"We already... don't know how to do anything except fight anymore."
Cagalli was lost in a daze when Nicol's urgent voice suddenly broke the silence.
"The Earth Alliance fleet has rendezvoused and set out!"
"The Earth Alliance has already mobilized? What should we do, Miss Lacus?"
All eyes turned toward Lacus. Within the Three Ships Alliance, she was the de facto supreme commander.
Though both were leaders, Cagalli was still far less seasoned than Lacus.
"What is the maintenance status of the four ships?" Lacus asked calmly.
"Everything was completed by 2300 hours yesterday," Aisha answered.
Lacus raised her head, her beautiful eyes shining with unwavering resolve.
"Then... let us launch."
"Understood."
Murrue and the others left the bridge of the Eternal, returning to their respective vessels to prepare for departure. Before leaving, Cagalli turned toward the screen displaying Orga.
"Please tell Mika for me... that I'm sorry."
Orga, who was just about to close the comm link with the Eternal, shut one eye upon hearing her words. "Alright."
"And... tell him... that I'm deploying too."
"Huh?"
Before Orga could voice his confusion, Cagalli stepped into the elevator that had just arrived, swiftly exiting the Eternal's bridge.
"Deploying? What's going on?"
Having just resumed his seat in the captain's chair, Andrew glanced at the console beside his armrest and explained, "It's the Strike Rouge. Word from the Kusanagi is that final calibrations on the Strike Rouge are finished, and it's cleared for combat."
"The Strike Rouge? Oh, that replica unit Orb constructed using the Strike Gundam's data."
Orga nodded in understanding and didn't pry any further. He terminated the transmission and headed back to the Sassari to oversee their departure procedures.
While preparing, he opened a private channel to Mikazuki.
"Oh? Cagalli is launching?"
"Yeah. She's piloting a sister unit built by Orb based on the Strike. Sounds like it's called Strike Rougetranslates roughly to 'Crimson Strike,' I suppose."
"Strike Rouge, huh?"
Mikazuki nodded slightly without dwelling on it. He pulled on his helmet and interfaced with the Alaya-Vijnana System.
"This might be the final battle. Is Barbatos ready?" Orga asked.
Mikazuki blinked. "Ready for what energy?"
"..."
Orga let out a heavy sigh, his tone exasperated. "The Transition Device's energy! The thing that lets us travel between worlds! I told you about it right at the beginning, didn't I?"
A flicker of realization finally crossed Mikazuki's face. "Oh, that."
"You idiot... Well, that's just how you are. It's a miracle you even remember it at all."
"Let me take a look."
Mikazuki gave a faint smirk and tapped a virtual key on the screen. Glancing to the left of his pilot seat, a palm-sized mechanism slid out, displaying an illuminated energy gauge.
Leaning in to inspect it closely, Mikazuki's eyes narrowed. "Let's see... Three bars left... no, four. In any case, it's almost full."
"About four percent short? Then this single battle should top it off. Honestly, that energy gathered remarkably fast. Even though we've been constantly fighting, I thought we'd be lucky to hit fifty percent, but it's already pushing one hundred..."
"It's probably because of those two Graze Eins."
Mikazuki flipped open his visor, retrieved a ration bar from the storage compartment beside him, and began chewing on it.
"The Graze Eins?"
"Yeah. I remember you saying that the stronger the opponents we take down, the more energy the device absorbs."
"I did say that... I see. So Graze Ein was that strong to you?"
"It was alright. If I had the Rex Form to handle it, things would've been much simpler."
"A difference in specs, huh? Wait... didn't you just say you forgot about the whole thing?"
Orga fixed Mikazuki with a deadpan stare, but Mikazuki merely offered his usual unflappable, nonchalant look.
"Well, I remember now, don't I?"
"You little rascal..."
Ten minutes later, the four warships of the Three Ships Alliance completed all preparations and launched into space. Led by the Eternal, the armada comprising ZAFT, Earth Alliance, and Orb vessels surged toward the final battleground.
By the time the Three Ships Alliance approached the combat sector, the Earth Alliance and the ZAFT Military had already clashed. Looking out through the bridge viewports, continuous detonations and crisscrossing beam fire painted a chaotic tableau of war.
"Report: both sides have engaged!"
Though it was plain for all to see, Miriallia dutifully reported the situation to Murrue.
On the Eternal's catapult deck, Gundam Barbatos stood locked into place alongside its auxiliary thruster.
"Per the operational plan, Barbatos will detach from the fleet and spearhead the assault into the combat zone! Pilot Mikazuki Augus, prepare for launch!"
Hearing the flight controller's voice over his headset from the Combat Information Center, Mikazuki responded, "Barbatos is prepared for launch."
"Understood. Barbatos, you are cleared for launch! Following booster ignition, flight controls will transfer to the pilot."
"Understood."
Mikazuki tapped the console a few times and looked up. His gaze sharpened instantly, his tone flat and icy.
"Mikazuki Augus, Barbatos, launching!"
On the catapult deck, the thrusters mounted on Barbatos's back roared with blinding brilliance, rocketing the machine off the Eternal and out into the void of space.
Its emerald optical sensors flared with a predatory, bloodthirsty gleam, locking firmly onto the battlefield ahead.
From the bridges of three different warships, three women gazed at the streak of blue light tearing through the dark, each harboring her own unspoken thoughts...
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