Chapter 368: 368 Gundam Seed 9
I opened the hatches so the Freedom Gundam and Justice Gundam could enter. As the two machines came into the ship, their piloting skills were clumsy—the Justice Gundam even fell over.
"Oh dear, sorry about that... It’s my first time piloting a Mobile Suit."
Siegel Clyne, Lacus’s father, apologized for his piloting skills as he climbed down from the fallen Justice Gundam. He was so unskilled that I thought it was a miracle he had made it this far. It seemed he had simply relied on the machine’s speed and flown in a straight line, which was why the rear section was damaged—he hadn’t been able to properly dodge the pursuit forces’ fire.
"You must be hungry, but wait a moment."
I boarded the Justice Gundam, stood it back up, and properly placed it on the Mobile Suit deck. I also properly placed the Freedom Gundam, then made them a meal. They were very hungry, judging by how quickly they started eating, and I could guess that they had gone through many twists and turns to get here.
"You managed to come all this way piloting a Mobile Suit with skills like that."
After the meal, I served them fruit and tea and said that. Lacus then explained,
"There were people who helped us. Many who share our ideals. And I’m late with introductions. This is my father, Siegel Clyne, former Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council."
"Nice to meet you. I am Siegel Clyne, former Chairman of the Council."
"Nice to meet you. I am Jin of Celestial Being."
"Really, when my daughter said she could contact Celestial Being, I was so surprised..."
From what I heard, thankfully, they had escaped with the help of the Eternal members. That was relatively good news. Because it meant the Eternal members had gathered sooner.
The Eternal members, simply put, are those who have been inspired by Lacus. Representative members include Andrew Waltfeld and Martin DaCosta. And ’Eternal’ was the name of ZAFT’s new battleship, built to operate the Freedom Gundam and Justice Gundam.
"So, what happened?"
When I asked, Siegel Clyne took a sip of tea and began explaining.
"I tried my best to prevent the war from escalating. But after Patrick Zala (Athrun’s father), a hardliner, became the second chairman, he not only purged the moderates but also began producing weapons that I didn’t even know about. It seems he intended to end the war in one fell swoop."
As in the original, it seemed that after Patrick Zala became the second chairman of ZAFT, he pushed out the moderates.
"To be honest, I thought things were fine as they were. I believed that if Celestial Being stopped the war, we could end it peacefully through negotiations with the Earth Alliance. But I was too naive. The hardliners saw Celestial Being as another threat. So they crossed a line that should never have been crossed. Those machines you just saw are that line."
"Nuclear engines using N-Jammer Cancellers. It’s impossible for Mobile Suits to travel this far without supplies, given the distance."
"Correct. I tried to stop it politically, but when they tried to purge even me, I had no choice but to accept help from like-minded people, steal the machines, and come here. This is madness! If the Earth Alliance finds out about this, it will escalate into a nuclear war!"
The hardliners’ swift actions in ZAFT seemed to stem from a sense of crisis caused by the emergence of a group called ’Celestial Being,’ which didn’t exist in the original. In the end, my very existence had changed the future.
And the reason why nuclear engines using N-Jammer Cancellers are dangerous is clear: treaties signed after the ’Bloody Valentine’ strictly prohibit their use. The moment the Earth Alliance learns of this, they too are likely to bring out nuclear weapons. If that happens, the war will spiral into an irreversible catastrophe.
"This won’t be the end of it. They’re probably building other machines as well."
"That is likely. But since these machines are being built in top secret, it will take time. We have to try something in the meantime."
"What’s the plan?"
"For now, I plan to gather like-minded people among the PLANTs. Escape was all I could manage because time was so short, but this can’t continue."
Now I understood the full story of why things had become so tangled. But Siegel Clyne was in a fortunate situation. In the original, he was assassinated for trying to stop the hardliners, but here, he didn’t have to worry about that.
"Hmm... What I can do for you is provide a safe house and establish a secure communication line. Is there anything else you need?"
"I’ve just arrived and my mind is still chaotic, so nothing else comes to mind."
"Then let’s go to the Celestial Being base first. I’ll set up a secure communication line there."
"Oh, by the way, if things go smoothly, a battleship will be joining us. It was built to operate Mobile Suits equipped with nuclear engines. Moreover, the captain of that battleship is the leader of those who helped us escape. We are truly fortunate."
"I see."
The captain Siegel was referring to was the ’Desert Tiger’ Andrew Waltfeld. He had lost his left arm and left eye in the desert fighting Kira, and judging that he could no longer operate Mobile Suits for ZAFT, he became the captain of the ’Eternal,’ which was built to operate the Freedom and Justice. ZAFT held Andrew Waltfeld’s skills in high regard.
We talked like that and then moved to the Celestial Being base I had built. When they got off the ship and saw the scale of the base, they were astonished and said,
"To think there was a base this size in the debris belt... It was hiding in the forest."
"Yes, neither of the two factions comes here much. Plus, if you have a good ship, it’s easy to move around."
"I suppose so. It is between Earth and PLANT."
"Let’s save the tour for later and go first. I’ll show you to your quarters."
I assigned them quarters. While I was at it, I also arranged quarters for Aria (Nicol) and the android Nana. I then set up a communication network for Siegel that could not be traced from anywhere in PLANT. Moreover, I had already transferred all the base’s data to Nana, so if they needed help, the drones or Nana could assist them.
And since I had obtained the Freedom Gundam and Justice Gundam, I went to the ship, used my [Restoration] ability to repair the damaged parts, used [Matter Copy] to copy them, and stored the copies in my inventory.
With that done, I was about to head to my room to rest when Aria (Nicol) came to me and said,
"Um... From what I overheard, the situation is becoming serious. I feel that this is dangerous. Is there anything I can do to help?"
Aria had been listening to Siegel Clyne’s story and seemed to realize how serious the situation was. Honestly, I was lucky. I had been wondering how to coax Aria into piloting a Mobile Suit because I was short on pilots.
"Then, could I ask you to pilot a Mobile Suit? Of course, you’ll need to practice."
"I’ll practice hard."
Aria was full of enthusiasm, eager to be helpful. I worried that she might end up cut in half again.
"Then let’s start practicing tomorrow."
"Okay."
Aria happily returned to her room. Then Lacus came to see me.
"That’s strange. I feel like I’ve seen that person somewhere before, but maybe I’m mistaken."
Lacus, looking at Aria who had just passed by, thought for a moment, then slightly shook her head, indicating it wasn’t who she thought.
"Never mind. The face shape is a bit different, and that person was a man. But the resemblance is remarkable."
For a moment, I was afraid I might lose a pilot, but thankfully, it seemed to pass without issue. I really should put a mask on her.
"And this place is full of incredibly beautiful women. Of course, Jin, you’re handsome too. But Celestial Being doesn’t select based on appearance, does it?"
Lacus seemed to be saying that while looking at 2B, A2, and Nana.
"Of course not."
Then Lacus, blushing, asked me,
"Um... is any of them seeing someone..."
"No. They’re just my precious comrades."
"I see. That’s a relief... Ah, it’s nothing. Anyway, thank you for your help."
Lacus slowly approached and kissed me on the cheek. Then, seemingly embarrassed, she hurried back to her quarters. I touched my kissed cheek, savoring the warmth and lingering sensation.
’This feels just like the flutter of my school days. Not bad.’
Just then, the Odyssey AI sent word.
[The Archangel and ZAFT are engaged in battle in the Bering Sea region of Alaska.]
It seemed that before the Archangel could reach Alaska, Athrun’s group was trying to finish things with them.
"Watch for now and let me know the outcome."
[Understood, Master.]
Because incidents were happening one after another, I gave up on sleeping and, to pass the time waiting for the outcome, went to the ship to work on Aria’s machine. I couldn’t just give her a machine right away. She might learn about her past and betray me. So I needed to adjust its specs to fit this world’s context. Of course, since modifying the original would be a waste, I would copy it.
The machine I chose was the ’Zabanya Gundam.’ Originally specialized for sniping, as performance improved and other machines also became capable of long-range sniping, the Zabanya was redesigned to carry numerous bits (remote weapon systems) to engage multiple opponents simultaneously.
With the Mirage Colloid technology secured, I could maximize sniping performance while maintaining its original firepower. However, instead of original solar reactors, I installed two pseudo-solar reactors. Instead of vibranium, I applied VPS armor (which I personally developed) and an energy shield. And instead of Yata-no-Kagami armor, I granted a Mirage Colloid-based magnetic field barrier and stealth capability, creating a new type of defense system.
And just like in the original, I planned to equip it with two Haros to assist in bit control. This was unavoidable because the number of bits on the Zabanya Gundam was excessive. To perfectly handle this many bits, even a Coordinator who had awakened SEED would need a second pilot to assist.
Of course, I also carefully installed shielding. Prolonged exposure to a pseudo-solar reactor can cause side effects such as cellular damage and necrosis.
While I was modifying it, the Odyssey AI informed me of the outcome.
[The Archangel’s Strike Gundam was caught in a self-destruct attack by ZAFT’s Aegis Gundam and both exploded. The Duel Gundam malfunctioned due to the Archangel’s attack and surrendered to the Archangel. Afterward, the Archangel is moving to the Earth Alliance’s Alaska base. Monitoring via Earth Alliance satellites, but the pilot’s survival status is unknown.]
"I see. Understood."
I immediately finished my preparations and decided to go get Kira. Because of my interference, things had become tangled, and I needed to fix them one by one. I couldn’t just leave the protagonist to die. More than anything, I wanted to see the successor machines to the Freedom that Kira would eventually pilot.
In the original, this incident took place near Orb. Professor Marcio, a scholar who ran an orphanage there, protected Kira and then moved him to Lacus’s house in PLANT.
Professor Marcio was a distinguished scholar who named the special quality to lead humanity the ’SEED factor’ and published a thesis on it. He had connections with several high-ranking officials in PLANT, and having heard Kira’s name from Lacus before, he was able to identify him by his dog tag and take him to PLANT.
But this time, the situation was different. The incident took place in the Bering Sea near Alaska, not near Orb. Because of that, the connection with Professor Marcio was completely severed. Furthermore, the person captured as a prisoner by the Archangel was not Dearka Elsman but Yzak Joule, the pilot of the Duel Gundam. The friend with anger management issues.
’I wonder if Yzak, with his anger issues, will be able to endure on the Archangel.’
I teleported to Earth, boarded the Double O Quanta Full Saber, and activated stealth mode. Then I headed to the incident site and began searching for Kira. After searching, I found him near the explosion point. He had been caught in the explosion, was seriously injured, and left exposed to the extreme cold. He was already at death’s door.
’A little later and he would have died.’
First, I used Heal moderately to stabilize Kira so he wouldn’t die, then placed him on my machine. I also looked for Athrun, but even my [Jack Sparrow’s Compass] ability didn’t react, so it seemed he had already been rescued and returned to space. In the end, I only brought Kira back to the base. Upon arriving, I immediately took him to the infirmary, finished treatment, and put him to rest. The android Nana would take care of him for the time being.
Starting the next day, I trained Aria (Nicol) using a simulation adapted for the downgraded Zabanya Gundam. As expected, since she had done this before, she quickly adapted to the simulation and began to get used to it. Siegel Clyne started contacting various places to gather like-minded people, but things weren’t going well—I often heard loud voices arguing.
While they were doing that, I completed the downgraded version of the Zabanya Gundam.
"Please eat~ I tried my best with Nana’s help, but I’m not sure if it’s any good."
Lacus, with Nana’s help, had prepared a meal. Knowing that I was working on a machine, she came all the way to the hangar.
"Has it already gotten that late? Alright."
We gathered in the dining hall and ate together. It was quite edible. Lacus seemed to be a good cook too.
"How is it? I’m sure it’s not as good as Jin’s, but I tried my best."
"It’s delicious. You did well."
When I said it was delicious, Lacus’s face immediately brightened. The change was so obvious that Siegel, who was nearby, couldn’t have missed it. He tried to maintain his composure, but the complex feelings a father inevitably has when his daughter’s smile is directed at another man briefly showed in his eyes.
"So... what do you plan to do after the war ends?"
"Well... if the war ends peacefully, depending on the situation, I’d like to live quietly somewhere with a view of the ocean. If there’s a place like that on PLANT, that wouldn’t be bad either."
"I see. But living peacefully won’t be easy. There are many who will covet Celestial Being’s technology."
Siegel was indeed a smart man. There was no way he hadn’t noticed the subtle current between Lacus and me. Worried that his daughter might follow me down a dangerous path, he likely said that.
"Don’t worry about that. I have some ability in that regard."
"Is that so? That’s a relief."
We finished the meal and were resting over tea when the Odyssey AI brought news for Siegel.
[Mr. Siegel, a call has come from ’Andrew Waltfeld.’ He says he has safely escaped PLANT with his comrades aboard the ship.]
"Oh~ so they’ve escaped safely too!"
"That’s truly a relief."
Hearing that news, both Siegel and Lacus were overjoyed. It seemed that before long, we would be seeing the ’Desert Tiger’ Andrew Waltfeld and the Eternal.
