Bright Noah Story: The Man Who Could Not Ride the Rainbow

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM UC
Bright Noah Story: The Man Who Could Not Ride the Rainbow
機動戦士ガンダムUC 虹にのれなかった男
Author: Fukui Harutoshi / Art: Katsuragi Hiyon


Partial summary/translation by OP !HccvJPE8Dk (AKA TE Spoiler Guy) on /m/
http://archive.foolz.us/m/thread/10518450/


MARCH, UC 0093
Bright is at some colony and is invited to the mansion of a military attaché, but instead finds himself locked in a room and the lights are turned out. A bunch of floating screens with the Earth Federation logo, "SOUND ONLY", and roman numerals on them appear and tell him that he's been accused of the crime of "destabilisation" (inciting riots and shit; Apparently a Japanese thing, googled but can't find an equivalent in English), but that they're not here to judge him but to "hear him out". They ask what he thinks of newtypes, of Amuro Ray, and of "that light".
Bright starts reminiscing.
When he hit Amuro (twice) he wasn't trying to discipline him or anything; Bright had been really stressed out himself, and hadn't had the patience or strength to deal with the individual members of his crew, and he thinks this was why Ryuu died, and blames himself for it too. He also ascribes his relationship with Mirai to trying to make up for the things lost to the war.
"They  say that Newtypes are a revolution, a new type of man, able to adapt to space. If that's true... If Newtypes really exist, we need them now, more than ever."
"Newtypes supposedly have superior cognitive power, that lets them understand one another without misunderstandings. Like psychics. Sayla said it's impossible for humans to gain such a convenient ability... But I believe. No, I want to believe."
Bright says that he, and everyone else, heard Amuro's voice clearly. Amuro's return was a direct result of the ability for people to feel for each other.
(Shot of the core fighter reflected in Bright's helmet)
Here he answers SEELE's question, though only in his own thoughts- He thinks that the rainbow  Amuro showed them was a bridge to lead mankind to the future.
SEELE asks Bright to sit down; He's been standing up thinking to himself all this time, and hasn't actually said anything yet. He says he'd rather stand. They start asking him about Char, and show him the interview Char had given to the mass media. They comment on his expression when he sees it, saying that it's not the face of a man looking at an enemy, but that of a man who has met an old friend; Albeit one who finds said meeting to be a regrettable one.
They move on to Char's time in AEUG and ask Bright if he doesn't think it unpricipled of Char to keep switching sides so easily. This angers Bright, who says that many people in the higher echelons of the Federation right now had fought in the AEUG for spacenoid rights, but went running back to their positions in the Federation as soon as the wind changed, and started oppressing spacenoids instead. He also says that's it's because of such people that Char did what he did.
Seele's excuse is that the Federation has to adapt to the situation and unite all people regardless of race, religion and borders, because that's their responsibility as adults. Char's ideas of Zeonism are a threat to this unity- Something that will divide mankind.
Bright goes back to reminiscing.
Bright had at first thought that Camille was a second coming of Amuro, but acknowledges that he was wrong. Amuro had gotten into the Gundam out of necessity, in order to survive, but Camille was different. In a world filled with adults disgracefully fighting amongst themselves, Camille listened to no-one, looking to find a place for himself, and when the chance for him to jump came, he made the leap.

When Bright met Camille again, this time he was with a man in a gold MS- Quattro Vagina. There was no meaning to the name itself, but it did hold significance- Just as Char changed names, changes also happened to his very soul. The son of Zeon Daikun, Casval Daikun. The wounded prince in hiding, Edward Mass. The avenger lurking in Zeon's ranks, Char Aznable. So what did "Char Daikun"- A name taken from both the avenging demon, Char, and the son of Zeon Daikun, Casval, signify?
The man Bright met on the Argama was not the Char he had once fought. He somehow knew this even though they had never actually met. At the same time, he met Camille in person for the first time as well. His eyes left an impression- They seemed like they were always wet with tears, and were those of a boy who had yet to find himself.
During the planning for the attack on Jaburo, Bright was worried for his family, even thinking that he should leave AEUG if they would simply dismiss the issue. He was calmed by Char asking about them.
Camille was eccentric- Selfish and unable to control his emotions. At times he would get violent, and then as if it were recoil, become shut-in. Bright didn't know how to handle him, and though he acknowledged him as a newtype, also thought of him as modern child, one that he wouldn't be able to understand. But it turned out that Camille had the ability to see through all the confusion, understanding the very fundamentals of everything, and he struggled in his own way. The adults around, however, were blind, and kept at their power game, deepening the wounds. This inability to understand further frustrated Camille, driving him self-inflicted isolation. Bright thinks this isn't something that can be simply dismissed as the fate of newtypes, and regrets his own actions, thinking that as someone who watched over Amuro on the White Base, he could have touched Camille in a different way.
In the end, Bright could do nothing for Camille but watch as he headed towards self-destruction, but this sin was shared by another- Char. But Char himself was also lost. He had been sent to Earth from the Mars sphere as a scout to stay on the lookout for a chance to rebuild Zeon, but instead joined the AEUG to fight the Titans. Blex, however, had realised who "Quattro" really was, and had hoped for him, the child of Zeon Daikun, to become a leader AEUG, if not all mankind. But this was too heavy a burden for Char- All he had wanted was vengeance, but this vendetta somehow led him to his father's dream, that of a world led by newtypes. AEUG was supposed to be a new place for him to hide under a new mask. That's why when Blex was assassinated and Char was left with AEUG, he felt lost, hit a wall with his own lack of freedom, and that's where everything started to go wrong.
When facing the Zeon remnants on Axis, Char lost all semblance of calm. With Axis under the control of Haman, he had now lost the option of returning there as well. Though the expectations of people were nothing but a burden for him, he had no choice but to act as the AEUG's leader. It was out of despair that he shed his mask.
Char: "I speak here as someone who inherits the will of Zeon. Of course not as the Duchy's Char, but as the son of Zeon Daikun!"
Char: "Please, Haman Karn... Help us to destroy the Colony Laser."
He had been crushed by responsibilities he had never wanted to bear, and had to lower his head to those he despised the most. It was painfully to watch him put on his act of being an adult. In the end he turned his back on even that.
And so the Gryps Conflict reached its climax.
Many, many lives were lost. Bright's heard the voices again, and ascribed this to his being close to newtypes all this time. But this was completely unlike Amuro's return. These were the voices of people dying meaninglessly, of people who still wanted to live.

Bright (hearing the voices): "Katz!?"
Katz was one of the children who had been running around the White Base. Why did he died. Why did he die? Why did he have to die? (TRANSLATURS NOTE because he didn't look where he was driving). It was all just too meaningless.
Even so, the battlefield wanted more lives, and more lives it took. There was no meaning to it; After all, the war itself had been meaningless from the very beginning.
How many voices had Camille heard, in the depths of all that tragedy? All Bright knows is that Camille was too empathetic- He listened to the voices, and gave himself to them.
Bright (hearing Camille's voice): "'Begone... from here...'"
When Bright heard Amuro's voice before, it was full of warmth, gentle and seeking others.  But this voice was cold, violently denying  everything around it, even itself. Camille's voice went silent; He had taken up all the sadness unto himself, and put an end to it all.
(Back to the present)
SEELE says that with AEUG and the Titans gone, Hamaan's Neo Zeon was able to seize power, and this was a historical failure. Bright thinks to himself that it's no wonder Char left; There was no vindication for all those who died believing they were helping to save the world. SEELE says that yes, it was a failure, and that if Bright cannot see that then he is blind. "The people on top are egoists only thinking of protecting their own interests, we people on the front lines are just sacrifices to them"- This sort of stereotypical thinking is rubbish people use to try and escape their own responsibilities. Bright should grow up and think of how things are on their side, lest he risk repeating his own failures, like those of the first Neo Zeon war.
(Bright gets back to reminiscing.)
Bright starts thinking of his own failures. If only the Argama hadn't stopped at Shangri-la after the battle at Gryps 2...
At first, Bright thought that Judau was just a brat. But he had his own lines that he wouldn't cross. Bright saw Judau use the Zeta Gundam three times, and when he appeared for a fourth, he let him take it. He had wanted to test this boy, one who like the others before him, met the Gundam by coincidence. Judau proved himself worthy to Bright when he used the Zeta to defeat Neo Zeon's vanguard. At the same time, Bright saw that Judau was naturally bright and cheerful, unlike Amuro and Camille.
This, however, was the beginning of Bright's greatest failure. After the fiasco that was Gryps 2, he just wanted something to believe in. He wanted to believe in the power of a Newtype that would be able to change the world.
Oldtypes like Bright do not have the power to change the world. But those known as newtypes are at times too sensitive, resulting in them shutting themselves away. Camille's tragedy should never be repeated again, but even still, humanity needs the help  of newtypes. Bright knew that he was doing something terrible (Recap: Bright inviting Judau to stay on the Argama). But at the time, he had no choice but to rely on his faith, even if it was blind faith. The children did change the ship, making it brighter, and Bright was saved by this brightness. But karma strikes fast. Lina Ashta was taken by Neo Zeon, and would never return to the Argama. During Neo Zeon's invasion of Earth, she was enveloped in an explosion. Judau's motives for everything had been his sister, and she had been his reason for living. He did eventually recover, but he was never the same again. From then on, even though he was standing in the same place, he seemed to be looking elsewhere, somewhere far away. Just like Camille and Amuro before him, his soul started to drift further and further away from his body.
Elpeo Ple. Bright had known of cyber newtypes since during the Gryps Conflict, but she was special- Created from a genetic level. For some reason she became attached to Judau, and ended up staying on the Argama. Bright once again went to his blind faith, believing that this was the power of newtypes to understand one another. And if they can understand one another, they should be allowed to do as they please.

(Recap: Bright protesting peace negotiations
Having to deal with this sort of frustration resulted in Bright wanting to believe in the children- Perhaps too much. He wanted to believe they would be able to achieve what he could not. The only reason he had was because he believed they were newtypes. He believed in them even though he knew he did not have the right.
In the end, Hamaan had had no intention of going through with the peace negotiations, and had been planning a colony drop on Dublin. At Dublin, Bright was reunited with an old comrade.
Hayato Kobayashi, who had fought alongside Bright on the White Base. After the war he had married Frau Bow and adopted the orphaned refugees Katz, Retz and Kikka. And then Katz joined AEUG, and...
(Recap: Hayato in Katz's room)
Bright would never be able to forget the sight of Hayato's back at that time. The back of someone wanting to cry at his own inability to do anything, but at the same time holding them back due to belief that he didn't even have the right to do so. Bright saw himself in that back.
Bright was reunited with Camille Bidan. Even though he could not speak, he could feel the coming tragedy. There was a need to get as many civillians away from the explosion as fast as possible, and there were not enough airplanes.
Hayato: "Use the one I came in. I'll go back in a Dodai."
This was another of Bright's failures. If only Hayato had used an unarmed airplane, he wouldn't have fought the Neo Zeon troops interfering with the evacuation, and wouldn't have died. Of course, many might have died in exchange, and Hayato would not have liked it, but he would have lived. Did he hear Katz's voice, at the end?

And then the colony fell.
Even after the colony fell, the battle continued.
(Recap: Psycho Mk-II)
Bright did not know what Ple had fought for, what she had been thinking. All he knew was that it was thanks to her that they survived.
They returned to space, and were given the Nahel Argama. When he saw that new ship, which resembled the White Base even more than any other he had seen before, Bright felt that he was not fit to be its captain; He felt that like the White Base, it ought to be used by children. He'd thought that their vitality would put an end to this pointless loop of conflict.
Another failure.
Bright's new job was to support the children from behind. Judau and his friends continued fighting, on their own, but the sacrifices continued to pile up. (Recap: Emily)
(Recap: Lina's return, Sayla and Bright talking about Char)
The return of Char- Bright's reunion with Sayla came at a time as if to confirm his suspicions. Char, a man who had once thrown away his mask and spoke of his ideals to the world... and changed nothing. Who then disappeared. Bright knew that if Char were to stand again, it would to be as a great enemy.
Bright led the federation's fleet to Side 3, but it was clearly too slow, and too late. Judau and his companions had been fighting there, all along, all alone, and Bright again heard the voices. Judau's voice was soaked in grief and rage- Just like Camille's had been. Thankfully, it seemed that Bright had been right about Judau. When the fleet reached Side 3, he was still alive and well, and Hamaan had been defeated. But there are no happy ends to war. All the ridiculous losses had been too much even for Judau to handle.
Judau: "What about all those who died!? So many people died! So many!"
Bright: "I know. If you're not happy about it then hit me and deal with it."
Bright knew that his being punch would never be able to balance the scales. But he had no other way of paying penance for his failures. Not just to Judau, but to Camille as well. Even so, Judau answered, and with that punch helped Bright to pay for just a billionth of his spinelessness.
After that, Judau, reunited with Lina, left for Jupiter. That was the best decision for them. Earth, mired in its old ways, is just too small for newtypes.
All that was left for Bright to do was to prepare for Char. Londo Bell was formed in UC 0091. Forming this force independent of the EFSF and its bureaucracy took a lot of effort, but Bright still felt tied down. In the end, all he could do was watch as others went ahead.
Back to the present. SEELE wants to get to the point- Bright's actions during the second Neo Zeon war. They open up another video screen; It's not a recording but a live video feed, of a man they've brought here and have waiting in other room- Cameron Bloom.
Back to the past, but not too long ago- UC 0093. Though Londo Bell had spent two years searching for Char, they had had no idea where he was until he revealed himself at Sweet Water. Nothing had changed for Bright since his days on the White Base; He always found himself standing in front of the enemy, always armed inadequately. But he found himself more comfortable this time, because Amuro was by his side. But the peace of mind gained from having a familiar and trusted comrade standing by him led to complacency. That complacency allowed Char to begin his counterattack, with Fifth Luna.
There was something between Amuro and Char  that nobody else could grasp. At that point, Amuro had already seemed to understand Char's intentions. Bright had learned not to doubt Amuro's instincts, and even grew reliant on using him to figure out what Char was planning. Bright also had hopes in another man- His comrade from the AEUG, Quattro Vagina. Could the man who had worried for Bright's family before the attack on Jaburo really be the same person as the one who intended to turn Earth into a snowball? Perhaps there was something else to Char's plan, a different ending. Bright had hopes, and even more, he prayed. Another failure. Bright had fought alongside Quattro, but had failed to grasp the depths of his despair.
After Fifth Luna, Ra Kaillum was ordered to return to Londenion. It was a suspicious order, coming at a time when they should be watching out for Char the most. It was at that time that Cameron visited Bright.
(Recap: Cameron telling Bright about Char's meeting with the Federation)
The deal was ridiculous. The only reason Char could want Axis would be for his plan to freeze Earth over. If someone who wants to kill you but is unarmed says he'll make things up with you if you sell him your gun, would you actually sell it to him?
Londo Bell would move on its own, but would not be able to count on Federation reinforcements. This is when Cameron brought an unexpected gift.
(Recap: Cameron giving Bright a bunch of nukes)
Bright: "Isn't this illegal?"
Cameron: "If they catch me, under the current laws, it'd be..."
(Cut back to the present)
SEELE: "Life."
SEELE: "A matter of course. Squirreling away nuclear warheads? Even with the circumstances in consideration, this is no simple case of embezzlement."
Bright: "It was on my request! The responsibility is mine! And Adenauer Palaya gave me all the power to deal with the situation as I saw fit. Isn't it all just a matter of interpretation?"
SEELE: "Please don't lie to us, captain Bright."
Bright: "I'm not lying, I've already submitted the recording that proves Adenauer's statement."
SEELE: "Yes, we've already seen that. We've also seen that Cameron took the warheads before you were given the authority. But as we said before, this is not a court. We are not here to judge you, simply to listen to what you have to say. Everything is up to you. Your fate. Cameron's fate."
Bright: "What do you want from me?"
SEELE: "We want to hear, directly from you, what you think of that light. Many people saw that rainbow, and there are as many theories about what it was. What we find unsettling is the existence of people who seem to think it has something to do with "newtypes". They claim that they heard "voices". They didn't know whose voices they were, but they were sincere, talking to their very souls. This newtype-related phenomenon is not unknown, but this is the first time so many experienced it at the same time. With Neo Zeon defeated we thought Zeonism would finally die out, but instead we have this. We have remained silent so far, but we are hurrying to release an official statement. That's why we want you to speak about it. You, who saw the light from up close. You, the reknowned commander of newtype squads. You, who are one of us."
Bright: "You want me to say that it had nothing to do with newtypes. To be your spokesman."
SEELE: "The decision is your's. All we can say is that your words have the power to quieten down this mess. And thus decide what happens to Cameron. And it's not just him. Wasn't there someone else on your ship who should be scrutinised?"
Bright: "...!!"
SEELE: "You know who we speak of. Someone close to you. Depending on what you say, we are prepared to summon him here as well."
(Back to the past)
(Recap: Stowaway Hathaway)
Bright heard that Hathaway had come onto the ship chasing after Adenauer's daughter, but thought nothing of it. He had been away from his family for too long, and had dismissed is as a childish whim. He didn't realise until later that Hathaway was near the same age as Amuro, Camille and Judau once were. Bright turned his back on Hathaway, just as he had turned his back on Camille and Judau before. It was as if it was karma for his failure to be a father to them.
(Recap: Nukes shot down, Ra Kaillum prepares to blow up Axis manually)
At this point, Bright had completely forgotten about his own son. It wasn't because he was being professional, or thinking of the bigger picture. He'd just forgotten. He eventually did recall that Hathaway was on the ship, and ordered him to stay on the bridge. But Hathaway disappeared, leaving behind the Haro he had always carried around with him, and was only found after the battle, in the cockpit of a half-destroyed MS drifting through the void. Hathaway said nothing from then on, and the situation remains the same even now, one month after. Thanks to the crew, this was not left on record. Bright knows he has to speak with Hathaway, but he still can't bring himself to do so. He's incompetent, unable to be a father even to his own son.
(Back to the present)
SEELE: "A civillian, during a military operation, stole a military MS and participated in the battle. This is a heavy crime. Capital punishment isn't out of the question. Isn't it odd, captain Bright? You've seen similar situations so many times before. Amuro Ray, Camille Bidan, Judau Ashta. They too were civillians who got into mobile suits to fight. But the difference between them and your son is that there are no records. Not just the ones your crew erased. The Jegan he took was one that had returned due to damage. Its flight recorder wasn't working.  So there's no way of telling what he did. Perhaps he shot down an ally?"
Bright: "That's-"
SEELE: "Impossible? Is it really? But no matter, let's hear what else you have to say. It was a fierce battle. Perhaps we may be convinced that your son was simply taking refuge in that mobile suit. It's all up to you."
(Recap: Axis split in two, one half heads towards Earth anyway)
Bright yelled as if he was possessed, asking if there was anything they could do. He even suggested ramming the ship into the asteroid, and if Melan hadn't stopped him, he might have actually done it. It wasn't because he was worried for his wife and daughter, still on Earth- At that point he had completely forgotten about his own son. It was the prospect of the massive loss of losing the source of all mankind, mother Earth. He was gripped with the fear that his very existence would lose its place. Everybody there felt the same. That's when the light appeared.
(Recap: End of CCA)
He heard the voices again. It seemed like it was the voice of Amuro, or of Char, or of every man and woman on that battlefield, or of every last human being in the Earth sphere.
Bright (to vision of Amuro): "Are you going? Leaving me behind? That light that came from inside all of us humans, that light which moves even stars. Where does that road you walk, that rainbow road of light, lead?"
Bright knew that he wouldn't be able to call Amuro back again (flashback: Core fighter reflected in Bright's helmet), but perhaps there was no need this time. Amuro left Earth behind for Bright and the other people whose souls still needed something to stand on, and headed towards a place filled of hope for all newtypes-
SEELE: "An illusion."
SEELE: "A form of mass hysteria caused by the battle. You and your crew were all experiencing hallucinations. Let us tell you what that light was.  The Nu Gundam used a psychoframe, a new material embedded with computer chips with psycommu capabilities at a molecular level. It increases the affinity between man and machine, but when the psycommu waves received from the pilot exceed a certain level, it starts to shine. And as we learned from the Axis Shock, at times that light forms a force field and exerts physical energy. Of course, it wasn't just lieutenant Amuro's waves. The fear that Earth could be lost was shared by all of mankind, and the fear unconciously gathered itself and flowed into the vessel that was the Nu Gundam, and turned into energy. It's hard to think that the Nu Gundam had the capability to channel all of that energy, but that is the conclusion we have reached."
Bright: "The will of all mankind?"
SEELE: "It almost seems supernatural, but the fact remains that Axis was stopped.  But we have to find a way to explain this phenomenon. We certainly can't say that the will of all men turned into energy through a psychoframe."
Bright: "Why?"
SEELE: "Don't you see? It's because it's a miracle. Two newtypes, Amuro Ray and Char Daikun, sacrificed themselves to bring forth a miracle. An act of God, that would give Zeonism new flesh and blood."
Bright: "God...?"
SEELE: "We men have long since thrown away the year of the Lord. It is now the Universal Century. We need no gods. We reiterate; Man is finally starting to be able to come together, but Zeonism is a poison threatening to divide mankind."
Bright: "Now I see. I thought this was a secret military hearing... But it's a witch trial."
SEELE: "Mind your mouth, captain Bright. Do not forget that your words have power."
(Screen of Cameron is shoved in Bright's face)
SEELE: "It's not just him. The fate of your child, and the world your child lives in, also hangs in the balance."
SEELE: "If the myth of newtypes literally becomes a myth (as in a sacred narrative to a religion), the war on Zeonism will become a religious war. Of all wars man is capable of, religious wars are the most cruel and difficult kind. Though we will continue our investigation of the Axis Shock, we are stopping all work on the psychoframe. All we need now is your statement to calm the situtation down. "Axis didn't fall thanks to Londo Bell's efforts. That light was fragments burning up in the atmosphere." Wouldn't it better to end all of this not with a myth, but with a heroic tale? And of course, you, captain, are that hero. And as the hero who saved mankind, you have a responsibility to calm the populace."
Bright's thoughts: "It's all vanishing. The light Amuro showed us, the light of the hearts of man, that rainbow bridge leading towards the future, it's all vanishing. I've felt the beat of newtypes from close by. I can't let that happen, even if there are sacrifices to be made. I can't-"
???: "Bright. Don't be so hard on yourself."
(Bright is now in newtype space and Amuro was talking to him)
Camille: "That's right, captain."
Judau: "Don't you get it? These guys can do whatever they want, but they can't change what people have seen and felt."
Camille: "No matter how you twist the truth, the fundamentals never change."
Amuro: "What's important is leaving possibilities to the next generation."
Bright: "The next generation...?"
Camille: "The innovation* of man has only just begun." (This is the same "kakushin" as used a lot in 00 FYI)
Judau: "Yeah, it hasn't even been a hundred years yet since mankind started living in space."
Amuro: "So just stay and watch over the newtypes who've yet to be born."
(Bright sees a vision of Banaghe standing in front of Earth)
Amuro: "There are still too many boundaries in this world for newtypes to live freely. They need the help of humans."
Camille: "You can do what we didn't."
Judau: "We're thankful, you know."
Bright: "But I... I couldn't do anything for you...!"
(The three start walking off into the distance)
Amuro: "Hold it in, Bright."
Judau: "We couldn't."
Camille: "That's why we want you to become what we couldn't."
Bright: "Become? Become what?"
"An adult."
(Bright looks around, he's back in the SEELE room)
Bright: "I have a condition. I want to remain commander of Londo Bell. I'll say and sign whatever you want."
SEELE: "Oh? We had going to prepare a seat for you on Earth. Why not leave the frontlines and spend time with your family?"
Bright: "I still have work to do."
???: (So just stay)
Bright: "There're still the Neo Zeon remnants and other anti-Federation forces that gained momentum from this war."
???: (They need the help of humans)
Bright: "Besides, I'm no politician. I prefer to stay on the front lines yelling at people.)
SEELE: "Is that all?"
Bright: "Yes. I trust that the charges against Cameron and my son will be dropped?"
SEELE: "Very well. We will inform you of the date of the press conference later."
(Bright leaves)
(In another room, the men behind the SOUND ONLY screen take off their headphones and talk amongst themselves)
1: "He wasn't at all like the rumours."
2: "That's what heroes are like in real life."
3: "If that's all that he is then there should be no problems with leaving him to be."
(Another screen appears in front of them, face is hidden)
4 (To screen): "The coverup of the Axis Shock should be no problem. From hereon, development of the psychoframe will be top secret."
Alberto: "Very good. Now we can finally begin the UC Project."
Outside, the rain has just stopped. Bright leaves the building and regrets how he could not ride the rainbow with the newtypes.

THE END