After Reid issued the command, the docks at the evacuation point instantly descended into chaos. Without the need for registration, civilians rushed frantically into the Antietam-class Freighter.
Once the docks were cleared, Reid began arranging for all ships to install the large rocket boosters he had brought down. In the coming hours, his fleet would loiter around the perimeter of the Atlantic Federation's encirclement near Onogoro Island, waiting to launch immediately upon seeing the Archangel take off.
After all, the supplies promised to Carpentaria Base had already been delivered incidentally while transporting people to the Oceania Union.
The Oceania Union was now in lockstep with PLANT, and its very survival depended on the military forces ZAFT had stationed at Carpentaria Base. They wouldn't dare withhold supplies meant for the base.
With no other factions causing trouble, Reid's final civilian evacuation operation proceeded smoothly, and all six ships were successfully equipped with the large rocket boosters.
After recalling all Mobile Suits, Reid ordered the fleet to set sail immediately, heading toward Onogoro Island to witness Orb's last stand.
However, to Reid's surprise, before he even reached the vicinity of Onogoro Island, he spotted the Freedom Gundam being chased across the sky by another Mobile Suit.
This was Kira piloting the Freedom Gundam—a combination Reid held in high regard. He was intensely curious about what secret weapon the Atlantic Federation had deployed to single-handedly pursue the Freedom in combat.
But when the ship's cameras transmitted a detailed view of the scene, Reid's surprise vanished instantly.
The machine relentlessly pursuing the Freedom was the CAT1-X1/3 Hyperion Gundam Unit 1, mounted on the East Asian Republic's Crane Unmanned Auxiliary Flight Device.
Truth be told, Reid hadn't anticipated that eliminating Gerard Garcia would lead Canard Pars to defect to the Atlantic Federation—bringing the Hyperion Gundam with him.
Canard Pars was no pushover. Though he was a failed Super Coordinator created before Kira, his genetic adjustments were nearly identical to Kira's. The only difference lay in the gene samples used, which didn't meet Dr. Ulen Hibiki's envisioned standard—hence his classification as a failure.
(Genetically, Canard Pars and Kira shared no blood relation. They simply underwent the same types of genetic adjustments—identical enhancements to neural reflexes, intelligence, and so on.
However, artificial womb technology was still immature at the time, and Ulen Hibiki hadn't yet pinpointed the optimal genetic combination. Thus, when Kira's genes were finalized, they inevitably differed from Canard's in some respects. Their slight physical resemblance stemmed from overlapping gene samples, possibly including those influencing appearance—after all, unrelated individuals sharing identical looks wasn't unheard of in the world.)
By this point, Canard Pars's psyche had been warped by the assistant who saved his life—Ulen Hibiki's subordinate.
Canard Pars now harbored only one obsession: killing Kira Yamato to prove he was the true Super Coordinator.
Otherwise, his very existence would be rendered meaningless by Kira Yamato's supremacy.
To be honest, Reid found this mindset rather laughable. He couldn't quite understand why someone's worth would be denied by a person who neither knew them nor held any personal grudge against them.
This might have stemmed from Reid's rather laid-back attitude in his previous life. Back then, as someone at the bottom of society's hierarchy (just an overweight otaku), he had long learned not to envy those who were better off—whether they benefited from their parents' influence, rose through flattery, or simply had good looks. If he had compared himself to everyone and felt jealous, his mental health would have deteriorated long ago.
But Canard Pars certainly didn't share Reid's perspective. He likely blamed all the suffering he had endured over the years on Kira, believing that Kira's success had permanently branded him as a "failed specimen," thus subjecting him to so much pain.
So, when Canard Pars learned that the pilot of the Strike Gundam was named Kira Yamato—who might currently be in Orb—he instantly agreed to temporarily follow Muruta Azrael's orders, even though Azrael was an extremist anti-Coordinator leader.
Muruta Azrael, for his part, could tolerate using Coordinators as tools to some extent. He wouldn't send Canard Pars to the "execution pyre" as long as the latter still had value to him.
Thus, Canard Pars appeared on the battlefield in Orb, demanding to charge alone. As he entered the fray, he broadcasted loudly:
"Where is Kira Yamato?! Come out!!"
Kira was genuinely puzzled. He had no idea why the pilot of this new Gundam was targeting him right from the start. But since the other party was looking for him, he assumed there might be a chance for dialogue. Preferring communication over combat, Kira naturally approached in the Freedom and responded:
"I'm Kira Yamato. Do we know each other? What do you want with me?"
The moment Canard Pars heard this, he went berserk. Instinctively, he knew this wasn't just a case of shared names—this was his target. Laughing manically, he roared:
"Hahahaha! Kira Yamato! I've finally found you! DIE!!!"
With that, Canard Pars maneuvered the Hyperion Gundam, raising its RFW-99 "Stigma Flag" beam submachine gun and unleashing a barrage at the Freedom Gundam.
Fortunately, Kira hadn't let his guard down. He had taken Reid's advice to heart—always stay vigilant on the battlefield.
So, Kira swiftly raised the Freedom's anti-beam shield, blocking the sudden attack. Countering with a shot of his own, he demanded:
"Who are you? What's going on here? You attacked mid-conversation!"
The Freedom's improvised counterattack was easily dodged by Canard Pars, but he was naturally talkative in battle—especially when facing Kira. Using laser communication, he continued to bellow:
"Who am I?! You don't even know who I am?! Oh, right—you're the ultimate product built upon countless sacrifices. You don't need to know how many lives were lost for your creation. But I've crawled out of hell to roar on behalf of all those discarded test subjects who died for you!!"
With that, Canard Pars activated the Hyperion Gundam's special system—the Monophasic Lightwave Barrier System [Scutum Lumière].
Four photon wave generators extended from the base of the Hyperion Gundam's backpack, forming a photon wave shield identical to the one used by the Artemis Fortress around the Mobile Suit. Even the Crane Unmanned Auxiliary Flight Device beneath the Mobile Suit was enveloped within the barrier.
Then, Canard Pars mindlessly charged at the Freedom Gundam. In this mode, the Hyperion Gundam was nearly invincible—the Freedom's M100 "Whale" Plasma Convergence Beam Cannon couldn't even make the shield flicker, let alone its other weapons.
When Kira attempted to strike the shield with his Beam Saber, the result was only slightly better than the beam cannon, producing faint ripples (Freedom's Beam Saber utilized Mirage Colloid shaping technology, allowing it to impact the photon wave barrier system, which was also formed by beams restrained by Mirage Colloid). Still, the Mobile Suit inside remained unharmed.
After even a shield bash failed to penetrate the barrier, Kira was utterly helpless against this "turtle shell."
Facing the Hyperion Gundam's Monophasic Lightwave Barrier System for the first time, Kira naturally couldn't immediately identify its weakness.
What made it even more frustrating was that while Freedom's attacks were ineffective against the barrier, the Hyperion Gundam could still attack Freedom from inside the shield.
Though, to prolong the shield's duration, Canard Pars could only use the beam submachine gun in his hand—which didn't drain the Mobile Suit's energy—to attack. Even so, it was enough to create the scene Reid now witnessed: the Hyperion Gundam chasing the Freedom Gundam.
Meanwhile, Muruta Azrael, watching from the rear, cursed under his breath as the Hyperion Gundam, unable to keep up with Freedom, fell into a stalemate. "Useless," he muttered.
Muruta Azrael knew full well that the Hyperion Gundam's shield couldn't last forever. Once its energy was depleted, the Mobile Suit—lacking even Phase Shift Armor—would be little more formidable than a Saber.
Unwilling to accept another failure, Muruta Azrael decisively issued an order:
"Raider and Calamity, sortie immediately! Take down Orb's new Mobile Suit! Tell Olga Sabnak and that newcomer Emilio Broderick—if they fail again today, they're worthless!"
This time, Muruta Azrael's command wasn't unreasonable. Orb's defense of Onogoro Island was tenacious—even now, the Strike Daggers hadn't managed to secure a beachhead.
Moreover, Athrun aboard the Archangel could no longer stand by and watch Kira being chased down like this. Heart aching for his friend, he finally intervened in the battle, piloting the Justice Gundam.
Just as the Calamity Gundam, riding the Raider Gundam, rushed toward the battlefield where the Hyperion and Freedom clashed, the Justice Gundam intercepted them.
Athrun recognized the Raider and Calamity Gundams—they were the ones who, along with another Gundam, had breached Orb's defenses the previous day. But then, in a moment of recklessness, they provoked Reid, resulting in one destroyed, one damaged, and the last fleeing back to the mothership in disgrace.
So Athrun didn't need to guess what the Raider and Calamity Gundams were up to now.
The serious-minded Athrun was quick-witted. He knew that if even Freedom's firepower couldn't penetrate that strange shield, his chances were likely the same.
The new Alliance Mobile Suit required unmanned auxiliary flight units, proving its poor aerial mobility, so the Freedom Gundam could definitely outmaneuver it for a while.
However, with the two Mobile Suits below now intervening, Freedom couldn't escape anymore—the black unit's MA Mode flight speed was slightly faster than Freedom's.
Thus, Athrun decided to intercept the Raider Gundam and Calamity Gundam right here. The Justice Gundam's Destiny-00 backpack auxiliary flight system, equipped with two MA-4B "Fortissimo" Beam Cannons, combined with its handheld MA-M20 "Sirius" Beam Rifle, opened fire on the Raider and Calamity below.
The Raider Gundam's pilot clearly wasn't accustomed to coordinating with Calamity. Upon being locked onto, he executed a drastic barrel roll to evade, accidentally flinging the Calamity Gundam on his back straight into the ocean.
After screwing over his teammate, the Raider's pilot completely ignored Calamity, transforming into MS Mode and firing a head-mounted 100mm "Wrath" energy cannon at Justice.
Athrun easily dodged with Justice, prompting Raider to launch its "Mjolnir" Striker Breaker in pursuit—only for Justice to effortlessly deflect it with its shield.
Just as Athrun prepared to counterattack, Calamity erupted from the sea below, covering Raider with two high-energy long-range beam cannons and forcing Justice to evade, preventing Raider—still retrieving its Striker Breaker—from becoming target practice.
Having learned from yesterday's failure, Olga Sabnak was noticeably more cautious. Shani Andras had died before his eyes, and while Cloth Buer was reportedly fished out still breathing, he'd been dumped back into the ocean to fend for himself—likely dead by now.
Olga couldn't afford to die. With uncharacteristic patience, he addressed the newcomer:
"Emilio Broderick, if you want to live, work with me. I'll cover—you take point!"
As a future member of the Phantom Pain unit, Emilio was also an Enhanced Human, though his modifications were less extreme than first-gen "Bio-CPU" Olga's. The upside was he didn't require daily medication, had milder side effects, and retained clearer cognition.
Recognizing Olga's advice as sound, Emilio immediately coordinated with Calamity. The two units engaged Athrun's Justice in a fierce duel, momentarily holding their own.
Meanwhile, after five minutes of pursuit, the Hyperion Gundam and Freedom Gundam reached a verdict.
Kira found Canard Pars' accusations baffling, yet the hatred behind them was undeniably real.
He genuinely couldn't comprehend it—he'd barely killed anyone (though in truth, during Archangel's flight, Kira had eliminated at least a hundred). How could anyone claim he was "born from a mountain of bones"? He was a victim too.
Fortunately, after five minutes, Hyperion's energy reserves depleted, causing its Photon Wave Barrier to vanish abruptly.
Kira noticed the rear armor of the Mobile Suit was missing and immediately fired a shot at the Hyperion Gundam's auxiliary flight unit.
He did it on purpose—he had too many questions for that Gundam's pilot. Fearing a repeat of the ZAFT Mobile Suits at Alaska having their weapons and cameras destroyed, he made sure not to disarm the Hyperion Gundam.
After forcing the Hyperion into the sea, Kira intended to dive down and capture the pilot first.
However, Olga Sabnak, who had just arrived near the battlefield, intervened under the pressure of life and death. First, he used the 580mm "Scylla" Multiplex Phase Energy Cannon to drive back the Freedom Gundam, which was trying to retrieve the Hyperion Gundam floating in the water.
Then, with a high-energy long-range beam cannon, he separated the Justice Gundam from its skirmish with the Raider Gundam before announcing over comms:
"Emilio Broderick, take the Hyperion back to the mothership for recharge! We're retreating for now! The war isn't over yet—this isn't our defeat. Don't dwell on the outcome of a single battle!"
Without hesitation, Emilio Broderick dove down, grabbed the Hyperion Gundam, and fled.
Meanwhile, the Calamity Gundam unleashed its full firepower to suppress the pursuing Freedom and Justice, retreating while maintaining pressure.
At that moment, the Archangel's comms came through, ordering Kira and Athrun to return immediately—the ship was preparing to launch back into space.
Seeing no hope of pursuit, Kira could only return to the Archangel with his burning questions, planning to ask the ever-resourceful Reid later if he knew what that strange Earth Alliance pilot had been talking about.