>>6340145The hangar trembles as another distant explosion punches through the jungle canopy, rattling dust loose from overhead girders. Alarms pulse an angry red across the walls. People shout, sprint, curse, but the space around the massive grey and white machine in the center feels strangely still. You stand before Test Unit 01- A captured Zeon Zaku.
Captain Grimmansky limps up beside you, bracing himself on his crutch like it’s the only thing anchoring him to the ground.
"You sure about this, Voss?"
You nod, hiding well any hesitation you may have. He nods to you in return.
“Good. Then listen close. Unit 01 isn’t standard production. This was.. is, an ace’s machine. Higher-thrust backpack, tuned actuators, precision OS response. It’ll outperform anything on the field…” He fixes you with a hard look. “…if you survive learning it.”
Behind him, a tall woman in mechanic attire is already climbing up the gantry toward the cockpit area, snapping open maintenance panels, muttering under her breath as she checks coolant lines and actuator pressures. A slim young man, barely old enough to shave, scrambles after her and passes tools with shaking hands.
On the far wall, a slender blonde woman in a pilot suit leans against a stack of crates. Eyes half-lidded. Guarded posture. Watching everything, saying nothing.
The hangar shakes again, this time harder. Someone shouts:
“Zakus spotted on thermal! Two incoming, we have four minutes, maybe five before contact!"
Grimm growls. “Jun’s buying us time with Unit 02, but she can’t hold three. We need Unit 01 in the field NOW.”
You exhale slowly. This is happening. You step onto the lift platform. The tall mechanic woman meets you halfway; her hands are steady even as her eyes betray the strain.
“Sir, we'll get you situated. Don't worry, you're in good hands." she says with a pat on the shoulder, as she assists you into the cockpit.
The young male tech chimes in nervously. "G-good luck out there, um, sir!"
As you find your place in the pilot's seat, the blonde pilot-suited woman finally speaks through the unit's comms speaker. Her voice is flat, clipped, strangely calm under stress.
“Lieutenant. I am Enari Elana. I… operated this unit previously.” she says, with just a breath of hesitation.
