Chapter 254: Post-Battle Resupply
At this time, on Orga's side, he once again used a meteorite to forcibly alter their trajectory. Then, brushing dangerously close, they passed right beside the pursuing Gjallarhorn and Orcus assault battleships in a reverse fly-by.
Before that, he stripped Todo clean and wrote on his stomach: "This is your companion. You deal with him yourselves!"
Then he shoved him into a rescue pod and dumped him onto Gjallarhorn's assault battleship.
Taking advantage of the confusion, Orga switched direction and rushed toward Barbatos and the Heavy Firepower Barbatos-Frame Gundam.
Meanwhile, Spark-1—already aligned with the Fishing Fire's flight path—accelerated at full power toward the same direction.
With support from the Fishing Fire, Tolle and Mikazuki finally shook off McGillis and Gaelio, boarded the ship, and exited the battlefield.
Inside the hangar, the moment Tolle stepped down from the Heavy Firepower Barbatos-Frame Gundam, Kudelia and Fumitan ran toward him.
Only Kudelia threw herself into his arms, while Fumitan stopped beside them, looking at him with quiet affection.
Held in Kudelia's embrace, she anxiously asked, "Tolle, are you alright? Did you get hurt?"
"Kudelia, I'm fine." Tolle looked at Fumitan, then pulled her into the hug as well and said, "What about you two? Are you hurt? That maneuver earlier looked dangerous as hell—felt like the whole ship was about to flip."
"We're fine. But yes… we were really frightened. We didn't know a warship could fly like that."
Tolle kissed both of them softly. "Good. As long as you're safe."
Nearby, Atra hurried over to Mikazuki, checking him nervously.
At the same time, Eugene—still trapped in his mobile worker—finally had his cockpit forced open.
Orga reached out to help him and said, "Man, you scared me back there. But I'm glad you're alive. Thanks."
"You've got some nerve thanking me when you're the idiot who came up with that suicidal plan!" Eugene sat stiffly inside the cockpit, refusing to move.
A few seconds later, he couldn't hold back his grin, grabbed Orga's hand, and added, "If it wasn't for my incredible piloting skills, anyone else would've died out there."
Orga laughed. "Then I'll count on you again next time."
Instantly, Eugene's smile disappeared. "No way! I'm never doing something that stupid again!"
Mikazuki just chuckled and quietly followed Atra to the kitchen. Using Barbatos and the Alaya-Vijnana system always overloaded his brain.
The only way to recover was to keep eating.
Soon after, the Fishing Fire docked with Spark-1. Tolle immediately located the pre-prepared empty MS cargo container and remotely transferred the Bael-Devil variant into it.
Along with it, he moved the deeply-reinforced Gusion Gundam, two Alaya-Vijnana-equipped Graze units, and large quantities of MS weapons and ammunition—everything stored aboard the Fishing Fire.
Barbatos was then sent to Spark-1 for "modifications." On the surface, Tolle handled it himself—but secretly had Nami upgrade it, reducing the system stress to the lowest possible level.
Barbatos was fully refitted into its Wolf-Star configuration, avoiding the scavenging-based upgrades from First Form to Sixth.
As for why not upgrade it into the Wolf-Star Imperial Form: that form unleashes the full potential of the Gundam-Frame and Alaya-Vijnana system.
Even reduced, the load would still be several times greater than now—meaning it wouldn't help. It would only worsen the strain.
Once resupply finished, Spark-1 quietly departed and publicly announced that Tolle—the chairman of the Spark Group—had left with it.
In truth, Tolle used the neo DG cells to disguise himself as a man in his thirties and resumed his original name: Monty Hill.
With preparations complete, Biscuit was the first to speak on the bridge of the Fishing Fire:
"Since the Orcus route is completely blocked… what do we do now?"
Dante replied seriously, "If Orcus isn't an option, then we'll have to find another guide."
Orga looked at Tolle—but Tolle only shrugged helplessly:
"As for which route to take to Earth, or how to avoid Gjallarhorn patrols… I honestly don't know.
Spark Group mainly operates between Mars and Jupiter, and the organization hasn't been around long.
And since most members are former pirates who reformed, information on Mars-to-Earth routes is… basically nonexistent."
———
Barbatos — Wolf-Star Configuration
B+-Rank Unit (Alaya-Vijnana Activated: A-)
Terrain Adaptation: Sea B / Land A / Air — / Space A
Fixed Armament:
· Compact Hammer-Spear ×1
· Wrist Cannons ×2
Optional Armament:
· Sword-Spear ×1
· Wrist Rocket Launchers ×2
· Close-Combat Blade ×1
Special Equipment:
· Dual Ahab Reactors
· Ahab Nano-Layer Armor
· Alaya-Vijnana System
· Modular Weapons Pack
———
Gusion Gundam — Deep Reinforced Type
B+-Rank Unit (Alaya-Vijnana Activated: A-)
Terrain Adaptation: Sea B / Land A / Air — / Space A
Fixed Armament:
· Rocket Launchers ×2
· Large Shield ×1
· Heavy Scissor Unit ×1 (transformable rear armor)
Optional Armament:
· Wrist Rockets ×2
· Long-Range Rifles ×4
· Smoothbore Cannons ×2
· Dual Hammer-Spear ×1
Special Equipment:
· Dual Ahab Reactors
· Ahab Nano-Layer Armor
· Alaya-Vijnana System
· Transformable Scissor-Armor System
· High-Precision Targeting System