The Albatross rattled under a new wave of impacts. The hull squealed as if it were groaning for all the dead it carried on its back.
On the bridge, Vivian gripped the railing tightly.
—Marianne, Stephanie!—he ordered, without taking his eyes off the tactical monitor. —Abandon your positions and go down to the launch bay. We need the shuttle ready to go.
Marianne finished with a Hi-Zack, and upon hearing the captain's orders, she was a little incredulous.
—Captain? But there's only Charlie and… left!
It stopped.
Christopher's channel remained silent.
Vivian closed her jaw.
—We don't have time, Rosé. If we don't reach orbit before Titan reinforcements arrive, there will be no Albatross and no crew left to save. Move.
Stephanie swallowed.
—Yes, ma'am…
In the cargo bay, the noise was frantic. Technicians, mechanics, and crew members were hauling cables, securing containers, and calibrating emergency combustion. The smell of burning fuel permeated the air.
Marianne arrived first and jumped onto the shuttle platform.
—Stephanie, check the couplings! If one fails, we'll burn up on the ascent!
—Okay, okay, I'm coming!— Stephanie replied, kneeling down next to the side module while her hands trembled from accumulated stress.
A technician approached.
—Lieutenant Rosé, will the shuttle take off under fire? The atmosphere is saturated with Minovsky particles… we won't be able to guide it from here.
Marianne did not hesitate.
—Then we'll guide it by hand. I don't care if the control panel gets burned. This ship is going to space, you hear me?
The coach nodded fearfully, but with more respect than before.
Marianne swore under her breath.
—The federation is really using us as their garbage dump, sending us to die at a supposedly abandoned base. Damn them all.
Stephanie joined in the lieutenant's curses, with a wry smile.
—and we will die if we don't hurry, I thought there were no Titans left at this point in the conflict.
The sky opened with a white flash.
Unit 03, a mammoth machine reinforced with titan armor and a high-powered rear thruster, fell upon them like a predator that has finally found its prey.
Lawrence in his Zeta Plus, he swerved sharply, barely dodging the first beam rifle shot. The beam passed so close that it charred part of the left wing.
—Kiriko! Keep moving, don't give him a fixed target— Lawrance growled as he activated full air mode.
Kiriko, mounted on the Dodai Kai with his Gundam Mk-II, could barely stabilize the platform after the shockwave impact.
—I'm doing what I can, but this guy never misses a beat!
A second shot grazed the edge of the Dodai. The air behind Kiriko ignited as if they were flying over a furnace. The Mk-II tilted to one side, struggling to stay upright.
Unit 03 was not pursuing them in haste; it advanced with the confident slowness of an executioner who knows that his sentence will be carried out anyway.
—Zeta— the enemy pilot's voice came through the radio, a woman's voice, distorted but calm. —You're not in a position to continue escorting that girl. Hand her over and... maybe you'll survive.
—What the hell is he talking about?— Kiriko muttered.
Lawrence didn't respond. He was busy trying to take advantage of the terrain. He climbed, turned, and then dove to confuse the enemy's sensors. 03 followed without missing a beat.
A blast from the Mk-II's Vulcan rocket exploded against the 03's armor. but it barely left any surface marks.
—Not even a tickle...— Kiriko muttered through gritted teeth.
—Kiriko, on the next pass, stay close to the Dodai. I'm going to try to get its attention— Lawrance ordered.
—It's going to destroy you, kid.
—He already tried it before.
The Zeta Plus accelerated. He opened fire with his rifle, forcing 03 to twist his torso. The enemy responded with a beam that pierced the cloud covering them. Lawrence lost a stabilizer, but maintained control.
Kiriko took advantage of the angle. The Dodai Kai suddenly ascended, positioning itself below Unit 03. The Mk-II fired its bazooka just as Unit 03 turned to finish off the Zeta Plus.
The impact shook the enemy. It didn't destroy it, but it destabilized it enough to make it retreat a few meters.
—Finally, something hurt her!— Kiriko exclaimed.
The radio station reopened.
The enemy pilot's voice remained calm, almost... resigned.
—I don't want to kill them. But I can't let them go ahead with her. They don't understand.
Lawrence gritted his teeth.
—We understand that you're not going to block our way.
—Then there will be no election.
The 03 deployed its lateral thrusters. A surge of energy enveloped the mobile suit like an aura.
Kiriko swallowed.
—Lawrance… that's not a standard maneuver.
That resonance, that erratic aura, Vieru collapsed; her screams could be heard throughout the Albatross. Vivian, Masami, and the rest of the crew aboard the ship could feel that desperate call; it was Unit 03, calling out for the girl.
Unit 03 began to vibrate as if something within it were awakening. The bluish glow surrounding it became erratic, almost painful to behold. It wasn't a simple power surge: it was a resonance, a reaction that shouldn't be possible without a pilot synchronized to a superhuman level.
On the Albatroz, everything fell apart at the same time.
The sensors went off with alerts. The corridor lights flickered. And suddenly, Vieru fell to his knees, clutching his head with both hands.
—No... no... take him down...!— Her voice broke into a cry that seemed inhuman.
Masami was the first to reach her.
—Vieru! What's happening to you?
But the girl couldn't hear her. She was caught up in something bigger.
Shout.
It was a scream that pierced metal, that crossed corridors, that forced more than one crew member to cover their ears.
The technicians on the bridge looked at each other, pale.
—Captain... the sensors are detecting psychoactive spikes from Unit 03! They're linked to it!
—Captain...—one of them said—this isn't a transmission. It's a... a call.
Vivian couldn't help but swallow hard.
—Whose?
The response came immediately, like an echo that didn't need radios to be heard.
It was Unit 03.
Or rather, what lived inside her. A raw, distant voice echoed in the minds of all present. It didn't speak with clear words; it was pure pain, pure longing… But everyone could understand the message.
"Give her back… give her back…"
Vieru collapsed, trembling, as tears streamed down his face.
—Mom... Dad...— he whispered, not knowing what he was saying.—Zeta... the signal...
Masami couldn't find her breath; she took a step back, frozen.
—Parents…? Unit 03…? What the hell did you do to this girl?
Unit 03 launched itself at Kiriko with a violence that surpassed any recorded maneuver. The Mk-II barely managed to block the first impact, and even then the tremor reverberated through the entire frame.
—Kiriko, back off!— Lawrance shouted, raising the Zeta Plus as high as he could.
There was no room for maneuver. The 03 was out of control, beyond all tactical logic. It was pure instinct, a pure psychic calling.
Vieru.
Something inside Lawrence knew it without anyone telling him. Unit 03 reloaded. Kiriko was exposed, and Lawrence made the decision no one else would have made.
He launched himself straight towards the black monster, folding the wings of the Zeta Plus and using his speed to cling to the torso of the 03, almost as if he were trying to hug it.
—L-Lawrance! What are you doing?!— Kiriko shouted, incredulous.
But it was too late. The contact was total.
And then the world changed.