Prologue: 2305 AD

[FrostyFoster 450]

“Is now really the time?” An older man floated through a bright hallway, holding onto a silver briefcase with one hand, while grasping the lever pulling him forward with the other. “I don’t want you making a scene while I show off my creation.” As the crewman with the most amount of experience, he understood how important the Gundam Meisters would be, hoping that the captain of their ship would give a good impression of herself. Also, this new piece of equipment for their new pilot would give him more control over himself and his mobile suit. He knew it wouldn't be wise for the forecaster to piss him off.

“Relax Ian. It calms my nerves.” Behind him was Sumeragi Lee Noriega, drinking out of a tiny Sake can as she rode with the Ptolemaios’ engineer toward their destination. What she didn't let the engineer know was that it wasn't her first as she drank more, thinking about their new Meister. “Plus, I’ve already met him before.” It had been a few months since she’d first talked in person with the man previously known as Alistair Judge. Currently, the finishing touches were being made on the Meister’s new appearance in the medical bay.

“I can’t believe he’ll be the easy one…”

The tactical forecaster had little information on the remaining two Meisters chosen for their grand operation, both of which would be arriving soon. One had most of their biography redacted, while the other had little data to begin with. Sumeragi hadn’t expected Veda to go this route, especially when she learned who the Dynames’ pilot was going to be. She wondered if two years would even be enough for the group to connect well, considering the people chosen.

Nevertheless, she continued with Ian through the corridors of likely the most sophisticated ship ever created, eventually stopping to the medical bay, or rather their makeshift salon. With their crew as small as they were, the forecaster worked with what she had. As the door slid open, Sumeragi was shocked at what she say. Their resident doctor, Joyce, shrugged to the forecaster, watching as the queen of fashion made her finishing touches on the white hair in front of her.

“Annnnnd done!” Christina, Celestial Being’s new programmer, grinned as she clasped her hands together. The chair was spun around toward the two new guests, with Chris handing the Meister a small mirror. The Ptolemaios’ captain was prepared for a change, but was still caught off-guard, especially by the pure white hair. “What do you think?.. uh…” At that moment, she realized he still hadn’t told her his codename, taking another swig of her sake. “That's right, I forgot. So what’s your new name going to be?” Ian cringed slightly, placing the palm of his hand on his face.

“Off to a good start…” He muttered.

[Judge 221]

The man scowled as he looked into the mirror, despite his approval of his now snow-white hair. He reached for sun glasses on the table in front of him and pressed them onto his face, covering the one part of him they couldn’t fully fix.

“Yeah. It’ll do,” he said coolly, standing up and adjusting his tight-fitting clothes. He turned his attention to the newly arrived Sumeragi and Ian Vashti as the corner of his mouth twitched. “Albus. Just Albus. It means white—like snow, or ash. Figured it’d be fitting,” The man had only been on the Ptolemaios for a few hours but they had decided that was more than enough time to put on the ‘finishing touches’ of the new man he was to become. The bulk of his rehabilitation had taken place in a much less friendly environment. He had spent weeks in some sort of secret medical facility where they measured, cut, and folded him into Albus, a Gundam Meister. Wherever that place was, Alistair Judge had been left behind there.

Albus stepped towards the new arrivals, stopping at an uncomfortably close distance to Ian Vashti. He looked down on the man and indicated with his hand the briefcase the crewman was holding. “I take it that’s for me, old man?” he shot him a knowing smirk and then turned to look at Sumeragi. “Those other guys here yet? I’m getting a little tired of waiting,”

 

[Roromi 415]

The shuttle docked on the Ptolemaios like clockwork. Edmund didn’t flinch, didn’t move from his stoic position in his seat. With arms crossed the Meister slowly reached down to undo his harness. He was still getting used to his custom helmet. “If this is what they call destiny….” He mused as he stopped right next to the exit of the shuttle, his hand hovering over the button to exit the vehicle. He let out a sigh before pressing the button and entering the bigger ship. 

It didn’t take Edmund long to find a room with a  large portion of the crew. He paused by the doorway watching them fuss over the other white haired fellow. Prosthetics? Edmund mused as he watched. It was then he caught his breath as she came into view. The brown haired woman looked familiar, but how? Edmund was already shaking the alarm out of his head as he kicked off the doorframe to fully enter the room. “Allow me to introduce myself.” His voice was loud and rattled with an echo from from his helmet. “My name is Edmund Spectre, I’m one of the Gundam Meisters chosen by Veda.” Edmund stood a few feet way from his crewmates, his arms crossed casually in front of his chest. Most intimidating of all was his white helmet with mono eye studying his teammates closely. 

[Rai Nemerič]

A body floated inside the chamber that served as a personal terminal, a bridge through which those who inhabited the mortal world interfaced with the all-seeing eye. No words could be heard, only the incessant humming of the hardware behind the globe of screens that engulfed the floating person. Nothing out of the ordinary for Rai, after all, they spent so much time inside the pod that Sumeragi argued whether the Meister used bathrooms and bedrooms at all. The Pod’s screens were filled with all the information about GN-004 that was available to Rai, along with a window where a simulated Virtue fended off waves of increasingly complex machines from the three major power blocs of Earth. The simulation stopped as the GN Bazooka’s output tore through an entire squadron of hopeless Anfs.

Veda was notified of a chain of events that would result in multiple POIs (Person of Interest) converging on the medical bay, along with tactical forecaster Sumeragi and engineer Vashti. Omoshiroi. As Rai’s interest was piqued by the presence of who could be their new teammates, the humming became slightly more intense, and all the windows were temporarily archived. A partial override of Ptolemaios’ security system replaced them, all the while Rai gained control of the cameras inside the medbay. In a matter of seconds, said cameras were now their eyesight. It was as if they were floating inside the room, over Vashti, Sumeragi, and an unknown mug.

Facial recognition: no results. Missing manipulator. Rai studied the man who had been going under the knife for a while now. Eavesdropping on his conversation with the forecaster, the engineer and the surgeon, they updated the subject’s file as the possible Meister spoke the word Albus. New data. Veda shows immediate validation response to the alias Albus. Identity confirmed: GN-001, Exia. As Rai confirmed the identity of one of their new teammates, another of the POIs dropped by. This one’s file was more readily available, as the subject’s face could not be subjected to facial recognition, but his helmet was a very distinctive piece. Code name: Edmund Spectre. I-6 authorization renewed two hours ago. Identity confirmed: GN-003, Kyrios. Nice to know you two.

The person inside the pod felt as if massive loads were starting to fall off their back, but weren’t quite missing yet. The fact that Veda had left them in the dark about much of the data on the rest of the Gundam Meisters put them in a state of unease. If anybody should know more about them, than them about myself, it should be me. As one of the cameras inside the medbay made direct contact with Spectre’s own, as if staring through the helmet upon the man behind the mask, it dawned upon Rai that he knew not yet who was going to pilot Dynames. Come out, wherever you are...

[FrostyFoster 450]

Ian pulled up the metal briefcase on the table near the newly named Meister, beaming with joy. “It sure is!” The engineer unclamped the case to reveal a shiny red hand encased in black foam. “Now this prosthetic is something special. It’s been specifically designed just for you and the Exia.” Sumeragi gave a stern look at Ian, then turned to Albus. “That’s the name of your mobile suit. I was going to tell him later, but someone is a little too excited.” Ignoring the forecaster, Ian grasped the Meister’s right forearm.

“Sorry. This’ll probably hurt.”

Jamming the cybernetic onto the nub, dozens of tiny syringes stuck themselves underneath the skin. The chromatic red glistened inside the medical room, now planted in its permanent home. “It’ll feel tingly over the next few days, but you’ll get used to it.” Sumeragi glanced at the high tech hand, knowing the Meister was now ready for their mobile suit. “Looking nice, Albus. Nice name too, even if it’s just a single name.” 

“I gave him tons of better suggestions, but he REALLY wanted to use that one for some reason.” An annoyed Christina whispered to the doctor, who in turn became annoyed by the statement. Joyce could care less about his new crewmate’s names, but he silently nodded. It was better to make friends than enemies on the ship, after all. Meanwhile, the captain was concerned about the new Meister. While understanding that he needed to change in order to benefit himself, she wondered if they went too far…

“Allow me to introduce myself.” 

Somewhat jumping in place, Sumeragi almost lifted herself of the floor. The booming voice sounded quite strange and peculiar to her as she turned to the masked man introducing himself. His helmet only had one place to look, an orange monoeye, with the forecaster fixating on it. “Oh… Well it’s nice to finally meet you, Edmund.”

“What is up with our Meisters?”

The medical room had started to become crowded with all the new arrivals, so the woman in charge had to make a decision. “Looks like we need to find a new spot. Can you two follow Christina to our meeting room? Ian and I have to go grab the remaining Meisters.” The Celestial Being programmer motioned her hand out to the new recruits while she went through the door, with each member leaving the room uninhabited.

Sumeragi and Ian, now away from the main group, eventually split between two hallways. “Can’t believe it’s already time…” The engineer muttered, heading in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, the captain had to get their last pilot from what seemed to be where he lived most of the time. The forecaster had brief meetings with the Virtue’s pilot, Rai Nemerič, but she still barely knew anything about him. She stopped at one of the doors, much larger than most in the Ptolemaios. “Veda.” She knocked on the door a few times, not willing to go directly inside. “Rai! I need you to come to the conference room with me. Our mission. Our goal. It’s finally beginning…”

…

The ship’s conference room was easily big enough to fit every crew member, but there were still a few who were going to be late to the “party”. A few of the teammates began to talk amongst themselves, with two heading toward the masked Meister. The one with short black hair scratched his check as he surveyed the man’s helmet. “Heh.” He chuckled. “So you’re one of our Meisters, eh? I’m Lasse, pilot of the ship and pilot of your mobile suit if you die, but that’d put a damper on this whole operation, wouldn’t it?” 

His companion stayed silent, causing Lasse to notice the crew member staring of at Albus. “Lichty?” He exclaimed. The Ptolemaios’ co-pilot gazed at the Meister’s new appendage, almost as if something was wrong with it. Nevertheless, he brought himself back into reality once Lasse said his name a second time. “Oh, sorry.”

A taller man with brown hair also watched the Exia’s new pilot. With no one around them, the crewmate made first contact, adjusting his black turtleneck as he stood in front of the tanned Meister. “So that’s what Ian’s been working on.” He pointed to the hand, then moved his finger toward the white hair. “And I’m assuming that’s what Chris worked on.” He smiled, then held out his hand. “I’m Multi. It’s nice to meet you.”

[Judge 221]

Exia, huh?

“What th-Ow!” Albus winced and started to pull back his arm as the pain hit him, but when he saw the prosthetic hand attaching itself to him, he quickly thought better of it. “Shit, man. A little more warning next time,” he said, rubbing the exposed bit of forearm where the prosthesis met his skin. He scowled at Ian until Christina’s whispering—loud enough for him to hear given their proximity—caught his attention. He turned to her and put his hands on his hip, taking a second to glance down quickly at his new appendage.

“All of your suggestions were ridiculous,” he said dismissively. He turned to Sumeragi and shrugged. “She wanted to call me something stupid like ‘Rockon Stratosphere’. I thought Albus was a little more refined,”

The conversation about codenames was cut short by the arrival of a robot. Albus’s whole body ran cold as he saw the being appear in the doorway, introducing itself as Edmund Spectre, one of the new Meisters just like him. Albus narrowed his eyes behind his glasses. Was this guy some kind of cosplayer? He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something about the strange robot man simultaneously irked him and filled him with dread. He stared into the glowing orange mono-eye and frowned but he found he couldn’t say a word.

Sumeragi hurried them along to a more appropriate congregating place. Following Christina, Albus found himself cruising down a hallway with Edmund. He couldn’t stop side-eyeing his new comrade and was on the cusp of finally saying something when at last they had arrived at the conference room. People mingled about, but two in particular broke off from the crowd and introduced themselves.

Lasse…and…

Multi had introduced himself to Albus directly, commenting on his new hand and his new hair. Albus frowned but met the man’s hand with his own. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but he swore he could almost feel Multi’s hand with his own. It didn’t feel as if he was shaking his hand with his own flesh and blood appendage but…

He pushed the thought aside and looked at Multi square in the eyes.

“Albus. What do you do around here?”

[FrostyFoster 450]

(Collab with everyone!)

Edmund smirked at Lasse’s quip about dying and taking over his job. It dawned on the soldier that the mask proved counter intuitive since Lasse didn’t pick up on his non verbal ques. Edmund sighed but resigned himself to stay focused on the bigger picture. It was amusing how easily people were willing to accept his disguise if for no better reason than dropping Veda’s name. As the entourage entered the conference room, Edmund followed behind Albus like a shadow. He took note of all the things everyone was saying, specifically names. Edmund found a perch along the wall to lean against with his arms crossed over his chest. Tilting his head he looked over at Multi, curious as well what they did on the ship.

“A little bit of this, a little bit of that.” Multi responded to the white haired Meister while shrugging. “I’m a Jack of all trades. Tactics, mechanics, whatever’s needed of me.” He chuckled slightly at Albus. “Though it’d be cool to be a Gundam Meister. Guess they decided that wasn’t my forte.” Multi assumed the masked man was also a Meister, wondering why one of their crew mates would have their identity hidden.

Lichty was even more curious about Edmund, leaving Lasse with the others. He walked over the leaning Meister, hoping to get a couple clues. “So...” He started, shifting in place. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s up with your mask? Does it give you information directly or something?

"Right...that why they call you Multi, then?" Albus said, trying to size the man up while keeping Edmund in the corner of his vision. "Being a pilot isn't all fun and games, you know? People get hurt out there. You should probably consider yourself lucky that they stuck you inside here, otherwise you might end up..." he let his words trail off, his hand curling into a fist. "Whatever. Where are these other Gundam Meisters I keep hearing about, anyway?"

Tilting his head, Edmund looked over at Lichty. “It’s all apart of the plan kid. Consider this mask insurance. If no one knows what I look like then it becomes an asset we can use down the road.” Edmund smiled under his mask and shifted his gaze to look away, knowing that would translate better. The logic was simple, if there was any traitors or if they were all compromised then his identity could be their trump card. 

Edmund perked at Albus’ remark and responded, “what’s the matter Albus? Afraid it’ll just be the two of us?” The masked man regretted the comment as soon as he said it, he meant it more as a just but with the filter on his mask made it sounded more daring than he had intended. As much as he regretted his own snark he was curious what his fellow pilot would say to that.

“Sorry, sorry. You’re right.” Multi held out his hands, backing off. The crewman also wondered where the two were. “Well, the one guy really keeps to himself, but he’ll probably be here soon. As for the other guy... he must be on the ship somewhere, but I know nothing about him.”

The co-pilot of the ship was in awe looking at the mask. “I wish I had one.” Lichty watched as the Meister headed to the other one, noticing the tone of his altered voice as he spoke. “So cool...”

“You Meisters are the talk of the town, after all.” Christina broke off her conversation with the doctor to join the bigger group. “Multi’s probably just really jealous.” Her look became perplexed as she thought of the remaining Meister. “Although it’ll be cool to see the others.”

Albus turned to face the other Meister as he approached and frowned at his words. "The only thing I'm afraid of is whatever horrifying mug you're hiding underneath that weird mask of yours," Albus winced inwardly. His choice of words had been an unfortunate one, because he was afraid of what was under that mask, but he didn't know why. "Look man, I'm sure you're perfectly capable in a mobile suit, but I have a hard time trusting someone who won't show his face. So why not crack that thing open and give us all a peek," he stepped towards Edmund and puffed out his chest ever so slightly. "Or are you afraid?"

"Oooooooh. I wanna see who's under there!" Christina smirked, taking a closer look. "Could be a real cutie under there!"

If Edmund was uncomfortable or on guard his body didn’t show it. Even as Albus rattled on and puffed out his chest, Edmund let out a chuckle which sounded more like rattled laughter with his mask. “Nothing left to be afraid of…” he quipped back softly. “I think we have bigger concerns than mere appearances wouldn’t you agree? Even if I did show you who I was, you still wouldn’t know my name the same as me not knowing yours. ‘What is a rose?’” Edmund trailed off not completing the whole phrase before adding, “After all, you made your bed with secrets and shadows. We have no choice but to trust each other now. Am I right?” 

Edmund extended his hand in a gesture of friendship and hoped the man would take the offer. In a way he was glad to see the other Miester not being a push over but still. “To change the world?” He added as an explanation for his outstretched hand.

Who the hell is this guy?

“Suit yourself, tin man,” Albus scrutinized the offered hand before him and begrudgingly shook it with his own. “To change the world…just don’t expect me to pick up your slack, got it?”

Albus took his hand back and folded his arms across the chest. He looked over at Multi, Lasse, and Christina and frowned. “That goes for the rest of you, too. This whole team seems to be made up of weirdos and misfits, but with the funding you guys have I have to assume it’s for reason. I expect you all to be the best of the best.”

...

By the time Sumeragi could pound on the Pod's door, the humming was already in decline. Knowing she couldn't possibly be looking for anyone else, Rai started to disconnect from Veda right as she lifted her hand, their mind ceasing to be one with the computer again. On a timely manner, right as the Meister's eyes opened, they heard the forecaster calling them to the conference room.
Can't ever have things my way, can I. Irritated, Rai waited a few seconds before opening the door, the white lights of the Ptolemaios blinding them. Behind their back, the humming ceased, and the screens turned black. "Let's see what this is about."
While seeing Rai was a rare occurrence for the forecaster, she hoped that would be changing over time. “The four Meisters. All here at once.” She thought while waiting. Sumeragi knew the four needed to have a good connection and the best way would be to have Virtue’s pilot actually meet the others. 
In person. 
“Rai! It’s good to see you.” She smiled. “I’d like you to come to the conference room with me. I’m gathering the whole crew there.” The captain wondered if maybe she could grab a few beers to bring with her, but it seemed too urgent, due to their other Meister and how they might react.
The Meister felt uncomfortable leaving the Pod. More than a question of safety, it was all about Veda, the one entity that understood Rai, and lent them their powers. It was intoxicating, to say the least. When they merged, the world seemed to go in slow motion. In comparison, living in the same time as everyone else dragged them down. However, they tried to work with Sumeragi for once, even if they could not quite mask their disdain for the physical world.

"Walking down this aisle, taking me to the conference room, it is but a formality. You are aware of this. Yet you insist on this arrangement. Something tells me you like some things done the old-fashioned way."

"Heh. Guilty!" The forecaster had to get used to Rai's particular way of speech. It fit the Meister's looks perfectly, but she was still attempting to get a read on them. "Sometimes the old-fashioned way is the best way. These guys will be her teammates, after all." She thought about the crew that had been recruited. Over time, more and more have joined then, each with differing personalities that sometimes kept her entertained. "Who knows. They might have to save your ass someday." Shugging as she said this, she meant it as a slight joke, but realized the Meister might take it a certain way.

Surprisingly, the Meister took it in stride. "Hah! That's a good one." Rai acquired a smug grin, before continuing. "I can do with a few people doubting my abilities. But I surely hope you'll place a little more confidence in your own plans. Considering your role, I'll draw the line at self-deprecating humor, at least if you're the one spouting it out." Walking alongside Sumeragi, Rai kept thinking.

Or perhaps she wants to see my face when the pilot of Dynames appears.

“I hope that everything works out.” Sumeragi had a concerned look as she pushed toward another hallway with the Meister. “We have all this time to plan, but will it be enough. Eradication of war is a big task.” She shook her head, hoping to remove those thoughts. “But enough about that. Rai, I don’t even know anything about you. I know there’s confidentiality, but you almost never leave that terminal.”

The Meister found some comfort in her words. It meant they were doing their job well. "It shouldn't worry you. My course of action will be at times beyond the understanding of some, but rest assured, my sole interest is to see Aeolia Schenberg's vision materialize." Taking their glasses off for a moment to clean them with a wipe, their voice adopted a different tone. "If a trivial fact will make you feel safer, here's one. I like gouda."

I hope she won't open the door to Red Hand and Buckethead socking each other in the face.

When the two finally arrived, almost the entire crew was there. “Looks like Ian is taking his sweet time.” Interrupting their charade, the captain walked in, noticing a few perplexed looks. ”I wonder how many of the crew HAVE actually met Rai.” Hoping that the team got to know each other a little better in her absence, she threw another person in the mix. “Everyone!” She called out. “This is Rai Nemeric, Gundam Meister.”

Edmund kept an iron clad grip on the other pilot’s hand. He squeezed it slightly as the man threw the lazy insult around at the crew. Albus may not see his glare but the steely gaze of the mask never left the other Meister. Edmund could handle being the butt of jokes but he wasn’t a fan of insulting fellow teammates. Any rebuke was cut short as Sumeragi entered the room with another pilot, another Meister.

Letting go the hand of Albus, Edmund stood up a little straighter and fought the urge to salute like he had in the military. Instead he nodded his head at the newcomer in acknowledgement. “I’m Edmund Spectre.” He announced somewhat awkwardly in an attempt to move the conversation away from before. Moving away from Albus, he came up to offer his hand to Rai. Despite himself, Edmund couldn’t help but get a closer look at Sumeragi, an action largely unnoticed thanks to his helmet.

Rai kept their smile on and put on their now spotless glasses, freeing their hand in order to shake Edmund's. Their expression conveyed a feeling words could not quite express. "I know. You're in charge of Kyrios. And that over there is Albus, Exia's pilot." Perhaps, they were a little too full of themselves to save them the introductions, but nothing in their tone indicated aggression. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Albus turned his head as Sumeragi returned with another person in tow. Their name was Rai, and according to Sumeragi they were another Meister. When the newly arrived pilot entered, they were quick to point out that they already knew who he and Edmund were. 

Seems like someone is a little more in the know than tin man or me

"Tch, saved me the trouble I guess. Which one do you pilot? And when do I get to see mine?"

Rai lifted an eyebrow in response to Albus' question. "You haven't even seen your Mobile Suit? Off to a great start, Sumeragi." Taking their hand back from Edmund, Rai tried their best not to grin again. Gotta save some snark.

Sumeragi huffed. “We’re getting to that, Rai. I thought it’d be-“ Her conversation was interjected by the presence of two more crew members. The meeting should to a halt as many looked at the person standing next to Ian, placing his shoulder on the Gundam Meister. A twelve year old girl with jet black hair, already wearing a pilot’s uniform, remained silent as murmurs and whispers began to surround the conference room. “She’s just a kid. A little kid…” Christina whispered into Multi’s ear. Lasse scowled while Lichty looked concerned, gossiping about the child. Joyce stood alone as he glanced at Ian, knowing much more about her than anyone in the room.

“Feldt! It’s good to finally see you!” Sumeragi clasped her hands together, hoping to not worry the Meister she knew very little about. Feldt didn’t respond, only moving once Ian moved through the doorway. Realizing the awkwardness, the forecaster spoke up once again. “Everyone! This is the pilot of the Dynames, Feldt Grace.”

[Judge 221]

Albus turned to face the newly arrived Meister but when he saw her, his permanent frown turned into a look of open anger. He could hear the whispers and murmurs of the others in the room but when it became clear no one was going to say anything, he knew he had to.

“Is this some kind of sick joke?” he growled, clenching his fist. “This so-called pilot of yours is a goddamn child.”

He looked at Feldt, who had remained silent and then flicked his damning gaze over to Sumeragi. Intense and conflicting emotions swirled around inside Albus. Child soldiers…he had encountered them on the battlefield before. The thought of forcing children to fight in battles they didn’t start chilled him to his very core, but at the same time he wanted to believe that, somehow, this was what was necessary to achieve the promised peace that had brought everyone on this ship together.

A scene flashed before him—a memory of a battlefield in a country he could barely remember the name of.  A deluge of rain had turned the dirt underfoot into ensnaring mud and made visibility a nightmare. The footsteps of his Realdo were drowned out by the crashing of raindrops when all of a sudden a muzzle flash in his periphery alerted him to the whereabouts of his enemy. A hail of mostly useless bullets connected with the mobile suit, followed closely by the much more dangerous ordinance fired from an RPG. Albus…or rather the man Albus used to be, turned his suit on the enemy and returned fired without a second though. It was be or be killed, he had been told and they enemy had no chance. The linear rifle tore through the trees and left only carnage in its wake. He had been relieved at first, even a little proud with himself.  It wasn’t until he zoomed in on the aftermath, the small, severed hands and feet that had been left behind, that he realized with horror what exactly he had done.

Albus blinked back to reality. “What…what the hell were you thinking?”

[Roromi 415]

Albus’ reaction wasn’t far from the gut reaction Edmund was feeling. Edmund’s nature was to keep a level head when other’s overreacted however, and he took a moment to consider the situation. “She won’t be a kid when we finally start… will she?” His tinny voice mused aloud. He was by no means a fan of child soldiers but he knew better than to assume that this girl couldn’t handle herself. The truth was a child soldier with a gun was just as capable as shooting another person as anyone else. If anything, if it took them years to train and prepare, then this girl was leagues ahead of them all; she was a clean slate. 

Edmund slowly crossed his arms as he considered the entire idea behind the tasks they would be undertaking. Everything had to be perfect, consistently. They would literally be taking on the world and then some, so they had to be precise in the plan. “I don’t like the idea of a child training with us either… but its no different than a junior cadet program back home. It’s not like we’re going to be facing combat immediately am I right?” He tilted his head to look specifically at Sumeragi. In the end the future belongs to the youth… he lamented silently, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t try and mold it themselves.

[Rai Nemerič]

Rai was, perhaps, the only one who was supportive about the decision to put Dynames in the hands of a teenage girl. Damn. She looks like she got so far and tried so hard, and in the end, it didn’t even matter. However… Their thoughts turned into words to defend Feldt.

- “Veda chose her. The new Meister might look like somebody who cries herself to sleep to the tune of L’Arc-En-Ciel every night, but I assume its directive was to find the four best people for the job of handling our specific Mobile Suits. At least, I hope that’s what Veda was going for when it picked all three of you, out of thousands upon thousands of candidates.”

Rai’s reasoning was sound: To doubt Veda would be to doubt the very machine that gave them an opportunity to change the world, and, in a way, themselves.

Edited January 22, 2021 by Replicator

[FrostyFoster 450]

Sumeragi knew that Albus and Edmund were right. An organization like this should be above using children. “It wasn’t my decision. She’s been with Celestial Being her entire life.” She uttered, but then paused. Their armed interventions were supposed to begin in a few years, but Feldt would still be younger. Wondering her true backstory, she only knew the basic synopsis of the Meister and assumed members prior to her admittance knew more, albeit sworn from telling any others.  

Feldt continued her silence as she walked to the three pilots. She stared at each of them closely, only speaking up once the murmurs had died down. “Meisters…” She stated while looking from Albus to Edmund, then Rai. “Teammates…” The pilot turned towards the captain. “Gundam…” Sumeragi took this strange behavior and worked with it, directing everyone to the massive screen covering the wall. “That’s right! The Gundams!”

Four vastly different mobile suits, only similar in their unpainted white color scheme, were displayed across the screen. GN-001 flashed and enlarged the first mobile suit, showing an array of weapons and data from the unit. “Gundam Exia. Piloted by Albus.” Sumeragi exclaimed while motioning her hand toward the white-haired man. “This is our close quarte-ah!” Ian jumped in front of her, pointing at the sword held by the machine. “That right there is the GN sword, fine-tuned specifically for your new hand. Every slash, every movement will be accurately replicated on the Exia, giving you much more precision in every strike.”

Moving him aside, Sumeragi continued with her presentation. “Now the Dynames is our long range mobile suit. As I said before, Feldt will be piloting that. The Meister didn’t even blink as pistols and missiles appeared the rotated on the screen. “The third one is the Kyrios, a fully transformable mobile suit. There’ll be no need to return to base for parts swapping, Edmund.” A bulky machine was displayed last, finishing off the Gundam quartet. “And Rai’s heavy artillery mobile suit, the Virtue. More data flew up and down around the pictures of each machine, almost giving crew members like Lichty a headache while the forecaster cleared her throat.

“These mobile suits are light years ahead of what any of the world powers have. You four, along with everyone else in this room, will be working to prepare for when the time is right. Every decision we make from now on will dictate the entire future of the human race. So, if we work together and follow orders, we WILL succeed.” Sumeragi folded her arms as she observed the small group. Feeling the same as Rai, she hoped Veda was right on picking these crewmembers, along with herself. 

“Celestial Being. It’s time to begin.”