The destruction of the Meteor Shenlong Gundam and the death of Chang Wufei naturally had no impact on Haman, who remained unaware of these events.
Over at the New Danuu's Child, Teletha might deduce after some time that Wufei was most likely gone, but for now, she was undoubtedly anxiously awaiting news.
The most anxious one at the moment was likely Code Amelias, who had returned to the time-space gap. With Wufei's contract severed, she would undoubtedly be the first to know.
However, all Code Amelias could do now was stomp around in the empty time-space gap, alone and seething with helpless rage.
As for Reid, after eliminating Wufei, he simply continued to wait patiently.
Unfortunately, Teletha did not send a second Mobile Suit even after the Alpha Wazolon left the Ahab Wave Interference zone.
The restoration of Haman's signal, however, effectively told Teletha that the earlier signal loss had been an ambush.
But it was too late for Teletha to regret sending Wufei out now—he was either dead or had left this universe. She could only proceed with the original plan.
To inform Haman of the current situation and divert Reid's attention elsewhere—preventing him from targeting Haman, who no longer held any strategic value—Teletha ultimately dispatched an Automaton Amakusa.
This Mobile Suit was programmed to detour directly to the Alpha Wazolon's projected path. After automatically sending a secret signal to Haman, it would move in the opposite direction of the New Danuu's Child.
Fortunately, before Reid's patience for following Haman and intercepting reinforcements ran out, this Amakusa completed its mission.
The compact communicator on Haman received a simple message containing just three words: "Oolong Tea."
It sounded somewhat like a mission codename, but Haman understood it meant Wufei had gone offline. Whether he was dead or had left the universe remained unknown for now.
Having completed its signal transmission task, the Automaton Amakusa immediately flew in the opposite direction of the New Danuu's Child as programmed.
The Gran Chaos successfully intercepted the signal sent to Haman, but it was encrypted and required decoding.
As for the subsequent departure of the Automaton Amakusa, its movements were too conspicuous to ignore.
Although such blatant exposure was completely unlike Teletha's usual command style, Reid still ordered the Xia sisters to pursue it.
He sent the Xia sisters specifically because he remained cautious, wary that this Automaton Amakusa might also be a trap designed to lead pursuers into an encirclement.
Equipped with the Psycho-link system, their Mobile Suits had an advantage. Unless instantly destroyed, they could certainly escape any ambush.
And based on Reid's current knowledge, the forces of the New Danuu's Child lacked the capability to instantly eliminate both sisters.
Of course, there was no ambush at all. After most of the day, the Xia sisters returned.
According to their report, the Automaton Amakusa kept flying until it ran out of fuel before stopping. Realizing they had been tricked, the sisters destroyed the Mobile Suit and returned to report.
Reid wasn't surprised that the Xia sisters came back empty-handed. It would have been strange if Teletha had made such a basic mistake.
Although another half-day had been wasted on this diversion, it didn't affect the overall situation.
By now, the Alpha Wazolon and the Gran Chaos were actually quite close to the Londo Bell fleet, which had likely already detected both vessels.
Thus, Reid prepared to attack.
Because now that the attack was underway and Londo Bell was right before their eyes, Haman would most likely not easily abandon this battle and leave this sector of space.
This was just like a cultivator attempting to break through a realm—with only the final sliver left to achieve the breakthrough, even if one was already on the verge of exhaustion, most would still strive to overcome that last obstacle.
However, Haman moved faster than Reid. As soon as the Londo Bell fleet entered her communication range, she immediately used all the remaining thruster fuel of the Alpha Wazolon to charge toward the Londo Bell fleet at full speed.
At the same time, Haman contacted Londo Bell using the Earth Federation military's internal channel that Teletha had earlier infiltrated through Anaheim Electronics.
"Londo Bell, Londo Bell, this is the Alpha Wazolon of Neo Zeon. I am Haman. The person in the cockpit of my Mobile Suit is Char.
Currently, we are under attack by terrorists. Sweetwater Colony has fallen, Neo Zeon has been defeated, and the enemy is still pursuing us. Therefore, we request the protection of your fleet."
Haman's words truly left Bright Noa at a loss.
Emotionally speaking, Bright wanted to refuse outright.
After all, just the news that Haman was still alive was already a huge shock to Bright. During the Gryps Conflict and the subsequent First Neo Zeon War, our Captain Bright had suffered quite a bit at Haman's hands.
If Amuro hadn't informed Bright a few days earlier that Haman was still alive, Bright would never have believed the identity of this person claiming to be Haman now.
But Haman's body had never been found. If she really wasn't dead, Bright could only sigh and think, "The wicked live a thousand years."
However, the current practical situation did not allow Bright to refuse.
It had already been confirmed that Sweetwater Colony was attacked by an unknown armed force over a day ago, and the news that all Neo Zeon ships had been annihilated had spread throughout the Earth Sphere.
Now, this unknown armed force had been defined by the Earth Federation as a terrorist organization.
From the Earth Federation's perspective, after all, Neo Zeon was already preparing to surrender.
Now, this completely unknown armed force attacking Sweetwater Colony and nearly annihilating the Neo Zeon Army was a slap in their own face, showing that cooperating with the Earth Federation brought no good outcome for the Colony Satellites.
Moreover, this force could no longer be underestimated, yet the Earth Federation knew nothing about it.
Although Londo Bell reported that this unit might be the unknown force that appeared during the Luna V Battle, the Earth Federation's higher-ups had done too many shameful things and kept feeling that this force, which had captured Sweetwater Colony without demanding anything, was like an invisible Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. Who knew what this armed force's intentions were, or whether their next target might be themselves.
Thus, the Earth Federation's higher-ups, who valued their lives immensely, had already ordered Londo Bell to locate and annihilate the unknown armed force that attacked Sweetwater Colony.
Frankly, when Captain Bright received the order, he really wanted to refuse outright.
An armed force capable of annihilating Neo Zeon—are you sure you want us to take them on?
What makes you think Londo Bell's combat strength is greater than all of Neo Zeon's combined?
Unfortunately, orders were orders, and the Earth Federation's higher-ups would not care about the difficulties faced by those carrying them out.
Moreover, Captain Bright noted that he had received plenty of unreasonable missions in the past, so they would just have to take things one step at a time.
Normally, after escaping the battle at Sweetwater Colony, Haman and Char should have been taken under protection by Captain Bright first, so that he could gather intelligence on the enemy.
However, Bright's distrust of Haman led him to reply directly:
"Londo Bell does not protect dangerous individuals. Please steer your Mobile Suits away from the fleet, or we will open fire."
Haman knew at once that Bright still held a grudge from the past, so she retorted:
"Captain Bright, may I ask which of us—me or Char—is the dangerous individual? Has the Earth Federation issued a warrant for our arrest, or do we have a verifiable criminal record that justifies your refusal?"
Haman's question left Bright at a loss.
If you said Haman and Char were problematic, neither of them was actually on any wanted list, nor did they have a criminal record in the legal sense.
Haman wasn't wanted because everyone believed she was dead, and no one issues warrants for the dead.
Moreover, after the First Neo Zeon War, the Earth Federation granted amnesty to many Neo Zeon soldiers to appease the Space Colonists, so Haman's legal liabilities were never pursued.
Although Haman was later recorded in history books and condemned as a disgrace, legally speaking, she was not a criminal.
As for Char, he did attempt to drop Luna V to induce an ice age on Earth, but he didn't succeed.
And that incident was stopped by the force now defined as a terrorist organization.
Later, Neo Zeon even reached an agreement with the Federation government, with bribes paid in full, so naturally, no one would issue a warrant for Char or define him as a criminal.
In terms of results, Haman and Char were not legally considered criminals.
Fortunately, while Bright was feeling awkward, Amuro stepped in to defuse the situation, cutting into the communication to ask:
"Haman, is it that Reid who's chasing you?"
Haman knew Amuro was likely on her side now, as he surely disliked Reid even more.
So she replied directly:
"Yes."
Upon hearing this, Amuro immediately said to Bright:
"Captain, I suggest accepting Haman and Char. Their crimes should be judged by the courts. But for now, we need their combat strength.
That Reid is terrifying—a very powerful Newtype."
Hearing even Amuro speak so highly of him, Bright asked seriously:
"Amuro, is Reid really that strong? You don't have confidence in defeating him either?"
Here, Amuro would never admit weakness in front of Char. For him, that was even more unacceptable than admitting weakness in front of a girlfriend.
After all, if one girlfriend didn't work out, he could find another, but with Char, Amuro felt there was no replacement to be had.
So, Amuro confidently replied:
"He's just troublesome. I won't end up like some people, reduced to nothing but a cockpit."
Amuro's words made Char's veins bulge in anger.
He had been stuck in that cockpit for over a day. Even with the Alpha Wazolon providing energy to sustain the life support System, he had to eat, drink, and relieve himself inside, enduring the smell of various bodily wastes while consuming dry rations with a texture akin to sand. His mood was far from pleasant.
So Char cut in directly:
"Amuro, you'd better not underestimate Reid's team. Be careful not to get defeated by his subordinates before you even meet the man himself."
As soon as Char said this, Haman knew these two rivals were about to start arguing. At that moment, the Gran Chaos behind them also began to accelerate and launched its Mobile Suits.
So Haman directly interjected:
"I say, you two, now is not the time for quarreling.
Captain Bright, could you first help me intercept the pursuers behind? This Mobile Suit needs to replenish its propellant fuel.
Then, could you please provide me with a shuttle? I don't need to board your ship; I can directly rendezvous with my team."
Upon hearing that Haman wouldn't board the ship, Bright felt somewhat relieved and agreed to temporarily accept and protect the two.
Meanwhile, Amuro led the Jegan forces of Londo Bell to sortie, heading straight for Reid's position.
At this point, Reid, who had already sortied, saw that it was highly unlikely he could prevent the Alpha Wazolon from joining up with Londo Bell, so he decided to adjust his strategy.
Because to intercept the Alpha Wazolon ahead of the Londo Bell forces now would require activating Trans-Am, and he was about to engage Amuro in battle. This trump card couldn't be used so casually.
Thus, Reid commanded:
"Salamandine, you sortie as well. You will take command of the frontline forces from now on.
Tekkadan's non-Gundam Mobile Suits fall back to the vicinity of the Gran Chaos. Your task from now on is to protect the Mothership.
Neil, Belfgang, you two go stealth and search the outer space zone for New Danuu's Child. This battle is their best opportunity to intervene. New Danuu's Child must be heading this way now or is already lurking nearby.
However, if you find New Danuu's Child, do not attack immediately. Report at once, and Salamandine will formulate the subsequent plan to eliminate them.
Salamandine, New Danuu's Child takes priority over Londo Bell.
Gaia, Mash, Ortega, help me separate the Nu Gundam from Londo Bell's Jegans. Amuro is mine to deal with. After I draw Amuro away, do your best to eliminate the Londo Bell fleet before New Danuu's Child's forces appear."
With Reid's orders given, everyone began operating according to command.
The Beam Rocket Launchers of the three Kyubey EXs belonging to the Black Tri-Stars began bombarding Londo Bell's Jegans, but deliberately avoided the Nu Gundam.
Consequently, the Jegan forces, needing to evade and defend, instantly distanced themselves from the Nu Gundam.
However, this was also part of Londo Bell's tactics.
Simply put, it involved the regular forces spreading out the battle lines to tie down enemy troops, allowing Amuro alone to break through the enemy's defenses at a single point.
Only, such tactics were only effective against weaker opponents and held little significance against Reid's forces. Now, it had turned into Amuro charging deep into enemy lines alone.
Although Reid had said he would draw the Nu Gundam away himself, now that the Nu Gundam had charged right into their own firing network, not taking a few shots would be a disservice to his enthusiasm.
Thus, the Nu Gundam received a physically warm welcome, as not a single beam was below 4000 degrees.
But Amuro, the strongest pilot in the Universal Century, wasn't just boasting.
His Newtype crisis perception was truly abnormally strong. Facing so many beams, he didn't need to look at the Mobile Suits; he could rely on his senses to know which ones could hit him, which couldn't, when the surrounding area was safe, and when it was dangerous.
Therefore, facing the concentrated fire from Reid's squad, the Nu Gundam's long-range wing funnel on its right back was mounted onto its shoulder, sweeping out a super MEGA particle beam from below at a 60-degree upward angle.
The ray axis was mostly filled with beams and solid rounds that could directly hit the Nu Gundam, but they were only scattered and melted away by the super MEGA particle beam.
Moreover, this sweeping attack from the Nu Gundam forced the Black Tri-Stars, who had the strongest fire suppression capability, to evade, creating a gap in Reid's squad's fire suppression formation.
However, the Virgo II units quickly arrived afterward, filling this gap.
Reid also immediately rushed to Amuro's front, leaving him no time to deal with other enemies.
(End of Chapter)