Good morning guys, I'm back with the new chapter and how opportune, because tomorrow I'm going on vacation for a week. I hope you enjoy it while I'm away.
On reviews:
KingdomWarrior125: Thank you because you liked how I'm progressing. Unfortunately I don't think I'm going to continue writing when I get to Junius Seven. I'm sorry.
LazinessRules: Practically there will not be many changes except for the intervention of Celestial Being unilaterally and some extra battles like that of a certain impulsive ZAFT pilot against a certain Blue Reaper.
Dontus -no Donut- Powerus: Well, after reading your last review you made me think that a SetsunaxMeer ship could have worked, maybe even more than Marina and Feldt. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a fan of SetsunaxFeldt, but sometimes I can't help but think that this kind of relationship was something off to why Feldt became interested in Setsuna right after Lockon (former love interest) died. Maybe it's because Setsuna was the closest to the latter?
In any case, their relationship was not well used to make a good development during the Second Season. There were no dialogues between them, only a few contacts.
Another problem is that as I said before, I am still a rookie and a poor inexperienced in doing relationships of this type. I can't think of any circumstances in which Setsuna and Meer meet or that the latter ended up in the Ptolemaios, and what kind of dialogues or development they will have.
Just a reader now a writer: No doubt they will be. I already have planned the possible scenarios in which the 00 cast face the cast of SEED / Destiny. In fact, our 3 protagonists will be the center of attention in the confrontation between the 3 main factions, each with their own motivations to fight against the other.
Guest DCDGojira: Thank you.
Renegade: I know perfectly well, but as you may have already noticed, this India does not belong to the Equatorial Union, but to the Human Reform League.
Chapter 7: After the intervention
27/08/2023
Graham Aker was not a highly religious man.
Unlike the vast majority of Christians in the world who based the course of their lives and beliefs around God, Graham believed in another distinct force, a force so intangible and omniscient that dictated the lives of all living beings in the universe from before birth and even after death since, According to some superstitions, he was involved in the reincarnation of the soul. That transcendental force capable of rivaling or surpassing even the divinity since the gods themselves were subject to its designs was something that both humans and gods had always called fate.
Graham may be an atheist in name, but he was still a superstitious man who believed supremely in the entwined fate and the way of the stars that had currently guided him to this point of meeting his predestined archrival. Or so he thought when he first heard the announcement of Celestial Being and subsequently the power of one of its Mobile Weapons known as Gundam during the incident at the AEU military proving ground. He had immediately interpreted it as a whim of fate dictated by the stars to make him awaken the fire of his heart that had been asleep for 5 years since the last great war ended, and without thinking 2 times, he let himself be carried away by the current to finally take him to where he should be; the air battlefield, crossing his saber with his destined rival; the blue Gundam.
"Who'd had imagined that I would have the opportunity to meet you?" Graham commented, staring at the Exia's head through his cockpit screen. Both mechas were going head-to-head.
The excitement and euphoria inside him were indescribable in these moments inside the cockpit of his faithful steed not only crossing the skies as he did 5 years, but also the fact of fighting against a formidable enemy like the Coordinators (or maybe more) stimulated even more such excitement.
He couldn't remember when was the first time he felt this way quite some time ago. His memory led him when the great war between Earth and PLANTs began. When the 2 transcendental events that gave rise to the war happened; The Copernicus Tragedy and the Bloody Valentine Incident, many people had panicked and were driven into a state of mass hysteria by the fact that now all the nations of the world were at war, although that was not an isolated case since the Solar Wars were recent events, but none compared to what was about to happen. However, Graham, far from worrying or joining the crowd in hysteria, was delighted that something like this could happen as it was finally time to test his skills with formidable opponents like the Coordinators.
His war activities had only been limited in the defense of the Orbital Elevator located in Talivia, which was previously Venezuela where he and his squadron had to repel several ZAFT attack attempts so that they would not take over the Elevator and its much-needed energy supply as in the case of the AEU. In the early months of the war, the Union forces of the time, the YMS-01A Union Flag had been almost overwhelmed by ZAFT's Mobile Suits, being mainly GINNs or DINNs, but as time passed, the army had improved its production of Mobile Suits leading to the creation of an improved variant known as the SVMS-01 Flag which turned out to be the most advanced MS to date and in the hands of experienced pilots like Graham, can match with the Coordinators and their Mobile Suits. Graham was one of the few aces pilots who could match the versatility of the Coordinators' piloting, survive countless times and even shoot down various enemies having an incredible record of 48 confirmed kills.
Even after the introduction of the Dagger series, Graham had refused to abandon his prized Flag as he seemed to have grown as fond of it as a faithful steed and continued to fight ZAFT forces for the rest of the war until the end of the war at Jachin Due. After the war, Graham had been proclaimed a war hero for his defense in the Orbital Elevator and for having broken his record of enemies shot down by 56 so most saw him as a 'super Ace' being on par with the late Falcon of Endymion.
However, after the war, the warrior of heaven had lost all his passion that had characterized him in combat and his fighting and competitive spirit as there were no more enemies with which to test his limits. The Coordinators were the only opponents with whom he could enjoy good combat at an intense level, forcing him to perform high-speed maneuvers either in gravity or in space (the latter never took place since he spent most of the war on Earth) and push him to the limit due to G-forces. And now that they were no longer at war with them, he felt that he had already lost all purpose and had since become a practically empty man, for the time being. Even if the war with the Coordinators had ended, that did not mean that another one would not come in some foreseeable future since those Blue Cosmos bigwigs would stubbornly refuse to acknowledge the existence of what they called "space spawns" and would raise the flags of war against PLANTs once again and Graham waited patiently for that to happen.
However, he never expected something like an announcement and an unprecedented declaration of war from an enigmatic paramilitary organization that possessed advanced Mobile Suits with an unknown propulsion mechanism and this had prompted him to test his strength and see if those machines could give him the same excitement and adrenaline of those times. It was time to test the power of those Gundams.
"As a sentimental Virgo, I can't help but feel that this is destiny." Then he widens his smile a little. "Or perhaps I been able to find you because you weren't emitting those light particles? PROBABLY THE LATTER!"
The moment he shouted, pilot As pressed the lever in his cockpit causing the Flag's plasma thrusters to suddenly flared up, pushing the Exia backwards. Setsuna grunted as he felt himself being dragged backwards and quickly pushed one of his cockpit levers, causing the Exia to stop its drag and then push forward. The tables had turned when the Gundam pressed its GN Sword on the Flag's Sonic Blade (Plasma Sword) to the point of forcing it apart by pushing it hard out of reach backwards.
Graham was visibly stunned by this as he recovered.
"He overpowered me!?" He exclaimed dumbfounded, unable to believe that this machine could have such versatility. Not even a ZAFT MS could force him to separate or push him that way. No doubt these Gundams seemed to be something else.
Seeing how the Gundam was now going to retaliate, lunging at him with his unusual saber, he did not panic, and instead smiled confidently at a pattern he could take advantage of.
"However... you won't be able hit me with such that big weapon!" He exclaimed before making the Flag turn right at the last second that the Gundam blade could reach him, allowing the sword to graze only the air.
"He dodged it?" Setsuna asked, puzzled to see how the enemy Suit narrowly avoided the attack. Turning almost around, he saw that the Flag positioned itself behind the Gundam to perform some sort of attack by the back.
"I'm gonna..." Graham stated before grabbing hold the Exia's left shoulder. "take a piece of you home as a souvenir!"
Setsuna growled again, and this time not because he had been caught from behind, but because the enemy was now touching him (technically he was touching the Gundam, and Setsuna considered himself one with his mecha) and that annoyed him rather than anything else.
"Don't you dare... TOUCH ME!" He shouted in anger before pushing the Flag hard to a good distance.
Graham grimaced as he held his Flag at a safe distance from the Gundam. Once again, his Flag had been thrown like a dirty rag by this new enemy he had just met and he was still amazed at the strength and versatility of this machine.
'That thing is good...' He thought to himself reflecting on the capabilities of the blue Mobile Suit.
No doubt this machine was nothing ordinary like most I had known and fought during the Great War. Its performance was something else and that intrigued him a bit. He bet Billy would work like crazy trying to figure out where they would get that enigmatic power supply, although unfortunately for the MS engineer, he'll have to wait, as he'll have to test this machine's capabilities more first.
The Exia revealed its GN rifle under the sword and fired several rounds towards the Flag, but its pilot, instead of dodging it, draws a smile before raising the Flag's right forearm between its body and the trajectory of the pink beams. On the back of the wrist was mounted a kind of rotating rod that consisted of a type of optional defense mechanism for Mobile Suits that lacked a heavy shield and is capable of generating a plasma field from its center that reinforces the rod allowing it to deflect incoming enemy projectiles, as in the case of the GN beams that when they came into contact with the rod, it used rotating movements to deflect/bounce the beams to Setsuna's great surprise.
"He blocked them!?"
Graham smiled mischievously before drawing his beam rifle and began firing several rounds at the blue Gundam, but the blue Gundam dodged the incoming beams as it moved forward to try to hit the enemy MS again. However, once he cut the distance, the Flag had stopped firing and again avoided the incoming attack rising further into the air to Setsuna's frustration.
The Flag had positioned itself behind the Gundam and fired back. Graham thought that at such a short distance he doubted that an ordinary MS could react in time to avoid the attack from behind. Only very few could do it and live to tell the tale, and those few had already faced them during the war since the Coordinators had very good reflexes in this type of situation, as long as there was no technical failure in their machines that could be harmful.
Just as expected, the Gundam quickly turned around to face the incoming beam with its shield on top, and it absorbed the beam, and as quickly as it absorbed the beam, the blue machine fired its GN rifle.
The Flag receded as it avoided with some difficulty the pink beams that approached it. Graham smiled ecstatically despite being caught up in a tension that would make most rookie pilots cower as they desperately struggled to escape imminent death, but for the veteran pilot, that wasn't completely unheard of.
"Hahaha, not bad! I see that you also have good reflexes and a precise and quick reaction!"
In fact, it may be that the first thing he could contemplate was not the work of the pilot, but of the machine itself since it had some kind of mechanism that gave it more mobility and performance than the rest of MS, but the rest depended solely on the pilot, who as he had just verified, still seemed to be a rookie, who for a moment thought he only depended on the versatility of his machine to gain an advantage against his enemies. However, after witnessing how he managed to turn in time to block the incoming beam with astonishing speed and retaliate, he may have spoken soon. Anyway, he wanted to see more.
"Show me more of yourself, Gundam!" Graham demanded as he repeatedly fired his rifle back at the Gundam.
Setsuna narrowed his eyes as he saw how the enemy still persisted with his bombardment and was getting tired. It is time to put an end to this. The blue Meister charged his Gundam towards the Flag even firing while dodging every green beam that came in front of him with an astonishing speed that even surprised the veteran.
"Incredible, you are more magnificent than I would have imagined. But again, I doubt you're going to-
He could not finish the sentence when he suddenly saw that the Gundam accelerated its march to a greater speed that surprised him enough and could not react in time when his enemy cut the distance and the next thing he saw was how he sheathed a kind of cylinder in his hand and that suddenly a kind of long pink beam emerged. The Gundam swung its beam saber upwards and with surprising speed cut the Flag's rifle in half.
"Shit. I had forgotten I had a beam saber!" Graham shouted in shock at this unexpected oversight. He immediately backed away from the Gundam's range with his shattered and useless rifle.
Seeing that he had pushed his luck, Graham reluctantly decided he had enough and retreated, transforming his Suit into jet mode before accelerating far away from the Gundam. Graham could only growl in frustration at his loss, but he couldn't do anything now in these conditions so he reluctantly had to retreat for the time being.
The Exia stayed in place, suspended in the air, not bothering to chase its fleeing enemy. Deactivating its beam saber, Setsuna could only observe the fleeing Flag with a mixture of bewilderment at encountering such an enemy that gave him so much trouble and frustration for not having knocked him down.
"My, oh my, you really are a totally unpredictable person." Billy said sitting in a seat in the shuttle's cafeteria as he looked at his laptop to analyze battle data between the Exia and the Flag. Graham was sitting next to him with his arms folded. Several minutes had passed since his forced return from combat against the Gundam.
"I just lost the rifle. I'll have to file an apology on this." Graham said lamented.
"Don't worry about it." Billy reassured him as he continued fiddling with his laptop. "Considering the data we have collected on the Gundam, it had been worth losing even the entire Flag. Maybe the painting you saved during the battle will give us some clues and everything."
"That pilot looked quite experienced." Graham commented reflectively as he recalled his fight against the Gundam. "I'm sure it's a young Coordinator."
This caught the attention of the engineer who turned his head to look at the blond man upon hearing that his partner contacted the pilot. "Did you talk to him?"
"Of course not." Graham replied flatly. "I was able to read the feelings from the way he handled his Mobile Suit. Besides, I heard his voice, and it looked like that of a young man."
At this, the scientific engineer looked at him with a soft expression. Actually, his companion remained an enigma even for him despite having known him for years. For him, Graham was a man quite reckless, obstinate, passionate and liked any challenge that was put on him because once an idea got into his head, there was no way to take it away.
Despite those flaws, he was quite talented especially in piloting Mobile Suits as his prized Flag as he was still surprised when he first piloted the Flag prototype 8 years ago when he was a second lieutenant and had been chosen as a test pilot of the Iris Corporation.
No other Union pilot could match his unusual and astonishing aerial maneuvers that made him very famous on the battlefield and even allowed him to fight more or less in equal conditions with the ZAFT forces during the war being one of the few Natural pilots to compete on par with the Coordinators as far as air tactics are concerned. But all that aside, the most unusual thing about this man is that he had a strange tendency to visualize the movements of his opponents with whom they fight and determine what kind he was and even be able to differentiate the tactics of a Natural and a Coordinator surely due to his experience of continuously fighting the latter during the war. He almost gave the impression that he possessed a sixth sense or something, but he will never know, nor did he want to find out. To him, Graham Aker was a close friend.
Suddenly, an alarm beep interrupted his thoughts, and then the coopilot's voice echoed in the cafeteria.
"We lost the Gundam."
Upon hearing the statement, Graham breathed a sigh of disappointment knowing that his enemy is already quite far from his sensors.
"We got dumped."
The sky was almost darker as the hours passed, and the Exia continued to fly over the waters at a calm pace as if in no hurry. Its pilot remained calm with his usual stoic expression looking at the horizon through the cockpit terminal, but his mind was focused on the sudden and fateful encounter with that Flag half an hour ago.
That transformable machine swooping down like a madman and the pilot's maniacal laughter still echoed in his mind. His movements and the way he avoided and dodged their attacks as if preventing his movements still baffled him as this was the first time he had seen anything. Well, not entirely true since the first ones that caused him some difficulty were those MS stolen from ZAFT and the Mobile Armor from the thieves.
But that Flag only faced him alone without the backing of another unit or the shuttle from which he came.
'Launching alone... Who was in that Flag?'
He still wasn't sure, but with the way he maneuvered that machine and avoided his attacks with relative ease, he found it hard to believe that he was a simple Natural, but he couldn't be a Coordinator either. Then there could only be one possibility. Is it possible that he was an ace or veteran survivor of the war? If that were so, then it was no wonder that he had such extraordinary incredible piloting skills.
'I must be prepared for the next time I cross paths with him.' Setsuna thought to himself knowing full well that this would not be the only time he will meet that guy in some foreseeable future.
Date: April 4, 76 CE
Location: ONN Headquarters - Onogoro Island - Orb Union
Many people were sitting in their seats looking at their computers looking for more information about Celestial Being or what happened on Ceylon Island. There was quite a fuss in the room today. Meanwhile, far from the uproar, the 22-year-old woman known as Kinue Crossroad was viewing Aeolia Schenberg's information on her computer. She only saw that he was a great master of exceptional inventions of quantum technology during the second half of the twenty-first century. Also a supporter of the theory of solar energy.
She took a drink of coffee, and then heard footsteps approaching and turned around to see her partner being her friend Miriallai Haw right next to her.
"Sorry if I interrupt you, Kinue." Mirallia said to Kinue apologetically.
"Don't worry, Mira..." Kinue replied with a smile. "I had already finished doing some research."
Mirallia nodded a little before look at the supposed research work that her friend was doing in the following hours and was a little perplexed to discover what it was.
"Are you still researching about that man?"
Kinue nodded before turning to her computer screen that showed a picture of Aeolia's face. "I can't help but think that such a fantastic man even disappeared two hundred years ago was the founder of that group. If that's true, Celestial Being would have everything ready to make those Mobile Suits."
Mira nodded a little agreeing with that scheme. She may not know many things about this man, but she had learned he that apart from being the author on the theory of Solar Energy that would later be carried out to establish the 3 Orbital Elevators that currently decorate the planet and supplying it with the endless source of solar energy, it is also rumored that he had something to do with the invention of the first prototypes of Mobile Weapons that from the beginning was of a kind of vehicle that would help in the new space exploration, but over time and with the beginning of the Solar Energy Project new innovations were added or new advanced models were created to help more in the construction of the Orbital Elevators.
Later, those inventions would enter military service after the consolidation of the 3 large economic blocks adding new technology of the time that would later give rise to the first Mobile Suits and Mobile Armors respectively.
However, what intrigued her most was the fact that this organization was able to obtain in its possession such incredible and formidable units as the Gundams. They were supposed to be recent machines created during the context of the war and not many nations (except Orb, the Union and PLANTs) had the technology to create such monstrosities. The part that puzzled her the most was that these new machines had something completely different from the ones she had seen before until the end of the war, and that worried her a little.
"I also wonder why it has taken two hundred years to make its move." Kinue said again.
In that he was right. For if indeed that organization was founded by a man who was supposed to have died long before the establishment of the Cosmic Era and who during all that period of time up to the present day it would be preparing to initiate the purpose for which it had been created, to eradicate wars by his armed interventions, why didn't they intervene in the Solar Energy Wars and especially the Bloody Valentine's War? If they are so willing to end all wars, they could have prevented the Copernicus Tragedy and the Bloody Valentine Incident from happening and thus prevented all that calamity and tragedy that was the subsequent war from ever happening and the people who had died would be alive today.
'Maybe even Tolle could will still be by my side right now...' Mira thought with regret still mourning the death of her boyfriend 5 years ago and would be remembered as one of the darkest and saddest moments of her life.
Location: European Intelligence Service – Brussels – Belgium – AEU
Secretary's office
Even despite having an extensive network of personal information of all the inhabitants of the AEU since its foundation, very little could be obtained by the main members of the EIS (European Intelligence Service) to look for any indicative data of the alleged individual of the Celestial Being announcement who as most know, was originally from Germany.
A lot of data had been recorded about him, even in the city and neighborhood in which he grew up, and the result was quite dissatisfied.
"It seems that the Aeolia Schenberg's bloodline ended in his generation." A secretary said to the director who was a slightly burly middle-aged man with a calm air who was sitting in his seat.
"And the location of their resources?" The director asked for more details.
"The reports of that time leave no record..." The secretary replied.
"They probably had it all prepared." The secretary stated seriously. "After all, 21st century security was pretty much nonexistent."
The secretary nods in agreement as the director drew an interested smile as he looked down.
"You're are very cautious... Ceslestial Being."
Location: HRL Orbital Elevator – Solomon Islands – HRL
Apart from its primary use to supply solar energy and supply the Earth with this almost inexhaustible consumption, and to promote new space exploration, the Orbital Elevators were also used as tourist centers.
After the construction of the 3 Orbital Elevators, the nations that cooperated in their constructions had the need to establish mobile defenses capable of operating either on the surface of the Earth, the thin atmosphere and zero gravity to ensure their security against both external and internal threats, and from this they established military garrisons at each stable point of the Elevator and a railway network that connected from the surface to the space.
Over the decades, and as the international order improved (despite the Solar Energy Wars) resorts were also established internationally where every year millions of tourists come from many parts of the globe to visit the only bridges that connected with space. Through the vast railway network consisting of a system of linear trains connected to the pillar capable of transporting many people through the atmosphere to reach the first station of the pinnacle of the pillar, tourists could enjoy the real panoramic view of the Earth from space at a distance of 10,000 kilometers. There was also a spaceport with which you could travel to the lunar city of Copernicus and the lunar bases of Daedalus and Arzachel.
In this particular Orbital Elevator, the Tenchū, it is one of the most prestigious and visited tourist centers in the world. Despite also being the main focus of many invasion attempts during the context of the Solar Energy Wars and the recent Earth-PLANTS war, tourism was never canceled and many people from the world continued to arrive to visit one of the architectural wonders never conceived by humanity and have the opportunity to observe space from above.
On the surface where the terminal station was boiling with activities with many civilians queuing to get on the linear train that would take them to the station at the top of the Elevator. There were also various centers such as shops, restaurants and cafes to entertain the crowd, etc. One of the latter to articulate was practically empty of clients, which made it an ideal place for all kinds of private meetings to be able to secretly discuss all kinds of plans that they want to carry out to go unnoticed among passers-by.
In fact, it was precisely for this reason that the members of a certain organization that had just revealed itself to the world exposing its intentions to change the world, chose this place to discuss their next move after their first armed intervention. Three of them gathered standing around a small round table with no tables, but they could not start as the fourth and youngest member were still missing so they had no choice but to wait patiently for his arrival.
The minutes flew by as they continued to wait for the arrival of the fourth member with no view of the latter going to do it as if he were absent for some reason. Some began to worry that something bad might have happened to him, but they did well to hide it, besides everyone knew that the fourth member, despite being the youngest, was not as weak as anyone would expect.
"Passengers of the E273 train of the Heaven Pillar travel agency, go to gate A12." A female staff member announced over the terminal's public address system.
When she finished, the automatic double doors of the cafeteria opened leaving access to a solitary person who enters immediately without saying anything or notifying his parthners. The sound of doors opening did not go unnoticed by Lockon who looks up to see the newcomer casually walking towards them. To his momentary surprise and then joy it was the blue Meister they were waiting for.
"Hey, you're late." Lockon said with amusement. "You naughty boy."
"And I thought you'd died." Tieria added in his characteristic cold and indifferent tone without bothering to turn around and see the newcomer.
"Did something happen to you?" Allelujah asked looking slightly worried looking at the newcomer with a silver eye.
"I had to submitt a report to Veda." Setsuna answered flatly as he stopped at the only free space on the table.
"I'll have a look at it later." Tieria said plainly wanting to know what kind of report the young Meister made on the main supercomputer of Celestial Being.
"Yes..." Setsuna replied in a low voice.
The atmosphere between the 2 became a bit tense and awkward between Lockon and Allelujah. Both knew very well that both the pilot of the Exia and the Virtue despite having some points in common in their characters for being silent types and always looked with a stoic expression to the point of being labeled (although not officially) as the "kings of silence" it was quite clear that the 2 have never been the best friends, and they may never be.
This is all because the purple Meister disapproved to the young man of being chosen to become a Gundam Meister because of his young age despite being a Coordinator. His points changed slightly when he saw how the rookie progressed very well in the handling and piloting of the Exia in such a short time to the point of almost being able to surpass them all, thus making it their "main Ace", but for the enigmatic purple Meister learning to pilot the Gundam was not everything since the important and essential part of the organization was to stick to the Plan and abide the orders of Veda since doing so would be considered a very serious violation that would lead to dismissal and even death, and Tieria was the right person to carry out this work.
As for what Setsuna thought of him, well, they could not say what he thought since unlike the purple Meister, the blue never commented on other people, and assumed that this was at least more tolerable or so they thought.
Anyway, the silent tension between the two continued to bother the other 2 Meisters, and the green decided to break it at once.
"Anyway, the main thing is that we're all safe." He commented smiling in an attempt to diffuse this tension before turning to Tieria. "Tieria, I'm counting on you to look after space. We'll get started on our next mission."
At that the purple Meister took out his blue passport. "I'll follow orders, though I have my doubts." He replied, his red eyes pointed at Setsuna with a vague look of contempt and distrust, although naturally, the blue Meister ignored him.
Then the waiter came with a tray full of glasses with drinks.
"Here are your drinks. Please take your time." Said the waiter as he placed the glasses in every corner in front of the boys and ended up placing 2 glasses full of milk in Lockon until the latter stopped him.
"No, wait, the second one give it to my friend." Lockon said pointing towards Setsuna with a smile. The waiter nodded and put the second glass of milk in front of Setsuna. Then the waiter walks away from the table with Setsuna looking at the glass in front of him.
"Milk...?" He said quietly before turning his gaze to Lockon, who then gestated with his middle finger with a smile.
"It's on me."
Another few minutes passed since Setsuna's arrival and the 4 now gathered began to discuss the plan for the next intervention they will carry out today. Veda had already given them the forecast on the places designated to carry out the operation simultaneously and only 3 Gundam Meisters will be needed to carry it out, so only one will have to stay out of it. The 3 chosen are Lockon, Allelujah and Setsuna, while Tieria and his Gundam will stay in space. The latter will be transported as contraband material inside the Elevator to take it directly to the top of the pillar where it will then be released adrift space and remain there until the Ptolemaios picked it up.
It certainly seemed to be a rather bold and risky plan to put one of their prized Gundams as contraband material in a civilian transport with the risk of being discovered by the personnel in charge of the linear train, not to mention what they will do if they got hold of a GN Drive which would be catastrophic. Allelujah was one of the few who dared to think that this whole plan was crazy.
"But will it really be possible to return the unit to space using an Orbital Elevator?" He asked as he watched as Tieria made her way to the space train.
"Not to worry." Lockon said calmly. "As planned, they hid the Virtue with the materials they are using to maintain the lunar colonies. As long as it's the same weight and it gets through boarding... there really no checks after that, especially here."
However, that did not dispel the doubts that the orange Meister harbored about the success of the plan since he still saw some holes in it.
"A blind spot, huh?" Allelujah commented with her arms folded against the table as she looked at her cup of tea. "If we have a weak point, it is that without the Gundams, the operational time of the Ptolemaios would be very limited. With only our four solar reactors-
Suddenly a hand suddenly grabbed Allelujah's left shoulder stopping the latter from finishing the sentence due to the startle from the contact. He turned to see who interrupted him being Setsuna giving him a warning look.
"Don't expose confidential information out loud." He scolded flatly.
Allelujah sighed exasperatedly at this abrupt form of physical contact, but instantly recognized that he himself had overspoken too much and the young Meister only wanted to prevent him from committing a huge oversight that he could probably pay for with his life if Tieria was still here to listen to him. He was glad he wasn't.
"My apologies." Allelujah replied sounding a little annoyed as he withdrew the other Meister's hand from his shoulder.
Suddenly the whole station was filled with the sound of the PA bell signaling the departure of a train caught Lockon's attention.
"Tieria's train is leaving."
"Heaven's Pillar Travel Bureau E-277 will depart on schedule at 14:18."
The 3 Meisters still stationed in the cafeteria heard the announcement of the departure of the train where Tieria and the hidden Virtue were who would be sent into space during the following hours. In this situation the only thing they could do was hope that nothing bad happens to their purple companion or the Gundam during the long journey that awaited him during the course of 2 weeks, but knowing the purple Meister in this type of situation, they did not think they should worry about the moment.
'A linear train... to space.' Setsuna thought to himself as he reflected a little on these devices that transported the people into space.
Being completely alone in one of the many carriages of the Pilar train in motion, Tieria relaxed sitting in one of the empty seats of the train being aware of the long journey that awaited him until he reached the top of the pillar in space. Of course, he wasn't too worried about the 2-week long journey to the pinnacle, nor was he worried that someone might discover the hidden Virtue since it was well guarded with space building materials, plus he had measurements in case someone discovered it by accident.
With all this, the purple Meister did not bother much to ensure the custody of his Gundam and therefore could afford to be calm as if he were any tourist who was taking his time waiting for the end of the journey. Moreover, even if his stoic face never showed it, he was eager. Not eager for the trip or to get to the Ptolemaios as soon as possible, but to get to a certain place that not many people go often, but it was very common for those who lived on the surface of the Earth since every million people would love to be there at least once in their life since it was a unique experience and a dream come true, at least for the people of the past before the space age.
That place was of course, the space. He didn't know why, but being in the space environment with sub-zero gravity was very comforting to him somehow as if from the void emanated a mysterious mystical force with which he was connected and made his consciousness open to the vastness of space. Space had some kind of special meaning for the purple Meister perhaps because it is the last frontier to which humanity aspires to settle and understand its deepest mystery.
He couldn't tell if it was because of his unnatural origins, but Tieria hated being in Earth's gravity not because he felt heavier from the environment, but he felt that he was not at all familiar and his place was only in space so that his consciousness would merge into infinity, or so he thought.
'I can finally get back... I hate the surface.'
Outside the station, the other Meisters went outside with Lockon stretching his arms up while yawning.
"All right, let's go home."
"I wish I had a bit of a break." Allelujah commented, cheering up the atmosphere a bit.
"Gotta hit the iron while it's red hot." Lockon said as the 3 are still walking. "If we only do it once or twice, the world won't recognize us."
As they drove away, not far away, Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Smirnov emerges from the other entrance of the station and stands in front of a group of soldiers waiting for him.
"We've been waiting for you, Colonel." An officer greeted. Sergei returns the salute with a nod allowing the officer to continue speaking shortly after.
"How was space?"
"I'd rather be down here, especially because of the gravity." The Russian colonel answered frankly.
"I'm glad to hear that, sir." The officer said in response. "The commander is waiting. Please..." The officer approached to grab the lieutenant colonel's briefcase, only to be stopped by a wave of hands by Smirnov himself, signaling him to stop.
"Before that, I want to stop by Ceylon." Sergei requested, leaving the officer and his entourage surprised by his superior's request to assess the situation of one of the garrisons attacked by the Gundams in Ceylon.
"But sir, if we do that..."
"I'm a man who only believe in things that have sees it with his own eyes." Sergei interrupted monchalantly. "The commander will understand."
Seeing that he could not persuade his superior of the risk involved in going to one of the attacked areas, he had no choice but to obey his orders. "Yes, sir! We will escort you there immediately!"
Location: MSWAD Headquarters - United States of America - Union
The transporter where Graham and Billy were traveling had landed at the military air base. Almost immediately afterwards Graham and Billy went to the commander's office to brief the latter on their experience overseas from his invitation to the AEU proving ground to assess the capabilities of the Hyperion G and determine if it was a serious enough matter to Graham's fight with the blue Gundam in the Pacific.
The commander listened intently to pilot As' report on his encounter with one of those Gundams and barely showed any emotion as he listened to how that machine had forced one of the greatest Aces of the Union air aviation to withdraw from combat. In fact, he took it all in stride.
Shortly after finishing, the commander let out a soft sigh before he started writing in his diary.
"It was supposed you to inspect the new AEU's model, but it looks like it's become a real mess." The commander summarized as he continued to write.
"I never imagined such a unit could exist." Graham replied to the commander as he continued to reflect on the Gundam's capabilities.
"It certainly seemed to be some kind of model identical to the G-Wapons made by Morgenröte, but obviously they have something completely different." Billy added to the commander. "I think it's worth investigating."
"Apparently the superiors agree on that." The commander replied before he stopped writing and then opened a drawer from his desk to pull out 2 pamphlets on the table in front of Graham and Billy. Both men looked curiously before understanding that these booklets are for them so they each took it. "You two who have witnessed the Gundam, you have been reassigned."
The 2 read the leaflets to find out the name of their secret unit and only Graham murmured the name of said unit.
"Anti-Gundam Investigative Task force...?"
"It's a newly formed squad." The commander explained with folded hands. "I guess the Command will give it an official name later on."
Billy continued reading the report and came to the section of the names of the members of that unit. Suddenly his expression was puzzled to find a totally familiar name.
"Professor Ralph Eifman... He's going to be our technical chief?"
"So that you can see the importance that the bosses give it." The commander said sounding like a compliment. "I expect results in the short term."
"Yes, sir." Graham said enthusiastically as he put away the leaflets and gave a military salute. "Major Graham Aker and Technical Advisor Billy Katagiri, we acknowledge transfer to the Anti-Gundam Task Force!"
As if fortune was smiling on them, both men walked euphoricly through the halls reflecting on the new position they had just been given by the commander. They felt like lucky men.
"What a surprise." Billy commented without believing it. "Did you predic this would happen?"
"I'm not that almightly." Graham replied with a smile. "Although it felt like it was fate."
Now he could finally start his fight against the Gundams actively.
Space
Minerva – Lagrange 4 – Earth Orbit
A Strike Dagger had been shot down by the Core Splender's Vulcans. Shinn (in the cockpit of the Core) maneuvered the Core to dodge some missile barrages of 3 Daggers and then fired his own missiles managing to hit 2 of them.
Shinn quite enjoyed practicing simulated combats through the holographic system located in the cockpit of the Core since thanks to that they increased his experience and concentration in real combat as in the case of the preemptive attack in Armory One. Being still a novice pilot it was logical that he found himself very often training and strengthening his piloting skills for future battles that would be to come. Now that he and his team were on the Minerva on their first unofficial flight and in pursuit of the 3 stolen MS, they had to be well prepared to face and capture them again anyway.
He still did not know who the perpetrators were and how they had managed to infiltrate the military installations and seize those 3 machines, much less manage to manage them so perfectly to unleash all that chaos. The very idea of those bastards getting hold of those machines to do whatever they wanted without giving a shit about the innocent people involved irritated him deeply and the only thing the crimson-eyed young man thought about was stopping them at all costs so he had to be well prepared to face them again and make them pay for everything they did. That's why he trained so often to improve himself and overcome those thieving bastards.
Returning to training, Shinn maneuvered the Core to skillfully dodge the shots of the remaining Strike and when he finished, Shinn responded by firing his volley of vulcans that hit the torso of the Mobile Suit and exploded shortly after.
Shinn clicked his tongue slightly. If this were true combat then the Dagger would not have been so easily destroyed by a simple barrage of Vulcans. Daggers may not possess Phase Shift armor like G-Weapons or Gundams, but their armors were well coated to withstand the impact of such armaments, so if you were fighting a real one, then you wouldn't have to use the Core Splender to try to take it down. However, the holographic simulated combat was not as realistic as in real life and its dynamics reminded him a lot of a video game or something.
Anyway, it did not matter much, since the only thing Shinn would achieve with all this is to improve his piloting skills and his reaction that would be very useful in the future so he continued to focus on combat waiting for more enemies.
It didn't take long for them to appear when out of nowhere a GAT-01A1 Dagger, the contemporary brother of the Strike Dagger, appeared pointing its beam rifle at the Core. Shinn narrowed his eyes preparing for what was to come when the Dagger fired its rifle several times. The Core made evasive maneuvers around the incoming beams and continued to recklessly lash toward the target. Once the distance was cut, the Core fired 2 of its anti-aircraft missiles from its AGM33 "Ladybird" missile launcher towards the Dagger, but the latter covered itself with its shield at the last moment allowing both missiles to hit and explode on the plate.
Shinn accelerated the Core past the Dagger and turned forward to attack the Mobile Suit's back. The Dagger also turned and aimed its rifle before firing. The Core avoided the incoming beams before firing its vulcans at the rifle managing to destroy it and disarm the Dagger as a result. The Dagger tried to counterattack by firing its vulcans, but again, Shinn maneuvered the Core to avoid almost all of them before deciding to end this by firing his 2 remaining missiles that hit and destroyed the Dagger.
Once the last Mobile Suit had been destroyed and he felt that there were no more targets, Shinn allowed himself to let out a soft sigh knowing that the digital dissimulation combat was finally over and took a look at the main screen of his cockpit to see the score he had achieved and it was quite high of about 205 points. Satisfied with this, Shinn ended the training and pressing a few buttons in his cockpit, the aerial panoramic scene disappeared from around the cockpit to be replaced by the internal environment of the Minerva's hangar.
Shinn opened the Core's cockpit and took off his helmet to let out another soft sigh.
"Good job as always." Yolan complimented next to the Core as he tossed a soda bottle that Shinn managed to catch with ease.
"Yeah, you managed to break a new record of 205 points in just 9 minutes." Vino added next.
"Thank you guys. It really hasn't been a big deal." Shinn said in appreciation for the cheers of the 2 young mechanics and then took a sip of his smoothie to refresh his throat after about 10 minutes of tension and concentration fighting fake enemies.
"The simulations are fine to some extent, but I don't think it's comparable to a real battle."
What he had said was true. Before the attack on the Armory One the young pilot had practiced countless times with the combat dissembler thus improving his combat skills performance either in the Core and in MS mode to the point of believing himself to be prepared to enter and survive in a real battle, and had been so to some extent. His first match with the Gaia had been quite even although Shinn had a slight advantage over his enemy since the latter was still a rookie who had not practiced before with that particular Mobile Suit, but still it gave him several problems and difficulties to deal with him or she. Its pilot whoever he/she was was very good and attacked impulsively and recklessly as if he/she was desperate to finish him off. He/she almost acted like a berserker or something.
Absolutely nothing was yet known about that group of perpetrators who stole those state-of-the-art MS, but it was evident that they were not novices or amateurs being at a level comparable to his and that worried him a little. The only advantage he had was that she was just a rookie who had not yet boarded that Mobile Suit before so the next time they had to meet them again on some battlefield they would surely have already gained enough experience to handle those machines that stole effectively which would give Shinn more problems and what was left of the Minerva's MS squad.
That was why the young Impulse pilot was determined to continue training and practicing in the Impulse simulations to become stronger before facing them again.
"Anyway you were great and this time you could kick the ass of those guys who attacked us and stole those machines." He followed Vino alleging Shinn. "And who knows... you may even be able to kick one of those Gundams of Celestial Being."
Vino's last statement made Shinn freeze suddenly. He had forgotten that that group of thieves were not the only ones they had to deal with now since there was another more enigmatic faction and with better Mobile Suits that broke into the attack on Armory One and positioned themselves against the perpetrators, but not on the side of ZAFT. That new group also possessed Gundams identical to theirs except that they possessed a strange propulsion system that emitted a mysterious trail of bright blue-green particles.
"You can't be serious!" Yolan asked in disbelief as he turned to look at his partner. "Don't you think that's going too far? Haven't you heard what happened in Ceylon? Two of those Gundams overwhelmed our forces there in such a short time and I heard that one of them had kicked both the Chaos and the Abyss alone during the attack on the Armory."
In that he was right. Shinn had already heard how that blue Gundam that had appeared and landed next to him when he was going to face the 3 stolen MS had faced 2 of them alone while Shinn was busy with the Gaia at a considerable distance, and that blue MS managed to take those 2 in place almost without problems, or so some witnesses told him.
Anyway, at that time he did not know that that mysterious Mobile Suit was also his enemy so he did not hesitate to support it during the air battle in the colony until the 3 MS escaped into space and in his pursuit he witnessed a battle between a small squadron of black Daggers, a Mobile Armor and that blue Mobile Suit along with 2 others of similar model. It was only thanks to Rey who had accompanied him who warned him not to help them since those unknown units were declared as hostile also since they had attacked a squadron of GINNs which shocked Shinn even more by making him understand that that faction was not allied as he had thought.
Hours after the attack, the identity of that organization was revealed through an announcement that appeared on all channels of the world being Celestial Being and its intentions were to eradicate wars and reform the world.
When he first heard that, his head was filled with disbelief and confusion. An organization that plans to eradicate wars? And then it became in misgiving and developed a derogatory attitude towards them. What the actual fuck is that!? Did really exists such a stupid and fanciful thing as an organization that believes itself to be the judges of this world, and therefore would give them the right to destroy lives so that they do not promote war? And the fact that they used armed force to fulfill that role made them pure hypocrites in Shinn's eyes.
Besides, if they are so willing to end wars, where were them when the last one started 6 years ago? Where were they when the Union invaded Orb? If they had really been there from the beginning, all the bullshit that was the Bloody Valentine's War would never have happened, the Union would never have invaded Orb and therefore his entire family would not have died so horribly during their escape to one of the nearby ports. He would not have lost his beloved little sister and would still be by his side right now and not have what was left of her hand and the bloodied bodies of his parents etched in his mind for the rest of his life. All that same tragedy would never have happened and everyone would have lived happily in Orb.
But the reality was different and at the same time a bitch because for some reason they did not appear when there was a great conflict that they had to suffocate as that man said, and instead, it took 5 fucking years since the war ended with thousands of dead, including his family. That's why he didn't believe anything that guy in the ad said about wanting to eradicate wars.
For the young Impulse's pilot, Celestial Being was nothing more than a group of pure fanatics and hypocrites who believe that the world should revolve around them in a similar way to Blue Cosmos or something and therefore do what they want without giving a shit about the number of victims in their ambitions.
Anyway, putting aside his aversion to them, the young ZAFT pilot knew that these people were very serious in their statement and they showed it to everyone in their intervention in Ceylon. Even Shinn was dumbfounded to hear the results of the intervention and even now he still couldn't believe that that small group of only 4 Mobile Suits caused such damage not only to the ZAFT forces, they also caused a lot of damage to the EA side. They overwhelmed both belligerent forces simultaneously in just one hour.
But most puzzling was the fact that those who attacked and overwhelmed the ZAFT forces were the same ones who were in the Armory; blue and green.
"I still find it hard to believe that all of that really happened and that two of them overwhelmed our forces there." Yolan continued talking about what happened.
Vino chuckled slightly. "Well, the very thought of having been there makes me want to go to the bathroom."
"I already believe it." The brunette nodded. "Anyway, the whereabouts of those Gundams have not yet been found and the army is still in disarray because of what happened. I heard that the Supreme Council is still hesitant to send more reserve troops or plan an evacuation of the survivors."
"But what about the Alliance?" Vino asked, sounding slightly anxious to know what move the HRL would take as it could take advantage of the evacuation of the remaining ZAFT forces to occupy the territory.
Yolan just shrugs his shoulders before letting out a small sigh. "That's what's not known, and the Supreme Council is trying to contact and set up peace negotiations or something. I don't know what could happen..."
Both agreed that what Celestial Being did in Ceylon was quite disastrous and had shocked the world as they had not believed it possible that a small organization with so few resources and a smaller number of Mobile Suits could cause such damage. Many people did not stop talking about what happened there as if it were an important event like when the Bloody Valentine's Day Tragedy happened and some even came to fear that one day they too could be attacked by them at any time.
"I just hope they don't attack us too." Vino said expressing his fear of being the next target.
"Why do you say that?" Yolan asked without understanding his partner's point. The latter let out a confused little gasp.
"Don't you remember? They came to the Armory before and even if their target was only those thieves, some say that even if those guys hadn't come to rob us, those guys from Celestial Being might have come here anyway and attack our garrisons and who knows..."
The brunette rolls his eyes before answering. "We don't know for sure."
"But..."
On the sidelines of the discussion between the 2 young engineers, Shinn was still reflecting on Celestial Being without barely hearing the discussion, although he stayed with the last part that Vino said about that faction could have put on the same show that those thieves caused, regardless of whether the latter had come or not. It would make sense if that hypothetical scenario could have occurred.
All the more reason, Shinn couldn't help but feel more aversion to them and swore that if one day they dared to attack them, he would do anything to stop them and wipe them all out once and for all to make clear their stupidity of eradicating wars.
"Honestly, I don't think they are really bad." Yolan said surprising both Vino and Shinn who looked at him puzzled. "I mean, it's true that they've been officially declared a dangerous terrorist group, but I don't think they're as petty and radical as Blue Cosmos. Unlike these, it does not seem that Celestial Being has a racism towards us and only think about ending wars. Everyone doesn't like wars, don't we? I guess they don't either, right? So I don't think they're that bad people and-
"Have you hit your head or something!?" Vino shouted in disbelief at what his partner had just said. "How can you say that? Have you forgotten what happened in Ceylon?"
"I know, okay? I'm not saying what they did was right since they had to sacrifice many of our own, but I hope they make sure another Bloody Valentine's War doesn't happen." Yolan exclaimed wanting to make his point. "Everyone of us has had to endure a lot of fear and terror of what was happening out there and the truth is that I would not want to experience it again. It's been 5 years since it ended, but those xenophobes of the Earth still want to declare war on us and try to exterminate us again, so I can't help but worry too much and if what they say about they are going to stop the wars, then they have my support..."
"But..."
"Do you really believe that?"
The conversation between the two was interrupted when they heard a third voice belonging to the Impulse's pilot that since they began the conversation he not said anything until now, but what most caught their attention was that his tone of voice sounded harsh and an edge of anger. When they both turned their heads to look at him, they saw that indeed his expression looked almost angry.
For the 2 young mechanics who knew the impulsive, brash and hot-headed Impulse's pilot there were only a few things that made him very cranky or even angry. Volatile-tempered, he was well-known among his peers for his fierce hatred of the Alliance, and was also a fierioceus critic of Orb and the Athhas. His peers knew very well about the circumstances by which the young man developed such an aversion and soon they learned not to ask any more questions so as not to reopen old wounds.
Despite that, Shinn is generally a mostly calm and friendly boy as long as nothing bad happens to disturb him, and especially when he hears a single mention of the Alliance and Orb. The expression he wore now was more or less the same when told about Orb and the Athhas, except this time they were only talking about Celestial Being and its intentions to eradicate wars, and something told them that the impulsive Impulse's pilot was going to add another one to his list of unpleasant things.
"Do you really believe that bullshit they say about 'eradicating wars' and that meaningless shit?" He asked with a disrespectful tone. Yolant and Vino remained silent without being able to answer the question of the temperamental pilot. At that, Shinn continued to rant.
"I do not believe a shit of that since they must be a group that take advantage of others saying that they are allies of justice or something like that when in reality they are fucking hypocrites and do whatever they want because, if they really do it in the name of peace, then I don't think they should resort to violence like they did in Ceylon. It's clear that their supposed goals are nothing more than a box full of shit to make people see them as the good guys, but I don't believe that."
Yolan and Vino stared in perplexed at how Shinn ranted and spoke so vehemently about the enigmatic organization, and not just them. The short speech reached the ears of the rest of the engineers who worked in the hangar and they stayed to listen to the rant of the Impulse's pilot and were also surprised by the aversion he had developed towards the organization. Some concluded that it was logical that he thought so and that he was not wrong since most thought more or less the same and that they are nothing more than fanatics who do unreasonable things that led nowhere and were no better than Blue Cosmos.
"Therefore, I swear that if they dare to attack us just because it suits them to fulfill their shit, I will kick their ass." He said with a resolute tone that he left no doubt his intention to put those Gundams in their place and and show that they are not the big deal.
He will do it.
Earth
Hotel – somewhere in the United States – Union
Wang Liu Mei was enjoying her stay in an upscale restaurant on the top floor of one of the Union's most prestigious hotels. While it was usual for a young billionaire like her to find herself in a place like this enjoying the luxuries it could offer her, but today she was not here to enjoy this kind of pompous atmosphere.
One of the tasks of her other side was to serve as a spectator or in this case agent of Celestial Being, a group within the organization that observes from the shadows the current situation of the world and evaluates the progress of the armed intervention groups of BC. As such, Wang Liu is a secret agent who supports the Gundam Meisters from the shadows by providing them with additional information about the missions and objectives that had been designated earlier by Veda being of considerable help to the core members of the organization.
Due to their connection to Veda, they also possess some information about the missions that the Gundam Meisters carry out, and of course, Wang is one of the privileged few to access such information.
As she enjoyed drinking alone in one of the luxury seats, with her long hair flowing over her shoulders, she noticed the presence of a man casually approaching her, but instead of looking up to see him, she continued to drink her drink quietly without worrying too much since she knew who it was exactly.
"A soft drink?" The man asked respectfully with a smile standing in front of her on the other side of the table and sitting in her free seat. This man had an elegant and charming appearance with long, straight brown hair tied to a small ponytail and sported reddish eyes. Finally, he was dressed in a red tuxedo. "I would recommend the original cocktail they serve here."
"I'm still a minor." Wang replied smoothly.
"Oh, do excuse me." The man apologized respectfully before a waiter approached him and the first glanced momentarily. "The usual."
"As you wish." The waiter said nodding before retreating.
Once she made sure the waiter was far enough away, Liu Mei turned to the man to inform him of something. "The fourth mission will begin shortly." She said softly. "If you want to observe it, I recommend preparing 3 monitors."
"Oh, I look forward to that." The man replied pleased. "I'll be sure to watch it closely."
On the sidelines of the seemingly calm and "friendly" conversation between the 2 Celestial Being Observers, a few meters from the seat, sitting at the bar counter not far away, was Lui Mei's personal bodyguard Hong Long, quietly watching the conversation between his Mistress and the man who had approached her. His Mistress seemed to trust the man very well and had no problem conversing with him, but Hong Long himself was very reserved and suspicious of trusting other people and even if they were on the team of the same criminal gang.
His sharp gaze did not depart from the image of the man waiting for him to do something suspicious and harmful to his Mistress. As his personal bodyguard it was his duty to safeguard the safety of his Mistress, keep her away and prevent her from all kinds of dangers whether conspiratorial and homicidal from other people of the same status of high society since that class is also a world of intrigues and back stabbing when least expected even among relatives due to their convenience or some kind of sick greed to obtain more social status eliminating their competitors and assimilating their belongings for themselves.
Hong Long knew very well how the world of high society worked and from a young age he had been well trained in self-defense arts, shooting, espionage, computer hacking, etc. Due to his Coordinating heritage, Hong Long had become one of the best bodyguards in the world and as long as he continued to live no one would dare to approach his Mistress under any circumstances. That aside, even now Hong Long felt unsure that his Mistress would voluntarily join this enigmatic paramilitary organization that promised a "world revolution that would end all wars." The very idea of that sounded pretty far-fetched and fanciful that only a crazy person could believe, but his Mistress wasn't and she still happily joined because the idea of a world revolution was quite attractive to her and she wanted to participate either indirectly.
Her bodyguard could not do anything to go against the will of his Mistress so he accompanied her without question and was always alert to anything suspicious that happened around her. Above all, to that man.
"You like to watch?"
The bodyguard Coordinator was startled with surprise not only by hearing a new voice that was very close to him, but also by the fact that he had not detected the presence of someone approaching him going unnoticed by his enhanced senses. Apart from his intense physical training, he had also been trained in the perception of hidden threats to detect and feel hidden threats and murderous intentions. He couldn't believe that someone have gone unnoticed his enhanced sense.
Turning his head to the left he saw the person who surprised him sitting next to him and recognized him instantly so that his expression was aggravated by displeasure and distrust. It's the secretary of the man his Mistress was talking to just now. A deceptively young man with a strange and flamboyant appearance with short grass-green hair, light purple eyes, and a slightly pale complexion.
However, the most striking and suspicious thing that Hong Long comes up with is that he always looked with a seemingly friendly expression that somehow displeased the Chinese Coordinator as if he was making some kind of façade to make anyone lower their guard waiting for the opportunity to stab them in the back when he saw the perfect opportunity.
Even the angelic and friendly smile he was giving him now confirmed his suspicions that this guy was untrustworthy.
That's all for today. Now I only have 3 more chapters left to temporarily end this fic and focus on other stories.
As you will have seen in this chapter I have focused on some povs of some characters. I know this is a bit short since I'm still a novice to this type of writing, but I do my best. I hope I did well on Graham's.
Oh, I should also add that I put in a cameo of Shinn reflecting on and expounding his views on Celestial Being who as expected for our favorite impulsive pilot, developed a strong distrust and dislike towards them for what in the future will become one one of the main opponents of the organization and an enemy of a certain Blue Reaper. The cameo scene is set shortly before Durandal invites Cagalli and Athrun to the hangar. Earlier I wanted to follow up with my own writing of Cagalli's fateful encounter with the angry Orb expatriate, but not wanting to drag all that out, I left it this way.
We'll see you in the next chapter.
Ja ne!