Massive amounts of cargo were transferred from the holds of the transport ship to the Nahel Argama.
The three Jestas painted as "itasha" (pain-mobiles), along with their matching custom-painted Base Jabbers and equipment, drew everyone's gaze. In such a solemn setting, these units and weapons—looking as if they had come straight out of an anime subculture—created a profound sense of absurdity.
This resulted in the uniquely shaped Narrative Gundam being completely overshadowed by the three Jestas.
"The interiors of those three Jestas aren't conventional cockpits... they use fixed-link platforms similar to the Blue Cosmos wetware interface," Marvin explained to Roz while scratching his head.
"Although they don't have Psycho-Frames installed to prevent the technology from leaking, their performance limiters have been completely removed. At the very least, they'll have no problem serving as escorts for the Unicorn."
Only after watching the three Jestas and the Narrative Gundam be moved into the hangar of the Nahel Argama did Roz shift his attention back to the cargo ship still unloading.
"The Narrative A-Packs are being transferred to the Nahel Argama in separate components."
As the topic shifted, Marvin's tone turned somewhat helpless. "Next up is the biggest 'big guy' of all the projects."
As the temporary armor and securing structures on the cargo ship were dismantled, a white "behemoth" appeared before everyone.
The entire GP03D looked as if it had been modified directly onto a massive thruster unit. Four gargantuan containers were mounted atop the device like wings. On the left and right sides were two massive cannon muzzles, and tucked beneath the GP03D were two large mechanical claws.
In the center of the GP03D sat a somewhat jarring gap, as if waiting for something to fill it and take control of this "monster."
This singular design caused the crew members, who had just returned to their tasks, to stare at the "monster" once again.
"According to the blueprints, a high-output beam shield generator was added to the front. Among these weapon containers, the two carrying MS-scale weapons deploy forward, while the others eject rearward. Additionally, due to the size of the thrusters, many missile launch ports have been added to the main body."
Marvin explained the features of this unique GP03D. "The ammunition for the entire armament has been loaded. The GP03D is ready for combat at any time."
"However, we have a problem now: how do we transport this GP03D?"
It was indeed a problem. Although this GP03D wasn't as long as the original's 140 meters—measuring only about 90 meters—its width was nearly 40 meters. It was essentially equivalent to a small battleship. Even though the Nahel Argama was large, mounting this giant required careful thought.
"Mount it to the left catapult deck."
At that moment, accompanied by the sound of footsteps, Murrue's voice came from behind Roz. Murrue and Badgiruel stood by Roz's side, looking at the massive GP03D with contemplative expressions.
"Even if it doesn't sortie, just being mounted to the Nahel Argama allows it to serve as a temporary fixed battery. That gap just needs the Narrative or the Strike to..."
Badgiruel, who had always served as combat commander whether on the Archangel or the Nahel Argama, began calculating how this behemoth could be utilized.
"But if we do that, the Nahel Argama will only have one functioning catapult deck..."
"Other units cannot use the GP03D."
Just as Badgiruel was considering other methods, Marvin shook his head, cutting off her train of thought. "The gap design and internal locking structures of the GP03D were designed specifically around the silhouette of the Unicorn. In other words, only the Unicorn can activate the GP03D."
"If that's the case..."
Badgiruel frowned upon hearing this. She clearly saw the tactical value of the GP03D, but knowing the restrictions, she began to re-evaluate whether the cost was worth it. For a carrier-type ship, the more catapult tracks it had, the faster its units could sortie. Reducing the number of tracks was a heavy price to pay.
"Follow Murrue's suggestion. Mount the GP03D to the left catapult deck of the Nahel Argama."
After thinking for a moment, Roz nodded to Marvin.
"I have a feeling she won't be staying there for long."
Ever since returning from the relief mission at Mendel, Roz had been feeling like "the big one" was coming. And the facts supported this: while the Earth Alliance and ZAFT maintained a state of "confrontation," they were continuously mobilizing forces toward the vicinity of Gryps. Once the fighting started, it would undoubtedly be a "big one."
"Understood."
Marvin nodded to Roz. The Haros operating the engineering machinery received Marvin's instructions and began detaching the GP03D from the transport ship to mount it onto the Nahel Argama.
Once the docking of the GP03D was complete, Marvin and Roz suddenly fell into a silence that left Murrue and Badgiruel momentarily confused.
Because the next item to be docked was one of the "key fragments" in Roz's plan.
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Armed Armor is the collective name for the specialized equipment tailored for the Unicorn, but there is no doubt that every piece of this weaponry is intrinsically linked to the Psycho-Frame.
The shield components, known as Armed Armor DE, were installed onto the funnels, making the floating shields—which were already bulked up with custom missiles and twin beam gatling guns—noticeably larger. One couldn't help but wonder if the sub-arms attached to the Unicorn's backpack could even support such weight.
Furthermore, the beam halberd known as Armed Armor HJ was folded and mounted onto the sub-arms, further increasing the burden they had to bear. Yet, the mechanical arms did not buckle; they maintained their original posture, unyielding.
Having completed the assembly of the components just delivered, the Unicorn... no, at this moment, it should be called the "Full Armor Unicorn" (Plan B/Perfectibility).
As the Full Armor Unicorn stood in the hangar, which was slightly cluttered from the cargo transfer, its pure white and holy form caused everyone present to instinctively turn their gaze toward it.
Roz, now suited up in his pilot suit, sat in the cockpit of the Full Armor Unicorn, taking deep breaths to calm himself.
"Whew... No problem. We'll definitely succeed, Aibo."
Roz snapped down the glass visor of his helmet and activated the Full Armor Unicorn.
From the single slit exposed by the faceplate, the Unicorn's twin eyes ignited.
"First, activating the NT-D..."
Roz was already well-versed in how to trigger the NT-D and the conditions required for its activation. The cockpit seat components shifted, reclining into a posture resembling a lounge chair.
The white armor plates across the Full Armor Unicorn rapidly expanded. The Armed Armor XC, previously hidden behind the propulsion backpack, unfolded like a lion's mane, revealing the internal Psycho-Frame.
As expected, all the Psycho-Frame components glowed with their habitual red light.
"And then, we continue..."
Roz didn't know if this method was correct, but he could feel that the Unicorn, now equipped with all the Armed Armor modules, was guiding his actions step by step.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone in the hangar, the red glow of the Psycho-Frame grew increasingly intense, as if it were about to overflow from the frame itself. Then, a bright and dazzling yellow began to manifest within the Psycho-Frame. The entire machine looked as if it had been fitted with RGB LED strips; red and yellow were strobing like ocean waves in a rhythmic pattern.
The cluttered hangar, for a moment, looked like a dance club blasting DJ tracks.
"What is Roz up to now?"
Standing on a catwalk, Mu La Flaga, who had been staying at Industrial 7, scratched his head as he watched the Unicorn constantly shifting colors.
"Is he trying to start a disco?"
"I don't know. He always keeps these things to himself and refuses to say a word," replied Murrue, standing on the catwalk beside Mu. "There are some things that even Christina might not be aware of."
"It feels like weapon parameters being misaligned... No, that's not it." Badgiruel frowned, overturning her own theory. "Roz wouldn't make such a low-level mistake."
While many were watching the Unicorn's strange transformation, Roz had no spare energy to pay attention to the situation outside. He could feel a powerful spiritual force tentatively probing and connecting with his own consciousness through the Full Armor Unicorn, gently searching for a way to merge and coexist.
Roz could guess that this powerful spiritual force was his "Aibo."
However, the sensation of having one's consciousness stirred was truly unpleasant. Both sides were constantly compromising with each other, trying to achieve the desired result.
Unfortunately, no matter how strong Roz was, he was ultimately just a human. As a wave of intense fatigue washed over him, Roz finally couldn't hold on any longer and relaxed. The connection with the Full Armor Unicorn snapped, and the "Machine Spirit's" consciousness lunged into empty space.
The Psycho-Frame, which had been strobing between red and yellow, was finally overtaken by a dazzling yellow. Once again, yellow flames erupted across the unit's surface.
The people in the hangar were startled by the sight, instinctively searching for fire extinguishers.
The Machine Spirit took over control of the unit, yet she did nothing.
The yellow flames dissipated, and the Psycho-Frame—which had been glowing with a blinding yellow—faded back into a dull gray. The expanded armor plates slid back into their original positions piece by piece, and the unit returned to a state of dormancy.
Roz slumped in the cockpit seat, panting heavily as he felt a swelling pressure in his brain.
Suddenly, he felt a gentle touch on his head, though it carried no warmth. Under this rhythmic massaging, Roz's mind began to relax slightly.
In a daze, Roz once again saw the female silhouette dressed in white, with pink hair and crimson eyes.
The Machine Spirit continued to gaze at Roz tenderly. Her mouth moved as if she were saying something, yet Roz could not hear a single sound.
After appearing to chatter on for quite a while, the Machine Spirit finally realized that Roz currently couldn't hear her voice. She began to speak slowly, enunciating each word one by one, as if trying to let Roz read her lips.
"Don't rush; take it slow."
Deciphering her meaning through his shallow knowledge of lip-reading, Roz could only let out a sigh. He remained slumped in the pilot's seat, letting the Machine Spirit continue to massage his head.
As it stood, this Full Armor Unicorn still couldn't be called "Perfect."
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