A GN-X pulled the trigger repeatedly at Gundam Kyrios, which was flying in its Flight form.
Red beams erupted from its rifle, weaving a net of fire around the Gundam, yet the Kyrios always found a path through the gaps, spiraling past the barrage.
Just as the GN-X pilot readjusted their aim, a thick red beam struck from behind, piercing its torso with pinpoint accuracy and reducing the machine to a cloud of fragments.
Not far away, a ReZEL Type-C (Defenser B-Unit) lowered its Mega Beam Launcher, the residual red particles dissipating into the void. Immediately, the ReZEL transformed into its WR mode, accelerating to hunt its next target.
Scenes like this played out across the entire sector.
On the bridge of the United Nations flagship, Kati Mannequin listened to the constant reports of GN-X losses, feeling a sense of numbness and powerlessness.
No matter how battle-hardened the pilots of the three superpowers were, they stood no chance against the combined forces of the Ravens and Celestial Being.
It wasn't just a gap in machine performance; it was a chasm in combat experience. Most of Earth's military history involved localized peacekeeping or suppression missions; legitimate high-intensity space skirmishes like this were incredibly rare.
News of more GN-X destructions reached her ears. Behind them, reports confirmed that the Raven warship was systematically demolishing the rogue satellite cannons—three had already been silenced in a matter of minutes.
Then there was the nightmare she had just witnessed: that metallic curtain of autonomous weapons—or whatever they were—that could assimilate wreckage and construct themselves into new, monstrous forms.
"Retreat..."
Seeing the GN-X count dwindle to barely ten units, Sergei Smirnov—sitting within the functional remains of his cockpit—spoke with a bitter tone. "Continuing this fight will only lead to the total annihilation of the remaining units and the loss of precious pilots. Now is not the time for a suicidal stand."
"Damn it... if only our Astray and improved models were officially online..."
Hearing Sergei's assessment, Kati Mannequin slammed her fist onto the armrest of her chair. "Retreat!"
Under her command, the UN fleet fired three signal flares, marking the order to withdraw.
The remaining ten GN-X units reacted as if granted a divine reprieve. They turned back, grabbing the intact cockpits of disabled allies where pilots were still alive, and fled toward the safety of the UN fleet.
"The enemy is retreating. Do not pursue."
Watching the GN-Xs pull back, Sumeragi Lee Noriega on the Ptolemaios let out a long sigh of relief.
Truth be told, without Roz Links and his team—not even counting the sudden appearance of the ELS—the battle against the Alvatore and the UN's GN-X forces would have been catastrophic.
Under such an overwhelming offensive, the destruction of Celestial Being would have been a certainty.
Regardless, surviving was a victory in itself.
"The Nahel Argama is also beginning to withdraw from the solar power orbital track... We made it. We're alive."
Looking at the status report, Christina Sierra finally let out the breath she had been holding. The tears she had suppressed out of tension and fear suddenly flooded out. However, in the low-gravity environment, the tears gathered into two small liquid orbs over her eyelids, blurring her vision.
Feldt Grace, her expression calm as ever, unbuckled her seatbelt and floated over to Christina's side. She reached out to help the flustered, arm-waving girl wipe the water from her face.
While the Ptolemaios was having its moment of emotional release, Roz Links was dealing with a minor complication.
"Roz, I'm feeling a strange tingling, itchy sensation in my left foot."
Hearing AllMind's voice, Roz instinctively looked down at the Penelope's left leg.
Some silvery metal was steadily eroding the foot—evidently, it had stuck to the sole during that habitual spinning back-kick he had delivered earlier.
"It looks like this left leg is a lost cause."
With the battle over, Roz finally relaxed a fraction. He maneuvered the Penelope to return the large beam saber in its left hand to its shoulder mount to act as a cannon again. "Time for some amputation surgery."
"Go ahead then," AllMind replied with a smile, looking at him. "As a machine, I don't possess the sensation of pain. Besides, you'll fix me up, won't you?"
"Of course I will."
The shoulder cannon fired a pale pink beam with surgical precision, slicing through the Penelope's knee and severing the left leg. The moment the limb was detached, the silvery metal began to proliferate even faster across the falling scrap.
In the next heartbeat, the now-one-legged Penelope raised its Beam Magnum. A torrent of red particles erupted from the muzzle, completely engulfing and dissolving the proliferating ELS residue.
"Cleaning up the remaining alien biological scrap across this entire battlefield is going to be a massive headache..." Roz muttered, looking at the ELS fragments drifting through the void.
"We'll likely be the ones handling the cleanup. We need to ensure the Earth powers don't get their hands on any ELS remains," Lockon Stratos's voice broke in over the comms. "Earth is far from stable. If they prematurely come into contact with these lifeforms and allow them to aggregate into a viable size..."
"You guys really need to recruit more members. If you keep trying to do everything with just the four of you, you're going to burn out," Roz said, turning his gaze toward the Nahel Argama as it sailed toward the ReZEL units. "Battle is over. All units, return to base!"
"More members, huh... I wish," Lockon sighed, watching Roz lead his squad of mobile suits back toward the Nahel Argama. "Who knows when we'll actually get some new teammates to fill the ranks..."
-----------------------------------
Shortly after the battle commenced, the three superpowers passed a United Nations bill, officially announcing their unification as the Earth Sphere Federation.
The satellite cannon strikes that occurred early in the war had decimated military bases across various nations and laid waste to numerous cities.
In an office within a Mobile Suit Design and Research Institute—located in the former Union and now part of the Earth Sphere Federation—which had narrowly avoided the satellite bombardment:
Professor Eifman was tapping away at his keyboard. A continuous stream of characters flickered across the screen, but the background revealed a design blueprint: an improved model of an Astray utilizing a pseudo-solar reactor.
"Professor Eifman, the battle reports are in!"
Billy Katagiri entered the office, clutching a tablet loaded with video footage. "It's exactly as you suspected—Graham is still alive! It seems he might have joined Celestial Being!"
Professor Eifman calmly took the tablet. The screen displayed the chaotic engagement between the GN-X forces and the Alvatore in space.
He frowned slightly at the sight of the Alvatore, but his expression softened when he spotted the Custom Flag emitting orange particles.
"...Graham being alive and joining Celestial Being might actually be a good thing for him. After all, you and I both know his obsession with Gundams."
Professor Eifman set the tablet down and exhaled. "However, for us, it's a bit of a problem. Given our deep ties to him, we should expect surveillance and security audits in the near future."
"That's unavoidable, but as long as he's alive, it's fine."
Billy didn't seem particularly concerned about the coming scrutiny. He was more preoccupied with the technical anomalies of the machine. "But Professor, why did the Flag's reactor emit orange particles, and then shift to the same green as Celestial Being's during its burst mode?"
"There is a vast difference between orange and green GN particles. It's almost certain that the Flag is still using a pseudo-solar reactor. Those brick-like components it discarded during the fight were likely external batteries used to extend its operation time."
Faced with Billy's question, Professor Eifman began his analysis. "Their mechanic must have directly modified and reinforced the pseudo-solar reactor, using disposable components to allow it to briefly achieve performance levels comparable to a true Celestial Being GN Drive."
As he spoke, even Professor Eifman could not help but marvel at the craftsmanship behind the modifications. Although to someone like Roz, modifying a machine might be more a matter of "I reckon this'll work" before diving in, the results spoke for themselves.
"In other words, if we had that missing component, could our reactors become identical to Celestial Being's?"
While Professor Eifman marveled at the skill, Billy focused on the practical implications.
"Barring any accidents, yes. However, that component is likely extremely difficult to manufacture, with exceptionally harsh requirements for craftsmanship or environmental conditions."
Professor Eifman sighed with admiration. "To develop a modification that allows a pseudo-solar reactor to temporarily achieve performance parity with a true GN Drive in such a short time... they have a truly formidable mechanic on their side."
Having said that, Eifman continued to drag the progress bar of the video, watching the Flag's performance and the subsequent satellite cannon strikes. He frowned instinctively.
"The satellite cannons fired toward Jupiter... It seems there is something out there."
"Regarding Jupiter, our forces have already seized several satellite cannons and obtained the impact coordinates. An investigation team has already been assembled," Billy said, before remembering something else. He dragged the progress bar further until the image of the "silver wave" chasing the Penelope and Destiny appeared on the screen. "But I feel this is even more important than the information revealed by those coordinates."
Eifman remained silent as he watched the behavior of the ELS. He began searching for something on a nearby computer.
"It could be some kind of nanomachine weapon, or perhaps..."
Billy offered his own hypothesis. Since almost no one knew of the ELS yet, it was easy to assume they were nanomachines belonging to some other organization. The Earth Sphere Federation had already established a research task force for this as well.
Beep... Beep... Beep...
At that moment, Professor Eifman's private communicator rang. Looking at the name displayed on the screen, Eifman let out a long sigh.
"Rather than speculating about what are likely nanomachine weapons, it's better to ask an eyewitness directly."
Eifman turned the communicator toward Billy, showing the caller ID: Graham.
....................