The Shattered Earth

Light and shadow leaped wildly across the cockpit walls, every violent tremor like the drumbeat of death pounding against Jiliang's heart.

The Strike Gundam, this new mobile suit named for hope, now carried her terror and confusion as it floated through a region of space heading toward total destruction.

Through the high-resolution monitors, Jiliang was forced to witness the end of the Heliopolis satellite.

This colony, once praised as a jewel of neutrality and a symbol of fragile peace, was now like a toy torn apart by a giant.

Its massive structural framework groaned beneath unbearable strain before rupturing with a thunderous crash. Countless tons of metal, composite materials, and fragments of living facilities were hurled into the void, forming a deadly, high-speed vortex of death.

They danced wildly upon the weightless stage, colliding with one another and bursting into brief, blinding sparks before falling silent again, like cold fireworks the universe offered for this tragedy.

Orbital facilities were ripped apart. Energy conduits spewed flames like severed arteries, while communication cables twisted together into a torn web spun by some cosmic spider, drifting uselessly amid the storm of destruction.

How had it come to this? Just a few hours ago, this had still been her familiar home, filled with sunlight, laughter, and dreams of the future.

Jiliang's thoughts drifted involuntarily back to the decision that had drastically changed her fate not long ago.

When the alarm had pierced the sky, when Earth Alliance warships had intruded upon this place that should never have been tainted by war, and when ZAFT's green-painted mobile suits had appeared like phantoms, a red figure had cut through the chaos.

Char La Flaga. A boy she had encountered by chance while fleeing, yet one who had left an immense impression on her.

It was he who had piloted that blazing crimson Blaze Gundam and charged into the battlefield without hesitation.

And she, Jiliang, had been swept along by an indescribable impulse—was it anger at the situation? Frustration at being powerless to change anything? Or had she simply been drawn to the determination of that red, meteor-like figure?

—In the end, she had climbed into the Strike Gundam's cockpit and followed after him.

The roar of the engine when she had ignited the thrusters still seemed to echo in her ears. The tension and faintly unrealistic anticipation she had felt then stood in cruel contrast to her despair now.

The Blaze Gundam's thrusters spewed dazzling flames as it tore brutally through the thin defensive line ZAFT had established, like a true meteor.

During that tense pursuit, a machine clad in vivid red armor—the Aegis Gundam—darted in front of the Strike Gundam like a crimson bolt of lightning.

Though the constant electronic interference around them battered the communication signals like raging waves, once the distance closed, the Aegis Gundam's transmission stubbornly connected with the Strike Gundam.

Jiliang stared at the familiar face on the screen. She knew that face all too well.

A friend with whom she had once walked through the campus of the lunar city Von Braun, discussed schoolwork, and dreamed of the future—Athrun Zala.

Yet now, he wore a ZAFT uniform, his face twisted by shock, anger, and disbelief.

"Jiliang!? Why are you on an Earth Forces ship... and piloting something like that!? What the hell is going on!?" Athrun's voice came through the speakers, filled with the pain of betrayal and urgent questioning.

His gaze was like a blade, stabbing straight into Jiliang's heart.

"Athrun?!" Jiliang was equally stunned beyond words. For a moment, she even wondered if she was dreaming.

"You're the one... How did you join ZAFT! You clearly..."

Clearly, their dream had been to stay far away from war. Why was he standing on the other side of this conflict?

Her voice rose involuntarily, full of hurried disbelief.

Former friends were now facing one another as enemies. The absurd, brutal reality left Jiliang's mind completely blank.

They had too many questions to ask, too many mysteries to unravel.

But the battlefield allowed no sort of class reunion.

During that brief gap in communication, the Blaze Gundam, as though possessed by a demon, had already crippled another Ginn that had tried to flank it.

The flash of the machine's explosion briefly illuminated the desperate anxiety in Athrun's eyes.

"Damn it!" Athrun had clearly realized how dire the battle was, as well as the perilous situation his companions were in.

He gave Jiliang one last look through the screen. His expression was complicated and unreadable—reluctance, anger, but above all, a soldier's resolve.

"We'll talk later!" He abruptly cut the transmission. The Aegis Gundam transformed into MA mode, its thrusters at full power as it shot toward the sole remaining Ginn like a crimson arrow loosed from a bow, rushing to support it.

"Athrun!" Jiliang instinctively wanted to chase after him, to demand an explanation, to stop this meaningless battle.

But the instant she pushed the control stick—

RUMBLE—!!!

The final, most absolute collapse of Heliopolis's core began.

It was a thunderous roar as though the universe itself were wailing, accompanied by terrifying tremors that sent every instrument in the Strike Gundam's cockpit flashing wildly as alarms blared.

Through the monitors, Jiliang saw the satellite's structure crack like a biscuit crushed by an invisible hand. Massive fissures spread at a visible speed, finally tearing the entire colony apart.

Deprived of structural support, the fragments swept up air and debris sucked out by the vacuum, forming an irresistible torrent.

The Strike Gundam was like a leaf caught in a storm, violently flung away by the force born from the world's collapse. Her vision was instantly filled with tumbling wreckage and blinding flashes of explosions.

The world spun.

Jiliang felt as if her organs were about to be thrown out of her body.

The violent shaking and spinning nearly knocked her unconscious. She could only grip the control stick with all her strength, relying on instinct as she struggled to maintain the machine's attitude control system and prevent it from completely losing control amid the impacts of the debris.

Pain, dizziness, ringing ears... every one of her senses screamed in agony.

When the Strike Gundam's posture stabilized slightly, Jiliang panted as she cast one final glance at the wreckage of Heliopolis through the monitors.

The homeland that had once symbolized peace and prosperity was now nothing more than a vast metallic graveyard floating through the dark universe like a tombstone.

Yesterday's laughter and those carefree days had burst like soap bubbles, leaving behind only cold reality and a bone-deep chill.

"Dad... Mom..." Jiliang's lips trembled unconsciously as tears blurred her vision.

Familiar faces flashed through her mind: her parents' gentle smiles, her warmest refuge in this world.

"It's okay... They must have gone to a shelter... They must have... Home was so far from where the fighting happened... They have to be all right..."

She repeated it again and again in her heart as if reciting a prayer, trying to use that baseless optimism to drive away the fear endlessly growing in the depths of her mind. She tried desperately to remember where home was, where the nearest shelters were, forcing herself to believe that they had to be safe.

But when she finally pulled herself slightly away from worrying about her parents, another figure occupied her thoughts.

"...Char, what about Char!?"

The boy who had charged out of the hangar with her, piloting the Blaze Gundam, shining as brightly as fire.

They had sortied together, but in the blink of an eye, he had rushed to the front line, facing enemies several times his number alone.

How had he fared in that all-consuming collapse just now? What had happened to the Blaze Gundam?

And... where was the mothership carrying them and these machines—the Archangel?

Jiliang's eyes widened sharply. She forced herself to focus and began scanning the surrounding airspace.

The lights on the sensors were a chaotic mess. Most of them were fragments and wreckage produced by Heliopolis's destruction.

She desperately rotated the Strike Gundam's head camera. Everywhere she looked, there was only endless darkness and debris slowly tumbling within it, glinting with the cold sheen of metal.

That darkness was so deep it seemed capable of swallowing every soul. It filled her with an unprecedented loneliness and helplessness, as though the entire world had abandoned her in this sea of dead stars.

Just as that icy loneliness was about to completely drown her, a familiar voice, carrying obvious urgency and concern, miraculously reached her ears like the light of a lighthouse piercing the darkness.

"...Liang... Jiliang! Jiliang! Can you hear me? Answer me!"

It was Char!

Jiliang snapped back to her senses and almost frantically checked the communication channels.

Sure enough, a signal marked "X106" was flickering stubbornly. Beside it was another, clearer signal source—the designation that represented hope: LCAM-01XA, the Archangel!

"Char!" Jiliang's voice was thick with tears, mixed with unbelievable joy and trembling from the terror she had just endured.

"...Thank goodness you're all right." Char's voice clearly relaxed. Though they were separated by communication equipment, Jiliang could almost picture his taut nerves easing slightly.

"You should be able to pick up my signal with your sensors. Rendezvous with the Archangel near me. Can the Strike still move?"

"Mm... Mm! It can!" Jiliang nodded hard. Though he could not see her, her movements were filled with the relief of surviving disaster and the comfort of finding someone to rely on.

"Thank you... Char."

"?" A facial communication feed from Char appeared in a corner of the screen. There was a trace of barely noticeable relief on the handsome boy's face, but he seemed somewhat surprised by Jiliang's thanks. He tilted his head slightly, wearing a faintly confused yet somewhat adorable expression, as though asking, What's there to thank me for?

Seeing him like that, the taut string in Jiliang's heart finally went slack. She could not help letting out a soft laugh, though tears still slid stubbornly down her cheeks.

Confirming that they were both safe was like finding each other's hand in boundless darkness. Nothing could replace that sense of reassurance.

Char also let out a long breath. His earlier tension and worry became a faint, warm curve at the corner of his lips.

Jiliang steadied her emotions, sniffed, then carefully piloted the Strike Gundam according to the coordinates Char had provided. Activating the thrusters, she slowly moved toward the Archangel and the Blaze Gundam.

The thrusters' glow traced a blue path through the dark universe, like a firefly searching for its way home amid ruins.

As the Strike Gundam flew steadily toward the rendezvous point, Jiliang's gaze casually swept over a floating field of wreckage. Suddenly, something caught her attention and held it fast.

"That is...?" Her voice carried a hint of uncertainty.

"What is it?" Char asked alertly at once. Through his sensors, he had also noticed the slight pause in the Strike Gundam's movement.