After the Penelope's forced departure left the Circe Unit's temporary station in brief chaos, order was finally restored, and operations began to run systematically once more.
The commander of the Man Hunter units stood in the interrogation room, his expression grim as he stared at the blanket soaked a deep crimson, and the two corpses hidden beneath it.
"What about the man from the maintenance crew? What is his status?"
The Man Hunter commander finally let out a sigh and questioned the adjutant behind him.
"He likely went easy on his former colleague; the femoral artery wasn't hit," the adjutant nodded and reported. "Furthermore, anti-air radar hasn't picked them up... Kenneth is all too familiar with the Federation's methods."
"That is just one of the dangers of his defection; more problems will follow," the Man Hunter commander shook his head. "For instance, the locations of the Pacific units' bases, their armaments, personnel counts... the exposure of such intelligence will make operations in the Pacific region extremely unfavorable."
"Have the 4th and 5th Wings scramble in their ReZEL Type Cs. Simultaneously, notify the Pacific units to coordinate with the 2nd and 3rd Wings to deploy MS. They must be shot down before they reach the Ra Cailum."
"But the Pacific units are still maintaining a long-range lock on the Ra Cailum and Amuro's ship!"
Hearing the commander's order, the adjutant couldn't help but frown. "Scrambling units rashly could lead to heavy losses."
"Then have them bypass them. Our priority is ensuring that intelligence regarding the Pacific region does not fall into their hands."
The Man Hunter commander looked directly at his adjutant. "The most important thing right now is the destruction of that defecting, damaged Penelope."
-----------------------------------
Meanwhile, above the surface of the Pacific Ocean, a Penelope with both arms and its primary head monitor destroyed was flying at high speeds.
"I can only use the sub-monitors for imaging... the lock-on performance against enemy aircraft is going to be significantly degraded."
Lane piloted the machine, staring at the unchanging sea surface on the panoramic screen. "Damn it... if only the Penelope's arms were intact, I could at least use the beam rifle."
In the display, the only change was the steadily decreasing numbers on a target point marked with a triangle.
"The friendly-fire lock restriction has been disabled. The Penelope's Funnel Missiles can now lock onto Federation mobile suits."
Standing beside the pilot's seat, Kenneth let out a sigh of relief after finishing the programming adjustments. He returned to the auxiliary seat behind the main cockpit chair.
"Colonel Kenneth, what do we do now?"
After a moment of silence, Lane asked the question.
"All we know is that the Ra Cailum and Amuro are both heading toward the Philippines..."
Leaning against the hard, steel-frame back of the auxiliary seat and feeling the discomfort pressing into his back, Kenneth couldn't help but rub his forehead.
To be honest, now that the environment had suddenly leveled out and his mind had relaxed slightly, he feared he might suddenly black out into a deep sleep.
He was relying entirely on the pain of pinching himself to stay conscious.
"...At the very least, wait until we reach the middle of the Pacific before sending a communication request to the Ra Cailum..."
As soon as Kenneth finished speaking, he tapped his own head. With his thoughts in such a chaotic state, this was the best plan he could muster.
"Target distance set..."
Following Kenneth's lead, Lane reached out and pressed several buttons. A countdown of the remaining distance appeared on the target point. "For now, Colonel Kenneth, you should get some rest."
Since they weren't wearing pilot suits for pressure resistance or stabilization, Lane didn't dare push the Penelope to its top speeds.
Otherwise, the moment they performed any high-G maneuvers, the two of them might be tossed around like pinballs inside the panoramic cockpit.
At their current cruising speed, Kenneth had about an hour of rest time.
"In that case, I'll leave it to you..."
Having truly reached his limit, Kenneth fell into a deep, heavy sleep almost instantly.
Hearing the sound of Kenneth's breathing from behind him, Lane did not relax. Instead, he furrowed his brow.
The Federation would inevitably search for the Penelope. Neither he nor Kenneth had pilot suits for stability or G-force protection, and the Penelope's condition was poor... it was a truly desperate situation.
At that thought, Lane couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
-----------------------------------
Time passed quickly. When the morning sun appeared on the horizon, its light dyeing the ocean waves in shades of gold:
"Beep—beep—beep—" the notification sound for arriving at the target point rang out, startling Kenneth from his deep slumber.
"Colonel Kenneth, we have reached the target point."
Hearing Kenneth wake up, Lane instinctively gripped the control sticks tighter. "I am going to begin transmitting the communication request to the Ra Cailum now."
"Be careful. The Federation is likely monitoring the Ra Cailum's communication channels. If we use a satellite for relay, the Ra Cailum will receive it faster, but if they trace the signal back... we'll be as conspicuous as a lightbulb in their eyes."
After forcing himself awake, Kenneth once again gripped the armrests of the auxiliary seat.
Currently, there were not many man-made satellites left in Earth's orbit, and the communication relay satellites were all under Federation surveillance.
Using a satellite for long-distance communication meant that being found was an inevitable outcome.
However, a clear-headed Kenneth knew all too well how poor the Penelope's condition was. Even without using satellites, if the Federation caught up to them, they would be shot down regardless.
Time was not on their side; they had to play a risky hand.
"It can't be helped. The Penelope's combat power is barely ten percent of its peak. To get support quickly, we have to take the risk..."
Lane pressed the button, his heart racing. "Communication request sent. Repeating at ten-second intervals until connected."
"Next comes hell, Colonel Kenneth."
"Yeah. Show those guys why you were chosen as the pilot of the Penelope."
As the communication request was broadcast and the signal reached the satellite, it took less than a second for the Federation to filter out this specific request for the Ra Cailum.
Unfortunately, due to the "spaghetti code" left over from the past, they couldn't simply cut off the satellite communication without risking other systems. They could only move to triangulate the Penelope's position.
Thus, the Federation units that had been searching for the Penelope like headless flies began to swarm toward it—like sharks smelling blood in the water.
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Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Ra Cailum:
"Captain, we've received a communication request via satellite relay... it's the Penelope?"
The communications officer's eyes widened at the sight of the request. After all, this was the same machine that had led an assault on the Ra Cailum and the Nahel Argama not long ago; why would it be reaching out now?
"...Patch it through. We have enough combat power to protect ourselves," Bright Noa sat in the captain's chair, his brow furrowing slightly. "Let's see what their situation is first."
"Understood. Comm link established."
Following Bright's command, the operator skillfully connected the call.
"Static... This is the pilot of the Penelope, Lane Aime."
The communication video appeared, showing Lane—not in a pilot suit—methodically reporting the Penelope's status. "Colonel Kenneth Sleg and I have defected from the Federation and are currently being pursued. The Penelope is in poor condition. Requesting immediate support."
"Penelope, Lane Aime..." Bright frowned as the young man dumped a barrage of information in front of him.
"Captain Bright, it's been a while."
Hearing that the link was active, Kenneth appeared from behind Lane. "I didn't expect our next meeting to find me in such a pathetic state."
"Kenneth?! How did you..."
Bright was momentarily stunned to see the disheveled and haggard man before him.
When they had last met at the Moon Base, Kenneth had been in high spirits; he never imagined seeing him like this after such a short time.
"A lot has happened, but now isn't the time for small talk," Kenneth glanced at the Penelope's panoramic cockpit displays. "I'll explain the rest once I reach the Ra Cailum. Captain Bright, I am requesting to rejoin Londo Bell."
By now, the Penelope's sensors had detected numerous Federation units closing in. The dense cluster of target indicators on the screen was enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
A series of pings signaling enemy locks began to chime, causing Lane's tension to spike.
"...Rejoining permitted."
Hearing the frantic warning alarms from the other side, Bright understood exactly how dire the Penelope's situation was. "I will contact the Nahel Argama, which is sailing with the Ra Cailum, to deploy their MS. Their units have higher mobility and range than ours and can reach you faster. The Ra Cailum's own MS will also launch to rendezvous with you halfway."
"But be warned: we can only maintain a long-range lock on your position as long as the comms are active... which means the Federation will have you locked too."
"If anything, we were already locked the moment we decided to contact the Ra Cailum."
Facing Bright's warning, Kenneth could only shake his head helplessly. "Time isn't on our side, but we'll do our best to stay alive."
-----------------------------------
At that moment, on the Pacific Ocean, a ship named the Valiant—disguised as a cargo freighter—was cutting through the waves.
"Using satellite relay for communications... that's incredibly reckless."
Looking at the bridge radar, which showed Federation mobile suit signals beginning to converge on the Penelope's position, the newly minted female pilot known as Emeralda felt a wave of anxiety wash over her.
She didn't know why Hathaway had ordered the Valiant to this specific location, but he surely had a plan in mind...
"Mihessia, I'm launching."
Suddenly, Hathaway's voice crackled over the comms.
"Huh? But given the situation in the sky right now..."
Inside the comms station, Mihessia Hence was visibly startled by Hathaway's decision.
"The Federation's target is the Penelope—it's Lane and Kenneth. That much was clear from our initial analysis. They don't have time to chase us."
Sitting in the dim cockpit, Hathaway powered up his machine.
"Once I launch, the Valiant is to evacuate immediately. Follow the planned route to the extraction point and wait for rendezvous."
The pale blue light of the MS user interface flickered to life, illuminating his determined face.
"Right now, every single soul capable of contributing to the coming battle is someone we cannot afford to abandon."
"...I understand. Commencing launch sequence."
Knowing Hathaway's character all too well, Mihessia, acting as the operator, could only comply with his orders and open the freighter's cargo hatch.
As the hatch covers slid back and the gantry cranes moved aside, a spacious opening was revealed, allowing the light of the setting sun to spill into the hold.
There, resting face-down within the ship, was a gargantuan machine.
The green twin-eyes of its fierce head monitor suddenly flared to life.
"Mafty Navue Erin. Xi Gundam, launching!"
.......................