Chapter 168: Trap I
Lady Une, a little jealous, continued to object. "I think if you do that, you'll only make Captain Zechs arrogant and conceited."
"Lady Une, you don't need to concern yourself with such trivial matters. You should focus on the bigger picture instead."
"Yes, understood, Lord Treize."
Tolle could only sigh helplessly at Lady's stiff, by-the-book military attitude. Still, that was exactly the kind of person Treize needed right now, so he decided to let Treize train her in his own way.
"Mm, Treize is completely right," Tolle said. "You should learn to look further ahead. Worrying about such trifling details is beneath your abilities.
Besides, I get the feeling that Zechs might be the heir Treize has his eye on."
Tolle glanced at Treize and went on.
"To be honest, Zechs was actually one of the people I'd originally considered recruiting. After all, I figured that once you followed through with your plan to die, he'd surely follow in your footsteps and continue your cause.
Of course, we both know how that would end. Still, I think he's a little less determined than you are — he'd probably end up going into hiding and living under a false name.
So, let's set that aside for now. If I ever get another chance to return to this world, I'll reassess then."
Treize looked rather pleased with himself as he said, "Seems our judgment isn't so different after all."
The three of them ended their discussion and walked together toward the office that had been specially prepared for Treize.
When Zechs saw Treize arrive, he quickly stepped forward, beaming with relief.
"Your Excellency Treize, you're finally here!"
Treize looked at the bandages wrapped around Zechs and said kindly, "You've been through quite a lot, I see. You've done well."
"Thank you for your concern, sir."
Turning to the side, Treize smiled warmly at Lucrezia Noin.
"Lieutenant Noin — for a woman to have achieved such brilliant results on the front lines is truly admirable. You have my deepest thanks."
"It's an honor to receive your praise, sir."
"Oh, by the way," Treize continued, "from now on, I'll be entrusting all matters to Lieutenant Colonel Lady Une.
And this here is Darks Shaw — part of an independent special operations group. He has the authority to handle affairs autonomously."
Then he turned to Lady Une. "Will you be starting right away?"
"Yes, sir. The operational briefing is scheduled for 4 p.m."
"So soon? Very well. Go ahead."
Before leaving, Lady Une kept her serious, disciplined expression as she addressed Zechs and Noin.
"Colonel Zechs, Lieutenant Noin — both of you are required to attend. Hurry up and follow me."
Treize stopped her. "Wait, I still have something to discuss with Zechs. I'll send him along shortly."
"Yes, sir. Lieutenant Noin, don't dawdle."
With that, Lady Une left with Noin and Tolle, leaving Treize alone with Zechs.
"Zechs, I suppose now that all this has happened, your resentment toward the Unified Government should be gone, yes? What are your plans from here? Oh, I should probably call you Baron Lightning Dodge now."
Zechs shook his head. "I'd like to remain under your command a little longer, sir — to continue serving you."
"That's entirely to my advantage, of course. But are you sure this is what you want?"
"If I were to just walk away now, I'd be branded as someone who murdered his own comrades."
"Is it because of the Gundam? Fine then, do as you please.
Also, have that Tallgeese moved into a private hangar. Darks here will help modify it to reduce the strain on the pilot."
"Thank you, sir."
Just as Zechs was about to leave, Treize called after him.
"By the way, aren't you going to take off that mask? Your revenge is complete — there's no need to keep hiding your face."
"Even if I've avenged myself, I'll still continue to fight for my own personal grudges."
"You're a man of principle — that's precisely why I trust you so deeply, Milliard Peacecraft."
"Sir, I'd rather you forget that name."
"I hope that one day, I'll see you take off that mask."
At the briefing, Lady Une presented all the data they had gathered on the five Gundams and began formulating a series of countermeasures.
She spread false information, claiming that a shipment of new Taurus mobile suits would be transported from OZ's Africa branch to the Alaska base.
Two separate fake routes — one by air and one by land — were leaked to lure the Gundam pilots, splitting their forces so they could be captured all at once.
After the meeting, Lady Une went to where Tolle was modifying the Tallgeese and muttered under her breath,
"Why does Lord Treize have to be so humble and thank his subordinates? And I can't believe there are people shameless enough to accept it."
Tolle found Lady's military discipline mixed with childish jealousy rather amusing.
"You don't understand," he said. "That's called the art of leadership — a way to win hearts and minds. It's an essential skill for any ruler.
Think of it this way: a king capable of bringing peace to the land is usually not one who delights in killing. A ruler who loves his people and soldiers will naturally inspire loyalty. When invaders strike, his subjects will fight bravely of their own will.
That's the idea, roughly speaking."
Tolle himself seemed half unsure of his own explanation, and Lady only half understood it before leaving him there alone.
…
Having received the leaked information, the Gundam pilots once again began to gather and head toward the OZ branch bases.
Eventually, Duo and Quatre decided to attack the ground transport, while Heero and Trowa went after the air convoy — never realizing that both routes were traps.
All the Gundam pilots except Wufei engaged in battle.
Quatre led his men to block the railway and destroy the tracks to stop the train.
But before the Sandrock Gundam could fire, cannons suddenly emerged from the train itself, hitting the mobile suit squarely and knocking it onto the tracks — only to be crushed under the speeding train.
At that moment, Duo charged in with the Deathscythe, grabbed one of the train cars, and tried to use the Gundam's legs and thrusters to brake and derail it.
The tactic actually worked — one of the cars was pulled off the track, and the entire train overturned from the momentum.
But unfortunately, their calculations were off — the cars weren't filled with unmanned Tauruses at all, but with Leos waiting in ambush.
The Leos climbed out of each overturned car and opened fire on the Deathscythe and Sandrock Gundams, unleashing a relentless barrage of rifle fire.