In mid-December, the Scandinavian tourist town of Ålesund welcomed six special visitors.
These six individuals were the Nameless special unit led by Neil (codename: Rook), with members including Shinn Asuka (codename: Chick), Barry Howe (codename: Boxer), John MacTavish (codename: Soap), Gary Sanderson (codename: Roach), and Simon Riley (codename: Ghost).
The Nameless unit operated under unique protocols - during combat missions, only codenames were used, never real names.
Currently, the locals treated these six as rare wartime tourists, enthusiastically extending hospitality to them.
This was inevitable. The war between the Earth Alliance and PLANT had become a global conflict. Though the Scandinavian Kingdom maintained neutrality like during the First War by accommodating both sides, its domestic economy couldn't escape the impact.
Particularly in tourist towns like Ålesund - with widespread military conflicts raging across the Atlantic and the world in turmoil - few visitors ventured to this remote northern town near the polar region.
That Shinn's group was accepted as tourists was largely due to the teenage Shinn Asuka. He didn't need to pretend - his youthful, inexperienced appearance was convincing enough.
Coupled with Neil's silver tongue, their authentic Orb citizenship documents, absence of weapons (at least visibly), and plentiful cash for lavish spending, they became the town's most welcome guests.
However, on the second night, the six stealthily infiltrated the town's port under cover of darkness. A large cargo ship that had docked earlier that day awaited them, with their contact person onboard.
After boarding, Neil couldn't resist teasing Shinn, who had been sniffling from the cold throughout their approach: "Chick, are you okay? The wind wasn't even that strong. How come you're freezing like this despite wearing so many layers?"
Shinn was too cold to bother arguing, and much of his former sharpness had been worn away anyway.
After being transported from South America back to the New Misurugi Kingdom in the Mystic Angel's brig, Shinn had been immediately court-martialed upon arrival. Within an hour, he was assigned to this Nameless unit - clearly his fate had been predetermined.
This was actually a light punishment that offered him a chance at redemption, so he had little reason to complain.
Yet joining the Nameless unit exposed Shinn to the brutal reality of military life at its lowest levels.
During his first two weeks, Shinn consistently failed to keep up with the unit and frequently offended others with his blunt remarks, resulting in various physical punishments - including someone urinating in his water bottle to harass him.
Had it not been for the unit's military discipline, he might have suffered even worse violations.
However, Shinn's physical capabilities were never in question. As he gradually adapted to the Nameless unit's rhythm, he transformed from a liability into an indispensable asset.
His natural talent was undeniable - within the Nameless unit, no one could match him in Mobile Suit combat.
Thus, when Shinn Asuka - having been with the unit for just over half a month - was selected for the special operations squad, no one raised any objections.
As many had noticed, this reckless young man who had screwed over the Chairman of the Military Committee didn't belong here. Given the mistakes he had made, the fact that he wasn't executed clearly indicated that Chairman Reid had no intention of holding it against him.
Thus, within this elite squad of the Nameless unit, Shinn was still quite well taken care of.
Barry Howe, who had immigrated from Orb to the New Misurugi Kingdom and later ended up in the Nameless unit after accidentally killing a comrade with a single punch during a fight, now spoke half-jokingly and half-seriously,
"Shinn, you really should train more. If you get the chance, practice martial arts with me."
Shinn thought to himself that practicing martial arts with Barry Howe was out of the question—the man had no sense of control when fighting, and he might accidentally kill him with a single punch.
However, after spending some time inside the ship, Shinn was no longer as cold. So, looking at the row of Mobile Suits lying before him, he asked,
"So, these are the Mobile Suits we'll be piloting next?"
Upon hearing this, Neil glanced at the cargo list provided by their contact and nodded,
"Yes. Aside from my Jet Black Hunter Gundam, the five of you will be assigned Assault GM Dominions equipped with Underwater Packs and Cold-Weather Equipment.
However, the universal equipment we managed to transport this time is quite limited. Aside from the standard Head Vulcan Gun and two Beam Sabers for each Mobile Suit,
there are only two Anti-Beam Shields, which will be assigned to Shinn and the boxer. But your Mobile Suits will also be responsible for transporting special bombs.
The remaining Beam Machine Gun and Energy Supply Backpack will go to Soap, the Armor Piercing Bazooka and Beam Rifle will go to Xiaoqiang, and the sniper rifle will go to Ghost. Any objections?"
As the commander, Neil's allocation was naturally accepted without objection by the other five.
Both Shinn and Barry Howe excelled in close combat and had to carry special bombs, so it made sense for them to have shields.
As for the rest, Soap was responsible for fire suppression, Xiaoqiang for assault, and Ghost for sniping—all perfectly reasonable.
Moreover, they had the commander's Jet Black Hunter Gundam as a fallback. It was important to note that this Mobile Suit didn't use universal equipment, so it was fully equipped.
With the equipment allocation complete, the six of them quickly changed into their pilot suits and entered their Mobile Suits for debugging and maintenance.
During this process, the six began to chat.
First, Xiaoqiang, who had never piloted a high-performance Mobile Suit before, exclaimed while maintaining his unit,
"The Assault GM Dominion—even though it's a two-year-old model, it's really a great Mobile Suit. It's far superior to the GINN I used to pilot in the Oceania Union military."Hearing this, Shinn couldn't help but complain as he looked at the Assault GM Dominion's lackluster parameters, which were several tiers below even the Delta Plus, 'These parameters are considered good?" Never mind that it's a Battery-Powered Mobile Suit—it can't even compare to ZAFT's Zaku Brave. Even a modified Windam is better than this."
Although Shinn's words were truthful, they immediately drew unanimous criticism from his teammates over the squad comms.
Soap retorted directly,
"You can't say that. This Mobile Suit is stronger than the Earth Alliance's mainline Dagger Series units. Besides, both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT still have forces using garbage units like the Strike Dagger and Beam-modified GINNs."
After Soap finished, Xiaoqiang immediately chimed in, hitting a sore spot,
"Shinn, don't compare it to the Custom Machines you used to pilot. In our Nameless unit, we often end up piloting various training units. This kind of Assault GM Dominion, phased out by the regular military, is considered high-end for us."
Once Xiaoqiang finished, Ghost followed up without missing a beat,
"Indeed, I previously piloted this very Assault GM Dominion model and shot down several Earth Alliance and ZAFT Mobile Suits that were impersonating enemy forces during border conflicts. Whether it's Zaku Braves or Windams, they all explode with one shot - no difference."
Seeing Shinn being mocked by the group again for his blunt remarks, Neil knew he needed to quickly change the subject. This Shinn Asuka was much harder to handle than Setsuna - though more capable than Setsuna during their partnership days, he was far too impulsive and still quite naive. Neil genuinely worried he might do something reckless in upcoming battles just to prove himself.
So Neil directly interrupted, simultaneously provoking Shinn:
"Ghost is right. Only when there's a performance gap between Mobile Suits can our true abilities shine. According to intelligence, the Faroe Islands garrison consists entirely of third-line troops. While their main force uses Dagger Ls, they even have Strike Daggers mixed in to make up numbers. If we fail here, we'd be utterly humiliated."
Hearing this, Shinn immediately thumped his chest and declared:
"Don't worry, Black Hand! However many enemy Mobile Suits dare show up, I'll take them all down."
Neil thought to himself that this bird was getting arrogant again, and sternly said:
"Little Bird, don't forget our mission objective. Our task is to destroy the laboratory here with Special Bombs, not wipe out the entire Earth Alliance garrison at the Faroe Islands. During the entire operation, no unnecessary engagements - fight when needed, retreat when required. If you dare act recklessly, I have the authority to snipe your Mobile Suit directly!"
If this had been Shinn from half a month ago, even if he didn't argue back, he'd certainly resent such words - after all, he'd been a troublemaker at the officer academy.
But after these weeks in the Nameless unit, Shinn had learned to follow commanders' orders no matter how strange they seemed. The alternative would be getting beaten or standing guard in stinking sewages.
After all, deaths in the Nameless unit meant nothing - as long as teammates weren't intentionally killed, nobody would comment. (Shinn didn't know Reid had arranged for someone to at least keep him alive)
So Shinn reflexively responded loudly:
"Understood! I guarantee I'll follow orders."
Seeing Shinn's response, Neil decided he could only trust him for now. After all, Reid had assigned him to babysit - if Shinn Asuka really acted independently, he couldn't actually snipe him.
So Neil continued:
"Good. Everyone, complete final Mobile Suit adjustments. We depart in ten minutes."
After a chorus of "Roger that," the squad comms fell silent as everyone hurriedly prepared their units.
Ten minutes later, the cargo ship's bottom deck slowly opened, and five Assault GM Dominions equipped with Underwater Packs along with the Jet Black Hunter slipped into the sea, heading toward the Faroe Islands.
During the approach, Neil used the available time to brief the squad on intelligence about the target area:
"Listen up, everyone. Naval battles between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT have been intense in the Atlantic. These waters aren't far from ZAFT's Gibraltar Base, so we might encounter ZAFT underwater reconnaissance units.
If we meet ZAFT patrol forces, don't let them get close - immediately destroy them with Special Torpedoes from our underwater packs.
Additionally, Torshavn Port in the Faroe Islands serves as one of the Atlantic Federation's maritime supply points."
According to intelligence, there are no Atlantic Federation naval forces resupplying in the port today, only local garrison troops guarding the harbor.
Our target laboratory isn't located near the port area, so as long as we act quickly and stealthily, we can complete the demolition mission before the garrison forces can react.
However, if we're too slow or get entangled by the garrison, allowing Atlantic Federation forces from Iceland and Great Britain to arrive, our escape will become extremely difficult."
Nobody questioned the intelligence Neil synchronized, but after hearing it, Shinn directly asked:
"Black Hand, I understand the surrounding intelligence now. But we still don't know the specific operation plan. This mission doesn't feel particularly dangerous - must we wait until reaching the Faroe Islands to synchronize it?"
This was precisely what made the Nameless unit special. Because this unit executed extremely dangerous missions, for regular operations, unless under special circumstances, plans were always synchronized only upon arrival.
By that point, even if mission personnel felt the situation was dangerous, there would be nowhere to retreat - they'd have no choice but to grit their teeth and complete the mission.
This approach reduced instances where some members of the Nameless unit, believing a mission was suicidal, would attempt early escape.
Upon hearing this, Neil calculated the Mobile Suits' positions based on underwater speed, estimating they had already entered waters near the Faroe Islands, and said:
"The operation plan has been synchronized. Review it yourselves."
After Neil finished speaking, the other five pilots' Mobile Suits received the operation plan.
Actually, this operation wasn't particularly complex. The six machines would first move to the northern part of the Faroe Islands, ascending directly from the coastal cliffs there.
Although the Assault GM Dominion couldn't fly, its thrusters could easily propel it two to three hundred meters, allowing direct ascent of the Faroe Islands' low northern cliffs.
Since the entire island wasn't large, the Assault GM Dominion units - lacking stealth capabilities - would likely be detected by the Tórshavn garrison forces within minutes.
But this was exactly Reid's intention. This operation needed to openly announce to the world that it was conducted by the New Misurugi Kingdom, hence the use of Assault GM Dominion units.
This would allow Reid to subsequently present Neo Roanoke's genetic sample documents during press conferences, falsely claiming they were obtained from this laboratory.
After landing on the island, Shinn and the others' mission became clear: proceed at maximum speed directly to the laboratory, eliminating any resistance encountered along the way - destroying whatever stood in their path.
After blowing up the entire laboratory, Shinn's team simply needed to jump into the sea and retreat, where the Archangel, commanded by Matilda Ajan, would submerge at designated coordinates to retrieve them.
However, after reviewing the plan, Shinn immediately questioned:
"Black Hand, this isn't right. According to the route, there are many civilian areas along the way. Are we just charging straight through? Shouldn't we bypass these areas?"
Hearing Shinn's question, Neil personally appreciated his concern - after all, Neil himself disliked causing civilian casualties during warfare.
But as demonstrated during Celestial Beings operations, Neil wouldn't hesitate due to civilian presence, showing he could distinguish between mission requirements and personal feelings. This was precisely what Shinn lacked most.
So Neil coldly responded:
"Little Bird, didn't you carefully review the operation plan? We need to complete the mission at maximum speed. Taking detours? If you had time for detours, you should have blown up the laboratory earlier to reduce combat time."
"And didn't you boast about your Mobile Suit piloting skills? Can't you move faster through the civilian area? If combat really breaks out in the civilian zone, just try to control the battle range. Are you planning to use your Mobile Suit to block artillery shells for the civilian area?"
The first part of Neil's words was telling Shinn that soldiers should prioritize missions above all when carrying out tasks.
The latter part conveyed that they hadn't been assigned any mission to massacre civilians - couldn't Shinn just control the combat range to minimize collateral damage? If he couldn't manage that, it would be his own capability issue, and any accidental casualties would just have to be accepted.
Hearing the unfriendly tone in Neil's voice, Shinn immediately recalled Mayu's tearful face back in the Mystic Angel's prison cell. He stopped arguing right away, secretly resolving to complete this mission quickly without any delays.
Previous chapter correction: The ownership of the Faroe Islands was mistaken.
In the setting materials, both the UK and Iceland belong to the Atlantic Federation territory. The previous text has been revised accordingly.
(End of Chapter)