Everyone Becomes Suspicious

"After I deploy, recall all the Mobile Suits and have them resupply. Make sure every Mobile Suit is equipped with D-Equipment."

Already seated in his custom CGUE, Le Creuset issued his orders to Adis on the bridge.

The CGUE had been developed as a next-generation model of the Ginn. Compared to the Ginn, its pearl-gray frame looked sleeker, and its added accelerators gave it far greater thrust.

"What? Commander, you mean... D-Equipment?"

Adis couldn't help repeating Le Creuset's order to make sure he'd heard correctly.

That was the heaviest equipment designed for attacking fortresses. Choosing to use it in this situation—was Commander Le Creuset planning to destroy the colony?

"Yes."

"But that equipment—"

"It's fine. Just do as I say."

After speaking, Le Creuset smiled at Adis's bewildered face on the monitor and launched his beloved machine.

If he'd known what Adis was thinking, he would have given his captain a thumbs-up and said, "You guessed right."

At present, both the Earth Alliance and PLANT were exercising restraint.

Under these circumstances, the G-Project alone wasn't enough to make either side escalate its aggression.

But if a civilian colony were destroyed—

"Rau Le Creuset—launching!"

As the launch system activated, the Mobile Suit piloted by Le Creuset shot out of the warship and headed straight for the nearby colony of Heliopolis.

"Hmm!"

Suddenly, Captain Flaga, piloting the Moebius Zero, felt a stirring in his heart. He glanced back at the ZAFT warship in astonishment. "This feeling... Rau Le Creuset!?"

Almost as soon as his gaze swept over it, a gray-and-white Mobile Suit appeared in his sight.

Seated in the CGUE's cockpit, Le Creuset felt that inexplicable stirring and murmured, "Just as I can sense you, can you sense me too...? What an unfortunate bond we share, Mu La Flaga..."

His murmured words seemed to carry boundless hatred, yet there was also a strange hint of delight.

Rat-tat-tat!

Le Creuset locked onto the Mobile Armor ahead and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Having already noticed the shadow of the machine behind him, Flaga narrowly evaded the attack. Feeling the pressure emanating from his opponent, he abruptly changed direction and activated the wired gun barrels.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In the blink of an eye, several linear cannon shells streaked toward Le Creuset's machine from all sides.

"What a nuisance. Though I suppose I'm just as much of one to you!"

As he spoke, Le Creuset dodged the attack, raised his rifle, and fired at the Moebius.

"Damn it!"

Flaga cursed inside the Moebius's cockpit.

He was sure of it now. The opponent he could inexplicably sense was none other than his nemesis, the man with whom he'd crossed swords time and again on the battlefield—Rau Le Creuset!

After so many encounters, he already knew a fair amount about Le Creuset's reputation and tactics.

But that extraordinary sensation deep within him was like a cold blade sliding up his spine. The suffocating shiver it sent through him was deeply unpleasant.

In the blink of an eye,

the two had clashed several times in space.

"You still do like darting around as much as ever—"

As he spoke, Le Creuset piloted his machine straight into the port.

He didn't want to admit it, but in a wide-open space like this, it was indeed difficult to inflict a fatal blow.

Watching the Mobile Suit turn into the port, Mu La Flaga fell silent for a moment, then steeled himself and followed.

The port put him at a disadvantage, but he couldn't just let the enemy enter without doing anything.

"D-Equipment?"

Aboard the Vesalius.

Seeing the Ginns being fitted with new equipment, Athrun looked incredulous. "How can they use D-Equipment?"

"How can they use it? Heh. What long-winded lecture is Mr. Athrun going to give us this time?"

Hearing the shock in Athrun's voice, Dearka couldn't help sneering. "Let me guess: 'Ah, it's a neutral colony. We should uphold the principles of friendship and go in there to get ourselves killed.'"

"Dearka! That's not what I mean, I just—"

"Just what?"

Yzak cut Athrun off. "None of us asked you to go. If you can't stomach it, stay right here and keep playing the good guy. We're not ignorant of what's going on. We just want you to figure out who the enemy is and who your comrades are!"

"Yzak..."

"If there's a next time, I'll kill you first!"

After speaking, Yzak immediately shut down the communications system in the Duel Gundam.

As one of the people who knew Athrun best, Yzak had already guessed some of what was going on while Ino and Athrun were talking.

And when he considered how the Aegis Gundam had returned without deploying its armor, he could piece together the general outline.

For example, Athrun had forcibly dragged Ino out of the colony and escorted him back to the warship—

It sounded absurd, but it was the only explanation for why Athrun, with all his skill, hadn't fully decoded the Aegis Gundam.

Fortunately, nothing had happened to Michel. Otherwise—

"Yzak!"

Nicol had wanted to say something, but Yzak had shut down communications first. Helpless, he could only turn to Athrun. "Um, Athrun, don't take it personally. Yzak, he—"

"I understand, Nicol. I'm sorry."

Athrun spoke, then ended the call as well.

His heart felt tangled, tangled in a way he couldn't even understand.

"This..."

"Nicol, let's leave it at that for now. Sometimes, playing dumb is a good thing. Besides, Ino already knew the truth."

After speaking, Dearka also ended the call.

As the one who had personally deciphered the Gundam, he could guess the general outline of things with just a little thought.

The one thing he couldn't understand was why Athrun had done it—

Nicol opened his mouth, but in the end could only let out a quiet sigh.

They'd all been such good friends back at the Military Academy. But after leaving school, things had turned out like this.

At the same time,

inside the colony's port,

in the weightless central axis, Le Creuset used the factory equipment as cover and attacked the Moebius Zero from every direction.

Unable to maneuver freely because of the surroundings, Captain Flaga was driven into a desperate struggle.

Rumble—

With a loud explosion,

the last wired gun barrel turned into a fireball.

"Son of a bitch!"

Flaga gritted his teeth in fury, but there was nothing he could do. This space really didn't suit the Mobile Armor's strengths.

The Mobile Suit, on the other hand, moved as if it were in its element.

Rat-tat-tat—

Another barrage came down, and Captain Flaga had no choice but to dodge again.

He hadn't experienced such a frustrating fight in a long time.

"Heh, what a tenacious fellow."

Watching the Moebius use the surrounding structures as shields, Le Creuset muttered to himself and fired at the inner wall beside it.

Without its wired gun barrels, the Moebius was like a tiger stripped of its fangs and claws.

It was time to change the battlefield.

"That bastard—"

Boom!

Flaga had only just realized what was happening when a huge breach appeared in the inner wall of the port.

Le Creuset used the pressure created by gravity to squeeze through.

"Damn it!"

Flaga had a rough idea of what his opponent was planning, but he had no choice. He could only follow him inside.

There had been five Gundams in total. ZAFT had already taken four of them. He absolutely couldn't let them take the last one.