Outside Heliopolis, two ZAFT warships were docked side by side.
Inside one of them, the four Gundams recently seized from the Earth Alliance were undergoing data transfer procedures.
"Transfer complete. Good work, Athrun."
Beside one of the sharp-edged mobile suits, two technicians gave a thumbs-up toward the cockpit, where a young man in a red pilot suit sat silently.
"Mm."
The young man — Athrun Zala — responded briefly, his expression distant, lost in thought.
Suddenly, the ship's alarm blared.
"Captain Rau Le Creuset returning! Mobile suit severely damaged! Fire and rescue teams to Deck B, immediately!"
The announcement echoed through the hangar as an energy barrier rose in front of the docking hatch.
Moments later, a battered gray-and-white GINN wobbled into the bay. The instant it touched down, its heavily damaged right leg completely disintegrated, scattering metal fragments across the deck.
Forcing the machine to turn its back toward the net, Creuset braked using reverse thrust. The impact snapped off the right arm as well, while faint sparks flickered from the waist joint.
"This much damage… how could it be?" someone murmured in disbelief.
"My, my… what a mess," another sighed.
Inside the cockpit, Rau Le Creuset's calm voice came over the comm, as if he already knew it would take a while before he could exit the machine.
"I must admit, I didn't expect there to be such a skilled pilot among the Earth Forces."
-----------------------------------
On the open deck of the Earth Alliance's new warship, Archangel, a gray-and-white Gundam knelt on one knee.
The group of young civilians who had been dragged into this conflict, along with Murrue Ramius, disembarked from the Gundam's hand.
"Captain Ramius!"
From deeper within the deck, several figures in Earth Forces uniforms rushed over.
"Lieutenant Natarle Badgiruel!"
Spotting the short-haired woman among them, Murrue let out a sigh of relief.
"I'm just glad to see you all safe."
Nearby, the Strike Gundam opened its cockpit. A brown-haired young man descended the lift line from the machine.
"This is…"
Seeing him, Badgiruel looked toward Murrue for an explanation.
"Kira Yamato," Murrue explained, shaking her head. "He somehow ended up inside the factory during the chaos. It was thanks to his piloting that we were able to preserve the Strike Gundam."
"Well, that's… quite something," came a voice—smooth, confident, with a tone that might make some imagine a blond vampire.
"Captain Mu La Flaga, Earth Alliance Seventh Mobile Fleet. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
A blond man in a purple pilot suit strode toward them, smiling.
"Second Space Sector, Fifth Special Service Division, Captain Murrue Ramius," she replied formally.
"Same unit—Lieutenant Natarle Badgiruel," added Natarle.
After brief introductions, Mu glanced at the remaining crew.
"I'd like permission to come aboard. The ship I was assigned to was destroyed. Who's the commanding officer here?"
"…The captain and senior officers were all killed in action. The highest-ranking officer now is Captain Ramius," Natarle said, pausing before turning to Murrue.
"Ah? …I see. Permission granted."
Murrue clearly hadn't expected things to turn out this dire.
"I overheard earlier—this boy, Kira Yamato, was piloting the Strike and managed to protect it, right?"
Mu's sharp eyes turned toward Kira, narrowing slightly.
"A tragic coincidence. All of the pilots under my escort were killed as well."
"By the way," he added, "wasn't there supposed to be another mobile suit? What happened to it?"
"The other one…" Murrue began, but before she could finish, the sound of approaching thrusters filled the air.
"...Everyone below, clear the area. I need to land."
From the sky descended a Jegan, carrying an armful of assorted ZAFT mobile suit weapons that hadn't been taken during the raid.
"Please move back, make some room," Murrue called, realizing what Roz Links intended. She guided the others to retreat and clear a landing zone.
With smooth precision, the Jegan adjusted its thrusters and touched down on the Archangel's deck, lowering itself to a crouch as it set the recovered weapons neatly on the ground.
"And what do we have here…"
Mu's expression turned serious as he looked at the mobile suit before him.
He had seen this very machine during the earlier battle against Rau Le Creuset — the way it had deliberately drawn Creuset's aim away from the Strike, its use of scatter rockets to suppress movement, and that split-second close-range maneuver before disengaging. Whoever was piloting it might not be an official ACE, but was clearly no ordinary pilot.
"That's a private mobile suit," Murrue explained. "Owned by a junk dealer named Roz Links. It's called a Jegan."
Psssh~
The Jegan's cockpit hatch opened, revealing a figure in a red-and-white pilot suit standing in the doorway.
Seeing this, Mu let out a low whistle.
"Well, I don't know what a junk dealer's doing here, but he looks a lot more professional than this group of kids."
"Roz!" Murrue called out.
"Yo, Murrue," Roz waved casually. "I took a stroll through your factory earlier. Figured these might come in handy."
He gestured toward the pile of salvaged equipment he had brought back.
Come to think of it, the first Jegan A-Type had been built much the same way—Roz scrounging up scrap metal and cobbling together his own orkish-looking assembly line by hand. Now, as he stood there unloading more salvaged weapons, he couldn't help but feel a nostalgic flicker—almost like he was back in those days of scavenging junk and hand-building mobile suits from scratch.
Roz stepped down the lift line from his Jegan, boots hitting the deck with a solid thud.
"Maintenance crew—take all this back to storage," he called out.
Murrue glanced at the pile of equipment he had brought. Most of it was spare parts from the Gundams that ZAFT had stolen earlier.
"Thank you, Roz. You've really helped us out."
"No problem…" Roz's tone grew more serious as his visor turned toward the people behind her—those few Earth Alliance soldiers still standing.
It was obvious that this number of personnel couldn't possibly sustain normal operations aboard a warship. Even with the Archangel's high level of automation, keeping her running would mean overworking everyone left.
"Hey, kid," Mu La Flaga spoke up with a grin, giving Roz a thumbs-up. "You've got some serious skills—can't believe you managed to put Rau Le Creuset through that kind of trouble."
"Creuset?!"
Murrue and Natarle Badgiruel both froze, startled by the name. Within the Earth Forces, Rau Le Creuset's reputation was practically infamous.
Hearing that name, Roz narrowed his eyes and opened a comm link inside his helmet.
"Yeah, Creuset," Mu continued, shrugging helplessly. "That guy came in leading two warships on a capture mission. What a pain in the ass."
After listening to Christina's voice over the comm, Roz gave his assessment.
"If it's him, you'd better start gathering supplies right now."
Murrue and the others looked at him, puzzled.
"He already broke into the colony by blowing open the central shaft. Wouldn't surprise me if he decides to just destroy the whole thing next."
"…That's—" Natarle faltered, clearly not having considered that possibility.
"Lieutenant Badgiruel," Murrue ordered, "assemble a team and start transporting all essential materials immediately."
She then turned back to Roz. "Roz, you're a junk dealer, right? I'd like to make a formal request."
Roz tilted his head slightly. "You should know—my rates aren't cheap."
He already had a good idea of what she was about to ask.
"I want to hire you to escort this ship—and the Gundam—to Atlantic Federation territory."
Roz fell silent.
The Atlantic Federation… headquarters of Blue Cosmos. While that extremist organization didn't publicly control the Federation, far too many of its officers were already under their influence.
His identity and the Jegan's traces had long been wiped clean—back when he destroyed the lab, he'd used an electromagnetic pulse to erase every recording. Even his machine's footprints had been modified to mimic a ZAFT GINN's pattern. But still—accidents happen.
Given the situation, though… Heliopolis was doomed. The only realistic destination was Orb.
"…I can only escort you as far as Orb's homeland," Roz finally said. "I won't go to the Atlantic Federation."
A compromise—typical, perhaps, for someone who once came from the land of balance.
"Hah… thank you. As for payment…" Murrue hesitated.
The truth was, the Archangel had nothing that would serve as worthwhile compensation for a space junk dealer like Roz.
"Let's talk about that when we reach Orb," Roz replied as he climbed back into the Jegan. "For now, priority one is survival."
He powered up the cockpit systems.
"Send me the coordinates of the supply depots."
Because after all—scavenging is part of being a Gundam pilot.
If you don't like it, don't play the game.
-----------------------------------
With the help of the Jegan, the speed of cargo transport increased dramatically.
Supplies and spare parts that would have otherwise been abandoned were hauled back to the Archangel, and even a significant amount of water was successfully transported from the Morgenröte facilities.
Meanwhile, Christina, assisted by a few Haros, was busy loading the Jegan's weapon modules and replacement parts onto the ship.
"But I have to warn you, Roz," Christina said seriously, her white lab coat fluttering slightly as she faced him. "The Archangel doesn't carry rocket ammunition compatible with your unit's specs. Every round we fire is one less in total."
Roz glanced toward the Jegan, now securely fixed within the maintenance gantry.
"Don't worry," he replied calmly. "I can make an adapter. With a few adjustments, we'll be able to use Earth Forces munitions."
Just then, a middle-aged man with purple hair and an orange-white maintenance suit approached them, wiping his hands on a rag as he looked over the Jegan.
"Phew… kid, we're not exactly familiar with this kind of machine. I'm afraid we won't be able to offer much help right now."
Since the Archangel's maintenance systems and data protocols were all derived from the G-series project, the mechanics were at a loss when faced with Roz's custom-built Jegan. Only the universal launch catapult and docking clamps were of any use.
"It's fine," Roz said, nodding to the man. "We can handle the maintenance ourselves."
"You've got your hands full, huh? Fighting and tuning your own mobile suit," the man sighed, then extended his hand. "Sergeant Murdoch, head of the maintenance crew."
"Roz Links. Independent space junk dealer."
Roz shook his hand briefly before releasing it.
"Just my luck," he added with a wry smile. "The factory I bought to settle down here got blown up a few hours ago."
"Is that so… what a damn shame," Murdoch muttered, exhaling deeply as he turned to leave.
Before he could take two steps, several small maintenance drones—operated by Haros—connected themselves to the Jegan's universal frame. Mechanical arms extended and began precise, coordinated repairs and adjustments to the machine.
"…Well, I'll be damned," Murdoch murmured in awe. Even with his years of experience, he couldn't help but admire the efficiency and sophistication of the unseen technology at work.
But now wasn't the time to be marveling at new gadgets.
Everyone aboard knew that beyond Heliopolis, ZAFT forces were waiting—watching closely for the Archangel's launch.
And when that time came, the battle awaiting them would be anything but easy.
None of them yet realized what kind of man Rau Le Creuset, the one leading the enemy squadron, truly was.
-----------------------------------
"What… incredible piloting skill."
Outside Heliopolis, aboard one of ZAFT's warships—
Several officers who had participated in the Gundam capture operation, along with the severely damaged Rau Le Creuset, were gathered around a tactical display, watching the recorded combat footage from three mobile suits.
On the screen, a deep-blue Jegan executed only two precise maneuvers to cripple two GINNs, followed by a furious exchange with Creuset himself—its assault a seamless storm of guided precision and unrelenting speed.
"If not for this footage," one officer muttered, "people would never believe that the commander's ZGMF-1017 GINN was nearly destroyed after launching. That would've sounded pretty bad."
Floating near the display, Rau Le Creuset, dressed in his pristine white uniform, gave a low chuckle.
"I must admit, that was quite the display. Seems there's still a capable pilot or two among the Earth Forces."
His masked gaze lingered on the recording, where the Jegan's left shoulder bore a faint crimson insignia.
"'Unicorn,' is it…?" he mused. "Though rather than a unicorn, I'd say it's more like a calf whose horn has yet to grow."
The footage zoomed in on the Jegan's head, and Creuset smiled faintly at the sight.
"Since he's already sided with the Earth Forces, we'll simply erase him—along with that remaining Gundam and the warship that shelters them."
He turned to his officers. "Prepare the Type-D Fortress Assault Loadout."
The D-Type loadout consisted of four large anti-ship missiles mounted onto a custom frame attached to the GINN's back.
"D-type equipment?" Athrun Zala, clad in his red ZAFT uniform, frowned slightly. "But… Hel iopolis—"
"Athrun," Creuset interrupted, his tone deceptively calm, "you're a kind young man."
He regarded Athrun quietly, then shook his head.
"But after Orb decided to cooperate with the Earth Forces—developing new mobile suits and warships—they ceased being a neutral nation."
"Your kindness… will be exploited by our enemies. They'll use it to harm your friends. To harm our people."
His words hung heavy in the air.
"I hope," Creuset continued softly, "that you think carefully about what that means."
Athrun fell silent. His gaze lowered. After a long pause, he nodded.
-----------------------------------
Inside Heliopolis, aboard the Archangel—
The bulk of the supplies had already been loaded. Even the most precious resource—water—had been transferred in significant quantities from the Morgenröte facility.
But even now, if they were to launch, their provisions would still be far from adequate.
"…Hm?"
Seated inside the Jegan's cockpit, resting with eyes half-closed, Roz Links suddenly felt something.
A chill. A pulse at the back of his mind.
He immediately opened a comm channel to the bridge.
"This is the bridge, go ahead," came a familiar voice—Badgiruel.
"Who's commanding the ship right now? I'm heading out."
Roz sealed the cockpit hatch and began powering up the Jegan.
"The Archangel's acting captain is Murrue Ramius, but please state your reason for—wait, what? MS signals appearing?!"
The Archangel's radar system was top of the line—so when Badgiruel checked the display, she immediately saw several small blips flicker to life beyond the icons representing ZAFT's ships.
Roz gripped his controls tightly. The stabbing pain behind his eyes, the icy pressure crawling down his spine—
He understood it instantly.
This time, ZAFT wasn't coming to negotiate.
They were coming to wipe everything out.
.....................