Fallen Angels Rising Phoenix (Krung Thep, 2310 AD)

Zero felt uneasy around Mars. At any moment he could remember that night and then all hell would break loose. Trying to look as calm as possible, Zero engaged Mars in conversation.

"Keep up the good work. Celestial Being needs good guys like you to do the hard work. By the way, have you heard the news about that Mobile Suit attacking A-LAWS' space forces? Rumor has it, the Mobile Suit is using a real Solar Reactor."

"Yeah, I heard. Funny, some people are comparing that Mobile Suit to a zombie. Other say that it looks vaguely familiar.", Mars said.

He then took a moment to look at the Uriel once again before saying, "For all we know, HE might still be alive."

Him. The young man for had defeated the Alavtore. Zero Greatly admired him. He was part of what inspired Zero to take the gundam blueprints in the first place.

"If that guy is still alive, then I want to meet him once on the battlefield before my dying day. But him aside, any news on Allelujah Haptism's Location?"

Mars looked at Zero with a puzzled look. That comment about meeting HIM on the battlefield before he died struck him as strange.

"Yeah. Gundam Meister, Allelujah Haptism has been found. Over the years, he has been moved from facility to facility. Making very difficult to stage a proper rescue operation. According to Wang Liu Mei, he is currently being detained at the Federation Anti-Government Detention Facility."

In fact, it was Mars Denbrey himself that had acquired that information through his operation in Fereshte and gave it to Wang Liu Mei.

"I see." Zero's eyes followed the Haros that were floating here and there. He laughed when 2 Haros collided and began flapping in separate directions.

"Since we are talking about the Meisters, have you heard from Tieria at all? I haven't seen him since he went to test the GN Drives with Ian." Zero was curious as to what Ian had been working on in secret.

"I've talked to him occasionally. He has asked my opinion about the GN Drives, given my experience and all. Seems he has mellowed out quite a bit. Mr. Vashti has been in a bad mood though. The Drives have been giving him quite some trouble."

Mars took a deep breath and sighed.

"Too bad about Lockon. He was a cool guy. Feldt has had a hard time dealing with it."

Zero looked at Mars in the eye. Lockon Stratos was truly an excellent pilot and a good man. Although he didn't know any of the pilots or operative well, Zero felt a familial bond towards the people in CB. This made it difficult for him to go through with his plans.

"Mars... Where exactly is Feldt Grace anyway? I haven't seen her around here recently."

Mars had a distant look in his eyes as he thought about Feldt. He had known here all his life and loved her as a friend. Perhaps as something more. He then looked at Zero and answered.

"She's with Tieria and Mr. Vashti. She's helping Mr. Vashti with his GN Drive problem. She also asks for my input from time to time. Hopefully, I'll be able to see her again soon. Once we're deployed as the Meisters for the Ptolemaios 2. Well, that IF I get assigned there."

"I see." Zero could feel something in Mars' words. He sighed as he didn't want to compete with him for Feldt. "I doubt I'll be assigned to the Ptoley. They're gonna have 4 Gundams. I'm betting something big is going to happen." Zero smiled at his own words.

"Maybe my dying day is a lot closer than I imagined." Zero fiddled with something in his pocket and started walking to the door.

Mars looked as Zero walked to the door.

"At the moment, they only have Tieria. We still don't know ih HE is still alive or if he still is a part of Celestial Being. And Allelujah is still in jail. So, I'm guessing they might be a Meister or two short.

And what's with all this 'dying day' stuff anyway?"

Zero simply waved his hand without looking at Mars. He had the feeling that man was still alive and kicking. As for Zero's constant references to his own death, well that was something personal. Remembering something, Zero called to Mars.

"Don't forget to tune my Gundam for high speed combat! I like to go fast!"

"Will do.", said Mars. He then sat and began to work on configuring the Uriel for higher speeds. As he worked, Zero's words about dying dawned on him. What was that about?

Mars then thought about his recent missions with Fereshte and how bad things have gotten since A-Laws got formed. Things will get ugly soon enough.

"Alright. Now I gotta get in the cockpit and make the adjustments there."

Zero went to his room. He spent most of his time there, not realizing how much time passed. Since his last late night adventure, Zero had been reassigned to room with a personal terminal. The terminal was connected to Krung Thep's network in order to monitor Zero's activities. A foolish move on their part.

Zero subtly signaled Crusade to hack into the network. The robot ball flapped it's ear-like appendages rapidly as it preformed it's secret mission. The terminal screen flashed continuously until Ian's Mobile Suit blueprints came up. Since the last time, it seemed that information on the 4th generation Exia replacement had been moved to a separate server.

Regardless, Zero examined another blueprint, one that Mars had been carrying the day of the incident. It was simply named Ariel, however it was labeled for auto-deletion within a few hours.

"Crusade, copy it now and send it into storage with the others. Remember to cover out tracks like always." The haro hopped a little bit as it did as ordered.

"No problem! No problem!" it chirped.

Moments after Crusade's latest hack, Gabriel Schneider AKA Mars Denbrey receives a call on a secure line while he is making adjustment on the Uriel.

"Mars, here. What it is Commander?"

A female voice is heard.

"Sherilyn and Hayano detected a hack attempt. We have noticed several spikes in the system, but the person or persons behind them have been good at covering their tracks. This time, it was tracked down to the rooms in the facility you are stationed in."

A concerned looks appeared on Mars' face. He replied, "Don't suppose you could narrow it down a bit, huh?"

The female voice said, "Not at the moment. One person that you should keep an eye on is Meister Zero Sue."

"Zero?! Are you sure?", Mars said. He couldn't believe it. Or maybe he didn't want to believe it.

"Ever since the day he was caught wandering the halls by the barrack inspector, high command has had his eye on him. We've even gone as far as to wire the terminal in his room to our system to monitor him more closely", said the voice.

"I see", said Mars.

After a few seconds, the voice added, "Besides, don't you think that it was too much of a coincidence that the same night Zero was caught was the same one that you woke up on the computer room with no memory of how you got there?"

A cold shiver covered Mars' body.

Zero lay in his bed and stared at the ceiling. He reflected on his day. He had received a coded transmission earlier from his friend Rocky. Things were going according to plan so far. A mystery benefactor had appeared seemingly from nowhere and had offered not only funding, but even resources.

Zero wasn't sure how much he trusted this person, but he had offered to send for Zero within the next few days. Rolling over to his side, Zero wondered what would happen before then. He had a bad feeling in his gut that told him he wouldn't be leaving easily.

As Crusade finished his rounds something clicked in Zero's mind. If the terminal is used to watch me then... Damn, looks like I should have hacked into the server through a different terminal. Hopefully though, I'll have enough time to prepare before they know for sure it was me.

"The investigation pointed to foul play. That mark on my chest was consistent with a needle mark. Which prompted you to do some bloodwork.", said Mars.

"Yes. And we found some small traces of a sleeping agent with a unique composition.", said the female voice.

As Mars tried to wrap his head around the fact that Zero Sue, a man he had trusted for a long time could be involved in a plot to destroy Celestial Being, an image of Zero pointing a gun at him in the computer room flashed briefly flashed in Mars' mind.

The female voice added, "Until we have concrete evidence, just keep an eye on any suspicious activity from anybody assigned to the sleeping barracks in your facility."

"That narrows it down, huh?", said Mars.

"I will tell Ezekial to assist you. Iris will also be involved in monitoring future hacking attempts. But, given the circumstances, keep close tabs on Zero Sue. So far, he is our prime suspect."

"Acknowledged. Mars Denbrey out."

Mars cut the communication.

Just before he managed to fall asleep Zero thought of Mars. "If push comes to shove, I'll need to subdue him to make my escape. I just hope that doesn't happen."

Finally, Zero drifted off to lala-land and slept the night away. While he slept he had a dream. A dream of being attacked by a Gundam that looked like Exia weilding 2 GN Swords and slashing away at Zero in his Uriel. Before a victor could be chosen, Zero awoke to the sound of his Haro screeching: WAKE UP! TIME FOR BREAKFAST AND MORNING EXERCISES! WAKE UP!

As if the ball was an alarm clock, Zero swung his fist down on the innocent metal ball. At that moment, pain shot through his hand and up his arm.

"GRAH! Remind me never to do that again!" Zero complained in agony. Crusade simply flashed his eyes and flapped his ears saying, "You suck! You su~ck!" Repeatedly.

Groaning, Zero went to get dressed.

Mars alarm clock went off and he quickly stretched his arm to reach it and turn it off. He was laying flat on his back on his bed looking at the ceiling. The reality was that he hadn't slept much. The thought of a traitor or traitors within Celestial Being made his mind wonder. And on top of that, that image that flashed in his mind of Zero holding him at gunpoint had him worried.

"What was that? Was it my mind playing games with me about what might come. Or, was it something that already happened?", Mars thought.

He then sat up, rubbed his eyes, and got out of bed. After a few seconds, he made his way to the bathroom, turned on the sink, and splashed some water on his face.

"Can't worry about that now. Celestial Being is at a crucial point right now and I need to run some more tests on Uriel and Exile."

Zero exited his room and lazily hovered down the hallway. As he floated, he passed by several CB personnel. They were happily chatting with each other as they walked passed Zero. He felt slightly envious of them as he kept moving toward the cafeteria.

Once he arrived, he noticed of familiar head of light purple hair. Zero quickly grabbed as food tray and loaded it with breakfast before he took his seat next to Anew Returner. For a moment there was silence in the room. Everyone turned their head's in the direction of Zero and Anew. The scene was similar to a High School where an unlikely pair of students, one popular and the other a pauper, displayed their friendship in public.

"Morning Anew-chan!" Zero greeted her, a big smile on his face. Anew finished what she had in her mouth and returned Zero's greeting, oblivious to the situation in the room.

"Good morning. I see you finally got up on time Zero. Is something special happening for you to be up this early?" Anew was one of the few friends that stayed by Zero after his previous detainment. Their relationship was never anything more than friendly, however no one ever actually knew about their friendship to begin with.

Mars finished putting his uniform on, grabbed an electronic clipboard, and began to read what was on it as he left his room. Eventually, he had found his way towards the cafeteria. Mars then got in line and as he patiently waited, his concentration was broken by the whispers of any of the people there.

He looked up and started to pay attention to what was happening.

"Why is Anew talking to that guy?, whispered a guy in front of Mars to a girl next to him.

The girl whispered back, "I know. That guy is trouble. She should not associate with him..."

Mars looked around the tables and spotted Anew Returner. He had worked with her in the calibration of some of Celestial Being's new Gundams and support crafts. She was a highly skilled mechanic that was brought into Celestial Being by Wang Liu Mei's recommendation. Moments later, Mars saw who was sitting next to her and the reason for all the gossiping in the room. It was Zero Sue.

Spotting another familiar face in the corner of his eye, Zero looked over to Mars. Now this would be interesting. The whole room was whispering to one another, and the one person who posed the biggest threat to Zero cover was now present in the room. Most people in this case would have fled the room, but Zero decided to push his luck.

"Actually, there is something important I have to take care of to day. I'm finally going to get my chance to take part in a sim battle using my Gundam this time." Zero answered. Anew held a finger to her chin for moment, she remembered hearing something about this before.

"Oh yes, Mr Vashti said he would be supervising the battle. So, who are you fighting then?" Anew asked.

"No one. It's a basic mission routine. Only this time the difficulty is at level A. Although I heard if I do good enough I'll be fighting one of the gundams from three years ago." For once since he arrived at the facility, Zero was displaying a great amount of excitement. Something that was greatly of character for him.

Once Mars had his tray of breakfast ready, he once again looked over at the table of Zero and Anew. He saw that they were cheerfully discussing something. A devilish grin formed in Mars' face.

"This should be interesting."

Mars made his way to the table and once got there smiled and said, "Hey guys, good morning. I hope I'm not interrupting anything. May I join you?"

Zero looked up at Mars. Anew stopped talking for a moment and looked from Zero to Mars puzzled at how they knew each other. Zero picked up his tray and slid down the bench to make room for Mars.

"Please, take a seat ol' buddy." Zero motioned to the free seat. He then set his sights back to his breakfast and began eating.

"Thanks.", said Mars as he took his seat. He put his electronic clipboard down next to his, picked up a knife and began to butter his toast. He then noticed that Zero had gotten quiet all of a sudden. He then looked at the puzzled Anew.

"What? Oh, don't stop talking on my account. Please, continue.", said Mars in a playful tone.

Taking Mars' invitation seriously Zero resumed talking with Anew. She still had the same look on her face from moments ago. The buzzing in the room grew louder, as if they were trying to get the attention of the trio.

"Just so you know," Zero started, "Me and this guy go back a ways. Since he's doing the tune ups on my machine I thought it would be best to get know him better, eh pal?." Zero lightly patted Mars on the back and took another bite into his food. Interestingly, Zero had absolutely no idea what he was eating, all he knew was he was eating it with a spoon instead of fork.

Anew seemed more relieved, and began eating again. She then looked at Mars. "Is it really a good idea for you to have brought that with you?" Anew pointed at Mars' clipboard