Kamille climbed the stairs reserved on the framework securing the Zeta Gundam, arriving at the catwalk in front of its cockpit.
Looking at the tightly sealed hatch, Kamille frowned slightly and reached out with practiced ease toward a spot marked with a simplified maintenance sign.
Due to the Zeta Gundam's highly complex structural design, various maintenance points on the machine were spray-painted with simple icons to demonstrate relevant procedures.
"As I thought... no changes were made here."
Kamille let out a breath of relief as a cover plate flipped open to reveal a keypad.
He immediately connected a pre-prepared hacking device to the Zeta.
As the device hummed to life, a progress bar appeared on the small screen, with digits flickering rapidly across several empty slots.
However... why was the cracking speed so much slower than anticipated?
"When the Zeta underwent its refit, the encryption system was updated to the latest standard as well."
Suddenly, a man's voice drifted from behind Kamille.
Upon hearing the voice, Kamille instinctively drew his pistol and aimed it toward the source.
But standing before him was neither a hidden Federation ambush nor an FBI tactical team sent to arrest him. It was simply a man in a blue suit, wearing glasses, his brown hair heavily streaked with white.
He looked weary and appeared to be around the same age as Bright Noa.
"You're using a Federation military-grade cracker, aren't you? It can handle the encryption popular on the market, but it struggles with the Zeta's newest security."
The man ignored the pistol in Kamille's hand, looking instead at the hacking device held in Kamille's other hand.
"The code is 0087006. You can just enter it directly."
"Who exactly are you?"
Though Kamille could sense no ill intent from the man, he remained wary, keeping the pistol leveled.
"You can just call me Cameron."
The man sighed and raised both hands to show he was no threat. "I'm an old friend of Captain Bright Noa... arguably."
'If a former romantic rival counts as an old friend...' he wondered if Mirai had successfully evacuated from Earth to a safe location.
Cameron thought to himself; even though he had convinced himself he'd moved on and had married someone else, he still placed Mirai in that special category of a "cherished friend." Perhaps the "White Moonlight" one can never obtain truly does affect a person for a lifetime.
"Cameron... how did you find me here?"
Kamille did not lower his weapon, but his left hand released the hacking device, letting it float in the air, tethered only by its data cable.
At the same time, Kamille's left hand began pressing the code Cameron had just provided onto the Zeta Gundam's keypad.
"Once I saw Amuro appear, I could more or less guess that you would come here."
Cameron looked at the Zeta's hatch as it hissed open upon the code's validation, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. "While I don't know you well, I know Bright. Those who can stay by his side are all people cut from the same cloth as him."
"I am here as an accounting inspector to audit Anaheim regarding the financial issues of Project Zeta. Currently, this area is under my temporary jurisdiction... Unfortunately, I could only finish inspecting the reactor status; I had no way to load propellant onto the Zeta. I hope you have teammates coming to pick you up."
Considering the news he had just received—that for some reason, Amuro's side possessed the Federation's cutting-edge unit, the Penelope—the accusations were piling up.
He predicted that Anaheim would inevitably be dismantled by the Federation. Since there was nothing left to lose, he decided he might as well provide some assistance to his old friend's cause.
"By helping me like this... what is your motive?"
Hearing Cameron's words, Kamille lowered his pistol slightly, looking at the man before him.
"...My child was born."
Looking at Kamille's face behind the visor, Cameron lamented, "A child in my later years, I suppose. It brings a sort of anxious, restless feeling. Can you understand that? The feeling of wanting to give your child the very best things within your power."
"Perhaps it truly is as Char and Amuro said—our generation failed to leave behind a sound and healthy system for the youth. The Federation's current level of corruption is the price we pay."
"Even though you are currently part of the Federation's privileged class, you still want change?"
Observing the mix of happiness on Cameron's face and the underlying sorrow in his emotions, Kamille put away his pistol.
"Even if I am part of the privileged class."
Cameron's tone was firm. He looked at Kamille from a distance, imagining whether his own child would end up like this if nothing changed. "Precisely because I am deeply entrenched in it, I do not want my child to live in such a painful and dark world in the future."
"The starry sky is so vast. To be trapped within the Solar System, slowly rotting and dying... it's tragic, isn't it?"
Looking at Cameron and sensing the surging emotions within his brainwaves, Kamille fully holstered his weapon.
"Time is a cruel existence; it changes everything and washes away the traces of the past."
Watching Kamille enter the Zeta's cockpit without a word or a backward glance, Cameron couldn't help but sigh. "But history, that thing which clings to time, is like a Möbius strip. It goes 'round and 'round, and what has happened before repeats itself... Perhaps humanity truly is incapable of learning any lessons from history."
The sound of dense, chaotic footsteps echoed—the FBI agents whom Cameron had led away were now rushing back toward the exhibition platform.
"You should go. I led those fanatical FBI agents away, but they'll be back any second," Cameron warned. "Just take control of the machine, tear through the securing framework, and break out."
As the cockpit hatch closed, Kamille skillfully started the Zeta and began constantly adjusting the parameters.
The reactor ramped up, sending a massive flow of energy to every component of the Zeta.
The iron giant, which had slept for so long, began to emit the low, rhythmic roar of operational machinery.
As its dual green eyes flickered to life, the Zeta—the pride of Anaheim—once again stood tall upon the earth.
Being a machine built to showcase Anaheim's technical prowess, its modernized performance was in no way inferior to current mainstream units.
However, likely to preserve the Zeta's original feel from that era, the cockpit still utilized the exact same model as the original.
Kamille practicedly activated the graphical display of the panoramic cockpit.
At that moment, the FBI agents who had burst into the museum saw the Zeta activate; they maintained their guard while escorting Cameron away.
Even so, Kamille could sense that Cameron had no desire to be lumped in with that FBI crowd.
"Good... signal sent successfully."
Seeing the confirmation on his communicator, Kamille gripped the control sticks once more. Having not touched the Zeta for so long, sitting here and controlling the machine again left him feeling slightly dazed.
"Kamille Bidan, Zeta Gundam, launching."
Taking a deep breath, Kamille pushed the throttles forward.
Like a giant attempting to break its seal, the Zeta Gundam began to lean forward. The securing framework started to emit a metallic shriek as the cage meant to imprison the giant teetered on the brink of collapse.
"Retreat! Retreat! Notify the garrison—the Zeta Gundam has been stolen!"
Seeing the Zeta Gundam seemingly about to burst from its cage, the FBI agents scrambled away in terror, desperate to leave the exhibition hall immediately.
Clang... Clang...
Finally, the framework could no longer withstand the Zeta Gundam's output. The steel beam securing the right arm snapped and went flying, slamming into the opposite wall.
"Such powerful performance... it's far stronger than the original Zeta Gundam."
Feeling the machine's output, Kamille operated the Zeta and drove its freed right fist into the beam securing the left arm.
With a thunderous crash, the steel beam on the left arm was smashed into a warped wreck and easily torn away.
The Zeta Gundam stepped forward. Under the machine's immense power, its rising left leg twisted and deformed the securing beam until its legs were finally free from their bonds.
At last, the Zeta Gundam broke away from its long imprisonment. It stood tall within the hall, standing firm upon the Moon.
Under the terrified gaze of the retreating FBI agents, two brilliant flashes of light appeared above the Zeta Gundam, which was still tearing through its securing framework to seize its weaponry.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Accompanied by violent explosions, a massive amount of air, mechanical parts, and several FBI agents who hadn't reached the evacuation tunnels in time were sucked out into the vacuum.
A gaping hole had been torn through the ceiling of the exhibition hall.
Two Jegans—belonging to the 13th Independent Fleet, their Federation insignias crudely struck through with red spray paint—dived through the breach.
At that exact moment, the Zeta Gundam had finished equipping its armaments.
Unfortunately, the energy packs for its weapons had not been charged, and even the head-mounted vulcans lacked ammunition.
Currently, the only functional weapon available to the Zeta was its beam sabers.
However, they clearly had no intention of fighting a war of attrition with the Federation forces here.
The two Jegans fluidly grabbed the Zeta Gundam by its arms, ignited their thrusters, and hauled the machine out of the exhibition hall.
It was a pity they hadn't brought a larger recovery force; otherwise, they could have made off with a few of the Methuss or ReZEL units standing nearby.
"You must succeed."
Before entering the emergency shelter, Cameron caught a glimpse through the corridor windows of the armed Zeta Gundam being carried through the skies of Von Braun by the two Jegans.
"For the sake of the children's future... for the sake of the youth... everything must change."
................................