, letting out a breath. She had been having nightmares in the last couple months around losing Setsuna. She looked at the picture of Setsuna on the bedside table, the same one Christina took of the two of them. 'I know you are alive out there. You wouldn't just give up before you found us, found me.' She then rubbed a hand along Setsuna's red scarf, almost feeling him through the piece of cloth.
Laying her head down on her pillow, she thought about how much had changed in the last two years. Her mother had become the acting commander of Celestial Being, no one else wanting to take up the mantle. While her mother was a bit distant to everyone but her, Ian and Linda, her being there had given some measure of order in the organization. Feldt's mother had settled happily into her daily life, acting as someone Feldt could come to talk to if she needed it. The dull ache in her chest had been reduced, though the fact Setsuna was still gone left that scar in her heart. The first conversation the had still rung in her ears.
Feldt held onto her mother, a happy silence in her room. She could feel the initial emotional high going down a bit, but she felt lighter and just…better. Breathing in her mom's scent, she broke from the embrace, looking up at her mom shyly, "I thought I would only see you again when I died. I had even apologized that it would be a long time till I saw you."
Her mother gave her a warm smile, "Well you don't need to do that now. I'm alive and here for you."
Feldt nodded happily, a last tear going down her face. Curiosity then spiked inside her, "What happened? How are you alive? Veda said you and dad had died."
Marlene let out a heavy sigh, "On our last mission, your father pushed me away from a major threat, dying in the process. Something must have happened to me as the last thing I remember was that and then I woke up in a Celestial Being medical bay. My memory is…a bit spotty at the moment, so I'm not exactly sure how I survived."
Feldt could tell her mother was hiding certain details, but that wasn't important. She could always ask later, when her mom was feeling better. Her mother spoke up again, regret in her voice, "You've grown up so much. I'm sorry to have missed so much of your life."
Feldt shook her head, "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known whatever killed dad was going to do that."
Marlene balled her fist, anger in her tone, "We shouldn't have…" Feldt could see her mom's obvious anger and it made her even more curious to learn what happened. Marlene spoke up again, her voice evening out, "Who took care of you when I was gone?"
"I was primarily taken care of by Linda, Ian's wife, but she was busy a lot, so I bounced around various staff. It was lonely, but I eventually found myself part of the Ptolemy's crew and had people to be with." Tears came to her eyes, "And now they…they…"
Marlene put a hand on her daughters shoulder, her voice soft, "I heard what happened. I'm so sorry you had to lose part of a team like that." She then poked a finger where Feldt's heart was, "You have to keep them in your heart, fight for their memory."
"I will." Feldt then nodded her head, wrapping her arms around her mom, her voice muffled by her mom's chest, "I'm just so happy you are back."
Her mom's voice cracked a bit as she responded, "I am happy to be back. I only wish I could have done it sooner."
The memory of the conversation always made her smile. And the more she got to learn about her mother, the more Feldt realized how different they were. Her mom was stoic, direct and completely focused, though more soft around her. She was focused on their goal of changing the world, sometimes ignoring the more human needs of work. The crew and staff respected her, but she wasn't the most loved person in Celestial Being. But people like Ian and Linda kept people from complaining too much about her mom.
Currently Ian and Linda were making another set of third generation mobile suits, patterned after the ones from the Ptolemy, though somewhat improved. They were also working a new twin drive suit, but that was under wraps at the moment for most members of the organization, Feldt being one of the few aware of it. Feldt was assisting a bit on those, but her mother had her mainly working on software and other essential support stuff at the base, which made sense, as it was her skillset. However, that left her unfulfilled, especially after Feldt had begun to crave becoming a meister, to be like her mother.
Her mom had been reluctant, and Feldt had to beg, but eventually her mom had allowed her to become a reserve meister, which the pink-haired girl would take, if a bit begrudgingly. It wasn't being assigned to one of the new Gundams, but it was still piloting, so she enjoyed what she could take. Lasse and Tieria took turns teaching her, using her to test the specs of the new Gundams, Feldt particularly taking well to the Cheridum. Even though it had hurt at first to use something related to Neil, she knew he was gone and she had to carry on his spirit. And funny enough, her training with Tieria had only helped her connect more with him.
Over the two years, Tieria had been there to help her and vice versa. And it had been a year ago or so when Tieria had finally opened up to her.
Feldt approached the observation room, wanting some alone time away from everything. She had had a busy day, a lot of things and people demanding her time, so it was nice to get away from all of that. As the door opened, she was surprised to see Tieria standing at the window, tears floating around him. Quietly entering the room, she floated towards the purple-haired man, calling out gently, "Tieria. Are you ok?"
Tieria turned towards her, seemingly not expecting her, "Feldt." He wiped away a few tears on his face, trying to correct himself, "I'm fine. Nothing to worry about."
Feldt looked at him softly, a worried look in her eye, "Tieria, you don't need to hide from me. It's only us two."
Tieria's shoulders slumped and he turned back to look into the infinite depths of space, letting out a sigh, "It's Neil. He's been on my mind recently. He died because he protected me. If I hadn't been so stupid, he would be alive. All because I wouldn't let go of Veda." He balled his fists, Feldt noticing the tension in his body.
Feldt moved next to him, and looked up at Tieria, her voice firm, "Tieria, he chose to protect you. And he chose to go out injured into battle. He was willful. Do you think you could have stopped him?" Tieria shook his head and Feldt continued, "You survived because of him. You can continue to help us because of him. We have to honor his sacrifice."
Feldt could see tears coming down his face again, the meister looking down at the ground, "I just wish I…I wish I could…" Tieria's voice died down, the man silently shaking. Feldt realized what was going on.
Putting a hand on his shoulder, Feldt spoke kindly, "You loved Neil, didn't you?"
Tieria's voice was shaky, "I don't know what that even means. How do I know what it feels like?"
Feldt floated in front of Tieria, "He saved you and helped you open up. He became an important part of your heart, like Setsuna is in mine." She placed a finger over his heart, "Keep him in your heart. Let him guide you. You'll figure out your feelings. And I'm always here for you." Feldt smiling warmly.
Tieria nodded at her, smiling, "Thank you. I need to think on that."
Feldt nodded, beginning to float away, "I'll let you be. Just message me if you ever want to talk." Tieria nodded at that and Feldt turned and began to leave the room.
"Hey, Feldt." She turned around, about to ask what he wanted, when she felt him hug her for a few seconds before letting go. Feldt didn't have time to respond, and she looked up at him, happy, but confused. Tieria gave her a warm smile, "I just wanted you to know how much you helped."
Feldt blushed, a bit embarrassed, "It is what a friend would do."
Feldt smiled at the memory. It was the first time he had opened up to her and it made her feel happy that he trusted her. Since then, the two had developed an almost sibling relationship, supporting each other when the other needed it.
The memory also reminded her of her realization of her feelings. As the time passed, she began to miss Setsuna more and more. While the pain had dulled, it always hurt. She still felt guilty that it was almost like Celestial Being had abandoned him and that if they had only waited a little longer, they would have found him. But she couldn't change the past, so she lived, partially for him. It was after a talk with her mother about how they had gotten together, that she realized she loved Setsuna. She missed his stubbornness, his drive, his private kindness. She missed having someone she could hold onto. She wanted a future with Setsuna and that's what kept her drive to keep looking for him going.
Realizing that sleep wasn't coming back, she got up, moving to the console in her room. She turned on the screen, opening up the reports and security feeds she had linked to her personal console, her long, loose hair reflecting on the display. She knew it seemed obsessive, but she wanted to search for Setsuna on her own time. She engrossed herself in the security feeds, trying desperately to find him. 'He has to be here somewhere.'
She was caught by surprise when she felt a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump. Centering herself, she looked up to see her mother standing above her, giving her a worried look, "Feldt, you should be asleep right now."
Feldt looked down at her lap, guilt flowing through her. Her mom had an uncanny ability to make her feel guilty for things, especially related to Setsuna. She loved her mom, but she had to admit sometimes it got annoying. Her mother was blunt, even with her, and always cut to the heart of the matter.
Feldt smiled guiltily, turning to face Marlene, "I had a nightmare about Setsuna and couldn't sleep, so I thought I would look for him."
Marlene frowned at her, hands on her hips, "Feldt, you need to get some sleep." Her voice softened, "We will find him. He wouldn't want you to run ragged finding him."
Feldt began to raise an objection before her shoulder's sagged and nodded at her mom, her point making sense, "I… I guess you are right. I'm just so worried about him."
Marlene smiled at her, "I know you are. But believe we will find him."
Feldt nodded, but noticed her mom looking at her strangely, "Mom? Is there something on my face?"
"What happened to your pink hair?"
Feldt grabbed a strand of her strawberry blonde hair, twirling it in her fingers and blushing, "Oh, I just thought I would try using my natural hair color." She had used an instant remover the day before and had liked the look of her natural hair, so she decided to try it for a while. She also had begun to style her hair like Christina, wanting to honor the woman who helped her open up.
Marlene smiled at her, mussing it, "I think it looks good on you."
Feldt shoved her hand away playfully, "Stop it!" Marlene pulled her hand to her side and Feldt gave her mom a grateful smile, "Thanks. I think I'll be able to sleep now." Feldt turned off the terminal, hugging her mom.
Marlene happily accepted the hug, kissing her on the forehead, "Please don't make me come around again."
"I won't." The hug broke and Marlene gave the now strawberry blonde teenager a smile before leaving the room, the door closing behind her. Feldt lay down in bed, cuddling the scarf in her arms, breathing it in. Sleep began to overtake her, and a vision of Setsuna appeared in her mind, his arms wide open for her. She mentally reached out for him, but the darkness of sleep overtook her, finally granting her the rest she needed.
Marlene
Marlene overlooked the hanger at Lagrange 3 in her office, a number of requests and reports on her terminal needing to be resolved. She let out a sigh; not expecting becoming the commander of Celestial Being would involve so much paperwork. Even in her time, Celestial Being had been cell based, the many areas of the organization having their own rules and command structure. 'But back then they had a supercomputer to help organize everything.'
With the loss of Veda, the reduced Celestial Being needed someone to act as the head of the organization, if only to have a central figure to help organize and delegate properly. Marlene had been reluctant to accept initially, stating she really wasn't qualified, but Ian had reminded her that Ruido, her husband, had said that she best suited to follow the goals of Celestial Being. 'And he was right. I was always the one more willing to kill, to do what was needed.' She chuckled bitterly. 'I always thought I was just a component of the organization. And now I'm in charge of it all. A very important component.' Her stress had certainly gone up, a lot of minor things she thought weren't important when she was a pilot now becoming major irritants in her new role, but she thought she had handled it well, even if she swore that she could see some of her hair greying.
She was grateful at the very least that Ian and Linda agreed to handle the engineering and research requests, only sending the most essential things they needed, like finalizing major plans, such as the new Gundams. 'One less headache I have to deal with.' Engineering had always been her husband's thing. Marlene just acted as a meister and apparently, she was the best pilot out of all of them, but she never cared, only wanting to get their interventions done right.
And speaking of teams, there was one side benefit of being made the commander of Celestial Being; people tended to not want to interact with her outside of professional stuff. After losing Ruido and Chall, another member of her old team, in the intervention that put her in a coma, it was hard for her to connect with people. She couldn't put her heart into a team the same way she did before. It hurt her when she woke up and realized her and Ian were the only survivors of the old team. The rest were either dead, or couldn't be located. So when people chose not to interact with her, it didn't insult her. She was certain many people didn't like her too much, but no one questioned her orders, so there was enough respect that people didn't want to get rid of her. She rode people hard, but only because she expected the best. 'We have to get this right when the Gundams go active again.'
The one thing she wished she had was a tactical forecaster. Marlene was a pilot first, planner second and couldn't fill the shoes of a true tactician. Sumeragi Lee Noriega had done well, and Fallen Angels wasn't her fault. Her leaving a few months after was a big blow to the organization. She had people looking for her, but so far no one had found her. 'Even if she is a snake, Wang Liu Mei might have better luck.' Marlene knew to win, they would need Sumeragi or another tactical forecaster. 'I wish I had been healthy enough to talk to her. Maybe that would have helped.' She shook her head, knowing it was pointless to think of what-ifs.
But she wasn't completely alone. Ian, Linda, and Feldt were all close to her, and Lasse and Tieria seemed to regard her well enough. The Ptolemy crew had gone through a lot, and they must have realized why she acted the way she did. Ian was an old friend and was the only one who understood her past fully. Linda had grown on her, the woman being a reliable engineer and mobile suit developer. The fact they were both mothers also helped.
And Feldt. Her daughter was an important part of her heart, probably the most important part. Marlene had missed ten years of her life and didn't want to miss any more of it. She had expected Feldt to be mad at her, even a little bit, but the girl had just hugged her desperately, crying. Her daughter had need her more than she thought. Marlene couldn't help but cry too, her little girl having grown up into a teenager. Marlene had learned Feldt was a kind, thoughtful and intelligent girl, reminding her of Ruido. She looked wistfully out of her window, memories of her husband flashing through her head. 'You would have loved to see her.'
She also wasn't the only one to have noticed her daughter. Many of the younger members had seen Feldt growing into a beautiful young woman and had been giving her looks. 'Thank god Feldt is too focused on finding Setsuna to notice.' Marlene had to have a few private chats with some staff to redirect their interest, but in the end, the looks had ceased, or at least when she wasn't there.
Looking out in the hanger, she could see Feldt, who had just come out of the Cheridum simulator, grinning at Tieria. Tieria gave Feldt smile and Feldt pumped a fist in the air, excited. Marlene looked away, not comfortable with the sight. Her daughter had shown this urge to be a meister that Marlene didn't understand. Marlene did not want her to follow her's and Ruido's path, but Feldt had refused to listen. 'She did inherit my stubbornness it seems.' Marlene grinned slightly at that, before frowning. Marlene knew the risks that came with the position and had told her daughter, but she still asked. Marlene had seen the potential heartbreak in her daughter's eyes, agreeing to allow her to train as a reserve meister. Feldt had accepted that happily, causing Marlene to worry more. Her daughter had shown aptitude as a pilot, having been very helpful for testing the new machines' specs before they were completed, particularly favoring the Cheridum.
None of this assuaged the worries on Marlene's mind, but it's not like she could get her daughter to stop at this point. She had her father's curiosity and her own stubbornness. Conflict bubbled in Marlene's chest. She was proud of her daughter for choosing her own path, no matter the danger, but the mother inside of Marlene couldn't let go of the feeling she was sending her baby down a dangerous path. She had no idea why Feldt was obsessed with this, but she would keep her safe, even if that meant Feldt couldn't become a main meister. In hindsight, her letting Feldt pilot had been due to her not wanting to hurt her daughter, and there was no way she could go back on that now, so at the very least she could keep her off the battlefield in a Gundam.
"Marlene, Ian needs to show you something." Linda's voice interrupted Marlene's thoughts and Marlene turned around to see Linda standing at the sliding door. Linda then gave her a small smile, "Thinking about something?"
Marlene just gave her an even look, "…Yes. But it's not important now." Marlene stood up from her chair, "I'll go meet Ian right now." Linda nodded, turning around and exiting Marlene's office. Marlene looked back one last time in the hanger, but Tieria and Feldt were gone. Marlene shook her head, knowing she had to get off this topic. Turning off her terminal, she left her office. 'I wonder what Ian wants to show me?'
Author Note
One more chapter to go! Marlene now officially has a POV, which will continue into the sequel. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please review, comment, favorite, kudos, etc. and I'll see you guys in the finale next week!
