The customary three-day leave passed in the blink of an eye. By now, the crew of the Nahel Argama had returned to the ship to begin various overhauls and maintenance work.
Meanwhile, representatives from every department of the Nahel Argama were gathered in the briefing room, staring in silence at the mask Roz had placed on the table.
As the host of this meeting, Roz recalled the moment not long ago when he had received this mask from the hands of that "retired old man Char."
At that time, once he had gathered the necessary information, Roz was just about to leave.
"Wait a moment, Roz."
Char's voice reached his ears, causing Roz to instinctively stop in his tracks.
"Take this mask with you. Consider it a souvenir."
Char produced a silver-gray mask from somewhere. The mask had sharp, distinct angles, and the eye slits gleamed like red gemstones.
"This is..."
Seeing the mask before him, Roz was stunned for a moment.
"A mask used for disguise—a replica modified from I-don't-know-how-many versions. I used to habitually..." Char looked over the mask in his hand, gazing at the ruby-like eyes. "According to the current observations, the recorded user of this mask should be a man named Full Frontal, a poor soul known as my 'vessel.'"
"Why are you giving this mask to me?"
"Because I no longer have any need for masks. But if it can bring strength to someone else, I don't mind giving it away."
However, as if struck by an amusing thought, the corners of Char's mouth curled slightly into a smile. "But I was thinking... having you go and impersonate me might be a very interesting idea."
Upon hearing Char say this, Roz instinctively pointed at himself, a look of complete bewilderment on his face.
"?"
Granted, he had used Char's name once while infiltrating a lunar base back in SEED. But to hear it so formally from Char's own mouth—asking someone who looked like "Amuro" to play the part of Char, complete with wearing the mask...
Wasn't he afraid the Federation would take one look at him removing the mask, gasp in horror, and suffer cardiac arrest?
Oh, wait—it seemed he actually wasn't afraid of that at all.
"Isn't this a classic trope? It happens all the time in mecha-genre settings—the plot point where someone impersonates me, Char Aznable, to commit misdeeds."
Char toyed with the mask in his hand as he explained. "But it seems there hasn't been an Amuro who has impersonated me yet. Or rather, there might have been, but I'm not aware of it."
"I've decided that this time, I will choose the one to impersonate me myself. Roz, you are an excellent choice."
With that, Char looked at Roz with a very serious expression. "Go and use the identity of a Char Aznable imitator to make contact with that younger version of me."
"The younger me, the 'vessel' of Char's will infused with your own volition, and Hathaway, who is called the 'Second Coming of Char'... I am very much looking forward to what kind of story will unfold when those three parties converge."
Hearing Char's words, Roz remained silent for quite a while before finally taking the mask from Char's hand.
"Char, you really are a wicked fellow," Roz said, examining the mask in his grip.
But at that moment, Char smiled and looked to the side at a little girl in a white dress who was carrying a plate of fruit.
"Lichten, am I such a bad guy?"
"Char isn't a bad guy. Char is just Char."
Hearing Char's words, the little girl in the white dress placed the fruit on the coffee table and skillfully hopped into Char's lap.
The scene looked like a father telling his daughter a story, but the expression on Char's face—one of being healed by a partner—made the atmosphere in the room turn quite subtle.
"Dammit, Char, you disgraceful fellow! You've become even worse!"
Seeing this, Roz felt his fists tighten, but thinking of something, he relaxed slightly. "What about Lalah? You must have seen many versions of her here."
"…My Lalah is dead. No matter how many Lalahs I see here, they aren't mine."
At the mention of this topic, Char fell silent for a moment. "Rashly disturbing—no, harassing an unfamiliar lady is not the conduct of a mature man."
"But compared to many other versions of myself, I am lucky."
With that, Char looked at the little girl in the white dress named Lichten. "That part of my soul that died along with my Lalah has been filled by something called love."
"She is..."
Roz studied the little girl in the white dress closely and then looked back at Char.
"My Supporter. Or, in your case, you would call her my Big Haro."
Char explained, "Roz, the Big Haros are all capable of customizing their own bodies..."
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As his memories ended there, Roz's attention returned to the present. He instinctively looked toward the far left of the briefing room at his own Big Haro, who was currently projecting an aura of immense misfortune.
Because Big Haro [the superior] was extremely dissatisfied with her performance last time, she was being subjected to a comprehensive evaluation.
Right now, Big Haro was still familiarizing herself with the various modules and plug-ins she had installed, and had even asked several "seniors" for their work experiences... She was certainly working hard.
With these thoughts in mind, Roz looked at the crew members who were staring blankly at the mask and spoke up.
"Now then, let's begin the meeting."
"First of all, our subsequent mission has been confirmed."
As he spoke, Roz turned on the screen behind him, and the details of the mission entrusted by Char appeared. "Next, we will head to a specific point in the UC 0105 timeline to bring back the Char who entered by mistake, or simply deport him."
"However, the client, the Courtyard's Char, has one requirement for this mission."
Roz pointed to the mask resting on the table. "He wants me to impersonate Char."
Upon hearing Roz's words, the briefing room fell into a dead silence.
As members of the Courtyard, they all understood the story of "Char" and "Amuro" to some extent, and were naturally aware of the differences between the two.
"Is he serious, Big Brother Roz?"
Shinn was the first to speak. "Your image to the outside world leans toward Amuro. Why would he want you to play Char?"
When they first arrived at the Courtyard, the place where Shinn and Stellar went on their first date was the Courtyard's Archive, where they had read through a vast number of stories from the various Mecha War sectors.
He and Stellar had seen their own fates in the original timeline, and he had also seen the story of the Amuro who looked so similar to Roz, along with all the related tales.
In his view, Roz was likely a mutated alternate-world counterpart of "Amuro."
"He probably just wants to see a different kind of story, but unfortunately, he managed to talk me into it as well."
Roz scratched his head and explained, "After all, I want to see it too—what kind of story will unfold when a scene like this actually happens."
Looking back, he had to admit his interest had indeed been piqued by the "Courtyard's old man Char." No wonder the man was a best-selling author in the Courtyard.
Even though he snuck his "loli-mommy" personal fetishes into his books—which really made a lot of Newtypes want to throw hands—one had to admire how thoroughly he had researched Newtypes over such a long period of time.
Once they heard that Roz was also interested, the previously quiet briefing room erupted into a cacophony of voices as they discussed the feasibility of the mission.
"Given the environment of UC 0105, where Earth is blanketed in Minovsky particles, our communications will be heavily affected..."
Murrue looked at the data on her tablet and said, "But the upside is there are no Orbital Elevators conducting meticulous monitoring of the Earth. We'll have plenty of room to operate."
"The Nahel Argama's weaponry is fine, but the bottom of the ship needs reinforcement and modifications. The catapult deck might also need some changes."
During her time piloting the Nahel Argama in combat, Natarle had identified several areas needing improvement. "The catapult deck needs covers to protect the elevators transporting the suits.
But could we also open a gap in the hangar area to make the catapult deck double-sided? That way, we'd have four launch rails. The firepower on the bottom of the ship is also insufficient; we should add a few Gottfrieds..."
"Since you're going to be impersonating Char, the Gundam-type mobile suits you've piloted in the past won't be appropriate... we'll need to build a new machine."
Cindy, the maintenance chief, held a fist to her mouth and lowered her head in thought. "A new machine, plus the maintenance for a whole bunch of parts... what a pain."
"Roz, the GN Drive technology we obtained from Celestial Being could perhaps be integrated into the new machine."
Christina flipped through her tablet and mentioned a term that made the previously dazed Graham snap to attention. "The Minovsky Flight System and the GN Drive won't cause much interference. If we just modify the operating system slightly, we can fully utilize the performance of the GN Drive that's currently locked behind a black box..."
Facing the flurry of suggestions, Roz slightly raised his hand, and the briefing room fell silent instantly.
"I've heard all of your opinions."
Roz nodded and began to summarize.
"First, regarding the ship's modifications, Murrue and Natarle will be in charge. You pilot this ship in battle regularly; you know better than I do where it needs strengthening. Big Haro will assist you with the refit."
For the Nahel Argama, Roz planned to defer to the professional opinions of Murrue and Natarle, as he needed to focus his energy elsewhere.
"Christina, Cindy, you're with me on the construction of the new machine. This isn't just for the upcoming mission, but also to bolster the MS combat power of the ship."
Scanning the pilots at the table, Roz thought for a moment and made a decision.
"Graham, Lunamaria, go to Christina's lab later for testing and to record your pilot data. This is crucial for building your specific machines."
Every time a pilot enters a new machine, it takes time to sync up. Recording their habits in advance for specialized modifications can effectively reduce that "breaking-in" period.
As for his own new machine, Roz already had a few ideas.
"Yes, Captain!"
Hearing Roz's words, Graham—whose body had only recently recovered—instinctively stood up and gave Roz a sharp UNION military salute.
Graham's sudden move startled Lunamaria, who instinctively stood up as well and gave Roz a standard ZAFT military salute.
"I know you're excited... but please, sit down first."
Watching this scene, Roz felt a bit strange.
He was a fairly casual guy, and saluting wasn't exactly popular on the Nahel Argama. Graham's sudden formality made him feel a little out of place.
"In any case, we have three new machines planned, and the rest of the suits will undergo modifications to utilize the performance of the GN Drives."
"That is what we need to do next. That's all, meeting adjourned."
With that, Roz looked at the mask Char had given him for a moment and picked it up.
'Sure enough, if I'm going to play the part of 'Char,' I'll need to get a set of clothes in his style, and my hair will need to be dyed blonde... I'll have to make another trip to the 'retired old man Char's' house and replicate a set of clothes from his wardrobe.'
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