Chapter 179: The Betrayed Homeland (Part 2)
Tolle helplessly shrugged and followed Lady to the command center. The moment they arrived, they rushed straight into the interrogation room where Dr. G was being held.
Lady looked at the strange old man before her — silver-haired, with a mushroom-like haircut and a long nose — and asked the guard beside him, "Is this the one?"
One of the soldiers guarding Dr. G reported to her, "Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Lady Une."
Dr. G slowly raised his head, his expression solemn as he looked at Lady. "So the commander finally shows herself."
The soldier continued his report: "We found what might have been an MS manufacturing site in the underground area of the military mechanical factory. However, he destroyed the place. Unfortunately, all data related to the Gundam has been erased."
Lady glared at the odd-looking old man and questioned coldly, "Were you trying to wipe out the evidence?"
Then she drew her pistol, aiming it straight at his head. "Speak. Are you the one who built the Gundam?"
Dr. G stared back at her with calm eyes and said, "Is that how you conduct an interrogation?"
"Answer me! You're connected to the five Gundams, aren't you?"
"The other four are not," he replied coolly.
"What do you mean by that?"
Tolle, eager to show off, interjected, "So what you're saying is, you only built one of the Gundams, right?"
Hearing that, Dr. G's expression brightened, impressed that there were still people in OZ with some brains. "Hahaha, that's right, young man! I built the greatest Gundam of them all! Why would I need to make four more variations after that?"
Lady pressed on. "If you only made one, which Gundam was it? Who built the other four? What's your connection to them?"
"I created the masterpiece known as the Deathscythe Gundam! As for the other four, that's just coincidence. Communication between the colonies has been completely cut off by the Alliance. I only built one; I know nothing about the others."
Lady could tell from his tone that Dr. G was telling the truth. It was indeed as he said — without the Earth Alliance's authorization, the colonies couldn't communicate with each other.
She lowered her pistol and began to think. But then a feeling of being deceived crept over her, and she resumed questioning him. "You say it's coincidence? That five Gundams appeared at the same time — is that just coincidence to you?"
Just then, a soldier burst into the interrogation room. "Lieutenant Colonel Lady Une! A transmission from Earth — the Singapore Spaceport Base is under attack by Gundams 02 and 04!"
"What?" Lady exclaimed in shock.
Dr. G murmured to himself, "So they've come back after all…"
At the Singapore Spaceport Base, Deathscythe Gundam and Sandrock Gundam were launching an assault.
The transport plane that had brought them there had already been blown to pieces. The two close-combat Gundams were pinned down by relentless fire from Leo and Tragos units.
To cover Duo as he attempted to seize an HLV shuttle bound for space, Quatre piloted Sandrock into the open.
The two tracking missiles he had just fired were immediately shot down by a storm of rifle fire.
Seeing that ranged attacks were useless, Quatre ignited his thrusters and charged straight into the OZ formation.
But the enemy's firepower was overwhelming — several cannon blasts struck him in quick succession, sending Sandrock crashing to the ground and skidding a long distance before stopping.
Duo had no choice but to abandon his attempt to seize the shuttle. He rushed out in Deathscythe, weaving through the crossfire while unleashing bursts from his shoulder-mounted vulcans and head-mounted guns.
As he closed the distance, he swung his beam scythe, slicing several enemy suits clean in half.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Quatre got Sandrock back on its feet. He hurled his twin heat shotels, embedding them deep into two Leos and destroying their cockpits in a single strike.
But neither of them knew that hidden cameras were broadcasting their assault on the base live to the entire world.
Meanwhile, the D-Colony government publicly declared that it had no connection to the Gundams. It even went so far as to announce that, should the Gundams continue fighting OZ, they would be treated as enemies of the colonies — labeling them the culprits behind a war between Earth and the colonies.
Still locked in battle, Duo and Quatre received the news. Watching the broadcast — hearing such slander from the very colonies they had fought to protect — their hearts sank.
The people of the colonies completely misunderstood their intentions. The accusations robbed them of their will to fight.
They ceased resisting, and both Gundams were soon struck by relentless cannon fire. Under the heavy bombardment, neither could even rise — each time they tried, they were blown back down again.
At that moment, Wufei arrived at the Singapore Spaceport Base in Shenlong Gundam. He unleashed its Dragon Claw and flamethrower, striking hard at the OZ forces.
Grabbing a Leo with the Dragon Claw, he shredded it with a barrage from Shenlong's head vulcan.
The surrounding suits panicked and retreated, but Wufei did not relent. Swinging his beam glaive, he cut through enemy mobile suits one after another.
The tide of battle turned once again. Yet even then, news broke that Heero and Trowa were fighting at another OZ spaceport.
On screen, Wing Gundam could be seen firing its Buster Rifle, obliterating enemy units, while Heavyarms unleashed a full barrage at OZ forces.
Seeing this, Duo and Quatre felt a flicker of hope. At least they weren't alone — others were still fighting for the same cause: the peace and liberation of the colonies.
In space, Lady herself piloted a Taurus mobile suit, leading a squadron of unmanned Tauruses toward a newly discovered Gundam factory on the outskirts of the colonies.
Tolle, once again roped into her operation, followed in another Taurus. The other three Gundam scientists had already been captured as well.
Tolle figured this must be the facility of the last one — Dr. J. If they weren't careful, they could easily be blown apart by Wing Gundam's Buster Rifle.
So he warned Lady deliberately:
"Lady, let's hang back a bit and send the MD units in first. I think they might have intentionally revealed this factory's location. What if it's an ambush?
But then again, it's a good chance to test how well the MD units handle unexpected battlefield situations, don't you think?"