**357 Days Until the Trial Gates Open**
The Earth Sphere had changed.
Three months ago, the Federation had struggled to recover from the Helix War.
Now, every orbital factory, every lunar dockyard, and every colony industrial complex worked toward a common goal.
The sound of construction never stopped.
Entire asteroid mining operations had been redirected to supply titanium, rare-earth elements, and reactor fuel.
Civilian shipyards were converted to military production.
For the first time since the One Hundred Year War, humanity was mobilizing as a single civilization.
Not against another nation.
Against extinction.
---
Deep beneath the lunar shipyards, Hangar Zero remained hidden behind three-meter-thick armored blast doors.
Only personnel with Level Omega clearance were permitted inside.
Even among the *Argonaut's* crew, only a handful knew what was being built there.
Leon stepped through the final security checkpoint.
The doors slowly opened.
He stopped walking.
"...Flint."
The engineer looked up from beneath one of the mobile suits.
"What?"
Leon laughed quietly.
"You've completely lost your mind."
Flint smiled.
"I know."
---
Four mobile suits stood inside the massive hangar.
Sentinel occupied the center maintenance cradle, its new fin funnels detached while technicians completed software integration.
To its left stood Elias Voss's sleek blue high-mobility machine.
Its armor was finally complete.
Sharp aerodynamic shoulders.
Long stabilizer fins.
Twin beam carbines mounted along the backpack.
A variable-thrust system filled almost half of the rear frame.
It looked like a predator built for speed.
Leon walked around it slowly.
"So..."
He looked toward Elias.
"You finally named her?"
The young pilot nodded proudly.
"**Gundam Tempest.**"
Flint folded his arms.
"Appropriate."
Elias smiled.
"Fast enough to outrun anything."
Leon chuckled.
"We'll see."
---
On Sentinel's opposite side stood the heavy assault prototype.
Unlike the elegant Tempest, this Gundam looked immovable.
Its shoulders housed missile pods.
Heavy armor covered almost every surface.
A massive particle cannon rested over its right shoulder while its forearms concealed beam shields.
The machine looked less like a mobile suit and more like a walking battleship.
A large man in his early thirties climbed down from its cockpit.
His name was **Marcus Hale**, formerly the Federation's highest-scoring heavy mobile suit instructor.
Marcus stood nearly two meters tall, broad-shouldered, with close-cropped black hair beginning to gray at the temples. Years of combat had left a faint scar running across his jaw, and his calm demeanor rarely changed, even under pressure.
Unlike Leon's instinctive style or Elias's precision, Marcus believed every battle was won through patience.
He extended a hand.
"Lieutenant."
Leon shook it.
"So this monster's yours?"
Marcus glanced affectionately toward the Gundam.
"It'll keep all of you alive."
Flint walked over.
"And its name?"
Marcus smiled.
"**Gundam Bastion.**"
---
Only one machine remained unfinished.
The skeletal frame at the end of the hangar.
Unlike the others, it possessed an unusually slender silhouette.
Long arms.
Lightweight armor mounts.
A backpack filled with unfamiliar sensor equipment.
Leon frowned.
"This one's different."
Flint nodded.
"It isn't designed to fight."
Leon blinked.
"...What?"
"It gathers information."
Rika stepped forward carrying several holographic displays.
"The Ascendancy defeated hundreds of civilizations because they always knew more than their enemies."
She looked at the unfinished machine.
"We're changing that."
---
Captain Rolf entered the hangar.
"Everyone to the briefing room."
His voice carried an unusual seriousness.
"We've got news."
---
Minutes later...
Every senior officer aboard the *Argonaut* gathered around the central holographic table.
Three-dimensional images of the Solar System floated above it.
Three glowing markers pulsed steadily.
The Trial Gate locations.
Earth.
Mars.
Jupiter.
Captain Rolf activated another display.
A fourth marker appeared.
Far beyond Neptune.
Leon frowned.
"What's that?"
Rika enlarged the image.
"A distress beacon."
"It appeared six hours ago."
"Human?"
"No."
Flint answered before anyone else could.
"The signal format matches the transmission we recovered."
The room immediately understood.
Another civilization.
---
Captain Rolf continued.
"A long-range probe confirmed the beacon originates from a drifting vessel."
He changed the display again.
The image of an enormous alien warship appeared.
Unlike the graceful ships of the Ascendancy, this vessel looked battered.
Sections of its hull were missing.
Entire engine assemblies had been torn away.
It had clearly survived a terrible battle.
"There are faint life signs."
Mira leaned forward.
"How many?"
"Unknown."
"The ship's power is almost gone."
---
Leon looked toward the others.
"If they're alive..."
Flit finished the sentence.
"...we're bringing them home."
---
The room immediately erupted into debate.
One commander objected.
"It could be a trap."
Another disagreed.
"If we ignore them, we'll lose the chance to learn."
Marcus crossed his arms.
"If those people fought the Ascendancy..."
He looked around the room.
"...they know things we don't."
Silence followed.
Captain Rolf finally nodded.
"Agreed."
---
Operation Dawn Rescue was approved.
The mission would be small.
Fast.
Quiet.
The *Argonaut* would lead.
The *Diva* would accompany it.
Sentinel, Tempest, and Bastion would deploy if necessary.
Leon looked toward the empty fourth launch cradle.
"What about the reconnaissance prototype?"
Flint smiled.
"Not ready."
Leon sighed dramatically.
"You really enjoy saying that."
"I really enjoy finishing things properly."
---
Later that night...
Leon found Flit inside one of the simulation rooms.
The AGE pilot stood alone, watching recordings of Harbinger One.
Again.
And again.
And again.
"You've watched that fight a hundred times."
Flit didn't turn around.
"One hundred and twenty-three."
Leon smiled.
"Find anything?"
Flit finally paused the recording.
Harbinger One appeared frozen mid-strike.
"I've been studying its movements."
Leon nodded.
"And?"
Flit zoomed into the crystalline wings.
"The crystals don't move first."
Leon leaned closer.
"What does?"
Flit highlighted a faint ripple in space.
"The distortion."
"The weapon follows."
Leon slowly smiled.
"So if we can predict the distortion..."
"We can predict every attack."
Both pilots looked at each other.
Neither spoke.
They were thinking the same thing.
---
Far away...
Hidden deep inside the drifting alien vessel...
Emergency lights flickered weakly.
A sealed cryogenic chamber finally opened after centuries.
Cold vapor escaped into the ruined corridor.
Inside lay a single survivor.
A woman with pale blue skin and silver-white hair slowly opened her eyes.
She looked around in confusion.
Ancient systems whispered in an unfamiliar language.
Then...
One alert appeared on the failing display.
**UNKNOWN CIVILIZATION DETECTED**
She struggled to stand.
"...Impossible..."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"...Someone else survived."
Outside her shattered ship...
The *Argonaut* accelerated toward the drifting vessel.
Humanity was about to make first contact with another living civilization.
And for the first time...
The Earth Sphere would no longer face the coming Judgment alone.