Under the firepower of the Unicorn and the Nahel Argama, the two Nelson-class ships were blown to pieces without being able to mount any effective resistance.
In the space surrounding the space colony Mendel, the wreckage of Earth Alliance warships and debris from various MS explosions drifted everywhere. A group of Orb forces piloting mobile workers and MAs were cleaning up the battlefield.
Inside Mendel, although some residential buildings and roads had been destroyed, the overall loss was not significant because the residents had entered shelters in time.
However, the atmosphere inside Mendel at this moment was extremely solemn. A group of Orb soldiers had been disarmed and gathered together, guarded by another group of fully armed Orb soldiers.
As for the father and son of the Seiran family, they were currently sitting in chairs in their study, calmly watching the Orb military take control of the entire manor, with several soldiers standing before them pointing rifles at them.
Along with the roar of thrusters, an MS landed in the manor's courtyard. Its golden armor flickered with a dazzling light under the rays of the sun.
"That machine..." Looking at the magnificent unit outside the window, Yuna Roma Seiran frowned at the Akatsuki, which had never appeared in any intelligence reports. "Is it a hidden trump card left by Uzumi?"
But his father did not speak, only staring at the machine that shone with a gold-like light, falling into silence.
Soon, a somewhat heavy set of footsteps sounded from outside the door.
The door was pushed open, and Cagalli, wearing a red and white pilot suit and carrying her helmet in her left hand, walked into the study with a serious expression. Behind her followed a soldier holding a video camera, connected to a video conference to broadcast the scene live to the other noble families.
"Collaborating with Blue Cosmos, betraying the interests of Orb, and usurping state power..." Cagalli listed the crimes of the Seiran family one by one, her gaze growing increasingly sharp.
"Enough, there is nothing left to say... Prime Minister Cagalli." At this time, the elder Seiran, who had remained silent, finally spoke. "It is simply that this operation was intercepted and failed. We accept all judgments."
"We are not so low as to lose our composure and become hysterical. When we planned to seize power in Orb, we were already well aware of what our end would be." At this point, Yuna Seiran took over the conversation, rising from his chair and walking slowly to the window. "I am just curious—how did you seize command of all the Orb garrison forces in Mendel so quickly?"
"Since you do not refute the evidence we have investigated, then I can tell you this as traitors..." Cagalli narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at the Seiran father and son who still seemed to be trying to control the rhythm of the conversation. "This machine is an Orb state secret; traitors have no right to know."
The scene fell into an eerie silence. Clearly, the Seirans had not expected Cagalli to bypass the topic entirely and point directly to their current predicament.
"...You have changed a lot, Cagalli." Recalling his past meetings with Cagalli and her previous "hotheaded" state, the elder Seiran's expression was complex. "Is it because you sat in that seat? You have matured quite a bit."
"How I have changed is not something you should concern yourselves with." With that, Cagalli waved her hand. "Guards, take them away!"
Knowing that the Seiran family had contacted Blue Cosmos, Cagalli had lost all desire to converse with them. Her purpose in coming here was merely to sentence the Seiran family in front of Orb's other families and firmly regain control of Mendel.
Compared to a colony like Industrial 7, which was as industrialized as possible, Mendel leaned more toward commercialization. Because the impact of the "Great Orb Retreat" had not reached this far, the economy here was still relatively stable.
The guards held their guns and walked behind the Seiran father and son, vaguely carrying the aura of "if you dare resist, you'll die of 'suicide' by twenty shots to the back."
After all, the people of Orb knew the reasons behind the "Great Orb Retreat" and harbored a deep sense of loathing for Blue Cosmos and the Earth Alliance. Regarding their ties to those two factions and the betrayal of Orb's interests, these soldiers wished they could give them a taste of "heavy metal poisoning" right now.
After taking one last, deep look out the window at the residential landscape of Mendel where the cleanup of the battlefield had already begun, the Seiran father and son walked calmly toward the study door.
"Cagalli... we lost this time." Stepping beside Cagalli, the elder Seiran turned his head to look at her, adjusting the glasses on the bridge of his nose. "But you can't keep winning forever. You will lose one day, too."
"At least until that day comes, I will never think of selling out the interests of Orb or harming its people," Cagalli said calmly. She didn't even turn her head to meet their gaze. "We do not provoke trouble, but we do not fear it. We fight for peace. Even if I fall, Orb will raise someone even more outstanding than I am to inherit this will."
Looking at the young girl before him, the elder Seiran momentarily seemed to see a shadow of Uzumi within her.
As the Seiran father and son were escorted out, the spacious and luxuriously decorated study fell silent, leaving only Cagalli and three soldiers.
"Now then, according to the judgment, the space colony Mendel—currently held by the Seiran family—will be transferred to the Orb government for operation. Any objections?" Cagalli spoke as she put on her helmet, looking directly into the lens of the camera held by the soldier.
A wave of static came through the helmet's headset, but soon, several voices expressed the same opinion.
"No objections."
After all, Cagalli was clearly intent on swallowing Mendel. Although the Seiran family was destined for ruin and this piece of unclaimed "meat" made the other families of Orb salivate, they quickly did the math.
Considering the forces Cagalli brought could suppress eight Earth Alliance warships and sink them, they decided to let it go. Anyone with eyes could see that thanks to the Seirans' meddling, Mendel was a piece of meat that was also a hot potato; rather than fighting for it, it was better to give Cagalli some face.
"Very well..." Cagalli nodded. "If there are no objections, this meeting is adjourned."
With that, she unhesitatingly closed the communication channel and left the mansion. She had to get the Akatsuki back to the hangar and quickly take over Mendel; the longer this leaderless state persisted, the easier it would be for major problems to arise.
When Cagalli sat back in the Akatsuki's cockpit, the posture she had been forcing upright suddenly collapsed. She leaned back against the seat like a corporate worker who had finished a long day and was finally relaxing in the driver's seat of their car before heading home. Only, the place she was resting wasn't a car seat, but the cockpit of the MS that symbolized Orb.
"...Is it over?"
At this time, Roz, who had been waiting on the comms channel for a long while, seemed to hear Cagalli's movements and spoke up. "What's the plan next?"
Roz was currently standing on the bridge of the Nahel Argama, wearing a headset and standing beside Murrue, watching the Orb forces clean up the battlefield in the distance.
On the bridge, everyone was busy opening various terminal options and checking their contents, completely ignoring the slightly "lovey-dovey" atmosphere between Roz and Murrue.
Natarle Badgiruel, however, remained expressionless, occasionally casting an inconspicuous glance in their direction, her thoughts unknown.
After this battle, Murrue had suggested checking all the Nahel Argama's armaments. After all, since Christina had pulled out crystal armor capable of blocking four positron cannons, everyone felt the ship must have other "secret weapons."
As for Kira, whose Freedom had been destroyed by Shinn, he was currently in the hangar backing up the Freedom's data.
"The Nahel Argama will return to Industrial 7 to finish Kira's new machine as quickly as possible. Regardless of what happened, Kira is an indispensable part of our combat power," Cagalli said, thinking through her plan. "Additionally, have Athrun bring two Izumo-class ships over."
"Also, those component blueprints you gave to Morgenroete are likely finished. You should head back and take a look at them."
.....................