In the cockpit of the Narrative Gundam, Roz sat in the pilot's seat with his fingers interlaced, seemingly waiting for something.
"Five minutes until combat. How's the preparation, Roz?"
On the mount in the cockpit, Big Haro shook the wings atop his head.
"…Born ready."
Roz took a deep breath out of habit, calming himself.
For some reason, facing this battle—undoubtedly a difficult one—Roz actually felt a hint of… excitement?
Was it himself, or was his body craving the fight?
"Before departure, check the armaments and the nuclear battery again."
Roz reached out and opened the touchscreen in the cockpit, reviewing the data.
Perhaps thanks to the improved heat dissipation system, the mobile suit's cooling efficiency had improved considerably compared to his operations in Orb, enhancing the Narrative Gundam's performance.
Beam Gatling, Buster Rifle barrels, missile launchers… minute by minute, Roz inspected each weapon, confirming their status.
"Ready to depart, Roz."
Big Haro reminded him.
"Get ready to make some noise."
"Ha… Roz Links, Narrative Gundam, launch!"
The container floated quietly among the asteroids, suddenly pierced by the blade of the Beam Saber extending from inside, splitting it open to reveal the gray-white mobile suit.
After adapting the electric propulsion system with the nuclear battery, the modified Jegan high-mobility backpack on the Narrative Gundam's back erupted with massive thrust, pushing the Gundam closer to its target.
"High-mobility backpack at full power… consumption is still 15 slower than charging efficiency. Did you really feed that temporary nuclear battery with that much output?"
Big Haro monitored the mobile suit, puzzled by the current battery consumption rate.
"Even though your current manufacturing process is basically a small workshop, safety comes first."
"How would I know? I just figured that way I could make a nuclear battery that wouldn't blow up."
Roz kept pressing the pedals, adjusting the joystick continuously. "Besides, weren't you watching me build it back then?"
Even though the current speed was similar to when he raided Rau Le Creuset's fleet, Roz did not feel any G-force effects yet, even though his pharmacological anti-G suit hadn't activated.
So this was the power Big Haro called the "Seed of Evolution"?
"Big Haro, remove mobile suit limitations."
Roz grit his teeth.
"Fly faster… Narrator."
Near his right hand, the touchscreen flickered as certain options were disabled, and the words "NTD" appeared at the top-left of the main display.
Although the cockpit hadn't fully entered NTD mode, the UI had already turned red.
The Narrative Gundam lifted its head, the psycho-frame glowing bright red, leaving a red streak as it moved at high speed.
With the final limiter released, Roz finally felt some G-force, but it remained within tolerable limits.
The speedometer on the display shot into the red zone, and the high-mobility backpack's propulsion system emitted even stronger tail flames, significantly boosting the Narrative Gundam's speed.
-----------------------------------
On the lunar base, the soldiers at the radar station were still chatting casually.
As one of the Earth Alliance's important outposts in space, even ZAFT would have to think twice before attacking this place.
Just as these soldiers were discussing which bar to visit on their day off this week, a piercing alarm suddenly blared, making the group freeze.
"Attack? How? Is it a system error?"
"Which reckless ZAFT unit would do this? The main forces of ten Earth Alliance fleets are stationed here!"
"Wait… something's wrong. MS target number one… its speed is so fast!"
"Model analysis… it's coming up…"
The soldier responsible for analyzing the mobile suit raised his head. Seeing the name displayed before him, an unreal feeling suddenly burst through his mind.
"It… it's the White Devil! He's breaking through the Third Fleet's defensive line! The route is…"
"…Project Requiem!"
The previously calm lunar base and lunar colonies immediately mobilized. A large number of soldiers and officers who had been on leave were now rushing back to the base like madmen.
A large number of Drake-class and Nelson-class ships were taking off from the docks, flying toward the direction of the Narrative Gundam, intending to form a defensive line.
"Prime Minister Orphee, please return to the warship to rest for now. We may need to evacuate if necessary."
On the lunar colony's walkway, the Blue Cosmos member in a white lab coat standing beside Orphee offered the suggestion.
"It's the White Devil invading the lunar base. For your safety, please return to the ship first."
"The White Devil… that's what you call that mobile suit?"
Recalling the Black Knight brutally defeated by the Narrative Gundam during the Orb homeland battle, Orphee narrowed his eyes, his expression turning slightly grim.
"I trust the Earth Alliance's combat strength… you should be able to ensure my safety."
Orphee looked at the Blue Cosmos member in the white coat.
"Besides, it's not as if I lack ways to protect myself."
"Guts, Jet!"
At that moment, behind Orphee, two men in luxurious attire lowered their heads slightly.
"Awaiting your orders, Prime Minister."
"Although your Black Knights are still prototype versions and haven't been upgraded… based on their last battle with No. 001…"
Orphee considered for a moment and gave the two pilots their orders.
"I order you to test the Black Knight's data and capture that White Devil!"
"...Yes."
The two pilots left immediately, heading quickly toward the Kingdom of Foundation warship.
-----------------------------------
"Is the Earth Alliance reacting this fast?"
Looking at the Earth Alliance fleets being continuously marked inside the cockpit, Roz grinned.
"Units of the Eighth Fleet have been marked, don't hit them by mistake, Roz."
Big Haro flapped the wings on its head, and a dozen blue‑white markers framed the units of the Eighth Fleet.
"I remember old stubborn Halberton said… the newbies in their fleet have top‑class reaction speed when pulling the ejection pod."
As Roz said this, his finger was already resting on the trigger key.
"At least make it somewhat realistic."
"Don't overdo it, Roz."
"Of course I know my limits…"
Roz took a deep breath, looked at the warships ahead continuously launching Daggers and MAs marked "SB," then glanced at the lunar colony not far away that was now on lockdown, and grinned.
"I mourn for the people dragged into this war…"
Roz suddenly stepped down on the pedal, and the speed gauge was instantly pulled to its maximum.
"…Forgive me."
He pressed the trigger key, and the two temporary three‑barrel Gatling guns on the backpack finished adjusting their angle, then began to spin, firing a massive number of beam shots forward.
-----------------------------------
"Although we don't know why the White Devil is attacking the lunar base, this is also a rare opportunity for us!"
Inside the flagship of the Third Fleet, the commanding officer in a military uniform said through the communication channel.
"Why does the White Devil emit green auroras, and even push an Archangel‑class out of Earth's atmosphere? As long as we obtain the technology on that mobile suit, we can completely eliminate the Coordinators!"
After speaking, he waved both arms and shouted with a near‑fanatical voice: "For a blue and pure world!"
Beside him, the soldiers responded one after another.
"Yeah!"
"Release the unmanned combat units, stop the White Devil's advance, force him to halt!"
One after another, Daggers and MAs equipped with wetware devices were deployed, flying toward the Narrative Gundam.
But less than a minute after leaving their warships, two chains of particle beams rapidly and accurately swept across the Daggers and the MAs. The particle beams melted through their armor with ease, blowing them into fragments in space.
Immediately afterward, a thick red‑and‑white beam fired, accurately piercing the Drake‑class beside the Third Fleet's flagship. The reactor was hit, blowing the Drake‑class into pieces.
After the Drake‑class exploded, the Narrative Gundam, trailing red light, streaked past the flagship of the First Fleet and continued toward its target.
"That's G's equipment?!"
Seeing in the Narrative Gundam's hands the Buster Cannon barrel formed into a beam rifle, the commander‑in‑chief of the Third Fleet looked unsettled.
After all, the way the Buster Gundam once used that cannon barrel to wipe out an entire patrol fleet in just a few shots was still vivid in memory.
And now, seeing the Narrative Gundam holding armament almost identical to Buster's, he felt his scalp tingle.
Fortunately, the "White Devil" was not targeting him.
"Ahem… release more unmanned combat units! We must capture the White Devil here!"
The commander‑in‑chief of the Third Fleet coughed twice in a forced manner to ease the awkwardness, then continued issuing orders.
-----------------------------------
"The enemies are increasing… two minutes until reaching the target point."
Big Haro's voice came into Roz's ears, but Roz had already focused all his attention on the battle.
Although the energy density could not compare to the "Great Sun Nu Gundam" Roz had used in simulation training, the large number of Daggers and MAs still put considerable pressure on him.
The missile launcher on his legs fired a fragmentation rocket, the numerous fragments piercing the armor of the Daggers and MAs, clearing an area in front of the Narrative Gundam.
The Narrative Gundam quickly executed several small-angle turns, the red trail drawing a zigzag line, avoiding the debris from the explosions ahead.
"…Reached the target point."
Arriving at the coordinates marked "Requiem," Roz unhesitatingly maneuvered the Narrative Gundam, aiming the beam rifle down at the "Requiem" hidden under the lunar soil.
"Let's give them some fireworks, Roz."
"…Just what I was thinking!"
Roz quickly pressed the trigger key, the muzzle of the beam rifle flaring with intense light as it rapidly completed overload charging.
A beam thicker than the one that destroyed the Drake-class hit the target point precisely.
The disguised lunar soil melted and blew away, revealing the alloy gate beneath.
"No! Requiem is being—"
The commander of the First Fleet arrived with his troops, and seeing this scene, his eyes widened.
The alloy gate continued to melt, and the beam ultimately struck the internal "Requiem" components, scattering light that damaged numerous conduits. Inside "Requiem," explosions kept occurring.
Finally, as the beam rifle's muzzle light faded, the place where "Requiem" had been was left as a molten hollow, with components exploding while air pressure sucked many parts into space. One could faintly see the Blue Cosmos researchers who built this device, along with Earth Alliance soldiers, drifting out and frozen like ice sculptures.
Luckily, during Roz's assault, the area had conducted emergency evacuation according to protocol, or the death toll would have been higher.
Roz pressed the joystick several times, firing six special high-explosive rockets from the missile launcher at his waist toward the "Requiem" debris.
The rockets flew into the remains of "Requiem" and exploded violently, nearly tearing the components apart completely.
After completing the launch, Roz piloted the mobile suit upward, several beams grazing beneath the Narrative Gundam's feet.
The beam triple Gatling guns connected to the backpack quickly adjusted angles, shredding the previously ambushing Dagger squad into a sieve.
"The other fleets have arrived too…"
Facing the current scene, Big Haro swayed on the mount, "What are you going to do, Roz?"
"What to do?"
Roz glanced at his armaments and had already decided on the next action.
"Of course, follow the plan and break out."
The Narrative Gundam dragged the red trail, twisting and turning under the Earth Alliance's encirclement.
The beam Gatlings on its shoulders effortlessly shredded the Daggers and MAs blocking its path. The Gatlings linked to the nuclear battery via the high-mobility backpack, though not very powerful, had extremely high rate of fire—perfect for dealing with these Daggers and MAs.
Just as the Narrative Gundam dodged a Dagger's beam sword ambush and, with a very fast flying kick, split the unlucky Dagger in two—The previously calm brain suddenly issued a warning to Roz.
Like an electric shock to his forehead, Roz instinctively executed a rapid evasive maneuver.
Enduring enormous G-force, Roz piloted the Narrative Gundam through a "pseudo-acute angle turn." Two familiar crimson beams were avoided by the Narrative Gundam.
Following the direction of the beam attacks, Roz saw two slightly familiar mobile suits.
-----------------------------------
Among the two Black Knights, the pilots named Guts and Jet were carefully observing the constantly moving Narrative Gundam in front of them.
"I'm going in first!"
Guts pushed the throttle of his Black Knight, planning to take advantage of the Narrative Gundam being surrounded by Daggers to capture it in one strike.
Although only a prototype, the Black Knight's power was not to be underestimated. Moreover, thanks to the Kingdom of Fondation's research on brain development, the theory behind the "Prototype Mental Interference Device" had been deciphered and was now applied to the human brain.
At this moment, Guts and Jet were preliminary results of this research, able to roughly sense the vague emotions in each other's minds.
Extensive simulated training had proven that with this "superpower," similar to "telepathy," the Black Knight squad's team combat ability was stronger than before. This gave them the confidence to capture the Narrative Gundam.
After all, if one person can't win, then adding a few more makes it possible. And back in Orb, destroying a single Black Knight had been so difficult—this was a perfect opportunity to capture you?
With this thought, Guts' Black Knight rapidly approached the Narrative Gundam.
But in the next moment, a violent impact hit. The prototype FT armor on the Black Knight's right shoulder instantly went into overload, taking the right arm offline.
"What?!"
Guts was shocked, and at that moment, his brain sensed panic from his partner Jet, along with a prompt to retreat.
"Guts! Get out of there!"
Before Guts could react, he saw the Narrative Gundam appear right in front of him. The combined beam rifle barrel of the Buster-style cannon was pressed against the gap created by his destroyed right arm.
"Wait—"
Feeling the Narrative Gundam's brainwaves, even stronger than Orphee's, Guts stared in horror and instinctively spoke.
But Roz, after pressing the barrel in, unhesitatingly pulled the trigger.
The thick beam dissolved the Black Knight's internal structure in a second, blowing it into fragments.
Compared to Miss Machine Soul's almost sadistic fighting style, Roz's style was "efficient." Once he understood the opponent's mobile suit mechanism and weaknesses, he destroyed the cockpit as fast as possible, giving no chance for resistance.
After all, in Roz's cockpit simulations, even if they cut a Jegan down to a stick, the opponent would still use the remaining thrusters to rush nearby and detonate.
At this moment, Jet had already been stunned by the intense fear sent through his brain by Guts, frozen in place. But Roz had more important matters to attend to.
Several cannon shots passed by the Narrative Gundam.
Roz looked over and saw several Drake-class units of the Eighth Fleet continuously executing "Orb-style bombardment techniques."
Coincidentally, this Drake-class was the Watcher, the ship that had escorted Roz to the Moon.
Heaven knew how long these hot-blooded guys had trained yesterday—just like a bunch of rookies, firing blanks everywhere, essentially a battlefield drama team.
Roz raised the beam rifle and fired a shot at the bow of the Watcher.
With deliberately reduced output, it only damaged part of the Watcher's armor, but it completed the "signal" transmission.
Captain Rubens on the Watcher's bridge widened his eyes, shouting, "It's a trap! Abandon ship!"—and the entire ship initiated evacuation.
About thirty seconds later, Roz received a signal from Rubens over communications; the beam rifle had pierced the Watcher's reactor in an instant.
Amid the explosion of the warship, numerous escape pods shot toward the lunar surface.
Undoubtedly, the Eighth Fleet's members were not only hot-blooded but also dramatic.
Roz squinted, turning his attention to the Black Knight, which was now in chaos.
The previous series of operations had taken only about a minute and a half, yet for some reason, this supposedly strong brainwave-equipped opponent remained in confusion.
Though his brain was still muddled, Roz raised the beam rifle and aimed at the Black Knight.
-----------------------------------
Seeing the beam rifle aimed at him, Jet, who had just recovered from the chaos, instinctively pulled the control stick, trying to dodge Roz's attack.
Although Guts' Black Knight had been destroyed in less than thirty seconds when facing the Narrative Gundam, making its performance seem average, that was when facing the beam rifle as an anti-ship weapon. Even as a prototype used for data collection, the Black Knight's performance was on the same level as a second-generation G-series like the Raider.
The remaining Black Knight dodged the thick red-and-white beam. Jet, sitting in the cockpit, hadn't even wiped the cold sweat from his brow when the scene in front of him shocked him.
The beam, which should have dissipated, was still active. The Narrative Gundam activated its jet backpack, and the beam rifle in its hands kept the beam steadily projected.
As the Narrative Gundam moved over the Black Knight from above, the beam rifle followed like a massive beam sword, tightly pursuing the Black Knight's back.
The thick beam struck the lunar surface. With the Narrative Gundam's rapid movement, the Moon's ground raised clouds of dust, leaving a trace of vitrification caused by the attack.
Jet pushed the throttle to maximum. The Black Knight raced forward at extreme speed, trying to escape the beam tightly following behind.
By now, Jet's nerves were taut. Whether pulling up or making small turns, the Black Knight was constantly pursued by the beam.
And since the Narrative Gundam had removed its performance limiter, no matter how much the Black Knight fled, it was merely falling into a state of slow death.
"Too slow…"
Inside the Narrative Gundam's cockpit, Roz was slightly puzzled why this Black Knight didn't charge to fight him, but his hands never stopped moving.
The shield on the Narrative Gundam's arm rotated via its interface, quickly adjusting its angle.
The small missile launcher on the shield activated. One missile after another was fired, passing over the Black Knight at extreme speed, suddenly turning toward the lunar surface ahead.
The fuses reached their designated positions, exploding in fire and smoke, making the Black Knight pilot instinctively try to maneuver around them.
"No!"
Realizing what had happened, Jet instinctively turned the Black Knight and raised its shield.
The next moment, a violent FT armor overload alarm sounded in the cockpit.
After being swept by the beam rifle, the Black Knight's legs, the shield, and the head were partially melted. Some areas even revealed internal structures sparking continuously.
Jet lowered the shield, intending to attack with the right arm that had survived the earlier strike.
However, as soon as the shield was lowered, the Narrative Gundam—whose beam rifle attack had stopped at some point—appeared in front of the Black Knight.
The Narrative Gundam raised a much higher-powered thick beam sword, almost uncontrollable by its field, and thrust it decisively into the armor in front of the Black Knight cockpit.
The Black Knight's FT armor, which had been mostly intact on the chest, instantly overloaded and cooled, with the outer armor melted and destroyed.
Watching the cockpit begin to melt, Jet opened his mouth to say something, but in the next instant, the scorching beam sword pierced the cockpit, vaporizing him.
The Black Knight, which had just raised its right arm, seemed to lose all strength and stopped functioning.
The crimson mono-eye in its helmet dimmed.
The Narrative Gundam swung its arm, the beam sword cutting from the cockpit all the way to the Black Knight's head, bisecting its upper body.
Whether in Orb or during the earlier fight with the other Black Knight, Roz now understood one mechanism of the Black Knights: their "beam-resistant armor" had a load limit.
Repeated concentrated strikes on the same point, or attacks with high-powered beam weapons, could break through the "beam-resistant armor," exposing vulnerable internal structures.
Roz controlled the Narrative Gundam to retract the beam sword and kicked the damaged battery pack away from the Black Knight wreckage, leaving the blast radius.
"Chasing that MS earlier shifted us quite far from our evacuation route."
As the Narrative Gundam skillfully dodged attack after attack, Big Haro on the fixed mount spoke.
"No problem… just accelerate and fly through."
"But the other Earth Alliance fleets are about to converge."
After roughly calculating the time, Big Haro marked a countdown in the cockpit.
"Once this time passes, the Eighth Fleet won't be able to continue their performance."
Roz didn't reply, instead pushing the throttle back to maximum and stepping on the pedal.
The high-mobility backpack behind the Narrative Gundam operated at full power again, piercing through the Daggers and MAs destroyed by the beam Gatling, flying at extreme speed toward the designated target point.
-----------------------------------
"We've reached the designated position."
Murrue sat in the captain's seat, watching the countdown on the screen, and couldn't help but grip the armrest tightly.
"Wait for the countdown to finish, then head toward the second target point."
At this moment, the Archangel was not inside Orb's Industrial Dock Number Seven, but rather in a section of space outside the lunar base.
"Although coming here to support Roz was originally my own idea…"
Murrue took a deep breath to calm her nervousness. "But no matter emotionally or logically, we cannot let Roz be shot down or captured by the Earth Alliance."
"Please, everyone, lend me your strength."
"This isn't something we need to hesitate about…"
Arnold, who as helmsman should be under the most pressure, smiled as he wiped the sweat from his palms. "Captain, are you overthinking this because you're dating Roz?"
Arnold's slight joke caused the others to glance at Murrue with some teasing, making her instinctively straighten her posture.
"…The Archangel is your warship—don't forget that, Captain."
Arnold placed his hand on the throttle, ready to operate at any moment.
"Through all the battles up to now, everyone on the Archangel has voluntarily followed you from the heart, Captain."
At that moment, the radar observer glanced at the slightly tense Murrue, then looked back at the chaotic radar signals. "…Archangel, we are all your strength, Captain!"
"…Thank you."
Murrue relaxed slightly, but her gaze returned to the dwindling countdown.
"How's the radar situation?"
"The lunar base is in complete chaos. Numerous MS and MA are surrounding the Narrative, and the other Earth Alliance main fleets are rushing toward the Narrative Gundam as well."
"Do you need me to support Roz?"
Mu's voice came through the Archangel's comms. "Although the Strike's battery life is average, just watching him show off alone is frustrating."
At this moment, Mu was already in his pilot suit, sitting in the Strike Gundam's cockpit, ready to sortie.
"Mu, the Strike's battery and high-mobility backpack can't sustain such high-speed combat. Please remain on standby."
"Eh… fine, fine. I'll be ready for the next command."
Mu casually responded to Murrue's order, his thoughts drifting back to yesterday.
After hearing Murrue describe Roz's dangerous action and her decision, even though he had planned a day off to go relax at a bar, he instinctively returned to the Archangel and just now sat in the cockpit.
He couldn't quite recall his exact thoughts from that time, but…
"I guess I was still afraid that guy would die…"
Mu turned off his mic and listened intently to the information coming from the radar observer. "Just thinking about what if no one was there to clash with me… I can't accept that…"
"The countdown has ended!"
The radar observer looked at the radar identification signals. "The Narrative has been detected. It's moving toward the designated target point!"
Murrue glanced at the dense Earth Alliance signals marked on the screen and took another deep breath.
"Archangel, advance three!"
"Understood!"
Arnold shouted, pushing the throttle forward. The Archangel's thrusters lit up one after another, propelling the ship straight toward the target point.
-----------------------------------
"I've broken through the target point… Big Haro, set the course!"
Roz maneuvered the Narrative Gundam, fired a low-power shot from the beam rifle at the thruster of a Nelson-class ship from the 8th Fleet, and swiftly broke out of the Earth Alliance's encirclement.
"Don't let him get away! Keep chasing!"
At that moment, the voice of the 1st Fleet commander trembled over the Earth Alliance comms, clearly overcome with anger.
Up until now, the space above the previously peaceful Earth Alliance base was scattered with numerous Dagger and MA wrecks, and even a few Drake-class and Nelson-class ships had been blown apart.
An MS breaks through the defense line, destroys an important cooperative project, and then struts away—who could tolerate such a result? It was like a slap across the faces of both the Earth Alliance and Blue Cosmos.
"Wait, new warship heat signatures detected… it's Archangel-class!"
"Where would there be Archangel-class near the lunar base? They're mostly at the mass driver and Gryps."
The 1st Fleet commander paused to think. Then, as if realizing something, he widened his eyes.
"It's the deserter ship—the Archangel!"
"General… this…"
Hearing the commander's words, the soldiers on the bridge froze for a moment.
"They've left the Earth Alliance formation and are here to support the White Devil!"
The 1st Fleet commander slammed his fist on the armrest.
"They're enemies too! Continue the attack!"
On the Archangel, Murrue naturally noticed the Earth Alliance was slightly confused.
She decided to add fuel to that chaos.
"Deploy the missiles according to the original plan!"
While the Earth Alliance fell into a brief moment of confusion, almost no one noticed what the Archangel, moving at high speed, had launched aside from Roz.
"Archangel! How could this?!"
Watching the rapidly approaching Archangel, Roz looked somewhat surprised, but still skillfully slowed down a bit and steadily stopped on the Archangel's central deck.
The Buster cannon barrels were disassembled and recombined into an anti-armor shotgun. The Narrative Gundam held the weapon in its right hand while raising its beam rifle in the left.
"Let's make this fireworks show even grander!"
Roz maneuvered the Narrative Gundam to turn on the central deck and pulled the trigger at the Earth Alliance forces in front.
Unlike Kira, who relies on the Freedom Gundam's multi-lock system for multi-target attacks, Roz manually targeted multiple Earth Alliance units at the same time with all Narrative Gundam weapons except for the two triple-barrel beam Gatlings on the backpack, which Big Haro operated.
"Archangel, advance four!"
Seeing the Narrative Gundam reach the central deck, Murrue quickly issued the command.
"Understood, hold tight!"
Arnold skillfully drifted the Archangel, giving the Narrative and the ship's weapons clear firing angles, then pushed the throttle further forward.
The Archangel's thrusters operated at full power. As an assault ship, it displayed immense propulsion, rapidly leaving the lunar battlefield behind.
At this moment, Halberton, sitting on the warship, saw that the Archangel had linked up with the Narrative Gundam and smiled.
"Everyone, prepare to abandon ship."
Following Halberton's command, the 8th Fleet soldiers and officers began orderly evacuation into escape pods. Meanwhile, the 1st Fleet, eager to capture the Narrative Gundam, had advanced too far forward.
The anti-ship and high-explosive missiles Murrue had deliberately launched, after the fuse countdown, activated and streaked toward the 1st Fleet's numerous heat sources.
"Missiles incoming!"
Seeing this scene, the 1st Fleet radar observer was wide-eyed in shock.
Before the 1st Fleet could react, the missiles each found their targets, exploding into brilliant bursts of "fireworks."
"Section 8 and 9 damaged and on fire, isolation gates deployed!"
"Nelson-class main guns and thrusters destroyed, unable to fight…"
"Unmanned Dagger units and MA suffered severe losses!"
"8th Fleet flagship heavily damaged… evacuation complete!"
One after another, bad news rang in the 1st Fleet commander's ears, and he felt his blood pressure rising.
"The Archangel is still accelerating…"
Watching the radar signals rapidly retreat, the 1st Fleet radar observer sighed.
"We can't catch up, General."
-----------------------------------
After winding through the asteroid belt multiple times, the Archangel finally confirmed they were not being followed and reduced the ship's speed.
"Phew… mission complete. Good work, everyone."
Looking at the Narrative Gundam on the central deck, Murrue let out a sigh of relief.
"Next, we return to Industrial Dock 7."
"Ejector deck open… Narrative boarding."
Miriallia also relaxed and spoke.
"Very well… close the ejector deck, Archangel, set sail."
Murrue nodded and issued the next command.
Although she wanted to meet Roz, now was clearly not a good time—after all, so many Earth Alliance forces had just been chasing the Narrative Gundam.
Even though the Archangel crew had all expressed that "we are your strength, Captain Murrue," Murrue couldn't recklessly endanger her crew just to indulge in personal feelings with Roz.
Moreover, even if she had done so, Roz would probably have scolded her directly and sent her back to the bridge.
..................