In the space zone directly ahead of the Gryps II Satellite Laser Cannon and its escort fleet, the Argama and Radishu stood ready for battle.
The Argama was making final preparations before combat. Captain Bright prepared to ask Kaiser one last time:
"Kaiser, there haven't been any further communications from the Gwadan, correct?"
Kaiser noted that Bright had been asking this same question every five minutes since final preparations began. Checking the radar display, he answered truthfully:
"One hour ago, the Gwadan and its escort ship Aries circled out of radar range. No communications since then—they're maintaining radio silence. Wait—radar now shows them appearing behind the Titans fleet near Gryps II."
Bright relaxed slightly. It was nearly the scheduled time—if the Gwadan and Aries hadn't appeared, it would have meant the plan had gone awry. His expression turned serious as he ordered:
"Commence operation. Mobile Suits launch. Inform Radishu to synchronize their sortie with Argama's. Draw the main Titan MS forces toward us."
At that moment, Char—who also distrusted Haman—entered the bridge to assess the situation.
Seeing Char, Bright said:
"The Gwadan has appeared at the agreed position, but I still worry Haman might betray us."
Char felt relieved seeing the Gwadan appear. Having mentored Haman, he knew her ambition wouldn't allow her to remain subordinate to others. She would seize any opportunity to weaken the Titans significantly—otherwise, even a revived Zabi family would tremble under Titan oppression.
Though confident, Char calmly replied to Bright's concern:
"If Haman betrays us, both Argama and Radishu will be sunk. Therefore, Captain, I request to sortie in the Hyaku Shiki."
Bright had other plans. He decided to keep Char aboard, gambling on a hunch—from his experience, battlefields tended to be safer wherever Char was present.
Truthfully, Bright simply believed Haman cared about Char. With Char aboard, even if Haman betrayed them, she wouldn't directly sink the Argama. Moreover, major battles always required reserving a few MS pilots as backup or to intercept sudden enemy assaults.
Meanwhile, aboard the Gwadan and Aries, Haman and Reid commanded from their respective bridges, observing the distant Titan fleet.
As for Ange's simulated battle with Haman?
It went exactly as Reid predicted—the Qubeley was instantly defeated.
Being a simulation, Newtype danger perception was disabled, and the Qubeley's Psycommu System couldn't be fully replicated.
Moreover, Haman didn't know the Immortal Aegis's unique characteristics.
While Haman's actual MS combat skills might rival Ange's "Master" rating in system evaluations—thanks to her Newtype abilities—without them, her rating would drop to "Ace." Ange's "Master" status came from pure skill, unaffected by simulation limitations.
Finally, Haman had chosen open space as the battlefield to maximize her funnels' effectiveness, hoping for terrain advantage. This ironically gave Ange a perfect straight-line charge opportunity.
In this way, it could be said that neither the timing, the terrain, nor the people were on Haman's side. The first simulation battle ended in just nine seconds.
The process was roughly as follows: the Qubeley and the Immortal Aegis were catapulted into space as soon as the countdown ended, and both sides confirmed each other's positions.
Then Ange, who was in an extremely foul mood, immediately transformed the Immortal Aegis into MA Mode and launched a full-speed assault.
It must be noted that the Immortal Aegis, equipped with an Ultra-Compact Nuclear Fusion Reactor, had far greater output than Mobile Suits powered by UC Minovsky Fusion Reactors. Combined with the weight reduction from AC's Gundarium Alloy, in terms of sheer assault speed, even the Zeta Gundam would be left eating the Immortal Aegis' dust.
Thus, the Immortal Aegis' speed completely caught Haman off guard. Due to the initial distance between them, she didn't have time to deploy her funnels to set up a fire net. Instead, she raised her arms and fired a tentative shot with the Qubeley's wrist beam cannons.
This meant the Qubeley lost its chance to deploy funnels. The two wrist beam shots Haman fired were dodged by Ange with a flashy 90-degree rotation and slight elevation of her Mobile Suit, grazing past without any deceleration.
The next second, the Immortal Aegis was right in the Qubeley's face.
Then, still at high speed, the Immortal Aegis transformed into MS Mode and delivered a shield bash to the Qubeley.
As the Qubeley was sent flying, the Immortal Aegis immediately drew its Beam Crutch and sliced the Qubeley into a Limbless Suit in two strokes. Finally, to add insult to injury, it stabbed the Qubeley's cockpit with the shield, securing victory in the simulation battle.
After her defeat, Haman remained silent for a long time inside the Qubeley's cockpit. Reid even thought she might be traumatized, so he floated over to the Qubeley and opened the cockpit to check on her.
To his surprise, Haman was staring at Reid with gleaming eyes and asked,
"Reid, are all the Mobile Suit pilots in your secret unit at this level?"
To this question, Reid answered very honestly,
"Of course not. Ange is the most skilled among us."
But after saying this, he confidently added,
"However, the eight pilots, including myself, would be considered ace pilots in any organization. That much I can guarantee."
Hearing this, Haman smiled even brighter.
Yet, from Reid's perception, he sensed that Haman now harbored an unusually intense desire toward him.
It wasn't the sweet emotion of love, but rather the feeling of someone who had been poor their entire life suddenly seeing a lottery ticket worth five million in their bag.
To make an inappropriate analogy, Reid felt as if Haman wanted to "devour" him whole.
Fortunately, this feeling was fleeting. Haman quickly adjusted her demeanor and said,
"Reid, I've now assessed your combat capabilities. I hope you perform just as well on the battlefield. Next, I'll be returning to the Gwadan. Would you like to come with me?"
Reid didn't hesitate in answering this question. What would he do back on the Gwadan? A battle was imminent, and he still needed to sortie. Just because the Titans didn't pursue the Gwadan in the original timeline didn't mean they wouldn't this time. If the Gwadan were to be surrounded by Mobile Suits returning from the frontlines, the ship would be doomed to sink right there at Gryps II.
Thus, Reid decisively replied,
"No, I'll remain on the Aries and stand ready to sortie to protect the Gwadan."
Hearing Reid's response, Haman showed a hint of disappointment but didn't press further. Instead, she forced a smile and said:
"Alright then, the safety of the Gwadan is in your hands, Colonel Reid."
As she spoke, while Reid was halfway into the cockpit, Haman quickly pecked him on the cheek and then pushed him out of the cockpit, closing the hatch behind her—clearly cutting off any further communication.
Reid was stunned by the kiss, thinking to himself that he hadn't been flirting with Haman. What was this about?
But seeing the Qubeley already moving toward the catapult deck, Reid could only float to the nearby railing and order:
"Everyone clear the hangar runway! Inform the bridge—let the Qubeley launch."
With that, Reid immediately rushed into the pilot lounge to wash his face. Though Haman wasn't wearing lipstick (mainly because supplies on Axis were so scarce that even lipstick was a luxury), that didn't mean her lip balm was colorless or flavorless.
He had to wash it off immediately. If Ange found out, she and Noin would drain the life out of him.
Fortunately, Reid acted fast. Soon after, Ange and the others arrived in the pilot lounge. Since the Qubeley was departing, for safety reasons, those without spacesuits couldn't stay outside.
Seeing Reid emerge from the bathroom, seemingly having just washed his face, Ange didn't suspect he was cleaning up evidence of flirting. Instead, she asked with concern:
"Reid, are you tired? Washing your face to stay alert at a time like this?"
Reid, now channeling his inner acting skills, replied instantly:
"A little. Talking with Haman requires constant caution—every word has to be weighed for loopholes or contradictions. It's mentally exhausting."
Ange nodded in understanding. Back at the Star Palace Colony Satellite, before Une arrived, she and Reid had also found dealing with politicians utterly draining.
So Ange sat down on the couch, disregarding the feelings of the other single women around her, and patted her lap, openly flaunting their relationship:
"Well, you've worked hard. There shouldn't be anything major left, right? Lie down and rest for a bit."
Reid naturally complied. After all, there were no outsiders around. The Black Tri-Stars and Tem Ray had sensed the danger and slipped away the moment Ange and Haman started butting heads.
Now, the room was filled only with Reid's most trusted allies.
Xia Yufang and Xia Yulan stepped forward to massage Reid's legs and ease his fatigue, while Noin sat beside Ange, gently pressing Reid's temples.
The only one truly subjected to this display of affection was Une, who had overthought things and failed to act.
Watching Reid being treated like an ancient emperor, she could only mutter a quiet "tch" before turning to leave the pilot lounge. She headed to the bridge to further analyze the surrounding space zone maps—just in case they needed to make a quick escape and didn't know the way.
Reid actually managed to doze off during the massage and was only woken up about an hour later.
By then, the massive Gryps II Colony Laser could already be seen in the distance from the bridge.
Reid couldn't help but covet the thing. Though there was no chance this time, he was determined to get involved when the AEUG eventually seized the Colony Laser during the final battle—at the very least, he'd make sure to retrieve all its technical data.
At that time, the unfinished Colony Satellite near the Star Palace Colony Satellite would be directly converted into a Colony Laser. This way, with the Artemis Fortress acting as a shield in front and the Solar Ray Reflector providing firepower from behind, the blind spots in their firing range would be covered by the Colony Laser.
Finally, a Balge Class Super Battleship would serve as mobile defense, while a large number of Mobile Dolls patrolled the perimeter. By then, the defenses of the Star Palace Colony Satellite would be impenetrable. Unless someone used superweapons like Genesis or Requiem for a direct exchange of fire, or infiltrated with small squads, any ordinary fleet that attacked would be annihilated.
After all, the Star Palace Colony Satellite was the SYSTEM's base, with its most critical Factory Module located inside. As long as the SYSTEM hadn't fled, Reid would do everything in his power to protect this base.
Still, regardless of his thoughts, Reid's first mission in this battle was to protect the Gwadan and destroy the Colony Laser Cannon.
At this moment, the Aries had already established communication with the Gwadan, and Reid spoke directly to Haman:
"Miss Haman, we've entered the attack range of the Titans fleet. Please inform us of your specific follow-up plan."
Haman showed no trace of the woman who had ambushed Reid in the Qubeley earlier—perhaps because she was in front of subordinates, she maintained a strictly professional demeanor.
"Colonel Reid, the Gwadan has already made contact with the flagship of the Titans escort fleet, the Dogosse Gier. Both the Gwadan and the Aries have been granted permission to dock at the rear of the fleet.
Later, we will circle around to the back of the Colony Satellite, and the Gwadan will directly attack the power components of the Colony Laser. I've already prepared an excuse—too many new recruits on the Gwadan caused an accidental misfire while aiming at the Argama."
Seeing that Haman's plan was no different from the original, Reid naturally had no objections. Moreover, her normal attitude eased some of his wariness. Surely she wouldn't tease him at a time like this? With a smile, he replied:
"A reasonable plan. Once the bombardment is complete, the Gwadan will retreat immediately. The Aries will handle covering fire and rear guard duties. Perfect timing—let me show you the true combat capabilities of my unit."
Haman had no objections and simply smiled in response.
"Yes, I look forward to it."
At this point, the conversation should have ended, and they would proceed according to plan.
But before disconnecting, Haman launched another ambush—suddenly speaking in an extremely tender tone:
"Oh, and Reid… stay safe."
She immediately cut the comms, giving Reid no chance to respond.
This time, it was in full view of everyone. Reid instantly felt Grodek Ainoa's gaze on him grow a little strange.
Meanwhile, Une on the bridge was staring at him with a look that screamed, "I've caught you red-handed."
Ange, who had been listening in from the bridge comms, even called him directly from the pilot's lounge.
Sweating profusely, Reid picked up Ange's call, ready to explain.
But before he could speak, Ange said:
"Reid, come straight to my room during break today. No excuses."
Then she also hung up.
Reid could only fall into silence. Forcing a change of subject, his expression turned stern as he issued a direct command:
"All hands, first combat readiness. Pilots, standby in your Mobile Suits. Une and Grudek, you're in charge of ship operations. Une will handle tactical command while Grudek oversees vessel operations. I'll take command once the MS unit deploys."
With that, Reid steeled himself and strode out of the bridge under Une's interrogative gaze, heading straight for the Mystic Lightning without stopping at the pilot lounge.
By now, the Argama and Radish had already deployed their MS units and engaged the Titans forces.
The Aries' radar showed the vanguard Titans units being instantly overwhelmed, with three to four Mobile Suits being shot down within seconds. The Argama's Gundam Team was no pushover - led by the Zeta Gundam, they typically required the Titans to field triple their numbers just to fight evenly.
But currently, the Titans forces outnumbered the combined MS complement of the Argama and Radish by far more than three to one. Counting the reserves, the disparity exceeded tenfold. (Both ships carried numerous MSA-003 Reams, meaning it wasn't just the Gundam Team fighting. If counting only the Gundam Team, the ratio would approach twenty to one.)
Against the two ships of Argama and Radish, the Titans had eighteen escort vessels in the frontal assault alone (as briefly shown in the anime's radar display). Though mostly comprised of outdated Gwazine Class, Salamis Kai Class, and Alexandria Class ships, their ranks included the Dogosse Gier capable of carrying 48 Mobile Suits.
When the second wave of 24 MS units joined the fray, the Argama's Gundam Team was immediately pushed into disadvantage. With the third and fourth waves approaching, the destruction of both ships seemed imminent.
(The accompanying image shows the Alexandria's frontline radar display - the upper screen shows the sheer number of frontline MS engagements without displaying allied ships, while the lower screen reveals just a fraction of the reserve forces preparing to deploy.)
By the Zeta era of the UC timeline, unless facing complete rookies, just four veteran pilots could seriously challenge a Newtype protagonist. With seven or eight attackers, even Kamille could be captured in minutes.
The warning about not underestimating veterans who survived the One Year War was no joke.
Rewatching Zeta reveals numerous instances where Kamille found himself in dire straits when entangled by three or four High Zacks or Bawoos.
--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!