The silence that followed Kiriko's words fell over the room like a tombstone. No one dared to say anything for a few seconds. Masami, still holding Vieru, settled her onto a folding chair as the young woman breathed in short gasps, as if each inhalation carried borrowed memories.
Vivian leaned slightly forward.
—Vieru… I need you to be honest with us. What does the Federation know about you?
The girl looked up. Her eyes, previously dull, lit up with a strange glimmer: fear and determination mixed together.
—They know I shouldn't be alive. That Project Murasame was meant to end with Unit 02… with Four. They know that I… am a mistake that should never have been awakened.
Masami pressed her lips together, furious.
—Error? You're a person. Not an experiment.
Vieru looked at her with disconcerting innocence, as if she didn't understand what it meant to be treated like a human being. She lowered her gaze.
—I don't see it that way… not when my memories aren't my own. Not when… —he swallowed— when I hear voices I shouldn't hear.
Lawrence took a step closer.
—Unit 03? The pilot?
Vieru shook his head.
—It's not him speaking to me… it's what's left of her. The printed memory. The echoes.
The words hung suspended in the air.
Charlie murmured:
—So… you can sense the Psycho Gundam?
Vieru trembled.
—Not only can I feel it… I can sense the rage building up inside the machine. And I can sense the pilot searching for me. Not because he needs me… but because without me his mind breaks down.
Vivian ran a hand over her face.
—Damn Titans… what the hell were you trying to build?
Vieru took a deep breath, as if the answer were too heavy a burden.
—A key. A guide. An anchor to control those who cannot control.
Kiriko clicked her tongue.
—A tool to manage Psycommu technology without its pilots going crazy.
Vieru didn't respond... but his silence confirmed everything.
Lawrence felt a lump in his throat.
—Vieru… if you stay here, you're in danger. But if we hand you over… they'll kill you. And if Unit 03 finds you… they'll destroy everything to get you back.
The young woman looked up and gazed at him intently for the first time since waking up. There was something warm in that gaze, something that didn't come from her… but rather from the memories etched in her mind.
"I don't want to be a weapon," she whispered. "I don't want to bring more death. I want..." Her voice broke. "I want to know who I am. Not who she was."
The words hit Lawrence harder than he expected.
Vivian took a deep breath and stepped back, adopting the cold, determined tone expected of a captain at war.
—Then we'll make a tactical decision. We won't surrender. But we also can't stay here waiting to die.
Kiriko raised an eyebrow.
—What's the plan?
Vivian looked at the tactical map projected on the screen. The blue glow outlined narrow routes between abandoned Federation bases, old minefields, and Titan surveillance corridors.
—There's a place where we could hide... with luck. A forgotten station from before Gihren's time. No traffic. No active sensors."
Charlie swallowed hard.
—What if the Titans have already claimed it?
Vivian answered without hesitation:
—Then we will fight. But I will not hand over a child to cover up the sins of others.
Vieru lowered her head. For the first time since waking up, she seemed… relieved.
Lawrence approached and placed a hand on Masami's shoulder.
—Let's take care of her. Not as an asset. As a person.
Masami smiled wearily.
—That's what I've been trying to do since he arrived.
Vieru closed his eyes. He murmured, almost inaudibly:
—Thank you… But don't be fooled… he will come.
Vivian straightened her back.
—Then we'll prepare. If Unit 03 wants to reach my ship… it's going to have to get through me first.
Finally, Lawrence concluded:
—We must go to space.
And in the silence that followed, only the faint buzzing of the Albatross filled the room… while far away, like an electric rumble, something answered from a distance.
A sign.
An echo.
An awakening.