Under the watchful eyes of the Federation Bureau of Investigation agents, Kai Shiden left Beltorchika's home and drove his small blue car toward the airport.
After habitually rolling up the windows, Kai mounted his phone on the dashboard bracket and initiated a video call request to Bright Noa.
"Kai, what is it?"
Bright answered the call, looking at Kai calmly. "Have you found more information?"
"Yeah, I just finished meeting with Ms. Beltorchika."
Kai loosened the tie around his neck, speaking with a trace of excitement. "Although we lack genetic identification data, according to her, her heart tells her that it is Amuro."
"Is that so..."
Upon hearing Kai's words, Bright actually felt a sense of relief.
"It seems I really wasn't hallucinating that day."
That brief encounter with Roz Links at the Moon Base—and the subsequent inability to find any relevant footage in the security room—had been haunting Bright's mind.
It had even led him to wonder if he was approaching death and experiencing hallucinations.
Because of this, Bright had even gone as far as writing his will.
"What's wrong?"
Kai's brow furrowed slightly as he listened to Bright.
"Before this Amuro appeared in Oenbelli... he actually met with me at the Moon Base."
Bright paused for a moment, recalling the scene. "He even told me that Amuro sends his regards."
This explosive piece of intelligence caused Kai's eyes to widen. He nearly caused the car to flip over from the sheer shock of his sudden movement.
But just a second later, he forced himself to calm down.
"Something this important—why didn't you tell me last time?!" Kai gritted his teeth and asked.
"Because no footage of his appearance could be found at the time. I thought I was hallucinating..." Bright sighed, voicing his thoughts. "Thinking back now, he likely has a team behind him that hacked into the Moon Base's surveillance system in some way to erase his image."
"I suspect he has some connection to our Amuro, but whether he is our Amuro with amnesia or a split personality, or perhaps a clone or an illegitimate son... I need to investigate to be sure. I might not be able to contact you for a while," Kai mused, reflecting on the situation.
"Understood. Stay safe," Bright nodded. "You have the contact information for the Londo Bell members; call them for backup if necessary."
"Though I can't tell them the truth directly yet, I've already given them a heads-up."
Bright had been making preparations since their last contact. He had first reached out to former Londo Bell members who had since dispersed and become the backbone of various Federation units.
He informed them that Kai Shiden was conducting an investigation related to the Londo Bell era and might require their assistance.
He didn't use the Federation's name, but rather the name of Londo Bell itself. This gave these former members the impression that "Bright wants to go rogue," reminiscent of the AEUG era.
However, Bright's long-standing reputation and his personal weight in the hearts of these former Londo Bell members led them to readily accept this "Final Mission of Londo Bell."
Even Kenneth Sleg, who was about to take up his post as commander of the Kimberly Force, thumped his chest and said, "If Kai needs anything, just call me. I'll send the Penelope to pull him out."
"Speaking of this Amuro's team that appeared recently..."
With the most important topic concluded, Kai intended to end on a lighter note. "I bet that in his team, there must be a woman who is older—or at least looks more mature than him—acting as his partner."
It seemed Amuro's colorful romantic history fit the current situation all too well.
"...Kai, that actually reminds me of something."
As if struck by a thought, Bright suddenly raised a hand to cover his head. "If the Amuro we are investigating really is our Amuro... then what about Beltorchika, Sayla... how are their relationships with Amuro going to be resolved?"
Because he knew Amuro's history so well, Bright didn't hesitate to believe Kai's hypothesis that Amuro would find a new love within his team.
But what about the old flames like Beltorchika and Sayla?
In an instant, the two men—whose own children were already in school or working—fell into a bizarre silence.
"Ahem... regarding that, I think we can only wish Amuro the best and pray he has a solution himself."
Kai coughed twice to ease the awkward atmosphere. One could only pray that "Amuro" wouldn't end up being torn to pieces by his own chaotic romantic entanglements.
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Roz felt as though someone was definitely talking behind his back.
This sensation hadn't let up once on his way from the bridge to the hangar, largely because Roz had been sneezing the entire time.
To be honest, he felt that his actions up to this point left him with a clear conscience—at least toward those he knew well.
As for those he didn't know, they didn't even know the name "Roz," and were likely enemies who had already been shot down.
"Do you really not want to go take a rest?"
Inside the hangar, Cindy looked at Roz with a worried expression. "You didn't actually catch a cold, did you?"
Unlike her, whose body was fully cyberized, Roz's current body was still one of the few "natural bodies" on the ship. Although, for some reason, his strength and endurance were actually higher than the cybernetic bodies of others.
It was said that Jack, the ship's doctor in the infirmary, had been driven to madness several times because of this, and had even been knocked out by a duty nurse and forcibly injected with suppressants.
"Don't talk nonsense; my health is perfectly fine."
Roz took out a handkerchief given to him by Christina, wiped his nose, and shook his head. "I bet it's just someone mentioning me behind my back..."
"Wait, could it be that guy Char?!"
Roz felt he had discovered the truth. But he quickly shook his head again and returned to the strengthening and modification of the Banshee Norn.
The design concept for the "Shield-Axe Armament"—consisting of a customized Beam Magnum and Armed Armor DE (Shield)—was sound.
The Banshee Norn series of equipment also utilized its performance well, and Shinn had nothing but praise for the Armed Armor VN.
Yet, inexplicably, in both simulated and actual combat, the Banshee Norn's practical performance remained lower than that of the Destiny Gundam, let alone the fully modified Destiny.
After consulting with Shinn, Roz decided to add more to the Banshee Norn's improvement blueprints.
First was increasing the power of the two beam sabers on the forearms so they could function effectively as wrist cannons.
Secondly, to prevent the Voiture Lumiere system from being unusable while the "Shield-Axe" was deployed, the propulsion units originally integrated into the shield-axe were moved to the backpack.
When needed, four small components would deploy from the sides of the backpack, forming a pair of small "Wings of Light."
Although the size and power constraints meant the Banshee Norn wouldn't be able to produce "afterimages" like the Destiny Gundam,
Roz figured that once the integrated GN Drive was activated with the Trans-Am system, the performance would likely be similar.
Furthermore, Roz added a thermal punching module called "Fire Fist" to the outer armor of the Armed Armor VN, capable of melting through the external plating of most MS with a single strike.
These were Roz's temporary reinforcement designs for the Banshee Norn.
Other gadgets, such as leg-mounted beam blades and thermal short-blades in the soles of the feet, were also crammed into the blueprints by Roz.
"We have these materials on board... there shouldn't be a need for any urgent procurement."
As he spoke, Roz handed the tablet in his hand to Cindy. "Cindy, take the maintenance crew and look this over. We need to carry out the Banshee Norn's refit as quickly as possible."
"Is it really that urgent...?"
Looking at the timeline Roz had marked on the blueprints, even someone like Cindy, who could work twenty-four hours without interruption, couldn't help but knit her brows.
"Yes, because there's no telling when we'll need to use it," Roz replied with a shake of his head. "Besides, Shinn needs to conduct a massive amount of simulated combat training to fully draw out the machine's performance."
"I understand. I'll take the maintenance crew and follow the blueprints," Cindy nodded. "However, do you need the maintenance crew's help with the core armaments for the Sinanju's internal units?"
"I've already added Psycho-Frame to them. If necessary, they can be quickly equipped using the NT-D system."
Roz mused over his ideas. "If required, they can also be operated like the funnel shields, though because the Psycho-Frame content is low, the control won't be as precise as the shields."
"Now, I just need to get inside the machine to input the data and drivers for these armaments."
The two ended their conversation, and after Roz accepted a hug and kiss from Cindy, they parted ways.
Cindy needed to lead the maintenance crew to prepare for the Banshee Norn's modifications, while Roz climbed into the cockpit of the Sinanju.
As the Sinanju started up, Roz's hands began dancing across the three touchscreens in the cockpit, installing weapon driver packages into the mobile suit's OS one by one.
However, as Roz performed these operations, and without anyone noticing, the Sinanju's emerald-green mono-eye flickered to life.
The green mono-eye moved slowly, making no sound to attract attention.
First, the Sinanju looked to the side at the "sleeping" Unicorn Gundam. The green mono-eye camera slightly contracted and then expanded, completing its focus.
Then, as if she had finished her observation, she shifted her target, looking toward the Penelope across from her—a machine that appeared massive due to its external flight armor.
Pshhh...
Despite not being powered on, the Penelope's cooling vents suddenly blasted a powerful jet of warm air.
The maintenance crew in the hangar paid no mind to this; after all, it was common knowledge that the machine soul known as "AllMind" had been entertaining itself over there for quite a long time.
Yet, facing the "protest" from the Penelope's machine soul, "AllMind," the Sinanju's mono-eye somehow betrayed a sense of "amusement."
Finally, as the Sinanju cut the light to its mono-eye camera, the two machines fell back into a state of tranquility.
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