The AEUG Fleet and Bask Om's forces were locked in a brutal battle, while Haman of Neo Zeon watched the scene with cold sweat running down her back.
Haman couldn't help but feel a surge of retrospective fear—if Reid hadn't suggested retreating and she had stubbornly defended the Colony Laser, Neo Zeon would now be suffering the same fate as the AEUG.
No, it would have been even worse. The AEUG only had to face Bask Om's fleet, but Neo Zeon would have been caught between both sides, likely losing every single warship in the process.
As a result, Haman now reflexively sought Reid's opinion before making any major decisions. She immediately opened a direct communication line to the Aries.
At that moment, Reid was preparing to welcome Tem Ray, who had just returned with gifts after completing repairs on the Qubeley (which only involved replacing a shoulder armor plate and took barely over ten minutes).
But when Haman's call came through, Reid had no choice but to return to the Mystic Lightning and answer the bridge-relayed transmission.
Once the connection was established, Haman got straight to the point:
"Reid, Bask Om's fleet has been annihilated by the Colony Laser, and Paptimus Scirocco has entered the battlefield. He's already leading his personal Mobile Suits into combat against the AEUG's Gundam Team. What do we do next? Should we wait and let them fight a little longer, or should we strike back now?"
Reid listened, thought for two seconds, then flashed a sinister grin.
"Of course we strike back. But we'll do it with finesse."
"Haman, lend me your assault team. We're going to pull the rug out from under them."
"First, the Aries will act independently. I'll lead the assault team in a boarding action against the Jupiteris-led fleet. The Jupiteris is too valuable to leave in Paptimus Scirocco's hands."
"While I'm conducting the raid, you personally lead Neo Zeon's main force straight into the battlefield to cut off Scirocco's retreat path. Pin him between us and the AEUG."
"During the initial phase of the battle, let the AEUG's Mobile Suits pass if you see them. They barely have any forces left—once the Gundam Team is defeated, the rest are nothing but minor nuisances. I'll temporarily lend you Gaia, Ortega, and Mash. With them at your side, you won't be isolated and surrounded again."
"Remember, during the battle, you must avoid the Colony Laser's firing line. I'm worried the AEUG might go all out and overload their Nuclear Pulse Engines to reach minimum firing power faster."
"Once I've secured the Jupiteris, I'll immediately rush to the frontlines to support you. That's when the real cleanup begins."
Haman listened carefully, pondered for a moment, and found no flaws in Reid's plan. Her eyes hardened with resolve as she stood up and declared:
"We'll proceed as you've suggested, Reid! When we achieve victory, you'll be credited as the foremost contributor!"
Without delay, Haman issued orders to the entire Neo Zeon fleet:
"All forces, prepare to assault Gryps II! This is the final battle before Neo Zeon's resurgence! Victory here will place the Earth Sphere in our hands!"
After half an hour of rest and reorganization, Neo Zeon's fleet had already recovered from the chaos of the earlier defensive battle. And now, anyone with eyes could see that both the Titans and the AEUG were severely weakened.
Striking now would be like Qin Shi Huang touching a live wire—an absolute, overwhelming victory.
Thus, the Zeon forces immediately mobilized. Haman allocated her most elite guard unit (her guards doubled as assault troops) entirely to Reid. After all, the three members of the Black Tri-Stars were more than enough to replace an entire guard unit.
Then, the entire Neo Zeon army openly charged toward Gryps II.
Paptimus Scirocco and Bright Noa were the first to notice Neo Zeon's unusual movements.
However, neither was surprised—they weren't naive enough to believe Haman had truly withdrawn from the battlefield. Especially Bright Noa, who had already deduced Neo Zeon's intentions the moment he saw Bask Om's fleet desperately engaging his forces.
Previously, Neo Zeon had employed an overt strategy. Even if AEUG had realized Gryps II was bait meant to make them and the Titans fight to the death, AEUG had no choice but to seize the Colony Laser for the sake of victory.
As a result, the battle between the two sides abruptly halted—neither wanted to exhaust themselves only for Neo Zeon to swoop in and claim the spoils.
Without even needing to communicate, both forces instinctively knew they would ally if Neo Zeon launched a full-scale attack.
However, neither Paptimus Scirocco nor Bright Noa expected that after Neo Zeon's Mobile Suit forces surged forward, Haman would command a massive wave of Gaza-C units to unleash a devastating barrage on Scirocco's troops, completely ignoring the nearby AEUG forces.
At this moment, Paptimus Scirocco shared the same thought as the now-deceased Bask Om: What is Neo Zeon trying to do? Why attack only me? Do they think I'm an easy target?
But while Bask Om had reacted with blind fury, ordering his entire fleet to charge recklessly, Paptimus Scirocco was far more level-headed.
His first instinct was to consolidate his battle lines. Neo Zeon's actions were too bizarre—AEUG held control over the Colony Laser's activation. If Neo Zeon entangled themselves with his forces, they would only end up annihilated together once the Colony Laser finished charging for its second shot.
At the same time, Paptimus Scirocco received a message from the Jupiteris:
"Lord Scirocco, Neo Zeon's Aries is approaching our fleet alone from the flank."
In an instant, Paptimus Scirocco understood Neo Zeon's plan—they were trying to cut off his retreat. Despite Neo Zeon's main forces engaging him, they were merely a feint, tasked only with pinning him down. That lone Aries was the dagger aimed straight at his heart.
He could guess that the [Phantom] must now be aboard the Aries, and his fleet would soon suffer heavy losses.
There was no denying Paptimus Scirocco's intelligence—he had quickly deciphered Reid's strategy.
However, what he didn't anticipate was that his forces would face not one, but multiple [Phantoms] this time.
By having the Aries brazenly approach the Jupiteris fleet, Reid intended to draw their attention. Meanwhile, his Mystic Lightning and Xia Yulan—now piloting the Blitz Gundam—had long since infiltrated the Jupiteris fleet under the cover of the Mirage Colloid System.
Just as the Jupiteris' captain ordered the fleet to attack the Aries in an attempt to drive it back, the surrounding Salamis Kai-class ships began exploding one after another.
Moreover, Reid wasn't even bothering to hide it anymore, ordering Xia Yulan to clear the fleet around the Jupiteris at maximum speed. As a result, there were multiple instances where two ships exploded simultaneously, making it easy for the captain of the Jupiteris to deduce that there were two "ghosts."
But knowing this answer couldn't change the fate of the Jupiteris. Once the Aries closed in to a certain distance, Ange and Noin sortied in the Immortal Aegis and Wing Gundam, respectively.
Ange and Noin's mission was simple: strip the Jupiteris of all its armaments. Both carried beam sniper rifles and circled the ship, methodically picking off every turret and machine gun.
Along the way, they also took out the MS reserves launched by the Jupiteris fleet.
As for the surrounding escort ships, they desperately wanted to support the Jupiteris, but those already in heaven—or about to be—could only pray for it now.
The captain of the Jupiteris was equally helpless. Their MS were being cut down like vegetables by two Neo Zeon Gundams, and the enemy even had the leisure to take potshots at the ship itself, quickly disabling all its cannons.
If this were an ordinary warship, the captain would have already hit the self-destruct button. But the Jupiteris wasn't just a warship—it was a massive ark with the infrastructure to sustain life in Earth's sphere. It even had an onboard factory capable of independently developing and producing MS.
The living quarters, designed for long voyages, housed many children—born from relationships formed during the years-long journeys between Earth and Jupiter. The captain's own child was among them.
So, for the sake of his child, the captain would never self-destruct. Instead, he broadcasted an open-channel plea:
"Neo Zeon forces! There are many children aboard this ship! Not all crew members are military personnel. In the name of humanity, do not sink this vessel!!"
Hearing this, Reid was speechless. If there were children on board, why bring the ship into battle? Then again, thinking of the AEUG's Argama, he could only sigh—this must be a UC tradition.
Ange, however, had a kinder heart. The moment she heard about the children, she grew worried about accidental casualties and immediately suggested to Reid,
"Reid, maybe we should demand their surrender?"
Reid couldn't refuse Ange's suggestion. He switched to internal comms and ordered,
"Une, broadcast a demand for their surrender. But the Aries will continue closing in—stick to the plan. Once we're in range, deploy the assault team's transport pods. Noin, breach the Jupiteris' side hatch and initiate boarding action.
Ange, to avoid collateral damage, reduce your beam output. You don't need high power just to take out a few machine guns."
With Reid's instructions, Ange had no objections. They couldn't afford to hesitate just because there were children on the enemy ship.
Une promptly relayed the surrender demand on the international distress channel.
However, seeing that his plea had worked, the Jupiteris' captain sensed room to negotiate. He figured he could stall for time—if the enemy lost patience and Paptimus Scirocco still hadn't returned, surrendering then would still be an option.
Thus, the captain of the Jupiteris directly began negotiating surrender terms with Une, such as guaranteeing no massacres, not forcing the crew off the ship, and demanding Reid and Xia Yulan cease attacking the escort vessels.
Both Reid and Une knew the Jupiteris captain had limited sincerity and was merely stalling for time.
Without hesitation, Reid cooperated with Xia Yulan to destroy all the escort vessels as a response to the Jupiteris captain's antics.
Realizing he was dealing with ruthless individuals, the Jupiteris captain immediately dropped further demands.
However, he still attempted to delay, claiming surrender wasn't solely his decision—it required approval from the leaders of the factory and residential districts. He requested ten minutes for the three of them to discuss.
Seeing through this, Reid had Une cut off communications and issued orders over the team channel:
"Noin, move out. Une, deploy the assault team. Yufang, follow behind the assault team—your mission is to download data from the bridge, then return immediately to the Aries."
The orders were swiftly executed. On the Aries, Noin located a side door near the bridge, reduced her Beam Saber's output to minimum, and stabbed through, creating an entry point.
Neo Zeon's assault team disembarked from the transport ship and filed in. Their mission was straightforward: seize and hold the bridge.
Given the Jupiteris's massive size, even if everyone from the Aries boarded, controlling the entire ship would be impossible. Moreover, the interior's complex layout and unfamiliar terrain meant that if the situation devolved into urban combat, Neo Zeon would be at a disadvantage.
As for whether Jupiteris's soldiers would counterattack the bridge—it was highly unlikely. Failure would be bad enough, but even success would guarantee the ship's destruction by the Mobile Suits outside. Few in reality would undertake such a suicidal mission unless Paptimus Scirocco returned and successfully repelled the external threat.
But Paptimus Scirocco couldn't return now. Though his forces were elite, and he even had Yazan Gable—who had survived the Colony Laser—assisting him, Haman alone was more than enough to keep Scirocco thoroughly occupied.
Meanwhile, Yazan Gable and the two women Scirocco had drawn in—Sarah Zabiarov and Reccoa Londe—faced off against the Black Tri-Stars.
The RX-139 Hamburabi, PMX-002 Bolinoak Sammahn, and PMX-001 Palace Athena, while not lacking in performance, were slightly outclassed by the Amazing Kampfer. Worse, the trio's coordination was less teamwork and more mutual sabotage. Against the Black Tri-Stars, they'd be annihilated in moments—none of them possessed skills on par with Amuro's.
On the AEUG side, Katz Kobayashi, sensing Sarah Zabiarov's presence, outright violated Bright Noa's orders to observe the battle and wait for the Colony Laser to charge. Instead, he recklessly piloted the FXA-05D G-Defenser through the battlefield, plunging into the six-way fight. This forced the pursuing Zeta Gundam and Gundam MK-II to follow, dragging them into the fray as well.
This turned the 3 vs 3 battle into a 3 vs 3 vs 3 scenario, with all three sides entangled against each other.
Reid had specifically warned Gaia's trio to be extremely cautious of the Zeta Gundam, as its pilot was essentially this era's Amuro. As a result, the Black Tri-Stars fought with extreme care.
This directly led to the nine-way melee dragging on without a clear victor, making it impossible for anyone to break away and reinforce the Jupiteris.
As for the other Mobile Suits, facing the overwhelming numbers of Gaza-C units, they couldn't afford to expose their backs. The Gaza-C's firepower was still formidable enough that they could only continue their deadlock with Neo Zeon.
Thus, the Jupiteris's bridge was ultimately captured by Neo Zeon forces, completely cutting off Paptimus Scirocco's escape route.
Seeing Xia Yufang flash the "all clear" signal from the Jupiteris's bridge, Reid immediately issued orders:
"Yulan, return to the Aries first and switch to the NT-X. Ensure Yufang secures the data, then support the frontlines with the Aries.
Ange, Noin, we'll move to reinforce the frontlines immediately after Yulan's MS change. This will be the final battle of this campaign—let the three of us bring this operation to its conclusion together."