A phone alarm rang out.
Her blue-green eyes opened without abruptness, while her first sight was a ceiling of the simplest, although with rather, refined patterns.
It's been a long time since she's had had this nightmare in such a clear way.
Without anymore word or thought about it, she pushed away the blankets and got up to get ready, passing by the various boxes already packed. Nevertheless, the cold silence and the expression in her gaze were enough to gauge the impact that this bad dream always had on her, even if that was only the second half of what had happened that day.
As she put on her tight-fitting black uniform skirt, she heard her phone vibrate and glanced at it. A message, from a relatively dynamic person:
« From : Christina Sierra
FEEEEELDT! YOU REMEMBER?! TODAY IS THE DAY OF THE CALLING! »
She let out a sigh as she imagined the retort thrust in the high-pitched cry of her best friend, before putting down her mobile phone. There was no point in answering: the young woman was probably already waiting for her outside the dormitory.
So, quickly, she puts on her white shirt, her light loose ribbon and her stylized dark blue, black and silver blazer. She took care to put on high socks in tights because she did not like the idea of exposing her legs all day long, but stylized also so as not to attract the wrath of the fashion fan that was Christina. Finally, she put on her lace-up boots and went out after a bit of washing.
Even though it was the last time she entered here, the thing she could never complain about in that dorm was its height. Her floor was the twenty-first of block A2 and there were only a dozen rooms in each floor, in addition to that quite far from each other ...
... But luck ended there. Because her room was only the second closest to the elevator. So walking past the first one was inevitable and it unfortunately did not belong to a random person who would have no bearing on her peaceful existence. At least if it were fair to consider her life as "peaceful". Anyway, this person was problematic to her, and obviously, fate was quite against her because she crossed this person every morning without fail.
Besides, she was locking her door when she saw her, and the other young woman noticed her just as quickly, letting out a smile in the corner.
"You're very early, Feldt..."
"Like every morning, Nena." she said quickly, passing her without looking at her.
The redhead decided otherwise since she followed suit until she stuck her tightly enough to make her wince.
"Then?"
In response, she received a questioning and suspicious look from the rose.
"Then what?"
"You know very well what I'm talking about."
"I wouldn't ask you if I knew," she sighed.
Nena remained silent for a moment, probably sketching a scowling pout that Feldt didn't bother to see, before launching more casually:
"Oh, come on! The Calling ! A bit of one of the most important things in our existence."
"You don't seem more stressed than that."
"You can talk! To believe that you have no expectations"
"Because, you do have some?" Feldt asked, dedicating a slight corner glance to her.
"Obviously!"
Feldt felt that she was just waiting for her to ask "which ones?" but she remained neutral. Thus, Nena gave herself the opportunity to admit it alone:
"I want a handsome guy. A handsome guy, who in addition, would be really strong."
"It doesn't even surprise me..." The rose whispered.
"... And when I say strong, I'm not just talking about piloting…" Nena added more enticingly.
The implied was clear to Feldt, who took her gaze off her, showing firm impassibility as she exclaimed:
"Spare me the details, please."
The reply teared a mocking smile from the redhead as they entered the deserted elevator. She quickly pressed the "0" before placing her arm around the shoulders of the silent rose.
"You don't know what you're missing, there's nothing more magical than sex."
"What if you don't have the one you want?" Feldt asked without abruptness, deftly deflecting the subject as Nena left her shoulders to take a foot away from a dancing gait.
"Easy! Unlike the rest of you, I have not only compatibility as a "Coordinator", but also as a "Meister". I just have to get rid of him and it's all good."
-Get rid of him, eh...
The somber tone was very noticeable, drawing a sly smile from Nena.
"Yes, "get rid of him". But if it's a girl as interesting as you, it wouldn't bother me. After all, women Meisters are as rare as male coordinators, that is to say a lot."
"Or you will just have neither one nor the other but will do with it."
This attracted Nena's curiosity.
"What do you mean?"
"Your brother is with the Meisters, isn't he?"
She blinked several times, before making a pitiful expression.
"I had completely forgotten Micha-nii... I'll see, anyway, it's not like we have a choice," she said, shrugging her shoulders.
It was true. Both "Meister" and "Coordinators" simply had no choice. They were paired on unknown criteria, since it worked as a result of a ritual conducted by the Coordinator, who usually invoked a Meister totally unknown to the Coordinator and vice versa.
Feldt let herself be lost in thought: the Calling, as Christina and Nena had spoken, was in fact the moment when the ritual and therefore the Meisters/Coordinators pairs would be made. This happened every year in the eighteen-year of a generation of the two specific academies preparing for these roles, and the number of potentials could vary from year to year. Sometimes, this number can be very small, since the possibility of being compatible as a Coordinator or Meister was already relatively not high in the world. In general, each individual from the Allied countries took the test on his tenth birthday, and if he had the potential, could directly integrate one of the two Academies. "Could" since it was not mandatory because it seemed most important to specify that the role of these Academies was military...
... The young woman was cut off from her thoughts by the other, who seemed to misunderstand her prolonged silence as she exclaimed:
-Anyway, we don't need to worry. We are still Coordinators of Gundam, the ultra-rare Mobiles-Suits classified triple S!
Feldt said nothing in response.
The Mobile Suits were very advanced war machines, which could not be controlled by ordinary mortals. Thus, the role of a "Coordinator" made sense: a Coordinator had the ability to take control of a single Mobile Suit, which was appointed following the Consecration, which is a ceremony which took place in the sixteenth year of a generation of Coordinator. Thus, according to the coordination potential of the Coordinator, the Mobile-Suit designated by itself, with an IA algorithm, the individual it wanted. Once appointed, they only had to make a commitment and voila. The Coordinator could therefore invoke at will his Mobile-Suit, which belonged to him for life and could not be obtained by anyone else before his death, knowing that it was possible to program the death of his unit at the same time as his own, so to take it with you into nothingness.
However, a Coordinator could not pilot it.
Thus, this skill could seem most shabby, it was true. What's the point of having control of a high-performance machine if you couldn't use it?
It was at this time that the Meisters appeared. They therefore had the power to control these machines, but for that, they had to be the partner of a Coordinator. This brought another thorny problem, and which caused the stress that turned on this subject: in addition to not having the right to choose a Coordinator since it worked in terms of incomprehensible compatibility, when a Meister and a Coordinator became partners, they were obliged to remain so until death, both engraved with the same mark on the body that was the very proof. The only possible liberation would therefore be the death of one of the two parties. Meanwhile, a Meister could only drive his Coordinator's Mobile-Suit, and the Coordinator only supported his Meister. Because indeed, the role of the Coordinator did not stop at the invocation of his Mobile-Suit, but also at the support of the pilot as operator and strategist... In itself, many people had already considered that the Coordinators had much more work to do than the Meisters, but that was the way it was. However, this probably explained why the number of Coordinators was smaller than that of the Meisters, and therefore why they were very valuable and protected. And this was especially true for the SSS Coordinators.
As Nena had pointed out so well, they were both SSS classified. This level was explained by the ranking of their Mobile-Suit. There were countless different units, classified from F to SSS. The low levels were F and E. The average level was D. The good levels were C and B. The very good level was A. The excellent level was S, and from SS, it was simply geniuses' machines. So to speak, the Gundam were the name of the SSS units, and there were only 7 of them, which was a so tiny number that from the moment they were designated as owners, they had never been so cornered by the government and approached with admiration and jealousy by the other students.
For Feldt, this was a bit of the normal thread of things, even if it might seem very haughty: after all, her parents had been Gundam Meisters.
"Our rank doesn't mean much. We may very well come across the worst Meister possible, just as that does not mean that we are the best strategists and potential operators."
"It's not wrong, but you can say what you want, we are currently the best strategists and operators, and the other SSS Coordinators are doing almost as well."
She was right, which was why she said nothing to signify in response. The elevator stopped at that moment and opened onto the lobby. They both went out at the same time and were greeted by a jump multiplied by a huge hug from a particularly cheerful student... Or rather Feldt was since it was Christina Sierra, in the flesh, with her usual pretty ponytail.
"You could have replied to my message!"
"It wasn't much use, we can talk about it now," replied Feldt.
Christina looked at her with a slightly upset pout, but all her possible bad mood refocused on someone else after she said her scathing retort :
"Hey, Christina. Kindergarten is on the other side FYI."
The latter frowned as she casts a dark gaze at Nena, under Feldt's weary sigh. If she didn't like Nena but still knew how to say it while remaining calm and simply cold and sarcastic, Christina was just impetuosity incarnated.
"First, this line corresponds better to Mileina than to me..."
She's no better than Nena for this clash, Feldt thought as she had a snack in the vending machine next to the start of the argument.
"... And second, I'd rather this than fucking all the guys hanging outside the school like you, Nena."
"And who are at the inside too," added Nena, without being offended in the slightest.
On the contrary, she was rather proud, which annoyed Chris a little more.
"Frankly, I don't understand you. You were execrable with absolutely everyone until the Consecration, and you only started to become nice with those who were appointed as SSS Coordinator like Feldt and me... And again, you manage to be despicable with me!"
"I just said that kindergarten was further away, you are the only one who felt targeted. You have to calm your ardor."
Nena who remained calm, it was just a losing battle... Because in general, she only remained so when you were well below its level. This was possibly the case since Chris had never been very good at verbal attack.
"You-!"
"And by the way, I only like Feldt," Nella cut off.
"Unfortunately, it is not shared" reacted the concerned.
The redhead let out a gloomy smile, while she captured an equally icy look from Feldt, who continued:
"Especially knowing that the love you claim is just a huge lie to approach me."
"As always, we can't run away from your analyses. In general, people fall for it."
"It's hard to fall into the trap when you already admitted it yourself three years ago," replied the rose, starting to drink her orange juice.
"Not wrong. But people change... You might have ended up believing it."
"I'm not stupid enough to believe in you."
"That's what makes you so interesting."
They exchanged a long, cold gaze. Being interesting to Nena was not a positive thing, it was simply being a potential enemy, a target to be shot. Feldt did not like Nena for the simple reason that she could not accept her character and mannerisms: Nena liked to kill people. When she was bored, bathing in blood was her hobby and that was also why she was the one with the most military experience in their class. On top of that, she was manipulative and vile to an almost monstrous point, and even if they could talk as they had done in the elevator, the rose never felt safe from a back attack on her part. A person so dangerous and contrary to her most fundamental principles could only attract her estrangement, even her contempt.
For her part, Nena feared Feldt and considered her as her number one rival by the sheer fact that she was, in addition to being endowed with excellent hand-to-hand skills, endowed with boundless intelligence and analytical ability. She was, so to speak, a true moral genius in her eyes, and she was a model as a mental force. Thus, it was a great challenge for Nena to destroy her. But contrary to what Feldt thought, who had really understood only the first part of her thought, Nena was certainly more attracted to men, but still to some women and so she also felt... Lustful towards the rose. Something that the latter did not experience at all and therefore could not understand for the moment. Nena loved Feldt physically, and soaking up lust by her side was one of her fantasies, and therefore one of her goals... Hence also the reason for a hostility of the least compared to that which she dedicated to others. But for once, it remained her little secret.
Christina gave them a simultaneous look. These two were probably the two most powerful women of their generation, and seeing them look like this was not without attracting a few cold sweats.
That was why she took hold of the arm of the rose, exclaiming:
"Let's go, Feldt! If this continues, we will be late."
The latter let herself be dragged away, leaving without abruptness the exchange of glances with Nena, who remained on the spot.
When they were outside, Christina spoke first:
"I don't like to see you with her. "
"We are in the same floor, I don't have much choice."
"It's dangerous."
"You don't need to tell me."
Chris was silent for a moment, before deciding to change the subject:
"So? Your opinion on the Calling?"
Feldt couldn't help but think of her conversation with Nena, before simply saying:
'As long as I come across someone who is not too hateful, I have no opinion."
"It's really like you ! You should refine your criteria!"
"It's the best way to be disappointed," Feldt said.
Christina had no complaints about it.
"I still hope for a handsome guy," she said with a charmed smile.
But what did all the girls have to want "handsome guys"? It was the hormones that worked them so much or ...?
"Everything's fine? You look a little frustrated all of a sudden."
"Yes, yes, it's nothing."
"Then can I ask you something?"
She gave her a slanted look in response.
"If you ever come across a hateful guy, will you really let him pilot your Gundam?"
Feldt was silent for a few seconds, before simply declaring:
"If it is his personality that is detestable but his values are honorable, yes. If it is the opposite, I would rather give up my role as Coordinator than engage in a war destiny for the sake of war. "
"You know very well that the army will not let you no longer be a Coordinator... Then, the mark is automatically impregnated during the ritual, you will not be able to escape the fact that he will be your partner ..."
"But it's up to me to accept or not to invoke my Gundam."
"They may want to kill you."
"They wouldn't. They can't be sure I didn't scheme the death of my Gundam with mine."
"Then he will die."
Feldt remained silent: that was what she was getting at. Finally, Feldt hated having to kill even though she had embarked on this military path... The very fact of having to cause someone's death by her refusal was quite reprehensible to her mentally. Nevertheless, she said in a calm voice:
"If we ever have no way to arrange otherwise, maybe yes."
She felt Christina's intense gaze but decided to ignore it, moving a little faster in front of the school looming in front of them. Feldt had chosen a path of death... She didn't feel allowed to claim the fact that she didn't want to kill, even though she hated it.
Moreover, this was the reason that questioned Christina about Feldt : why someone who, deep down, repulsed the fact of having to kill, embarked on such a path?...
"As you know, this afternoon will take place the Ritual, or the Calling if you prefer. You obviously could not prepare for it since the results remain very mysterious even today. Nevertheless, you must—"
Feldt listened only with one ear to the professor's speech. She suspected very well what kind of boring speech she was going to tell.
"Hey, Feldt."
She glanced at the one who had just called out to her: a pretty young woman with white hair and yellow eyes looking at her kindly. She allowed herself a slight smile as she greeted her.
"What's the matter, Marie ?"
"You look bored, I was wondering what was wrong."
"I'm fine, don't worry."
"Feldt."
When she used this tone, it was often a sign that she wanted the truth. And as silly as it sounded since Marie was quite tender, Feldt rarely felt able to refuse.
"... I don't really want to share my life right now."
Mary appeared for a moment surprised, before smiling softly:
"Don't you want Meister? Yet it comes down to welcoming our half."
Feldt sighed.
"This is the problem. I am very well alone, and having a partner who will be with me almost always and to whom my life will be dedicated doesn't please me, actually."
"I think it will be good to take if this person is able to reach you."
The rose picked up her word in surprise:
"Able to reach me?"
The white one turned slightly pink at her gaffe, before gently acknowledging:
"You probably don't realize it, but you're a very inaccessible person, Feldt. So to speak, you are considered the most inaccessible of our generation by all the other students. Even Christina, who is your best friend, is not even able to say what motivates you. You are cold and withdrawn... And if I had to be sincere, I think it's also partly because of your loneliness. So I tell myself that, maybe, your partner will be able to make you smile more than politely."
Feldt watched her silently. Marie had always think that about her?... Although, wait, ALL their comrades saw her that way?!
"It's quite embarrassing to say that... Reacted at last" Mary whispered, actually blushing this time.
"-I... I know but I don't know what to say," Feldt said, blinking several times.
They were cut off by the teacher's louder voice, which probably punctuated the somewhat long introductions to what the Ritual was.
"Anyway. Now some preventions so that everything goes well, each Coordinator will obviously have to follow the procedure explained above to summon his Meister, and again, the Meister will not appear in front of you by magic. The mark that will soak up on you will have a certain shape and color, and the chosen Meister will have the same thing, that's how you will find him. So you'll go 1 by 1, which will make things longer but easier. "
This tore off a moan from some students that was later cut short:
"In addition, there have been cases where a Meister or Coordinator has sought to ignore or even run away from their designated partner because they are not satisfied with them. But know that there is no turning back and that you should now be mature enough to accept the situation without prejudice to the smooth running of the situation."
"She got off topic again..." Feldt said with a sigh, making Marie laugh softly.
"... Anyway. Now that I think about it, we still have to conclude the partnership with your Meister, eh! It seems logical so I do not explain the details but there is only a simple way to do it."
"Which is?' A pupil asked at the slight pause of the institute.
"Which is to kiss him, but many of you must already know it from your elders."
There was silence in the classroom.
"... On the cheek?" Another student blurted out.
It was Nena who reacted, after letting out a mocking laugh.
"Are you a nun in a convent, or how does it go? A real kiss, of course!"
"-If it is despicable, I die..." Christina whispered in panic.
Feldt gave her a clearly jaded look.
She really had a problem looking ONLY at the appearance on men...
She decided to finally ask what interested her, seeing that the professor was going to get lost again in claim:
"Madam, can we find out more about the next courses?"
Indeed, at the Coordinators, there was the basic and theoretical learning curriculum, from 10 to 16 years old, the Mobile-Suit control curriculum, real decision-making and physical combat, from 16 to 18 years old, which were supposed to close the learning of what needed to be known fundamentally and in more detail. The one starting after the partnership was on the other hand the real learning phase, with a strengthening of the link with his partner and the real-life situation... But this was still unclear.
"We will talk about it once your Meisters are with you. As you know, this is your last day here. You will be redirected tomorrow, with your belongings and everything related to it, to new dormitories close to the Official Academy, mixing Meisters and Coordinators."
"For us, it's like going to university, discovering gender diversity for the first time," Nena said from her seat, with enough voice for the students around to hear, so Feldt, Marie and Christina, but not the teacher.
"She's not wrong," Christina acknowledged.
"You are exaggerating, there are still male Coordinators here," retorted Feldt, to which Marie agreed.
"You're going to see the difference between ten guys and a hundred, or even two hundred," Chris replied, slumping on her table.
"But I can still tell you your first learning, which is to live with your partner in everyday life. So you will be accommodated in the same room, which will be big enough for both of you, do not worry."
This time, no one saw it coming, and everyone was speechless.
"Uh... That wasn't the case last year, that..". One student said.
"New reform this year, because we realized that the links between partners were the most complex and failed in general," explained the professor in a simple voice.
As it went off in real hubbub, Marie felt bad for Feldt, who had dropped to the back of her seat.
Damnit.
This time, she was really starting to stress. If she was ever with a pervert, she would not survive, even if he could potentially have values that corresponded to her...
"I'm anxious..."
"To whom do you say it..."
Feldt remained silent in the morbid atmosphere in the self-service canteen and in Christina and Mileina's equally depressed conversation.
"I'm sure it'll be fine," Mary tried to reassure.
'What exactly are you basing it on?" Mileina's gloomy voice exclaimed.
Marie found nothing to answer, trying to comfort herself with Feldt's compassionate look. The latter made the decision to help her, not wanting to silently depress further:
"The Meisters arrive within an hour or two in the main hall. You will only have to go and take an interest in it to get an idea rather than depressed from what you do not know. "
"There will always be bad guys in the lot," sighed Christina.
"Who knows, it may be the year of exception!" Mary exclaimed optimistically.
The rose really wondered how she managed to get out so many good sides in a situation.
"I don't really believe it... But hey, if they arrive in about sixty minutes, it is useless to stress so much. We don't have time to flee," Mileina said, eating faster.
"Because you planned to flee?" Christina picked up in surprise.
Mileina's smile was revealing, tearing off a small, amused smile from Marie. For her part, Feldt glanced at the clock, which carefully displayed 1PM, drawing a sigh from her. Seeming to understand why, Mary dedicated a slight smile to her before getting up to give way, questioning the other two:
"What's going on?" Christina exclaimed.
The white woman glanced at the rose, which informed without any apparent emotion:
"I have to go see Sumeragi-san, she told me she needed me to analyze one of her tactics."
"Wow, you get called by the Genius Tactician in person to check her own work? Cool !" Mileina got excited.
Feldt breathed a second sigh.
"Not especially. She doesn't pay me in any way. On the contrary, she plays on her status to justify her random calls. Some would call it exploitation, you know."
"We feel your love of Sumeragi," joked Christina, followed by a laugh from Marie and Mileina.
Feldt's third sigh cooled them down a little.
"I like Sumeragi-san. But I'd rather get something out of what I do, especially when it takes so much time..."
"... Experience?" Marie tempted while sitting down, since Feldt had extricated herself from her own place and was now standing beside the table.
"Now, it's not even enough to accommodate my goodwill. Anyway..."
She did not wait for their answer to rush to the exit, but was nevertheless followed by the eyes of the other three, who remained in their chairs with a slight air of compassion:
"She has a hard life, sometimes," sighed Marie.
"It's sure that given the level of requirement of Sumeragi, it must not be a pleasure to do this all the time", added Christina.
"On the contrary, currently, I envy her a little" contradicted the chestnut-hair girl while drinking a sip of her milkshake.
The statement caught their surprised eye, while she informed while passively looking outside:
"I mean, for once, I wish I had something that changed my mind. Feldt-san will not even have time to think about the Calling that she will be facing it, unlike us. "
She was not wrong about it, and if Marie did not react, Christina slumped on the table at the reminder of the situation.
Damn, it was so scary...