"It's really nice of you to stay with me," May said, her voice soft in the quiet Outside, the universe was a canvas of deep, black emptiness, with a little glows of light by distant stars.
Vertin gazed out at the cosmic void, her reflection shimmering faintly on the glass.
"It's no problem. It would probably be lonely out here otherwise," she replied, her gaze fixed on the infinite dark. A comfortable silence settled between them, a stillness born from shared experience.
Then, Vertin broke the quiet. "May, I have a question."
May turned from the navigation screen, a look of mild curiosity on her face. "What is it?"
"How were we created?"
A beat of silence hung in the air. "Eh?" May's response was a mix of confusion and surprise.
"Wait, don't take it the wrong way, okay?" Vertin clarified, a slight panic in her tone.
"Ah, no, it's okay," May reassured her, a small smile forming on her lips. "It's just... I guess I've never really thought about it. But I do know that when we're created, we automatically know everything about this world... well, not everything, just common knowledge like language and basic principles. It's like when we are created we instantly know what to do."
She paused, gathering her thoughts. "And if you don't really know them, I can tell you the history of the creation of ms girls, or at least the best I can explain it."
"Okay," Vertin said, settling back in her seat, ready to listen.
"Well, the beginning of our creation starts in UC 0065," May began, her voice taking on a more formal, almost professorial tone.
"The researchers of the Minovsky Physics Society observed a unique electromagnetic effect, which led to the discovery of the Minovsky particle. They found that by compressing these particles into a small, cube-like shape, they could create what we now call a Minovsky Cube."
She gestured toward the empty space between them as if a hologram of the cube was forming.
"By putting this cube into tanks, ships, planes, and then eventually, mobile suits, the vehicles would take on human form. They could summon their original tank, ship, plane, or mobile suit into its regular form, or use it like we are right now, which is what we call rigging and it's also our source of life."
May's eyes gleamed with the passion of a historian. "We can also switch forms. For example, if a tank girl wanted to become a mobile suit girl, she would have to touch an unoccupied mobile suit. And we can also relinquish our form. If a ms girl were to relinquish her mobile suit form, she would become a regular human."
She finished with a sigh. "But no MS girl will ever do that. It's the same for tank girls, ship girls, and plane girls. It's just who we are."
"That's good to know," Vertin said, a genuine warmth in her voice.
A smile May couldn't see spread across her face, hidden behind the smooth glass of her helmet. "Well, thank you. At least I'm of help to you."
"Yes, I really appreciate your help," Vertin replied. "Anyway, is there any more information you can tell me?"
"Well, there is..." May's voice dropped to a near whisper, making Vertin lean in with interest. "It's about... the White Devil."
A flicker of fear touched her tone, an emotion Vertin had never heard from another Mobile Suit girl before. Vertin played dumb."The White Devil?"
May's mono-eye on her big rang head shifted, focusing intently on Vertin. "I guess you were just created recently. Well, it's best to tell you about 'it' anyway."
"The White Devil, also known as the Zeon Grim Reaper, along with the White Base, has murdered many of us," she said, her voice filled with clear terror. "I've seen it destroy ten Zakus, and Goufs, and Doms. Even ten Gelgoogs can't beat it. It's a demon."
May let out a shaky sigh. "They... to be honest, the Federation isn't supposed to have MS girls."
She continued, a bitter edge to her voice. "Zeon has kept Minovsky Cubes a closed secret. Only the Zabis and a few chosen high-ranking people know about the creation of Minovsky Cubes. Yet, the Federation has made a powerful mobile suit, and they even got the technology needed to make Minovsky Cubes."
May's voice grew more anxious, her words spilling out quickly. "But from captured and intercepted transmissions, there's one man who they said 'saved the Federation.' From the transmissions, he's hailed as a hero. Then... there's..." She trailed off, her voice becoming shaky.
"From the reports that when Ral that MS girl who was in command of the Special Pursuit Force to target the White Base when she fought the Gundam, she was restrained by the Gundam and a person went up to Ral and..."
May paused, trembling visibly. Vertin, who had been listening intently, noticed her distress. In a silent gesture of comfort, Vertin hugged the head of the Big Rang.
"Don't worry, it's okay. We can stop. We can talk later when we're at Axis," Vertin said, trying to calm her down.
"No, no, it's okay, I'm fine. I can continue," May insisted, gently moving Vertin's to her side.
"Then Ral attacked her own troops. And it happened to the Black Tri-Stars as well. They were restrained by the Gundam. I can only believe that they were brainwashed or being controlled. I know for a fact it's true, but the others, the higher-ups, won't believe me." Her voice was filled with a fierce, desperate determination.
"May, I have a question," Vertin asked softly. "How do you have this information?"
May shifted nervously. "I... I... I snooped around toward an officer's clearance and accessed some information as well as getting recordings."
Vertin couldn't help but laugh. "Hahahaha!"
"Eh? Why are you laughing?" May said, sounding confused.
"I never thought you'd be able to do something like that. I took you as a nice girl," Vertin explained, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Mhm! I can be a bad girl you know. " May said with a proud grin.
A sudden voice crackled to life over Vertin's comms, breaking the intimate silence of the cockpit. "We are now approaching Axis. All personnel, get back to the ship immediately."
Vertin turned to May, a hint of a smile on her face. "Well, I've got to go. I'll see you when we're inside." She started to turn, she moved to face the massive ship she had just left.
"Goodbye!" May called out, a note of joy and cheerfulness in her voice.