The ν Gundam suddenly emerging from within the Sinanju was enough to give the Federation a collective myocardial infarction.
And the voice radiating from this ν Gundam—a voice so identical to Amuro Ray's that it was uncanny—made many feel as though they had been transported back through time.
'What is this? Char is giving a speech, and Amuro and Char are standing together? So it's actually the Gryps War era right now? I must have traveled back in time...'
Compared to the self-deceiving fantasies that many instinctively clung to, high-ranking Federation officials—particularly the Federation Cabinet—slumped into their chairs. A profound sense of powerlessness welled up from within them.
After all, they had spent a vast amount of time propagandizing the Miracle of Axis and the Federation heroes who participated in it.
How could they not know what kind of character Amuro Ray possessed?
Though the veteran population from the First Neo Zeon War had been diluted over the long years of development, it was impossible to say how things would unfold from here.
From the moment Amuro appeared, it was likely that many Federation veterans were already considering defecting.
"Self-preservation... Yes, we need to save ourselves right now!"
As if struck by a sudden thought, a man in the Cabinet's virtual conference room slammed his desk. "This is no time for self-pity! Think of something!"
"What do you want us to do?!"
Another Cabinet member finally snapped, shouting back. "Amuro is a Federation hero! His combat records are documented facts! How are we supposed to beat him? Not to mention, he likely has people he's familiar with coming to his aid!"
"Perhaps... we could restart the development of new machines and promote some recently joined recruits?" someone suggested.
"It's too late. we already halted all MS development related to Anaheim, and the Naval Institute hasn't even hit its stride yet... Our only new machine right now is the Penelope."
The Cabinet member who first suggested self-preservation shook his head. "What about reactivating old machines? For example, those sealed away in Anaheim's warehouses? After all, Amuro is still using the RX-93."
"Look at those green light particles behind him! It might be a derivative technology of the Miracle of Axis. The machine itself might have long since ceased to be the original!" another Cabinet member added.
"Then modernize the old machines... make them at least stronger than the Gustav Karl."
Finally, the member who suggested self-preservation voiced this idea, bringing a temporary conclusion to the emergency discussion. "Simultaneously, we promote newly joined recruits. The veterans of the First Neo Zeon War are, in the end, a minority in the Federation Army. Besides, there is only one Amuro and one Char. The Federation has a massive population; it is not impossible for us to win."
Though the ideal was grand, in truth, no one present had any confidence in this plan.
They knew full well that even if they "house-arrested" those associated with Amuro, those people would surely find a way to reunite with him.
-----------------------------------
At this moment, Roz piloted the ν Gundam, walking forward along the roadway.
Like Moses parting the sea, the Federation soldiers did not continue their attack.
As the ν Gundam approached, the veterans did their best to pull back the recruits who had recently joined the Federation, and even the infantry squads began to retreat alongside the mobile suits, eventually forming a vacuum zone.
Finally, the ν Gundam halted at a distance from the assembly building, the halo of delicate green light particles continuing to rotate behind it.
Even though the pressure radiating from the ν Gundam was overwhelming, these Federation soldiers still felt a sense of warmth within those green light particles.
From the damaged assembly building, the sound of the loudspeakers rang out once more.
"...Won't you come and meet everyone?"
Sensing the strange look coming from Hathaway beside him, Char glanced at the message displayed on the communication device on the podium and spoke. "After all, having observed the current state of the Federation under the false identity of Full Frontal, surely you have seen enough."
On the communication device appeared the image of Roz, wearing the golden wig and mask, sitting in the cockpit.
While it looked quite different from a standard Federation cockpit, considering he had managed to stuff the ν Gundam inside the Sinanju, a change in cockpit configuration was hardly surprising.
"Tell us, what are your thoughts?"
As he spoke, Char inconspicuously projected the communication onto the large screen behind him, as if waiting for Amuro to deliver the final verdict on the current Federation.
At this point, the reporters in the hall also turned their live broadcast feeds toward the large screen behind Char, which had suddenly flickered to life.
The screen, which originally displayed the Federation emblem, suddenly fluctuated violently before turning into a video perspective from a communication device.
On the big screen, a person with blonde hair and a mask appeared. Although his eyes were hidden, the expression on his lips clearly showed that he was quite incensed.
"The Miracle of Axis—so many people gave their all to save the Earth, yet they could not save human conscience."
Roz sighed, letting go of the control sticks. His voice, tinged with sorrow, resonated through the hall and the machine's speakers, echoing across the sky.
"Our generation failed to establish a sound system, forcing the younger generation to stain their hands with blood to survive. The world we left them has, in the end, become even darker than it was during the years of war."
Though he appeared to be in the same style as Char, once the voice changer was deactivated, it was unmistakably Amuro's voice. "Oenbelli, New Zealand... there are too many instances, so many I can hardly bear to look. People's lives are being cleared away like common weeds."
As Roz spoke, he reached up and removed the golden wig, revealing black hair styled exactly like Amuro's... black hair?
Like drowning men clutching at straws, the eyes of some high-ranking Federation officials suddenly lit up. Their minds raced with various ways to rationally debunk the identity of this masked Amuro.
"I once believed that protecting the existing order would buy time for humanity... but the Federation has defiled that trust with privilege and oppression."
Roz took off the mask and set it aside, picking up the white helmet. "However, I still believe that humanity possesses possibility, and that the world will become a better place."
"Amuro?!"
At this moment, several Federation officials and reporters in the hall let out a collective gasp, then instinctively held their breath.
"But before that..."
As he spoke on the projection, Roz donned the white helmet, identical to the one Amuro used. "I must correct the Federation, just as I did before!"
Roz clicked down the glass visor of the helmet and looked toward the assembly building, his expression becoming incredibly solemn.
"Prepare yourselves."
With those final words, Char cut the communication channel.
There was no need to say anything more. The moment the wig and mask were removed, everything was made clear; any attempt to smear his name would be an exercise in futility.
After all, he was "Amuro."
-----------------------------------
At this moment, in the conference room opened by Bright, everyone who had been discussing how to verify Char's identity suddenly fell into a collective silence.
"That machine is..."
Staring at the screen, watching the ν Gundam with its rotating ring of green light particles, Kamille's eyes widened instinctively.
"Yes, it's correct. The database identification is ν Gundam... Amuro's final mobile suit."
Bright looked at the machine on the screen and then at Roz, who had removed his golden wig and mask. "So, I didn't misjudge back then after all..."
"Bright, can you pinpoint Mafty's location?!"
After a moment of being speechless, Sayla appeared somewhat urgent. "It's already too late for me to rush there from here."
"No. Although I've been in charge of suppressing Mafty, most of the intel has been fake; they are extremely cautious."
Bright shook his head, a sense of difficulty washing over him as he recalled the failed operations against Mafty.
"Captain, we are already on our way toward Earth. Perhaps we can conduct a surveillance scan from orbit to track Amuro and Char's movements."
At that moment, Bright's adjutant offered this suggestion.
"That is indeed a good method. They likely won't evacuate that quickly; it should give us enough time to scan."
Bright looked at his adjutant and nodded.
Beep, beep, beep...
With a notification sound, another person joined the online conference room.
"Beltorchika?!"
Seeing the person joining the room, Sayla couldn't help but cry out.
As Amuro's known wife—the one who had even borne Amuro's child—everyone present was well aware of Beltorchika's name.
"I just watched it too... that live broadcast."
On the channel, Beltorchika took deep breaths repeatedly, as if suppressing the surging emotions within her. "Though that black hair might be an issue with derivative technologies from the Miracle of Axis or some other reason... I felt it. That is Amuro."
One could say that Beltorchika's statement essentially settled the matter for everyone present.
Listening to Amuro's words of grief and indignation, Bright recalled how the Federation had rotted step by step into its current state before his very eyes, and he sighed.
Bright looked at the others on the bridge. These were all recruits who had recently joined the Federation Army; they still had lives and possibilities ahead of them.
But now, Bright seemed to have made his decision.
"Next, I will lead the Ra Cailum to Earth... our subsequent actions may be anti-Federation in nature. You may all withdraw now."
Bright turned on the ship-wide broadcast, announcing his plans and intending to allow those who wished to leave to exit the upcoming operation.
The adjutant looked around the bridge, only to find that every person there was nodding back at him.
Bright had not only won them over with his personal charisma; after learning about his past experiences, they too harbored significant resentment toward the Federation.
The tragedies of Oenbelli and New Zealand had pierced their hearts deeply.
"Maintenance crew will follow the Captain."
"Engineering will continue to maintain the Ra Cailum."
"MS Team 1 is present and accounted for; please give us our objective, Captain."
One communication after another chimed through the bridge speakers; surprisingly, not a single soul chose to evacuate.
"The 13th Fleet, all personnel, petition to join Londo Bell."
At that moment, Bright's adjutant snapped to attention and saluted Bright. "Please give the order, Captain."
"People will die."
"But it will be worth it." The adjutant stood tall. "Just as Amuro and Char said—I don't want to leave those children a world even more cruel and dark than the one we have now."
"Captain Bright."
In the conference room, Kamille's expression had also turned solemn. "Kamille Bidan, requesting to return to Londo Bell."
"Kamille..."
Looking at the man before him—who had long since recovered from the mental breakdown following the First Neo Zeon War—Bright opened his mouth, but found himself at a loss for words.
"...Request granted. Welcome back."
The moment Bright made that decision:
Beep, beep, beep... Beep, beep, beep...
One message after another began to flood Bright's communication device.
They were messages from veterans originally belonging to Londo Bell who had been scattered across various Federation units.
Though the wording of the messages varied, they all carried the same essential meaning:
"Requesting to return to Londo Bell."
-----------------------------------
Meanwhile, inside the Joint Command in the American region of Earth, a heavy silence fell over the room.
"Ken... Kenneth, you spent time in Londo Bell before. Do you recognize this... Amuro?"
Staring at the appearance of the ν Gundam on the screen, George found himself speaking with a noticeable stutter.
Having been promoted only in recent years, his knowledge of the ν Gundam existed only in databases; he naturally didn't know as much as Kenneth, who had actually served in Londo Bell.
"...He is strong. Strong to an extent that words cannot describe," Kenneth replied, staring at the image of the ν Gundam in a daze. "He was the Captain's Captain, the Hero of Heroes. One could say that the very title of 'Federation Hero' requires his existence to give it any real value."
"Then do we even have a chance of winning?"
Hearing Kenneth's words, even the usually arrogant Mike couldn't help but ask.
"I can't imagine a scenario where we win... even if we include the Penelope, which hasn't even deployed yet." Kenneth shook his head. "Moreover, the Penelope is currently using spare parts for temporary replacements; its performance is even lower than before."
When it was just wearing the shell of the Sinanju, it had already pinned the Penelope to the ground and beaten it.
Kenneth couldn't even begin to estimate how ridiculous the performance of this ν Gundam truly was.
And those green light particles... were they a technology derived from the Miracle of Axis?
"Ugh... damn it." George slammed his fist onto the table. His mind was a complete mess. "Without a retreat order, I have no way to pull the troops back."
At this moment, the joint forces were stuck in an awkward standoff, staring back at the ν Gundam.
No one dared to approach; even when a few recruits tried to step forward, they were immediately pulled back by the veterans.
Beep, beep, beep...
Suddenly, amidst the alert sounds, the communications officer looked up toward Mike. "Colonel Mike, we have a message from the Federation Cabinet!"
"What is it?" Seeing the expression on the officer's face, Mike had a feeling that this wasn't going to be a "retreat order."
He walked over to the terminal and looked at the message sent by the Cabinet. It contained only one simple instruction: "Continue the attack."
"FUCK!!"
...................