Chapter 184: Arresting Gundam 3
In the end, Heero exploited a major flaw in the mobile doll MDs—their limited intelligence. He and Duo, wearing OZ's standard space suits, attacked an unmanned Taurus stationed in the hangar.
Then, they released the space-type Leos and transport ships stored inside the Barge Fortress, making it look as though someone was trying to escape.
Sure enough, the unmanned Taurus units detected the space-type Leos flying out of the hangar and immediately took off beyond the base's perimeter.
They automatically switched their attack targets to OZ's own mobile suits. Even the units parked motionless in the hangar weren't spared.
The officer in charge of Barge Fortress, Lieutenant Colonel Tolle, noticed the situation and immediately began checking why this was happening.
Eventually, they discovered that the unmanned Taurus units had malfunctioned—but it was too late. The Taurus units had already identified the OZ soldiers in space suits as enemies and killed them with beam cannons.
The interior of the Barge Fortress was severely damaged by the Taurus attack. Many OZ soldiers were killed, and although they eventually managed to stop the rampage, the loss was already immense.
Seizing the opportunity, Heero and Duo boarded a shuttle and successfully escaped the military fortress.
Heero then set his sights on the five scientists, deciding they were his next targets for elimination. To kill the doctors who had aided OZ, he once again planned to infiltrate the lunar base—this time under the guise of a student transfer.
Because the Taurus system malfunction had caused such heavy destruction at Barge Fortress, Lady Une expressed strong dissatisfaction toward the MD system developers on Earth.
Meanwhile, Trowa had disguised his identity and successfully joined OZ's new recruit training program. With exceptional performance, he was soon promoted to a full-fledged OZ soldier.
One suspicious soldier, however, reported to Lady Une: "Colonel Lady Une, this soldier named Trowa Barton is… unusual. No ordinary person—no matter how much simulator training they've had—could make those evasive maneuvers in a real battle."
Lady Une asked casually, "And what exactly are you trying to say?"
"I suspect he's received special training somewhere—extremely advanced training."
"His background has been thoroughly checked, hasn't it?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Then he must simply have untapped potential—talent that hasn't yet found a place to shine."
"But what if he's here to sabotage OZ from within? He could be one of the Gundam pilots."
Lady Une smiled unconcernedly. "If he is, we'll know soon enough. Let's have him personally destroy the captured Gundam—that will tell us everything."
She then glanced at Tolle. "Wouldn't you agree, Lieutenant Colonel Darks Shaw?"
Tolle, sitting nearby with his legs crossed, hadn't planned to say a word—but since she'd called on him, he had to respond.
He could clearly tell that Lady Une's "saintly" demeanor was becoming more frequent. The old Lady Une—ever cautious, ever calculating—would have immediately taken such suspicions seriously. But now, she brushed them aside with ease.
Tolle couldn't be bothered to expose Trowa's cover. Why should he? OZ didn't treat him particularly well anyway—Lady Une bossed him around enough as it was.
If it weren't for the support of Treize and Lady Une, he would've been treated like a dog long ago. So he turned a blind eye to Trowa's infiltration.
"Well, Lady Une's right," Tolle said. "Some people are just like that. Take me, for example—useless at everything except piloting a mobile suit. Maybe this Trowa Barton's the same way—someone with great potential, just waiting for the right moment. No problem here. Let's do as Lady Une says."
Following Lady Une's orders, they placed the Deathscythe Gundam near a scrap satellite as a live combat test target, instructing Trowa to destroy it completely in front of everyone.
Trowa had no choice but to comply. He piloted a space-type Leo, borrowed a beam cannon from a nearby Taurus, and used it to destroy the damaged Deathscythe Gundam.
Because of his naturally calm demeanor, he passed OZ's heartbeat and emotion monitoring tests without issue.
Even when a tear unconsciously slipped down his cheek, the cockpit sensors detected no emotional fluctuation at all.
"The brainwaves and heart rate of Trowa Barton show no changes," a soldier reported to Lady Une.
Lady Une looked at the readings and murmured in admiration, "What a perfect pilot."
Tolle thought to himself, Of course he's perfect—he's the veteran pilot of the Heavyarms Gundam.
"However, Colonel Une," the same soldier said hesitantly, "I still have a few doubts—"
But Lady Une, looking elated as though she had discovered a rare treasure, cut him off confidently:
"Trowa Barton is joining OZ. Talented people understand OZ. Tell him I want to meet him personally."
"Colonel Une, that's too dangerous. He could still be one of the Gundam pilots."
Lady Une removed her glasses and unpinned her hair, once again entering her serene, saint-like mode.
"He's coming alone to meet me because he wants to understand OZ. Wouldn't it be rude if we didn't respond? He loves space as much as we do—I'm sure we'll have a wonderful conversation."
"But—"
"Lieutenant Nichol," Saint Une interrupted softly, "why do you think this way? What are you afraid of?"
"Afraid? Me? Impossible…"
"Then let's end this war quickly, shall we?"
Tolle stared speechlessly. The transformation between her personalities was too smooth—it was no wonder she'd eventually been redeemed. Maybe when Treize died, Lady Une's heart had died with him.
"All right, Lieutenant Nichol, enough arguing," Tolle said. "I'll accompany Colonel Une for the meeting."
He smiled and, imitating Treize's tone, added, "Colonel Une, forgive me, but I can't let you meet that soldier alone. It's a matter of respect—for you and for him. After all, if a man and woman are alone together, rumors might spread. That could damage his career, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to hinder someone who also loves space."
Saint Une smiled and nodded, agreeing to let Tolle accompany her into the reception room.
Tolle noted that this "saint" version of her was at least somewhat more reasonable—she could still be persuaded.
He wondered whether her duality was a side effect of brainwashing or something Noin had deliberately caused—but now wasn't the time to dwell on that.