Chapter 2
Primius Headquarters, Mars Colony
The Primius headquarters stands as the tallest building in the industrial district of the Mars Colony. The building has a conjoined factory where most of the E.S.U infrastructure, machinery, and weapons is produced. The rest being produced in satellite warehouses on certain colonies. In the warehouse of the Primius HQ, men on worked on large assembly lines were mobile suits and other military weapons were assembled. The torso of the GM Commands and Zaku IVs, two of the most mass-produced mobile suits, rode on conveyor belts in the center of the warehouse. Large mechanical arms attached arms, legs, and accompanying weapons and shields to the torso of the mobile suits. In an office in the warehouse, two men stood behind a window looking out on to the process. The older of the two man was the owner of Primius Industries Dr. Tyson Primius. The younger man, his head engineer Gus Hatake.
"Where are the GZ suits?" asked Primius.
Gus looked down at his clipboard and said," They should be coming down now."
The two men looked anxiously out of the window. The torso of a different looking mobile suit started down the conveyor belt followed three more similar too it. Compared to the mass-produced suits, these suits were sleeker in design and had its head sported a golden antenna on the forehead the pointed outward in both directions. The mark of a Gundam. The first suit is painted red with golden accent on the chest. The arms and legs attached followed the same pattern. Mechanical arms attached a shield to the left arm of the suit. A beam rifle was equipped to the right arm. Other weapons were stored in the rear compartments. The second mobile suit had dark gray body with black accents. The suit had a bulkier frame with similar components. A third suit with a bright blue paint and white trim followed with a frame almost exactly like the red-gold suit. However, this suits attachment included what appeared to be a long-range beam rifle. The final suit was draped in a frost-white paint with a standard set or weapons (beam rifle and saber).
Gus to Primius, " We've received another contact from Carte, Doctor."
"Ignore it. What are the latest test results on the suits?" replied the Doctor.
"The suits have superior speed, durability and attachments due to the GZ drive. The override application has yet to be tested due to the lack of suitable pilots, but they are ready to go."
"Perfect. I have a feeling that capable pilots will soon present themselves. Contact the Voice and tell him that the weapons are ready and begin preparations for the GZ drive presentation"
Gus nodded and walked out of the office. Dr. Primius continued to look out at the GZ suits with intent.
Transport Dock, Mars Colony
The transport shuttle from Ponch colony pulls into the Mars Colony dock. As the students exit the shuttle, parents greet their student with joy and excitement. Tate and Roji exit the ship. Tate looks around but cannot find his family. He messaged them before they left Ponch but guess that they couldn't meet him at the dock. Tate and Roji decided to go by Tate's family's house and then go downtown to attend the Primius GZ drive presentation which was a couple of hours later. The two boys walked to the city train and boarded. Tate and Roji sat on the train and exchanged funny stories about their families while Tate occasionally pointed out the landmarks on Ponch colony through the window.
Meanwhile aboard Commander De Voss's battleship
Commander De Voss sat in the captain's chair on the deck of the battleship. Soldiers sat around the room staring and computer screens and hitting keys on control panels. Commander De Voss was in his late 20's and a well decorated soldier. He was a key factor in the suppression of the Cano Revolution and received many honors for his efforts in the battles. He wore an all-white military uniform with various patches representing his awards on his left breast pocket. He wore a white mask which covered most of his face except his mouth and medium flowing blonde haired stretched down from his head to just above his shoulders. To his left, sitting the 2nd command chair Lieutenant Mange. He is an older man with short grey hair and a permanent scowl. He is old enough to have fought in battle on Earth before the Final Frontier charter and is well experienced in battle.
Lt. Mange to De Voss, "Approaching Mars Colony, Commander."
De Voss speaks to the ship's crew, "Have we been able to contact Primius Industries?"
A crew member staring at a screen and rapidly typing keys on a console responds, "No sir. We have received intel that resistance forces have entered and are surrounding the Primius Headquarters. "
"Do they have mobile suits?!" snapped Lt. Mange
"Yes. The communication codes match suits stolen from the latest transport ship hijacking" responded the crew member still staring at the screen."
" It would appear that the Resistance have taken Primius Industries hostage" said the Commander.
"Sir. Considering the explosives present in ESU mobile suit and ships at Ido colony, I think it would be wise to consider that Primius has betrayed the Union.", suggested Lt. Mange
Commander De Voss thinks to himself, "That would explain why the President decided to send my fShotot to retrieve the weapons."
To the Lt., "Very well, send the Command A team escorted by B team in support."
A different crew member pressed a button for the ship's P.A. system and gave the orders to the soldiers.
The A team was made up of four experienced soldiers of the military. Mostly hot shots that fought in the Cano revolution. The B team was comprised of four younger ensigns who were getting their feet wet battling the current resistance forces.
Residential Sector, Mars Colony
Tate and Roji arrive to the sector where Tate's family lives. Similarly built houses line the streets that seem to go on forever. Groups of resistance forces patrolled the streets.
"Why are these soldiers here Tate"
"They seemed to be protecting the neighborhood."
"But from what."
The two boys approached Tate's house. The front door is wide open and seems to have been forced open. The two turn to each other in shock and began to run up to the house. Tate calls for his family as they enter. The house is dark. Furniture and picture frames have been knocked over and tossed around. Tate picked up a photo of he and his little brother from before he left for Ponch Colony. The glass on the frame was shattered and the picture had a slight tear in the middle. There appears to have been a struggle. Tate continues to call for his family as they search the house. They make their way upstairs. They enter his parents' room. It too has been tossed around. The curtains had been snatched down from the window. Clothes were scattered about and a dresser had been knocked over. A com It looks like most of its contents had been take but Tate looked deeper into the wall a saw a folder. Tate reached his arm in a grabbed the folder. The folder was labeled Operation Prime. He opened the folder and it revealed scientific log papers. It was hard for him to understand most of it, but one form read, "Subject name: Tate Ash Age: 2 months No:012 Status: Pass" All of the papers in the folder had the Primius Industries logo. He thinks back to what the Masked Man said. "You are chosen. You are chosen." Roji had wandered off into another room upstairs. Suddenly he yelled.
"Tate! Tate!"
Tate closed the folder and ran into the other room. The room belonged to Tate's younger brother Ten. He ran into the room and stopped in the threshold. Roji stood in the middle of the room. His eyes glued to the floor. A massive crimson blood stained sprayed across the carpet. It had been at least a week old. Tate slowly walked to where Roji was standing and stared at the blood on the carpet. Without making a sound, Tate dropped to his knees. The folder still in his hand as tears rolled down his face. Roji kneeled beside his friend. Unable to find the words to comfort and unsure if he would have the strength to utter them, Roji joined in on the silence. Roji saw the folder in Tate's hand and grabbed. Tate, who seemed to have been placed in a trance by the blood stain, offered no resistance as Roji slid the folder out of his hand. While Roji read the contents of the folder, questions flooded Tate's brain as to the cause of the blood stain in his younger brother's room.
"Whose blood is this? Why is there so much? Could it be Ten's? Is he dead? Where are my parents? Who would do this? Why would they do this?" he thought to himself.
Suddenly a crash came from downstairs.
Startled by the sound, Tate had awakened from the trance. Roji had also stopped reading from the folder and was now on high alert. After the initial crash, the boys heard a pair of feet walking on the broken glass downstairs. The footsteps then proceeded to make it up the stairs. In Tate's mind, it was the killer coming back to the scene of the crime. A deep rage had begun to build inside of him. Roji, unsure of what to expect looked around the room and saw a wooden bat laying in the corner. He grabbed it and prepared himself for whatever was coming up the steps. As the footsteps got closer, they got louder as well. With each step, rage and grief filled into Tate's body. His heart began to beat rapidly. The blood in his body felt as if it was made of electricity and overwhelming strength grew in every muscle of his body. The trauma of thinking his brother was dead had ignited something unknown in his body. The door to bedroom provided a clear path to the top of the stairs. The source of the footsteps began to appear from the staircase. A resistance force helmet ascended first, and the strong face of a man appeared. His eyes were wide open, surprised to see the two boys in the bedroom. Tate had already convinced himself that whoever came up the steps had killed his brother and charged towards the man. This newfound power that Tate was experiencing caused him to move faster than had ever ran. Roji eyes widened at the speed in which he moved. The assumed murderer had made it all the way upstairs as Tate zoomed toward him. He was a medium and well-built man. He wore a resistance force uniform. Tate was blinded with power and rage. He continued to run towards the man with his right fist cocked back to deliver a punch. Just before Tate got into reach, the man swiftly side-stepped the attack and served a quick but precise chop the back of Tate's neck. Tate fell to floor and was unable to move. After seeing his friend dealt with so easily, Roji charged at the man with bat in hand. He hadn't possessed this newfound power Tate manifested so he was dealt with in a similar fashion. After a few minutes of laying on the floor motionless. The boys regained the strength to move and fought to sit up with their backs against a wall. The unknown man had picked up the folder and was reading through it.
Tate, with his head hung down, mumbled, "Why did you kill my brother?"
The man walked over to the boys and kneeled next to them.
"Who is your brother son?" the man asked
"His name was Ten, and you killed him. Why?"
"Your brother's not dead, but my guess is that he's a long way from here."
Tate and Roji looked up startled.
"What do you mean? Whose blood is that on the carpet?"
The man pulled out a handheld device and began to tap on the screen.
"From the reports I've read on this sector. Last week, the ESU conducted a search on this residence for a Tate Ash, who I presume to be you. They were unable to find you but found a Ten Ash and decided to take him into custody. In attempting to take the subject in custody the..."
The man stopped suddenly and stared at the screen. Tate and Roji were both listening intently.
"What? What does it say?" snapped Tate.
The man reluctantly continued, "In attempting to take the subject in custody, the parents struggled with ESU officers and were subsequently shot down."
Tate's face was blank but on the inside his soul screamed with despair.
To himself Tate thought, "Ten was taken because of me. Mom and Dad were killed because of me.
Roji, who was confused by the situation asked, " Why would the ESU want Tate?"
"You don't know? It's because your friend is a Prime."
Roji remembered the files from the folder. The word "Prime" was present throughout the entire folder.
"What is a Prime.?" Roji asked. Tate didn't budge.
Just as he was about to answer, the man pressed on an earpiece he was wearing.
"Mack here." he said.
There was a short pause. Tate was still stuck in his head and Roji waited for his answer.
After the pause, the man responded. "Roger that. Show me in route to HQ and inform the Doctor that I have potentials incoming."
He turned to Roji, "Sorry kid, I'll tell you on the way. By the way, I'm Tan Mack, Resistance Captain."
Tate and Roji had regained the strength to walk and the three made their way out of the house and into a military vehicle. The vehicle appeared to have had its ESU logo covered up by the Resistance insignia. The driver was a man with similar size to Mack and was also dressed in a resistance uniform. As the boys got into the backseat, the turned back a smiled at them through an overgrown beard. The truck drove out of the residential sector and headed toward the industrial district. Tate was very quiet and stared out the window as truck bounced on each bump in the road. Roji wanted to say something, but again could neither find the words nor the strength to say them. Captain Mack realized that the boys were still confused of the whole situation that they were now suddenly a part of and began to explain the history of Primes to Tate and Roji.
"So, I am sure you guys know that before the Final Frontier Charter, all of humanity lived on Earth. The population had increased to unstable levels and pollution threatened to destroy the entire planet. Setting their quarrels aside, all major national leaders joined forces to create the Earth Salvation Union and elected Noah Freet as President. But what the history books leave out is the Prime experiments. Skeptical that mankind would survive in space, Freet hired Dr. Tyson Primius of Primius Industries to engineer superior human enhancements in 100 children. These children were named the Primes. You there. Tate." Captain Mack turned and looked Tate in the eyes. "That power you felt back there, and the folder you guys have is proof that you were one of those children."
Roji had brought the folder along and handed it to Tate.
"Primes tend to have heightened physical attributes and intelligence opposed to non-primes. Freet predicted that the cross-breeding of Primes and humans would evolve mankind and advance humanity"
Tate slowly flipped through the folder. His eyes widened the more he read.
"The nightmares...", he thought to himself. "Why wouldn't they keep this a secret?"
Mack continued, "Three years ago, Freet attempted to grant the colonies independence from the ESU but suddenly died. His successor, Malca Carte despises the idea of Primes and claims to want to preserve humanity by eradicating all Primes from existence."
"That's what the Masked Man was talking about the other day during the broadcast." interjected Tate.
"Yes. The Voice is a major component in our goal. Ironically, he is the face of the Resistance."
"Is Primius Industries involved in the resistance?" asked Roji.
"Prior to the death of Freet. Primius and the ESU were partners in shaping the future but were worried of potential strife if other members learned of the Primes' existence."
The truck drove into the industrial district and resistance forces lined the streets. Sirens were wailing and civilians were flooding out warehouses and business. The resistance soldiers were ushering the panicking civilians to shelters. A group of Guntanks passed the truck going the opposite direction. The boys' eyes followed the convoy as the parked at the entrance of the warehouse district. Roji began to get concerned.
"Hey! It looks like this area is being evacuated. Where are we going?" snapped Roji.
"We're here." calmly responded Mack.
The truck slowed to a stop.
"Let's move." Mack ordered.
He and the driver exited the truck in unison and the boys followed. They stood in front of a large building with a conjoined warehouse that bore the Primius logo.
"Welcome to Primius HQ. The Doctor will meet us inside."
Roji marveled at the vast building, imagining what amazing technology was inside. Tate continued to flip through the folder. The driver stayed with the truck as the other three walked in the HQ. They entered a reception area. Mack, followed by the boys, walked towards a door that led to the warehouse. He pulled a card from pocket and scanned it on a reader next to the door. There was a beep and the door whooshed open. It revealed the massive Primius warehouse. Mechanic arms were fine tuning the Primius weapons. Employees in white lab coats scrambling throughout. Some were having conversation while pointing at clipboards. Others were arguing while pointing at the mobile suits. Workers raced back and forth with dollies loaded with crates and other sat at desks clicking and clacking on keys while staring at screens. Test pilots fumbled out of the Primius weapon's cockpits and were quickly carried away. It was quite a commotion. Roji was in awe of the mobile suits that stood before them. Mack grabbed the folder from Tate a pointed his head towards the machines. Their sShotok design and golden antenna on the mobile suits were unlike anything they had seen before. They continued to follow Mack up to the office, but their eyes stood to GZ suits until they were completely in the office.
Inside the office stood Dr. Primius with a young girl, about the boys' age. Primius and the girl shook Captain Mack's hand as they walked up to the boys. Mack handed the Doctor the folder. Primius flipped the pages and gave and mumble somethings under his breath. The girl stood straight and strong with a polite smile.
"Well, welcome to Primius Industries. I am the founder-" started Primius.
"Dr. Tyson Primius. Of course, we know how you are sir!" said Roji, unable to contain his excitement.
Roji, with an enormous smile across his face, Tate added, "You design most of the technology in the colonies and on Earth. You're a genius I've read all of your tech manuals."
Primius, overwhelmed by his number one fans, laughed and replied, "Well it seems I don't need an introduction. But I would like you boys to meet Jace Ito"
Jace smiled at the boys and shook their hands.
"Nice to meet you guys.", she said in a proper and friendly tone.
"And who might you boys be?", Primius asked
Tate and Roji stood straight and tall.
"I am Tate Ash."
"I am Roji Kuun."
"So, what brings you young men to Mars Colony?", asked Jace.
Tate reverted to his previous blank demeanor and hung his head in silence.
"We're students from Ponch colony. Tate is from Mars colony and I'm from Alpha. We're here for the GZ drive premier!"
"It's always great to meet a couple of fans." Primius said smiling.
Primius turned to Tate and rested his hand on the somber boy's shoulder.
"I'm afraid that I've caused you great deal of grief, son."
Tate looked up at the Doctor. "What am I?", he whispered.
"I'm sure Mack has told you about Freet and my intentions in the Primius experiments.", Primius stated walking around the office. "The parents were sworn to secrecy, but it seems a former colleague has been feeding information to Carte and his Inquisition. Your brother, Ten, also a Prime, has been taken hostage. I'm unsure for what purpose but we do intend to rescue him and the others."
Tate's eyes lit up. "How", he responded almost instantly
Primius turned "Unfortunately we've had to cancel the premiere due to unavoidable circumstances but if you look at those mobile suits..." Primius pointed to the GZ mobile suits that the boys were just marveling at through the window of his office. "They are equipped with the latest GZ Drive engines."
"Wow.", exclaimed Roji.
"So, in light of those very circumstances, I have a proposition for you young men."
Primius glanced over to Cpt. Mack and Jace who gave him a pair of quick nods.
"I'd like you each to pilot one of these mobile suits along with Jace."
The boys turned to the doctor. Their faces filled with confusion.
"You want us to pilot those? Why?", Roji questioned.
Roji stared at the doctor while Tate turned back on the mobile suits. Roji turned to Jace.
She's much to docile for a mobile suit pilot.
"Malca Carte and the E.S.U., the ones who took your brother, are on their way here. They want the GZ drives. With these mobile suits, they'll destroy everything that Noah Freet had worked for."
"Well then we have to do it.", Tate commanded. He turned from the window. A stern and determined look on his face.
"What? We don't know the first thing about piloting a mobile suit!", Roji shouted.
"They killed my parents, and they have my brother, Roji."
Primius interjected," Tate, being a Prime, the GZ drives are calibrated to connect with specific frequencies given off by a Prime pilot." Primius turned to Roji," I have a good feeling that you might be a Prime too, son."
Roji took a step back. "Really? Me?"
A far-off explosion shook the warehouse and the lights flickered.
"Doc. They've entered the district. We must act now.", exclaimed Mack, holding his earpiece.
"So, boys what will it be?", Primius asked, placing his hands on both boys' shoulders.
Tate looked to Roji with determination that he'd never seen in his best friend and gave up trying to argue and smiled.
"I guess we're doing this then, Dr."
Primius shook both of their hands and gave them each a key to the Gundams. Mack ushered them, along with Jace, on the warehouse floor and to the mobile suits.
"Choose one, quick.", Mack ordered as walked away and out of the warehouse.
Primius watched intently from the office window.
The boys franticly scanned the mobile suits as the explosions grew closer. Tate rubbed his hands against the cool metal of the flash-red Gundam with the gold accents. He pressed the button on the key that the doctor had given him. The GZ drive erupted with a deep mechanical hum. Lights in the eye lit up and the cockpit opened. Roji was busy inspecting a Gundam with a bright blue paint and white accents. Tate climbed into his machine's cockpit and sat at the controls. Tate's eyes widened at all the controls and switches in the cockpit.
A message scrolled across the console,
G.U.N.D.A.M. Saber