[MINI-NOVEL] SF91 CH.01 ENCOUNTER

　U.C.0123.02, the far side of the moon.

　A small convoy of battered-looking ships moved steadily near a sector of space known as the Zebra Zone, their presence all but invisible. The AE logo for Anaheim Electronics could be seen emblazoned on the fleet of larger transport ships, standing out in stark contrast to their surroundings.

　Three months had already passed since this small convoy of ships started showing up in this dark sector.

　"Captain, we're approaching the designated testing grounds in the Zebra Zone," said the navigator.

　"Any signs of other ships in the area?" the captain asked.

　"Blips on the screen indicate there's nothing but debris and remnants of an abandoned colony, sir. No thermal or Minovsky signatures detected," the navigator reported.

　"Excellent. Purge our camouflage. Prepare to commence testing."

　The fleet spreads out, with mobile suit launch catapults extending from either of the larger transports. Secret testing of mobile suits by Anaheim's mobile suit evaluation ship Braywood was underway.

　"Bow ramp deployed!"

　"Catapult pressure set for emergency launch!"

　"Archive team, report to the starboard observation deck."

　A flurry of various comms went up.

　Among them was a conversation between Ensign Tokio D. Randall, pilot of the RXF-91, who had just settled into his launch position, and the suit's chief engineer Albert Elsener.

　"Randall, my boy, this testing will be over in a week or so. Now is where we really get to push the boundaries," Elsener said.

　"So you're fine with me going full throttle, Chief?"

　"Hahaha, just take it easy, Ensign. The suit belongs to Anaheim, not the military. So try not to get too wild."

　"I hear you," he said, "But I doubt Kevin will let that slide. Apparently, he's gunning to take down the Silhouette Gundam."

　"I'm 'apparently' doing that? What's that supposed to mean?" interjected Kevin Forrest, the pilot of the RGM-111 Hardygun, who was waiting outside the ship. Being an exclusive test pilot for Anaheim rather than a soldier, Kevin saw little value in the adoration and praise of the RXF-91.

　"Randall, you know this Heavygun is also a testbed for the next round of mass-production mobile suits, right? With the testing I've done on it, it has the maneuverability and thrust to surpass even the current F-71 G-Cannon. Either way, it beats me whether it's a Gundam-type or whatnot, but I'm not gonna lose to a suit with such unknown characteristics."

　Kevin had a deep-seated hostility towards the RXF-91, also known as the Silhouette G. Following the development of the RGM-109 Heavygun, the new 15-meter class mobile suits, commonly known as miniaturized mobile suits, were becoming something of a monopoly for the SNRI military branch office, a position that Anaheim Electronics once held.

　The RXF-91 was manufactured as a sort of coup de grace against SNRI and was proposed to the military. However, since the prototype was based on the latest data from a "project" obtained through espionage, Kevin had no attachment to the suit as one of his company's units.

　Of course, there was no denying he also had a sense of rivalry with Tokio, despite him being a soldier.

　"Let it go, Kevin. Quit yer yapping and get to your attack position! I swear you're all talk and are always sloppy with your attacks..." grumbled the voice of Karl Spitz, the experimental unit test pilot commander.

　It was a repetition of an all too familiar scene and conversation among them over the past three months. With testing coming to an end only a week away, everyone was planning for the long vacation that would follow.

　But they weren't the only ones conducting operational tests. Across the Zebra Zone, in a sector on the opposite side, another fleet was also traveling in secrecy. Both of their testing courses just happened to intersect at the Zebra Zone. But who was the other fleet?

　Shortly after Tokio was launched from the Braywood's catapult, Kevin's frantic voice crackled over the comms.

　"Oh, what the?!"

"What's wrong, Kevin?"

　"R-Randall... T-that was a blood-red mobile suit!" Kevin stammered.

　"What?! What model is it--" Tokio pressed.

　"A Zaku?!"

　It was no wonder Kevin mistook the sudden appearance of the crimson mobile suit as an MS-06 Zaku, a famous suit from the One Year War.

　"Are the Oldsmobile in this sector?!"

 　Fate had brought them together, and tragedy was about to strike.

　Maurice O'Barry, a young pilot from the other fleet, the Crossbone Vanguard, was piloting the crimson De'nan Zon. His cover had been blown. The moment of fear and desperation of being found out caused him to unleash a barrage of bullets at Kevin's Hardygun.

 　Tokio immediately returned fire. His gun wasn't equipped for actual combat, of course, seeing as they were conducting mock battles, but it definitely elicited a response.

　Upon impact, the monoeye of the crimson mobile suit shattered, exposing twin-eyed main cameras beneath them, much to his surprise.

　"Dual eyes... So the monoeye was just a disguise to conceal the suit's true features? Plus, that spear-like weapon it's wielding, could they be the rumored pirates known as the Crossbone Vanguard?"

　Just as the name Crossbone Vanguard flitted through Tokio's mind, the frame of his RXF-91 was jolted by a glancing blow. The red mobile suit had unleashed dummy rounds, and they had found their mark. At the same time, with a belch from its main thrusters, the suit rocketed away from the pure white mobile frame. Despite that, both suits were scarred with evidence of their mutual encounter with an unknown foe.

　The tension was palpable as the crew of the Braywood reconvened to debrief Tokio and Kevin upon their return.

　"Tokio, did you catch sight of them?" asked Karl, cutting to the chase.

　"Kevin's camera captured them. Here."

　"What the devil is that? It's got some kind of spear or something," he scoffed, turning towards Albert Elsener, the chief engineer of Anaheim's evaluation unit.

　"What indeed, Spitzy. Look at this damage."

　"Here, take a look at this. Have you seen anything like this on any of SNRI's new models? As far as I can tell, I don't think this is former Neo Zeon nor Federation."

　Everyone in the room was now fixated on the camera's playback screen, studying it intently. And then, in her usual cool and collected tone, Iris Orlando, the assistant engineer known as the "Ice Doll," began her analysis.

　"It looks like the Dessa Type, the small mobile suit presented by Buffo Aerodynamics back in 0108. But that was supposed to be a worker suit."

　"Worker suit? Are you kidding me? That thing nearly impaled me! It's a full-on battle machine!" Kevin exclaimed, still in disbelief.

　As a soldier, Tokio had heard rumors surrounding Buffo Concern's worker mobile suits being repurposed as weapons for the Crossbone Vanguard - the private army of the Ronah family. But Kevin, being a civilian, couldn't be clued into this fact.

　"I picked up on that as well while examining the damage on the Hardygun, but there is a possibility that the spear-like equipment is only for mock battles."

　"Care to elaborate, Orlando?"

　"Basically, the damage is far too light to have been hit by these extravagant spears."

　"So, if I understand correctly, they were experimenting with new mobile suits, right Iris?"

　"Precisely, Randall. And if they were testing one, it's safe to assume they would also have cameras on board."

　"Are you suggesting they captured footage of the Silhouette G?" Randall asked, his curiosity piqued.

　Iris' assumption was correct.

　Just as Tokio and the others were analyzing the incident, on the other side of the Zebra Zone, the Crossbone Vanguard's Evaluation Unit "Dark Tiger," led by Lieutenant Shelf Sheffield, was doing the same. As the commander, he viewed the situation with grave importance and promptly declared the suspension of all operational testing. He then shifted the unit's focus to a mission of destroying the remaining Braywood mobile suit forces to safeguard their clandestine existence.

　"Whoever they are, we can't let them escape from here. The existence of our Crossbone Vanguard cannot be made known to the world just yet. I swear on this, on my name as the Flame Tiger!"