"Well, we're probably getting ahead of ourselves. I mean... with the way things are, three Gundams should be enough to handle intervention operations," said Sumeragi.
"Perhaps but it would be best to determine how we should resolve the situation of getting a pilot for the GRM Gundam in the event that we need to deploy it quickly."
"You can't pilot it, Tieria?" asked Lockon in a puzzled tone. After all, the GRM worked similarly to the Seravee in that both units wielded big beam rifles and served as heavy assault units.
The hologram turned to address the Irish Gundam Meister. "As I mentioned earlier, I require a different interface in order to properly operate a Gundam in my condition. Considering how far along we are in completing the cockpit modifications for Seraphim, there's no point in doing the same for the GRM Gundam."
"I wouldn't mind piloting a mobile suit normally," stated Lasse from his seat. "But I'm the only one who's qualified to operate the helm so I gotta stay here."
That was when an idea came to Mileina. "How about Ms. Marie? She can probably kick a lot more butt with that mobile suit instead of having to use the GN Archer!"
"I..." All attention was directed towards the white haired young woman as mixed feelings started rising to the surface. It had been difficult for the Soma Peries personality to get used to being with the organization that created Gundam, which had claimed the lives of many loyal HRL soldiers. And now she was being considered to pilot a Gundam?
"Marie?" This time, it was Allelujah's turn to help keep her calm as he tightened his grip on her hand slightly.
"...... I don't think I'm suited for that type of unit. If I have to get deployed, I would rather stick with the GN Archer." It was the only reasonable compromise she could make with the other personality that slept within her.
"Eh...? You don't want to pilot the GRM Gundam?" Mileina was about to continue when Allelujah cut her off.
"Mileina, please drop it."
"...... okay. Sorry about that," said the CIC operator with genuine remorse in her tone for bringing up the subject.
"Wait a second. Setsuna, didn't you say you may have a solution for this?" asked Feldt as she recalled what he had said earlier.
The blue clad Meister nodded. "I would like to nominate Rai as a potential Meister candidate for the GRM Gundam. He has the proper mindset to fight as a Gundam Meister. While he lacks technical knowledge, that is something that can be easily acquired with time."
As expected, this caused quite the uproar. "Setsuna, with all due respect... nominating someone you just met to be a Meister is not only out of the blue but impractical! Training to pilot a Gundam isn't like learning to ride a bike! Plus I don't like just picking up bystanders and throwing them straight into-"
"Technically he did that with me," said Lockon as he interrupted Sumeragi's tirade. "I picked up piloting at a decent rate. We could at least test him to see how he does."
"But Lockon, you had power loader experience. This guy's only experiences come from..." Allelujah paused as he tried to recall Setsuna's words earlier. "... piloting Knightmare Frames in alternate lives. Or something."
"We do have another spare Meister to consider," added the hologram.
"You said it yourself, Tieria. That Eco guy never really fit well with heavy assault types. I say let's give it a shot. That is with the captain's permission of course..."
The moment Lockon finished that last bit, all eyes turned to Sumeragi who merely sighed in irritation. "You're really serious about this, Setsuna? Allowing an outsider to pilot a Gundam."
"I saw the life he lived and his strong desire to forge a new path for himself with Gundam," stated Setsuna in a simple tone. "That's proof enough for me that he is worthy to be a Meister."
Sumeragi gave a small chuckle. "Why am I not surprised? In that case, he'll be your responsibility. Got it? As for that experiment that you want to run..." She glanced at the digital clock display on the main monitor. "... let's start at 1900 hours."
"Roger that."
It was approximately 7 PM when Rai entered the designated area where the experiment was to take place. There were two separate chambers, one consisting of a control booth with instruments to take reading and the other one a simply empty room with a table and two chairs. There was a window available to observe the inhabitants of the second room in front of the control booth. The four Gundam Meisters along with Sumeragi were gathered in the control booth with Setsuna getting some wired white wrappings to attach to his forehead and his bared arms. "Okay... we have everything set up here to monitor your brainwaves and your heart rate. The other room is soundproof so whatever Geass that Rai uses will only be heard by you," said Tieria after he made his adjustments.
"Thank you. Rai, let's go."
He managed a half-hearted grunt before following the other Meister into the other room. As the door closed shut, the two of them took a seat at the table. "I didn't really think up a good test command yet. Been busy thinking about stuff..."
"Hm?"
"About the past year in this world. Haro's been able to gather up a lot of news stories while Alice filled in some details from what she knew," said the grey haired youth. "The whole SAZ massacre... it really happened. Even though it seriously looked like that both Britannia and the Black Knights would be able to make it work, someone threw a monkey wrench into things..."
"The alternate memories where you were a Britannian soldier showed a similar situation. There is no doubt that there was foul play involved, most likely involving Geass. This is why we're doing this experiment in the first place, remember?" There was a quiet pause as Setsuna's red eyes focused on the other male. "Believe in us and in Gundam's power to stop Geass..."
"I got it, Setsuna. And thanks to you... I think I figured out a command that should work for this experiment." The glowing, bird shaped symbol flared on Rai's forehead as he activated his Geass power. "Setsuna F. Seiei, I command you to believe in God!"
One second later, all hell broke loose.
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(Posted Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:27)
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