Earlier, on the bridge of the Vesalius, a high-speed Nazca-class combat ship
As the leader of the Creuset Team, the white-uniformed Captain Rau Le Creuset was waiting alongside the black-uniformed Captain Frederick Ades for good news from the troops who had entered Heliopolis.
After all, their opponent was a warship that had escaped complete destruction in their first wave of demolition charges, but whose crew should have suffered heavy casualties, along with a single mobile suit hastily activated and presumably piloted by a mere Natural.
Their side, meanwhile, had three battle-hardened Ginns, and the red-uniformed son of Council Chairman Zala had also gone out in a newly captured enemy mobile suit. Without a doubt, victory was theirs.
Just as Captain Frederick Ades was thinking this and casually waiting for good news from the front, the face of the highly decorated Captain Rau Le Creuset beside him suddenly changed beneath his mask. He pressed a hand to his temple.
"What's wrong, Captain Creuset?"
"Captain Ades, get the ship moving. I have a bad feeling."
Captain Ades knew better than to dismiss Captain Creuset's usually accurate premonitions.
"Get the ship moving! Ahead, slow! And contact the Gamow!"
Before the crew could carry out the order—or even realize how serious the situation was—Captain Creuset's bad feeling came true.
Two beams of light flashed past in the distance off the ship's flank, emerging from behind a concealed chunk of debris. A short while later, two more streaked past, followed by another pair. They were drawing steadily closer.
There was no need to guess. The enemy was clearly alternating shots from a twin-barreled cannon to zero in on them. But the beams didn't look like anything used by the Earth Alliance—or anything Captain Ades had ever seen.
"Accelerate to combat speed! Prepare to evade! Move!"
Captain Creuset didn't need to give the order this time. Though puzzled, the experienced Captain Ades took charge on his own, and the crew visibly came to attention.
As the Vesalius gradually accelerated, Captain Ades bellowed at the radar controller, then turned to Captain Creuset.
"Radar controller, what are you doing? How did you miss the enemy closing in? Pinpoint their position, now!
Captain Creuset, could they be reinforcements for the Naturals?"
"I don't think so. But now that they've opened fire on us, we have no choice but to return it."
While indicating the general direction to the radar controller, Creuset gave Ades a meaningful answer.
Before Captain Ades could make sense of it, the radar controller, with Creuset's help, finally located the Gwameir, which was pressing closer to Heliopolis under cover of its guns.
"Unknown interference has completely disabled the electromagnetic radar!
We have no matching data from heat signatures or optical scans. I'm transmitting the visual feed now!"
As the radar controller sent over the images, Captain Ades studied the Gwameir on the screen and grew even more perplexed.
"No matter how I look at it, that doesn't resemble an Earth Alliance warship. If anything, it looks more like one of ours. And the emblem on its bow doesn't belong to any organization we know.
Could there be some misunderstanding? Should we try contacting them first, Captain Creuset?"
Creuset's reply to Captain Ades's suggestion was decisive.
"That is the enemy. There's no doubt about it!
Captain Ades, you have my authorization to fire on the unknown vessel. Make sure we hit them before they hit us!
Contact the hangar. Get my CGUE repaired as soon as possible. You can use parts from a Ginn if you have to. We may need it soon!"
The situation was clearly urgent, and with a direct order from a superior, Captain Ades stopped hesitating and began directing the battle.
"This ship, hard to port!
Gunnery chief, fire as soon as we're in range!
Communications, coordinate with the Gamow!"
As the crew members called on responded, the combat information controller, who had been monitoring the situation at the front, suddenly spoke up.
"Captain Creuset, Captain Ades, Heliopolis is breaking apart!"
Captain Ades was shocked by the news, but clearly there was something more pressing to deal with.
"What are the troops at the front doing? How are we supposed to explain this to the PLANT Council?!
We need to deal with the enemy ship in front of us first. We don't have time for this!"
While Captain Ades was frazzled, Creuset remained unhurried.
"First, there were mobile suits developed for the Earth Alliance. Now another unknown enemy ship has suddenly appeared. Heliopolis can hardly be called neutral.
If we explain all this to the PLANT Council, I'm sure they'll understand. Besides, the civilians should have evacuated in time."
Creuset's reasoning made sense and eased Captain Ades's anxiety enough to let him focus on other matters.
"We've made a mess of this. Have we still heard nothing from the troops at the front?"
"That's right, we haven't... Wait, we've got a friendly signal escaping Heliopolis. It's Athrun Zala!"
The communications controller contacted Athrun without waiting for Captain Ades to give the order.
As the two men spoke, the radar controller delivered another piece of bad news, before they even had time to react to the defeat at the front.
"A large number of mobile weapons have launched from the unknown enemy ship. They're heading straight for us at high speed!"
The radar controller didn't need to report it. Both Creuset and Ades had kept their eyes on the Gwameir throughout their exchange.
"Why does the leading mobile suit look like another unfamiliar friendly unit? And what the hell is that huge mobile armor behind it?!
Damn it, we don't have any mobile suits left that we can use!"
Before, Captain Ades had been worried about how to explain things to the PLANT Council. Now, with the battle going badly, he was truly panicking.
Creuset was beginning to feel uncertain himself, but he still appeared perfectly composed.
"It's only a mobile armor. There's nothing to fear!
And we still have the four mobile suits we seized from the Earth Alliance. We've already extracted their data, so let's make good use of this gift.
Contact Yzak and the others. Have them prepare to launch as well!
I'm launching too. Tell the hangar to make an emergency replacement with spare parts from a Ginn. I'll leave things here to you, Captain Ades!"
Remembering Captain Creuset's famous battle, in which he had earned the Nebula Medal, Captain Ades regained his confidence and calmed down.
"Yes, Captain Creuset. Good luck out there!"
Creuset waved to Captain Ades, and before he had even left the bridge, he heard Ades order the crew to fire.
"High-energy beam cannon, target the unknown enemy ship. Fire!"
On his way to the hangar, Creuset naturally ran into Athrun, who had returned to the ship and was heading for the bridge to report to him.
"Captain Creuset!"
"Judging by the enemy's fierce response, it seems our operation hit them where it hurts.
I'm heading out now, and Yzak and the others are preparing to launch as well.
But you've been fighting continuously, Athrun. You should get some rest first."
After returning Athrun's salute, Creuset paused to exchange a few words with him.
But Creuset's pointed remarks would never persuade Athrun, with his powerful sense of responsibility, to rest at such a critical moment.
"I'm going out too! But, Captain Creuset, what about that ship and the remaining G?"
"It's a shame, but for now, we have to let them go."
At Creuset's answer, Athrun felt relieved, and it showed on his face. Creuset, who was already quite "interested" in Athrun's decision to launch without permission, naturally noticed.
But this wasn't the time to investigate. Creuset gave Athrun another brief salute, then, without waiting for Athrun to return it, floated off alone toward the hangar.