In a vast conference hall, a huge projection screen was playing footage of Proto Gundam Unit 4 and Unit 5 in battle.
People dressed in military uniforms and suits filled the assembly hall. They were all high-ranking state officials and senior military officers.
The nation convening the assembly was the Fistam Democratic Republic, one of the powerful space colony nations.
The important figures present all frowned deeply as they watched the battle footage with grave expressions.
Proto Gundam Unit 5 swept its Gatling gun across the enemy mobile suits, destroying more than a dozen of them in an instant.
Quite a few people covered their mouths, too shocked by its overwhelming combat power to speak.
When Proto Gundam Unit 4 swept its Mega Particle Cannon across the battlefield, many people cried out in alarm. The warships looked like sheets of paper being torn apart before the cannon's sweep.
The video ended, and the assembly hall lights came on.
Many people were still too stunned to recover. Where had these mobile suits come from? How could they possess such terrifying power?
One of the congressmen present asked the head of military intelligence, "Director, which country do these mobile suits belong to? Are they from one of Earth's three great powers?"
The intelligence director was Lieutenant General Adili, a slightly overweight, blond, middle-aged Caucasian man.
"No. They belong to a private mercenary group from the Mika Nation, a small fringe colony nation."
Everyone present wore expressions that plainly said, Are you joking?
Adili continued, "At first, everyone here and I also found it hard to believe. I thought they were mobile suits developed by some major power. But after our national intelligence team analyzed the footage and verified its authenticity, we confirmed that the mobile suits in the video were real, and the battle was real. At first, our intelligence team believed that a major power had deployed newly developed mobile suits to a fringe nation for performance testing. But after a lengthy investigation, we found that these two mobile suits were actually private property of that mercenary group."
The Minister of Defense asked, "Lieutenant General, when did the battle in this footage take place?"
"Minister of Defense, this battle footage is already three months old."
"Lieutenant General, why did your intelligence department wait so long to submit this matter?" a congressman demanded loudly.
"Honorable Congressman, it was not that our military intelligence department deliberately delayed reporting this matter. We had to verify the authenticity of the footage, and who could have imagined that such formidable mobile suits would appear in the private armed force of a small fringe nation?"
The congressman who had just questioned Adili loudly was about to refute his explanation when the Minister of Defense raised a hand to interrupt him.
"Lieutenant General, have you determined the origins of this private armed force?"
"Minister of Defense, according to the information currently in our possession, this private armed force is called the Skywing Mercenary Group. Their weapons come from an arms manufacturer of the same name. At present, we have determined that the Skywing Mercenary Group and Skywing Arms Manufacturing Company share the same owner."
"Where is that owner from? What is his name?"
"My apologies, Minister of Defense. At present, we only know that the owner is named Long Fei and comes from the Hanxia Nation. We have yet to obtain information regarding his age or appearance."
"Hanxia Nation, the surname Long..." The president seated at the head of the table stroked his chin as he spoke.
Everyone in the assembly looked toward the president.
President Amdandi, bald on top with hair around the sides, said to everyone, "There are not many people surnamed Long in the Hanxia Nation, but there is a prominent Long family there. If I remember correctly, that Long family is a major business dynasty. They own an arms manufacturer called the Long Family Arms Manufacturing Enterprise, don't they?"
Everyone looked toward Lieutenant General Adili.
"Mr. President, I considered that possibility from the start and investigated along those lines. But the intelligence we currently possess shows no connection whatsoever to the Long family. If the Long Family Arms Manufacturing Enterprise truly had such advanced mobile suits, why would they not use them to defeat their competitors?"
"Lieutenant General, your reasoning makes sense. Does your intelligence department have any other information?"
Lieutenant General Adili then asked for the assembly hall lights to be turned off again.
Once the hall went dark, Lieutenant General Adili restarted the projection. A photograph of the Proto Gundam appeared in the video.
"Everyone, the mobile suit in this photograph is an earlier model of those two mobile suits. These mobile suits are called Gundam, or they can also be called Gaoda. We have also obtained new intelligence indicating that they are developing even newer Gundam models."
"Lieutenant General, allow me to interrupt." The president asked, "Why are they developing new models instead of mass-producing them?"
"Mr. President, that is precisely what I was about to explain." Adili changed the video.
The screen showed the Proto Gundam being struck by live ammunition. After the attack, the footage stopped, and the damaged area was enlarged.
"Everyone, take a close look. Has the armor at the point of impact changed in any way?"
After seeing it clearly, everyone present drew in a sharp breath.
"As you can see, the Gundam was struck by a 135-millimeter solid round, yet the armor suffered no damage at all. There was not even a dent."
The president asked again, "Lieutenant General, what does this have to do with mass production?"
"No, Mr. President, it is related. Our intelligence department currently has two possible analyses. The first possibility is that they are using the final combat data from the newly developed models, then finalizing the design and developing a true mass-produced Gundam model. The second possibility is that they have no intention of mass-producing them. First, Gundam armor is difficult to manufacture. Second, the hardware within the armor is also not easy to produce. Their purpose in developing even stronger models may simply be to hand them over to exceptional pilots, such as ace mobile suit pilots, to operate the Gundams."
"Lieutenant General, which possibility do you consider more likely?"
"Mr. President, in my estimation, the second possibility is more likely."
The congressman who had questioned him loudly earlier demanded again, "Please explain, Lieutenant General. Why do you believe the second possibility is more likely? If the first possibility is true, would that not plunge our nation into an unimaginable crisis?"
"Honorable Congressman, I believe the second possibility is more likely mainly from our military's perspective. Generally speaking, the cost of maintaining ordinary mass-produced mobile suits and replacing damaged parts is not very high. But mobile suits with higher performance operated by elite pilots, or customized mobile suits for ace pilots, cost vastly more to maintain than ordinary mass-produced models. More importantly, they consume far more material and manpower. So think about it: if the mobile suits called Gundams are so exceptional and powerful, would the financial and resource requirements for their maintenance not be even greater?"
Many people accepted Lieutenant General Adili's explanation. As he had said, the more powerful a mobile suit, fighter craft, or warship was, the more it cost.
Even if the mobile suits called Gundams could be mass-produced, the question was: which nation would dare mass-produce them?
The answer was none.
The manufacturing and maintenance costs alone would be enough to cripple a nation's economy.
"Lieutenant General Adili, have your intelligence department continue monitoring the Skywing Mercenary Group," President Amdandi ordered.
"Yes, Mr. President."
Before you continue