Chapter 2(Improved)

While reading the first and second chapters, I noticed a few things:

First, the writing style wasn't very friendly to casual readers, at least in my opinion, so I have decided to make some modifications.

They were missing some information that I forgot to include.

I am considering deleting Reinhard's profile that I posted yesterday, as I want to write a few more chapters before creating his profile and his Gundam profile.

With that being said, I hope you enjoy the improved chapter!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2

Date: 31/04/2104

Location: Undisclosed Location, Celestial Being Secret Testing Facility

Time: 20:00 PM

I sat alone in the meeting room, looking through a pile of reports. The dull buzzing of the lights above did not help my tiredness. I could not stop thinking about my earlier conversation with Aeolia concerning the new system we were developing. A part of me hoped we would never need to use it, but another part understood that people can be dark and dangerous. It felt like a countdown to an important day that was getting closer.

With a heavy sigh, I put the reports down and rubbed my forehead, trying to push away the tiredness. "Just a little longer," I told myself. "Once the meeting is over, I can collapse into bed and forget everything." But during these tired moments, old memories began to come back, unwanted but persistent.

I remembered being born in the United States in 2080. I grew up in a middle-class family. My parents were not rich, but they worked steady jobs and led ordinary lives. To me, they were amazing people—always willing to help anyone in need. They were a bright light in a world that often felt dark. My childhood had its ups and downs, but everything changed dramatically when I was nine years old.

The plane crash hit me hard. I can still see my parents shielding me with their bodies as the world outside fell apart in an instant. I was left alone among the wreckage, with only painful silence around me.

After that, my life took a different turn. I was taken in by a group of mercenaries led by a man known as Mad Dog. He was cold and manipulative, taking a special interest in me. He decided to train me as his "pet project." The training was harsh, and I quickly became a skilled fighter in a life I never wanted. By the time I turned fifteen, I was already a capable warrior, shaped by their tough lessons in fighting, shooting, and spying.

But everything changed when I found out the truth: the same group that trained me was responsible for my parents' deaths. They had been paid to destroy the plane. This created a situation for a private military group called Iron to start a war for profit. Anger filled me, pushing me to seek revenge. In less than a week, I took down Mad Dog and the mercenaries and then targeted Iron.

During that time, I earned the name "Reaper from the Underworld" as I fought through their ranks, leaving chaos behind. With each life I took, I felt the weight of that title pressing on me. I discovered dark secrets about Mad Dog's employers and how they started wars just to make money. My hatred for them grew with every revelation.

Once I got my revenge, I felt exhausted and reached a crossroads. I was done with killing. It was time to disappear. I faked my own death and took on the name Nathaniel Evans, returning to the U.S. After taking the money from Iron, I found myself with a fortune—over 50 billion dollars in cash and stocks. Instead of keeping it all, I donated a large amount to charity under the name "The Benefactor."

I enrolled in university, hoping to distract myself from my troubled past. I threw myself into my studies and graduated with four doctorates by the age of nineteen—quantum physics, mechanical engineering, programming, and chemistry. I thought focusing on academics would give me a new purpose, but fate had other plans.

One evening, when I returned to my apartment, I found Aeolia waiting for me. Instinctively, I drew my customized pistol and pointed it at him. I demanded to know who he was. He simply smiled and introduced himself as Aeolia Schenberg—the leader of a paramilitary organization dedicated to stopping war.

I still remember how strange that moment felt. Here I was, a broken young man who had walked a path through blood and vengeance, and he stood there calm and unafraid. I froze, then lowered my weapon, laughing awkwardly at the irony of it all. Aeolia looked at me with a mix of amusement and seriousness.

After we exchanged pleasantries, he shared his vision for Celestial Being. At first, I was skeptical; his goals seemed too lofty and idealistic. But as he spoke, I felt something change within me. I began to respect his ambition and eventually agreed to join him.

Aeolia warned me that creating a true GN Drive on Earth was impossible because we lacked the environment necessary to build the final component. Still, I couldn't give up on that dream. My first attempt was a failure; I tried to build the components but found that all available metals weren't strong enough for what the drive required. It was discouraging, but I pushed on and eventually created a new alloy, X-Titanium, which was much stronger than regular titanium.

Even with X-Titanium, my next attempt—the Tau GN Drive—had problems. It was basically an empty battery that could not produce its own GN particles and needed a special machine to charge. I also discovered that the machine which would recharge the Tau would produce unstable GN particles, which were extremely toxic compared to those from a true GN Drive. Realizing this hit hard, leading me to decide to stop working on the Tau GN Drive. It felt like failure, but I needed to return to the drawing board.

I was about to give up when a new idea sparked my interest. What if I could create a part that worked like a TD blanket, which was the missing component that couldn't be created without a Jovian environment? It could be the missing piece for the GN Drive to create continuous energy. However, making it real was proving much harder than I thought. Many designs filled my mind, but none came to life—until I overheard a colleague talking about a fantasy novel featuring dragons that stored endless magical energy in their hearts.

That idea inspired me: I could design a system that produces enough particles to power a Gundam while including a device that stores extra GN particles for emergencies.

After three months of hard work, I completed my new creation: the GN Drive ver. Fafnir, named after a legendary Norse dragon. Unlike earlier versions, this GN Drive could produce its own GN particles, though at a lower capacity. It could power a Gundam for about three hours of continuous combat, depending on how many particles I used. Afterward, it needed a twenty-four-hour rest to recharge.

During the recharging phase, the drive worked to stabilize the particles because they could become unstable during production. If the process was interrupted, the drive would automatically switch to safety mode, which would expel the unstable GN particles while keeping the stabilized ones. Thanks to the GN Condenser, I could extend the Gundam's operational time by storing extra GN particles for use after the drive started recharging.

However, there was a limitation: when I used at least ninety percent of the particle reserve, the drive's performance would drop quickly, forcing it to switch to the particles stored in the GN Condenser.

When I finally presented my creation to Aeolia, he looked worried. "This is too dangerous," he insisted. "This is a GN Drive that could be mass-produced, unlike the true GN Drives." He forbade me from making another version, and I reluctantly understood his point; after all, he had warned me about the Tau GN Drive. Aeolia decided to hide the knowledge of how to create the GN Drive ver. Fafnir within VEDA, setting up a new security level that only he and a few trusted members could access. Unlike the Tau, which was a copy of a true GN Drive but only missed a TD blanket that allowed it to produce GN particles, the Fafnir had a component I called the Dragon Heart, which let it produce a limited number of GN particles. No one, not even those who might gain control of VEDA, could access this information.

Then there was the Gundam my team was developing. Its full name is AG-001. By the time we finished construction, it would be the most powerful weapon in the world—except for nuclear weapons. But to be honest, I wasn't too worried about nuclear weapons. I believed VEDA would one day help guide humanity away from nuclear power and weapons. Instead, solar energy and mobile suits would become the new standard—a much better option in my eyes.

Lost in thoughts about the Gundam and what it represented, I barely noticed when my team started to come into the meeting room, one by one. They took their seats, and the atmosphere was thick with fatigue.

"Good evening, everyone," I began, my voice steady but cracking slightly under the weight of exhaustion lingering in the air. "I know you're all tired, and usually, we don't do much in these meetings other than discuss the Alpha project. But the big man upstairs wants an update on the Gundam. We need detailed reports on the work done."

As I said this, I saw a wave of collective sighs ripple through the room. The dark circles under each member's eyes told me everything I needed to know. Many had likely squeezed in more late nights than they should have. When was the last time we had a good night's sleep?

"Okay, I'll need each of you to introduce yourselves at the start of the recording, which I'll send to the big man after the meeting. Remember, the quicker we get this done, the sooner we can rest. So, who's going first?"

Eyes darted around the room. They finally landed on a particular member—a tall, lean guy with an athletic build. His short, messy black hair framed sharp cheekbones, and fatigue was clear on his face.

"Why am I always the first to give my report?" he asked, a hint of frustration in his tired voice.

"Tradition," replied Regina Vault, her voice teasing. Her striking purple hair flowed down her back, and her vivid red eyes sparkled with mischief. Her pale skin made her look almost like a fairy, and her playful smile showed both confidence and friendliness.

He tried to hide his annoyance, but it was clear that the banter didn't amuse him. "Fine, let's get this over with." Laying his head on the table for a moment, he took a deep breath. "My name is Thomas Vashti," he finally said, pushing through his fatigue. "I'm in charge of developing the frame for the Alpha Gundam. Since our last report—thanks to help from our team leader, Reinhard Durandal—we've created a new type of frame called the Gundam Frame. It is made from X-Titanium. This frame has many advantages over previous versions. It can work in almost any environment, as long as outside parts don't block it. It also makes the Gundam twenty-five percent more mobile and can respond to pilot commands seventy-five percent faster.

"And the downsides? If any part of the frame gets damaged—which, let's be real, is unlikely because it can take a small skyscraper falling on it—we'll need to take apart the whole Gundam to fix it." Thomas concluded, letting the weight of his words settle in the air. "While the Gundam Frame is amazing technology, I wouldn't recommend it for future models. Since it's already built, we might as well use it for the Alpha Gundam."

With that, he laid his head back down on the table, clearly worn out from the pressure of recent months.

He wasn't wrong. The Gundam Frame was groundbreaking, but making it required a huge amount of resources. For the same price, we could have built ten of the previous models.

Next, a woman with long blonde hair caught my attention. She had a graceful presence and seemed to radiate quiet confidence, even though her blue eyes showed signs of fatigue.

"Ashley Winter," she said, her voice firm and steady. "I'm responsible for the armor development for the Gundam." Clearing her throat, she continued, "At first, I wanted to use X-Titanium for the armor material, but I found it hard to work with and not strong enough for the effort required. After thinking about it, I decided to create a new kind of carbon stronger than carbon nanotubes, which I call E-Carbon. E-Carbon is lightweight and can resist temperature changes and corrosion better than any existing metal, except X-Titanium."

Her passion showed as she spoke; her eyes lit up with excitement. "Given our decision to use the Gundam Frame for the Alpha Gundam, I developed armor pieces that can be ejected from the frame, allowing for more mobility when needed. I recommend further developing E-Carbon for future Gundam designs."

I shared her enthusiasm; E-Carbon showed great potential. When I first read about its creation, I was impressed by how few weaknesses it had. However, scaling its production remained a major challenge, mainly due to the lack of technology.

Next, a big man with a muscular frame stepped forward. He looked intimidating with his bald head and serious frown.

"My name is Bjorn Larsen," he said, his deep voice drawing attention. "I handle the weapons for the Gundam. At first, I aimed to create a GN Bazooka for the Gundam, but with our current limits, I switched to developing two GN beam sabers, two GN Vulcans, a prototype shield on the Gundam's left arm, a GN knife, and a GN rifle.

"The GN sabers emit energy beams from their hilts when drawn and are mounted on the Gundam's shoulders. The GN Vulcans are in the forearms—their firepower is low, but they can shoot quickly, which can effectively keep enemies from moving. The shield can create a GN field on its surface for strong defense and can detach if needed. The GN knife, stored on the back, can cut through a one-meter-thick block of X-Titanium and E-Carbon and can even penetrate GN fields. The GN rifle can fire beams made of GN particles, capable of destroying mobile suits with a good shot, and can adjust its beam strength."

His enthusiasm was infectious, but I felt a growing concern. The power behind these weapons felt excessive, especially when our main goal was just to check whether we could build a mobile suit powered by the GN Drive. Bjorn was passionate about weapon design, driven by his interests despite our shared dislike of war.

After Bjorn finished, Reinhard fell silent, waiting for the next two members to deliver their reports. Once they finished, he prepared to speak.

"My name is Reinhard Durandal," he announced. "I'm the lead designer of the Alpha project, which aims to prove that mobile suit combat is possible by constructing the AG-001, also known as the Alpha Gundam. I am also responsible for developing the updated operating system (OS) and the power source that will energize the Gundam." Taking a deep breath, he continued, with passion evident in his voice. "I improved the original OS to make it more efficient and added a virtual intelligence called H.A.R.U. (Heuristic Autonomous Reactive Unit), which will assist the pilot if the Gundam is cut off from VEDA's support. This is important because VEDA is not completely operational yet."

His words had weight, reflecting the concern that lingered among us. "As for the power source, I chose to use the GN Drive ver. Fafnir. Since its creation, I have tried to improve it, but progress has been slow. I've increased the Drive's lifespan and developed a system called Lite Trans-Am—a prototype of the Trans-Am system created by Aeolia. I modified it to work with the Fafnir; it can run for sixty seconds before the system shuts down to protect the backup particles stored in the Large GN Condenser." He paused, deep in thought. "Finally, I decided to move the OS from the Gundam frame to the GN Drive so that H.A.R.U. can manage particle output effectively and ensure the Gundam doesn't lose power."

Looking around the room, I felt my determination grow. "With that, the report is finished. I think we need to begin the final test of the Gundam tomorrow."