"Orga!!!"
Watching the Calamity being destroyed right before his eyes, Clotho's eyes widened, his expression showing some shock.
Although on the surface, the three of them barely got along and almost fought during battle, their bond was still decent.
After all, they had survived together from the piles of corpses in the laboratory; there was still some connection.
"Cough… ugh…"
Just as Clotho thought about taking revenge on Orga, a strong sense of discomfort overtook him, a sudden withdrawal effect that caused his mind to go blank.
"…Damn it!!"
In the end, he could only curse while fleeing under the cover of the Dagger's fire, dodging the attacks from the Freedom and Justice Gundams.
"Tch…"
Far away on the Earth Alliance fleet flagship, Muruta frowned as he watched the battle. Clearly, the combined assault of the enhanced human units and the smartbrain controlled mobile suit forces against Orb had achieved disappointing results.
"The battle situation is unfavorable. What do you suggest, Director Azrael?"
At this point, the flagship captain naturally saw that the battle had entered a stalemate. Two enemy customized units and ace pilots remained; one of their own units had been destroyed, and two were heavily damaged. Under these circumstances, retreating to regroup was the best option.
"I suggest we withdraw first, wait for the reinforcement fleet, then attack again."
"…Ah well, there's nothing we can do."
After a pause of a second or two, Muruta forced a nonchalant smile and waved his hand. "After all, no one expected the enemy to have ace pilots with decent mobile suits. Continuing to throw the Daggers in would only increase losses. Better to retreat for now."
"…Signal the flare, retreat!"
Although the captain wanted to mock Muruta a little, thinking of Muruta's skillful labeling of people, he gave up.
However, the one leading the reinforcement fleet was no pushover either…
-----------------------------------
With the Earth Alliance's retreat flare, a large number of Daggers began to provide orderly cover for the withdrawal.
On the beaches, hills, cities, and Orb's main island, except for Morgenroete, Inc. and the mass accelerator which were considered "clean," the rest of the land was littered with the wreckage of Daggers and M1 Astrays. Cities and roads had been reduced to rubble, and a few hills were even on fire.
Some M1 Astray pilots slumped in their cockpits during resupply. As "rookies" in every sense, surviving such an intense battlefield was already lucky.
After the Earth Alliance withdrew, Orb's remaining fleet returned to the docks for emergency repairs, and the recently repaired Archangel returned with several small damages.
Although the Calamity, Raider, and Forbidden Gundams hadn't paid much attention to the Archangel, under the concentrated fire from numerous Daggers and the Earth Alliance fleet, some of the Archangel's armor had been damaged and required repairs.
"Narrative Gundam returning to the ship, prep team, get ready!"
In the hangar, with Miriallia's voice, the Narrative Gundam, which had exited NTD mode and whose psycho-frame bones had turned gray-white again, smoothly flew into the hangar.
"Refuel propellant! Recharge weapons, move quickly!"
Murdoch, along with the prep team, quickly began servicing the Narrative Gundam.
"Zzzz… good work, Roz."
Murrue's voice came over the comms. Roz removed his helmet, took a few breaths, and grabbed a water bag from a nearby storage box, drinking a few hurried sips.
"All civilians have been evacuated. Orb's forces will enter withdrawal mode as planned."
Looking at the received intel, Murrue, seated in the captain's chair, sighed.
"The Earth Alliance is determined to take Orb. According to Cagalli, they rejected all of Orb's negotiation requests."
"In other words, we still have a tough battle ahead."
Roz put down the empty water bag, leaning back in his seat. "The Earth Alliance won't just let us leave quietly."
"True. Even if they let Orb's forces go in the best case, they won't spare the Archangel as a fleeing ship."
Thinking this over, Murrue rubbed her forehead.
"I'm not about to give up on the girl I just confirmed a connection with."
Roz looked around the full cockpit, at the various indicators and the slowly increasing propellant levels.
"…Roz, at my age I shouldn't be called a girl. Maybe you should use something more mature, like woman?"
Feeling the conversation had become a bit stiff, Murrue made a small joke.
"…I don't remember you being this kind of woman in my memories, Murrue."
Roz, thinking it over, voiced his doubt.
"In my impression… you should have been more passive."
"Because I was afraid that if I didn't express my feelings, I'd lose the chance forever."
As Murrue said this, Roz could hear a trace of a smile in her voice over the comms.
"The battle intensity between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT keeps increasing. Everyone is becoming ruthless. With my current identity and role, I might die there in a few days."
Murrue rose from the captain's chair and leaned against the window, watching the workers on the Archangel conducting continuous repairs.
"Besides… Roz, you're a blockhead, and I used to be a blockhead too."
Murrue's gaze traveled along the Archangel's damaged parts until it rested on Roz in the hangar. "Two blocks can't naturally intersect, so one takes root and entwines the other."
"…You won't die."
Roz took a deep breath and made a decision. "I promise."
"You have to survive too, Roz."
-----------------------------------
"The Earth Alliance has been repelled… no, they probably retreated on their own."
Near Orb's waters, a ZAFT submarine quietly raised its periscope, silently observing the battle ahead.
"Two heavily damaged units, one destroyed… looks like the Earth Alliance's new G units got completely trounced."
Rau Le Creuset watched the scene through the periscope, clicking his tongue in amazement.
"Didn't expect the Earth Alliance to take a beating in Orb… and these new G units…"
He trailed off, turning to Yzak and Nicol Amalfi beside him, both frowning at the images.
"What do you make of it?"
"…Rocket launcher assaults on the enemy fleet, favoring forged rockets, brutal attack methods, and this familiar modified backpack…"
Yzak took a deep breath. "Absolutely no doubt—the pilot of that mobile suit is Cub!"
"But this time, it's not the sunglass model. It's more like a G-series unit…"
Creuset pondered. "Seems like he has backing from some other force behind him…"
"I have only one question… why is his outer armor red?"
Nicol's focus was on the Narrative Gundam's armor. "Even with PS armor, it shouldn't emit light like that… and it seems more maneuverable too…"
"Probably entered Red Eye mode, or activated the 'Red Eye' system."
Creuset recalled past battles, offering an explanation. "Whenever Cub appears enraged, his sunglasses turn red or emit a deeper, more piercing red light, and his performance drastically improves."
"As for this unit turning red… probably the external manifestation of the 'Red Eye' system?"
"But no matter what, no matter how strong we suspect the enemy to be, we can't shy away. Performance can only be judged in battle."
Finishing his words, Creuset released the periscope and clapped his hands. "Don't worry, we'll win."
For some reason, when Creuset said "we'll win," Yzak unusually broke out in a few drops of cold sweat.
Recalling how Roz once fought him just to convince him, leaving him with a mild concussion, Yzak couldn't help but doubt the certainty of "we'll win."
"In any case, the Earth Alliance has now withdrawn its forces. According to photos from the space fleet, another Earth Alliance fleet is heading toward Orb."
In the dim light, Creuset showed a friendly smile, though the lighting made it look somewhat sinister. "The major battle will probably start tomorrow. Everyone else, except those on duty, get some rest."
"Also, prepare missiles. Orb's mass accelerator—whether Orb decides to destroy it or not, we must ensure it's destroyed. No useful assets can be left for the Earth Alliance."
-----------------------------------
Space, Orb's civilian evacuation fleet.
Because the fleet was constantly sending evacuation signals, ZAFT had no intention of interfering with this convoy made up of cargo ships.
At this moment, on one of the cargo ships…
"Your sister was rescued just in time. Combined with her Coordinator physiology, she's now out of life-threatening danger."
In front of a medical pod filled with pale green liquid, a doctor, still wearing a bulletproof vest, spoke to the two figures before him.
"That's great… Mayu, Mayu survived…"
Hearing the news, Shin almost cried from joy. After losing his parents in an instant, the weight of responsibility pressed heavily onto his shoulders, almost crushing him.
Where would they live after evacuation? How would he earn money to support Mayu? How to handle her medical expenses… One question after another made it hard for Shin to catch his breath.
"But there's also some bad news."
The doctor sighed, shaking his head at Shin. "Due to the severity of your sister's injuries, even with recovery, she will never be the same as before. This could be a serious blow to her mentally."
"Moreover, her condition now requires at least six months of rehabilitation, during which you'll need to prepare her prosthetics. That won't come cheap."
"N-no… it's fine… I'll get the money."
Faced with the doctor's grim notifications, Shin felt his mind enter a dazed, blank state.
"It'll be fine, Asuka."
Kuzzey patted Shin on the shoulder.
Because he was worried about Shin and Mayu, Kuzzey had come to check on them. Now, at least, it wasn't bad—they were alive.
"As long as she's alive, there's always a way."
"But… it's still so hard. What exactly should I do…"
Shin stared at his bank card, lost in thought.
Although the inheritance from his parents could sustain them for a while, thinking about the future—custom prosthetics for his sister, cosmetic surgery, hair restoration, and other projects—Shin had to figure out a way to get money.
Money… money… how can I get money!
"Anyway, at least you two are alive. Live with all your strength."
Kuzzey sighed, recalling the scene of Christina on the Archangel slaughtering the Artemis Fortress soldiers. "I know a girl, probably also physically incomplete, but she's living with all her strength as well."
"I see… but the person you mentioned must still have some reservations. Prosthetics always attract attention."
Listening to Kuzzey's description, Shin pictured the scene he knew: a girl with iron-gray prosthetics, working hard despite the strange looks from others.
"Not at all, at least I can't tell."
Kuzzey shook his head. "When she truly showed a different side, I thought she was normal. Her limbs looked just like anyone else's; she could run, jump, and even perform precise operations smoothly."
Shin no longer cared about the rest. He focused on the key words: prosthetics that look like normal limbs, can run and jump, and allow fine manipulation!
"Please, Kuzzey, tell me where I can buy those prosthetics."
"…Eh?"
Kuzzey was about to encourage the struggling siblings with what he knew of Christina's story.
But Shin's sudden ninety-degree bow in front of him startled Kuzzey.
"Well… those prosthetics are pretty expensive… I only know he has a channel to get them…"
Kuzzey scratched his head, intending to advise this somewhat poor boy to stay away from that "bottomless money pit."
"And he's the type who really wants money."
"Meaning… pay a commission?"
Shin thought for a moment and said firmly, "Completely fine."
At this moment, Shin's desire to earn money had reached its peak.
No one will stop me from letting Mayu run and jump normally! Money is nothing—watch me, working warrior Shinn Asuka, melt it away instantly!
"Alright… but for this request, I don't even know if he's willing to take it…"
Kuzzey pondered for a moment and sighed.
"Please do it!"
Shinn Asuka remained full of spirit.
...............