Inside Orphee's office in the Kingdom of Foundation.
Without the slightest concern for Durandal sitting on the nearby sofa, Orphee organized documents for his upcoming handover with Blue Cosmos right in front of him, occasionally signing his name on various forms.
"The Garuda will arrive in Foundation in three days. You'd best leave before it gets here," Orphee said irritably, glancing at Durandal, who was busy critiquing the coffee in his hand.
Durandal was well aware that Foundation played both sides—PLANT and the Earth Alliance. After Blue Cosmos scaled back its investment following the Unicorn's attack, Orphee stopped bothering to hide things from Durandal in order to secure more aid from PLANT and show his stance to the Chairman.
"The agreed-upon propulsion components have been installed, and those supplies should have reached your ship by now." Signing the last document, Orphee checked the alarm clock, stood up, and took a coat from the rack.
"Leaving early is better for both of us."
Ever since the Unicorn attack, Orphee had been buried in work, while the Queen of Foundation—his "mother"—spent all her time in the research institute. The heavy burden rested entirely on his shoulders. Sometimes he felt like nuking the Kingdom of Foundation just to be free of it all, but he never actually did it.
"I see... those are the transport planes that allowed the Earth Forces to completely control the planet? But if we are to leave, nighttime would be best, wouldn't it?"
Durandal picked up on Orphee's "eviction notice" and raised an eyebrow. "However, the Earth Forces have been searching frantically for the Minerva. The moment we appear, there will surely be a fierce siege."
"Correct. And when that happens, we will also send troops to besiege you." Orphee adjusted his appearance, making sure everything was in order, then turned to Durandal. "If we're going to put on a show, we have to do it thoroughly."
Foundation's self-developed MS, the Black Knight, was not yet in its complete form, and Orphee's own custom MS was still on the drawing board—not to mention their brainwave technology. For now, the Kingdom of Foundation's continued existence was a necessity.
"Of course, we understand perfectly." Durandal set down his coffee cup and stood up. "By my count... the Earth Forces should have finished collecting all that data. It's a good time to see if we can draw out those three stolen MS."
"We have to give them an answer, after all."
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Inside a giant industrial park belonging to Blue Cosmos in the Kingdom of Foundation.
Clotho Buer raised an eyebrow as he listened to Sting's report.
"Soldiers of the Kingdom of Foundation who are unfamiliar with standard Earth Alliance jeeps?" Clotho shook his flask, the liquid sloshing inside with a crisp sound.
"Before Foundation leaned toward the Alliance, their equipment was a mix of everything. It's normal if they were used to ZAFT hardware." Clotho took a swig of his drink. "But we can't rule out the possibility of ZAFT spies. Keep an eye out."
"The Garuda is coming soon. There can't be any mistakes with Destroy's handover, or we won't catch that ZAFT warship."
The Garuda-class transport plane, the Earth Forces' weapon for maintaining global stability, possessed the capability to deploy MS anywhere in the world. It was one of the reasons ZAFT's bases and units on Earth had been so quickly dismantled.
Destroy, as a super-heavy firepower unit, was positioned much like a tank of the old era. The Earth Forces planned to load Destroy onto the Garuda as part of its deployment force, using the pursuit of the Minerva as a chance to gather combat data.
As for the data from the previous battle between Destroy and the Unicorn, it was considered to have zero reference value. The power of the weapons the Unicorn carried was beyond their imagination. Besides, Destroy was now equipped with a nuclear reactor; its performance was worlds apart from before.
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On the night before the Garuda-class arrived in the Kingdom of Foundation, at a coastal cliff somewhere within the kingdom.
With the hum of machinery, a gate disguised as a rock wall opened, and the Minerva, now equipped with propulsion components, quietly departed from the dock. According to the plan, they would sail to the high seas along a radar blind spot created by the Kingdom of Foundation's "maintenance" schedule. Then, they would "flash" briefly on the kingdom's radar, which had only been turned back on for a few minutes.
"I understand the logic of leaving at night, but why do we have to expose ourselves?!" Arthur held his head; he felt he could no longer keep up with Durandal's maneuvers. Even the Captain—did she have no questions at all?
"On one hand, it is to stabilize the Kingdom of Foundation's outward stance within the Earth Alliance; after all, the Earth Forces are currently very sensitive toward nations that previously leaned toward PLANT," Durandal said, looking at the nautical chart on the screen in the bridge, which was already in combat status. "On the other hand, I intend to draw out those stolen MS units."
"Being hunted on Earth is a disadvantage, but could it not also be an advantage to lure those machines out?" At this point, in the dim light of the bridge, a faint, barely detectable smile played on Durandal's lips. "No matter how much they deny it, the Earth Forces must have finished copying the machine data. To maximize their gains, they will certainly deploy them in actual combat, and the best target is the Minerva."
Shortly after Durandal's explanation, the Minerva crossed the border of the Kingdom of Foundation and reached the high seas.
"Ship turning to the three o'clock position, ahead flank two, trigger Foundation's radar!" Following the pre-established plan, Talia issued the command.
Some indicator lights flickered back to life on the Minerva as it rapidly sailed into the range of the Kingdom of Foundation's radar. Following the discovery of the Minerva, the piercing sound of alarms echoed through the Foundation's base for the first time in a long while.
"Impulse, Zaku Warrior, prepare for launch!"
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Inside the Kingdom of Foundation's base, soldiers bustled about amidst the blaring alarms. One by one, newly replenished Daggers activated and launched from their hangars, flying toward the Minerva.
A white-haired youth, dressed in a black pilot suit, sat within a black machine shaped like some ancient knight. He stared grimly at the scene unfolding before him.
"Is it... happening again?"
Listening to the alarms, Shura momentarily felt as if he had been transported back to the day Torrington Port was attacked. But unlike then, his teammates had not yet been replaced. The originally mixed unit's mobile suits had mostly been swapped out for Earth Alliance Daggers.
Since the day Torrington Port was ravaged, Shura had been desperately honing his piloting skills. He had made a silent vow: he would shoot down the Unicorn. There was no doubt that the Unicorn had become his personal demon. To return to his former self, defeating—or even destroying—the Unicorn was a necessity.
"It's just an act, Shura. Just drive them away; don't use lethal force," Orphee spoke to Shura over a private comms channel. "The opposing pilots seem fairly skilled; consider them an appetizer for now."
"Phew... phew... I understand." Shura took a deep breath to steady his emotions and pushed the control lever forward. "Shura, Black Knight, launching."
To be honest, the idea of holding back in battle gave Shura a headache. However, Orphee was the Prime Minister of Foundation and his direct superior; his orders had to be followed.
The Black Knight's paint scheme seemed to vanish into the night as it flew toward the border waters of Foundation. The journey was relatively quiet until he passed over the bullet-riddled remains of Torrington Port. Thinking back to his battle with the Unicorn, a sense of powerlessness washed over him, making him grit his teeth. His face tightened with an incomparable inner fury.
"I see them..."
Just then, Shura spotted the two sides already engaged in combat in the distance. It would still take some time for the main Earth Forces to arrive; currently, it was primarily the Rapid Response Force Orphee had recently assembled fighting the Minerva. Several Daggers had already had their limbs sliced off and were falling into the sea.
However, when Shura saw the Impulse fighting in the sky, that familiar yet strange face caused a metaphorical nerve in his brain to snap.
"Unicorn... Unicorn..."
Staring at the Impulse on his cockpit screen—which his mind now identified as a "substitute" for the Unicorn—Shura's expression twisted. "It's a Gundam face! It has the Unicorn's face, aaaaah!"
Slamming down on the pedals, the Black Knight's speed surged. Even through his pilot suit, Shura could clearly feel the crushing G-force.
"Not enough... still not enough! At this speed, I can't catch the Unicorn!"
To pursue the Unicorn, Shura had specially reinforced the thrusters on his Black Knight. But even now, as he reached the limit of what his body could endure, he still hadn't matched the speed of the Unicorn as seen in the video archives.
He drew a heavy heat sword with his left hand, a laser-edged blade flickering to life. His crimson mono-eye ignored the red and white Zaku Warriors, locking onto the Impulse as it maneuvered between the Daggers. He swung the blade down.
"Whoa... what is this?!"
The sudden appearance of the Black Knight startled Shinn in the Impulse. He reflexively raised his shield, blocking the heavy strike.
"Don't you dare run... not while wearing the same face as the Unicorn!"
Shura no longer cared about orders. In his eyes, there was only the Impulse's Gundam face, so hauntingly similar to the Unicorn.
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