On the Ra Caim, a Clop-class cruiser of the 13th Fleet stationed at the Moon, Kamille Bidan—dressed in dark blue trousers and a brown shirt—was walking down the corridor.
The Clop-class had originally been deployed to the Londo Bell unit alongside the Ra Cailum.
At its peak, Londo Bell even possessed four Clop-class ships; counting the Ra Cailum-class Ra Cailum and the Nahel Argama, they had six battleships in total.
However, after the Clop-class at Luna II was destroyed, the Lachata was sunk while shielding the Ra Cailum during the Axis Shock, and the Republic of Zeon on Side 3 renounced its autonomy after UC 100, Londo Bell began to downsize into the 13th Independent Fleet.
Many Londo Bell veterans were consequently scattered and reassigned to various units, and the fleet was reduced to just three ships.
Excluding the Nahel Argama, which performed solo missions year-round, there were only two battleships Bright could command at any given time.
The automatic doors ahead opened, and Kamille stepped onto the bridge of the Ra Cailum.
Having not participated in combat for a long time, the sensation—feeling like a lifetime ago—made Kamille pause for a moment.
"Kamille Bidan, reporting for duty."
Looking at the figure seated in the captain's chair, Kamille instinctively raised his hand in a salute.
"Welcome back to the squad, Kamille. I am Corint, captain of the Ra Cailum."
The captain named Corint returned the salute. "Captain Bright instructed me to wait here to rendezvous with you."
"What is our plan now?" Kamille asked Corint, wanting to see if Bright had made any specific arrangements.
"We expect to head to Earth orbit to wait and assist the Ra Cailum's return to space, and to pick up members returning to the Londo Bell unit."
Corint nodded and laid out his plan. "There are still some Clop-class ships within the Federation Army; we can blend in among them."
"Unfortunately, due to the Federation's current strict investigation of Anaheim Electronics, they can't provide us with any support."
After a moment of thought, Corint analyzed the situation. "After all, the ν Gundam has appeared, and Amuro has openly declared his opposition to the Federation. It's likely Anaheim will be dismantled because of this."
After Char delivered his speech and announced the formation of "AEUG Zero," Anaheim had indeed fallen into a state of chaos.
Although things had diverged from the original plan, it was still within Anaheim's range of tolerance, and follow-up support plans were moving forward step by step.
However, when the outer armor of the Sinanju shattered to reveal the ν Gundam hidden within, Anaheim's top brass were stunned.
Subsequently, the frantic Federation dispatched a large number of FBI agents to storm Anaheim, taking control of Von Braun City.
After all, no matter how weak the Federation might become later due to the threat of secession, the current Federation remained immensely powerful.
The appearance of the ν Gundam made the Federation feel that Anaheim was brazenly declaring support for Char's "AEUG Zero." The Federation was now prepared to crush Anaheim and nationalize everything.
"I remember hearing that Anaheim still keeps a Zeta in the hangar at Von Braun on the Moon, right?" Kamille asked after a moment's reflection.
"Yes. That is a product built by recovering the Zeta you piloted, then analyzing and strengthening it. Although it is fully functional, they usually don't keep it fueled with propellant; it's more of a symbol than a practical unit."
Corint nodded. After all, the development of Project Zeta had been so high-profile that almost everyone knew Anaheim still housed many Zeta Gundam variants, as well as one Zeta Gundam kept as a display piece.
"Anaheim will likely be dismantled by the Federation soon. It's better to take it now than let it go to waste."
Upon hearing this, Kamille made a swift decision. "The Moon's gravity can mitigate some of the issues of having no propellant... Once I complete the seizure, I'll count on you to pick me up."
-----------------------------------
In the sky, a massive MS descended slowly, slowed by the drag of a vast array of parachutes.
"I expected the Nahel Argama to show up eventually, but isn't this a bit too flashy?"
Maneuvering the ν Gundam to descend alongside the Nightingale, Roz frowned as he looked at the Federation MS below. "I thought you guys would stay under the Mirage Colloid system."
"If we kept the Mirage Colloid active, we wouldn't have been able to use the TRANS-AM system to catch up to those two ballistic missiles."
Responding to Roz, Murrue casually switched off the screen showing the media's live broadcast of the chaotic scene outside the venue caused by the Nahel Argama's appearance.
Speaking with a slight note of complaint, she added, "Besides, because of how much equipment you crammed into this thing, three ReZELs couldn't even budge this unpowered Nightingale. We had no choice but to deliver the goods in person."
Indeed, the Nahel Argama had not crossed the Indian Ocean to reach the Atlantic for support; instead, it had crossed the Pacific to reach the West Coast of the Americas.
With its electric propulsion system and GN Drives, long-distance flight was no difficult task, and deploying the Nahel Argama here allowed for preemptive action.
"Sorry, I didn't take that into account," Roz said, looking at the Federation MS units in the distance as they began to reform their ranks. "But let's save the talk for after this is over. For now, let's get down to business."
The American region was vast, with numerous military bases and a top-tier number of MS. The Jegan and Gustav Karl units shot down just moments ago were not enough of a loss to force the Federation to issue a retreat order.
"True enough."
After taking a deep breath, Murrue returned to her command state. "The ReZEL squad and Delta Gundam Kai, launch from the upper catapult decks and seize air superiority! Jesta squad, launch from the lower hangar and repel the Federation MS!"
"Roz, I'm leaving it to you to ensure Char boards the Nightingale."
"Understood. Leave it to me."
Hearing Murrue's voice over the comms, Roz smiled.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, when the Nightingale was about three or four meters from the ground, the parachute packs attached to its body suddenly unlocked. Small thrusters mounted on the packs ignited, carrying the deployed parachutes away to land somewhere in the distance.
Clang...
With a thunderous sound, the massive machine—resembling a giant, monstrous bird—landed in the plaza in front of the venue.
Descending along with this "monstrous bird" were three deep-blue silhouettes, one of which appeared to have small-scale weaponry mounted on its shoulders.
Almost the very instant they touched the ground, the three Jesta units raised their beam carbines and pulled the triggers on the Gustav Karl units that had landed alongside them.
"Are those... Jegan variants?!"
Seeing the head sensors that shared a clear design lineage with the Jegan, the veterans standing by in their weaponless Jegans widened their eyes. "And those reaction times—are they veterans too?"
Since Psycho-Frames and the Delta Gundam Kai's NITRO system were sealed in this world, any plans related to the RX-0 naturally never materialized, let alone the Jesta units designed to accompany the RX-0.
"Estelle, suppressing fire!"
After raising her irregular shield to block a shot from a Gustav Karl, Bridget maneuvered her machine to shift the shield's orientation.
A high-explosive rocket streaked out from the shield's missile slot, blowing the Gustav Karl's shield clean off and sending the machine into a stagger. "We finally get a chance to deploy—we have to put on a good show!"
"Negative. It is simply that the ReZEL's versatility is superior," replied Estelle. Data streams flickered across her eyes as a data cable linked her specialized helmet to the seat behind her. She pressed the trigger on her control stick. "Multi-lock system functioning well. Opening fire."
The beam cannon and quadruple multi-launcher on the Jesta Cannon's shoulders rapidly found their targets. A red beam erupted from the cannon's muzzle, precisely piercing a Gustav Karl's shield and melting the upper chest behind it.
Meanwhile, the multi-launcher targeted the Jegans, whose armor was significantly thinner than the Gustav Karls.
High-explosive grenades launched from the muzzle, accurately striking the Jegans that were maintaining a hollow encirclement in the sky.
The blasts shattered chest plates and legs, sending the suits plummeting.
The third Jesta, piloted by Veronica, closed in on a Gustav Karl and sent its shield spinning away with a shield bash.
On the Nahel Argama, aside from various flying kicks, the second compulsory course for pilots was shield-to-shield combat.
Veronica's Jesta followed the bash with a heavy shield thrust before the Gustav Karl could react. The blow crumpled the enemy's chest armor, forcing it back two steps as its balance broke.
Immediately after, a high-explosive rocket fired from the shield's missile pod, slamming into the Gustav Karl at point-blank range.
The ensuing violent explosion tore through the chest armor, and with its balance doubly compromised, the machine fell backward onto the ground.
"Whew! Haven't used a shield bash in ages—feels as good as ever!"
After flexing her fingers and scanning the Federation MS encirclement, Veronica grinned. "Let's see who the next lucky winner is."
"Veronica, don't overextend. Our mission is to coordinate with the ν Gundam and ensure Char boards the Nightingale."
Just as Bridget was restating the mission, the Federation forces in the sky finished reorganizing and launched an attack on the Nahel Argama.
In an instant, the sky above the New York venue was filled with crisscrossing beams and anti-aircraft autocannon fire.
-----------------------------------
As Char left the conference hall, Hathaway took command of the remaining Mafty members to maintain control of the venue and ensure order.
Glancing down the empty corridor, Char casually loosened his tie and began to run.
The hallway wasn't particularly long, and Char quickly reached the main entrance of the building. There, a hand from the ν Gundam was already waiting for him.
Without a moment's hesitation, feeling the brainwaves belonging to Roz emanating from the massive, kneeling Nu Gundam, Char climbed directly onto the palm.
As the Nu Gundam's hand began to rise, the force of gravity pressed Char against the metal surface as he was lifted toward the Nightingale's head sensor.
As if sensing the approach of the ν Gundam's hand, the Nightingale's head sensor slid upward, lowering the protective glass cover of the camera to reveal the cockpit nestled within the head.
"A head-mounted cockpit, just like the Zeong..." Char couldn't help but remark on the machine's design.
With a nimble leap, Char jumped from the ν Gundam's palm and entered the Nightingale's cockpit.
As the cockpit hatch hissed shut, the unpowered interior fell into darkness, illuminated only by a dim red emergency light.
Taking in the scene, he followed the instructions Roz had sent beforehand and pressed a glowing button on the right-side console.
The center console rose. As the progress bars on the monitors advanced, the once-dark cockpit began to fill with color.
The panoramic cockpit display flickered to life, showing the fierce battle raging outside, while the UI elements for the various onboard systems appeared one by one.
"...It seems my sortie isn't too late after all."
Char's hands moved across the touchscreens as he opened a communication channel to Roz.
"If you'd dawdled any longer, we would have forced the Federation into a retreat without you!" Roz quipped over the comms. "You should know, we just intercepted two nuclear missiles."
"The Federation won't retreat easily now; they've fallen into a state of madness. To make them withdraw, we're still missing one decisive factor."
Hearing Amuro's voice, Char narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses. "However... intercepting nukes? That is quite a favorable set of circumstances."
"What are you planning?" Hearing Char's tone, Roz instinctively felt that Char was about to scheme.
"Just watch my performance and you'll see."
Char smiled, his hands gripping the spherical control yolks. The Nightingale's mono-eye, hidden behind its sensor visor, ignited with a piercing green light.
"Char Aznable. Nightingale, launching!"
...................