At the other end of space, in a safe sector where nothing existed, a Federation space fleet was wandering aimlessly. They did not know what to do or what they were supposed to be doing; they simply maintained their inertial speed, drifting forward.
"Commander, are we really going to do nothing?" Elan leaned over and asked Kinnikuman.
Elan, the spy for Zeon and the "savior" of Kinnikuman, had originally been on Earth but had come to space to return to Kinnikuman's side.
After Yang Hui provided a warning, Revil, Ethan Rhea, and others conducted an investigation into Elan. Although they found no substantive evidence, they discovered various suspicious signs, enough to determine that Elan was a Zeon spy.
However, before an arrest could be made, Kinnikuman had transferred Elan from Earth back to his side, causing the capture operation to return empty-handed.
It was confirmed that Elan was a spy, but since he had returned to Kinnikuman's command, Revil and the others could only send telegrams to Kinnikuman through the Political Department, ordering him to arrest Elan.
But the heavens were high and the emperor was far away. Kinnikuman only needed to reply with "Elan has been executed" to silence everyone.
Why did Kinnikuman protect Elan? Was it merely trust?
It was not. Elan was a backup route Kinnikuman had reserved for himself; the man still had value as long as he was alive.
The Military Committee had been purged. Revil and Gopp had launched multiple sweeping operations within the Federal Army. While rooting out Zeon spies, they also cleared away many incompetent officers who disagreed with them or were merely occupying positions without doing any work, including a large number of members from the Conservative Faction.
The Conservative Faction was originally a branch of the Aristocrat Faction in the Assembly. Most of its members were unskilled individuals who had entered the Federal Army through connections. Consequently, the Conservative Faction within the Federal Army suffered heavy losses and was nearly wiped out.
Kinnikuman, being in space, was powerless to stop it. He could only watch as his people were purged by Revil and Gopp, and his influence within the Federal Army was exhausted. This was why Kinnikuman was in his current predicament, left with no choice but to lead his last remaining fleet on an aimless wander through a safe sector.
Resist? How could he resist? He was leading an obsolete fleet!
The pressure and purging Revil and Gopp applied to the Conservative Faction weren't just about clearing out personnel and marginalizing Kinnikuman. The warships in this fleet were all un-retrofitted Salamis-class cruisers and Magellan-class battleships. Even if there were spare Kirin-class ships, none were assigned to him. Furthermore, all the systems were older generations; how much combat effectiveness could they have in a Minovsky Particle environment?
There were still MS, but the vast fleet only had nine Mass-Production Mobile Suits in total. Moreover, they only had basic equipment, with no weapon packs configured. These had been given to Kinnikuman purely for appearances when the initial superficial work was being done—at least, that was the case back then.
Now, regular units were fully equipped with Mass-Production Mobile Suits, and these nine lonely MS were nothing more than a stinging slap to Kinnikuman's face.
"What value do you have left?"
"Com... Commander!?" Seeing Kinnikuman point the dark muzzle of a gun at him, Elan retreated in terror, stopping only when he hit the wall. "I... I can bridge the gap for you!"
"Heh, bridge the gap? To the Principality of Zeon?" Kinnikuman sneered.
Because of the Reformist Faction's lightning-fast purge, Kinnikuman knew very well that he no longer had a chance to turn things around within the Federal Army. The best possible outcome would be a mundane retirement, spending the rest of his life as an ordinary old man.
At worst, he might be purged by the Reformists and disappear into some unknown corner.
As the leader of the Conservative Faction who had fought the Reformists for so long, Kinnikuman was naturally unwilling to let it end like this. Thus, he kept Elan as a final retreat.
However... the restoration of the Zeon Republic made that retreat narrower and narrower. Furthermore, through the remnants of his network within the Federal Army, he had learned of the battle situation on Earth. The Principality of Zeon being driven off Earth was already a settled fact. Now, Axis had been taken by Tianem, and Revil had personally come to space for the final decisive battle against the Principality of Zeon. The Principality of Zeon had no chance of a comeback. This retreat route was severed, and he no longer saw a need to keep Elan.
"No... that's not it! I can help you contact the Zeon Republic!"
"Heh, the Zeon Republic? You have a connection with that brat Casval?" Kinnikuman maintained the cold sneer on his face.
"Ye... Yes! I can help you get in touch with Prince Casval!"
Elan was talking nonsense. He had no relationship with Char whatsoever, let alone a way to contact him. Elan had originally belonged to Kycilia's Agency, while Char had been in a frontline combat unit during his hidden phase. The relationship between Kycilia's Agency and frontline units had never been good.
But he had no choice. Elan could see that Kinnikuman intended to kill him. Regardless of whether he actually could, he had to buy time. Only by buying time would he have a chance to save himself.
"Is that so? Three days. Is that enough?" Kinnikuman kept his cold smile, but he lowered the pistol, allowing Elan to relax slightly.
"It is!"
"Go then."
"Yes!"
Elan fled in a panic. Once he was gone, Kinnikuman immediately contacted his guards: "Watch him, and eliminate him."
"Understood."
Kinnikuman certainly didn't believe Elan's lies, especially since the man was a spy to begin with. He had already made up his mind to deal with Elan.
However, he couldn't do it himself. His subordinates were already anxious; if he killed a man with his own hands, it would accelerate the collapse of internal morale. Therefore... he would simply let him disappear without a trace.
Then, Kinnikuman dialed another number. The person on the other end was Haman Karn.
"Commander."
"Are you ready?"
"Ready. At your command, Granada and Von Braun City will be yours for the taking."
"Begin."
"Yes."
Hanging up the phone, Kinnikuman finally relaxed. After ordering the fleet to head toward the moon, he closed his eyes for a short nap.
This was Kinnikuman's true retreat. As a core member of the Conservative Faction and Kinnikuman's true confidant, Haman Karn had not remained by his side precisely for this final gamble. Only by holding this trump card would he have the qualifications to negotiate with Revil and Gopp.
Little did he know that far away in Granada, Haman Karn wore the same cold sneer Kinnikuman had displayed earlier.
...
At the same time, a major event occurred on Earth that caused a massive stir.
Before the final decisive battle of the war had even ended, General Gopp announced his retirement and entered the Federal Assembly as a representative.
Furthermore, he was not just any inconsequential representative on the floor; he had taken over one of the most important positions on the Presidium.
"Hehehe, as expected of you, Mr. Creuset. You made it so easy for me to sit on this Presidium." Gopp sat across from Creuset, his smiling face resembling a harmless fox, though his claws were merely well-hidden and ready to strike at any time.
"You overpraise me, Chairman Gopp. Even with my help, your ability to sit on the Presidium is not unrelated to your own prestige."
"Hmm... but doing it this way was a bit rash. This is an open declaration of war against them," Gopp said seriously. He ignored Creuset calling him "Chairman," as it was an inevitable outcome anyway, and Creuset was no stranger—there was no need for pretension.
"The timing is ripe, and the preparations are complete. Next... it's better to let them strike first while we maintain our composure."
"Fine, though you lot are a bit much, dumping all the troublesome matters on me while you go off to enjoy yourselves," Gopp complained.
"You are the most suitable person for this, are you not? As a non-combatant, this is the most appropriate battlefield for you."
"That is not necessarily true, young man," Gopp replied with his signature fox-like smile.
Although Creuset was not from this world, including his time in the Gundam SEED world, he was only in his fifties, while Gopp was already over seventy. Calling Creuset a young man was perfectly appropriate.
"It seems Chairman Gopp has hidden quite a few things."
"Everyone has their secrets, don't they?"
"That's true. Start training a successor; that's what people from the other worlds are doing."
"I suppose I'll have to." Gopp only complained briefly. Having been in charge of logistics for so long, he knew exactly how important the stability of the rear was. However, his anticipation for other worlds was undeniable, so... training a successor would be his next goal.
...
At the A Baoa Qu Fortress, Mark Be looked at the battle map with a grim expression. Although he had the Bigros and a massive army at his disposal, the Federation was no soft target. Under the command of Douglas Bader, the fleet had quickly pierced the defensive lines he had arranged. Furthermore, because of some never-before-seen defensive system, his ultimate weapon, the Bigro, had failed several times. Now, with the Federation's MS units closing in, three Bigros had already been destroyed.
Moreover, Douglas Bader was very clever. He had seemingly recklessly charged into the enemy lines, entering the encirclement of his own volition, but he had positioned the Federation fleet between the Bigros and A Baoa Qu. If the Bigros fired their cannons, they would catch A Baoa Qu in the crossfire.
Mark Be did not care about the lives of ordinary soldiers, but he certainly cared about his own.
The Bigros had lost their effectiveness, and the battle had dragged into a stalemate. This was what Mark Be found hardest to accept, as he did not know if the Federation had more reinforcements, how many there were, or when they would arrive.
"Commander Mark Be, urgent message from Side 3!"
"Speak!"
"The Solar Ray System has been completely destroyed. The enemy has successfully broken through. The Supreme Commander... the Supreme Commander..."
"...Leave us." Before the subordinate could finish, Mark Be already knew the answer.
"Yes..."
"Order the rear units to prepare. The enemy is coming."
"Yes!"
Learning of Gihren Zabi's end, Mark Be sighed, his eyes briefly clouded with uncertainty. But he quickly regained his resolve, for there was now only one thing left for him to do.
"Prepare the Gyan. I am sortieing."