Shortly after the battle concluded, deep within a base hollowed out inside the moon.
"This place is..."
Staring at the magnificent, gilded hall before him, Four-Eyes—wearing glasses and a pilot suit identical to those worn by Ribbons and Alejandro—clutched a computer that looked somewhat archaic by this era's standards. He was in a daze.
"This..."
Alejandro looked down at the massive sphere beneath his feet. It emitted a deep blue glow that contrasted sharply with the warm yellow lighting of the hall.
A triumphant smile spread across his face. "This is VEDA. The cornerstone of power that will fulfill the Corner family's century-long ambition!"
"Ribbons, I leave the cracking of VEDA's access rights to you and him."
Alejandro turned to the "partner" who had worked alongside him for so long. "This is the beginning of our hegemony."
Hearing Alejandro's words, Ribbons glanced through the transparent floor at the sphere known as VEDA.
He then spared a look at the "helper" Alejandro had brought along, his lips curling into a practiced, formulaic smile.
"As you wish, Alejandro."
As Ribbons walked to the console to begin bypassing the security, Four-Eyes pulled out a data cable, plugged it into the terminal, and began a synchronized hack.
Watching the authority levels steadily rise on the screen and seeing Four-Eyes working hard to breach the system, Ribbons began his own internal calculations.
Ambitions, hegemonies—Ribbons didn't care about any of that. He only cared about one thing.
"Aeolia Schenberg..."
"Phew... access breach complete. Next, we just need to..."
After a period of time, Four-Eyes finished the decryption. He breathed a slight sigh of relief; the sudden spike in difficulty just moments ago had nearly caused him to fail.
Just as he was about to proceed with the operation, a life-support pod gradually rose from the floor, revealing an elderly man sleeping within.
"So this is... Aeolia Schenberg."
Looking at the figure in the stasis pod, Ribbons smiled as he explained the man's identity.
Alejandro did not hesitate. He drew his gold-plated handgun and walked toward the life-support pod.
"...Truly, an ugly sight."
Staring at the sleeping man, Alejandro raised his weapon.
"Resorting to such desperate measures just to stay alive—how pathetic, Aeolia Schenberg."
"The new world has no need for you. Under the leadership of the Corner family, it will become more united... rest in peace."
Alejandro pulled the trigger repeatedly. The bullets shattered the glass of the life-support pod, accurately striking Aeolia as he lay inside.
Blood quickly splattered against the broken glass cover, completely obscuring Aeolia's figure.
"Now, VEDA is mine!"
Witnessing this, Alejandro laughed, his grip tightening around his pistol.
"Aeolia Schenberg, your plan belongs to me now."
Unlike Alejandro, who was shouting in excitement over gaining control of VEDA, Ribbons remained calm, his eyes scanning Aeolia's original plan.
"Wait... something has been transmitted."
Looking at the two men, Four-Eyes felt a deep sense of unease. He had clearly seen a program—triggered only by Aeolia's death—send something out into the void.
-----------------------------------
An unbearable sensation of pain and itching swept across his body, jolting Graham out of his haze and back into consciousness.
The first thing that met his eyes was an unfamiliar ceiling. Instruments—unlike any he had seen before, but presumably some kind of medical equipment—lined the room. Then, he saw... a teenage boy and girl in white coats?
As he watched the two youngsters in lab coats complete a shift change, Graham's mind cleared further. He tried to sit up, only to find his hands shackled to the guardrails of the hospital bed.
"You're awake?"
A young male voice spoke up, likely prompted by the clinking of the handcuffs.
A boy with short black hair, a stethoscope draped around his neck, and a white lab coat appeared before Graham.
"Sorry. For safety reasons, your status is still that of a prisoner. I have to keep you cuffed to the bed according to protocol."
The youth glanced at a nearby monitor before unlocking the cuff on Graham's right arm, allowing him to sit up.
'A prisoner, huh...' Memories flashed through Graham's mind—the backstab, his machine breaking apart on the deck of the Nahel Argama...
"If I am a prisoner, unlocking my handcuffs like this isn't a very wise choice."
Massaging his stiff right hand, Graham offered a word of advice to the boy in the white coat. "After all, young man, you appear to be just a doctor. As a soldier of the UNION, I am still quite dangerous."
"It's fine. You can't beat us."
Jack smiled. He slightly rolled up his left sleeve; the outer skin of his arm shifted and folded back, revealing a Gorilla Arm cybernetic hidden beneath.
Faint arcs of electricity flickered across the knuckles designed for combat. "As a ship's doctor, one must not only understand medicine but also a bit of fist-fighting. I've recently been practicing a High-Energy Electric Stun Style to subdue uncooperative patients."
Staring at Jack's arm—which was clearly not that of a normal human—Graham's eyes widened slightly.
Initially, he was just surprised. But then, at the thought of a boy this young losing an arm and being forced onto a battlefield, a wave of revulsion and anger surged within his heart.
"Where is this...?"
After steadying his emotions, Graham asked.
"This is the infirmary of the Nahel Argama. You can just call me Jack."
The black-haired boy had a very common name—or rather, he had been too lazy to think of a name when he started, so he ended up with this one. "To be honest, your body is pretty sturdy. You slammed straight onto the deck and only walked away with soft tissue bruising and a mild concussion."
So I crashed... I see. This place, the Raven's ship, is the Nahel Argama? What a fine name.
"Also, the injuries on your face from the helmet explosion... because they were affected by the dispersed GN particles, they've scarred over and can't be fully repaired."
Jack handed him a mirror. Graham was finally able to see his current appearance: his face was covered in a large patch of freshly healed wounds. It was clear that those rather hideous scars were destined to stay with him.
"GN particles interfere with medical treatment? I wasn't aware of that."
Graham was stunned by Jack's statement.
"Red GN particles cause irreversible physiological damage to a victim's wounds. If the concentration is high enough, they can even contaminate the surrounding environment."
Jack frowned slightly at Graham's question. "Don't you people ask about the effects before using these particles?"
"I don't know. We've had these GN-X units for less than a month. How were we supposed to know the specifics of their effects?"
Graham looked at the "boy" with a touch of helplessness. "By the way... where is your Captain, the Raven?"
Graham had a few things he wanted to discuss with Roz Links... including the matter of these "disabled" children being sent to the battlefield.
Once children step onto the battlefield, everything becomes irreversible.
"The Captain is currently dismantling that Solar Furnace of yours. He'll likely head over in a while."
Looking at Graham, who had just sat up in bed, Jack thought for a moment and pulled a tablet used for entertainment from his lab coat pocket. "I have things to attend to. There are plenty of movies on here; watch them to pass the time. The Captain will be here soon."
It was a tablet with its communication functions completely disabled—a device Jack normally used only for leisure. Graham flipped through the cached "Otherworld Movies," but found he couldn't muster much interest.
Just then, he noticed a "movie" that looked entirely different from the various cinematic posters. It had no cover art and no detailed description.
The title of the coverless video was: "Gryps Conflict (Battle Records)."
....................