Earlier, on the bridge of the Nazca-class high-speed battleship Vesalius
As the commander of the Creuset Team, Captain Rau Le Creuset in white uniform stood alongside Captain Frederick Ades in black uniform, quietly awaiting good news from their subordinates who had infiltrated Heliopolis.
After all, their opponents were merely a warship that had not been completely destroyed in the first wave of demolition operations but whose crew should have suffered heavy casualties, along with a single mobile suit hastily activated and likely piloted by a Natural.
On their side, they had three veteran GINNs tested in real combat, and the Chairman's son in red had also sortied in a newly captured enemy mobile suit. There was no doubt that the advantage lay with them.
Just as Captain Frederick Ades was thinking this and waiting relaxed for good news from the front, the expression on the face of the highly decorated Captain Rau Le Creuset beneath his mask suddenly changed, and he pressed a hand to his temple.
"What's wrong, Captain Creuset?"
"Captain Ades, start the ship. I have a bad feeling."
Captain Ades dared not ignore Captain Creuset's consistently accurate premonitions.
"Get the ship moving! Ahead slow, and contact the Gamow!"
Before the crew, now aware of the seriousness of the situation, could fully execute the orders, Captain Creuset's bad feeling materialized.
From behind the concealed debris near the ship, two beams rapidly swept past the side of the vessel from a distance, followed soon after by two more, and then another two, each set drawing closer overall.
There was no need to overthink it—this was undoubtedly an enemy twin-linked ship cannon conducting alternating ranging shots. However, the style of these beams did not seem to belong to the Earth Alliance; in fact, Captain Ades had never seen anything like it.
"Accelerate to combat speed, prepare for evasive maneuvers, quickly!"
This time, without waiting for Captain Creuset's order, though somewhat puzzled, the experienced Captain Ades took command himself, and the crew visibly sharpened their focus.
As they waited for the Vesalius to gradually accelerate, Captain Ades loudly reprimanded the radar controller while confirming with Captain Creuset.
"Radar controller, what are you doing? How did you fail to detect the enemy's approach? Quickly confirm the enemy's position!
Captain Creuset, could it be reinforcements from the Naturals?"
"I don't think so. But since the enemy has opened fire on us, we have no choice but to retaliate."
While directing the radar controller to the general direction, Creuset responded meaningfully to Captain Ades's inquiry.
Before Captain Ades could fully process this, with Creuset's assistance, the radar controller finally located the Gwamel, which was approaching Heliopolis while firing.
"Due to unknown interference, electromagnetic radar is completely ineffective!
No corresponding data from thermal or optical comparisons. Transferring the observed image now!"
As the radar controller transferred the image, Captain Ades fell into deeper confusion after carefully observing the Gwamel on the screen.
"No matter how you look at it, that doesn't seem like an Earth Alliance warship. If anything, it looks more like our style. The emblem on the bow isn't from any known organization either."
"Could there be some misunderstanding? Should we try contacting them first, Captain Creuset?"
Faced with Captain Ades' suggestion, Creuset's response was resolute.
"That's an enemy, no doubt about it!"
"Captain Ades, I authorize you to open fire on the unknown enemy vessel. We must strike before we're hit!"
"Contact the hangar bay. Repair my CGUE as quickly as possible—use GINN parts for replacement if needed. We may need it soon!"
The situation was indeed urgent, and with clear orders from a 'superior,' Captain Ades stopped hesitating and began directing the battle.
"Helm, bring us into a portside turn!"
"Gunnery Officer, fire as soon as we're within firing arc!"
"Communications Officer, coordinate with the Gamow!"
As the named crew members acknowledged their orders, the tactical officer monitoring the frontline suddenly spoke up.
"Captain Creuset, Captain Ades—Heliopolis is breaking apart!"
Though shocked by this news, Captain Ades clearly had more pressing matters to handle.
"What are the frontline units doing? How are we going to explain this to the Council!"
"We need to prioritize dealing with the enemy ship right in front of us. There's no time to handle this!"
Unlike the flustered Captain Ades, Creuset remained calm and unhurried.
"First, there were mobile suits developed for the Earth Alliance, and now another unknown enemy ship rushes onto the scene. Heliopolis can hardly be called neutral."
"If we explain all this clearly to the Council, I'm sure they'll understand. Besides, the civilians should have evacuated in time."
Creuset's reasoning made sense and helped ease Captain Ades' anxiety, allowing him to focus on other matters.
"With something this big happening, is there still no contact from the frontline units?"
"No, but... there's a friendly signal breaking away from Heliopolis. It's Athrun Zala!"
Without needing further instruction from Captain Ades, the communications officer immediately contacted Athrun.
Amid their exchange, before anyone could process the frontline's failure, the radar officer delivered more bad news.
"A large number of mobile weapons have launched from the unknown enemy ship and are approaching us at high speed!"
In truth, neither Creuset nor Captain Ades needed the radar officer's report—both had been keeping an eye on the Gwamel throughout their conversation.
"Why does the lead mobile suit look like another unfamiliar friendly design? And what the hell is that huge mobile armor behind it!"
"Damn it, we have no usable mobile suits left here!"
If Captain Ades had been anxious about explaining things to the Council earlier, he was now genuinely alarmed by the unfavorable battle conditions.
Though inwardly uncertain himself, Creuset maintained his composure.
"It's just a mobile armor—nothing to fear!"
"As for mobile suits, don't we still have the four we captured from the Earth Alliance? We've already extracted the data, so let's make good use of this gift."
"Contact Yzak and the others. Tell them to prepare for launch!"
"I will sortie as well. Have the hangar bay perform emergency repairs using spare parts from the GINN. I leave the rest to you, Captain Ades!"
Recalling the famous battle where Captain Creuset earned the Nebula Medal, Captain Ades regained confidence in the situation and steadied himself.
"Yes, Captain Creuset. May you have glorious fortune in battle!"
Creuset waved to Captain Ades and, before leaving the bridge, heard the captain's order to fire.
"High-energy beam cannon, target the unidentified enemy ship, fire!"
On his way to the hangar bay, Creuset naturally encountered Athrun, who had returned to the ship and was heading to the bridge to report to him.
"Captain Creuset!"
"Judging by the enemy's fierce reaction, it seems our actions have struck right at their weak point.
I am about to sortie. Yzak and the others are also preparing to launch.
However, Athrun, you've been fighting continuously and must be tired. For now, take a good rest."
After returning Athrun's salute, Creuset paused briefly for a simple conversation with him.
Under the implicit pressure of Creuset's words, Athrun's strong sense of responsibility naturally wouldn't allow him to rest at such a critical moment.
"I will sortie too! But Captain Creuset, what about that ship and the remaining G?"
"Although it's a pity, for now we can only let them go."
Hearing Creuset's response, Athrun felt a sense of relief, which showed on his face. This naturally caught the attention of Creuset, who was already quite 'interested' in Athrun's unauthorized sortie.
However, now was not the right time to investigate the matter. Creuset simply gave Athrun another brief salute and, without waiting for a response, floated alone toward the hangar bay.