Chapter 3: The Next Step
-4 days later-
Charles look up to the looming form of Banshee.
After the incident, they were fortunate to find a path that took them up and closer to the hole where they fell into and after waiting for a while, help came when one of the butlers in the villa came down with a rope to check up what's down below. Cecillia and Chelsea who panicked was found quickly by the search team looking for them in the first place and when the two girls explained what happened, the staff immediately went back to the villa to get some equipment.
It's quite fortunate that they found a path and the incident didn't get any bigger. A minister's son and a visiting foreign philanthropist's daughter getting into a potentially fatal incident would make quite a press coverage. No, even if it was kept under wrap, if a rescue team was called, things won't end well. After all, if a search team was sent, they would very likely explore the cavern and discover Banshee.
Yes, the Banshee. The broken machine's name. Charles is quite sure that it is the machine's name. That voice he heard, that brief vision he had, the man in that vision called out that name and he felt that the man is referring to this machine specifically.
"I've finished mapping the fifth route, Charles. Since you're here, that means you've finished mapping the fourth route."
Rita's voice addressed him from behind. Charles turned around. There was Rita who had just arrived walking towards him. After the incident, Charles put up a rope ladder that goes down to the cavern and began mapping the cavern system bit by bit, primarily the routes that leads to Banshee. He made up an excuse of going spelunking to the staff and the only one he brought with him is Rita.
"Yeah, I have. Thanks for helping me with this, Rita."
Charles thanked his friend who had just returned. He gave her a bottle of water since she must be tired after all the work. Charles felt bad for dragging her along but Rita said that she enjoyed the adventure. It's not a lie. She does enjoy the exploration and going spelunking with Charles is fun. She could never do it with her family so this is also an opportunity for her to enjoy something she otherwise never could.
Rita thanked Charles as she took the bottle he offered. She drunk it down in one gulp, feeling refreshed after some exploration. The fifth route was not dangerous or difficult to traverse and Charles had taught her a lot in the past few days so it felt satisfying when she's finally able to explore by herself. Of course, she wouldn't dare try the harder route without Charles' help but it was fun.
The both of them then stared at the machine in front of them. In Rita's eyes, even if broken, the machine still looks like an impressive piece of technology, and she is sure that Charles is of the same opinion.
"Amazing isn't it? That something like this is lying down here without anyone knowing. What is it? How did it get here? Why is it here? There are so many questions that I want to ask."
Charles suddenly spoke. Those are good questions. Looking up at the machine, Rita herself wonder those things. What is it? How did it get here? Why is it here? Those are the main questions she asked herself and the answers she came up with range from military conspiracy to alien visits. The easiest way to get the correct answer though, would be to study the machine. But there is a problem with that idea.
"And the problem with trying to answer all those questions is studying this machine without anyone finding out."
Rita said. Charles nodded as he continued to stare at the machine. He then sighs. Studying this machine without anyone finding out. That is the problem.
They could just simply tell people about this discovery and both of them are sure that someone, or even some governments, will help them study this machine. But both Rita and Charles are not naïve children. Young they might be, but Charles has extensive knowledge about politics and the people playing it while Rita knew a lot about corporate plays. Exploiting trust and opportunities are their daily bread, which means they have to be careful with how they deal with this machine.
The Infinite Stratos is a prime example of problematic technology being marketed in a way that cause problem to society while others profit from it. Charles doesn't know what weed Shinonono Tabane was smoking when she made IS able to be piloted by women only but it simply poured gasoline into the flame of the radical feminist movement which caused quite a bit of chaos in the political venue.
That's actually where the idea of female superiority came from, spread by social movements using Infinite Stratos as their rallying banner. Seriously, those social movements would jump at anything that would fuel their self-serving argument and with how bombastic the introduction of Infinite Stratos was, it turned their small flicker into an inferno. Though to be honest, there's not much real change in society. While the idea about female superiority exists, only a small group of people actually buy into that idea. The reality is that the power of Infinite Stratos still lies in the government and military, not normal people.
No, the real problem came from the military and political impact of the technology. The demonstration that Infinite Stratos can make Nuclear obsolete during the White Knight incident opened a whole new can of worms. So far, nuclear weapons had become a deterrent force throughout the world. With a threat of nuclear apocalypse, even the most trigger-happy person won't openly resort to causing large scale war unless it is the absolute last choice. Lesser developed country that possess no nuclear weapons will also be less willing to pick a fight when bigger countries could aim an apocalyptic weapon on their head at a moment's notice.
But Infinite Stratos broke that carefully built balance that had existed since the Cold War. By making the primary deterrent weapon obsolete, what value does nuclear weapons have now? Not to mention that the creator of this new super weapon is not a singular government but only one girl who was not even an adult at that time. And she went missing, unable to be tracked by government agents from all over the world when they went to apprehend her. She even cut ties with all people that knew her, assaulting her mentor and friends when she made her escape, or so Charles heard.
With the emergence of a new super weapon, the balance was broken and a new arms race began after the remaining Infinite Stratos Core released by Shinonono Tabane was distributed throughout the world. It is the Cold War all over again as the fear of nuclear apocalypse ceased with a new, more powerful, efficient, and controllable super weapon in the field. Countries now stand in equal term in terms of military power with Infinite Stratos at the forefront and equal power means someone bold enough would be willing to start a war. And thus another arms race started.
So far, a semblance of balance has been restored with the establishment of Mondo Grosso Tournament as a kind of war game to supplement real war. And hopefully this will be enough to keep up the peace for a long time. But Charles and Rita knew that if someone has something that can stir the hornet's nest, they likely would try just because they can. Hence why he and Rita are reluctant to tell anyone else about their discovery.
While he's not sure that the technology inside Banshee could challenge Infinite Stratos or even surpass it, not without further studying, he does know that this is still a big thing. Big enough to disturb the balance they have achieved so far and would provide a base for a new arms race if handled poorly. That is why he is stuck here just staring at the broken Banshee instead of doing something more.
"Charles, don't you have an uncle who leads a company in producing IS?"
Rita suddenly said. Charles blinked and turned to her. Why is she mentioning his uncle right now?
"I have. What of it? This is not an IS you know."
Charles pointed out.
"No, but you could ask your uncle for help in establishing a lab here and get some people to work on it."
That… is a good idea. Charles actually consider this suggestion for a moment. It is a worthwile idea. Even if he is a consummate businessman, his uncle is family and that means he could at least trust him to listen to his suggestions and by keeping it between their family and known associates, it became easier to keep things under wrap. He could persuade his uncle to help them study Banshee by promising him new technology, which he knew for sure they will get just with minimal study.
"That is a good idea! Yeah, we can do that. It will be easier to keep this a secret if we keep this between family and close associates. You should probably talk with your parents too. It will be easier to keep the resources we will allocate to this project if we split it between two companies. What do you think? We can share the technology we find between us for now but when the time is right, we can release the technology we find in Banshee to the world. We'll still have to be careful but this is a start."
Charles stood up and smiled. They're finally getting somewhere. When they get back, Charles decided that he will show his father first and together, they will bring his uncle into this. Rita can talk about this with her parents when she gets back to England.
Seeing her friend looking so excited made Rita smile. She then turned her attention back to the black machine. A giant robot. Living in an age where something like IS became a reality is already a lot like living in a sci-fi flick but now to find a giant robot too? Life can really be stranger than fiction.
As she stared into the dim eyes of the black machine though, she began to feel strange. She felt as if her soul is beginning to be drawn to it. As she continue to stare, she didn't notice that parts of the machine began to glow in yellow color as she entered a sort of a trance. Charles though noticed it and stare in awe at the machine.
"What the…"
As his eyes locked on to the machine, he also entered a trance-like state. Images began flooding their mind. They saw the black machine, Banshee, in its complete form holding a large rifle with a large shield on its left hand clashing against a fully armed counterpart of itself, a pure white machine with a single horn protruding out of its head, like a unicorn. Then a disembodied voice was heard speaking to them. A voice Charles had only heard once before.
'Find the Unicorn!'
Then an image of Japan entered their mind before the whole thing ended. Banshee's glow receded and their trance-like state ended. Charles blinked and look at Rita with confusion
"What was that?"
Rita has no answer to that. The two of them look back at the unmoving machine. Yes, studying it will be very important. Because now there is more to this machine than just technology.
-3 days later, Paris, the Eiffel Tower-
When visiting Paris, one must not miss going to the Eiffel tower. That's why after they're finished with their business in the city, Charles took Rita, Cecillia, and Chelsea to see the view from the tower, especially considering that they're flying back to England in the evening.
Just like Rita suggested, Charles brought Banshee to his father's attention. He explained how they found it and why he had waited a few days to tell him. Being a Minister in the French cabinet, Ronan understood why his son was reluctant to tell anyone about their discovery. He agreed with Charles' reason and the need for secrecy and agreed to speak with his brother on Charles' behalf.
That's why they're in Paris right now. On top of taking the Alcott sisters and their maid to the airport, Ronan took the opportunity to speak with his brother about Charles and Rita's project. He believed that it won't take a lot of convincing for his brother to help them if he mention the profits that could come from supporting their project.
And since Ronan himself will be doing the negotiation, he told Charles to take the Alcott sisters and Chelsea on a last tour around Paris before they need to take them to Charles de Gaulle airport. Trusting his father to speak with his uncle, Charles agreed and that's how they ended up on the Eiffel tower.
"Uwa! So high! Look Chelsea, the people below look as small as ants!"
An excited Cecillia point down from the tower's observation deck. Seeing the little girl so excited made him glad that he had chosen the tower instead of the Louvre museum. He nearly picked the museum and while it is also a famous tourist spot, a child like Cecillia would better appreciate the sights from the top of the Eiffel tower than paintings she probably won't be able to understand. He would know. His father took him to the Louvre when he was a child. It was boring back then.
"Wait, miss Cecillia, don't run around too much!"
Chelsea ran after Cecillia who is excitedly running around the observation deck to enjoy the view. Thankfully, there are tall fences put up around the observation deck so they don't have to worry about Cecillia jumping over the edge or falling over. Still, it is better to keep an eye on the little girl… which is what Chelsea is for, mostly.
"Cecillia, don't run around too much!"
Rita warned. There are not many people on the observation deck right now so it's easier to keep an eye on Cecillia which is why Rita let her sister run free as long as she stay in sight, which Chelsea will make sure of.
"Okay big sister! Chelsea, come on!"
Cecillia dragged Chelsea with her. The two teens left behind chuckled and followed the two younger children slowly from behind. Rita casually admire the view of Paris from high up as they walk while Charles, who had been here many times before, accompany her.
"Thanks for having us over, Charles. It has been a fun holiday."
Rita suddenly spoke to him, thanking him. Charles smiled at his friend.
"Anytime. Though I don't think it's been a real holiday for you. I did drag you into a cave for most of it."
Charles pointed out. The female blonde chuckled. True, Charles had dragged her with him to map the underground cavern, but that's also part of the fun.
"I enjoyed that too. I would've never been able to do that if was with mother and father. Too dangerous they would say."
"Ehehe, I'm glad you enjoyed it. But still, we could've done other things. And I did occupy much of your time with the Banshee matter."
Charles said a bit apologetically. Rita shrugs.
"I don't mind. Besides, this vacation is more for Cecillia and Chelsea than me."
As she said that, Cecillia ran past them with Chelsea behind her, going at the other direction. Since they're mostly just keeping an eye on Cecillia, Charles and Rita turn around so they won't lose sight of the two children. As they walk, Charles asked Rita a question.
"So, how do you plan to ask your parents about our project?"
Rita took some time to think.
"I'll mention the matter about that… Banshee? I'll mention it to my parents once I got the opportunity. It should be less than a week but a decision might take more time."
Charles nodded in acknowledgement. He figured convincing Rita's parents will be a bit more difficult, mostly because it will be harder to convince them without showing them Banshee which had helped him when he spoke with Ronan.
"If they need to see it then you can call me. My father can arrange a flight for them."
Rita nodded and keep the offer in mind. The offer is less about paying for the plane ticket, which is not much compared to the wealth of the Alcott family, and more about arranging a discreet transportation for them. Depending on the situation, Rita will take up that offer.
"There's also something else I should mention. I'm thinking about attending ISA."
Rita suddenly told him. Charles paused and slowly turn to his friend. ISA, short for Infinite Stratos Academy, is a school made to teach everything about IS to students from all around the world. It is partially a military academy and partially robotic engineering academy from what he heard. Officially, it was built to encourage cooperation and sharing of the IS tech in order to 'give chance for developing countries to obtain the same level of advancement as developed countries.' But that's mostly on paper of course. While the place has good education and reputation as a school, its whole idea is a joke. But that's not important right now.
"You're joining ISA? That's… quite sudden. You didn't show any interest in IS before so why now?"
Charles inquired. To his knowledge, Rita never had any interest in IS, or fighting, or engineering which would usually be the primary reason for someone to attend ISA. Though there are better places to learn engineering so even if she develops an interest in it, why ISA? He is certain that she had not develop an interest in fighting since she's pacifistic by nature so why?
"I thought it would help. I want to learn robotic engineering there and while it might be different with the Banshee but maybe we can find a way to combine the technology we find in Banshee with IS tech."
That… is certainly an idea. But is that really her full reason? So Charles argued with her.
"You can study it elsewhere you know, somewhere closer to home."
The boy pointed out. He can think of a few schools closer to home that would help her better if she want to study IS tech or just plain robotic engineering early. Or even get a private tutor for her. But Rita shook her head.
"No, that would beat the main point of me going there. Did you forget where ISA is located?"
Of course he didn't. While he has no interest in ISA considering he's a male and ISA is an all girl school, it is a place with political interest so he would at least know the basics about it and its location is of course included in that knowledge. Infinite Stratos Academy is located in Ja-
"It's in Japan. I see, this is less about learning IS tech and more about what we saw back then."
Rita nodded. Charles finally understand where she's going with this idea.
"That voice mentioned something about Unicorn and the last image we saw is of Japan. I'm willing to bet that Unicorn is somewhere in Japan."
And attending ISA will give her a reason to go to Japan. Charles could see what's on her mind now. Rita is acting based on the vision they received from Banshee, or whatever it is inside Banshee.
"You are acting based on that vision we got. But are you sure that we can trust it? We don't even know what it is and whether it's real or not."
Charles argued again. Rita thought for a moment. Rationalizing this one is a bit more difficult so she tried to find the correct words to explain it to Charles.
"I don't know how to explain this properly but… I have a feeling that it is real."
Charles still look skeptical but otherwise stopped his argument. While there's no proof that their vision is true, there's also no proof that it's not real either. Besides… he had been calling the black machine as 'Banshee' because he heard it from a vision and he had not really put up much of an argument with Rita so perhaps he had already considered that vision as real and only his rational mind had not.
Living in an age of advanced technology, trusting in ambiguous visions is not a part of their lifestyle. Such things belong in the past where superstitions guide people's life when they have nothing else to guide them. So following something as unscientific as a 'vision' feels wrong for him. But even so, a part of him want to follow it because he believed it. So Charles laughed.
"Ahahaha! Well, if you believe it then you should follow it. If that's what you think is right then I won't stop you. Do what you think you need to do, Rita, and I will support you all the way."
"Charles."
The boy patted her on the head. Rita felt touched by his words filled with sincerity and nodded. She then hugged him, which surprised Charles, but it also made him smile. After a moment, she let him go and they continue their sightseeing tour.
Finally got this done. To be honest, I want to take things slow with the Newtype stuff and the appearance of the Unicorn units but I'm under some time constraint, in story that is, that I need to pull out some Newtype stuff in order to move the plot a bit further. Rita going to ISA was not in my original plan but I decided to pull this off to make things a bit smoother in the future. Also, I am changing ISA's structure itself to conform to a more... Gundam-like standard. Next chapter will be another timeskip where Rita will enroll in ISA. Her side of the story won't focus on her time in ISA though because her main reason for being in Japan is to find RX-0 unit 1, the Unicorn Gundam. Though please don't ask about RX-0 unit 3. The Phenex will not appear for a long time and there are reasons for that, reasons tied with Rita, Michelle, and Jona.