When I first treated Yzak, I looked into his memories. As expected, he had been causing trouble on the Archangel when Miriallia punched him, knocking out his tooth. After that, he was confined to the Archangel’s brig, where he talked with Miriallia, who always brought him his meals, and they gradually became close.

When the prisoner transfer at the Alaska base fell through and the situation worsened, Yzak tried to help by causing more trouble, but the plan ultimately failed. In the process, the Archangel’s crew had to restrain him, and ironically, that built a strange camaraderie between them.

’So this is how bonds can form... This guy’s impressive.’

I treated Yzak and then woke him up.

"Treatment is done. Your scar has been removed at your mother’s request. Eat three hours from now. Soft, non-hot food."

"Getting all my treatment from Celestial Being... Anyway, understood."

Yzak left the medical room, and after talking with Dearka and his mother Ezaria about what had happened, he went to his assigned quarters to rest.

I was about to go to my room to rest as well when Lacus came to see me.

"There you are. I have something I want to ask you."

"Huh? What is it?"

She fidgeted, as if finding it difficult to speak, then finally opened her mouth cautiously.

"Well... I heard you called the Archangel’s captain ’cute’... is your type perhaps an older woman..."

"Ah, that’s more like a nickname. The Archangel’s captain gets angry so easily that I teased her a bit as psychological warfare, and ’cute Captain’ just stuck as a nickname."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

Lacus seemed relieved at those words. She must have been worried about that.

"Did it bother you that much, me calling another woman cute?"

"Wh-wha-what are you saying!"

When I asked, Lacus denied it urgently, very flustered.

"If you want, I won’t call other women that."

"...Really?"

"Of course."

"Then... I’ll ask you to."

"Got it. Cute Lacus."

When I smiled and said "cute," Lacus blushed, didn’t know what to do, and ran off in a hurry.

"Wow~ you’re a master, a real master! Playing with a woman’s heart! I can’t keep up!"

Just then, Andrew Waltfeld approached me in admiration. He must have heard Lacus and my conversation.

"How are your eye and arm?"

"So far, no problems moving them. There was some slight pain at first, but even that’s gone now."

"I’m glad."

"Anyway, I came to talk to you. The Eternal is desperately short on Mobile Suits. Do you have any spare machines we could use temporarily? Right now, all we have is Dearka’s Buster Gundam."

Andrew Waltfeld was requesting Mobile Suit support. Moreover, I could tell that now that his body was intact, he wanted to operate a Mobile Suit himself.

"How many of the Eternal’s crew can operate Mobile Suits?"

"Besides Dearka, including myself, four more."

"I see. I’ll take care of it."

I rested a bit in my room, then went to the ship and removed the AI from the mass-production ’Advanced GN-X’ units, modifying them for human piloting. It didn’t take long, because I had anticipated this and built them with human operation in mind.

I also built three more simulation units so people could train freely. Seeing them all lined up, it looked like a game center.

"Ah! Got shot down, damn it."

"Dearka, you’re weak at close range. You can’t engage like that. Move aside, let me try."

"The output of this machine is unfamiliar. You’ll understand when you pilot it."

Dearka and Yzak were surprisingly skilled.

A few days later, I transferred three human-pilotable Advanced GN-X units to the Eternal as a priority.

"Oh~ this is the machine we practiced on in the simulator."

"This is Celestial Being’s mass-production unit, the ’Advanced GN-X.’ It’s been refined through sufficient field testing, so there should be no problems. It has the same performance as the simulation, so if you practiced well, you can use it without issue."

"I see. My body’s itching to try it. Can I take it out?"

"Taking it out is fine, but there must be no one nearby when you launch. The particles it emits are somewhat harmful to the body."

"I see. Understood."

Then Dearka and Yzak also came and asked me.

"Let us practice too!"

"These aren’t the machines I built for you guys... but I suppose it doesn’t matter? Go ahead."

With my permission, the three of them took the Advanced GN-X units out near the base for about two hours, conducting mock battles and testing performance.

"This unbelievable performance... and this is a mass-production unit..."

"Right. I thought the simulation specs were exaggerated, but..."

Yzak and Dearka were amazed when they returned.

Certainly, the Advanced GN-X’s output was a little higher than a single nuclear engine. One might ask, ’Why is the output so low when you’re using two pseudo-solar reactors?’ But this was because they lowered the output of the two pseudo-solar reactors to increase stability.

So even when using the Trans-Am system, the pseudo-solar reactors didn’t break down as they did in the original, but the operating time was slightly shorter than an original solar reactor, and recovery took longer once used. It had become a last resort, for emergencies only. So I had locked the system for now.

"You guys... practice moderately, will you? What is this on a new machine?"

"Hahaha, well... it was so fun because the performance was so good..."

As I said, the Advanced GN-X units had scratches in many places. These guys had played too rough with the new machines.

"The Eternal will maintain them from now on, so you repair and use them yourselves. However, leave solar reactor repairs to us. You won’t be able to repair them."

"You mean this machine’s energy source? Got it."

Just then, Siegel rushed over and said urgently,

"All of you! Watch the Earth Alliance broadcast right now!"

Siegel sounded urgent, so we moved to the base’s lounge, which had a large TV, and watched the news from the Earth Alliance. A man who appeared to be quite high-ranking was giving a speech, broadcast live.

—"The defenders bravely fought to the last man! We must engrave the day of the Alaska base’s fall in history with deep mourning. But we will never surrender! What right do the Coordinators have to take away the peaceful earth and safe skies we live in!"

The Earth Alliance was politically exploiting the Alaska base incident to incite hatred toward PLANT and simultaneously rally the allied forces.

—"The sacrifices this time are enormous, but we must overcome them and stand proudly! To protect Earth’s safety, peace, and future, we must now unite our strength and fight against the arrogant Coordinators!"

Yzak, watching the broadcast, slammed the table in anger.

BANG!

"Those fucking bastards!!! After doing something like that themselves, who are they trying to blame now!!!"

Siegel calmed Yzak down, saying,

"Calm down! But I didn’t expect it to be this bad either."

I agreed and added,

"Right. I roughly expected it, but this is truly despicable. This will escalate the war even further... and the pressure on neutral nations will intensify as well."

"I suppose so... truly, there’s no solution, and yet the situation only becomes more serious."

Siegel, looking like he had a headache, pressed his forehead and said.

"This won’t do. I need to go to Celestial Being’s main base to get more Mobile Suits."

As I stood up and said that, Yzak grabbed me and said,

"Shinigami of the battlefield, bring one for me too. I can’t stand this!"

This guy, anyone listening would think he had entrusted his Mobile Suit to us.

"Tsk. Fine, I’ll see what I can do."

"Then, since I’m asking anyway, how about one for me too..."

Then Dearka also asked. At least this guy had some conscience—he hesitated.

"Alright. But don’t expect too much. Mobile Suits aren’t that easy to come by."

I immediately took the Aznable out of the base. I did this to complete a Mobile Suit I had been building as a hobby.

’I wasn’t planning to use this...’

While Gundams were the center of the Gundam universe, Zeon’s Mobile Suits were also excellent in design. The two I particularly liked were the ’Kämpfer’ and the ’Sazabi.’ The machine I had been slowly building as a hobby was the ’Kämpfer.’

The Kämpfer is a machine from ’Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket.’ It didn’t really fit the Gundam SEED world, because it was armed with live ammunition weapons like shotguns, bazookas, and guided missiles, which were better suited for atmospheric, especially urban, combat than for space. That was the Kämpfer’s charm.

But because I was short on Mobile Suits, I had no choice but to equip the Kämpfer with space-use beam weapons.

’What a shame. This isn’t the Kämpfer...’

Listing the technology applied to the space-use Kämpfer: first, two pseudo-solar reactors, a Trans-Am system, a GN Field, VPS armor, and ’energy deflection armor’ using Mirage Colloid. For armament, it carried a shotgun and railgun, and added two large-caliber guided plasma cannons on its back. For secondary armament, it had beam sabers and, like the Gouf Custom, a heat rod (whip). Above all, true to the Kämpfer, the design maximized high mobility.

I spent a week modifying the Kämpfer and returned to the base, only to find people murmuring about something.

"What’s going on?"

Andrew explained.

"Well, ZAFT attacked the Earth Alliance’s Panama base with an EMP strike, then followed up and annihilated them."

"Damn. Of all times, while we were away..."

"ZAFT prepared and attacked in top secret, so we had no idea. Anyway, did you get the Mobile Suits safely?"

"Yeah. I’ll take them out in the hangar. Call Dearka and Yzak."

"Got it."

In the hangar, I took out the Kämpfer, Seravee Gundam II, and Harute Gundam in order. I also took out one more mass-production unit.

"Wow~ they all look sleek! But that blue machine—it’s more streamlined, like a GN-X rather than a Gundam."

"Of course. It’s the commander unit of the mass-production line."

"Ah, that’s what it is!"

"It’ll be hard to pilot. It’s quite high-mobility, a very wild one."

At my words, Andrew was instead delighted.

"Just what I wanted!"

Just then, Yzak and Dearka, having heard the news, arrived at the hangar.

"Yzak, you take the orange machine, the Harute Gundam. Dearka, you take the Seravee Gundam next to it. The key features are..."

These guys, impatient, boarded their assigned Gundams before I could explain and began customizing the OS to their preferences.

"Honestly..."

As I shook my head in disbelief, Andrew patted my shoulder and said,

"They’re young. Cut them some slack."

"I’m sixteen."

When I told him my age, Andrew was astonished.

"Wh-what??? Talking with you, you were so mature that I thought you were just a bit younger than me..."

What was he talking about? He was clearly a middle-aged man.

Just then, Yzak got out of the cockpit and shouted at me,

"Hey, Shinigami of the battlefield! Is this machine transformable?"

"Yeah, that’s why I was trying to explain. Anyway, you’ll need to practice to get used to it. I worked hard to get these machines, so don’t break them."

"Don’t worry. This body of mine will use them well!"

Hearing that, I felt a bit regretful about giving them the machines.

The next day, Yzak, Dearka, and Andrew took the machines out of the base again and began training, practicing maneuvers and mock battles. I was also checking to see if there were any problems with the new Gundams’ first operation. However, a problem arose with Andrew piloting the Kämpfer.

After the mock battle, he got out of the machine, bleeding from the nose and staggering. His subordinates helped support him.

"Guh... you gave me an unbelievable machine. It’s too much for my body to handle."

"Pilot it moderately, don’t push it to the limit. If you pass out during combat, your subordinates will be confused."

"Understood. But this training showed me my limits, so I’ll take it easy from now on. Anyway, I need to rest and have some coffee."

At this rate, using the Trans-Am system would be impossible.

Several more days passed. Now, even small skirmishes had ceased, so there was no reason to sortie at all. So I watched Yzak, Dearka, the Kämpfer, and the mass-production GN-X units practice.

Then a call came from Kira in Orb.

—"Jin, just as you said, the Earth Alliance has declared war on Orb. We’re going to need support."

"Got it."

I informed everyone at the base.

"Finally, real combat! I’ve been waiting."

As Dearka said excitedly, 2B sighed.

"You might be disappointed. The machine difference is too great. We haven’t even had a real battle yet."

"Still, we’ve got good machines now, and I want to use them."

Then Andrew spoke.

"Alright, everyone listen up. This is our first real battle, so we need to organize squads. This time, the Eternal will go to Orb to provide support. We need to gain real combat experience too. The captain will be Lacus Clyne, and the Mobile Suit commander will be me."

Andrew had left the captain’s seat to Lacus, making his intentions clear. He wanted to test the Kämpfer himself.

"Then, we’ll be the base defense this time. Do we have any supplies to give you?"

"No. We’ve got Mobile Suits and plenty of supplies."

"Really? Then I’ll just go along for the ride. It’s the machines’ first real battle, so I need to see if there are any problems. The ladies here can handle base defense."

Then Yzak said to me,

"Shinigami of the battlefield, you just watch from the ship. Don’t spoil our fun."

"I’m not taking my machine, so don’t worry."

Everyone prepared and boarded the Eternal.

"Celestial Being Eternal, launching. Destination is Orb."

Lacus announced the ship’s departure in her usual gentle voice. Judging by her voice alone, she seemed completely unsuited to be a captain.

I just sat next to Lacus and looked around the Eternal’s bridge.

Unlike the Aznable, the Eternal was operated by a crew, so there were several people. Their roles varied: communications, operators, gunners, navigators.

After looking around the Eternal, I concluded that it was a battleship built for rapid deployment of a small number of Mobile Suits. Hence, it had only one catapult. Instead, its mobility was very high.

We descended into the atmosphere again and moved to Orb. Since the Earth Alliance wasn’t visible yet, it seemed we had arrived early.

"Fortunately, it seems we arrived first."

"Yeah."

But Orb, perhaps not very pleased with our arrival, sent out many battleships. Judging by the fact that they didn’t immediately attack, it was unclear whether Kira had informed them in advance or if they were just coming to warn us.

—"To the unregistered, unidentified battleship: Identify yourself!"

Then Lacus asked me,

"It seems your transmissions are effective. Please."

"Got it."

I sent a transmission to Orb.

"This is Celestial Being. We’ve come to stop the war."

When I sent that transmission, Orb immediately replied.

—"So it was true. For Celestial Being to come... Follow us. And for operational reasons, as of this time, we will refer to your ship as ’Alpha.’"

"Understood."

They seemed to want to hide the fact that Celestial Being was helping their country. Probably to prevent future problems.

Orb guided us and allowed us to dock next to Morgenröte, Inc. There, Kira, Athrun, Cagalli, and Miriallia came out to greet us.