†
† Maria Abel Bernstein †
†
Crimson Cross
Location: Shuttle en route to Jupiter orbit
She let out a sigh of disappointment as the transport she had boarded only minutes ago began to exit the Earth's atmosphere. "This makes it the fifth trip this week...Liline-sensei is having too much fun ordering me around..." Indeed, if not for the repeated travels, this would no doubt be far more enjoyable.
A glance out the window did little to make things better, and she scoffed at the beautiful white and blue hue that greeted her. '...And this view again? I guess there's no running away from it.' the woman mused, leaning her head against the window panel to watch as the Earth's spherical form began to take shape in the distance. As much as she hated to admit it, one of the more memorable moments in her life involved this same view, and a certain person she was once close to. This, of course, was before their involvement in the war, and before the conflict had a chance to overwhelm their friendship.
"Hard to believe that it was only three years ago..."
She was no longer the small, flat-chested girl with a tendency of being envious of her well-endowed best friend; everything about her, save her own distinct personality would be unrecognizable to those she worked with in the past - the result of everything she had gone through after her defeat at Selvaria's hands. Seven months of painful cell regeneration therapy which she was unsure if she could live through, followed by a year of stagnation after she was finally able to move. It took additional time for her to get used to her 'new' body, though the benefits of it would surface some time later; she could now easily pilot almost any unit due to her regular height, and was able to cope with unarmed combat to some degree, although she still preferred to use mobile suits so as to avoid dirtying her own two hands.
An announcement soon rang within the shuttle's cabin, informing passengers about the routine security checks at the nearby Orbital Elevator before the flight could proceed past the Earth. Were she some regular Exodus soldier that had defected from the ESF, there would be no chance of passing through without arousing suspicion. However, thanks to her death being confirmed by Selvaria three years prior, there was little to no means to detect her via a background check or anything of the sort. Her current destination was Jupiter, or specifically the Mirage Academy that belonged to Exodus, where she was told to meet up with the team responsible for the development of the new units. Even so, it would take at least a day before she could arrive...