Chapter 2 of the novel is here, giving us some much needed character development to a character the manga hardly used and offering some interesting backstory for a character brought to life only in the novel. We hope you enjoy the next chapter of Elysia's side of the story of École du Ciel.
Side note, This takes place in between chapters 1 and 2 of the manga, so read this first before continuing the manga.
Current reading order for this series is
Special chapter
Manga chapter 1
Novel chapter 1
Novel chapter 2 (this one)
Chapter 2houghhhhhhhh hehhhhhhhhh, houghhhhhhhh hehhhhhhhhh, houghhhhhhhh hehhhhhhhhh...
Kelly Signet could hear the sounds of his own breathing echoing throughout his helmet, which was air tight, meaning there was no way any sound could possibly escape. The moist sounds of someone breathing heavily or the sound of dry lips, the swallowing of saliva, of chapped lips rubbing against each other, it all bounced back into his ears.
"Is this kind of pressure even possible"
He muttered in a voice that seemed to get stuck in his throat and stumble its way out of his mouth. When he looked up he saw a fake starry sky stretching all he way up, all the way down, all the way to the left and all the way to the left. Beyond what was obscured by his light wavy hair he could see the backs of hands, which were encased in the tight yet bag-like gloves of his space suit.
"What do you mean this is a normal suit? Moving with it is so hard that it's anything but normal."
He said, referring to the equipment by its technical name. He repeatedly squeezed and let go of the control grips, eliciting a wet squelching noise inside his suit every time his sweaty palms in the cloth bag-like material that made up the interior of his normal suit's gloves squeezed the grip. The speakers recreated even these most minor of sounds with great accuracy.
The sound picked up by the speakers and the monitor relaying small text and images were all important information that kept the pilot alive. Blocking this information would lead to certain death. Suddenly a warning sign appeared on one of the upper corners of his display, while a two-tone warning sound rang out and an announcement appeared on the screen to explain.
"Above!"
Kelly said as he pressed the function key on one of the grips and pulled it towards him, shifting his field of view ninety degrees. Each vernier could individually controlled and issued precise commands from the control console, but Kelly chose to use the keys on the hand grips instead, providing a mix of accuracy and speed. This was one such accumulation of the various tricks he learned during his time at the school.
"Where is it!?"
He instinctively leaned forward and his lower body raised out of the seat. There was no shadow of a mobile suit.
"Calm down, just calm down..."
Kelly whispered to himself.
houghhhhhhhh hehhhhhhhhh, houghhhhhhhh hehhhhhhhhh, houghhhhhhhh hehhhhhhhhh, houghhhhhhhh hehhhhhhhhh, houghhhhhhhh hehhhhhhhhh, houghhhhhhhh hehhhhhhhhh...The sound of Kelly's own breathing rang in his ears.
FLASH! TURN! WARNING! BLIND-SPOT! WARNING!... The words all appeared on the display on a haphazard string of text as he stepped on the foot pedal and pushed the grips in both hands forward with all of his might. A pale pink light flashed by where Kelly previously stood, doing a roll from a single point on its chest. As he did, he caught a glimpse of the shadow of his target; a mobile suit, a GM in the landscape. The enemy machine was holding a beam rifle and made a sharp turn away from Kelly once it realized its attack had failed. By the time Kelly regained his balance, he realized the mobile suit had disappeared.
Kelly stopped moving and let his body move with the force of inertia. He turned his attention to the starry sky synthesized by computer graphics. It was just a repeating pattern without so much as a guidepost or landmark, but still, if he focused his eyes to the left and the right and kept the tops and bottoms in the corner of his vision; he'd get an unobstructed view of the sky. Kelly had a feeling that outer space was on his side.
"I can do it."
As Kelly said this an accident occurred from behind with a metallic thud, and waves of garbage began started to flow outwards, overtaking his mobile suit. He realized that he entered an area where the trash and debris accumulated, but among all the trash something sparkled.
"What is that?"
Kelly's thoughts raced as he tried making the difficult judgement. It couldn't have been the light of a vernier, since there was no sign of a mobile suit moving, but there was definitely something moving differently from the rest of the debris making the surrounding light appear irregular.
He flicked a switch on his monitor and a circular scope interface appeared on his monitor. The scope hovered across the screen searching for the enemy like a puppy separated from its owner. A soft tongue click echoed inside Kelly's helmet as he pressed down on the foot pedal. The scope automatically disappeared from the screen and in its place were numbers displaying three dimensional coordinates on the center of the spherical screen.
The debris that the program was automatically trying to avoid was rapidly flowing backwards and the numbers rose at an incredible rate. Was all of this debris just the remains of a space colony? The heat diffusion was rendering half the sensors unusable, As Kelly clicked his tongue for the umpteenth time a spark erupted in the hand of his mobile suit. The electrically charged particles danced like pale pink sparks. The thermal sensors screamed as if in agony while they were being overran.
Kelly turned his machine 90 degrees, keeping the same heading and trying to determine the nature of the flash. Kelly determined the nature of the flash to be the result of a beam weapon the enemy fired hitting some nearby debris. Beam rifles launch charged destructive particles, controlled through the muzzle. While slower than a standard gun, they have much more destructive power. Not much can stand up to a laser, that debris stood no chance.
The stardust began to overtake Kelly's view and he flew behind it, while a pale pink flash followed him. It seems that the enemy hadn't lost site of his machine. He tapped the control console to prepare evasive maneuvers and switched the monitor to search mode. All the scope managed to track was scattered debris, with no sign of enemy aircraft picked up.
"Where!? Where is it!?"
Kelly's voice, bordering on a scream was interrupted by a high pitched warning sound. An arrow near the top of his display pointed in the direction diagonally behind his machine. Kelly was going to face his enemy head-on... or so he thought. What greeted him was a large piece of solid metal much bigger than any mobile suit approaching him rapidly.
Kelly screamed an in an unconscious movement forced his mobile suit into a fetal position. The humanoid machine had its arms crossed in front of its chest and its neck hunched down. The cockpit became enveloped in darkness and Kelly prepared to die. He would never forget that moment or the strange phenomenon that occurred afterwards. When he slightly opened his eyes, which had been tightly shut in fear, he saw the metal that should of collided with mobile suit instead slipped by like nothing had happened.
"It slipped through..." Kelly said to himself in shock and disbelief. In a mere moment later his seat would violently shake as a huge impact was made with his machine. Kelly fastened his seatbelt as a message onscreen announced the impact and estimated the distance with the enemy mobile suit to be an estimated 2000 meters behind him and to his left.
Kelly's blank stare wandered through space while his chest was rising and falling, gasping for air. He hadn't even begun to comprehend what just happened in the last few seconds. The only thing that was certain was that he lost. The lights on all of his sky monitors started dimming one by one, and the reality of the situation was forced upon Kelly in this moment.
Taking a breath of fresh air, Elysia looked at all the trainees crowding around her. Standing with one foot on the edge of the simulator and one arm holding her helmet, she looked incredibly dashing. Her golden hair fluttered in the early morning breeze blowing down from the mountains, while her the hair ornaments given to her by her brother glistened in the sunlight. If Elysia tried, she could hear the gasps and murmurs of the trainees around her.
"there's no point" Elysia thought to herself. she didn't want to seem arrogant, but she knew this is the natural reaction to my performance and results. She smiled and her lips parted slightly, showing a little bit of her teeth.
"Elysia! Elysia Nocton!"
An almost violent sounding voice came from the other simulator. Everyone, Elysia included, turned to the source of the voice.
"What was that!? Don't mess with me!"
Kelly Signit stood less than fifty meters from Elysia, looking he was about to throw his helmet at her. His light wavy hair was stuck to his forehead from all the sweat, now looking like unsightly seaweed.
"What do you mean?" Elysia's voice was calm as she tilted her head, clearly provoking him. "If you're referring to obstacles, that's your own fault right?"
"What!?"
"You went into that area yourself. I don't remember luring you there."
Kelly was about to raise his helmet, his hands shaking violently. Everyone thought he was going to throw it at her, but he restrained himself, lowering his hands. He knew damaging the equipment would incur a demerit.
Kelly sat down and accessed a small monitor right next to the simulator. The 7 inch panel had a built in microphone and speaker.
"Instructor! Wasn't that a programming error? A giant lump of iron just passed right through my mobile suit!"
Kelly tried desperately to protest, but nothing appeared on the small screen. Though a voice did respond, echoing from between the two simulators.
"Kelly Signit, after training is over please read chapter thirteen of the operations manual textbook again."
"Instructor!"
"Any unjustified protests against an instructor will be punished with twenty pushups."
Elysia could see it, even from where she was standing. Kelly Signit's face suddenly turned pale. He took off his helmet and and swung his arms back, tossing it to the side. The helmet made a silly popping sound as it bounced off the ground, then rolling among the trainees.
"Kelly Signit! That's twenty pushups! Start running!"
The voice from the speaker was as cold as ever. Elysia looked at Yahagi's stubborn expression on the large monitor, complimented by his goatee. She then began walking the gentle slope of the simulator, as if nothing had happened.
Even from behind it was clear that Yahagi was irritated. He stood in the center of the instructor's room, clutching the microphone and standing up from his chair. How could he get so worked up? From Forma's perspective Yahagi seemed like a very strange man. Of course both of them were soldiers, and Yahagi was clearly irritated by the student mentality most of the trainees had. He didn't understand the reasoning for it, but it's also the job of a good instructor to save face and maintain the school's image for the instructors.
This occurred to Yahagi as he watched Chandel Tadārshi finetuning the simulator. You'd never guess it judging by his rough appearance and his long silver her flowing down his back, but he was on loan from Nocton Ceramics, one of the school's biggest investors. He was talking with instructor Lina Seo, who was also working on adjustments. Forma found his rather blunt way of speaking very engineer-like and appealing in that way.
"Did you get any good data?"
Forma asked, calling out to Chandel who was looking at simulator gauges.
"This will be the first year that we use the version of the Canard specifically designed for space. Let's hope this data from the trainees will be useful."
"Was that Kelly Signit? He's nice, definitely a great help."
The man from Nocton Ceramics gave a typically engineer-like answer.
The Nocton Ceramic Company was originally a manufacturer of exterior parts used in the creation of mobile suits and battleships but with the training models GM Canard and GM Cannes, they've tried to break into the industry as an independent mobile suit manufacturer. Forma was well aware of the situation, but it was precisely that awareness that made Chandel's words strike him as slightly unsettling.
"Kelly?" asked Forma "Not Elysia?"
With the question out, Chandel curled his lips into a wry smile. Forma tried smiling to in an attempt to hide his confusion.
"You've got to be kidding me! Your boss's daughter looked way better out there, didn't she?"
"Elysia's good, but she's too good. She can make the machine perform at a hundred percent, but not in a way the could disappoint expectations."
"Yes, and our test pilots will be able to handle that"
"Hmmmm... I suppose if that's how it is."
"Forma, he's got a point"
Said Yahagi, who had let go of the microphone and finished his speech to join the conversation.
"It's not just Kelly. All the trainees are desperate and it's because of that desperation that they're coming up with creative solutions. I hear that even Asuna Elmarit hasn't missed any of her training lately."
Yahagi's words were cold. With a frown and a sour expression on his face, he calmly evaluated the trainees.
"I don't think Elysia's trying hard enough. I think if she continues to sit on the sidelines, she's going to reach a dead end."
"It's okay, Elysia's not stupid. She'll understand eventually."
Said Chandel, who spoke in a light tone brushing off Yahagi's words. This light heartedness was surely a sign of the faith he had in Elysia. Forma was unaware of the connection between Elysia and Chandel, but he could surmise there was something, going off of how the maintenance staff talked about their attitudes. Meanwhile Yahagi's grim expression still remained.
"Someday... I guess..."
"Yeah"
Chandel nodded, satisfied with that, but Forma knew the real meaning behind Yahagi's expression. This would be troublesome if it were to continue... but for some reason Chandel's expression remained bright.
"We need a trigger of some kind. Elysia's not used to being in a large crowd..."
"You won't get a trigger."
Chandel said bluntly. Forma chuckled awkwardly, unable to accept Chandel's words.
"If you could trigger it, would you change the young lady?"
"She'll change. She's not the kind of girl to end up like that."
Chandel said firmly. It must be true, the look in his face sold what he said as so matter of fact. Forma whispered Chandel's words to himself...
"You won't get a trigger." He was thinking something different from Chandel. The people who needed a chance were himself, Yahagi and the people above them who were running École. If they wanted to produce the results to satisfy them, they would need some kind of a trigger. Forma then smiled, with his brow lifting and furrowing slightly.
"Maybe I could provide the trigger for you."
"Eh?"
It was only natural that Chandel looked puzzled. Forma was smiling from the bottom of his heart, and there was no doubt that it was a nasty smile indeed.
"Don't worry. I was only kidding."
As Forma said this, he spread his arms wide towards Chandel. Yahagi's gaze was surely meant to criticize Forma, but he knew deep down that no matter what the administrative council wanted, there was no way of knowing what they would and would not be okay with.
Forma obviously didn't know everything, but he was positive that a day would come when those above him would need him, and they would have use of his schemes.
"That's right. Everything just needs a trigger."
Forma happily said the word
"trigger" once more and then looked closely at his face.
A few days later, a letter arrived addressed to Elysia, with a stamp showing the lunar city of Granada. It was a standard letter from the Japan post. Elysia received this letter in the dormitory lounge, where she was dressed in casual wear consisting of a white blouse and simple pants. Shin Barnack, the person who brought the letter from the staff counter, noticed the sender's name: Klaus Nocton, Elysia's father and the president of the Nocton Cermaic Company on the corner of the envelope.
Elysia feigned calmness and opened the envelope. There were many other trainees, but she managed to hide herself. It felt like it was wrong to be different. The nine o' clock news was playing on a TV in the corner of the room, with nobody watching or paying it any mind. It said that the recent anti Earth Federation demonstrations in a colony somewhere had become increasingly violent. There was no end to this kind of news.
"In this day and age can we really call ourselves a family if we live apart between the earth and the moon?" Elysia absent mindedly thought to herself as she opened the letter, which contained a paper that was neatly folded into 3 sections to fit inside the envelop.
The Principality of Zeon's war for spacenoid independence drove an irreparable wedge between the people who lived one earth and the people who lived in space. Even those who had previously fought and bled together against Zeon found themselves unable to erase the doubts lingering in their heart that only seemed to fester with each passing day. Mankind had finally done the impossible and found a way to live and make a sustainable habitat in a harsh environment previously thought unhospitable, so why should they live under the jurisdiction of people on earth who didn't know what their struggles were like? Elysia also understood the Federation's point of view. In one government and one community with there was no other community or government to go to war with, and they could avoid mankind's string of constant tragic conflict.
Elysia's father lived on the moon because it was easier for him to do business there. He lives on the moon, but manages to support the people of the earth and the way they think, which was good for business. This good business is precisely why Elysia grew up in luxury, leading her to wonder if money really was all that important. She didn't appreciate money, but instead things like good food and the privilege of going to school. Growing up during the war, Elysia had assumed that she knew all too well.
Elysia looked over the letter and then sealed it again. She examined the addressee listed on the envelope:
Elyisa Nocton: Montreal Campus, Third Term, Second Cadet Group.It wasn't her father's handwriting, that much she could tell. She thought for a while before getting up and walking towards the exit, putting the letter in her back pocket. "There's no point in carrying something like this." she whispered to herself as she walked down the hallway without even looking back.
Kelly walked in after Elysia left. He just took a shower and was running his hand through his shampoo-scented hair. Naturally what trainees took baths and in what order and when was predetermined. They had to be punctual and show up on on time, or else they wouldn't even be allowed to so much as shower. Despite this, the shower room connected to the training room was always open. If you registered a training session and finished it, you were free to use it. So in way the students could still bathe freely.
Kelly had used the shower room, knowing how it worked. Anyone who had bathed at the school could immediately tell the difference when walking in. The shower room's towels were blue, while the ones in the communal bathroom where the scheduled baths and showers took place were yellow. Kelly at the moment had a blue towel around his neck.
"If you keep cheating Yahagi's going to scold you again."
Said a trainee playing cards in the corner wearing a red shirt featuring the logo of some rock band.
"Even without that Yahagi's already has it out for you."
"Shut up! Serious, why do I have to do 40 pushups?!"
"You lack absolute obedience to your superiors, right?"
"Unfortunately that's just part of me being a young person of today."
As Kelly spoke, he sat down in front of a computer in the lounge.
"Oh are you playing a game?"
The boy in the red shirt approached and peered with interest. His mind immediately went to games, probably because he wanted to win back his losses at cards through winning at computer games. One look at the stupid grins painted on faces of the other trainees at the table made it obvious that he lost big time.
"Idiot, it's homework."
"Homework?"
"Instructor Yahagi told me to read a chapter of the operations manual textbook again. But if you've got nothing to do, I'd like it if you brought me a drink."
The boy in the red shirt shrugged at what he said. Kelly didn't think the guy was a serious person. He didn't want to be seen similarly to this buy, but it was only natural that people would see him like that if he wasn't mature enough to just accept that he lost to Elysia.
"I think it was chapter thirteen"
Kelly said, fingers skillfully typing away at the keyboard. There was a slight time lag between his inputs and what the computer displayed on screen. He pulled up a copy of the operations manual, and his finger rapidly hit the down arrow key. Kelly's eyes were scanning the screen and examining the descriptions of the textbook until he found what he was supposed to see.
"Obstacles set as aesthetics?"
According to the textbook the obstacles in the simulator are meant to represent obstacles, and aren't actually obstacles. Obstacles were classified by mass and not size, so the visuals assigned to the graphics were displayed at random
"So, even something with the mass of a pebble could be displayed as a large iron plate on the screen?"
Kelly involuntarily scratched his head as he read this. The simulated battle that day was exactly like that...
"They
say it's state of the art equipment, but it's actually cheap."
"What do you mean cheap?"
Kelly turned to his side upon hearing this, only to find that the boy from before had returned, now with a plastic bottle of apple cider.
"It's just an addendum to the textbook. I've never seen this page before."
"Neither have I."
Kelly leaned back in his chair with a loud creaking sound, accepting the apple cider.
"I wonder if Elysia really reads all of this"
Kelly whispered to himself, his lips pressed against the straw.
"What?"
"Elysia," said Kelly "She's always alone, so I don't know what she does, but she's really good at training..."
"Who cares?"
With a surprised expression on his face, the boy in the red shirt returned to his seat.
"It's none of your business..." Kelly said to himself. with these feelings lingering and not leaving.
"I don't want to lose... to her..."
With that, he turned off the computer and the screen faded to black. The only thing left on the screen was the reflection of Kelly's face on the monitor, biting his lip.
The scent of morning dew that soaked the undergrowth of the school smelt irresistibly nostalgic to Elysia Nocton. At the boarding school she attended you were required to wake up at six o'clock. morning exercises were optional, but it was mandatory that you be in class by the time school started. Of course Elysia woke up earlier than the other students and would never miss out on a chance to do cricket practice or self study in the library. It wasn't that Elysia was enthusiastic about club activities, but in this plebian society where something like martial arts were considered virtuous, those who put in the most effort will be respected.
In comparison, despite being a military school, life at the Montreal campus was the epitome of laziness. They were free to wake up whenever they wanted. Sure, there was breakfast, but if you slept in or missed it your only penalty was missed meal. Chandel told her the reasons for the lax discipline at the Montreal campus, but it was still something she couldn't quite grasp. A good life promotes good growth. At least that was one of her personal beliefs.
This is why it surprised her to see Asuna Elmarit training on her own, and in the judo hall no less. Nobody would outside of standard practice times unless they were a fan of martial arts. It was just a coincidence that Elysia happened to be passing by. It'd be rude to say what she felt, but she didn't want to lie.
"You do your best too!"
Asuna looked up at the sound of Elysia's voice. She was wearing a judo uniform and underneath that she wore the school's custom gym clothes. The gym clothes clung to her body like a second skin, while the judo uniform was way too loose, creating a weird clash in styles that made her look rather unattractive. Asuna was laying face down, but looking up at Elysia, who was standing at the edge of the Tatami mat wearing a standard judo uniform.
"If I don't work hard, I'll fall behind everyone else."
Asuna's words came out choppy because she was deeply stretching her legs. Her legs were splayed wide as she also reached out both arms in a deep stretch.
"In the end... it's going to come down... to physical strength... That's what... instructor Yahagi said..."
"That sounds like something he would say."
Elysia said in wonder as the image of Yahagi's broad profile and straight posture and back came to mind. That scar running down his back was extensive, which led to rumors that he had gotten it in the war. Elysia had also heard that Yahagai, like Asuna, was from the Principality of Zeon, known now as the Republic of Zeon.
"Is that kind of spiritualism within him just the nature of the people of Zeon?"
Elysia whispered.
Asuna stopped stretching rolled onto her back, looking up at Elysia. The neck on Asuna's neck evaporated, turning into a soft steam.
"But it's easy to understand, that's a good thing"
"huh?"
Elysia replied to Asuna with a blank expression and stared at the ceiling. Following Asuna's lead she started stretching. Then, sitting at the edge of the tatami mat she felt a discomfort in her buttocks. She found it puzzling at first, but she soon figured out what it was, which was probably proof she was worried about it more than she thought. It was the letter she put in the back pocket of uniform's pants the night before.
The letter from her father was asking for her thoughts on the mobile suits. The GM Canard and GM Cannes were the first mobile suits created independently by her father's company. She didn't know how, but it seems her father already knew she had piloted a Canard. She didn't want to judge him, but judging by the date he wrote this letter before she even began mobile suit training. The letter is all about what she thinks of the mobile suit and other related matters. There wasn't even one question of her health or thoughts.
Elysia should have expected this, even at her own brother's funeral he prioritized his work over his family. It was stupid to even expect any parental affection from him.
"Hey, Asuna? What was your father like?"
Elysia asked softly, prompting Asuna to sit up.
"What?"
"It's nothing, don't worry about it..."
Elysia instinctively looked away, but even she could tell her cheeks were red with embarrassment. As Elysia looked to the side she saw a young boy in front of her. He was walking towards her wearing a Judo uniform and with a Boston bag slung over his shoulder. Elysia wondered if she should leave, but then he stood at the entrance and bowed. At first she thought he was bowing to her, but then she remembered that there was an oriental style alter in the room and realized that must have been it.
"What are you looking at?!"
It wasn't until she heard the boy speak up rudely that she realized it was Kelly, who looked different than usual in his judo uniform. She didn't think he had any bad intentions, but the atmosphere in the room shifted when he entered and at the moment had a much more rough vibe, which was strange snce Kelly wasn't exactly someone she'd consider strong.
"What? Are you two together?"
Kelly put his Boston bag in the wooden locker by the entrance and then looked at Elysia. His gaze then shifted to Asuna, with his gaze now mixed with disgust.
"Elysia and Useless doing Judo together."
"Hey! What do you mean
'useless'?"
In response to Elysia's question, Kelly let out a loud snort.
"That's Asuna's nickname: Zoen's Useless Girl. I don't know why you're hanging around her, but it makes you look bad to be hanging around people well below your own level."
"What do you mean!?"
Elysia shouted in a exasperation, looking not at Kelly, but Asuna. Asuna didn't say anything, but her attitude made Elysia angry.
"It's about you!"
Still Asuna said nothing. She continued to stretch her left leg and right leg, alternating between the two and bending her upper body as she did this.
"Hey!"
Kelly snorted as Asuna continued her stretching as if nothing was happening.
"That kind of practice won't help you, oh no! I'll help you practice!"
"Hey! What are you doing!"
"You stay quiet!"
Kelly yelled sharply as he glared at daggers at Elysia.
"Listen here! I'm going to be the winner next time. Now hurry along!"
Elysia glared at Kelly.
She could not let this person win. It didn't seem strange to Elysia that these thoughts echoed in her mind. Asuna and Kelly... For better or worse this was the first time Elysia had been conscious of others since coming to Montreal.
Kelly said he would help Asuna train and he was unleashing a barrage of brutal techniques on Asuna, including the Osotogari until he got the Ippon. He lifted Asuna over his back with the Seoi throw. Then with his quick footwork he did the Tomeo Nage, where he threw Asuna backwards using the power of her own weight. His technique was nothing short of spectacular.
Elysia couldn't hide her irritation. She was annoyed at Kelly, sure, but she felt an indescribable level of annoyance at seeing Asuna letting herself get thrown around like a ragdoll so easily. If you know you're going to be thrown, you shouldn't even bother trying to fight in the first place. If you know you're going to win, you shouldn't even waste your time fighting in the first place. What did either of them hope to gain by practicing like this? Elysia's conclusion: they shouldn't even bother fighting if there's nothing to gain, it's a pointless endeavor.
Was Kelly trying to show off his strength to Elysia by throwing Asuna? Everyone knows Kelly's easily intimidated by Yahagi, did he really think he needed to show his strength by picking on people significantly weaker than him?
Disgusting... that was the first word that came into Elysia's mind. There was no way she could ever lose to such an opponent. She glared intently at Kelly. Kelly glared back in-between moves. He licked the droplets of sweat that trickled down from his hair and onto his lips. His face was obviously one silently offering a challenge to Elysia.
The rematch came four days later. Kelly was sitting in the cockpit seat, adjusting his collar constantly, trying to find any possible way to ease the suffocating feeling his uniform was giving him. Last time he did this he was in a normal suit, so it felt different in a bad way to be wearing his school uniform.
Changing your clothes depending on the situation the training put you in was a deliberate move on the school's part. You never know what situation you're going to be in on the battlefield, and if you can't concentrate on the battle because of what you're wearing than there'd be no point in training. Flexibility and mental fortitude were just as important as skill, and you'd have to get used to things like this. Even keeping this in mind Kelly couldn't quell his anxiety. His palms were sweaty, so to wipe the sweat off he would wipe them on the hems of his uniform and pretend to be adjusting it. Of course, to do so required taking his palms off the grips, which was an instant deduction.
"Kelly Signit! This is the fifth time!"
Kelly clicked his tongue as Yahagi's voice cut through the crowd of trainees and went straight to him. He knew what he was doing but he couldn't help it. Many of the trainees developed claustrophobia as a result of all the time spent in the simulator and cockpits and others would fall ill. Nobody was truly as strong as they thought they were, their hearts especially. Everybody had that wall they needed to climb and overcome, and Kelly viewed Elysia as his wall. He was sure that if he beat her, he'd be able to move on to that next step in his personal growth.
A movement in the stars crossed around Kelly's vision. It wasn't a shooting star but something moving with a will of its own. From where he was he could see it slightly deviating from a straight line, probably weaving through obstacles. A warning sound then echoed later. "Too late!" Kelly thought as he tapped the console to turn on the automatic evasive maneuvers. As he did the purple sparks crackled next to his mobile suit as a rock next to it was disintegrated in an instant. Everything was going smoothly.
Kelly regained his composure and set the vernier on his mobile suit's backpack to neutral, letting the machine idol. While moving by inertia, the automatic evasive maneuvers precise movements. It was a very dangerous plan, but Kelly was confident. He opened a subwindow to check his surroundings and began making small controlled movements when he spotted the area he was looking for just outside of his field of vision.
"Don't notice me..."
Kelly whispered to himself as he involuntarily salivated. His eyes were desperately darting along the distance between him and Elysia. The fact that Elysia was constantly approaching and retreating was probably proof that she was weary of Kelly. He also made a conscious effort not to go directly to the debris field. If he didn't sneak his way in Elysia would surely have followed him.
"Come on... this way..."
Timing his movements like a patient fisherman waiting for the big catch, Kelly slowly approached his destination. Even through the monitor Kelly could see more and more debris from the remains of what once was a colony gathering around him. No... not debris, Kelly knew this debris was merely symbolic of obstacles. His eyes were constantly keeping track of the sensors and how many pieces of debris they detected.
Once he was sure Elysia had stepped into his territory he swiftly stomped his foot down on the pedal. Fire erupted from the verniers of his mobile suit's backpack with great force. His field of vision spun around and a volley of rifle fire erupted from his machine. The area around Kelly and Elysia lit up as sparks scattered like fireworks.
"It worked!"
Kelly screamed out without even thinking. Elysia's mobile suit was swaying back and forth in empty space. He checked the sensor readings and saw the obstacle, which looked like nothing more than a simple rock on screen, actually had the same mass as a mobile suit. In the previous battle Kelly had been fooled by the appearance of something similar and ended up being at the mercy of a small and insignificant obstacle. He applied what he learned there to trap Elysia and now had his rifle mercilessly aimed right at her.
The coordinates and sensor values changed every time Elysia's mobile suit collided with obstacles. Kelly's simulator showed the distance between his mobile suit and Elysia's and the optimal firing angle.
Three... Two... One...
"I got you!"
Kelly yelled out as he pulled the trigger. The next moment his cockpit shook violently.
Violently shaking in her cockpit seat, Elysia quickly realized what happened to her. She didn't know what was the cause but she was being damaged by something invisible. moreover, the attack wasn't with a beam weapon or anything like that, but one with a physical impact.
The first thing Elysia wondered was if anyone other than herself could see the attack. If she was the only one who couldn't see it, than the enemy must have some how found a blind spot she wasn't aware of. If the attack was invisible to everyone, than it may have come from a phantom enemy that didn't even exist in the first place.
Mobile suits were weapons designed for the next generation of combat in space, one where visual combat was the only reliable way of fighting. The Minovsky Particles jammed all radio waves and radars on the battlefield. Naturally there were ways to gauge the enemy's position, albeit limited mechanically, leaving your eyes as the most reliable option... But what if your eyes were unreliable?
Giving it some thought, Elysia decided to stop doubting herself. Doubts and denials were best kept off the battlefield and handled later. Visual recognition was difficult, and mechanical recognition was unreliable, so what would be most reliable to her at the moment? Elysia tightened her grip on the controls and braced herself. The impact was so strong that she would have definitely been thrown out of her seat if she didn't prepare herself beforehand. She was convinced that physical impact was her most reliable way of telling what was happening around her in that moment.
Elysia slammed the console on her lap and calculated the damage it would do to her mobile suit, as well as the tentative collision data and reflection angles. She then positioned the manipulator with this calculated information in mind. Simply put, this was an attempt to discover what were the truly heavy obstacles. Elysia's focused on the pitch black in front of her.
With a violent shaking, a light appeared on her monitor, indicating some kind of abnormality in the shoulder joint. That's fine, this was just her first attempt at a correction. Her second attempt seemed to be a complete miss, the impact against her cockpit reminded her that she was still in danger. Her mobile suit's right arm was extended in front he of the chest with a stiff posture, as if embracing a boulder. In contrast the left arm was crossed under the right arm as if it was gripping some invisible protrusion around the waist. It fixed itself in a position allowing the cockpit protection while the objects around her pushed her.
Elysia, who was currently sitting in the cockpit, got pulled forward and slammed into he seat. She let out a soft groan as she tried focusing her attention in front of her, fighting the slight dizziness in her. In front of her she saw the silhouette of a mobile suit she hadn't seen before: Kelly's Mobile suit; drifting in space and holding a gun after coming out from the debris it hid behind.
Elysia immediately aimed her gun at Kelly's mobile suit. Firing while moving was difficult and required great skill, but the stable direction and movement made aiming a lot easier. If she pulled the trigger, the beam particles would immediately go through Kelly's mobile suit. She pulled the trigger and in that exact moment the obstacle next to him emitted a flash of light like a firework.
Elysia vision was dyed in white and she lost control. There was no up and there was no down... there was no left and there was no right... only white. The cockpit seat where she was sitting was now floating in space. After a moment her cockpit view returned to normal and Kelly, the obstacles and even the stars that peppered the space surrounding the battlefield disappeared. The number in the display's subwindow showing the time elapsed in battle began flashing. Elysia won, but she didn't feel like she did. All she felt sitting in the cramped cockpit of the simulator was a vague sense of fatigue.
"I can't believe it..."
Elysia was watching a replay of the battle on a large monitor by the simulators.
"I can't believe it..."
she whispered to herself unconsciously. On the monitor Elysia's mobile suit was being attacked and the enemy was invisible, just as she had thought. Instructor Yahagi said this was just an issue with the simulator's processor. After that he had scolded Kelly severely, asking him if he thought such a tactic would work in real combat. Despite this, Elysia couldn't bring herself to blame Kelly. Anything could happen on the battlefield and she felt that predicting unexpected things like this was part of that.
As Kelly got out of his simulator, he told her in a sarcastic tone of voice:
"I knew I had to do something like this to beat you. So, no matter what Yahagi says, I'm not going to apologize."
Elysia looked at the ground beside the school building, not even making eye contact with Kelly. Asuna was no where to be seen, but it was safe bet that was practicing somewhere.
In the cool crisp air of the underground hanger Chandel sat at a small computer console. Not a military model, but his own personal computer supplied by Nocton Ceramics. The dimly lit panel in the hanger resembled a small food tray like the ones in the dining hall. It displayed complex mathematical formulas and occasionally flashing the words "NOT FOUND" on the screen. Chandel without even thinking clicked his tongue every time that word appeared on screen. The sound of his tongue clicking echoed throughout the hanger.
The corridor for mobile suits too wide for a standard vehicle, let alone a person. If you weren't careful, it could get so wide you couldn't see the end and it could get real confusing to navigate. In that space the occasional sound metal clanging could be heard as a result of the lukewarm breeze that came with the heating system blowing. Strangely, there was no stench at all, likely owed to the top of the line ventilation systems the heat and air conditionings used and above all else, the spaciousness of the area.
Chandel wiped the sweat off of his forehead with a towel stained with dried oil, leaving black lines on the top of his chiseled face, but he didn't seem to mind at all. Staring intently at the screen, Chandel had didn't care if he had minor traces of dirt on his face, it was a trivial matter.
"This is troubling..."
Chandel said softly, but these words soon echoed off the hanger walls, but soon becoming incomprehensible.
"This guy's a problem..."
Chandel spoke again. He looked away from the computer for a bit and up at the ceiling. Then he began laughing to himself for a moment because he couldn't believe he was struggling with a computer of all things again.
Chandel graduated from the University of Engineering in Dhaka after getting on a letter of recommendation from Elysia's brother, majoring in material engineering. Nocton played a vital role in the production of heat resistant materials, especially for spacecraft, where researchers of this kind of thing was highly valued. His decision to major in material engineering may have been because of his gratitude to Nocton.
When Chandel met Leonid Nocton, Elysia's older brother, his main job was as a petty thief robbing and extorting people around town. He never knew what his father even looked like and all he had of his mother were vague memories of the time they spent together. By the time he was even old enough to understand how things in the world worked, he had fallen into a job as the errand boy for an infamous fraud group in Dhaka. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Chandel was incompetent in this field of work. They gave him a low position as to keep him from burdening them, but for some strange reason he hit it off with Leonid, who was a target of the group.
Chandel had the strength to rival anyone in the group, and the intelligence to rival the leader, and this drew attention to him. Leonid told him he's not stupid, just bad at articulating what he's thinking. Chandel doubted it, but Leonid told him if he really didn't believe it he should at least try studying to be sure. Chandel thought he was joking, but he found the public school textbook that Leonid gave him to be fascinating. What was most surprising to Chandel was that by the time he finished the book he had a thirst for more knowledge.
The two's friendship continued from that point on until... no, Chandel believed it continued to this very day. He believed that even though Loenid is gone, his role as his friend still matters as long as Elysia is alive. That's why, when Leonid's father Klaus offered him a chance to be the company's emissary at École, he accepted without hesitation.
Of the types of work that Chandel did, there was maintenance on the GM Canard and GM Cannes, where the knowhow of other companies like Anahiem was fed back into the company and use as the basis for their maintenance. For the Nocton Cermaic Company, who's mobile suit development division was still in its infancy, Chandel's work was of the upmost importance.
Despite being a training school, dealing with military grade equipment was not easy. Not only was physical disassembly difficult, but access to the system and OS was heavily restricted. Any attempt at forcing access was met with a "NOT FOUND" message. For Chandel, who wasn't even a computer engineer to begin with, it was a task too difficult. Standing before the stripped down machine, which could be described as a mass of black boxes in terms of both hardware and software, Chandel let out a deep sigh. Not a sound Chandel Tadārshi would dare let out around anyone.
