PHASE 1: NEW ACQUAINTANCES

C.E 43 PLANTs Construction Site, Lagrange Area 5. January 13th (10:45AM)

After five years of being enclosed in an area of darkness and nothingness, Seigel Clyne thought that he would have gotten used to the experience by now. Yet even after so many years, he still couldn't – there was just that small something that wouldn't allow him to get used to the atmosphere he was in... well, technically, there was no atmosphere to speak about, but you get the idea. He cast his eyes out of the small, rounded rectangular thing that he supposed he could call a window, gazing into nothing but the blackness that was dotted here and there with shining bright stars. It was difficult for him to say to himself that he was looking out of a window. A window, to him, had frames and curtains. This thing looked like it had been cut out from the metallic wall, patched with a sheet of glass that was just trying its best to seem as if by doing so, it could give a feeling of home to the one looking outside.

But there was nothing here that felt like home. Even spending five years in one place could not fully allow a person to use such a word so easily.

Home, to Siegel Clyne, was the feeling of darkness... gloominess. Not the darkness that was space, so pervasive and suffocating. No, the darkness he was used to were cloudy skies, the ever-existing feeling as if a storm was about to hit, or maybe heavy showers. There was the small chill of wind blowing through his golden hair, the smell of rain that has yet to make its appearance. Gloomy. Dark. Not the typical vacation life, but that was life and that was home.

He rapped his fingers against the wooden table, his light brown eyes flickering to his watch once again. Fifteen minutes. He had arrived far too early, but then again, he was a person who liked to be well ahead of time. To look far into the future and be prepared for anything, no matter how small and insignificant it may seem. He was waiting for Patrick Zala... a man who, like himself, had long ago volunteered for the construction of the new space colony in Lagrange Area 5. He had heard of the man on several occasions, but they had never truly met. This time would be the first.

There was still too much time. Siegel looked out of the 'window' again, into the darkness. He could not get used to it... to this profound silence that was so heavy it felt as if it could crush the station he was in, impossible as it was. The background music – piano and violins, he identified – could not mask the loud silence that was there. It simply couldn't. Back in Scandinavia, Siegel was used to travelling in vehicles. A large part of his life was spent in moving vehicles, even if he himself preferred walking. He had travelled in cars and buses, trains and boats. He had travelled in shuttles countless times, but there was something about travelling in Earth's atmosphere that was blatantly different to travelling in space. On Earth, even in a moving vehicle, there was still noise. Background noise. The sound you hear like moving tyres outside, or the low hum of the engine. Maybe even sounds of small rocks hitting the bottom of the car, sometimes even on the windscreen. Occasionally, there was the sound of splashing water when you travel in a boat, and on a train, there was the distant call of birds and the sound of life outside as you raced past them. Even in shuttles, travelling inside the Earth's invisible bubble, there was the sound of the occasional rumbling thunder outside the protective metal sheet.

Here, in space, there was the sound of the music, the machinery if you were lucky, and nothing else. Loud, inescapable, profound silence.

Siegel remembered when he had been younger, five years ago at the very young age of twenty-six, when he had agreed to involve himself with the first major construction of the colonies in Lagrange Area 5, originally proposed by George Glenn. The idea of working in space, in the light gravity and endless stars, had been euphoric. Now, despite the vastness of the blackness, he felt claustrophobic. Where the weight of the body was heavy on Earth, having that weight lifted in space gave you another weight to deal with – the weight of the mind, amplified by silence. By now, Seigel actually preferred the former. Body weight was easier to handle than mental weight.

One of the reasons why he had been so eager to volunteer with the construction of the colonies was due to the design and architecture of it all. It was an interesting design, to have colonies in the shape of what one would recognise to be an hourglass... a very large hourglass. The bottom part of these hourglasses, around ten kilometres in diameter, was where life would settle. Such a large creation was not new, but what truly interested Siegel about the design of these colonies were the artificial gravity that came with it, created by rotating them mechanically around the central point. Though the light and weather would be, up to a degree, quite artificial, the idea of having gravity again sent a small high to Siegel. Imagine! To live in space but still have the weight of your own self to carry around!

He could imagine himself there. Working permanently for the colonies in space, finding a woman to love and building a family with her in the beauty and silence of space in the midst of the artificial life of Earth... he could imagine himself there. And he wanted a son, to raise him as how he had been raised, with compassion and love to those around him. Such were the dreams of Siegel Clyne.

"Mr. Siegel Clyne?" Siegel looked up, his eyes resting on the boy now standing beside him. Just behind the boy was a man with a pronounced, masculine jaw and sharp eyes. Seigel raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Mr. Patrick Zala for you, sir," the boy informed.

Siegel glanced at his watch. Ten fifty. His companion was early. "Thank you," he said, standing. The boy excused himself with a nod, backing away respectively. Extending his hand, the former managed a smile to the newcomer. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Zala. Siegel Clyne."

"Likewise. I have heard much about you," Patrick replied, accepting the hand with a grasp worthy of his name.

He motioned for the other man to sit, during which a waiter came on cue, asking for orders. Patrick refused, save for a cup of black coffee, but Siegel decided to have that small luxury of a sandwich along with his orange juice. He wrinkled his nose slightly upon hearing Patrick's order of coffee. In a place of encompassing darkness, where day and night was only told with the ticking of the clock, he could not decipher the need for caffeine. Every waking hour seemed like night, and he needed reminders, like a fresh glass of juice, to orient himself with the time of day. Siegel missed analogue watches, now he thought about it. Glancing at Patrick's wrist, he saw that the man was wearing just one of those. He smiled slightly to himself. Either Patrick was a man who followed schedules down to the clock, or he was too busy to care about day and night. Nobody could tell the time of day with analogue watches. Some people, like Patrick Zala, might feel as if there was no reason to be able to.

"So how has your morning been?" Siegel asked, attempting to strike a conversation with the man so strangely different to him.

Patrick, who looked as if he had been lost in thought, turned his eyes on the older man. "So it is morning? I had been wondering what time of day it is for a few days now. It's going well, thank you. The developments are going exactly as predicted, in which, I am inclined to believe, the ten colonies may probably be officially opened by next year."

Siegel raised his eyebrows slightly. If Patrick had posed the same question in his direction, he would probably have replied with a dream he had regarding Evidence 01 the night before, and how the possibility of finding more than just a fossil of any form of space life in the next few years (months even!) would probably create a new milestone for mankind and his accomplishments. Still, that was just him. He knew enough about Patrick Zala to know that the man's academic specialty was in historical structures. It was, quite frankly, Patrick Zala's mind that enabled the construction of a space colony as unique as the ones currently built in Lagrange Area 5. He was one of the leading designers, the backbone behind the dream of George Glenn. An admirable man indeed, very much different to Siegel's own contributions. Still, Patrick's answer only proved his theory correct: the man was one who lived firmly in the present, for the moment.

The other man waited for the waiter to come again and serve them with food and drinks first. To discuss business without drinks seemed inappropriate, at least for him. Siegel liked comfort. He thanked the waiter, taking a sip of his orange juice before turning his gaze on the other man. "That would be rewarding, to finally see the colonies opened to the public. You have contributed much," he said. "So we are really looking at creating a place for families here? This would be something completely new to what we've achieved before."

"But it will be possible?" Patrick's voice suddenly sounded urgent.

Siegel hesitated. "It is possible," he said slowly. "Achieving such a thing would be phenomenal, but it would be possible. I'm sure you've read my reports on that matter before this," he said, taking a bite from his sandwich.

Upon hearing this, Patrick leaned forwards, his eyes now calculating instead of questioning. "Would I be stretching it if I say I am looking into proposing a larger colony than the one we're developing now?" he asked.

There it was. The one reason why Patrick had called the meeting with him in the first place, finally voiced aloud. Siegel couldn't help but admire the ambition and aspiration that Patrick had. Clearly, the creation of the Ten Colonies just wasn't enough. "Actually, it is possible. In this Lagrange point, it's possible to create a whole mass of space colonies."

"Lagrange point?"

"Yes," Siegel nodded. "Lagrange areas are what we refer to when building space colonies. It's imperative for anyone to live in space for an extended amount of time to be able to do so in the right place. Lagrange areas are points of gravitational stability. It is fortunate that the Ten Colonies were built in L5. Among all the five Lagrange points that we have now, L5 and L4 are the most stable. If you wish to build a large space colony, it is in these areas that are the most optimum."

"And to create life within the colonies?"

"Possible if we can artificially create the weather. Gravity, if I read your reports correctly, will not pose a problem."

Patrick shook his head, a small smile coming to his lips. "The disks will be rotating on a regular, timed basis – the artificial gravity, in theory, should never disappear as long as it keeps on spinning."

"Then there should be no problem," Siegel said, satisfied. He leaned back, finishing his sandwich. "I'm interested to know what you really have in plan. The Ten Colonies are for manufacturing and research. Why pay so much attention to the possibility of having an extended life here? Most colonies will allow its workers to have a few months of leave to compensate for the loss that they might experience being away from Earth," he said curiously. "Is it possible you're finally getting tired of space and wish for something more like Earth?" he asked, an amused smile on his lips now. For him, the idea of that did not seem to apply to this man named Patrick Zala. To Siegel Clyne, it was a definite truth – he truly wished that the place he worked was more like Earth than obvious space. But to someone like Patrick, who did not bother in getting a watch that would tell him the time of day, it seemed unlikely.

His guessed proved right. "Not at all," Patrick said, smiling despite himself. "I was thinking more towards building... a nation. A nation, here in space, in these colonies. The human population is growing, Siegel, and the number of Coordinators are expanding greatly and not without opposition. I am thinking of creating a place where humans can live normal lives. A place to facilitate the growing numbers of the human population where the land on Earth may not be able to."

It was a good idea. More than that, it was an idea that had been voiced too many times by too many people, only they have yet to find someone to turn that need into a reality. Looking at Patrick Zala, to the determination and question behind his eyes, was more than enough to tell Siegel that Patrick was an ambitious man. A man with ambitions so similar to his own, only where Siegel had the ideals, Patrick had the drive to achieve those dreams. Suddenly, the idea seemed much more appealing.

"The problem we are currently facing is that we still do not have the means to provide food for ourselves. Oxygen, for the most part, seems to be a lesser problem as time goes by, as we are capable of recycling it. The problem is food. If we can create a colony that produces its own food and has its means of disposing them, without needing any support from Earth, then it is very much possible that we can create an independent space colony that can hold the growing human population," Siegel said, leaning back now. "Though there is no race for that. The colonies should be able to get help from Earth until we are able to fully sustain ourselves."

"...Food," Patrick repeated. Surprised, Siegel noted that there was a small hint of annoyance in his golden irises. "We are prohibited from producing food much at all," he all but growled.

The other arched an eyebrow. "I'm aware of that. It doesn't mean a compromise cannot be made, however," he said quietly. To him, there was no need for anger, as strange as it was that the authority on Earth refused to allow them to produce food. Everything could be settled with a compromise with the right patience – he had much faith in that belief.

"I wish I can share your optimism," Patrick drawled.

"Perhaps you may," Siegel smiled. "In the meantime, we can look towards further expanding the Ten Colonies that we have. L5 can definitely support a lot more than what we have just built."

C.E 43 3rd Floor, Da Vinci Building, Mendel Colony, Lagrange Area 4. January 13th. (2:05PM)

Storing away the last of his clothing, Ulen looked around and stretched, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly. After the meeting with Alice, he had been escorted to the Da Vinci building, one of the few residential areas provided for researchers and scientists working in Mendel Colony. It was a comfortable room, with an en suite and a kitchen, but with very little more – not that Ulen cared about that. He knew he would be far too absorbed in the Mendel labs to even consider spending a lengthy amount of time where he was. He would need to explore the building more, and explore Mendel. But he had time. A small smile crossed his face. Yes, he had a lot of time to enjoy what he had.

The room was simple. A cream-coloured queen-sized bed with a pine bookcase by its side took the corner of the room. Beside the bookcase was an angular study table, currently devoid of any books and papers, which Ulen knew would change soon. To the bed's right was a comfortable sofa and a TV set – besides that, there was the bathroom and the kitchen and nothing more. He knew he would love this room (it wasn't even an apartment). The simplicity of it was easy to clean, and as a man, Ulen never demanded much when talking about the little comforts in life.

A knock on his door made him turn. He walked towards it, opening it slightly. A new face greeted him. "Dr. Ulen Hibiki..?"

He opened the door further. "Yes?"

"I'm supposed to escort you to the facilities," he answered. "Apologies – my name is Vince Lair."

Vince Lair looked older than him. Perhaps around his late thirties. His hair and eyes were black and he wore a simple white collared shirt with black pants, giving the man a sort of monochromic feel. Like black and white were his only defining features. "Are you ready? Or shall I wait a little?" Vince asked.

"No, I'm ready," Ulen answered, shutting the door behind him.

He was surprised when the man put his hand out. "Looks like we'll be working together after this. Nice to meet you."

The distance between the Da Vinci building and the R&D Centre was exactly twenty minutes on foot. At least he didn't need to think about needing a transport around here. Shuttles were available if he needed to go further in the colony, but with the supermarket located just a few blocks away from the Da Vinci building, Ulen thought not. Besides, he was here to work, not for a vacation. Da Vinci faced a park, complete with a man-made lake, which they needed to walk through to reach the R&D Centre. As they walked, they talked, and Vince had the good grace to stop and buy them sandwiches by the stand so they wouldn't need to stop for lunch once inside the R&D Centre.

Within twenty minutes, Ulen learned that Vince worked directly under GENESIS, in its Genetic Modification department. A notice was put up for volunteers willing to join Ulen's newly-established group, and Vince had been one of the few first volunteers. Apart from that, he had worked under GENESIS for four years and was twenty-nine years old, a good eight years older than Ulen himself. Another thing that Ulen learned about Vince was that he liked to talk.

"Some people scoff at the idea of studying second-generation Coordinators," Vince said, waving his sandwich in irritation as they walked through the park. "I kept on telling them that these Coordinators, these second-generation Coordinators, are what we should be looking at. They are the product to our creation. Maybe it's just because the reproduction rate is so low among them. I don't think there will be much third-generation Coordinators at all. But you have to understand that there may be a reason for it. There must be something in these second-generation Coordinators that makes it... well, unnecessary, maybe, for them to reproduce all that much. Maybe they have a much lower mortality rate, or possibly longer lives. There's just so much to uncover. Those guys are nuts – you don't want to listen to them, Ulen."

And he went on.

Ulen didn't mind the talk. It gave him time to think and to critically assess the environment he would be working in. Competition and scepticism was welcomed for it gave room for him to grow.

Still, when he finally came face-to-face with the R&D Centre, Ulen stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide. It was much, much more beautiful than the pictures he saw before this.

The R&D was circular, with a large, blue-tinged, glass dome covering the middle. He heard an amused chuckle beside him and turned, seeing the amusement in Vince's eyes. For a moment, Ulen nearly felt embarrassed with his reaction to the research centre. But this had been everything he had ever dreamed of! To be standing there... no, to be working there...

Not for the first time, he felt incredibly young that day.

"Welcome to GENESIS," Vince said.

Once Vince could wrestle Ulen away from his gaping, they made their way inside. GENESIS was a four-storey building, separated into two halves. As new scientists, they only had access to the first half of the building, but even that was large enough in Ulen's opinion. There were two basements that served as general laboratories and the ground floor was the reception area and where the cafeteria, gym, and shops were located. There were also rooms that scientists could stay in if they did not want to return home. The different departments were separated by floor. On the first was the consultation room and offices, mainly used for new parents who wanted Coordinator children. The Genetic Engineering department was on the first floor, the Genetic Research department on the second, the Genetic Modification department on the third, and the Genetic Creation and Evolution department on the fourth. In each department, there were sub-departments, in which Ulen's would be under Genetic Research on the second floor. Of course, there were other fields of study located on the other half of the building. Ulen couldn't decipher just how large the place was, though he had read that it was a 50,000 square-foot facility. He only just realised how big Mendel was, and he was right in the middle of it.

"I know, I was like you when I first came here. Amazing, isn't it? Those centres in Earth are like nothing compared to Mendel," Vince said, grinning.

Ulen shook his head.

"Vince! There you are! You better look out – Aime's looking for you, and he doesn't seem happy. You haven't submitted your report yet, have you?"

They both turned, facing the newcomer who was hurrying towards them. Ulen blinked. The woman seemed as if she had been running around the GENESIS for a while, so flustered she was. She had straight, shoulder-length chestnut hair, and the most peculiar shade of violet/blue eyes. Upon reaching them, she placed her hands on her knees, fighting to get her breath back before straightening again. "Do you know how much trouble everyone was in, looking for you? Honestly, and I thought we can all take care of ourselves here," she ranted, wiping her brow with the sleeve of her lab coat.

Vince grinned. "I forgot. I'm sorry," he said, though from his tone, it didn't seem as if he had forgotten at all. "Oh, and meet my friend here, Ulen. He'll be the new recruit in my faction."

The woman seemed to just have noticed him. A faint blush filled her cheeks as she realised how impolite she had just been. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me," she said, extending her hand. "My name is Via. Via Huoko. Genetic Engineering department."

Ulen grasped her hand, giving it a shake. "Ulen Hibiki. Nice to meet you," he said, amused with how disorganised she seemed to be. Though, looking at her now, the trait held a certain charm for her. It was appealing.

"And you," Via replied, turning to Vince. "You better get that report on Aime's desk now. It's enough that you're troubling different departments."

The other man shrugged, holding his hands out. "Easy there. I've got my hands full for now – gotta show Ulen here the place."

Via looked from Ulen to Vince, to Ulen again. She sighed, hanging her head. "Guess there's no choice. I'll take over. No, not the report – Ulen. I'll show him around. In the meantime, you go and get your work done," she said irritably. Vince opened his mouth to argue, but upon seeing the flash of anger in her eyes, he backtracked. "Vince."

"Alright, alright," Vince said, backing away now. The woman could be so frightening when she wanted to be. "I'll leave. Now. Yes, now."

The amount of time it took for him to disappear was astounding. Ulen could only watch as the scene unfolded before him. He turned his eyes on Via, arching an eyebrow. "Nice friend?" he asked.

Via crossed her arms. "Only at times, and under different circumstances," she sighed. "Right, where we were? Oh. You're new. I'm sorry, I forgot," she said, showing how muddled she was yet again. "Right, right. I'll show you around, floor to floor. You'll want to keep in mind where everything is. Even though we're in different departments, you'll find that sometimes, it's as if we're not in different fields at all," she said lightly, her right hand gesturing to their right. "Shall we go?"

The tour was enjoyable, that much Ulen could say. Via was animated, showing him around with as much energy and enthusiasm as a three-year-old. He nodded and followed, still feeling rather awkward with the whole situation even though he found himself talking more with Via as time passed by. She was a year younger than him and had been working under GENESIS for a year now – it made him feel inferior on both counts, and he could only guess just how brilliant her mind really was. She was also popular. This he knew as she passed from room to room, greeting just about anyone – there weren't that many scientists around, however, which didn't surprise him. GENESIS was all about quality over quantity, and they produced a lot of quality.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Via asked as they reached the third floor.

He shook his head. "Too much, actually. This place... I've always dreamed of working here, and finally being here, things are rather surreal."

Via laughed lightly. "You'll find yourself more amazed as time goes by. I wonder what's on the other half of the building."

"No access?"

"None," Via sighed. A small sparkle of mischief came to her eyes. "Though we can always... sneak in. Or something. I'm sure the Artificial Intelligence facility can be of help."

Ulen found himself chuckling. Her childlike personality was catching.

But it was appealing, Ulen thought, as she moved two steps forward, gesturing to one room after another with ease as she recounted their roles.

She was very appealing.

Author's Notes: So Ulen meets Via! And Patrick meets Siegel! Via's last name 'Huoko' is a tribute for her seiyuu. This fic will move quite fast over the years it takes for Kira to be born and grow up, but the first few chapters will be set in the same year as our characters meet and get to know each other. I'm surprised with how much freedom I have over this fic, how little boundaries I have. When writing, I find that Via tends to take a more Cagalli personality while Ulen seems a bit more like Kira. Hope it works! In any case, thank you for the reviews! I've started a new fic in the Final Fantasy fandom (check it out if you're a fan?) so this fic may not take priority. I'll still write, of course, and update as regularly as I can. You have no idea how enjoyable this is to write. But yeah, no long and regular chapters like Renegade. In any case, tune in for next time!