Chapter Text
Tactical Testing Sector
"Me?" Suletta asked. "Your groom?"
"My lousy father decided without consulting me." Miorine explained. "I'm to marry whoever the holder is."
"So you're just gonna follow through?" Vasily asked smugly. "Aren't you a loyal puppy?"
The comment would be met by a deathly glare from the white haired girl. 'You dare use my own words against me?'
"Oh how scaaary~." Vasily mocked.
"Vasily, could you not antagonise her?" Avrora asked with a bored tone.
Vasily would merely shrug off her sister's words while continuing to look down unto the Aerial. 'What an interesting machine that one proved to be.' Vasily thought to himself.
"Um, but, miss Miorine..." Suletta stutterd
"Don't worry. There's no way I'm doing that." Miorine assured Suletta before declaring. "All I want is to go to Earth."
"Earth? Why?" Vasily raised an eyebrow. "Not like you'll find anything entertaining there princess."
'You spacenoids already ruined most of its beauty.' Avrora thought to herself.
Julais would then be interrupted by the blaring of alarms. Doors from overhead would open and from it emerged six Demi Garrisons. "Warning." One of the machines was announced. "Cease dueling immediately!" The six machines landing around the Aerial aiming their weapons at it.
"The Front Management Company?" Miorine noticed the logo on the three machines.
"Student ID Number LP041 Suletta Mercury." The security guard continued. "You and your mobile suit are to be taken into custody on suspicion of using a Gundam."
"A Gundam?" Suletta asked. "You've got it wrong! This is Aerial!"
"Lower your weapons!" Miorine ordered. "Your job is to manage the fronts. This is a school."
"Rules set by the President takes precedence over all others." The guard answered.
"The President?" Suletta asked.
"That lousy father." Miorine said in frustration.
"That didn't last long at all." Avrora thought to herself. "How unfortunate."
Mobile Suit Hangar
"Weren't all the Gundam types disposed of?" A hangar worker asked his peers. "It certainly doesn't look like an old machine."
"Don't those things take the lives of their pilots?" Another worker asked
"Yeah, but that girl is alive, isn't she?" A third worker chimed.
"I guess so, but what about those other two machines? Are they not Gundams too? They got those flying weapons." The second worker asked.
"Apparently not, they don't even use Permet in their frames." The first worker answered
"Seriously?" The other two workers asked in unison.
Interrogation Room
"Suleta Mercury. Age 17. Student ID Number LP041. Piloting department..." The interrogator listed out. "Your father is deceased and your mother is currently assigned to Lagrange 1. Is that correct?"
"I already answered you." Suletta explained.
"Is that correct?" The interrogator asked again.
"Yes." Suletta finally answered.
"Do you acknowledge that the machine you were piloting was a Gundam?" The interrogator continued
"Her name is Aerial." Suletta interrupted but was ignored.
"And that the use of machines equipped with the GUND Format has been frozen and prohibited by the Agreement?" The interrogator finished.
"I don't know...what you're talking about." Suletta answered
The interrogator tossed the tablet on the table which causes Suletta to flinch.
"Suletta Mercury." The interrogator pressed. "Are you not a member of the Vanadis Institute that developed the Gundams?"
Benerit Group Meeting Room
"She's a Gundam pilot?" One of Piel's heads, Kal, asked.
"She doesn't look like a witch." Another of Piel's heads, Nevola, claimed.
"Any links to Vanadis?" Sarius Zenelli asked the secretary.
"Her mobile suit is registered..." The Secretary searched on his monitor before answering. "to the Shin Sei Development Corporation of Mercury. We're still investigating–"
The Secretary would be interrupted as a hand would slam loudly on the table. A hand belonging to one Vim Jeturk. "If she's not a witch, then how do you explain this?" He points at the screen. "Do you think a bunch of miners at Mercury could build their own Gundam!?"
"Or perhaps...it's the ghost of Ochs Earth." Zenelli asked the Secretary. "What about those two other machines, are they Gundams too?"
"No, as far as we can tell." The Secretary answered. "The fact that those machines lack Permet leads us to believe they're not."
"No Permet?" Piel's third head, Golneri, asked.
"Correct." The Secretary confirmed. "There were no Permet links detected on the machines."
"Those two machines are Gundams. The duel's results are void." Jeturk proclaimed, not believing that two unknown pilots got the better of his son through skill alone. "Confiscate all three machines immediately and send the pilots back to where they belong!"
"And then your son will reclaim the title of Holder, won't he?" Zenelli asked the angry Jeturk.
Delling would then show up on the screen. "Summon Shin Sei's representative." He commanded. "We will hold an inquiry."
Asticassia
Shortly after the end of the duel, the entire school had a new subject to gossip about. Especially with the announcement of the Duel's results being overruled by the Benerit Board.
There were many comments said, including but not limited to; "Well, they cheated, right?" and "I knew something wasn't right" or "I almost feel sorry for that Mercurian girl." There was nowhere in the entire school in which that subject did not leave someone's mouth.
Earth House
The Apollus and Artemie would return to their dock and from the two machines emerged their pilots each followed by a haro unit to everyone's surprise.
"Haros?" Nika asked in confusion.
"What could they be needing them in the cockpit for?" A silver haired young man by the name of Till Nys also asked.
"Hey, what the hell happened out there?" Chuchu asked the twins as they approached.
"We won, that's what." Vasily answered. "Although it seemed like someone was sore about it and voided the results. Oh well, not like I care, Don't want to be the one to marry that woman anyway."
"Not like anyone wants to be the one to marry you either." Avrora fired.
"Touché." Vasily acknowledged his defeat.
"Well, it felt good beating Jeturk House." Avrora said, stretching her arms. "I wouldn't mind going at it again."
"You folks about to go get lunch?" Vasily asked the members of Earth House.
"What about it!?" Chuchu exclaimed defensively.
"Come now, no need to be like that." Julias raised his hands. "I just thought that, since we're all Earth House buddies here, how about we join you?"
"Fine." Chuchu accepted clicking her tongue.
Cafeteria
"Anyone got info on the company she came with?" Chuchu asked her group while they ate.
"Let me look..." A boy by the name of Martin Upmont looked through his notebook. "Here it is. Shin Sei Development Corporation. Founded 33 years ago. Ranked D within the group. 151st place in sales?"
"Isn't that the bottom of the ladder?" Chuchu asked.
"I'm impressed she got into this school." Martin said, putting away his notebook.
"Still..." Nika spoke. "They made their own mobile suit."
"But unless it's approved, what good is it?" Martin explained. "If she had a bigger supporter, it might've been a different story."
"At our school, you're as good as the rank of the company that recommended you." Chuchu added.
"I can hardly be proud of being born on Earth." Martin said feeling dejected.
"It's the Spacians who are holding us down!" Chuchu announced
"Keep your voice down, Chuchu" Nika asked, looking around.
"I don't care if they hear." Chuchu explained.
"Well, I do care." Martin said nervously.
"What about you two, how did you get here?" Nika turned her attention to the twins.
"We're here under recommendation to represent Morgan Institute of Technologies from Mars, but we're natives from Earth." Avrora answered.
"Oh I've heard about them. They're middle of the road in terms of profits, but they've got a monopoly over sales on Mars." Martin explained. "Likely the reason the Benerit Group accepted them so easily. They want to tap that fast growing market."
"So did they build your mobile suits?" Nika continued questioning the twins.
"My sister and I designed our machines ourselves, we just got help getting the parts and some mechanics from them." Vasily answered this time but then they would be approached by two students.
"Do you mind moving?" The girl with a short cut asked albeit not so politely. "That's our usual table."
"Since when?!" Chuchu tries to argue but would be cut off.
"It's fine." Nika interrupted, saying. "We just finished eating." As she stood up, her food was suddenly spit on. Before she could process what happened, the two students would have warm soup tossed to their faces.
"Oops, how clumsy of you brother, you spilled your soup." Avrora began speaking in a so-called distinguished way.
"I could say the same to you sister." Vasily said in a similar manner of speech.
"Oh no, I did it on purpose, I didn't have an appetite anymore so I offered it up." Avrora glanced at the now drenched pair as if they were the lowest of scum.
"Y-you." The short cut girl started to complain but she would be cut off.
"Which house do you two come from?" Vasily asked calmly.
"You'll regret–" The other student, a ponytailed girl, wanted to comment but was also interrupted.
"I asked a question, did I not?" Vasily asked calmly again.
"H-Hammerfield." The ponytailed girl answered.
"Good." Vasily said as he stood up "Hope they put up a better fight than Jeturk House."
Vasily began walking out of the cafeteria with everyone else following suit with Avrora stopping by and patting both girls on the shoulder and whispering. "You should go ahead and warn your pilots. It'll be a massacre." Avrora lets go of both girls and walks back towards her twin.
Miorine
Miorine, after the end of the Duel, returned to her mother's garden to fix the damages done by the high tempered Jeturk heir. Before she could begin however, she would be approached again by members of the Jeturk House.
"Let me help." Said a voice belonging to one Lauda Neill which would be received by a sigh from Miorine.
"It was your great "Ace" who broke these, you know." Miorine responded.
"Well, my brother told me to fix them." Lauda explained.
"Does that mean he's sorry?" Miorine asked mockingly.
"And where is he now?"
"He's absent today." Lauda answered.
"He probably got summoned after losing that duel." Miorine realized. "By his father that is."
"Well, it's better than a parent who's aloof from their child!" Felsi Rollo mocks back. "Like father, like daughter. You just leave that transfer student dangling after she fought for you."
"I never asked her to do that." Miorine explained. "I'll tell her when she gets back...not to meddle in others' affairs."
The two Jeturk girls scoff at her words "Since you don't know, we'll fill you in." Felsi spoke again. "The Mercurian girl is going to be expelled." Miorine flinches at their announcement.
"They're going to scrap her mobile suit, too!" Felsi continued. "I heard my dad say so. For the other two I'm not so su–" She would be cut off when Miorine suddenly stood up. She turned around and began walking towards Felsi.
"Wh-What? You got a prob–" Felsi spoke defensively but would again be cut off by Miorine who shoved a ratchet into her arms.
"You said it, right? Fix it then." Miorine commanded walking away before turning her head towards them. "And one more thing. If you touch my tomatoes, I'll kill you."
After leaving the garden, Miorine contacted a member of the Facility Management Company.
"As I said, there's a possibility that was a forbidden machine." The woman on the screen explained.
"I'm only asking to see the pilot!" Miorine begged. "She's my classmate!"
"It's not up to me." The woman explained again.
"Who's it up to, then?" Miorine asked knowing the answer fully well.
"President Delling." The woman answered. "Now, if you please leave."
The woman would hang up the transmission leaving Miorine signing in disappointment. Miorine would leave the contact room and find a place to contemplate her life. To rub salt to the wound, she'd also receive a message from her father telling her that she would be unenrolled from the school and a groom would be personally selected by her father instead.
To say this news infuriated her is an understatement as it was her father himself who decided that her groom would be chosen through duels in the first place. To satiate her frustrations as any angry teenager, she would play a fixed shooter game in a bathroom whilst repeatedly saying the words "Die."
"Die, die, die, die..." Miorine repeatedly said before a knock on the door interrupted her concentration.
"You must be Miorine Rembran." An unknown woman's voice spoke to her. "Designated Colony Coordinate XY72Z53."
"That's...the rendezvous point for my escape." Miorine remembered, opening the door slowly.
"It's nice to finally meet you in person." The woman said. "You didn't show up to meet us the other day, so I came to check on you."
"Is this some sort of after-sales care?" Miorine asked.
"You did pay us after all." The woman answered. "If you haven't changed your mind, would you like to escape now?"
"What?" Miorine seemed surprised.
"If we act now, I can send you to Earth as you desire." The woman continued.
"To Earth?!" Miorine asked before remembering something. "But..."
"I can wait for 30 minutes." The woman told her. "Make a decision you won't regret."
After a few seconds of contemplation, Miorine would answer with. "I'll go. You've gotta get me out of here!"
Asticassia Space
A ship departs from one of Asticassia's docks. Inside the vessel was Miorine herself.
"Is it really this easy?" Miorine asked.
"It's all about timing." The woman explained. "We're lucky the spaceport cobtroller was a collaborator of ours, and you and I happened to meet."
"We'll be leaving the airspace controlled by this port in 5 minutes. The pilot announced.
"Once we do, we can't change our course." The woman added. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." Miorine answered. "I've made up my mind."
Tactical Testing Sector
Just as the twins had said, a new duel had been issued to the members of Hammerfield House. Its lead pilot, Parker Eastcott, despite losing to Guel not even a day ago, had no choice but to accept the dueling terms. All four pilots of Hammerfield would meet the Romanova twins in battle.
Four containers would be loaded and deployed from the Hammerfield Hangar and arrive at the Tactical Testing Sector.
"KP029, Parker Eastcott, Kapell-Kuu. Deploying." Parker announced.
"KP025, Roilie Pucked, Kapell-Kuu. Launching." Roilie announced.
"LP037, Ian Scrud, Kapell-Geo. Ready to go." Ian announced.
"LP033, Imam Gonnadi, Kapell-Geo. Let's go." Imam announced.
One by one the Hammerfield machines left their containers and lined up to face their opponents on the opposite side of the field. The Apollus and Artemie stood tall beam rifles on hand.
"Try not to end them too quickly." Vasily asked his sister.
"Of course. Gotta teach these Spacians a lesson." Avrora agreed.
After announcing the rules of the duel and reciting the dueling pledge, the two sides began their charge to one another.
"Avrora, I'm taking Parker and Ian." Vasily annonced his targets.
"Alright, I'll take Roilie and Imam then." Avrora acknowledged.
They watched as the four machines rushed towards them from two sides in a pincer maneuver. Each machine firing at the twins
"Attack, don't let them move an inch." Parker commanded.
With the order given, the four machines charged forward, firing and missing continuously at the twins who didn't move from their position. After a few seconds a beam finally contacted the Artemie and it was at that moment everything became a blur.
Avrora shot forward towards Imam who responded by firing his cannons. The twisted and spun through the air, dodging the barrage. In a single, fluid motion, the Artemie's beam saber ignited and sliced clean through Imam's right arm. The hand, however, did not drop to the ground as the Artemie caught it and used it as a weapon by swinging it towards Imam's torso.
"Pathetic." Avrora commented. "Is this really everything this school can offer?"
The strike would then be followed by a stomp to Imam's left knee followed by a beam shot which tore it cleanly off. After that, Avrora would pick Imam's machine by the neck and use it as a shield against Roilie who had by now regained his composure and fired towards Avrora. A beam would hit Imam's antenna signaling the first elimination.
Meanwhile Parker's machine would be tossed by the Apollus towards Ian's. The impact caused the two to be dazed. The Apollus approached the two machines slowly, igniting its beam sabers. The first slash would slice across Ian's ankles followed by a second slash to both knees.
"This is what happens when you look down on us Earthians." Vasily explained.
He would then jump and stomp on Ian's hands before slicing both arms off followed by the waist and finally the head signaling the second elimination. Vasily would then turn his attention to Parker's machine which was still on the ground.
"Move, I don't enjoy prey who's not running." Vasily commanded to which Parker compiled by speeding away at maximum power. However he would not make it far as several beam shots would be fired blowing both pairs of limbs off. A few seconds later, the head would also be blown up.
Back to Avrora. She had discarded Imam's machine and had dragged Roilie's machine on the ground by the head towards the nearest wall. After which she would pin the machine to it with both beam sabers before unloading her entire beam rifle's energy into it.
With Roilie's machine now in two, Avrora would grab the machine by the face and neck before violently ripping the head off, wires included, off the torso with her bare hands. The action caused oil to spill like blood.
Within 10 minutes, the battle, no, the massacre as Avrora had said came to an end. Unlike the duel that had just occurred prior, the spectators had nothing to say, there were no comments of awe or cheers. It was utterly quiet. The Twins had won one sidedly and their message had been delivered.
Suletta
After the interrogation, Suletta would be placed into a confinement room. She would choose to sleep through the silence but would be interrupted by the door being unlocked.
"Y-Yes?" Suletta asked.
"Aren't you hungry?" A young man asked as he opened the door and approached holding a meal pack. "My name is Elan Ceres." The boy introduced himself. "Like you, I'm a student at Asticassia. The guard here let me do his job." He said handing Suletta the meal pack.
"Is it really okay?" Suletta asked nervously.
"Go ahead." Elan assured her.
"I-It's so nice of you." Suletta accepted and began eating and then shortly after, crying. All the while Elan just watched without much emotion on his face.
After finishing her meal, Suletta would notice Elan had just been watching her and would thank him for the meal.
"Why would you..." She tried to ask
"You interest me." Elan, knowing where she was going, quickly answered. "Suletta Mercury...I'd like to learn more about you.
The Witch Trial
With the arrival of Shin Sei's representative, Prospera Mercury. The witch trial would finally begin. Top members of the Benerit Group were present for the trial.
"We will now begin the inquiry." Delling Rembran announced to those present. "Lady Prospera, representative of the Shin Sei Development Corporation. Are you a witch?
"No." Prospera answered.
"Do you have ties to the Vanadis Institute?" Delling asked.
"No." She answered again.
"Then how did you build a Gundam?" Delling finally asked.
"The Aerial is not a Gundam." Prospera stated. "It's a product of Sgin Sei's newly developed drone technology."
"Shaddiq." Sarius commanded.
"Yes, Father." Shaddiq, knowing what to do, tapped on his monitor. "During the duel, that machine's Permet influx values exceeded the standards. This is a unique characteristic of the GUND Format, the core system of all Gundams.
"If that machine is equipped with the GUND Format you should have also detected a data storm." Prospera argued. "Well?"
"There was none detected." Shaddiq acknowledged.
"Its control system is based on a conventional Permet link." Prospera explained. "I'm confident that it complies with all of the group's technology provisions."
"That alone doesn't prove it isn't a Gundam." Golneri argued.
"You can't prove that it is either." Prospera debated back.
"Lady Prospera..." Sarius began to speak. "You are merely using the lack of evidence as an excuse. Are you trying to tell us that black is white?"
"We're one of the smallest, but still a member of the Benerit Group." Prospera explains. "We are, of course, aware of the Cathedra Agreement. I ask for your trust."
"I can't help doubting when you come dressed like that." Vim Jeturk mentions her appearance.
Prospera would take the comment personally and would take her vest off before revealing her right arm to be a prosthetic. She would detach her prosthetic arm and toss it to Vim who promptly caught it.
"This arm. As well as the face behind this mask, were both claimed by Mercury's magnetic field." Prospera began to speak. "Environmental conditions on Mercury are severe. However, utilizing our drone technology, we'll be able to mine for Permet without putting anyone in danger." She continued. "Please allow us to continue the Aerial's development. We are in ned of the group's support."
"No. That thing is a Gundam." Delling decided.
"Why is that?" Prospera asked.
"Because I said so." Delling answered. "Any objections?"
The room remained silent
"Then it's settled." Delling announced. "The mobile suit shall be disposed of. We'll get rid of the student pilot."
Before he could leave however, the meeting would be interrupted by someone entering the court. That someone being Miorine Rembran.
"What are you doing here? Miorine..." Delling asked unimpressed.
"I came to give you a piece of my mind." Miorine replied. "If you made these rules yourself, you shouldn't change them after the fact! You hypocritical loser of a father!"
"The only people permitted to stand in this room are the powers-that-be from the top companies of the Benerit Group." Delling explained. "But you are different. You are merely a student with no authority to speak of."
"It's always the same with you." Miorine stated irritatingly. "You look down and control my life without asking or explaining."
"Neither consultation nor explanation are necessary." Delling asserted. "I decide. You obey. Did you think you could speak out against me because you're my daughter?"
"What's your problem?" Miorine argued "You're a king?"
"That's right." Delling promptly answered, causing Miorine to squeeze her fist. "I am vested in power. You have none. The powerless shut their mouths and obey. Those are the rules of our world."
A security guard approaches Miorine and grabs her by the arm. "If you move forward, you gain two..." Miorine whispered to herself before looking back at Delling with determination. "In that case, I challenge you to a duel! If we win, you'll accept Suletta as my fiance. If we lose, you can do as you please!"
"Were you unable to comprehend my words?" Delling asked.
"I'm saying that I'll fight according to your rules!" Miorine declared. "At least take responsibility for your own decisions! You're an adult, aren't you?"
"May I speak?" Vim raised his hand. "Even if was accidentally, that machine defeated our company's Dilanza. Perhaps we should give it time to see what it can do."
"What do you mean?" Delling asked.
"Recently, mobile suits from other companies have made market gains." Vim tries to make a compelling argument. "That machine could be the key to recovering our market share.
I believe the school duels will be an effective test of the Aerial's abilities." Prospera added.
"And will you provide us with the machine's technical data?" Golneri asked.
"Of course." Prospera answered happily.
"Hold it right there!" Sarius objects. "Do you intend to violate the Cathedra Agreement?"
The entire court would then become rowdy as many spoke their mind and argued against the development. Of course the course of events still remained under Delling's decision.
Suletta
Suletta was now alone once more in her room. This time the object of her curiosity being the empty meal pack. And just as before, she would be interrupted by the opening of the door. This time however, it was Miorine who came to greet her.
"What are you..." Suletta tried to ask but like always, would be interrupted.
"Let's do it. The duel..." Miorine began to speak
"Huh?" Suletta asked.
"If you lose, Aerial will be scrapped! And you'll be expelled!" Miorine explained before dropping the bomb. "You have to win." That declaration would cause Suletta to panic and her mind short circuit.