The Gundam Gemini 02 fell completely silent, the Leo N was reduced to a limbless suit, and both the MO-V and Price's team grew frantic.
The pilot of the Gundam Gemini 02, Oder Bernett, was the protagonist of this side story and the older brother of Odin Barnett, the pilot of Gundam Gemini 01.
This Odin Barnett embodied all the traits of an early-era Gundam protagonist—impulsive, immature, yet highly skilled and explosively proactive.
Seeing the Gundam Gemini 02 grasped by the unknown Mobile Suit's left hand while its right hand hovered before the cockpit, Odin Barnett instantly assumed the enemy was about to kill. Ignoring all attempts to stop him, he charged out of the Colony Satellite to rescue his brother.
But in reality, Reid had no intention of killing. Placing the Hermes Zero before the cockpit was merely to use the Lambda Driver to pry open the hatch and extract the pilot inside.
Reid had even warned the pilot beforehand via physical transmission to fasten his flight suit properly, lest he die from exposure in space.
Fortunately, Oder Bernett was a meticulous pilot. Even in the original work, he survived his Mobile Suit's destruction, so naturally, he had already secured his flight suit as per regulations.
Though this meant he couldn't wipe his tears. To perfectly replicate external lighting for more accurate manual targeting, the flashbang's brightness had nearly overloaded the display, leaving Oder Bernett's vision still impaired. Hearing Reid's words, he could only shout, "Who the hell are you?"
Reid had no time to answer. After opening the cockpit, he used the Lambda Driver to secure Oder Bernett in the Mobile Suit's right palm, then lifted him up as the Gundam Gemini 01 charged toward him.
Odin Barnett had been watching the Hermes Zero the entire time. Seeing Oder Bernett lying in the unknown Mobile Suit's palm in his flight suit, he didn't stop to question why, in the vacuum of space, a lifting motion allowed a person to stay in place instead of being flung away by inertia. He immediately roared,
"You coward!!"
But in the dense Minovsky Particle environment, no one could hear Odin Barnett's fury.
Reid's threatening posture was unmistakable, and even a fool like Odin Barnett knew raising his weapon now was out of the question.
Even if he trusted his marksmanship to avoid friendly fire, the enemy Mobile Suit only needed to clench its fist or give a hard shake to turn Oder Bernett into paste.
So Odin Barnett could only lower his weapon as he closed in on the Hermes Zero, then bellowed via laser communication:
"You coward! Let my brother go!"
Reid remained indifferent to Odin Barnett's insults. On the battlefield, there was no such thing as cowardice—only the dead and the living. Calmly, he replied:
"Abandon your Mobile Suit, and I'll let you and your brother escape. MO-V isn't too far from here. Whether you drift back slowly using your flight suit's thrusters or wait for a pickup, you'll live. Resist, and you'll both die."
With that, Reid ordered the system to reclaim the Gundam Gemini 02, crushing any hope Odin Barnett had of rescuing Oder Bernett and using him to retake the Mobile Suit.
Reid's act of retrieving the Mobile Suit in front of Odin Barnett naturally had an intimidating purpose. When supernatural events occur before one's eyes, people generally feel fear.
However, Reid underestimated the so-called protagonist's hot-blooded recklessness. Odin Barnett seemed to take Reid's actions as some kind of trickery. After all, the enemy had used unknown means to completely block all communications in the vicinity, and various radars had malfunctioned, making it impossible to mechanically verify whether the Mobile Suit had truly vanished.
Thus, Odin Barnett still roared angrily at this moment:
"Who the hell are you trying to fool?! How can I be sure you won't just kill us the moment we abandon our Mobile Suit?!"
Reid sighed inwardly—dealing with a hot-blooded, brainless protagonist was always troublesome. No matter how many schemes you devised, they would just charge ahead without thinking.
Just as Reid was about to give up on communication and simply throw Oder Bernett out, planning to eliminate Odin Barnett the moment he went to rescue his comrade—
Suddenly, Reid sensed hostility from both sides. His Mobile Suit's alarms blared as six units emerged from the asteroid belts on either side of Colony Satellite MO-V.
Reid took a quick glance: two squads led by a Leo S and a Leo R, each accompanied by five space-painted Leos.
Among them, the Leo R—a high-mobility enhanced model—had outpaced the main force, charging ahead alone with its Beam Lance raised for a piercing strike.
The Leo R's pilot, Klotz Shelby, was a false knight even more ruthless than Reid. At least Reid never attacked allies, but Klotz had no qualms about stabbing his comrades in the back if it served his own interests.
Thus, Klotz Shelby paid no heed to the fact that the Leo N's cockpit was right beside the Hermes Zero—directly in his assault path. If Reid dodged, the Leo R's Beam Lance would skewer the Leo N's cockpit.
Seeing this, Reid decisively flung Oder Bernett behind him and charged straight at the Leo R.
Odin Barnett, seeing Oder Bernett thrown by the enemy, naturally had no time to focus on the Hermes Zero. He immediately steered his Mobile Suit toward Oder Bernett to rescue him first.
Meanwhile, the Leo S on the other side was still too far away to provide any support to the Leo R.
The Leo R, having advanced alone, briefly found itself in a one-on-one duel with the Hermes Zero.
The outcome was obvious. Klotz Shelby's attack timing was completely predicted by Reid, and the Leo R's only main weapon was its Beam Lance.
As the Hermes Zero rushed toward the Leo R at high speed, it suddenly veered right, narrowly evading the Beam Lance's thrust.
Simultaneously, the Hermes Zero drew its Beam Saber with its left hand and, using the momentum from its evasive maneuver, delivered a horizontal slash.
The Leo R was bisected as if it had flown straight into the Beam Saber.
Without hesitation, Reid immediately executed a 180-degree turn and sped toward Gemini 01, not even bothering to watch as the Leo R's wreckage exploded into twin fireballs seconds later.
At this moment, Gemini 01 was carefully cradling Oder Bernett in its hands, slowly bringing him toward its cockpit.
Though Reid had ensured Oder Bernett was still protected by the Lambda Driver's power—preventing him from being splattered like tomato paste—the sudden G-forces from being hurled had knocked him unconscious.
Reid was precisely waiting for this moment—when Odin Barnett unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the cockpit to pull Oder Bernett inside.
The Hermes Zero rushed toward the Gundam Geminass 01 at nearly Mach 3 before coming to an abrupt halt behind it, then "lightly" tapped the Gundam's back.
The shockwave amplified by the Lambda Driver instantly ejected both Odin Barnett and the unconscious Oder Bernett from the cockpit.
Fortunately, Odin held onto Oder tightly, allowing the two to embrace each other as they tumbled through space.
Through his Newtype senses, Reid realized he might have held back too much—the impact hadn't killed Odin Barnett. But he couldn't be bothered to finish the job now. Ordering the system to recover the Gundam Geminass 01's Mobile Suit, he prepared to deal with the Leo S instead.
However, the moment Reid turned around, the signal flare he had previously planted in the asteroid belt where he first arrived suddenly exploded.
Seeing this, Reid knew the worker Amelia S had duped had arrived.
So he immediately abandoned the Leo S and rushed back to the asteroid belt at top speed.
After all, shooting down the Leo S would only net him another 30 Merit Points—far less important than confirming the identity of the person Amelia S had tricked into coming to the AC universe.
Meanwhile, Chang Wufei, who had been observing the battlefield from the asteroid belt for a while, was utterly stunned.
When his Psycommu lit up, Wufei had been ecstatic—finally, he could settle the score with that "Rau Le Creuset." Back then, he had been defeated in a gang-up and even lost his Altron Gundam, leaving him deeply resentful. Not to mention, he now carried the mission of achieving permanent world peace.
Thus, Wufei sought out Amelia S and specifically chose the Altron Gundam as his Mobile Suit for this trip, determined to redeem himself. Only to find that "Rau Le Creuset" was already fighting someone else.
For now, Wufei didn't act rashly. Instead, he stayed hidden in the asteroid belt, observing his opponent's capabilities. After all, he still knew too little about "Rau Le Creuset's" true strength—it wouldn't hurt to gather intel first.
But the more Wufei watched, the more alarmed he became. What the hell was that Mobile Suit "Rau Le Creuset" was piloting? The speed was insane.
Wufei didn't need to guess—there was a generational gap between his machine and the enemy's, and not just by one or two generations. The difference was even greater than between the Altron Gundam and a Leo.
If they fought now, Wufei was certain he'd lose more often than win. One thing was clear: "Rau Le Creuset's" piloting skills were no weaker than his own.
So Wufei began considering retreat. According to Amelia S, this "Rau Le Creuset" wouldn't just visit his world once or twice and never return. Only an idiot would stubbornly fight a battle they couldn't win.
Still, Wufei couldn't help feeling bitter. In frustration, he punched a nearby innocent asteroid drifting past, venting his anger before resigning himself to spectating "Rau Le Creuset's" actions as a form of pre-battle intelligence gathering.
Unfortunately, that punch caused trouble.
The signal flare Reid had planted was designed to detect heat and vibrations. Its purpose was simple: if a Mobile Suit flew nearby or touched the rock where the flare was embedded, it would immediately activate, firing toward a designated position before exploding.
It's important to note that signal flares are extremely small compared to Mobile Suits, and without activation, they emit no heat. Unless specifically programmed with identifying features for Mobile Suits to detect or unless a Mobile Suit's camera happens to capture them head-on, they're virtually impossible to spot.
So by the time the signal flare was launched, it was already too late for Chang Wufei to intercept it with his Altron Gundam.
When the flare burst open, Wufei knew he had been exposed. That "Rau Le Creuset" would undoubtedly charge straight toward him.
Unwilling to add another failure to his record and with no backup plan, Wufei decided to retreat this time. Next time, he would have to return with a better Mobile Suit.
Thus, when Reid rushed back into the asteroid belt, he found nothing there—as if the signal flare had been accidentally triggered by a collision between asteroids.
But he still had his cameras. Reid immediately retrieved the cameras he had placed throughout the asteroid belt to see what had actually happened.
Through footage from multiple angles, Reid saw the Altron Gundam being teleported in, then luckily hiding behind an asteroid where no signal flare had been set, spying on him. Shortly after, it suddenly flew into a rage, smashing nearby asteroids in frustration and accidentally triggering a flare. Finally, without leaving so much as a word or hint, it teleported away.
Reid was utterly speechless. "Coming and going like that—what was the point?" Was Chang Wufei here just to clown around?
Yes, Reid now knew exactly who Codename: Amelia S had roped into her schemes in the AC universe. After all, who else would come piloting the Altron Gundam if not Chang Wufei?
And he had indeed left behind the ridiculous alias "Rau Le Creuset of Celestial Being." Given Wufei's personality, he would stop at nothing to hunt Reid down to avenge his humiliation. And so, Codename: Amelia S had recruited him.
If she had manipulated Wufei the same way she had Teletha, his genuine desire for peace would naturally lead him to agree to assist her.
After all, this was someone easily influenced by those stronger than him—his two mental breakdowns in the original story were proof enough.
But since Wufei had already fled, there was no way for Reid to chase after him. In any case, there was still another mission in the AC universe, and Wufei would likely return better prepared next time.
The only downside was that Wufei would be semi-exposed next time, and Reid now knew who his opponent was. It would all come down to who was better prepared.
With Codename: Amelia S's agent in the AC universe having silently retreated, Reid naturally refocused on his original mission.
Meanwhile, Ross Lantrow, the pilot of the Leo S, saw the unknown Mobile Suit "retreat" immediately after spotting the signal flare.
Ross judged that the enemy's mission might already be complete, given that both Gundams had disappeared.
Though he never figured out who his opponent was, with both Gundams gone and two of the Stardust Trinity dead or incapacitated, Ross could only order the retrieval of the Leo N's cockpit and lead the remaining Leos back to the ship. With all communications in the area severed, they could only rely on short-range Laser Communication, making any discussion impossible.
Ross intended to leave the interference zone and contact command before deciding their next move. But before he could even disembark from his Leo S, a transmission from the bridge came through.
"Captain Ross Lantrow, thermal sensors show that unknown Mobile Suit has reappeared, approaching us at Mach 3. We still haven't left the interference zone and can't contact headquarters."
Ross Lantrow frowned. What else could they do but sortie? They couldn't just wait for that Mobile Suit to get close and blast their ship out of space. He ordered:
"Open the catapult and Hangar doors. I'll launch first to intercept the enemy. Prepare all other Mobile Suits for immediate launch via catapults or foot deployment. Ensure all MS deploy at maximum speed."
With that, Ross Lantrow retreated to his cockpit, sealed the hatch, and immediately moved to the catapult. He became the first to launch from the ship, ready to intercept this unknown Mobile Suit with its terrifying performance.
(End of Chapter)