[EXCLUSIVE] - Gaia Gear Ch.05 (Full)

Chapter.05
ARSON

1

　The impoverished lovers Affranchi Char and Everly Key. However, Affranchi's bravery and Everly's beauty and attentive demeanor endeared them to the ship's crew. That's why they were allowed to use the first-class cabin, although it meant they had less time alone. 

　"Well, it's clear that Everly only has eyes for you and hasn't spared us even a glance. But that's part of her charm. I usually have no patience for lovebirds, but with Everly, it's different. When I see you two together, I sense a deeper connection," the captain mused more than once.

　"I'm not sure what to say to that," Affranchi admitted, his cheeks turning pink.

　"Don't be shy. It takes a man of true merit to make a woman fall head over heels. Wear that as a badge of honor. It's your medal," the captain encouraged.

　Affranchi's face flushed even more, and he cast his eyes downward. Everly gazed from the captain to Affranchi's rosy visage, her own eyes twinkling.

　Seeing Everly like this, the captain remarked,  "It's a wonder that such a girl still exists on Earth. Maybe humanity isn't entirely doomed after all."

　With that, he rose and took his leave. Later that day, as their destination in Hong Kong neared, Affranchi Char ventured to the ship's hold to confront the young men responsible for the hijacking.

　Two crew members stood guard, tasked with watching over him.

　Affranchi struggled to comprehend the true motive behind the hijacking. The captain's explanation seemed far too simplistic.

　"They're rebelling against the Earth Federation government, which governs over 20 billion people across the planet and space colonies. They're perpetually discontented, the sort who can't find satisfaction without voicing their grievances," the captain had explained.

　The windowless cargo hold was permeated by a musty scent, and the faint glow from the night lamps cast an oppressive ambiance, which persisted even during daylight hours.

　"I don't understand why you attacked this ship just to target me. Did Truth Stronger compensate you that handsomely?" Affranchi inquired.

　In response to his first question, Mikhail Kinsey flashed his pearly whites. "No, it was merely a coincidence."

　"A coincidence?"

　"Yeah, who would have thought you were such a valuable man? Haha. We knew you were skilled, though."

　"Did you learn about me?"

　"We did, indeed."

　"What did Truth request of you?"

　"He said to kill you."

　Mikhail replied casually. The simplicity of the answer made Affranchi realize the wickedness of human sensibilities once more.

　"I see. Was abducting Everly Key also part of Truth's plan?"

　"That's part of it, but we also thought she was a good girl based on our own judgment."

　"Why's that?"

　"Because she's innocent."

　"So, you're implying she's easily manipulated?"

　"Precisely… Haha!"

　Mikhail chuckled at Affranchi's guarded line of questioning, seemingly amused by the conversation.

　Affranchi felt his anger rise but forced it down and posed another question.

　"Is your name Mikhail derived from Michael, like the archangel?"

　Mikhail's irritation surfaced this time, "That funny to you or soemthing?" he snapped back.

　"No, I simply don't know much about angels."

　"Don't you like it? What's your issue?"

　"There's a lot I don't know. That's why I seek to learn. That's the truth."

　"Kind of like your woman? She's too trusting, which made her easy to approach."

　Affranchi felt that this man enjoyed stirring up other people's emotions. 

　"So, you thought she was a promiscuous woman?"

　"Exactly? Hahahaha!" Mikhail Kinsey and his cohorts erupted in laughter once more. Their crude chuckles reverberated through the ship's hold, agitating the stale atmosphere and causing the hull to sway listlessly.

　"She's the type to fool around, huh?"

　A coarse voice came from the back. "Does that mean she'd sleep with just anyone?"

　"Isn't that what people on the island do?"

　"?!"

　Enraged, Affranchi swung his fist. Despite his hands being bound by rope, Mikhail nimbly evaded, but Affranchi's fist tracked Mikhail's cheek.

　However, the fist stopped just before it touched Mikhail's cheek. For a moment, a tumult of thoughts and emotions battled within Affranchi.

　Tick, tick, tick, tick! 

　That sound resounded once more.

　At Affranchi's tongue-clicking, "Heh! It's not right to hurt someone who's restrained," Mikhail grumbled.

　"You're a smart man." 

　Affranchi wanted to clarify that his reason for stopping wasn't so straightforward but chose not to. If he confessed that he was simply obeying the sound, they would only mock him again.

　"Why did you abduct Everly?"

　"I didn't know she was your woman. She was getting cozy with another man."

　"That's Carey Howe. A mutual friend of Everly's and mine."

　"Really? They appeared quite close. That's why I knocked him out and took her aboard the boat. To be honest, I thought she'd be a woman who'd appeal to us because she seemed strong-willed. A hostage considered a friend is no good. I wanted a woman who would likely put up a spirited fight."

　"Truth Stronger ordered it too. Why! You racist bastard!" Affranchi grabbed Mikhail's T-shirt collar. 

　"Don't throw outdated terms at me, Bossman."

　Mikhail remained composed.

　"Tell me what you're after! Your boat is laden with high-grade explosives. Why? Are you anti-Earth Government activists?"

　"We're just going to blow up the shuttle launch pad in Hong Kong. Earth-dwellers don't need to inhabit space. Truth concentrates on race, but we're different. Our focus is the conflict between Earth and space..."

　"But you targeted Everly due to racial prejudice."

　"I told you it was coincidental. You're really a naive islander, aren't you? Yet you employ kickboxing or taekwondo or something similar. I don't comprehend that."

　"I don't recall learning any martial arts," Affranchi retorted irritably, releasing his grip on Mikhail.

　"You're lying... you're white, right? Affranchi, what did you say it was?" 

　"Char..."

　"Ah, right... so, why do you despise Truth Stronger? He's your pal, isn't he?"

　"Blowing up the shuttle launch pad won't separate Earth and space... and you can't stop someone coming down from space."

　"Sure, we can. We just need to rattle the Federation. And then profit from it."

　"How absurd!"

　"Really? Well, on top of that, we'll seize control of the Federation."

　Once more, the young men's laughter, tinged with derision, filled the hold.

　"Hahaha..."

　Affranchi joined in their laughter.

　Tick!

　There was a distinct sound of something snapping.

　"If what you say is true, I'll lend you a hand."

　The reverberations of the sound still lingered in Affranchi's head.

　"Huh...?"

　"I hate that kind of joke the most. But if you're serious, I'll lend a hand."

　"And if it was just a joke?"

　Affranchi took out a knife from his back pocket.

　"I'll kill you. So, are you genuinely joking with me?"

　"Uh...?"

　Mikhail Kinsey gazed at Affranchi, his mouth agape.

　Affranchi brandished the knife blade.

　"Kukuku...!"

　The young men behind Mikhail snickered in the shadows.

　"That's enough!"

　Mikhail yelled, then turned back to Affranchi.

　"We're serious. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother with such a pain-in-the-ass hijacking."

　"What organization is backing you?"

　"That was a mean joke. We still don't know anything about you... Just think of us as the Hong Kong Mafia."

　"Got it."

　Affranchi rose to his feet and folded the knife blade.

　It was an unsettling moment for the young men. It appeared as though a light hovered behind Affranchi.　

2

　As Affranchi emerged from the cargo hold, a pair of crew members outside the door breathed a sigh of relief.

　"Quiet in there?" one of them asked.

　"Yeah," replied Affranchi, "they seem like they're at their breaking point. They're probably regretting their decisions."

　"Did you learn anything?" another crew member inquired.

　"They mentioned the Hong Kong Mafia is funding them."

 　"Figures," the crew member said. "Those types always create chaos in society and profit off it."

　"Being from the islands makes it hard to know about those kinds of things," Affranchi said. "But where's the money coming from?""

　"The mainland government. If they create enough havoc, the government pays out, and companies hand over cash when passengers are held hostage. Insurance easily covers the expenses..."

　With the two crew members guarding him, Affranchi ascended the gangway.

　"Want to see the engine room?" one of them asked.

　"No, I'll visit with Everly later. Is that alright?"

　"Sure thing."

　They climbed up to the next floor.

　Passengers crowded the narrow deck, with people praying in front of the bathroom at the back.

　"The water's overflowing!"

　"That's because you guys don't know how to use it!"

　One of the crew members behind Affranchi snapped, "Can't you be nicer to them?"

　"Listen," he continued in a hushed tone, "those guys take advantage of kindness. Please, just go ahead."

　As Affranchi made his way up the ramp, he caught a glimpse of the chaos on the floor.

　"Oh no, why didn't they warn us it had gotten this bad?"

　The crew member whispered this and rushed to the bathroom, pushing aside the passengers.

　As Affranchi stepped onto the ramp, he peeked at the commotion on that floor.

　"Oh no! Why didn't they let us know it had gotten this bad!"

　The bathroom was overflowing with sewage, sloshing back and forth with the ship's movement.

　The crew member opened the hatch at the end of the corridor facing the bathroom.

　"Wait! I'll call the person in charge!" he shouted, running towards Affranchi, who opened the gangway for him.

　"What's on the other side?" Affranchi asked.

　"Cargo. There's no way water could get in there," the crew member standing above him laughed.

　"It's almost time to arrive in Hong Kong, and they're still causing trouble," he added.

　Affranchi felt confident that the promise with those men would soon be fulfilled.

3

　"Tour the engine room?"

　Everly wore a puzzled expression.

　"I know you're not interested, Everly, but would you do it for me?"

　"Affranchi...?"

　"To be honest, I'm not sure why. I just feel like we have to."

　"Oh...! Affranchi Char!"

　Everly embraced him, her arms wrapped around his neck.

　She said nobly that she might be able to part ways with him if their time together on this ship lasted.

　Yet the warmth of her embrace...

　"Boppo-kkyu-kkyu!"

　Everly placed both hands near her ears, comically mimicking the movement of a cylinder head.

　"Hahaha!"

　"Classic Everly!"

　The mechanics laughed and enjoyed her lighthearted antics.

　Grateful for Everly's sincerity and initiative, Affranchi took advantage of the situation to swipe some machine oil and a rag.

　On the way back, he also picked up a length of rope.

　"What are you going to do with that?"

　Everly asked as she watched Affranchi soak the palm rope with oil.

　"Well, the world is... dirty, or rather, scary, and different from the island. You should go back to the island, Everly."

　Affranchi coiled the rope.

　"Is it for going to space?"

　"That's the plan. I may not make it, though..."

　"You will."

　"Once I figure out what I need to do, I'll come for you."

　Everly didn't respond.

　Affranchi looked at her downcast back, resisting the urge to embrace her, and opened the door to the room.

　Shortly after he returned to the room where Everly was waiting, black smoke billowed from the cargo hold near the economy-class restroom.

　Affranchi knew that the cargo hold was right above the room where Mikhail Kinsey and the others were.

4

　"What's going on?"

　When Affranchi stepped onto the deck from the room, the crew members were scrambling about. 

　"Everything's fine here! We can even see Hong Kong now!"

　"A fire started on some fabric!"

　A crew member clutching a fire extinguisher hurried past.

　"Stay put!"

　"Affranchi!"

　Affranchi instructed Everly to remain where she was before heading to the lower deck.

　"What about the men we detained?"

　Affranchi asked the deck officer in charge of putting out the fire.

　"We're getting them out now. It's dangerous down there with all the smoke!" Affranchi peered down the ladder from the upper deck through the crowd of evacuating passengers.

　Kinsey and his group were climbing up.

　"Cough, cough!"

　Hunched over and choking, Mikhail noticed Affranchi and looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

　"Hey!"

　Affranchi took out a knife and cut the rope around Michael's wrists.

　"Was this... your doing?"

　"Don't leave the rope here..."

　"Got it."

　Mikhail leaned over the side of the ship, confirming their boat was still tethered behind them.

　"Don't blow up the shuttle rail. I'm going to need it soon."

　Affranchi whispered into Mikhail's ear.

　"Using the available facilities without destabilizing the Federation is the right thing to do." 

　With that, Affranchi moved to the next man ascending the ladder, and as he brushed past him, cut the ropes around his wrists,

　"Follow Mikhail."

　"Huh? Oh!"

　Affranchi pushed the knife into the man's hand, then navigated through the crowd of evacuees to the upper deck, where he accepted a fire extinguisher from a descending crew member.

　"We're going to need more of these!"

　With a determined shout, Affranchi rushed towards the blaze.

　At that moment, he saw Mikhail and the others being carried away by the current.

　Ignoring it, Affranchi joined the crew in putting out the fire.

　He tried to forget about the men.

　"I shouldn't remember. That's a different matter."

　He deliberately forced himself to forget, as though under self-hypnosis.

　If he remembered, he'd be forced to lie.

　Nonetheless, his aid in the firefighting efforts allowed Affranchi to dispose of the charred remains of the palm rope near the cargo hold entrance.

　"Be sure to douse the back with plenty of fire suppressant!"

　As the captain barked the order, the situation finally began to subside. It was then that the crew members realized the freed men had disappeared.

　"The boat!"

　By the time the captain roared on the bridge, Mikhail Kinsey and his cohorts' cruiser was already speeding towards Hong Kong. Ahead of them, a huge structure towered between the sea and the island: the launch rail for the space shuttle.

5

　"The fire was deliberately set. Someone took advantage of the restroom cleaning to sneak in."

　"If that's the case, I could be suspected too."

　"Right... The police will likely investigate, but we can't hold the passengers indefinitely..."

　"What about the boat...?"

　"We've contacted the Hong Kong authorities. I'd like to think they won't get away, but the police can be slow."

　"I'm sorry for causing so much trouble on board."

　"A promising young person like you shouldn't say that... Speaking of which, there might be a passenger identity check. Can you write down your accommodations in Hong Kong?"

　"Yes..."

　Affranchi replied nonchalantly, though he had no prearranged accommodations. He returned to his room and wrote down the name and address of a hotel listed in the tourist guide on the form the captain had given him.

　"Affranchi!"

　At Everly's voice, Affranchi approached the window.

　The ship was just passing beneath the massive shuttle launch rail.

　"Did humans make this?"

　"It seems so. Even bigger things are floating in space."

　"I see..."

　Everly looked up at the towering steel lattice over the sea with a worried expression.

　"It's scary..."

　"Things look so different on TV..."

　Affranchi, too, was captivated by the same sense of awe as Everly.

　"We didn't know anything living on that island, did we?"

　"No, we didn't."

　While Affranchi's eyes were drawn to the artificial landscape of the island where the rail began, he pondered the meaning of Everly's question.

　"Our island... it was deliberately isolated. The adults on the island were gathered because they only cared about surviving..."

　"Why?"

　"Maybe they wanted to create a paradise just for those kinds of people."

　"Who did...?"

　"I can't begin to imagine."

　Affranchi sighed.

　"So, it's a paradise there..."

　"Yes. Outside, islands are packed with cars, concrete, and plastic. Over there is the mainland... Look! The air is polluted."

　"Yeah..."

　Everly leaned towards the direction where she thought the city of Hong Kong was.

　"The air is so stagnant and black..."

　"If that's modern life, I can see why someone would want a paradise..."

　"Affranchi... You study a lot, don't you?

　Everly looked intently at Affranchi's face again.

　"I don't remember studying. You know that better than anyone. We went to the same high school on the island, and after that, we either dived into the sea or worked in the fields."

　"That's true. Even at that school, the teachers didn't teach us anything. Not about the colonies floating in space, nor about wars... My parents were uneducated, so they only knew how to catch fish and grow taro."

　"No, they also taught us how to weave, didn't they?"

　"Yes...!"

　"And Gaba Su taught us how to navigate by looking at the stars and the moon. That's amazing, isn't it?"

　"Why?"

　"The captain of this ship said that he could navigate just by looking at the machines. But that would make us forget that the ship is sailing on the sea. In the same way, if we could survive like that, it would be very unnatural."

　"I see... People outside live like that, right?"

　"That's why the island's way of life is right. Bringing together people who wanted to protect that kind of lifestyle was the right thing to do."

　"Even so... Affranchi, are you leaving?"

　"Why?"

　In that instant, for some reason, Affranchi sensed it might be the last opportunity to tell Everly the truth.

　So, he told her.

　"It's because of the sound inside me."

　"Sound?"

　"Yes, the sound. The sound of the universe resonates in my head. No, it's in my memories. That's a better way to put it."

　When the ship arrived at the port of Hong Kong in the evening, the two of them were the first to disembark. As the captain had predicted, the police had not yet arrived at the pier, thanks to their negligence. If they had been there, Affranchi would have been questioned and likely apprehended for his clumsy crime.

　"Affranchi Char?"

　In front of the towering buildings, a well-dressed woman stood before the awestruck Affranchi and Everly.

　"We've been expecting you. Please come with me."

　Before Affranchi and Everly could answer, the woman led them to a luxurious car.