Creuset locked himself alone in his room, ordering his subordinates to guard the entrance and prevent anyone from disturbing him.
After thoroughly inspecting the entire room and removing all surveillance cameras and listening devices, Creuset finally took out his PAD to review the intelligence reports sent by his subordinates.
Although Creuset was currently responsible for supporting the South American Union, that didn't mean he had relinquished control over his intelligence network and covert operations. The South American Union's support mission was trivial to him—what truly mattered were the key targets Yang Hui had instructed him to investigate.
"Hmm… It seems the Celestial Being's intelligence network is truly exceptional. Results came this quickly. Let's see… The newly elected chairman, Lord Djibril—quite young. Another puppet, it seems. Core members include Adam Vermilia, Duncan Lewis Mokerberg, Bruno Aznael, Celestine Grotte, Alvin Ritter… All formidable figures."
As he scanned the list uncovered by the intelligence network, Creuset's smile grew increasingly profound. Every name belonged to a high-ranking figure within the Earth Alliance, spanning politics, business, military, and government—all elites in their respective fields. And yet, these very individuals were core members of LOGOS. It was proof of just how dark this world was, how filthy human nature could be…
"No, that's not entirely true. There is still goodness. Can't paint everyone with the same brush." Creuset corrected himself, realizing his thoughts had taken a problematic turn.
After reviewing the Celestial Being's intelligence findings, he turned to the results from his own network. The discrepancies were minor—the core list was missing two or three names, while a few more mid-to-high-level figures had been added.
Upon taking over Orb's intelligence network and its darker operations, Creuset had chosen not to merge the two teams. Instead, he kept them separate, operating independently without interference or mutual assistance—neither side even knew the other was actually an ally.
The reason for this was simple: the intelligence operatives Creuset had personally cultivated differed in nature from those of the Celestial Being. Most were freelance agents, unsuitable for integration into the Celestial Being's structure. Moreover, their operational styles diverged. Organized intelligence personnel followed stricter protocols, ensuring security and efficiency for the organization as a whole. But sometimes, rigid methods failed where unconventional approaches succeeded.
Thus, Creuset preferred issuing different directives to each group, then combining their results to obtain a more comprehensive picture.
"Hmm… Still no leads from Scandinavia. Something's off. No matter how we investigate, nothing turns up. That shouldn't be the case."
After finishing the LOGOS report, Creuset opened the files on the Kingdom of Scandinavia, its king, and its nobility. The findings remained unchanged—spotless, like a blank sheet of paper. And that only deepened his suspicions. Scandinavia had a problem—a very serious one.
"Hmm? This report..." Creuset's brows furrowed deeply as he read one particular intelligence document. It indicated that operatives investigating Scandinavia had spotted several previously missing agents. Strangely, all attempts to contact them had failed—even special communication protocols yielded no response. Some who managed direct contact found these individuals completely changed, suffering from amnesia about their past and even actively reporting their fellow operatives.
"Brainwashing? Or... Carbon Humans? Well... at least they've left some traces."
With the current intelligence, Creuset couldn't draw definitive conclusions—more evidence was needed. Yet he remained patient. Like ink staining pristine paper, the next step was to expand these stains and follow the trail to uncover more information.
After compiling and summarizing all reports, he sent them back to headquarters. Donning his mask again, Creuset gathered his accompanying officers and staff.
"Lord Vidar."
"Take your seats."
As everyone settled, Creuset activated a portable holographic map, marking their primary objectives.
"Gentlemen, I presume you've all received orders from the Commander and Chief of Staff before departure. You should understand this mission isn't merely about delivering supplies to South America."
His words brought a focused gleam to their eyes—a mix of gravity and anticipation. The Sixth Fleet and accompanying MS units were newly formed, mostly comprising fresh recruits. But as the saying goes, a soldier who doesn't aspire to be a general isn't a good soldier. Who wouldn't crave merit?
Among them were former Earth Alliance defectors now serving Orb. Welcomed without prejudice and treated well, they burned to prove their worth, to fully integrate into the Orb Military through distinguished service.
Marking three targets on the map, Creuset continued, "Intel confirms these mines near the border remain under Atlantic Federation control. In one week, the United States of South America will assault their positions. Our task is to covertly deploy special teams around the mines—seizing them simultaneously with the South American offensive!"
"Understood!" came the unified response.
"The main force will prepare decoys to lure Atlantic Federation troops, giving us justification to intervene. But remember—safety first. Don't die playing bait, or I'll have no way to explain it to the Commander and Chief of Staff."
"Understood!" The group chuckled. Though initially wary of this parachuted superior, his subtle concern for their wellbeing earned him tentative acceptance.
After dismissing them, Creuset stared intently at the marked locations, his thoughts inscrutable. But the faint curl of his lips suggested complex machinations—and that someone's misfortune was assured.
...
With domestic affairs now in order, Yang Hui headed to the Mass Driver with his escort to inspect the progress. The most urgent issue at hand was the establishment of the Space Fleet. Even with Ame No Minashira operating at full capacity—having retooled all production lines for space battleship configurations—the pace still couldn't keep up with the plan. As a result, the Mass Driver's armory was also running at full throttle to manufacture warships.
"How's the progress?" Yang Hui asked Madonna, one of the current supervisors of the armory.
"On schedule. We've already sent up five Unicorn-Class and three White Tiger-class vessels." From rumors and footage, Madonna had seen the White Tiger-class before—it looked sleek, packed a punch, and could carry 12 Mobile Suits. It was practically the perfect warship.
Now, after reviewing the detailed specs, he was even more convinced of that assessment.
Not just the White Tiger-class, but the data on the Unicorn-Class frigates and the Qilin-class carriers made it clear that Yang Hui's ambitions were anything but small. The Unicorn-Class was manageable—slightly over-spec for a frigate, but nothing compared to a mainline battleship. The Qilin-class, however, was an outright monster. Its insane firepower aside, the ability to carry 48 Mobile Suits alone eclipsed every existing warship.
Of course, the Gondwana-class didn't count—that thing was practically a mobile fortress.
"By the way, any results from the research division?" Yang Hui asked.
"Progress on the Armed Backpacks is moving quickly. After all, that's always been our specialty." As they talked, Yang Hui and Madok arrived at the research facility.
"What the hell are all these?!" Flipping through the wildly varied Armed Backpack designs, Yang Hui felt a headache coming on. It was clear that unconventional methods were just that—unconventional. Not everyone could be like Lowe, turning unorthodox ideas into viable innovations.
For example, one backpack was melee-specialized. Dual waist-mounted swords were one thing, but it also had six more blades strapped to its back, along with eight retractable mechanical arms. In combat, the arms would extend, allowing the Mobile Suit to wield all eight blades—including Beam Sabers—simultaneously, while the freed hands attacked with wrist-mounted Beam Sabers.
This… was indeed a melee-specialized unit—so specialized it had zero ranged weapons. To maintain mobility, the armor was paper-thin, making it a complete glass cannon. What was the point of this backpack? It couldn't even pull off a kamikaze attack.
Then there were backpacks with four giant cannons, or heavily armored ones meant to tank hits… Basically, if you could imagine it, they'd built it.
"...How are these backpacks supposed to be used? And by whom?" Yang Hui asked Madonna with dead-fish eyes.
The designs weren't entirely unusable. Take the melee-specialized spider configuration, for instance—Yang Hui was sure Setsuna would be overjoyed if he saw it. But… these designs were clearly overly complex. Never mind the Mobile Suit's structural integrity—the more intricate the weaponry, the more it demanded from the pilot. Why else did mass-produced models simplify their loadouts, sticking to Beam Sabers, shields, and Beam Rifles as standard?
Where could Orb possibly find so many ace pilots now? The existing ace pilots all have their own custom machines and wouldn't need these at all.
So it's clearly a pile of useless white elephants, completely impractical.
"Ahaha, well... you see..." Madonna scratched his head awkwardly. Yang Hui's original directive had been for standardized Armed Backpacks for the next-generation M1 Astray - the word "standardized" meant ordinary pilots needed to be able to operate them smoothly. These designs clearly didn't meet that requirement.
"Ah, never mind. Archive them all. While they're not particularly useful, it'd be a shame to discard them entirely. For now, focus on improving the output of the nuclear engines and simplifying them. The priority is enabling both White Tiger-class and Qilin-class battleships to achieve atmospheric flight as soon as possible."
"Understood, I'll pass down the orders."
(End of Chapter)