Beyond

CBS-74 Ptolemaios

"About damn time!" Marie couldn't help shouting as she got word from Linda that the Ahriman was finally completed. Another week has passed since Anew was officially assigned to Ptolemy as an onboard 'AI', and eight days since their departure. A week and a half was fast as lightning for constructing an all-new mobile suit, but not for the impatient Marie Parfacy and Soma Peries.

She raced to the mobile suit hangar in ecstasy and paused next to Allelujah. A simple 'hey' was all she said to greet her companion. He caught her by her hand and helped her into the cockpit of the transformable mobile suit, while a magenta ball made its way inside and into the temporary Haro port located in front of Marie's right arm.

A prototype Gundam would always need a supporting Haro before it could roam free with its assigned pilot. Lyle was kind enough to lend one of his Haros for her to give the Ahriman her first flight, under the condition that its programming doesn't become more mischievous that it already was.

The only exception to this unspoken rule in her knowledge was the QanT, but that was because the software form of Tieria took its place and proved to be quite effective whenever weapons are involved. Perhaps his downside for not being humourous like the Haros was the main reason every other Gundam Meister preferred having

"Just shout or wave if anything goes wrong." Allelujah reminded before he drifted to his Harute.

"Shouldn't come to that." Marie reassured as the manipulator arms above the suit released the prototype from its cage, allowing it to proceed to the warship's port catapult. "Catapult voltage satisfactory. Verifying machine. GN-012 Gundam Ahriman. Check. Handing timing control to Ahriman." Milenia stated.

"The usual speech." Said Marie.

"Just don't do anything stupid with it." Peries returned, but as a well-behaved alter-ego she refrained from taking over control of the body she rested in.

"I have control." She heard Marie answer. "Gundam Ahriman, launching."

Back within a mobile suit hangar of Helios station sat a broad and bearded figure fiddling with his Hyperion-built assault rifle. Lying next to him was an Oz kit mass produced by the monopolistic faction of Hyperion, as well. "Two dozens of pioneer loaders missing a week after launch? Fairly interesting compared to my other contracts and assignments." He commented.

"Already fed up with the lowlifes down there, sir Wilhelm?" A mechanic in a bright yellow exoskeleton asked as he passed by with a box of tools under his armpit.

"Not quite sure. But it's a hell lot more fun when it involves a bit of danger." The enforcer called Wilhelm replied eagerly as he got off the stool under him. His JET mobile suit with a hollow core for the cockpit was waiting for him at the far end of the hangar ready to go as he requested, and standing next to it was a human-sized loader with a pair of glow sticks behind it.

The loader greeted the enforcer with a salute, which he returned. Then without saying a word save for acknowledging the loader's verbal checking, he hopped into his mobile suit set to a crouching position and stood it up along with the rest of his assault squadron, either manned mobile suits or traditional loaders.

His request was too sudden for his JET to undergo any enhancements, other than a more eye-catching paint job with a stripe of blood red that penetrated the JET's single eye on the left of its chassis. Yet enough for the AIs and his fellow pilots to tell who's in charge among them. Moments later the hangar was cleared out and eerily quiet, leaving the human engineers with nothing to do but pray that the human pilots come back in one piece. The AI loaders really didn't matter.


"It already went past mach 3?" Marie couldn't help exclaiming as the Gundam swept past an asteroid at a close range. "And I thought the GN Archer was already impressive."

"Things aren't the same when a GN drive is involved." Allelujah commented with reference to his own experience. His mobile suit drifted forward at Marie's eight o'clock with glowing teal particles continuously spraying out of its verniers, watching out for the red-striped mobile suit as it swung around another asteroid. "Should we go for the top speed, captain?" He asked.

Lasse glanced at the bridge crew monitoring the prototype mobile suit and hurriedly came up with a decision when most of them were as confused as he was. "Do as you please. But at the first sign of trouble you get back here. Clear?" He demanded.

"Yes captain." The super soldier replied joyously and released the accelerometer. He lay on the cushion seat with a deep breath, somewhat tired even though he had barely been working since the last battle of the ELS wars, aside from working out in the gym whenever he wasn't with Marie.

Recently he's been caught up in a dilemma which pretty much every human being has to go through somewhere in their life: whether or not to have a child with their other half. He had no intention to breed a split-personality psycho, but on the other hand, there wasn't any scientific proof to his worry. And as always, he wasn't careful enough to keep his private thoughts concealed well beneath quantum brainwave detection, because the next thing he knew, Marie switched on a private channel and started bombarding him with touchy questions.

"Something in your mind?" She asked with a suspicious tone.

"Not really." He replied casually.

"I'm not sure seeing myself with a swollen belly qualifies s 'not really'." Marie insisted to Allelujah's embarrassment. But as she spoke a slight laughter escaped her mouth.

"Well, I'm not really sure discussing something like this on patrol is a good idea." Defended a blushing Allelujah.

"Seriously, after we're done testing. Alright?"

"If you say so." He could already picture Marie smirking in the Ahriman's cockpit, wildly.

On the bridge, Milenia was about to doze off under Lasse's nose when a swarm of red dots on the radar screen got her attention. On top of one of the leading dots was a series of labels that indicated its origin and model number...which neither of them were available. "What the…?" She whispered and looked up the data the ship's radar collected. Unfortunately for her, all she could get was an image from the ship's long range camera and a hazy list of info she couldn't make use.

"I'm getting multiple readings on the E-sensor. ETA...10 minutes! It's the same type as before but there are five unknowns!" Milenia exclaimed from her seat.

"Call Harute and Ahriman off now. Have the QanT and Zabanya deploy right away!" The captain ordered as he flipped a switch with a red label underneath it. Seconds later anti-air siren has filled the Ptolemy, followed by standby orders issued through yet another broadcast.

Directly underneath them was the third hangar deck loaded with a single mobile suit none other than the almighty 00 QanT. Next to it was Ian with his pockets filled with tools and Setsuna dragging his helmet with him. "I don't say this often, but I say you better get in there now!" He requested.

On the other side of the walls of the hangar was the machine known as Zabanya. Lyle's, to be specific. Its head, unlike its counterparts, had a massive magenta lens exposed on its forehead, and its joints were covered in greenish armour with hidden missiles underneath.

"Sorry Lockon, but the bits are still under repair. You'll have to make do with your rifles." Linda reminded as Lyle hopped into the cockpit with two Haros tailing him.

"I'll be fine. Where do you want me?" He asked.

"Zabanya will stay near the ship and snipe down anything that gets too close. The QanT will engage their flank by hit and run. Throw them into confusion." Replied Lasse. The cockpit in front of the thirty-ish pilot closed, leaving the HUD around him the only source of light in the squeezy space. He marched the mobile suit and locked onto the launch catapult as it lowered itself to the launch deck moments later. Above the suit was a board indicating a standby signal, and next to it were a pair of guiding lights along the catapult.

Lyle reached for the music player wrapped with duct tape opposite to the Haro ports. He was equally surprised as Allelujah when he first heard of the change of regulations regarding to listening to music. And of course he didn't hesitate to take advantage of that.

"nokosareta yume no ato fumitsukeru. kimagure na shinigami ga tachidomatta…" The innovator could roughly put together the lyrics Lyle was humming

before he got the green light.

"Lockon Stratos, Zabanya, taking off!"

Setsuna could barely hear the sound of Lyle's Gundam take off from the catapult next to his as his mobile suit was positioned behind an opening bay door, revealing the sight of a trail of teal particles leaving the warship. He was told he wasn't supposed to launch immediately, so the only thing he could do right now was try to recognise Lyle's music.

surechigau boku wo miru tsumetaku

oroka na tsumi wo keshikakeru you ni

nobasareta te wo furi hodoite...

"Is that Unlimited Sky?" He asked.

"You got it right. Setsuna." Lyle had his mobile suit attach its soles to the back of the Ptolemy as he zoomed in his camera to locate his targets. "They're the old ones all right. What loyal customers." He commented and hovered his index finger next to the trigger, while waiting for one of the wingmen to move into his crosshair.

"Targeted and firing!"

fuki hareru kanashimi ga

kono mune wo kasumete

ikutabi mo kurikaesareru mujou ni

kaerenai natsukashiki hibi sae mo nikumeta

bokura ni nani ga dekiru?

kakagerareta eikou no imi nado

wakaranu mama...

From miles away came an explosion, but instead of mentally celebrating and moving on Lyle was confused by the eerily small size of the explosion. He mumbled something over the intercom, but was interrupted when the squadron swarmed in front of his scope.

kiri sutete kita hazu no kankaku ga

yomigaeru reisei wo matoi nagara

kasoku suru iradachi wo kakushita

kanjou nanka yaku ni tatanai

dakedo kokoro ga oitsukenai...

"Now, Setsuna!"

"00QanT, Setsuna F. Seiei, launching!"

hangyaku no SCENARIO ni

maiorita datenshi

naze kimi wa hikari no soto ni iru no ka

kizuita yo

moshi boku ja naku umareteitara

waratteirareta kana

mushou no ai sono naka de

kodoku nado shiranu mama...