"Boom~!"
"Ugh~!" The violent tremors nearly knocked Revil off his feet. He quickly grabbed the command console to steady himself. "Report the situation!"
"The Legion fleet has lost 38%, and the Federation fleet has lost 55%..."
"The absolute defense line has been breached in multiple places. MS squads have been dispatched to pursue..."
"T.N.T. Cannon No. 1 has been infested; the disassembly procedure is underway..."
"The infested area on this ship's surface has reached 21%..."
"What about Yang Hui and the others!" Revil asked anxiously. Tactics were no longer necessary; the defense line had been completely shattered, and the entire battlefield was in chaos. Friend and foe were intertwined. Even the Celestial Being in the far rear had been infested by the ELS. They had lost one T.N.T. Cannon, and both Genesis units had initiated their self-destruct sequences ten minutes ago, taking countless ELS with them.
But... it still wasn't enough.
According to VEDA's records, the number of ELS destroyed was an astronomical figure, but did the amount they eliminated even account for a tenth of those still remaining? He didn't know, and Revil didn't want to know. He only wanted to know how things were on Yang Hui's end. Had Setsuna entered? Had the dialogue started? And what was the result of that dialogue!?
"The Commander-in-Chief has replied. The OO Q Gundam has entered the ELS main star. He insists that we must hold our ground!"
"I don't need him to tell me that nonsense! Rearguard fleet, protect the Celestial Being! Frontline fleet, retreat 1000 kilometers and hold the line! MS units, pursue any ELS that break through the final defense line—not a single one is allowed to reach Earth! Everyone, our victory is at hand! We must hold on!"
"That... what... is that?"
The passionate shouting turned into slack-jawed amazement. The phenomenon occurring before their eyes was something they couldn't comprehend at this moment.
The ELS, which had been charging forward bravely just moments ago, suddenly turned around. They were heading back the way they came, returning toward the main star and the two satellites.
And the two satellites, which had been face-to-face with the fleet at close range, transformed into two giant, pure white Tieria flowers. This was the national flower of Azadistan, a symbol of peace and mutual understanding.
As for the main star, it had now transformed into a towering giant tree, looking as if it propped up the entire universe. Its vibrant branches and leaves shimmered with a metallic luster, and its roots were connected to the two massive Tieria flowers. Continuous streams of ELS were still converging toward them, merging into their forms.
"This is... haha... Hahahaha!" Revil burst into laughter and slumped back into the commander's seat. Relaxing, he lost the strength to stand. "They succeeded. They did it! Notify the entire fleet... we have won!"
"Ohh~!!"
Those still alive looked at the giant tree and the Tieria flowers, every one of them feeling lucky to have survived. At the same time, they felt a sense of goodwill and warmth emanating from the two flowers and the tree. Some who were drifting in space, barely clinging to life, were found by the ELS. They weren't infested; instead, the ELS returned them to the nearest warships.
In this moment, everyone knew. Two different species, two different civilizations, had reached mutual understanding. It had been so difficult, yet it was also so simple.
...
"Whew~! That was truly... hanging by a thread." At this point, the Dawn Gundam was battered and broken. Its right arm and left leg were gone, and its wings were riddled with holes.
The same went for Graham, Neil, Lyle, Allelujah, Tieria, Kira, Athrun, Creuset... everyone's Mobile Suits had lost the ability to fight.
VPS Armor, GN Fields, and Anti-Beam Nano Armor had given the machines nearly invincible defense, but these defensive measures all had limits. They could block ten attacks, but what about a hundred? A thousand? Not to mention the ELS's ability to infest.
The two-hour battle was certainly short compared to all the major campaigns they had experienced, but it was also the most perilous. There was no need to worry about stray bullets because they were coming from every direction. There was no need to search for enemies because they were surrounded by them; a random shot in any direction would take out several.
Remaining in a state of high intensity and focus, their brains constantly warned them that they might die the next second. Furthermore, the interference from Brain Quantum Waves made things miserable for Yang Hui and the other Brain Quantum Wave users. Even Kira, Athrun, and those with high mental attributes were extremely uncomfortable. Under these circumstances, exhaustion multiplied.
They weren't made of iron. And even if they were, they would have been melted.
Looking at the scene before them, these battle-hardened veterans, who should have had wills of steel, felt an urge to weep with the relief of having survived.
At that moment, they could see with their naked eyes an opening appear in the trunk of the giant tree. The OO Q Gundam flew out from within and nodded to everyone. The GN Super Floating Swords formed a circle in front of the OO Q Gundam, and the Mobile Suit passed through a verdant curtain of light. The GN Super Floating Swords followed close behind, and they disappeared before everyone's eyes.
"That's!"
Everyone had a suspicion in their minds, but... when the moment actually happened, their hearts could only be described as shocked.
Quantum Leap! A technology truly necessary for deep space exploration. The success of leap technology represented humanity truly stepping into the space age, becoming qualified to leave the solar system and explore the infinite universe.
"Haha... Hahaha... Old man, our plan is a perfect success! Hahahaha..." Even Yang Hui couldn't help but laugh excitedly at this moment.
The Quantum Leap system—a new technology envisioned through the characteristics of GN Particles and Innovators, combined with the Quantization System—was a trans-generational technology. They hadn't even been sure it would succeed at first, but... it worked!
Regardless of whether the OO Q Gundam was a unique case, succeeding with the first one completed the process of going from 0 to 1. So... could subsequent development be far behind? Could widespread adoption be far off?
Perhaps it would take time, but it was no longer a road where the goal was invisible.
Even if the scientists couldn't figure it out, didn't they still have the Prometheus Fortress?
"Yes, the Celestial Being Project... is a complete success. No, it's an over-achievement!" Aeolia Schenberg's silhouette appeared in a corner of the pilot helmet's display. He was also very excited. His original Celestial Being Project was only meant to end with a successful dialogue with an extraterrestrial civilization to achieve mutual understanding. The success of the Quantum Leap system was an extra achievement, a joint hypothesis by Yang Hui, Professor Eifman, Old Wang, and the elite scientists of Celestial Being. They hadn't expected success at the start.
And this success meant that humanity could enter the Great Age of Discovery two centuries early!
"However, we have to find a way back first." Stepping out of the cockpit and seeing the wreckage all around, Yang Hui shook his head with a bitter smile. Including the Dawn Gundam, all the vanguard machines were heavily damaged, and some were even beyond repair. If they were in this state, there was no telling how great the losses to the fleet and the defense lines were. This truly counted as a heavy loss.
First, the Promis Legion was a fleet built by exhausting all their hard-earned resources. The loss of a single MS or warship was significant for the Promis Legion.
Second was the loss of personnel. Countless people had died in this great war. Setting aside the Federation fleet, every member of the Promis Legion was an elite from their respective worlds. Elites weren't like common street weeds; losing one meant one less, especially ace-level pilots. Losing even one was enough to make one's heart ache.
Finally, the GN Drives. There were 25 Original Solar Furnaces in total. Currently, four were known to be lost: one each from the Exia and the Zabanya, two from the Raphael which was completely destroyed, and one from the Flag Gundam. The Providence Gundam's GN Drive had also been destroyed. And that was just what was right in front of them; they didn't know the state of the rear fleet. Each GN Drive was incredibly expensive to build. Losing one meant not knowing how long it would take to gather enough resources for the next.
However... it wasn't as if there were no gains. In fact, the gains were enormous!
Setting aside the massive rewards they were about to receive for completing the Legion quest, reaching a mutual understanding with the ELS meant they could now receive help from them. The ELS's characteristics allowed them to infest, learn from, and mimic all metallic creations. For example, the damaged ace machines on the field wouldn't need to be repaired or rebuilt at the Prometheus Fortress; they could simply ask the ELS for help to restore them.
Regarding the loss of personnel, being infested by the ELS didn't necessarily mean death. Instead, the consciousness of the infested person joined the collective consciousness network of the entire ELS species. In a sense, they achieved immortality. As long as the ELS created a body for them, they could be resurrected.
Of course, those who were blown up after the ELS mimicked their MS and warships were definitely dead and could not be revived.
There was one more crucial gain: Jupiter!
Without the threat of the ELS, Jupiter was now completely safe. This meant they had a secure environment to manufacture GN Drives. This way, GN Drives would no longer need to consume resources from the Prometheus Fortress to be built!
Therefore, even without counting the Legion quest rewards, when comparing the losses to the gains, the gains were actually greater!
"By the way, did Setsuna go to the ELS homeworld?" Yang Hui asked Aeolia Schenberg.
"Yes, it's consistent with the intel you provided. The ELS homeworld is dying. The ELS before us are just one of the exploration fleets searching for a new home. To reach full understanding with the ELS, he must go to their homeworld."
"Is that so? Setsuna really has his work cut out for him."
"This is his mission, and it's also the future he dreamed of."
"Yeah. I just wonder if he'll be a carbon-based lifeform or a silicon-based lifeform when he returns."
"When you put it that way... I'm starting to look forward to it too."
"Alright, that's a conversation for later. We have to find a way back first." Yang Hui gave a helpless, bitter smile. Their position was far from the defense line. Everyone's machines had lost mobility, and they could only wait for rescue from the rear fleet. But... things were still a mess over there, and they were mixed in with a massive amount of wreckage. Their machines couldn't even send out distress signals. If Mephis hadn't held off on announcing his death and executed the hidden emergency protocols established at the beginning, everyone would have thought Yang Hui had sacrificed himself.
It was at this moment that several small-scale ELS stopped in front of Yang Hui. The same happened for the others.
"Hello," a pleasant, child-like voice suddenly echoed in Yang Hui's mind.
"Is that you talking to me?" Yang Hui looked at the ELS in front of him in surprise.
"Yes, it is me. Your kind communicated with us, so we learned your language. But human bodies are so complex; we can't mimic them perfectly yet, so we can only use Brain Quantum Waves—is that what you call it?—to talk to you."
(Note: This refers to a body identical to a human's, including internal organs, nervous systems, etc. The Ribbons mimic in the anime only had the outer appearance; the inside was all metal and lacked things like a throat, so it couldn't actually speak, right?)
"Alright. Why are you looking for me?"
"To say hello."
"Huh?" Yang Hui was completely flabbergasted.
"And to take you back. It looks like you can't get back on your own."
"Uh, thanks." Yang Hui's eye twitched. He felt... these ELS were quite innocent. And they seemed a bit ditsy. Were they natural airheads?
"Wait, we were just fighting each other a moment ago. Is it really okay to be this friendly to us now?" Yang Hui asked.
"Fighting? What is fighting?" The conical ELS in front of him rotated slightly. Yang Hui's mind filled in the image of it tilting its head. Honestly, it was kind of cute!
"...Then what were you doing just now?" Of course, he hadn't forgotten the main issue.
"Just now? We were playing!"
"Pffft~!!!! I knew it!"