CE71, January 25, around 14:00 standard time
Under cover of the Minovsky Particle cloud, the Gwameir, commanded by Luther, had approached to within a few hundred kilometers of Heliopolis without anyone noticing.
Partly to maintain the cover provided by the Minovsky Particle cloud, and partly to prepare for the battle that might follow, the Gwameir had slowed back down to combat cruising speed, a far cry from the high-speed cruising state it had reached after accelerating continuously along the lunar orbit.
Incidentally, the Zeon emblem on the bow had been simply modified to resemble the Neo Zeon design, with a halo newly added above it.
On the bridge, the tactical operations officer had just reported the latest optical and thermal observation results to the command deck.
"Report: mobile suits launched from the unidentified ship have entered the colony."
Tessa nodded in acknowledgment, while Luther murmured beside her.
"This should be the second wave Rau sent out after ZAFT seized the Gundams, trying to destroy the Strike Gundam, right?
"Then the uncontrolled firepower from both sides quickly wrecked the colony's central axis, eventually causing Heliopolis to break apart.
"Damn it, we hurried as fast as we could, but we're still too late?!"
When Luther mentioned the colony breaking apart, the women in the command area all wore expressions of disbelief. But this was a critical moment in the operation, so they restrained themselves and let Tessa and Luther finish talking first.
"Whatever the case, the fighting inside the colony must have started already. Even if we pick up speed now, I'm afraid it'll be too late.
"Luther, plan the operation on the assumption that the colony will break apart.
"This operation depends primarily on the information you remember, so you can assign the tasks."
Luther nodded. For once, he took direct command of the operation from Tessa.
"Monica, take a team to the port and administrative districts. See if you can find the evidence needed for that plan.
"Cima, take a team to the industrial district. According to the side-story plot, there should still be five Astray Gundams intended for Orb's use. Recover as many as you can.
"Tessa, keep the Gwameir moving toward Heliopolis. Then organize the boat crews and maintenance teams to collect the supplies we need.
"Haman, you'll lead the Newtype Unit on a sortie. Make sure the evacuation pods are safe. Temporarily take in any pods that are damaged or in danger. Leave the ones in better condition alone; someone from Orb should come collect them later, so we don't need to meddle.
"I'll go deal with Rau Le Creuset, the big villain. It'd be even better if I could take him out right here.
"Now, have the Gwameir's main guns fire on the ZAFT warships. Let's see if we can draw back the units they sent out.
"We'll do what we can and leave the rest to fate. I just hope we can prevent Heliopolis from breaking apart!"
Luther's orders were thorough and well-organized, and the women all nodded, especially when they heard that he intended to save Heliopolis.
No one seemed worried that Luther might be in danger when he went alone to attack the two ZAFT warships.
After all, Luther's personal mobile suit, the Time Observer, was a Quin Mantha the size of a Kshatriya.
Although it was a one-off, Newtype-use Mobile Suit built at any cost with technology from the end of the One Year War through the period before the Zeta era in the original UC timeline, its production efficiency was abysmal.
But in terms of performance, even by the time of Char's Counterattack, it would probably still be a family heirloom of a weapon for impoverished Neo Zeon.
Not to mention that Luther himself was both a powerful Newtype and an ace pilot. Back when he had been the "drill instructor to the 800,000-strong Imperial Guard" of the Principality of Zeon, he had won every simulation battle and exercise until he'd grown numb to victory.
A Newtype-use Mobile Suit paired with an ace Newtype pilot like him would be safe against even the strongest enemies, let alone two warships that looked no better than Musai-class light cruisers and their onboard mobile suits.
Now that the plan had been settled, the group left the bridge together and headed for the hangar.
Before the airtight door had even closed, Tessa's voice rang out from the bridge as she ordered the Gwameir to fire.
"Twin-barrel Mega Particle Cannons, staggered ranging shots, fire!"
--Meanwhile, inside Heliopolis--
Kira, a rookie pilot thrust into the role before he was ready, was piloting the Strike Gundam and facing off at a distance against the Aegis Gundam, piloted by Athrun, who had launched without orders.
At the same time, the Archangel, packed with rookies, was under the manual control of Mu, a veteran of many battles. Just after its cannons had destroyed the last D Equipment Ginn, the crew stared in shock as two large anti-ship missiles, forcibly launched by the Ginn just before it exploded, hurtled uncontrollably toward Heliopolis's central axis.
Now that his own Moebius Zero had been reduced to little more than a frame, Mu was manning the anti-aircraft guns from the tactical operations officer's station on the Archangel when he suddenly sensed something again.
"That feeling... Something's coming!"
Though they were baffled by Captain La Flaga's words, Mu's instincts had just bought the Archangel precious time to prepare, so everyone began looking around intently.
Soon, through the cracking ground of Heliopolis—or its sky, if you preferred—Ensign Badgiruel keenly spotted the trail of a Mega Particle Cannon firing through a "crack in the ground."
"Captain Ramius, look over there. Is that a high-energy beam cannon's trail? Are those reinforcements?"
"I don't know! Captain La Flaga, do you know if we have any reinforcements? They seem to be firing on the ZAFT warships!"
Clearly at a loss, Captain Murrue tossed Badgiruel's question over to Mu.
Fortunately, Mu was a veteran who stayed calm under pressure and knew what mattered most right now.
"At least they don't look like new enemies!
"Captain, now's not the time to get caught up in that. Let's take the chance to retreat!
"Our priority is to save this ship and the last remaining G!"
"But..."
While Captain Murrue was still hesitating, Badgiruel, who always prioritized the mission, had already taken matters into her own hands.
"X105 Strike, can you hear me?
"We're retreating. Return to the ship immediately!
"Kira Yamato, please respond if you can hear me!"
--Meanwhile, inside the Aegis Gundam's cockpit--
Athrun had also noticed the Mega Particle Cannon clearly targeting his mothership. With all the allied units inside Heliopolis wiped out, the red-coated Athrun Zala tried once more to accomplish the objective of his unauthorized sortie before retreating.
"Kira, come with me!
"You're a Coordinator too, aren't you?
"The Earth Alliance is our enemy. You should be on our side!"
Faced with the plea from his childhood friend and the annoying Ensign Badgiruel's calls over the radio, the indecisive Kira finally made his choice.
"Sorry, Athrun. I don't intend to take part in this war, and my friends are aboard that ship..."
As he spoke, Kira stowed his weapons and headed toward the approaching Archangel, fighting against the air venting from Heliopolis.
Faced with his childhood friend's refusal to see reason, Athrun ultimately couldn't bring himself to stab him in the back "for justice."
Watching the colony break apart further, and seeing the trails of the Mega Particle Cannon fire grow increasingly continuous through the widening gaps, Athrun angrily punched his seat. As he watched the Strike Gundam carry Kira away, he had no choice but to turn the Aegis around and leave.
※An insert song should play here: "We Were Once So Close" / "We Were So Close"
As he escaped through the air venting from Heliopolis and his field of vision suddenly opened up, the first things Athrun saw were the Vesalius, a high-speed Nazca-class warship, and the Gamow, a Laurasia-class escort ship. They were struggling to turn under fire from an unknown enemy and beginning to return fire with their main guns.
Once he had escaped the interference to communications caused by the colony's outer wall, short-range communications, previously jammed by friendly forces, were restored as well.
"Athrun Zala, why are you the only one? What happened to the others?"
"Unfortunately, the attack failed. Everyone except me was killed."
Athrun's news was shocking, but it was obvious that the Vesalius couldn't spare attention for such a minor problem right now.
"What! Damn it, understood. Return to the ship as soon as possible!"
"Athrun Zala, roger."
Clearly, Athrun wouldn't have to worry for the moment about the problem that had been eating away at him: how to explain to Captain Rau Le Creuset that he'd launched without authorization, returned empty-handed, and effectively committed treason.
He looked back once more at the Archangel, which was taking advantage of Heliopolis's breakup to escape in the opposite direction. Then he put aside his worries about his old friend, returned to the Vesalius, and prepared to face his new fate.
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