The space fortress [Barge] remained peacefully adrift in space while fierce battles raged on Earth below, as if the turmoil on the ground could never reach the cosmos.
However, the fortress's tranquility wouldn't last much longer. An unarmed OZ transport ship was approaching.
The perimeter defense forces of [Barge] weren't particularly alarmed by the transport vessel. Though it wasn't on the pre-approved list, an obviously unarmed ship posed little threat.
Following protocol, the Leo Mothership (yes, that was its actual name—Gundam Wing's capital ships had either grandiose titles or absurdly casual names) dispatched a Leo to establish communication.
"Approaching transport vessel, state your affiliation and purpose. You're entering a restricted military zone. Proceed further and we will open fire."
The pilot then saw the face of Lady Une, the current OZ Supreme Commander's trusted aide, appear on his screen before hearing her response:
"This is Lady Une from OZ High Command. Under direct orders from the Supreme Commander, we're delivering classified cargo to [Barge] Fortress—clearance level A. Documentation is for the fortress commander's eyes only."
Recognizing Une—as nearly every OZ soldier would these days—the pilot immediately responded:
"Understood! Your service is appreciated, Lieutenant!"
Thus, Une's transport ship passed through [Barge]'s outer defenses.
Unseen by the soldiers, three Mobile Suits clung to the vessel with activated Optical Stealth Systems: the Mystic Lightning, Blitz (now piloted by Xia Yulan), and Hell King (pre-modified for space operations).
As the transport reached [Barge]'s docking area, Une transmitted her authentication codes to the control tower. Simultaneously, Mystic Lightning and Blitz activated their thrusters, towing the heat-signature-concealment-challenged Hell King toward the fortress port.
The communications officer, recognizing Une's credentials, promptly patched her through. Without preamble, Une demanded:
"Operations, connect me to the fortress commander immediately. All subsequent communications are classified Level A."
Knowing her status, the officer swiftly redirected the call to the commander's office—where the commander remained stationed during wartime rather than the command center.
When the connection established, [Barge]'s commander greeted OZ's rising star with a smile:
"Lieutenant Une, what an unexpected visit. Weren't you assisting the Supreme Commander with suppressing the Earth Sphere Unified Forces? What brings you here?"
Maintaining perfect composure, Une transmitted live footage from the transport's hangar—revealing a blue-and-white unidentified Mobile Suit (NT-X) resting silently within.
As the image appeared, she stated:
"I have been ordered to deliver the newly captured Gundam from Earth to the Barge Fortress. Relevant documents will be transmitted shortly. Security clearance level A. Please acknowledge, Commander."
Upon seeing the NT-X, the commander of the Barge Fortress recalled reports of Gundam disturbances on Earth. Though it didn't match the data he had received, it was clear this MS was neither an OZ nor an Earth Sphere Unified Nation product. Even without the documents, the commander had no reason to doubt and immediately opened a communication line with the control room.
"Control room, open the cargo military port gates. We have a classified shipment coming in."
The control room didn't question the order and promptly opened the gates.
This was an unexpected stroke of luck for Reid, who had been prepared to force the gates open. Instead, they swung open on their own.
Already floating near the officer's entrance, Reid immediately issued his command:
"Yulan, Yufang—disperse Minovsky particles! We're storming in!!"
With that, Reid deactivated the Mirage Colloid System, and his unit began scattering Minovsky particles en masse before charging headfirst into the port.
Xia Yulan and Xia Yufang followed without hesitation. The moment they entered, the trio unleashed indiscriminate attacks.
Reid and Xia Yulan, piloting the Mystic Lightning and Blitz, used their Beam Rifles to systematically target the bridges of every docked ship in the port. The crews on duty barely had time to process the situation before losing consciousness.
Meanwhile, Xia Yufang, controlling the Hell King, swept the port with 20mm machine gun fire, mowing down guards and ground personnel indiscriminately. In moments, the entire port was engulfed in explosions.
For the Barge Fortress, the dispersal of Minovsky particles meant wireless communications were severely disrupted within seconds. The fortress commander had been waiting for Une's documents when suddenly, tremors indicative of internal explosions rocked the base. Static filled the comms, the screen distorted, and soon the connection cut entirely.
Alarmed, the fortress commander used a direct internal line to contact the control room:
"What's happening? Where's this interference coming from? What caused those tremors just now?"
The control room operator was equally baffled. The port's monitors were obscured by flames, and all communications were down. He responded,
"The cargo port is experiencing chain explosions, and there's heavy interference originating from there. All external communications are severed!"
Hearing this, the fortress commander grew suspicious of Une—the timing was too convenient. She arrives, and immediately they're under attack. He pressed further,
"Are you certain the interference is internal? Not from an external source? Could it be the transport ship?"
The operator replied with certainty,
"Unlikely. The interference is clearly coming from the port. External monitors are functioning normally, and there's no unusual activity from Agent Une's transport. Wait—the transport's lights are flashing... Are they signaling us to ask what's wrong?"
This response left the fortress commander conflicted. Could it really just be a coincidence? Then again, the transport was under constant surveillance by external defense fleets and monitors. Anyone attempting to infiltrate from the ship would've been spotted.
Thus, the self-persuaded commander of the [Barge] fortress immediately ordered:
"Quickly dispatch MS units to the cargo port to investigate the situation. Use light signals to reply to Lieutenant Une that we need reinforcements."
Upon hearing this, the command center sprang into action. Over a dozen off-duty MS pilots immediately boarded their Duras units, activated the Mobile Doll System, and rushed toward the port in a one-pilot-dragging-two-automated-Duras formation.
However, they encountered Reid along the way, who had just finished clearing the blocked ships at the port.
No matter how wide the MS passage was, it could only accommodate two MS units side by side. With Reid piloting the Mystic Lightning, he could hold the passage single-handedly against all comers.
The approaching Duras units naturally opened fire with their beam rifles upon spotting an unfamiliar MS.
But Reid had already concentrated a massive amount of Phantasm Particles ahead using the Lambda Driver. The beams striking this cluster of particles twisted wildly, hitting the surrounding walls and triggering a series of explosions.
Reid didn't hold back either. Once again manipulating the Mystic Lightning, he detached the heat sinks from its back to use as twin blades. Charging into the Duras formation, he relied on his truly impenetrable defenses to begin cutting through them like a whirlwind.
The dozen or so pilots from the [Barge] fortress were utterly terrified by the Mystic Lightning. How were they supposed to deal with an MS that couldn't be damaged no matter how they attacked? Moreover, affected by the Minovsky Particles, their units' targeting and communications were completely disrupted. They couldn't even notify the fortress command center, resorting to firing wildly in frustration—only to have Reid's beam distortions accidentally hit many of their own allies.
Meanwhile, outside, Une smiled upon receiving the fortress's distress signal.
Une had immediately contacted the two nearest Leo Motherships when the explosions first occurred. Now she directly commanded their captains:
"Gentlemen, you've both seen the fortress's light signals. Quickly deploy your forces—we're heading to the port to see what's really happening."
Though both Leo Mothership captains outranked Une, considering her special status, they obeyed without question. They launched a full complement of twenty-four Leos, with their ships flanking the transport vessel as they approached the port.
At the same time, the [Barge] fortress's outer perimeter forces came under sudden attack. From a distance, Ange saw the fortress's flames and immediately transformed the Immortal Aegis into MS Mode while beginning to disperse Minovsky Particles.
Then at ultra-high speed, she assaulted the [Barge] fortress's outer defenses. During her charge, she used her beam sniper rifle to take out two Leo Motherships with two ultra-long-range shots.
The remaining outer perimeter forces of the [Barge] fortress instantly fell into chaos. With the dispersion of Minovsky Particles (which spread much faster and farther in space than on Earth), they also lost communication with headquarters and could only infer from the flames that fighting had broken out behind them as well.
With no orders coming through, the outer perimeter forces could only dispatch numerous Leos in a futile attempt to surround and suppress the Immortal Aegis—which they couldn't catch up to nor damage. The only actual reinforcements available to the fortress were the two Leo transports accompanying Une's vessel.
However, these two transports didn't last long either. After setting her transport ship to autopilot forward, Une headed straight for the Hangar and the NT-X Gundam.
When the three ships arrived at the harbor, now reduced to wreckage by various explosions, they saw Une's transport vessel hurtling uncontrollably toward the wreck of a warship.
As the captains of the two warships shouted futile warnings over the dead comms for Une to evade, the transport's cargo bay doors swung open, and Une's NT-X Gundam burst out.
Une had no Awakening Value, so she couldn't use Bits—only the shoulder-mounted cannons. Moreover, her pilot stats were relatively low, as she had spent most of her time as a rear-line commander with little opportunity to improve them.
But that was enough. The troops from the two Leo transport ships were already engaged at the front with Xia Yulan's Blitz, which could ignore physical ammunition attacks. They were being slaughtered.
So Une's NT-X Gundam effectively ambushed the two unguarded motherships from behind. Two shots from the Heavy Particle Beam Cannons obliterated them instantly, further clogging the already debris-choked harbor.
Soon after, Une rendezvoused with the Blitz inside the harbor, and between their pincer attack, the remaining Leos were swiftly wiped out by the two women.
Almost the moment they finished off the last Leo, another massive explosion rocked the interior of the [Barge] fortress, shaking the entire structure.
Reid had bulldozed his way into the warehouse storing the Duras units. Upon seeing rows of inactive Duras, he didn't hesitate—he pulled a large quantity of high explosives from his system and blew the entire warehouse sky-high.
By the time the explosion hit, Reid had already piloted his Mobile Suit out of the warehouse, grinning so wide it nearly split his face. That had to be at least fifty Duras gone, not to mention the warships at the harbor and outside. After this haul, he'd practically be swimming in G-Coins.
Five minutes later, Reid emerged from the MS passageway to regroup with the three women and immediately issued orders:
"Alright, phase one of infiltrating the fortress went perfectly. No reinforcements from the outer defenses have arrived yet, so Ange must be keeping them busy. Or rather, the question is how long they can last against her. Those Leo transports sacrificed missiles for extra MS capacity—all they've got are a few machine guns for defense. Let's not slack off and fail the mission before Ange wipes out the entire outer force.
Now, execute phase two: Une and Yufang, disembark. Yulan, switch to the Hell King. The Hell King will escort you two through the cargo passage to the junction leading straight to the command center. I'll stay here to guard the Mobile Suits.
The cargo passage won't have any weapons capable of standing up to the Hell King, but the last 500 meters will be up to you two, Une and Yufang. Your suits should handle pistol and SMG rounds just fine, but stay alert. If things get dicey, forget the intel and retreat immediately."
After Reid finished his instructions, the three women acknowledged with a quick "Yes!" and sprang into action.
The final objective was for Xia Yufang to charge straight into the command center while Une used CE-era computer equipment to download all the data from the [Barge] fortress.
The data would be physically transmitted via cable to the Hell King waiting in the cargo passage—now loaded with the large server cluster Reid had just pulled from the system.
Reid wouldn't be participating in the final leg of the mission, having delegated full authority to the three women. He had already equipped Xia Yufang with all necessary tools—even if the Barge fortress lowered its isolation gates, she was skilled enough to blast through them.
Thus, Xia Yufang and Une set off, perched atop the Hell King's shoulders.
The journey through the cargo passage went smoothly—no one dared challenge the small "MS" that was the Hell King with mere flesh and blood.
But as Reid had predicted, the final stretch was blocked by sealed isolation gates.
The outermost gates, however, posed no obstacle to the trio. Xia Yulan unsheathed her High-Frequency Vibration Blade and, with the Lambda Driver's assistance, effortlessly sliced through the barriers. She then used her rifle to blast open the next two gates down the corridor, incidentally wiping out several dozen soldiers lying in ambush behind them.
As for the command center's final gate, just as Reid had said, Xia Yufang set up a simple phased array using high-powered solid explosives from the CE universe. A deafening explosion later, the command center's door was blown wide open.
Before the dust could settle, Xia Yulan—protected by her Lunatitanium-reinforced suit—leapt straight into the command center. Bulletproof as her suit was, she dual-wielded submachine guns and began clearing the room.
The command center's administrative personnel stood no chance against her and were swiftly eliminated.
Upon entering, Une made an unexpected discovery: the Barge fortress's commander had come to personally oversee operations in the command center after the base was attacked. Now, he too had been taken out in the sweep.
Une promptly fished the Barge fortress system's encryption key from the commander's pocket, saving them the trouble of hacking the system. They could now directly access and download the entire database.
True to its reputation as a cosmic fortress-class warship, the Barge's system—running on CE universe servers and computers—took a full quarter-hour to transfer all its data. By then, Reid had already regrouped with Ange, who had finished mopping up the outer fleet.
Once the three women returned unscathed with the data in hand, Reid's team immediately evacuated the port. They then targeted the ammunition depot, triggering a chain reaction that obliterated the entire fortress before choosing to return.