The moment the first Big Zam rose from Solomon's inner docks, the battlefield changed. Even from afar, its shadow swallowed the light—an impossible mass of armor, cannons, and radiating I-Field glow. Federation sensors spiked, alarms screamed, and the comm channels filled with disbelief as Dozle Zabi pushed the titanic mobile armor onto the frontlines with a roar that echoed across every Zeon frequency.
Federation pilots felt the vibration before they saw it. Then, an instant later, the colossus emerged through the debris field—each step releasing shockwaves that folded shattered battleships into themselves. Gary Lin in his Strike Gundam froze for a second, despite knowing this moment would come. Two Big Zams. Not one. Two. His reincarnator brain had warned him, but reality made the warning feel hollow.
"Damn it, Zeon—you weren't supposed to finish two before the fall of Solomon…" Gary spat, clenching his controls. "This is beyond canon-level cheating!"
Above the Federation flagship Ananke, Oreki Houtarou leaned closer to the tactical holo-screen, eyes half-lidded but sharp—a lazy genius pushed into a war far louder than anything he ever wanted. "General Revil," he said calmly, "our previous projections assumed one Big Zam. Two means the defensive line will triple its output. If we engage head-on, we'll be incinerated."
Revil nodded grimly. "Then we exploit the one weakness they can't hide."
Oreki tapped the structural diagram—its exposed underside. "Precisely. But you'll need every Gundam pilot you have. And luck. A lot of luck."
On Zeon's side, the second Big Zam followed behind the first, escorted by its three nervous sub-pilots. The machine's reactor growled like a caged beast, still not fully stable. Even so, its I-Field already crackled, pushing aside debris like an invisible tidal wave.
---
Char Aznable, in the Great Zeong prototype, watched the titan march forward with a quiet, simmering awe. "Dozle… you truly intend to smash a fleet on sheer willpower." He smirked faintly. "Very well. If the battlefield is shifting, the Red Comet will shift with it."
Nearby, General Grievous, controlling the Elmeth Newtype mobile armor with inhuman precision, let out a delighted mechanical laugh. "HRAHAHA! Look at it, Char! A walking siege engine! The Federation will crumble before the might of Zeon!"
"Try not to enjoy yourself too much," Char replied dryly. "We still need an actual strategy."
"Oh? Strategy?" Grievous purred. "My strategy is simple: annihilation."
---
The Federation Gundam team launched simultaneously.
Amuro Ray in the Alex, boosters ignited, blue sparks dancing along the Chobham armor. His Newtype instincts were already screaming—Big Zam's I-Field washed through his senses like a pressure wave.
"That energy output… It's like fighting a fortress," he muttered. "But we brought two fortresses of our own."
Mikazuki in the Duel Gundam activated his targeting systems with blank eyes, expression steady as iron. "Big or small doesn't matter. If it's blocking the mission, we break it."
Hikigaya Hachiman in the Blitz Gundam sighed deeply, dragging his black machine forward. "Of course it's something like this… Why wouldn't it be? This war hates me personally."
Lockon Stratos in the Buster Gundam loaded a full rack of anti-armor shells. "Elmeth spotted. That's my mark."
Athrun Zala in the Aegis Gundam glared toward the second Big Zam. "I'll keep its escorts from interfering."
Sayla Mass, already in the Gundam, steadied her breath—it was still hard to push the machine at full performance, but she had support. "Federation forces, stay close. I'll cover your advance!"
Gary's voice cut through the comms:
"Sayla, stay sharp. We're fighting a damn cathedral on legs."
---
The first clash came brutally fast.
Dozle's Big Zam fired its mega particle cannon; a green lance of death carved through space. Three Federation ships disappeared instantly. The shockwave hit the Gundams like a storm front.
Gary dove under the blast, Strike Gundam's shield glowing red. "This monster is even stronger than I remembered!"
Dozle roared with bear-like laughter, shaking the cockpit walls. "COME, FEDERATION! LET ME SHOW YOU THE POWER OF A ZABI!"
He fired again. The space around him distorted from sheer heat.
Gary darted toward the underside—but the I-Field flared, slamming him sideways. "Damn it—range too tight!"
Amuro intercepted the second Big Zam, slicing a path through supporting Zakus. "I'll handle this one! Gary, don't get blasted!"
"I'M TRYING!"
---
On the Zeon flank, the elite mobile armors engaged.
Grievous' Elmeth surged forward in an arc of funnel fire. "Come, Federation insects! Dance for me!"
Lockon's Buster Gundam answered with precision fire, detonating the funnel swarm. "Not happening, four-arms! Duel me from a distance!"
Athrun cut through another funnel volley, blades glowing. "Elmeth's fire pattern is too coordinated—it's piloted like a machine."
"Because it is piloted like a machine!" Gary shouted. "It's freaking Grievous!"
---
Meanwhile, Char's Great Zeong descended like a king of ruin.
Mikazuki raised his Duel rifle. "Big one's coming."
"Indeed," Char's voice purred through the comm. "Let's see if your resolve matches your machine."
Blitz cloaked to flank Char. "Hikigaya," Mikazuki said, "don't miss."
"No promises," Hachiman replied. "I'm just a high school loner in a war with demigods."
---
Sayla moved among the Federation lines, her Gundam shielding damaged ships and striking opportunistic blows. Despite the chaos, her eyes stayed determined. "All forces—push forward! The fleet needs space to maneuver!"
Oreki, watching from Revil's bridge, whispered: "Good. She's adapting faster than expected."
Revil nodded. "Then we must not waste the window she's creating."
---
Despite the full force of both armies tearing at each other, the Big Zams continued forward—unstoppable, monumental, monsters of steel and ambition.
Dozle slammed a nearby cruiser aside with his foot, laughing wildly. "THIS IS THE POWER OF ZEON'S WILL!"
The Federation line trembled.
Gary saw it all—two titans, Grievous rampaging, Char unleashing psychic waves, funnels streaking like comets, and his fellow pilots battling for their lives.
He gritted his teeth.
"We need a plan," he whispered. "Or Solomon becomes our grave."
But somewhere behind the I-Field glow, Jason Arkadi's secret data theft continued unnoticed—silently copying Big Zam's entire engineering archive for the future.
And neither side realized the information war had already begun.
The battlefield burned so brightly that even from the bridge of the Ananke, the flashes of mega particle fire turned the command deck into a strobe-lit chamber. Each time Big Zam fired, the light seemed to claw its way through the reinforced windows, washing officers in cold green brilliance before vanishing again into chaos. Yet through all of it, Oreki Houtarou remained perfectly still.
He watched both Big Zams advance with slow, crushing inevitability. The first—Dozle's—fired in rhythmic intervals, each blast vaporizing anything in its path. The second, less stable but equally dangerous, lumbered behind it, staggering occasionally but making up for every misstep with brute firepower. The Federation line bent under the pressure, ships losing formation, pilots shouting through comms.
General Revil paced forward. "Report. Casualties rising. Gundams have engaged, but they're barely holding the line."
"I don't need reports," Oreki murmured. His eyes stayed locked on the tactical projection. "I can see it."
He leaned closer, tapping his finger lightly on the glowing blue display—two giant red icons marking Big Zam units, and around them, smaller red points for the Zeon elite. Blue icons flickered, retreating or vanishing as Federation ships fell.
Oreki exhaled once. Then he straightened up.
"I have a strategy."
The entire command deck turned toward him. They all knew his reputation: a boy who preferred conserving energy, avoiding effort, and solving everything with the minimal possible exertion—but in war, that strange genius produced results no one else could.
Revil stepped closer. "Speak."
"First," Oreki said calmly, "we stop thinking of Big Zam as a mobile armor. It's not a unit to fight. It's terrain."
That statement hung in the air for a moment.
He continued, "The first Big Zam is Dozle. That means he'll charge. He'll chase whatever irritates him the most. The second is unstable. That means it will lag, wobble, and depend on escorts."
A junior officer stammered, "S-so what do we do?"
Oreki tapped the map. "We split the battlefield into two engagements."
Revil raised an eyebrow. "You want to divide our forces? Against this?"
"No. I want Zeon to divide theirs."
Oreki zoomed in on the icons representing the Gundam team and the Zeon elites.
"Dozle will chase the strongest provocation. That role goes to Strike, Alex, and Duel. They hit him, distract him, and pull him off the main path."
Revil narrowed his eyes. "You want our best pilots to bait Big Zam?"
"Correct. Dozle will never ignore an insult. He's predictable—a wall that rushes toward the first hammer it sees."
A murmur spread across the deck. It was insane. It was also true.
Oreki shifted the map again. "Meanwhile, the second Big Zam will rely on coordination from its escorts. Remove those escorts…" He pointed at Elmeth, Great Zeong, and the Zeon support units. "…and the machine becomes a crippled mass of metal with unstable systems. It will become far easier to isolate."
Revil nodded slowly. "So the Blitz, Buster, and Aegis teams should sweep the escorts."
"And Sayla with her Gundam supports the fleet," Oreki continued. "She keeps the line intact. She buys us time."
Another officer whispered, "This plan… it sounds like we're forcing Zeon into two different wars at once."
"Yes." Oreki nodded, expression blank and logical. "Zeon's strength lies in unity. Their weakness lies in chaotic personalities—Dozle, Grievous, Char. They're powerful, but none of them cooperate. If our pilots apply pressure where those personalities clash…"
He snapped his fingers.
"…the Titans break apart."
Revil stared at him for a long moment. "This plan demands precise coordination. If anything fails, we lose everything."
"Yes," Oreki replied. "We will lose whether we act or not. So I'm choosing the path with a chance."
Silence fell.
Then Revil gave the command.
"Signal all Gundam units. Relay Oreki's strategy. Implement immediately."
---
The orders hit the pilots in real time, cutting into the middle of their combats.
Gary Lin, dodging a blast that melted a cruiser behind him, nearly choked. "You want us to bait Big Zam!? That's like poking a nuclear bear!"
Amuro blocked a volley, sliding the Alex under floating debris. "It's risky. But it'll work."
Mikazuki's voice was monotone as he parried a shot. "Fine. I'll drag him."
Hachiman groaned. "Of course. Of course the genius advisor thinks the loner squad can taunt a giant death fortress."
Athrun sighed. "We'll start clearing escorts."
Lockon rotated his rifle and smirked. "Grievous is gonna scream when he realizes we're ignoring him."
Sayla steadied her Gundam. "Federation fleet, form up! We hold the center. No one breaks through!"
---
Back on the bridge, Oreki watched it all unfold with minimal expression. Revil noticed it.
"You seem calm, Oreki."
"I'm terrified, actually," Oreki said in his usual flat tone. "But fear is inefficient. So I'll ignore it."
Revil chuckled once. "I see."
Oreki added, "If this works… our pilots will survive. If not—well, then at least the effort wasn't wasted."
The deck officers exchanged surprised looks.
Revil nodded to him. "You've done more than your duty."
Oreki simply shrugged. "I don't like unnecessary effort. Ending this battle quickly is the most energy-efficient outcome."
But deep down, even he knew it wasn't about efficiency anymore.
He didn't want to see any of them fall.
And this strategy—this insane, almost impossible plan—was the best way to keep them alive.