Lalah's sudden psychic assault on Char in the spiritual realm did not affect the subsequent negotiations after his brief recovery. However, Char could vaguely feel a sensation—as if someone were watching him.
"Under normal circumstances, the Board was only willing to provide a small number of Messers and a single Gundam codenamed Xi, exclusive to Hathaway."
Xiaochuan, the Anaheim accountant, was currently leading Hathaway and Char down a long corridor.
"But after a brief and intense discussion, we have decided to increase the scale of our assistance."
The members of the Anaheim Board of Directors had been utterly spooked by Char's appearance. After all, back in '93, the Axis Shock had terrified everyone.
The people at Anaheim, in particular, had initially thought Char was merely engaging in localized conflicts with the Federation and had lent him their support; they never expected him to actually try dropping a "stone" (Axis) on Earth!
But looking back, they began to ponder whether Char's reappearance might also be an opportunity for Anaheim.
While the Federation's procurement of Jegans and Gustav Karls remained high, Anaheim had recently noticed a clear decline in the Federation's willingness to commission them for high-end mobile suit development.
Rumors suggested that an internal Federation department dedicated to developing its own high-end machines was being formed—in fact, the proposal was already moving through the bureaucratic process.
They had to seize this chance.
By increasing investment in "Char" and Mafty—thereby boosting their combat power and inciting more military action—Anaheim could then develop even more powerful custom units to sell to the Federation.
It would be a repeat of the Sazabi and $\nu$ Gundam era, a demonstration of Anaheim's deep technical heritage.
This way, even if that so-called "High-End Machine Research Department" were officially established, Anaheim would still maintain a firm lead in high-end R&D.
Consequently, during the emergency Board meeting, the proposal to increase aid to Char and Mafty passed with an overwhelming majority.
This was precisely why Xiaochuan, acting as the Anaheim accountant, was now leading Hathaway and Char to this specific location.
The three arrived at a brand-new hangar, where a machine—still in its skeletal frame stage—was being constructed at a slow pace.
"This is..."
Staring at the frame before him, which stood nearly as tall as the Xi Gundam, Hathaway couldn't help but be stunned.
"Provisional designation RX110; the initial project name is the Zorin Soul."
Xiaochuan explained the skeletal frame to Char with a beaming smile.
"As you can see, because Anaheim hasn't prioritized this project, the manufacturing speed has been relatively slow."
"However, considering we are ramping up aid to Mafty, Anaheim will accelerate the construction of the Zorin Soul."
Xiaochuan reached out and pointed toward the machine's frame. "Furthermore, by a striking coincidence, the ones designing and building this Zorin Soul are former members who left the Zeon remnants."
"Zeon remnants..."
Char remained silent for a moment as he watched the middle-aged and elderly workers in coveralls who were surrounding the skeletal frame, busy tuning various components.
The Principality of Zeon... in the end, is all that remains just "remnants"?
"Please, follow me. I'll take you in for a closer look at this frame so you can get a better understanding of the machine."
Without waiting for Char to snap out of his thoughts, Xiaochuan opened the main doors to the hangar.
-----------------------------------
When Char entered the hangar, every engineer currently working on the Mobile Suits stopped what they were doing the moment they saw him.
Xiaochuan brought over a grey-haired old man dressed in work coveralls. Upon seeing Char, the old man froze instinctively for a moment.
"You... you look so much like him."
A German accent laced the old man's sighing words. "For a second, I almost thought Supreme Commander Char had been resurrected..."
'Supreme Commander... is that my future?'
Char desperately wanted to ask them why they had abandoned their Zeon identity, why they had stopped fighting, and why they chose to cooperate with Anaheim... There were too many questions.
But as his current public identity was "Damien" and not "Char Aznable," he could not inquire with the tone or posture of Char. He could only bury his questions regarding the Zeon remnants deep within his heart.
"So, are you the one they've selected to be the pilot of this machine?" the old man asked, scrutinizing Char's appearance.
"...Barring any accidents, I will be the pilot of this unit," Char replied after a brief silence, keeping his voice as calm as possible.
"Heh... just as I thought."
The old man let out a cold laugh, glancing at Xiaochuan, who was busy communicating with his superiors via intercom.
His tone was thick with disdain for Anaheim. "Anaheim loves this sort of thing. The more chaotic the world gets, the better it is for them."
"Unlucky fellow. No doubt they're treating you as a pawn to throw the Federation into disarray, just like Mafty."
As a former member of the Zeon remnants, the old man understood perfectly well what Anaheim's motives were when they funded them in the past.
By simply applying the history of the Zeon remnants to Mafty, he understood exactly what was happening.
"...Fate has marked a price on everything," Char said, not denying the old man's words. After all, he understood clearly that this was a transaction. "This is the price I must pay."
Of course, what happened afterward and whether it fell within Anaheim's calculations was another matter entirely; for now, Char needed to maintain the appearance of complying with the terms of Anaheim's deal.
"Then they certainly didn't tell you about the extra tip."
The old man shook his head, looking at Char.
"I have a few questions I want to ask you."
Though he appeared aged on the outside, the old man's voice was thick and resonant, as if it had never withered with time.
"...Ask away."
Char looked at the old man and nodded.
"Just what... are you fighting for?"
The old man stared at Char, as if he could already envision the various turmoils that would arise when a face like his appeared in the outside world. "What will your arrival bring to this world?"
It was a strange question; Char had originally assumed the old man would ask about his relationship to the real Char.
Had his perspective moved beyond just "Space Migrants" to encompass "this world" as a whole?
"If you must ask, I don't know," Char said, shaking his head. "That is my answer."
A silence fell between the two for a long moment.
Eventually, the old man sighed and shook his head again.
"Forget it... I won't get anything out of you anyway. Once this machine is in your hands, it's out of our control."
As if giving up, the old man tossed a thick operation manual into Char's arms.
"This is..."
Looking at the manual in his hands, Char couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Even though the machine wasn't finished, the operation manual was already complete?
"The design philosophy follows the Sazabi and the Nu Gundam. The operating system was finalized a long time ago; right now, the machine is just in the parts-assembly stage."
The old man reached out and patted the shoulder of the manual-clutching Char. "Anyway, look over the manual in advance so you can get the hang of it as quickly as possible when the time comes."
"I look forward to... this machine's performance."
Glancing at the serial number on the cover of the manual, Char looked up at the "Zorin Soul," which was still a skeletal frame having various equipment installed.
Faced with Char's expectations, the old man seemed as though he wanted to say something more, but in the end, he only sighed and turned back toward the Zorin Soul.
"She won't disappoint you."
-----------------------------------
"It's not enough. This machine... it's absolutely impossible to go toe-to-toe and contend fairly with 'Amuro's' unit."
Char stared at the operation manual in his hands, absorbing the machine's performance specs and various armament data; he understood this truth clearly.
Perhaps relying solely on the Zorin Soul would allow him to battle the Federation, but after that, his next opponent would be that black-haired "Amuro."
That red mono-eye machine, its eerie maneuverability, and "Amuro's" own piloting technique...
Could he win with just the Zorin Soul? It was a guaranteed loss.
"What's wrong?"
As Xiaochuan went off to pester the old man who had just handed Char the manual, Hathaway finally managed to pull away and approach Char.
"The performance is insufficient... at least for the upcoming battle against those so-called Zeon remnants, it's completely inadequate."
Char casually flipped the manual to the section on predicted performance and armaments and handed it to Hathaway.
"That red mono-eye unit, and the machines following it—from what I've observed, their performance data is superior to the Zorin Soul."
"Relying on a machine like this, there's simply no way to have a fair duel with him..."
Char sighed, recalling the performance of the Sinanju and the various units from the Nahel Argama.
"A fair duel... is it?"
Glancing briefly at the Zorin Soul's data, Hathaway felt a wave of confusion.
As a specialized Funnel-type unit, the Zorin Soul's performance specs were on par with the Xi Gundam—some data points were even superior.
If even these specs were "incapable of defeating the red mono-eye" in Char's eyes, then just how powerful was that machine's performance?
"But this is already the best offer Anaheim can provide," Hathaway said, shaking his head as he closed the manual. He couldn't help but snark, "If even this isn't enough, and those Zeon remnants' machine-building tech is really that good, we might as well just hand the machine over to them for a retrofit."
Yet, it was this joke-like comment that seemed to clear the blockage in Char's train of thought.
That's it. The Federation is just a secondary objective; in the end, he still has to have a proper, honorable duel with "Amuro."
In that case, why not use the excuse of dealing with the Federation early on to get "Amuro" to help him modify his machine?
"Hathaway..."
"What is it?"
Hathaway blinked, caught off guard by Char's tone.
"You are a absolute genius."
Char smiled, the more he thought about the plan, the more feasible it seemed.
The Zorin Soul was indeed an excellent machine, but facing "Amuro" and his unit, it would likely only serve as "fusion material" to create an even stronger mobile suit.
"Wait, I was joking!"
Inexplicably, Hathaway felt that something had gone completely off the rails.
...................