Gundam, Gravity Elegy

The number of dead and injured... has not yet been tallied.

Survivors...not found.

However, the place that once took pride in being the birthplace of composer Mozart and held music festivals regularly until the Universal Century has finally been stained with indelible bloodstains.

"Gurgle... um."

When Top opened his eyes again, he saw a relatively familiar ceiling—the infirmary.

"The Hump..."

She instinctively wanted to say something, but when she opened her mouth, the excruciating pain that seemed to explode on her face left her helpless.

"Lieutenant Top, are you alright?"

The timid voice gave Top a headache, and it wasn't until the image of the blonde girl's frightened and worried expression appeared before her that she came to her senses:

"Yes, we are prisoners now."

In just one skirmish, the elite squadron, once revered by the Zeon soldiers, was not only wiped out, but its mobile suits and warships were also taken away.

Not only that, she can still feel pain in her cheeks and body.

The beating—she still remembered the boy's angry look; he even leaped over the control panel and punched himself in the face.

"He's just a boy... how come his fists are so strong?"

With just one punch, she felt her body completely lose its balance, and then her head hit something and she passed out.

"Um, Lieutenant Top, are you very angry right now?"

"No, not at all... To be precise, I don't even have the energy to be angry anymore."

Once the memories were completely pieced together, Top really had no ideas at all.

I wanted to speak up, I wanted to roar, but I found that I couldn't make a sound at all.

Rather than anger, as a sergeant who graduated from a military academy and rose through the ranks, all she felt was a lingering sense of shame.

"We are fighting for the rights of the inhabitants of space..."

"How dare you Zeons say such a thing!"

But before she could finish speaking, another voice rang out in the room:

"You're the ones who injected poison gas into Ifhishu Island and even dropped satellites onto Earth! You're the ones who killed the inhabitants of space!"

The voice seemed incredibly angry, but when Top looked in the direction of the sound, he didn't have any particular impression of the face.

If I had to use one word to describe it, it would probably be... ordinary.

Although he was wearing a white lab coat, his face reminded Top of a classmate who sat next to him when he was a child. It seemed that only his glasses could serve as a clue.

"Who are you?"

Of course, Top didn't know her at all; in the end, only Corporal Sofia spoke up:

"Dr. Snow..."

"It's clearly just like the fascist hegemony of the old century, so stop trying to whitewash it..."

By the end, she seemed to have lost all her strength.

When Top looked up, he saw her throw something at him.

"Your problem is just a concussion caused by a blow to the back of your head. Once you wake up, just apply some ointment."

Only after that figure disappeared did Top turn his gaze to Sofia, his colleague.

"Um, Lieutenant Top, what should we do?"

"..."

It was a simple question, but Top felt as if a thousand thorns were stuck in his throat, making it impossible for him to answer it all.

"Since we're already prisoners, let's not do anything more."

"second lieutenant……"

"Live."

She clenched her fists:

“Sophia, when I was a recruit, the first battle I fought after graduation was the Battle of Loum. My captain told me this back then, and now I’m passing that message on to you—Death is not an option!”

Bathed in that clean, cold light, the lieutenant finally closed his eyes:

"So live on, and I will do everything I can to help you live on."

Author's message

…………

The image is from the goddess of death in the universe, and can be considered a prequel to 08MS.

It tells the story of the last few hours on Iphishu Island, and the male protagonist is Shirou's captain.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Spy?

"So, although it caused some disturbance, it was resolved."

3: 15 PM

Just as the sunlight above the sky began to wane, Captain Cuvatro returned to the bridge.

"So, what is the explanation?"

"Shifting the blame to another team."

Faced with Shirley's question, Captain Cuvatro reluctantly spoke, and his almost fabricated answer even made the divers present whistle:

"So it turned out to be another lie?"

"Well, there's not much we can do about it. In this critical situation, to ensure the 44th Battalion's ability to operate behind enemy lines and for the sake of our next plan, we certainly can't afford to have a conflict with the remnants of the Sand Lizards in this situation."

"But in terms of the outcome, we can say we've achieved our revenge, right? Although we don't know exactly how many people died, all the Zaku, including the white ogre, have been dealt with."

"But that's what makes it troublesome. You're 24 years old, so you should understand human nature very well. Even if the culprit has been brought to justice, it doesn't matter. The war has dragged on to this point, and for the soldiers on the front lines, it's a life-or-death conflict. And once this kind of emotion finds an outlet, something terrible can happen."

At this point, Cuvatro simply turned his gaze to the man who had remained silent from the beginning:

"So Lieutenant Barbery, if you can, please be patient and keep it a secret from your soldiers. We still need these Zeon soldiers until the current crisis is resolved."

"...I have no objection."

After a moment of silence, Lieutenant Barberley responded in a low voice.

"However, I think the real problem right now is not with me."

At this point, everyone present turned their attention to a corner of the bridge.

There, ever since he punched Lieutenant Top, who was standing near the control panel, he sat quietly on the steps, motionless, like a statue that would never move.

"Xiao Gao?"

Then, when the sound came out, he actually looked up.

The mechanical-like response made Cuvatro feel uneasy.

only……

"I know that what I did was not good for the overall situation, but at the time, I felt like I saw a lot."

He gently covered his forehead and sighed.

"It's like... I can see those ruins, I can see those broken walls and limbs, I can even hear that wailing sound."

"Yeah, that just goes to show how strong children's empathy is~"

"Wait, Kuvatro, don't you think you're being inhumane by saying that?"

The female diver couldn't help but complain, and the woman named Shirley stepped right in between, holding the boy like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

"You better pray you're not just making sarcastic remarks."

"Of course not. After all, at least for now, I think you'd better think of this as just childish sentimentality, otherwise things will be a hundred times more complicated than they are now."

Ignoring Shirley's gaze, the man's crimson eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses, easily bypassed the woman and met those of the boy who seemed to be under his protection.

"So, you've already fought and vented your emotions, are you able to calm down now?"

"can……"

"OK, let's move on to the next stage, which is also the most important thing for us."

The pointer tapped the screen gently, but unlike with the Migratory Bird, nothing was displayed on the screen.

"……diver?"

"Yes, yes, I understand."

As if nothing had changed, the female diver remained silent, like a candle that wouldn't light unless Kuvatro drew out his words, before finally responding:

'patta'

Two similar maps, but from completely different sources, quickly reappeared on the electronic screen:

"As mentioned before, since Zeon was able to obtain such detailed supply maps of our army, it can only mean one thing—someone within the Federation Army is secretly selling important intelligence to Zeon. Moreover, judging from the detailed figures in the intelligence, his position must be quite high."

"Then...who could it be?"

…………

High-rise buildings with glass curtain walls rise from the right bank of the Seine, their sharp, angular silhouettes cutting through the sky. Sunlight refracts off the building surfaces, casting geometrically shaped patches of light that fall onto the bustling streets below.

The puddles reflected the neon signs and the headlights of passing cars, like an endless electronic vortex.

On Joan of Arc Street, holographic advertisements float in mid-air, playing a tourism promotional video on a loop—the medieval Rouen Cathedral is deconstructed by digital light and shadow, with pixelated silhouettes of Joan of Arc flashing alternately with Gothic spires.

8: 30 PM

Rouen.

As a large urban area in France, this city, which has not yet been affected by the war, seems completely unaware of the impending conflict.

People tread slowly on the seemingly ancient but actually meticulously renovated bluestone floor, their steps light and graceful.

But soon...

'Boom'

Thunder rumbled across the sky, and the fierce lightning seemed like a roar from the gloomy sky, as the dark clouds swallowed up the last rays of the sun.

Immediately afterwards, large raindrops began to fall from the sky, as if urging the city to a deep sleep, playing a lullaby belonging to nature.

In fact, the rainy scenery in Rouen is quite beautiful, and enjoying such a view at sunset would be a good choice.

In stark contrast, inside that magnificent building that almost overlooked the city, the dark-skinned man couldn't help but draw the curtains.

But his pulling only made the already dark room feel even more gloomy.

"So, what are you doing, Lieutenant Colonel Judak?"

A reprimanding voice rang out from the other end of the gloomy room:

"The rainy scenes in Rouen are a rare treat, even the famous Impressionist master Camille Pissarro depicted them several times. Are you trying to spoil my enjoyment?"

Upon hearing this, the man broke out in a cold sweat.

"Lieutenant General Erlan, I just..."

"Just what? Anxiety?"

"...After all, we're doing this right under General Reibell's nose."

Meeting the lieutenant general's mocking gaze, the man named Zhudak finally sighed:

“General Reibir, that guy’s eyes are as sharp as a hawk’s. If he finds out we’re secretly selling intelligence to Zeon…”

"It's alright."

Before Lieutenant Colonel Judak could finish speaking, Lieutenant General Erlan waved his hand:

“I think you need to understand one thing, Lieutenant Colonel Judak. We still need Rebil, which is why Rebil was able to return to Earth safely. So it’s the same this time. We don’t want the European Front to benefit from new weapons prematurely, at least not before I have complete control of the European Front, understand?”