Chapter 226: Stepping Onto the Stage
Not far from Tolle's position, Zola, Ange, and the others piloted their customized Graze units, launching the first wave of attacks with shoulder-mounted missile launchers.
After a full volley, they discarded the launchers and switched to dual machine guns, continuing to fire relentlessly at the advancing Graze formations ahead.
Several Schmagia pilots also entered combat—Treize, Zechs, and Heero wielded assault rifles, while Wufei fought with a physical trident, and Duo and Quatre carried physical battle axes.
Each led a squad in different directions, independently engaging the enemy.
The Gjallarhorn Graze units returned fire with their machine guns and assault rifles, bullets streaking across the void in a continuous barrage.
But Tolle's side had the advantage—each customized Graze was equipped with an Ahab Reactor and reinforced with a thickened nano-armor coating plus Phase-Shift armor, rendering the enemy's attacks virtually useless.
Zola, Ange, and the Schmagia pilots—barely a dozen in total—rampaged through the enemy ranks without restraint.
Had Tolle not specifically instructed them to minimize casualties, not a single intact mobile suit would have been left on the battlefield.
After all, the purpose of this battle was to force Gjallarhorn's recognition—to secure official acknowledgment for the Spark Interstellar Trade Security Group and bring it onto the legitimate stage.
He couldn't afford to make the enemy too hostile. Before the Tekkadan uprising began, it would be unwise to annihilate the Gjallarhorn army completely.
Otherwise, the later plot would collapse entirely—there might not even be a Mikazuki to pilot Barbatos anymore.
After more than half an hour of fierce combat, Gjallarhorn's forces were completely crushed. Not a single warship or mobile suit on their side could still fight.
Satisfied, Tolle opened a wide-range broadcast:
"Attention, Gjallarhorn commander.
Your forces have been utterly defeated and are incapable of further resistance.
Most of your mobile suit pilots are alive. Out of humanitarian concern, we have spared them.
You are hereby ordered to surrender immediately and recognize the rightful status and legal rights of the Spark Interstellar Trade Security Group in the Martian sector.
We will return the three to four hundred mobile suit cockpits to your fleet.
Otherwise, we will interpret your silence as abandonment of responsibility for your soldiers and act accordingly.
This is your final warning.
I repeat—surrender at once…"
On Gjallarhorn's flagship bridge, the fleet commander slammed his fist into his captain's chair in rage.
"Damn these space pirate bastards! How dare they declare sovereignty before Gjallarhorn—and demand my surrender!"
His deputy hesitated. "Sir… what should we do? My unit's completely—well, should we fall back, regroup, and try again…?"
The commander waved a hand to cut him off, sighing.
"I know. We've lost—completely and utterly. You don't need to tell me that.
I'm furious, yes, but I'm not blind. Even if we doubled our forces, it would be meaningless.
Unless we had better suits—those Gundams from the Calamity War, like the Bael Gundam—and in sufficient numbers at that.
That white Gundam of theirs took out our entire fleet almost instantly."
"Captain, you actually believe the legend of the Bael Gundam? Then… what now?"
"Belief changes nothing. We'll surrender.
Recover our pilots, report everything to headquarters, and let the brass deal with it.
My rank's probably getting demoted again. Damn, this is humiliating."
Soon, Tolle received the Gjallarhorn fleet's surrender transmission:
"Commander of the Spark Interstellar Trade Security Group, we surrender. Please safely return our pilots.
As for recognizing your group's status and rights in the Martian sector—that's beyond my authority. But if you trust me, I'll report it to my superiors."
It didn't matter whether he agreed or not. All Tolle needed was a victory. With enough wins, Gjallarhorn would have to acknowledge him eventually.
"A wise decision, Commander of Gjallarhorn. I look forward to your report.
We'll begin rescuing your drifting pilots now.
Please issue orders for them to remain calm to avoid unnecessary complications."
Tolle immediately dispatched his crew in small cargo tugs to retrieve the floating mobile suits and return them to Gjallarhorn's warships.
After their fleet withdrew, the stunning defeat sparked intense division within Gjallarhorn itself.
Two factions emerged: the peace faction and the war faction. After endless internal debate, they ultimately agreed to temporarily recognize the Spark Interstellar Trade Security Group's partial authority and rights within the Martian sector.
They sent representatives to the spaceport base—under the guise of peace talks, but in truth to assess Tolle's military strength.
During this time, Tolle didn't sit idle. He scattered his fleet and continued to absorb smaller pirate groups.
Under his aggressive expansion, his armada and mobile suit forces grew even larger—so much so that Gjallarhorn abandoned the idea of another offensive against the spaceport.
After several rounds of negotiation, Gjallarhorn proposed that Tolle's Spark Interstellar Trade Security Group withdraw from the Earth–Mars route.
In return, Gjallarhorn would cede the Mars–Jupiter route as the group's base of operations—on the condition that the route between Mars and Jupiter remain open to Gjallarhorn traffic, and that Tolle's group pay an annual "lease fee" for use of the route.
Tolle flatly rejected the idea of paying any fixed annual fee.
After fierce argument, both sides made concessions: the fee was halved, and the first five years were free—thus establishing a temporary peace agreement.
Tolle smirked and muttered, "Old foxes, every one of you… but this time you've miscalculated. Hunt the goose long enough, and one day the goose bites back.
Five years from now, who knows if you'll still control anything? When Mars gains independence, what will you use to rule the Mars–Jupiter route?
And besides, in five years, I'll be long gone—so not a single credit of that fee will ever come from me."