A hail of fire lit up the void of space. The last Zeon ships had just departed from the fortress of A Baoa Qu, and a swarm of pursuing Federation mobile suits and warships was hot on their heels. Zeon's mobile suits formed a rearguard, a desperate wall of steel and fire against the onslaught.
"That's the last ship! Everyone, follow the last ship!" a Zaku II pilot shouted over the comms, its mono-eye flashing frantically.
"Go! Go! Go!" came the chorus of replies as the Zeon forces turned to retreat, their thrusters flaring with newfound urgency.
A sleek, white Gelgoog banked sharply, its beam rifle spitting bolts of energy at the pursuing enemy. "Go, go, go! These Federation dogs lack the range to follow us!"
"Faster, everyone!" may yelled, launching a volley of anti-ship torpedoes to create chaos among the Federation lines.
"May, fire your missiles! We'll use them to cover our retreat!" vertin said to may
"Ah, yes, of course!" May replied, her voice soft but determined. She unleashed a storm of missiles, a blinding cloud of destruction that detonated among the Federation ranks, turning several GMs and a warship into fireballs. The distraction was all the opening the Zeon forces needed. They broke away, accelerating toward the waiting ships.
"Get in!" a voice boomed from an open hangar bay, the cavernous maw of a Musai-class cruiser.
One by one, the Zeon ms girld docked, the Technicians and mechanics swarmed over them, working frantically to repair battle damage and rearm for the long journey ahead.
Vertin systems blinking red with a blaring warning.
[WARNING: POWER AT 34%]
"Damn, that really took a lot out of me," she muttered.
May's voice came through on a private channel. "You should get in a ship. It's going to be a long journey."
"But who would stay with you here?" Vertin countered.
May's voice faltered slightly. "Well… you need to take care of yourself."
"I'll come back once I'm rested," Vertin promised before powering down and entering the a Musai-class cruiser.
As she stepped out onto the hangar deck, she was met with a scene of organized chaos. "You there, fix that hole!" a frustrated mechanic yelled at a worker.
"Sir, there's a new one!" another worker announced, pointing at Vertin.
"I can see that! Now get back to work, I'll handle this one!" the mechanic snapped, his anger shifting to Vertin. "You, miss. Summon your mobile suit over here."
"Ah, sure," Vertin said, detaching her mobile suit rigging a complex set of external armor and power packs before fully summoning the Zudah's core form. The sleek, streamlined machine appeared and floated to the designated repair bay.
The mechanic looked it over. "Minor damages," he said, sounding surprised.
"But I'll take a closer look. You should rest and eat. You did your best out there; you've earned some rest."
"Thank you," Vertin said, feeling a wave of relief.
"Follow that guy over there," the mechanic said, pointing to a waiting crewman. "He'll show you to your room."
"Follow me, ma'am," the crewman said.
"Lead the way," Vertin replied, following him through the bustling corridors of the ship.
The crewman led her to a small, private quarters. "If you need anything else, don't be afraid to ask," he said before departing.
"Ahhh! Finally, a bed!" Vertin groaned, collapsing onto the bunk and hugging a pillow.
"Fighting all those GMs really took a lot out of me." She fell into a deep sleep, the exhaustion of battle finally catching up to her.
Hours later, a loud banging on her door startled her awake. "Ugh?" she mumbled, disoriented. She stumbled to the door and opened it to find a different crewman waiting.
"Sorry to disturb your sleep, miss, but the mechanic is calling for you," he said.
"Lead the way, then," she said, her mind still fuzzy.
Upon arriving at the engineering bay, the mechanic looked up from his work. "Ah, miss, I have something to tell you."
"Call me Vertin," she said, now more awake.
"Okay, Miss Vertin," he continued. "After checking your mobile suit, I saw you're lacking a nuclear reactor."
"Oh, crap" Vertin thought, her mind racing.
"It's a miracle you were even able to use those beam sabers, let alone fight for so long," the mechanic said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Well, you see, they needed me ready to fight, but they didn't have time to add a generator, so they just added some power cells and launched me out," she said, making up a story on the spot.
"Well, call me a idiot, because the people who built you must've been the gods idiots," he retorted with a laugh. "But don't worry. I can add a reactor to your MS after we reach Axis, and I can probably upgrade you even further. I see you can even use the Gelgoog beam rifle,"
"Well, I have someone waiting for me outside. Can I still use my mobile suit after it's refueled?" she asked.
"Who's even waiting for you outside?" the mechanic asked, puzzled.
"The Big Rang MS girl outside," Vertin said.
"Ah, I'm sorry, you can't," he said, a note of genuine concern in his voice. "I'm worried you would lose power and drift into space. But you can use a Zaku I over there." He pointed to a classic, older model Zaku I. "The MS girl for that one got transferred to a Dom, so that mobile suit is vacant. You can use that."
"Erm..." Vertin hesitated.
"Just touch it," the mechanic urged.
"Okay," Vertin said, confused but trusting.
As she approached the Zaku I and placed her hand on its leg, the machine shimmered and dissolved into a cascade of glowing energy. The energy converged on Vertin, forming the distinct lines of the Zaku I's rigging on her body.
"Wow," she breathed, looking at her reflection in a nearby polished metal plate.
Then her system updated as a system window appeared
[ zaku l equipped. all skill and parameters are updated. zaku l have been copied for future use]
[ zaku l is now unlock]
"this will be interesting" she thought before focusing on the mechanic
"You can use that. It's fully fueled. Head toward the catapult," the mechanic said.
"Yeah, okay," she replied, her mind still reeling from the transformation. She made her way to the catapult bay, the new armor feeling surprisingly light.
"Zaku I, launching!" she announced over the comms.
"Launching!" the catapult operator replied, and with a jolt, Vertin was shot out into the cold vacuum of space.
She quickly spotted May's massive Big Rang, still holding its position. "Hey, May, I'm back!" she called.
"Oh? You're..." May's voice trailed off in surprise.
"It's me, the Zudah! I just changed into a Zaku I," Vertin explained.
"Oh," was all May could manage.
"I can't just leave you here alone," Vertin said softly, the words causing May's face to flush.
"Thank you for staying with me," May said, her voice shaking slightly.
"No problem," Vertin replied, content to simply having found a new friend by her side.