An Uninvited Third Party

January 25, CE 71, approximately 14:00 Standard Time.

Relying on the cover provided by the Minovsky particle dispersion, the Gwameir, led by Luther, had approached to within a few hundred kilometers of Heliopolis without being detected by anyone.

However, partly to maintain the shielding effect of the Minovsky particles and partly to prepare for potential combat, the Gwameir had reduced its speed back to a combat cruise velocity, a far cry from the high-speed cruising state it had maintained while accelerating along the lunar orbit.

Incidentally, the Zeon emblem on the bow had been simply modified into the Neo Zeon style, with a halo pattern newly added to the top of the crest.

On the bridge, the combat controller had just reported the latest optical and thermal observation results to the command deck.

"Report: The mobile suits launched from the unidentified ship have entered the colony."

Tessa nodded in response to the report, while Luther muttered to himself beside her.

This must be the second wave Rau Le Creuset sent to destroy the Strike Gundam after ZAFT finished stealing the Gundams, right?

In the ensuing battle, the unbridled firepower from both sides will soon completely destroy the colony's main axis, ultimately leading to the disintegration of Heliopolis.

Damn it, even rushing as hard as I could, am I still a step too late?!

Hearing Luther mention the disintegration of the colony, the women in the command area naturally wore expressions of disbelief, but as this was a critical moment in the operation, they restrained themselves for the time being, allowing Tessa and Luther to finish their exchange.

"Regardless, the battle inside the colony must have already begun; even if we increase speed now, I fear it is already too late."

"Luther, let us plan the mission based on the assumption that the colony will disintegrate."

"This operation will rely primarily on the intelligence in your memory; you should be the one to assign the tasks."

Luther nodded, rarely taking over specific operational command from Tessa.

"Monica, take a team to the port and administrative districts to see if you can find the evidence required for that plan."

"Cima, take your team to the factory district. According to the side-story plot, there should still be five Astray Gundams intended for Orb; collect as many as possible."

"Tessa, the Gwameir will continue to approach Heliopolis, and you will be responsible for organizing the boat crews and maintenance teams to collect the supplies we need."

"Haman, you lead the Newtype unit to sortie. Your responsibility is to confirm the safety of the escape pods. If you find any in dangerous situations or damaged, take them in for now; you can ignore the ones in good condition, as Orb personnel should arrive to collect them later, so we don't need to meddle."

"I will personally go to meet that arch-villain Rau Le Creuset; it would be even better if I could take him out right here."

"Now, have the Gwameir's main guns fire. Target the ZAFT warships; let's see if we can lure their deployed forces back."

"We do our best and leave the rest to fate. If only we could prevent the disintegration of Heliopolis!"

Luther's arrangements were detailed and methodical, and the women nodded one after another, especially upon hearing Luther's attempt to save Heliopolis.

As for whether Luther would be in danger by assaulting the two ZAFT warships alone, no one was worried.

After all, Luther's personal machine, the Time Observer, was a Quin Mantha the size of a Kshatriya.

Although it was only technology from the end of the One Year War in the original UC timeline to the pre-Z era, it was a one-of-a-kind, custom-built Newtype machine created regardless of cost, making its production efficiency abysmal.

However, in terms of performance, even if used until the era of Char's Counterattack, it would likely remain a powerful, heirloom-level combat asset for the impoverished Neo Zeon.

Not to mention that Luther himself was a combination of a powerful Newtype and an ace pilot; when he was the "Chief Instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards" of the Principality of Zeon, he had been victorious in countless simulations and exercises, winning until he was numb to it.

Such a combination of a Newtype custom machine and a Newtype ace pilot was safe against even the strongest enemies, let alone a mere two warships that appeared to be on the level of Musai-class light cruisers and their carried craft.

With the plan decided, the group left the bridge together and moved toward the hangar.

Before the airtight door closed, the sound of Tessa commanding the Gwameir's bombardment echoed through the bridge.

"Main battery, twin Mega Particle Cannons, alternating fire for calibration, fire!"

-- Meanwhile, inside Heliopolis --

The Strike Gundam, piloted by the greenhorn Kira who had been thrown into the cockpit, was locked in a standoff with the Aegis Gundam piloted by Athrun, who had sortied without orders.

The Archangel, manned by a crew of rookies, had just used its ship guns to destroy the last Ginn equipped with D-type gear under the manual operation of the battle-hardened veteran Mu, while staring in stunned silence as two large anti-ship missiles, forcibly fired by the Ginn before it exploded, headed uncontrollably toward the main axis of Heliopolis.

At this moment, because his Moebius Zero was nothing more than a "bare frame," Mu, who was operating the anti-aircraft fire from the combat controller seat of the Archangel, suddenly sensed something.

"This feeling... something is coming!"

Although they felt bewildered by La Flaga's words, Mu's intuition had just bought the Archangel precious preparation time, and the crew observed with all their might.

Soon, through the cracking ground—or perhaps one could call it the sky—of Heliopolis, Ensign Badgiruel keenly captured the traces of Mega Particle Cannons passing through the "cracks in the earth."

"Captain Ramius, look over there. Are those traces of high-energy beam cannons? Are those reinforcements?"

"I don't know! Captain La Flaga, do you know if there are any other reinforcements? It looks like they are shelling the ZAFT warships!"

Faced with Badgiruel's inquiry, Captain Murrue was clearly confused and threw the question directly to Mu.

Fortunately, Mu was experienced in battle and remained calm, knowing what was most important right now.

"At the very least, it doesn't look like a new enemy!"

"Captain, now is not the time to dwell on this; hurry and take the opportunity to break away!"

"Our priority mission is to preserve this ship and the last remaining G!"

"But..."

Captain Murrue was still hesitating, but Badgiruel, focused on the mission, had already begun to act on her own.

"X105 Strike, can you hear me?"

"We are retreating; return to the ship immediately!"

"Kira Yamato, if you can hear me, please respond!"

--Meanwhile, inside the cockpit of the Aegis Gundam--

Having also noticed the Mega Particle Cannon's trajectory clearly aimed at his own mothership, and with all friendly forces within Heliopolis wiped out, Athrun Zala—the pilot in red—made one final attempt to achieve the goal of his unauthorized sortie before retreating.

"Kira, come with me! You're a Coordinator too, aren't you! The Earth Alliance is the enemy; you should be on our side!"

Faced with the persuasion of his childhood friend and the annoying calls from Lieutenant Badgiruel over the comms, the indecisive Kira finally made his choice.

"I'm sorry, Athrun. I have no intention of participating in this war, and my friends are on that ship..."

With that, Kira sheathed his weapon and, pushing against the air leaking from Heliopolis, approached the Archangel as it moved toward him.

Faced with his childhood friend's "lack of understanding," Athrun ultimately could not bring himself to deliver a "betrayal from behind."

Watching the colony disintegrate further and seeing the increasingly continuous streaks of the Mega Particle Cannon through the widening gaps, Athrun slammed his fist against his seat in frustration. Watching the Strike Gundam carry Kira away, he had no choice but to turn the Aegis Gundam around and depart.

※Insert song We Were Once So Close/Anna ni Issho Datta no ni should play here

Escaping through the air venting from Heliopolis, the first things Athrun saw as his field of vision suddenly opened up were the Laurasia-class escort ship Gamow and the Nazca-class high-speed combat ship Vesalius, which were struggling to turn amidst the unknown enemy's bombardment while attempting to retaliate with their own main cannons.

As they cleared the communication interference caused by the colony's outer hull, short-range comms were re-established.

"Athrun Zala, why are you alone? What happened to the others?"

"Regrettably, the attack failed. Everyone else was killed in action."

Although Athrun delivered shocking news, it was clear that the Vesalius had no time to dwell on such minor issues.

"What! Damn it, I understand. Return to the ship immediately!"

"Athrun Zala, roger."

Clearly, Athrun no longer had to worry about the agonizing problem of how to explain to Captain Rau Le Creuset why he had sortied without orders, returned empty-handed, and effectively committed an act of collaboration with the enemy.

Taking one last look at the Archangel as it used the disintegration of Heliopolis to break away in another direction, Athrun set aside his concerns for his old friend, returned to the Vesalius, and prepared to face his new destiny.