Universal Century 0079, January 10th. On this day, the sky fell. A s.p.a.ce colony fell onto Earth through the hands of the Princ.i.p.ality of Zeon Army.

This time, the segment in this Operation British was named “Colony Drop” as they planned to compare the fate of the Earth Federation to the hegemonic countries in the old ages. This s.p.a.ce colony that fell on Earth was the initial resolution since the declaration of war that occurred on the 3rd day of the same month. After merely 3 seconds since they declared war, the Princ.i.p.alities army, which had already gotten into position beforehand, attacked at the same time and immediately destroyed 3 sides. The Federation army panicked due to this sudden raid, and started gathering their forces quickly; the Princ.i.p.ality coolly observed this in their rear sight as it started moving the s.p.a.ce colony, its own “bomb”.

The colony that was built on Lagrange Point, located at a gravity balance between Earth and the Moon, and once the orbital speed decreased slightly, it would leave the original gravity equilibrium point. The Princ.i.p.ality installed nuclear pulse engines on the Side 2 “Island Iffish”, which they chose as the bomb. After several hours of burst flares, the s.p.a.ce colony ended up leaving its original orbit and started freefalling on its own.

The s.p.a.ce colony that became a prisoner of gravity took more than 5 days to orbit half a round around the moon and fall onto Earth. Logically, the Federation exerted all its forces to prevent this situation, but they could not defeat the Princ.i.p.ality of Zeon army that followed the colony. The Federation did not know of the existence of mobile suits at that time, nor did it know of the tactical usage of Minovsky Particles in combat, and its 3-to-1 superiority in numbers were of no use.

With the one-eyed “Zakus” accompanying, the large ma.s.s of the colony approached the atmosphere. It would not be difficult to make a 30km long metal cylinder 6km long break the through atmosphere together with the 3 large mirrors on it. The burning heat of the friction would cause the colony to be so hot that it would become a ma.s.sive fireball, causing the atmosphere to take a hit it had never experienced before. The peeled outer wall would become a burning meteor shower, and the colony itself followed a black pressurized smokescreen that covered the sky, marking its trail of destruction.

The fortunate thing for the Federation army was that the colony was worn out somewhat due to the skirmishes that occurred for several days. The initial estimates were that the colony would hit the headquarters at Jaburo located in South America, but it split in the air soon after it entered the atmosphere above Africa. The colony broke into 3 blocks, one hit Australia, one hit the Pacific Ocean, and the last one hit North America. In terms of the results, Jaburo managed to avoid a calamity here, and the Federation managed to protect its headquarters that would end up leading the counterattack, but the tragedy of having a colony crash into Earth was not something that could be simply negated.

The colony became a ma.s.sive bomb, and it was said that the power was around 200 times the power of a nuclear weapon that turned a city in j.a.pan into a sea of fire—the atomic bomb that detonated in the city of Hiroshima. Amongst the 3 broken pieces, the largest piece landed in Australia, and it crashed into Sydney at the speed of 11km per second. The sight of the colony falling down as it covered the sky was taken with cameras from neighboring cities, and the people of the later generations learnt of that ‘sky is falling’ instant of horror. It crashed, causing an impact that caused Sydney to disappear immediately. This impact caused Sydney to disappear immediately, created a crater 10km thick, caused an unprecedentedly large 9.5 magnitude earthquake, and this was just the start. This large earthquake left an observed magnitude of 9.0, rocked the entire continent of Australia, and the magma movement in the orogeny caused the landscape on the eastern coast to change drastically. One-sixteenth of Australia was submerged in the sea, and another one-third of the land took a devastating hit. However, this was just part of the damage caused by the fall of the colony. Besides, right at the moment the colony fell, the Earth’s rotation was affected, and it revolved 0.1, 0.2 seconds faster every hour.

The North American continent did not end up in such a ground-changing situation like the continent of Australia, but one quarter of the land was wrecked. The part that dropped into the Pacific Ocean triggered a large tsunami, and even the sh.o.r.es off the Indian Ocean suffered utter devastation. The colony pieces that fell through the atmosphere caused impacts that resonated with the tsunami, creating a large-scale storm that rocked the entire world for the first time, sending the residents on Earth into chaos. If there were an end of the world, this would be the scene.

The storm and tsunamis covered the lands on Earth for a week, and the abnormal weather did not subside for 6 years after that. The temperature in the colder Southern regions rose up because of this calamity, and not only did it cause sea level to rise, but also, the air pressure changes due to the sea currents caused desertification in humid regions. Disease outbreaks and riots caused by the refugees continued for several years after the war. There was a saying that almost 2 billion people died and were missing, but actually, they could not determine the actual numbers.

A week pa.s.sed since the start of the war on the 3rd. The One Week Battle got Zeon’s war for independence off to a rumbling start, and despite failing in their intent of bombing Jaburo itself, it allowed the Princ.i.p.alities army to continue the war for one year. After that, the largest fleet battle in human history, the battle of Loum occurred as the Princ.i.p.ality launched a large-scale invasion to Earth. They used the Earth military headquarters located in New York City, North America, and gradually expanded its territory.

The smoke rose into the atmosphere, and descended onto the ground in the form of a meteor shower. The ones that landed on the Earth with authority were the giants with one eye, and it was not hard to imagine what sort of impression the residents on Earth had as a result. These demons that had different views and values were invading Earth—and the devastation they brought about was not something the people born on Earth could imagine. In that sense, the people on Earth viewed this army that was attacking their homeland as ‘aliens’.

In terms of national power, the difference between the Princ.i.p.ality of Zeon and the Federation was approximately a thousand times, and the options Zeon could choose were limited. The citizen policy was part of the s.p.a.ce Migration plan, the s.p.a.cenoids’ plea for Self-governance was crushed by the Federation, and the people who were moved lived tough lives. These were facts, but despite the room for empathy, the fact would remain in history that Zeon was the most brutal killing organization.

After the war, the remnants of Zeon continued to carry out colony drops. 3 years ago, the “5th Luna” that was used as a mining asteroid was dropped onto Lhasa in Tibet, destroying the capital of the Federation as they planned. The tragedy brought about by this atrocity was deeply etched within the people of Earth, and the s.p.a.cenoids’ views and stand were all blurred. At this point, as countless debris particles remained in s.p.a.ce, the Earth’s sky that was showing the b.l.o.o.d.y-colored sun setting in the West—

The lush trees covered their heads from above, blocking off the clouds and sky floating above.

The trees that grew down the road had their branches reached out, and the density even caused the green leaves to grow onto the lane. The green corridor that was extended without an end in sight looked so dazzling, and Mineva put her face at the car window, observing the scenery outside. The ones with white and pink flowers were Dogwood, and were the vines growing off the mistletoe Kudzu? Despite the scars of the colony drop in the sky above, this place still had the vegetation exclusive to Southern USA. Due to the warm climate and the creek flowing down the gradual lowlands, the flowers obtained lots of humidity, and looked extremely lively under the sunlight.

It had been one and a half hours since the disease prevention checks were done at the Atlanta Naval Air Station, and Mineva was sitting on this limousine-type electric car. There were still vestiges of war everywhere, the streets of Atlanta still showed scenes of a metropolis, but these were scenes that were seen a long time ago. At this point, what was shown in front of Mineva was a snaking narrow lane within the forest. They pa.s.sed through the lowlands surrounded by maize fields, and did not see any car moving in the opposite direction. The spa.r.s.ely scattered farms and houses disappeared. Most likely, this might be the private land s.p.a.ce the Marcenas’ owned. Mineva imagined the lush and thick green trees as a wal indicating a boundary, and glanced at Riddhe’s face as he sat right beside him.

Riddhe was looking in front silently, not looking at the greenery pa.s.sing by outside the window. He was about as silent as the time when he piloted the “Delta Plus” into the atmosphere—no, he might be a lot more tense here. Sitting diagonally in front of him was Ronan, who had his mouth shut, not intending to look away from the notebook terminal. As for what they actually talked about on the limousine, there were only two lines, “Mom?” “She’s in a Nursing Home in Switzerland.” What was left was the heavy and unbearable silence pa.s.sing between them.

This situation did not allow for anyone to talk easily, and Mineva understood that Riddhe never wanted to face his ‘family’, but this situation she was facing caused her to feel that it would be easier if these two men were unrelated people. What is with this weird depressed silence? Once they entered society, they noticed each other’s flaws more than strangers did, and could only create a divide between each other. Is the relationship between father and son like this? To Mineva, who lost her parents before she was mature enough, this was something she could not understand, and she held her sigh as she looked outside the window. The green corridor faded in thickness, everything from the green pastures that grew on the other side of the oak trees onwards could be seen, and the large Tudor-styled mansion entered everyone’s sights.

The entrance, which was decorated with Corinth-styled ornaments, had a Greek temple-like style, and the main house, which had three-storey buildings connected to it on the side, looked rather similar to the Vist Foundation residence seen on the “Magallanica”. Both houses gave off the feel of age, radiating a sense of existence that was basically similar to Zeon’s vintage style, but one had to wonder what was with this cold air surrounding this house. This house did not look like it would waver as it remained rooted amidst this damp land, and it looked like it was giving silent threats without trying to hide or show off the special authority of those living in it, wanting outsiders to lower their heads. Mineva suddenly felt a chill up her body that was still not used to the 1G gravity, and grabbed her hands that were cupped in front of her chest under her blouse tightly.

There was no concern for s.p.a.cenoids, whether it was the house that was stubbornly protecting the old century traditions or the people with special authority living inside. There was no place for understanding each other—

“Do you know the story of “Gone with the Wind”?”

Riddhe suddenly spoke up, and Mineva nodded without thinking through properly. Mineva herself had not read that book, but she knew that it was one of the cla.s.sic books during the Middle Ages, and was even rewritten as a movie. Riddhe looked outside the window and explained to Mineva, “This stretch is the stage for that story. Warm climate, fertile land, a very rich farm owner; this prosperity was supported by the black slaves captured and brought in from Africa.

Ronan lifted his face slightly from the notebook, and turned his eyes that were looking through the reading gla.s.ses over, but Riddhe’s face that was facing the window remained unmoved as he said with a self-mocking self, “What an irony, isn’t it?”

“The ones who started the s.p.a.ce migration administration, the Chief Senator for the migration issue committee would actually live in Southern USA that relied on slaves.”

The prosperity and revival in this place was created through the resources squeezed out from the s.p.a.cenoids—this sarcastic line even children could understand caused the atmosphere in the limousine to become heavier, and Riddhe did not look at Ronan as he shut up. Ronan let out what seemed like a sigh from his nose, and turned his face back to the notebook. Mineva looked back and forth at these two men, and again felt that she had no refuge as she looked at the Western sky that was starting to become red.

The limousine pa.s.sed through the gate located between the oak trees and drove right into the courtyard of the residence. At the same time, the sound of the rotor could be heard from above, and the helicopters flying in the air reached Mineva’s sights. There was no reason for them to return back to base, and the helicopters were waiting if there were any Neo Zeon strike teams around with the intent to s.n.a.t.c.h her back, so the likelihood was that they would be patrolling through the night. There were armed helicopters with gun turrets pointing out, and several guards lurking around—All for the sake of receiving me, an anomaly. Mineva felt a killing intent radiating out from the forest as looked up at the Marcenas’ residence that was right in front of her. The triangular roof at the entrance had a bird-ornament, and it took her a little while to realize that it was an authentic black condor.

The quality of servants would determine what the family was made of. In this case, the fact that a servant would arrive at the carpark to invite them in proved that the Marcenas’ stature was for real.

“Welcome back.” Riddhe saw the old butler who greeted him, and answered, “It’s been a while, Dwiyon.”, and he, whose face had been tense ever since he reached Earth, finally relaxed somewhat at this moment. The butler called Dwiyon here merely lowered his head for a short while, and though it was hard to see his expression, even Mineva could sense a surge of emotions swelling from his trembling shoulders. It was common to see many servants who act tough with power backing them up, but there were not many servants who would weep earnestly for the family members they were serving. He was definitely feeling emotional, but he would not try to inquire about his master’s private life on his own, could maintain some form of distance with the family he was serving while doing so obediently, and the magnetism working between them was one only a high-cla.s.s family would have with a top-notch butler.

After pa.s.sing through the arched entrance, there was a large empty hall that could be seen, and the sunlight that shone in diagonally from the second level window was reflected off the clean and polished floor. Like its outer appearance, the inside arrangement of the house and the width was not too different from the Vist’s mansion. Mineva’s official residence was basically no different from a palace despite being raised in a fortress full of defeated warriors, and this current situation did not intimidate her, but the aged pillared, walls, furniture and all sorts of things still produced an aura that would discourage anyone.

Unlike the old yet grimy looking Vist Foundation, everything in this place reeked of its own history, giving a suffocating feeling that was resisting change. Riddhe, who grew up in this family, most probably experienced this feeling. Mineva shook off this air that filled the s.p.a.ce, and did not land her sights on anything as she merely followed the back profiles of those heading in. She turned to the hall located on the left side, past a table that could seat 10 people in the dining room, and arrived at the corridor leading to the inside of the house. It was an art gallery with paintings decorating the corridor, and with the varying light intensity lighting the paintings, the fine artworks could be mistaken for photos as they were lined up, awaiting visitors.

Mineva stared at the first portrait, and stopped. The person in this portrait seemed to be of mixed blood, and he had brown eyes that were half-pa.s.sionate, half-rational. It was a man who looked like he was in his sixties. Mineva did see this face several times in history cla.s.s, but after looking at it closely again, she found that he resembled Riddhe somewhat, “This person is Ricardo Marcenas, the first Prime Minister of the Federation government.” Ronan explained, and Mineva continued to look up at that painting silently.

“The one over there would be the 3rd Prime Minister, Georges Marcenas, my great-grandfather. He would be called Ricardo Junior in movies or books based on historic themes.”

Ronan smiled slightly as he pointed at the paintings lined down the corridor with his eyes, introducing them one by one, “The first Prime Minister, Ricardo Marcenas, was unfortunately a.s.sa.s.sinated, but the Marcenas family continued to maintain important positions inside the government. The history within the Earth Federation government is also our family history. Our family’s fate is to become the pillars supporting the country…I suppose you can say that.”

There was no sense of conceit or deliberation in these words as his voice merely described the cold hard facts calmly. There was a chill that arose suddenly in this dim corridor, and Mineva trembled as she saw these paintings that could not talk, understanding where the pressure in this house came from.

The ancestors of the Marcenas’ family were lined up on this empty hall, depicting the history of the Federation. These were the people, the group of guardians for the Federation, becoming tense because of her intrusion as a foreigner. They were glaring at the forgotten remnant of the enemy, pressurizing her with a hatred-like surge—

“They managed to survive till now doing that kind of job.”

Riddhe spoke. Mineva recovered and looked at him.

“The culprit that blew up the first Prime Minister’s residence was said to be a separatist against the Federation’s rule, but n.o.body knew the truth. Some people said that the mastermind behind this were the conservatives in the government, thinking that the liberal and idealistic Prime Minister will get in the way. This is the same reason why a certain American president in the Middle Ages was a.s.sa.s.sinated.”

Riddhe looked up at the paintings, showing a look of disgust on the side of his face. As a descendant of this family and a son who deserted his family, he seemed to be exerting his presence in this corridor of time. He ignored Ronan, who went silent, and continued with a stiff voice,

“The terrorist attack that caused the explosion of the official residence…that “Laplace Incident” was a good excuse for the Federation to sweep the separatists. At that time, the call was basically, “remember the tragedy of Laplace. Never ever forgive those despicable terrorists”. The pitiful separatists were immediately eliminated, and the Federation government quelled the conflicts on Earth. During that time, what did our Marcenas family do? We relied on the conservatives who killed the first Prime Minister, preventing our entire family from being wiped out. After the deputy Prime Minister became the second Prime Minister temporarily, Ricardo Junior won an overwhelming support from the people and was elected as the third Prime Minister, and thoroughly eliminated the terrorists, the ones who killed his father. These were all beautiful things that were made up, heroes that were made up. After that, the Marcenas family—…”

“JUST SHUT UP!”

The sharp roar echoed through this corridor of time, stopping Riddhe from continuing what he wanted to say. The paintings held their breaths, staring silently at their descendants. Ronan lowered his cold stare on the silent Riddhe.

“So what you’re saying is that the world is run on conspiracies? You read too many nonsensical books. Politics is not that simple, and there are a lot of things you, who abandoned your family, don’t know about.”

Riddhe did not say anything as he turned his back on the other person, and his face was definitely looking like a stubborn child. He’s trying to be like a spoilt child to his father, and got told off as a result; the current situation might seem to be like this. “Miss Mineva” As she continued to ponder aimlessly, Ronan looked at her, and she seemed to panic somewhat as she looked back.

“We will be talking about the details later, but I still have to admire you for the courage you showed. I am willing to bet my personal honor and do all I can to make sure that you are not mistreated.”

The sincere yet sharp stare appeared in Ronan’s eyes, and this stare caused Mineva to feel a fluttering in her chest. “I am very glad to hear you say that.” She responded with a voice appropriate for the occasion and gave a polite smile.

“Let the unfortunate past pa.s.s by. I hope for a positive development through our talks, and for this, I will go all out in that.”

Mineva wanted to answer back with a smile at that moment, but Ronan suddenly lowered his face and looked away, “However, there is something I hope that you can understand first.” Mineva felt a chill.

“The Federation government is definitely not a st.u.r.dy rock that will not be destroyed. We, the people of the Marcenas family, have been protecting the Federation for generations and dedicating ourselves to it. It’s the same as you, the symbol of Zeon.”

But we couldn’t do it. Ronan’s words had such bitterness, and the emptiness that came as he drew the line caused his heart to turn cold. “Dad…” Riddhe let out a doubtful voice, but Ronan did not look at his face as he merely looked far away at the portraits lined up in the shadows.

“The Federation is still young, less than 150 years old, an immature nation. Someone…someone has to protect it.”

During the war, the Zeon forces that occupied the land gave up on occupying the Marcenas’ residence, so one could tell how much historical value this office had. The office table was used since previous generations, of the same age as the custom made bookcase, and they had been around for at least a century. The chandelier that dropped during the colony drop still remained hanging on the ceiling, glowing as they went all out to find similar parts of similar age.

The office and the linked study seemed like a mysterious s.p.a.ce filled with the world’s secrets to children—is this room this big? Riddhe looked around the room that was 7m wide, was shocked by the difference in the room from his previous memories, and recalled and yes, he was definitely unfamiliar with the office to such a degree. Making this conclusion, he gave a wry smile.

He entered the office a few times when he was young, and even sat on his father’s lap, hearing stories about the greatness of their ancestors, but at some point, he did not want to approach his place. One of the reasons was that he grew old enough not to sit on other people’s laps, and another was that his father, who inherited the land from Riddhe’s grandfather, started to get busy as a High-ranking Senator as he rushed about. However, the biggest reason was that his father always took action according to his schedule, and excluded Riddhe and the family from his business.

He basically spends an entire year at Dakar’s Senate Council, and whenever he returns home, he has to go all over the place, securing a group of people who will support him, process through pet.i.tions, attend parties for consecutive days or go on a trip for leisure. To this Senate Council member who invested in several funds and had to take care of several family enterprises, this family is just a guarantee for the world to judge him by. The reason why dad willing to receive Mineva and me is just… As he thought about that, Riddhe felt his mind start to agitate again, and he shook it lightly to remove these useless thoughts.

Calm down. Riddhe told himself as he suppressed this urge, sitting down on the sofa that was used to invite visitors in. He finally managed to make it all the way here, only to start b.u.t.ting at his father rudely, causing him to have a worse standing. Instead of letting the scandals about the family rise to the surface, his father would first act calmly and determine whether there was any political value—and this was planned right from the beginning. It was because Riddhe knew that he had such a personality that he planned this as insurance. He knew that he had no right to feel frustrated about the mood in this family, and that he did not have the right to criticize his father. At this point, even Riddhe himself had been relying on his family’s tradition of trying to secure political relations to do this.

It was 4.30pm, and Mineva was resting in the guest room. His father, who told him to wait in this office, was probably talking with the army and the Council, and they would most likely come up with countermeasures against this neutral agreement. At this point, he first had to secure Mineva’s safety and talk about the plans the Senate Council plotted to do with the “Laplace Box”. The Senate would most likely be activated as soon as possible, and complete measures would be taken to ensure the “Nahel Argama”s safety. Riddhe continued to reflect upon this as he pondered about how he should respond. At this moment, an abrupt knock on the door caused him to jerk his shoulders.

There was no reason for dad to knock on the door first. By the time Riddhe thought about this, “Please excuse me” Dwiyon had already opened the door. His thoroughly polished leather shoes moved on the carpet silently, and he put the coffee cup onto the reception table. Riddhe smelled the aroma of the coffee from the pot, and he looked up and this old butler who was a fatherly figure to him. “Thank you.” Riddhe said, and Dwiyon lowered his head that had neatly combed white hair, giving a choking voice as he said, “It is really great that you’re alright…”

“Really, you’re sounding like an old man now.”

“I am old now, I am completely old. Don’t you know how much the master was so worried about you this time…”

“Dad?”

“Of course, since the son is a pilot in the army. Even I would worry whenever I hear any uproars on the news.”

Dwiyon took off his gla.s.ses and used his handkerchief to quickly wipe the corners of his gla.s.ses. “You’re exaggerating it there!” Despite saying that, Riddhe could not feel calm now that someone talked about these past three years he had not talked about, and sipped his coffee to avoid talking more about this. “Really?” Dwiyon’s wrinkled face was reddening somewhat.

“Young master Riddhe, I’ll just say this to you here. The master isn’t in good health.”

“…Heart issues?”

“Yeah. I think it’s because he was rea.s.signed to Dakar or something that he had not rested well for three years…young master Riddhe, I will not live for much longer, so can you please return to the house?”

These were words Riddhe did not expect. He used his hands to adjust the collar on his uniform and deliberately avoided Dwiyon’s slightly hot eyes.

“I know I’ve crossed the line with this kind of request, but this old me will like to request this from you. Please help the master—”

“So the son who went on the run is back?”

A completely different voice suddenly rang inside the room, causing Riddhe and Dwiyon to turn to the door at the same time. That woman with a nice clean cut of blond hair had her hand on the door that was pushed opened, giving a mischievous smile on her face.

“Sis…! You’re here too?”

“Of course. Unlike a certain person, I do treat this place as my home.”

Cynthia Marcenas answered with a tone that was that was hard to determine if there were any signs of cynicism as she walked into the office. She glanced at Dwiyon, who quickly backed away, and sat on the sofa, causing Riddhe, who stood up as well, to sit back. “Come here. Let me see your face.” She said as she used both hands to grab onto Riddhe’s head. This person who appeared in from of Riddhe, had a nice figure, a natural flair to brighten the mood just by showing up, and it was definitely Riddhe’s sister who was older than him by 6 years. “Oh? You seem a little bonier compared to before!” Cynthia said, and Riddhe answered, “You too, sis, you feel like a madam of the leisure cla.s.s now.” Half of this was Riddhe honest opinion, and half of it was a reminiscent of the past as he looked away from the face in front of him.

Ever since young, Cynthia had been hailed as a talent of beauty and wits, and was recognized to be a flower in the social cla.s.s, both internally and externally. On the other hand, she was the owner of a strict and advanced work ethic. Ever since she was a student, she started obtaining all sorts of licenses, and though the people around her kept saying that she was not someone who would stay inside the house quietly, this rich daughter defied all expectations after graduation and simply agreed to the arranged marriage her father made for her. To quote her, “I proved that I can do it, so I’m happy.” But naturally, it was not that easy to think that a woman would willingly give up so many options she could choose in her life and plunge into the world of kinship. It was unknown if the world of politics poisoned Cynthia’s mother as she kept spending her life in her own house or the nursing home for wrong reasons, and Cynthia herself felt repulsed that her mother could not fulfill the role of a wife and a mother. Having experienced a youthful period where she was flattered because of her name and her appearance, this big sister’s melancholy and rebellious nature became even more rooted. However, though this was a result of the above mentioned descriptions, Cynthia was a woman who did not change as she kept her free and vibrant nature within.

The reason why Riddhe could leave the house was because his sister and brother-in-law took up a stronger sense of existence as supporting pillars. Cynthia was wearing a ladies’ suit, had make-up on her face and the aroma of perfume on her. She had completely become a woman of the Marcenas’ family, and to Riddhe, who ran away from home, it was unknown of his sister’s existence was dazzling or lonely. Anyway, Riddhe really could not bring himself to face the other person. Cynthia stared at her brother’s anxious face and said sharply, “Dwiyon begged for you to come back, right? Back home.”

“You heard about it?”

“As I thought. Bullseye.”

As Cynthia snickered, Dwiyon gave a terrified look behind her. Does this mean that dad is feeling so weak that Cynthia can randomly guess what Dwiyon said? Riddhe felt a chill entering his chest. “But Riddhe, can you consider?” Cynthia followed up, causing him to clench his hands that were resting on the knees.

“Speaking of succession, isn’t brother-in-law Patrick learning? I heard that he’s going to take part in a local election…”

“Yeah, I’m here to prepare for that too. I have to stand on the same side as hubby. However, even if Patrick was married in, he’s still not a Marcenas.”

Cynthia concluded, and one could imagine her father’s impression overlapping with her existence. “It’s unexpected that you would say that…” Riddhe stood up, and Cynthia shrugged, saying, “Once I got into the world of politics, I ended up like that even if I don’t want to!”

“Dad won’t say that because of his personality, but he really wished for this. If we let Patrick take over the family’s tradition, there will be mixed blood in the terrain the Marcenas’ family protected for more than a hundred years. To be honest, Patrick isn’t the type to be a politician. If you’re willing to come back…”

“I’M NOT MADE FOR IT EITHER!”

The atmosphere inside the house, the shadow of that unpleasant feeling will fall on me. Riddhe let out a loud and clear voice as he brought his face to Cynthia.

“If we can let new blood take over, the atmosphere in the house will change. Don’t you hate this gloomy presence too, sis…?”

Of course, Riddhe did not understand what Cynthia was trying to say. His brother-in-law was the second son of a very influential local entrepreneur, and at this point, he was married into the Marcenas’ family, becoming the first secretary of her father. He had very little relation with the term ‘ambition’, and when talking about compet.i.tion, this brother-in-law would be akin to taking part in a sports compet.i.tion; no matter good or bad, he would always be a Mr. Nice Guy. Riddhe knew that his brother-in-law’s harmless nature was suitable for marrying, but he understood that he was not suited to be a successor of a politician family, and that Riddhe himself ran away from home even after knowing this without warning. Such unexpected developments probably caused the stress on his father’s heart to increase, but what could Riddhe do? Even his older sister, who used to be a very carefree person, was infected by this atmosphere, and naturally, she would start to talk about tradition and bloodline. Riddhe could not cope with this gloomy atmosphere at all.

Suddenly, Cynthia showed a grin and patted Riddhe on the head, saying, “You haven’t changed at all~” but while Riddhe could hear the warmth of his relative, he could only feel pain in his heart, and he, who was unable to look at his sister, turned to look at the floor.

“May I ask who that girl is?”

“Eh?”

“I’m talking about the girl you brought back. She’s cute, isn’t she? Who is she?”

This second unexpected occurrence caused his heart to beat hard. Neither Cynthia nor Dwiyon knew of the reason why Riddhe returned home this time, and they did not notice what the many stares surrounding the house and the sounds of the helicopters rotors spinning from afar meant. “Ah, she’s…Audrey Burne!” Riddhe immediately answered.

“She’s the daughter of the largest stakeholder in Anaheim. I met her on the ship viewing ceremony…”

“Burne? I never heard of that name before.”

Cynthia tilted her head that should have memorized the hundreds of investors’ names as she frowned for just a moment, only to give a smile immediately afterwards. “Well, I’ll look forward to investigating what relationship you two have later on. Will you be staying here tonight?”

“Yeah…”

“I’ll call in those ladies in for a dinner party. Do attend this party with Miss Audrey too.”

“I don’t have any clothing that can be worn for a party.”

“I will lend Miss Audrey something to wear. As for you, that uniform is okay. It will excite those free madams>”

Cynthia used her finger to poke at the mobile suit emblem on Riddhe’s chest, and turned to Dwiyon, “I’ll leave it to you then, Dwiyon.” who responded with a smile, “Alright, I will tell the cook to work harder than usual today.” and lowered his slightly grimacing face.

“If the lady was around, this family will finally gather at the dining table…”

Such saddening words caused Cynthia to reveal a bitter smile as well. No matter how I try to resist, the many years I used to spend here with my family won’t change, right? Riddhe’s sights first turned to the window where the sunlight shone in, and then listlessly looked over at the family photo hanging on the wall as a decoration. After that, a voice rang amongst the crowd, “It’s a bliss that she’s not here”, causing Riddhe to freeze up.

“If she knows of the commotion here, the illness that could be healed will never heal.”

That man walked through the door that was ajar, not looking at the other people as he went right to the office table. Riddhe felt his relaxed chest tighten at that moment and readjusted himself to face his father. Cynthia glanced back and forth between the two of them, and asked “What does this mean” as she got up from the sofa. Ronan however looked over her shoulder and stared at his own secretary.

“I’ll explain later…Patrick, I’ll leave it to you.”

Patrick, who was standing at the door, heard Ronan call for him as he answered “Yes” with a sullen expression. It seemed that someone explained what was going on to his brother-in-law Patrick, who in turn turned his head over to Riddhe, raised his hand slightly, showed an awkward smile which was the most he could do at this point, and then turned to Cynthia. “Then..” Cynthia seemed to realize the strangely tense tone in her husband’s prompting voice, and she gave a look back while leaving.

The grimness within the room increased. The sound of the telephone, the footsteps of the secretary, the murmurs from Dakar seeped into this house, and the feeling continued to spread in waves that appeared vaguely. It’s because I hate this feeling that I can’t stay in this house. Riddhe realized this again, and accepted that he was the source of this tremor here as he continued to stare at his father silently. “Let us be alone for a while. Leave any urgent matters with Patrick.” Ronan instructed Dwiyon and returned to the table. “I understand, Dwiyon answered and retreated from the room. The sound of the door being closed was left behind, and the two of them were inside the office, surrounded by this suffocating silence.

“I never thought I would face you in such a situation.”

Ronan broke this silence and sighed as he spoke. Riddhe hid his shock that the initiative was taken, and answered, “I had been running away all this time.” He clicked his tongue secretly when he realized that he accidentally b.u.t.ted back at his father. Calm down, he’s a Senate Council member who can deal with the army that will suck up to him. I have to put aside all personal feelings and tell him. Riddhe felt the pressure in his heart as he muttered, and he turned his back at the window to face Ronan.

“Since I entered the army with the family’s objection, I never intended to come back, but just once, I have to do this. You’ve heard of the terrorist attack on “Industrial 7”, right? I was there too. That incident was not like what the news reported –”

“This is not what I want to talk about.”

Ronan forcefully interrupted and stared right at Riddhe. His face showed neither anger nor disdain as he lowered his expression that would depress anyone at this point. “That is not all I want to talk about…” At that moment, Riddhe felt that the floor around him collapsed as his clenched fists were trembling.

“I was shocked when I received your mail. Indeed, you got involved with the “Box”…”

The term “Box” pierced through Riddhe’s heart, and he felt that what he should be saying was dissolved. Ronan leaned back on the leather chair as he looked up, seemingly at the sky, and closed his eyes.

“Even though I tried to arrange for you to withdraw immediately, it ended up like this in the end…I guess this in fact is a curse, and that you are still a Marcenas.”

Riddhe did not understand what his father was talking about, and he was not really certain of who exactly he was talking to. “Dad…” Riddhe muttered with a hoa.r.s.e voice, and Ronan took a deep breath, straightened his back from the back of the chair, saying,

“Riddhe, you need to know the truth.”

He stared right at Riddhe’s eyes, and said with a voice that did not allow for any words. His expression was covered by the shadows as his back faced the red sunset.

“For generations, this truth is only pa.s.sed on to a direct son of the Marcenas family. Neither your uncles, aunts, Cynthia nor Patrick knew about this. I thought that I wouldn’t have to tell you this if you took a different path…but since things ended up like this, there is no other way for you to survive.”

Riddhe could not move his body. He wanted to treat these words as a joke, but he, who somewhat expected it, did not allow himself to do so. He realized that this was not just a political stench, and he definitely felt some sort of taboo existing. Right, that’s why I ran away from home. The curse inflicted on the family is brewing gradually, and, inside this family that is giving off an ominous vibe, there’s some sort of—

“Save us.”

Ronan muttered as he clasped his hands together, bringing them to his forehead. He was not saying this to G.o.d, and after leading off with these words that were not a sentence, he started to tell the true. That story depicted the confession of a man who lost a G.o.d that could have saved him right from the beginning—and the causality of how a family was destined to become G.o.d slayers.

“I HATE IT!”

As the yell echoed through the room, the sound of the teacup and the saucer clashing with each other echoed throughout the captain’s room. While sitting opposite the stunned and blinking Otto, Commander Daguza said calmly, “I am not making a request to you here.”

“Our ship will reach the s.p.a.ce coordinates indicated by the Laplace Program. If you activate the “Unicorn” there, there might be a possibility that a new Program will be unsealed. I will be riding with you, and I hope that you will pilot the “Unicorn” to the designated coordinates. This is an order.”

Daguza said without twitching his eyebrows, and beside him, Lieutenant Conroy too gave a stare that did not allow any arguments. It was several minutes since Banagher was taken away from Takuya and Micott and brought to the captain’s room. Banagher did not even have the luxury to taste the red tea the captain prided himself in before he made this request. They indicated that they had to look for the “Box” on their trip back, and Banagher had to pilot the “Unicorn” to a.s.sist with the investigations. Banagher looked over at the face of the captain who was pouring the red tea, and then turned to the ECOAS commander who gave a robotic expression, before arguing, “Why must I do such a thing?”

“Looking at the current situation, you’re the only one who can pilot the “Unicorn”.”

“If it’s just about bringing back something, can’t you just let another mobile suit do the job?”

“The system won’t be able to identify if the main generator is not activated. The pilot has to be in it.”

After sealing off one argument after another, Daguza asked back, “Any other questions?” as he gave a probing stare that seemed to read into the other person’s thoughts. Banagher looked away as he answered, “You saw it too right? What that machine did on “Palau”…”

“Whenever I ride on it, I just feel weird. I don’t believe that I can pilot it well, and I don’t want to ride on it.”

“But you came back safely. You managed to stop that 4-winged from resisting, capturing both the machine and the pilot. That was quite a lot of military gains.” “MILITARY GAINS!? YOU CALL THAT MILITARY GAINS!?” That silver needle of the syringe was glowing when it poked into Marida’s numb skin. Marida felt a pain from that instant as he inadvertently yelled, but Daguza, who was beside him, continued to remain calm as he gave Banagher an unwavering stare, asking properly, “What should I call it?”

“Asking me…anyway, I had enough. I’m not a soldier, so I don’t have a duty to listen to your orders!”

“It’s true that you do not have a duty, but you have a responsibility.”

These unexpected words pierced through Banagher’s heart, causing his body to sway for a while. After Banagher looked up, Otto and Conroy looked like they were blindsided as they stared at Daguza.

“You’ve interfered with battle 3 times already, and you’re the pilot of what they call a powerful weapon, the “Unicorn”. If some are to be saved by it, others will obviously perish. You have already interfered with many people’s fates, so you have to bear this responsibility.”

These were words Banagher had never thought of before. “What must I do…?” Banagher asked, and Daguza gave a straightforward look as he answered, “See things till the end.”

“And when is the end? Are you telling me to fight till death? Or are you going to get me to play this unreasonable treasure hunt?”

“That’s something for you to think about. Right now, you’re just thinking of running away from the trouble in front of you.”

Banagher felt a sharp pain in his chest, perhaps because deep inside him, he too felt that the other person was spot on in some way. This was not something he could admit simply, and he lowered his stare onto the red tea, asking softly without heart, “Mr Daguza…have you never doubted?”

“You’re always calm, not shaken at all…I really can’t be like tyou.”

Banagher did not intend to be sarcastic at the other person. By relying on a knife-sharp moral courage, he had to move even if he was forced to accept the coincidental outcome. Leaving aside whether Banagher wanted to become such a person, he felt that it would be easier for such a person to take action; that Daguza should simply be a pilot, and the “Unicorn Gundam” could display its capabilities to its maximum. I’m not confident in anything, I can’t distinguish between ally and enemy, I have no right to wield a weapon. He did not feel that he wanted to wield a weapon again—even if it meant disappointing Cardeas, his father.

Daguza raised his eyelids slightly as he showed signs of swallowing words. Banagher, who had expected a determined argument at this point, secretly glanced at his face amidst this unnatural silence. Conroy merely looked at his silent commander’s face, and then turned to look at Banagher, saying, “On the battlefield, doubting will lead to death.”

“That’s why we can only think of executing our missions. The leader has to carry out the responsibility he should bear. This would be the responsibility I am referring to.”

“But will people die because of it? What kind of responsibility is it that I have to start killing!? I can’t be like you in that I can simply sort out such things so clearly…”

Mission, duty, responsibility, both Federation and Neo Zeon had them, and both sides could explain it as justice. Banagher had n.o.body to rely on emotionally, but he felt that he would probably collapse due to fear if he merely remained silent, and such emotions caused him to roar out what he wanted to say. “Do you think it’s that simple!” Conroy yelled out as he was about to get up, his hulking figure nearly knocking into the table. Before Otto could restrain him, Daguza held back Conroy “Everyone has their own way to take responsibility.” and argued back with a calm voice.

“Right now, your situation is easy to understand. The things you should be responsible for are right in front of you. I am talking about those cla.s.smates of yours.”

That moment of hesitation had disappeared completely as Daguza continued with a calm voice. Banagher felt blindsided by the discussion of this weakness as he eked out a voice to confirm, “Are you talking about Takuya and Micott…?”

“Even if they return back to “Luna II” their predicaments are rather delicate. How they will be dealt with will determine on our reports and testimonies. The only thing that will sway this will be your actions.”

“You’re going to use hostages again…?”

“You can interpret it however you want. You are in a position to change their fates, so it’s best that you understand this well and choose what to do next.”

Daguza finished what he wanted to say and got up, while Conroy followed him from behind. Their firm muscles could be seen fleshed out beneath their uniforms, and their back profiles turned to leave the Captain’s room. Banagher let out an acc.u.mulated sigh and clasped his hands together. “Well, don’t hate them there.” Otto, who reached for the teacup, concluded.

“They can only say that in their positions anyway. Also, Commander Daguza isn’t an emotionless robot like what you think, you know?”

He brought the red tea to his mouth and continued. Banagher lifted his head slightly to look at the other person’s face.

“When we were commanded to attack “Palau” with a single ship…to be honest, all I saw was darkness in front of him. But Commander Daguza did say that he viewed the operation as a hostage rescue.”

He did not understand what the other man was talking about. Otto smiled at the frowning Banagher and said, “You’re the hostage.”

“We owe you a favor…he said this before. If not for Commander Daguza’s inspiration and idea, we wouldn’t know what would have happened. I won’t tell you to thank you, but at least recognize him for what he did, will you? People have responsibilities they have to bear, and Commander Daguza had been facing this seriously all the time.”

Otto seemed to be saying this to himself as well as he put the teacup back onto the saucer. Banagher could not think of anything to answer at that moment as he lowered his head again.

“How can I not doubt? It’s not like I made this detour because I like it, and I don’t feel that the headquarters’ orders are correct. But if I lump these thoughts together, this so-called responsibility will be another thing altogether…”

"I got a funny telegram from headquarters. Shall I read it to you?”

Lieutenant Garrett said as he lifted his ace from the monitor, but as he met the people who arrived in the eyes, he immediately hid his smile. Daguza seemed to have revealed his expression on his face, and to hide the awkwardness of having his subordinate read his thoughts, “Please.” he simply muttered and pa.s.sed through the surveillance room door together with Conroy.

“…Yes. Sender, s.p.a.ce Marine Special Operations Headquarters. Receiver, commander of ECOAS 920 in active service on the “Nahel Argama”. Adding on to message 1430. The chances of the enemy pursuing are very high, ample alertness is recommended. That’s all.”

Conroy inadvertently grinned, and Daguza could not help but curl his lips up as well. “Such a scary and useful advice.” he remarked wryly, and Garrett finally showed a relieved expression.

“To think that they would remind us of something we already knew…what’s their intention?”

“Someone must be trying to prevent us from carrying out our investigations. Some certain people must be thinking of bringing the “Nahel Argama” back and let the key to the “Box” fall under the army’s management. But if we look at the Senate Council’s side, there’s no way they can completely ignore the Vist Foundation’s order.”

“So they sent this meaningless warning and tell us to decide based on the situation?”

“It’s just a failsafe. Also, it’s an indication that they tried to stop us.”

Daguza did feel that it was too much for him to say such things, but Garrett, who shrugged his shoulders, did not seem to mind. Conroy looked at Daguza’s expression and interjected, “A telegram’s a telegram, so tell those guys from 729 as well!”

“As we planned, the operation will begin at 2300. Can both “Lotos” launch?”

“Yeah. We and the pilots from 729 have started to hear out the instructions for this operation. The Nahel Argama squad will launch 2 ReZELs. The machines are equipped with atmospheric-entry equipment just in case.”

“Alright, we don’t have much experience with carrying out operations in low orbit. Go listen to the strategy for this operation too so that the squads can coordinate well, Lieutenant.”

Eh? Daguza was surprised for a moment as he turned to look at Conroy, but Garrett had already answered “roger!” as he got up from his seat. Sorry there. Conroy gave this expression as Garrett slipped by him and walked out of the room that functioned as ECOAS’ command room. Did Conroy detect my mood too? Daguza felt somewhat awkward and yet thankful for the concern of his old friend as he sighed out a long breath he acc.u.mulated since the moment he was in the captain’s room. What kind of responsibility is it that I have to start killing!?—he recalled the expression and voice that pierced through his chest as he sat on the chair in front of the console.

“The government and the Foundation are duking it out for the “Box”…something definitely stinks here.”

Conroy pretended not to notice Daguza’s sigh as he poured the coffee and sighed. Daguza himself heard the voice from behind.

“I can understand how Cardeas Vist felt when he wanted to hand the Box to Neo Zeon. Seeing the politicians who only cared about their own well-being and luxury, surrounded by Foundation members who were fighting for their own benefits, he probably thought about giving everything away. The reason why he chose the “Sleeves” was simply because he wanted to obtain the results from elimination. Amongst everything in the world that’s trying to create havoc, only Neo Zeon has the discipline of an army and organizational ability—

“Conroy, do you still remember the operation at “Sweet.w.a.ter”?”

Daguza interrupted the other person’s words and raised another topic. Conroy’s hand that was pouring coffee into the mug shuddered, and he remained silent for a while before squeezing out a deep voice, “How can I possibly forget?”

“I’ve been having nightmares of that even till now, you know. I kept dreaming of the corpses of the kids floating out of the hole in the colony…even though the colony never had a hole blown in it.”

Conroy went silent and continued moving his hand that froze. He tried to shake off the memories that immediately rose up in his mind, and there was an urge of anxiety, trying to look to the future coming out from his shoulders. Daguza, who saw the back of that normal suit during that operation from the driver seat of the “Loto”, had that image overlapped on the other man in the room at this point, and the sinister fragments of memories budded in his mind.

To counter the number of refugees that were drastically increasing during the war and after, the Federation set up “Sweet.w.a.ter” in L2 s.p.a.ce. It was a refugee colony hastily formed by connecting an open-type s.p.a.ce colony and a closed-type s.p.a.ce colony, both of different in structure and diameter. This hastily built refugee colony had bad living standards, and it could be said to be a slum in s.p.a.ce. It would not take too long for this place to become a base for anti-government forces, and during “Char’s Counterattack”. “Sweet.w.a.ter” became a working base for Neo Zeon. After the conflict ended, the defeated troops formed guerrilla squads, and “Sweet.w.a.ter” became a breeding ground for terrorist planning, and it was a natural thing for such pus to be tucked away in “Sweet.w.a.ter”.

The Side Nationalism (Controllism) erupted due to “Char’s Counterattack”, and the Federation naturally hoped that sweeping Neo Zeon would have immediate effects as they tried to seal off the voices calling for Elementalism. These factors caused the Central Intelligence Branch to be unnaturally enthusiastic as they investigated this terrorist activity and sent out ECOAS, which was formed not too long ago as a response. There was an empty building on a land behind a cleaning factory in a certain sector of “Sweet.w.a.ter”, and the plotters of the terrorist organization were gathered there. ECOAS launched a raid and destroyed them in one shot. Those terrorists ignored human rights and laws, so their crimes that went beyond the law should be punished by means beyond the law—in order to pa.s.s this hidden message from the Federation government to the anti-government forces, they chose to use an extremist option of ‘eliminating’ the building together with the terrorists, so Daguza and the ECOAS 920 members rode on the “Loto” and got onto the outer wall of the colony.

They used beam burners to burn apart the outside wall and invaded the underground service roads in the ground block. They installed bombs on the common pa.s.sage that should be located together with the building, and planned to use the steam that would explode from the water tank to destroy the ground, causing the building to collapse as well. The building in question was a desolate place that was planned to be taken down, located alone behind the newly built cleaning factory, so there was no need to worry about whether anyone would approach there in the day. There were Intelligence Branch agents waiting at the s.p.a.ce colony, ready to report everything that happened from their surveillance, ready to carry out any backup just in case. They just needed to wait for the masterminds of this terrorist organization to gather at the scene and let some electricity flow through the detonative device. Everything the “Hunters” set up was perfect, and the target terrorists started to gather at the building one after another, causing the ECOAS members to understand that the information they got was correct—except for one exception. A school bus was parked right in front of the abandoned building, and there were many children visiting the factory alighting in front of the entrance.

Once they checked that the last target entered the building, the events happened after the surveillance team withdrew. If the fact that the parking lot was full that day was a coincidence, the fact that the bus was directed to the targeted building was also a coincidence. If there was a need to press on for whom was responsible, it would be the Intelligence Branch’s fault for failing to report to the army that there would be a factory visit that day, but in the end, Daguza and his men who were hidden underground would have no reason to know these. The explosion caused the targeted facility, the building to collapse immediately, and they were then swallowed under the collapsed land. The target was crushed by several tons of concrete, and the school bus was buried under it as well.

Amongst the 37 children present, 30 of them died at that moment, and another 3 died after they were sent to hospital. The remaining 4 who survived miraculously lost some limbs, and suffered damage that could not be erased in their lifetime. One of them still never regained consciousness at this point even after 3 years, and even though that child was braindead, the parents could not give up on their flesh and bone that was still growing. It was said that they would visit the hospital to take care of their child every single day.

The investigation committee concluded that it was an unfortunate accident caused by a aerolite, and the media created a ma.s.sive report on the tragedy that befell on the young children. In the end, only the management of the colony communal was to bear responsibility, and there were no reports about the men and women inside the building. But on the other hand, related rumors spread around the special forces of the Federation, and ECOAS was dubbed the “Manhunters” after this incident. The Federation sent a strong message with regards to terrorist activities, and gave them fear and hatred that they had never imagined.

They were a hunting force that specialized in killing; they were an organization that did all sorts of dirty work, from a.s.sa.s.sination and abduction to killing young children—after that, the members of ECOAS saw many missions that should not be spoken of, and were despised by the other soldiers in the army. None of their members could live their lives peacefully ever since then, “It was a tragedy.” Conroy mused, and Daguza inadvertently looked at his back.

“It was a mistake on the Intelligence Branch’s part. We couldn’t even do anything.”

“Yeah.”

“We were facing a group of people who would throw either colonies or meteors onto Earth. There might be more children killed if we didn’t take them all down in one go.”

“Yeah…we have to allow for a little sacrifice for the sake of many.”

Daguza forcefully clasped his hands together, and felt like he was biting onto sand as he said, “We’re cogs in this large installation called the Federation. Cogs don’t wish for anything. They just follow the decision of what the installation wants and carry out the order, until the day they break down due to a fault…”

Daguza suddenly recalled Nasri’s face, the commander of ECOAS 729 who led the raid on “Palau” and died with his squad. For the sake of that man and the subordinates who died in that battle, Daguza and his men ha