In space, near the solar power generation satellite, Sumeragi led the expanded Celestial Being forces to destroy another A-Laws space fleet. Afterward, she activated the Mirage System, quietly approaching Earth.
"Ms. Huang, I'm afraid A-Laws won't let this go easily this time," Neil said. Within a few days, they had eliminated five A-Laws patrol fleets in total, plus the prison at Pride Colony. Consequently, A-Laws had increased their military deployment in space, searching everywhere for Celestial Being forces, even temporarily putting aside their suppression of anti-government forces on Earth.
"Yes, I know. That's why we are preparing for the decisive battle."
"The decisive battle?"
"That's right. However, before the final showdown, there is one more threat that must be cleared out." Saying this, Sumeragi opened a map of Earth and its surrounding space, marking four important targets.
"The T.N.T. Cannons!"
"Exactly. The T.N.T. Cannons are the sword of Damocles hanging over everyone's heads. These four T.N.T. Cannons use the solar power generation orbits to move, allowing A-Laws to target every city on Earth."
"Hostages, right?" Athrun asked.
"Yes."
The four T.N.T. Cannons were nominally built as a deterrent for world peace and as vital weapons to defend against external enemies.
But if they were for defending against external enemies, why could the muzzles of the T.N.T. Cannons fire downward? Why could they be aimed at Earth?
From the moment A-Laws fired the first shot at Suir, the T.N.T. Cannon ceased to be merely a weapon to protect Earth; it became a threat capable of destroying it.
Since Yang Hui and the others returned, Celestial Being's strikes against A-Laws had grown increasingly intense, and every time, they vanished before reinforcements could arrive. Even with massive manpower added and VEDA searching at full capacity, no trace of the Celestial Being units could be found.
If A-Laws were driven to desperation and aimed the T.N.T. Cannons at Earth again to threaten Celestial Being, what would they do?
"But there are four T.N.T. Cannons, and we only have the chance to destroy one," Allelujah said.
"No, we will act against all four simultaneously," Sumeragi said confidently.
"Splitting our forces?"
"No, by relying on reinforcements."
"Reinforcements? The main fleet is coming!?" Neil, Allelujah, and the others were surprised. Before Yang Hui left, he had specifically instructed that the main fleet must not act without his orders.
"Not the main fleet, but three Kirin-class ships will secretly come to support us."
"Three Kirin-class ships!"
"Yes. The General Revil, the Suìyuè, and the Vigan. All will activate their Mirage Systems to approach stealthily and deploy MS units from a distance for a long-range raid on the T.N.T. Cannons."
"Attacking the T.N.T. Cannons with just MS units? That's too reckless!" Neil and the others objected. A-Laws' top commander, Homer Katagiri, wasn't a fool, and neither were the Innovators. Now that Celestial Being had resumed high-profile activities targeting A-Laws, the T.N.T. Cannons—as A-Laws' superweapons—would certainly be on Celestial Being's target list. Therefore, they had been heavily guarded from the start, even causing a manpower shortage on the ground and forcing emergency conscription of regular soldiers into A-Laws.
"No, it's enough," Sumeragi said with a smile, beginning to explain the deployment of the mission in detail. "The General Revil, the Suìyuè, and the Vigan have already departed from Celestial Palace City and are expected to arrive at their designated positions in three days. Then, our ship will lead the attack on the T.N.T. Cannon. The Healing Angel Gundam, the Destroy Angel Gundam, and the Rainbow Ship will activate their Trans-AM systems and launch a surprise attack from the solar power generation orbit..."
"Whew~ a bold operation."
Everyone was surprised by Sumeragi's tactical arrangements. To be honest, with the capabilities of the Rainbow Ship and the many ace pilots present, a frontal breakthrough wouldn't be much of a problem. But this time, Sumeragi chose a flanking surprise attack, adopting a hit-and-run tactic. It felt... like showing weakness to the enemy.
"...Tieria, once the T.N.T. Cannon is within the range of the Over-limit Burst Mode, fire to blast open the T.N.T. Cannon's outer shell. Neil..."
"Understood. Destroy Angel, sniping target." Neil made a pistol gesture with his hand and flicked it upward, only to freeze in the next second.
"No, you cannot hit the target. Your task is to fail."
"Eh?"
"Pfft! Hahaha..." Everyone laughed.
Although they were also confused, seeing the stiffened Neil made them laugh in schadenfreude. He thought he was being cool, but it ended in awkwardness.
"Why?" Neil quickly asked.
"To create the illusion of a failed mission. The Rainbow Ship will slowly break through after the Destroy Angel's sniping fails. Everyone, we need to stall for 30 minutes."
"Stall? I see, we're the bait!" Athrun realized.
"Correct, we are the bait." Sumeragi zoomed in on the positions of the four T.N.T. Cannons and then marked A-Laws' advance routes. "According to calculations, it will take at least 45 minutes for reinforcements dispatched from the other three T.N.T. Cannons to arrive. What we need to do is not only destroy T.N.T. Cannon No. 1 but also draw the enemy forces away for the General Revil, the Suìyuè, and the Vigan, creating opportunities for them."
"So you're saying we have to act for 30 minutes?" Lyle asked.
"Yes. We can't be too strong, or the enemy will lose the will to fight, but we can't be too weak, to ensure a safe breakout."
"Understood."
It had to be said that Sumeragi's plan this time was very exciting and very much in Yang Hui's style. Yang Hui's favorite tactic was using the strongest as bait to attract the enemy, gaining opportunities for other units or "fishing," then completing the objective and leaving safely.
"Ms. Huang, isn't Mr. Yang Hui currently organizing the rescue mission for Professor Eifman, Old Wang, Billy Katagiri, and Andrei Smirnov on Earth? If we act against the T.N.T. Cannons, will it threaten the safety of the hostages?" Feldt raised her hand to ask.
"The location where Professor Eifman and Old Wang are under house arrest has already been scouted. Billy and Andrei are within A-Laws, and agents will lead them to evacuate when the time comes. Our attack on the T.N.T. Cannons will also serve to divert attention from the ground rescue operation," Sumeragi explained.
"I see."
"Alright, everyone. Allelujah, stay behind for a moment. Everyone else, meeting adjourned, go get some rest."
"Understood."
As everyone dispersed, the expression of Allelujah, who was left behind, grew heavy. "Ms. Huang, is it news about Marie?"
Among those forcibly conscripted by A-Laws, besides Billy Katagiri and Andrei Smirnov, there was also Soma Peries, who was also a target for rescue. But unlike Billy Katagiri and Andrei Smirnov, the agents had not found Soma Peries' name on A-Laws' official member roster.
In other words, while A-Laws had ostensibly conscripted Soma Peries, they hadn't let her join their regular forces but had taken her somewhere unknown.
"Yes." Sumeragi nodded and pulled up an intelligence report. "According to the latest intel, after you destroyed the Super Soldier Project, the Human Reform League stopped it entirely. However, three months after we left, the project was restarted by the Federation. There were two successful cases: one was you, and the other was..."
"Marie!"
"Yes. She was in a highly classified research institute in South Africa. A month ago, after assisting with the research, she was transferred again. Her current whereabouts are unknown, and..."
"And what?" Allelujah asked anxiously.
"According to feedback from the agents, her condition is very bad."
Hearing this, Allelujah turned to leave, but Sumeragi reached out just in time to stop him.
"Calm down, Allelujah."
"Ms. Huang, I can't stay calm. Marie is my everything. I must go save her!"
"I understand how you feel, but do you know where Marie is?"
"I don't, but even if I have to search the whole world, I will find her! I abandoned her once; I cannot give up on her a second time!"
"I know. That's why our agents are working hard to find her whereabouts. Yang Hui has also placed this at the highest priority. Trust us, Allelujah, we will not abandon a single comrade."
"But..."
"What you need to do now is wait patiently. You must calm down. Your reckless actions could very likely bring her danger."
"...I understand."
"You don't need to participate in this mission. Use the time to calm yourself down."
"...Understood." Allelujah was deeply saddened, but only because of Soma Peries' unknown whereabouts. He had no objection to Sumeragi's order to stand down; his mental state was indeed very poor, and he lacked the confidence to complete the mission without privately piloting the Virtue Gundam to leave.
Sumeragi knew Allelujah was anxious and had said everything she could. Any more and he probably wouldn't listen. She could only pat Allelujah on the shoulder and leave him alone for a while.
Meanwhile, Setsuna did not return to his room but went to the hangar, standing before the OO Gundam and looking at it.
Ever since he came to this world, Setsuna had been like this, always staying with the OO Gundam. When he had nothing to do, he would just look at it; he ate his meals in front of it and even slept in the cockpit.
"Setsuna."
Hearing the voice, Setsuna looked over to see Saji Crossroad coming to his side. "...Saji Crossroad."
"Are you really okay?"
Being forced onto the Rainbow Ship was a desperate necessity because Louise had been saved by the Gundam Rasiel. Saji Crossroad didn't hate Celestial Being because of Louise, but he didn't like them either. He had always hated war and resisted fighting.
As repayment for saving his life, he was temporarily helping Ian Vashti and the maintenance squad with their work, but he always wanted to leave this troubled place as soon as possible.
However, when he learned that his former neighbor, Setsuna, was a Gundam Meister—and had been the Meister of the Gundam Exia active on the battlefield years ago—he was shocked. Yet there was also a hint of relief; in a strange and disliked environment, having someone he knew always brought a sense of security.
But... what made him feel strange and worried was that Setsuna's state was very peculiar, even eerie. He was very concerned.
"...I don't know either." Setsuna shook his head.
His current state was indeed strange. During battle, he often heard others' voices echoing in his mind. This was the Quasi-Innovator state Yang Hui and Tieria had mentioned, but it was unstable, appearing and disappearing suddenly. When he tried to grasp that feeling again, he couldn't catch it.
Furthermore, in that special state, he felt... a unique connection forming between himself and the OO Gundam. It was hard to describe, hard to explain, and equally ethereal. Every time he reached out to grasp it, it would slip through his fingers.