Title: Missing Links
Fandom: Magic Knight Rayearth
Rating: PG
Length: 550 words
Content notes:
Author notes: GIANT ROBOTS SNIPPET. Again. In under an hour! In which ~mysterious connections~ are hinted at.

oOo

There were several photographs pinned to the immense corkboard in Clef’s office. There were a few of his family (who he hadn’t seen in years, but they were safe, migrated far inland a long time ago. His life was, hopefully, a completely alien thing to them), and a handful of life at Cephiro: one of Ferio and himself both fast asleep against Silence’s grimy foot after one very long day (in which the creature they were expecting turned, half way to the coast, and no one told them until it had been killed – several thousand miles further north). Another of Emeraude laughing at the camera, several of the maintenance crews and the mechanics. Hanging off the bottom of the board was the massive photo of the entire crew of Eterna Base, a few months before the battle.

They were all dotted about between bits of blueprints, wiring schematics, post-it notes with bits of scribbled code and a few very large charts marking out the ways the AI systems worked and interfaced with pilot and machine. So it wasn’t that strange that none of the Knights really noticed that one photo, half hidden under a set of post-its about the issues of bug-patching on AI systems.

The one where Emeraude’s hair was wrapped about her head with bits falling out of her braid in all directions, one arm wrapped about Clef’s shoulders and her suit splashed with oil and rust – much the same as Clef’s suit… and face… and hair.

And as was the other pilot-suited man on Emeraude’s far side, being pulled close by her arm about his waist.

None of the three truly registered what they had seen until the day that same man appeared on the control-room screens, smiling faintly as Emeraude yelled at him about testing procedure violations, harming pilots – until Clef slammed into the room, still in his suit and with the same furious expression on his face – and his hands shaking just as much as hers when he slammed them down on the table, out of sight of the camera. Neither was Ferio far behind – though he didn’t join the vehement argument.

When the screen went off – after Emeraude had left the room and left the argument to Clef, and after the connection had been cut – Hikaru turned to the other two. “Have you seen that man before, somewhere?” She asked, quietly as she could, while the rest of the room hustled back to work and ignored them.

Fuu nodded, slowly. “A photo. In Ranger Madoushi’s office-“

“He’s in the Eterna photo too. In the back row.” Umi said, slowly, thinking about it hard.

“And… I believe I have seen the same photo in the Directior-General’s quarters, when I was passing.” Fuu added. “…It was framed.”

Hikaru looked at both of them, and then nodded, slowly. “Right. Do you think that a day is long enough to start asking them questions?”

“With Ferio, perhaps? I wouldn’t try Emeraude or Clef that soon.” Umi said, folding her arms. “But the rest of the staff…”

“Yes.” Fuu nodded. “Particularly those who have known them longest.”

“It’s a plan, then.” Hikaru said.

They split up as they left the room, determined to get to the bottom of this connection.

oOo