The military facility was nearly empty, the buildings silent and deserted as the lieutenant looked around her before the black haired woman nodded to herself in satisfaction. Noin turned, walked outside to where the large transport jet patiently waited and climbed up the stairs, smiling slightly as she nodded to the pilot, "Let's go.". "I wish we didn't have to leave this facility behind," Sally Po said softly, the brown haired woman sitting in one of the chairs. Noin climbed into the other seat in the mobile suit transport, strapping herself in with easy confidence. "It's partially for operational security," she said as the plane shuddered and began to roll forward, "and it looks like we might be ready to begin operations soon." With a thump they left the ground, the windows showing the other planes rising with them. "We'd best know how easy it is to transport the new Tallgeese models," Sally agreed, tossing a look towards the back where the mobile suits were. Designated the Tallgeese II Noin's mobile suit had been kept to the same basic configuration as Zech's, with the heavy cannon and beam saber the suit's primary weapons. The variations in the designs were in the shield, which was both larger and triangular and in the color scheme, done in red with a bit of black. Along with it was Sally's modified Leo, both of them carrying the stylized rose emblem of their new unit. "I'm still not quite clear why we have a rose for a emblem," Noin remarked. "It came from the top," Sally shrugged, "from Treise himself." She looked at the signet ring that Noin wore, "And it matches that, too." "Dorothy doesn't seem to mind," Noin conceded. She frowned slightly, "I wish the techs hadn't had to sacrifice her shield unit to mount that chain whip Dorothy wanted." "From what the tech boys tell me, the suit's speed and maneuverability should help compensate," Sally offered. She smiled slightly at her commanding officer, "Not to mention the fact we were able to switch the old shield over to Lady Une's suit." "True enough," Noin agreed, "and I guess that isn't what is really bothering me." "Oh?" Sally leaned forward in her chair to look intently at Noin. Noin looked vaguely troubled, "Dorothy wasn't just ruthless in the latest simulator runs, she was nearly blood thirsty." She shook her head grimly, "To stop a Gundam she was perfectly willing to slaughter our own troops, sacrificing them cold bloodedly." "Dorothy wouldn't sacrifice a fellow Tallgeese pilot," Sally offered tentatively. Noin's lips pressed together into a straight line, her brown eyes narrowing. "It shouldn't matter if it's a Tallgeese pilot or not," she shot back, "we're all soldiers." She shook herself, trying to restrain her temper, "Sorry, I just keep thinking of my trainees and what might happen to them if Dorothy decides to use them just for cannon-fodder." Sally sighed but had to nod in agreement. "We can't remove her as a pilot, either," she said, "Dorothy has far too much influence for that." "Tell me about it," Noin made a face, "it's just another thing that annoys me. The whole situation is so damn political it's not funny." "There is some wisdom in completing all five Tallgeese suits before fielding them against the Gundams," Sally pointed out reasonably. Noin snorted. "No, it's a publicity coup for Romafeller," she said dryly, "they want it to be a media event when the debut all five suits." Sally looked like she wanted to say something, but firmly kept her mouth shut. Noin looked amused as she said, "You have been around me enough by now to know you can speak freely." "It is a new experience, ma'am," Sally said wryly. "Fair enough," Noin conceded. The Specials were a very unique military organization, but like all armies they had issues of order and discipline. While speaking out about an issue wasn't discouraged, saying the wrong thing in front of a commander could be bad for one's career. Therefore a young officer tended to get to know their commander before expressing an opinion. "I was just going to say that it's kind of ironic that the weapon's manufacturers involved with Romafeller are touting the Tallgeese," Sally said to her wryly, "considering that it's based on much older technology." "True enough," Noin agreed. She tilted her head to the side, "It's not really my area, but I was wondering if you were able to find any of the engineers who helped design the Tallgeese?" "No luck in finding them," Sally looked mildly peeved, "the six main engineers who were involved seem to have disappeared off the face of the Earth." Noin had the oddest look on her face, "Off the face of the Earth...?" "Ma'am?" Sally looked at her worriedly. "It just hit me," Noin said softly, leaning forward as much as the seat belts allowed. "The Tallgeese was an early design Mobile Suit, one abandoned because of it's size and power," she said eagerly, "now compare it to the Gundams, who match or exceed it in size and power." It took Sally only a moment to see where her commanding officer was going with this. "You think the engineers who created Tallgeese designed the Gundams?" she asked breathlessly. It was clear her thoughts were racing as she said, "The visual elements of the designs are similar..." "It's a theory, anyway," Noin made herself calm down, though it wasn't easy. She took a breath, "Can your people get a hold of the engineers' records, see if we can find out if one or more of them migrated to the colonies over the years?" "I'll have people look onto it as soon as possible," Sally smiled at Noin eagerly, "and I can guess how this information might help us. Any flaws or weaknesses we discover in the Tallgeese might be echoed in the Gundams." "It is just a theory," Noin hastened to caution her, "let's not get too wedded to the idea, just in case." Her answering smile was devilish as she continued, "But yes, that is the general idea." Meanwhile, in one of the other transport planes Dorothy Catalonia took a small earplug out, coiling it's cable up and putting it away with a compact listening device. Bugging the other plane had been merely a precaution, but it seemed to have paid off for the regal blonde. "Trouble?" Tubarov asked his niece warily. He had played the game of intrigue for many years and considered himself to be a good player, but Dorothy had quickly demonstrated superior skills in that area. Her ruthlessness seemed to hold no bounds, as did her ambition. "No, an opportunity," Dorothy answered smoothly. She smiled at the balding man as she said, "It seems that Noin has finally deduced what we already knew, the connection between the Gundams and our Tallgeese." "Our people have several weeks head start in finding them," Tubarov said confidently, "we'll have the engineers in hand first." "Don't be overconfident," Dorothy's eyes flashed angrily, "they will have all the official resources of the Specials behind their search." She drummed her fingers on the arm of her seat, "Have your people plant some red herrings, just in case." "Does Mr. Treise really need these scientists so much?" Tubarov asked her as he hurried to use a satellite connection radio to send out the messages. "I'm confident that the Tallgeese ca face the Gundams on even terms," Dorothy said smoothly, "but we have no idea what advancements the colonies have held in reserve. If Mr. Treise is going to compete in the Duels, he'll need a unique mobile suit." "A Gundam," Tubarov mused, "on our side?" "Exactly," Dorothy smiled unpleasantly. As the mobile suit transport flew onward Dorothy sat back as she considered what else she had heard. She hadn't expected her actions in the simulator to bother Noin and Sally Po so much, and she silently resolved to tone it down in her training. Not that she'd change how she acted in the field, but maintaining the illusion of a friendly relationship was a must. 'When the time comes to finally defeat all my fellow Duelists,' Dorothy smiled to herself, 'I want it to be completely unexpected.'
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