Chapter 233: Iron and Blood (Part 1)
A month later, seeking assistance, Kudelia finally decided to hire CGS to escort her to Earth to meet with representatives of Arbrau.
…
"Orga! Orga! Wake up, wake up!"
Orga, who had been lying in front of the Barbatos Gundam, woke up drenched in sweat. "Oh—oh… it's you, Mikazuki."
Mikazuki said sternly, "Oh what? Orga, why are you slacking off here again? If the boss's men find out, who knows how they'll punish you."
Stretching lazily and rubbing his ribs, Orga muttered, "Got it, I'll go now…"
Before he could finish, CGS's mechanic in charge of maintaining the mobile workers, Nadi, called out from the doorway:
"Ah, Mikazuki, Orga—you two are here after all."
Orga replied in his usual careless tone, "What's up, old man? Something wrong?"
Nadi frowned, clearly displeased. "What's up, you say? Maruba's calling for you two."
"You mean the boss? What's he want with us?"
"How should I know! Anyway, didn't I tell you not to come in here?"
"Aw, come on. This place stays warm all year round—it's the best spot for a nap. What do you expect me to do, freeze my butt off outside in the wind?"
"You really are hopeless, you lazy brat."
Meanwhile, Mikazuki remained fixated on the Barbatos, completely entranced by it.
"Hey, Mikazuki," Orga called, "let's go, the boss is waiting."
Nadi added impatiently, "This power room is one of the base's top secrets, you know. Move it already!"
Only then did Mikazuki respond absentmindedly, "Oh, right. Coming."
Watching all this through his monitor, Tolle knew it—the story of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans had officially begun.
In the CGS headquarters office, Maruba sat smoking a cigar and said to Orga and Biscuit, "Our company's just received an important mission: escorting the beloved daughter of the Bernstein family patriarch safely to Earth."
Maruba exhaled a cloud of smoke, then continued, "And as for this escort mission… I'm assigning it to your Third Unit."
Biscuit, puzzled, asked, "Boss, may I ask—this daughter of the Bernstein family head, is she Kudelia Aina Bernstein?"
Maruba, puffing leisurely, replied, "Oh~ Biscuit, you know her? Let's hear it."
"Well, I heard she's been leading the Martian independence movement. People even call her the 'Revolutionary Maiden.'"
Maruba nodded. "Mm. From what I know, her trip to Earth is indeed related to that independence movement. Quite impressive for someone her age."
Orga frowned. "But boss, why assign such an important job to us?"
"Oh, this was at the young lady's personal request. After all, our shareholder—the chairman of the Spark Interstellar Trade Security Group—knows her quite well. Their relationship seems pretty friendly, too."
"Huh? So this came from the Spark Group…"
At that moment, CGS's second-in-command and First Unit captain, Crank Zent, cut Orga off sharply: "Whatever the reason, it's none of your business. You brats just do as you're told. Don't think you're special just because you've met one of the shareholders—you'll still follow orders like everyone else. Got it?"
After Zent played the bad cop, Maruba switched to the good cop role, soothingly saying, "Orga, you know, things have gotten better for us since we got the Spark Group's backing. But business still isn't great. And since this mission was specifically requested, it'd be hard to turn it down. Sorry to trouble you."
Orga, still under someone else's roof, could only comply. "Alright, boss. We'll take the job."
After accepting the assignment, Orga and Biscuit left the office with weary expressions.
Once they were gone, Maruba grinned smugly. "Well, there you go. I just handed you that hot potato, so how do you plan to thank me?"
Zent, now completely deferential, said obsequiously, "Boss, dinner's on me tonight. Let's go have some fun. There's a new place that just got some fresh faces—I'm sure you'll enjoy it."
"Not bad, not bad. Let's go there tonight, then."
Zent then hesitated nervously. "But boss, the Third Unit's under special protection from the Spark Group. Sending them off alone… wouldn't that look bad if word got out?"
Maruba sneered. "What's there to worry about? The lady requested non-regular child soldiers—but she never said which team. So who decides which squad goes? Me.
And besides, the Spark Group's far away—they won't bother with the details.
Even if something happens along the way, it's just an accident. Nothing to do with us, understand?"
"You're absolutely right, boss. Brilliant as always. Since you put it that way, I'm relieved."
Meanwhile, Mikazuki was out on the training field with Eugene, piloting mobile workers in a mock battle exercise.
The rest of the Third Unit boys had stopped their trench-digging and fortification work to watch, captivated by the action.
Takaki Uno, one of the younger members, looked on with admiration. "So cool… Someday, I'm gonna pilot a mobile worker in battle too."
———
Gundam Barbatos
Rank: B+ Class (Alaya-Vijnana System A-)
Terrain Adaptability: Sea B / Land A / Air — / Space A
Fixed Weapons: Physical Mace-Spear ×1, Combat Gauntlets ×2
Optional Weapons: Physical Katana ×1, Smoothbore Cannon ×1, Left Arm Mortar ×1, Wired Claw ×1, Grappling Hook Unit ×1, Long-Range Booster Pack ×1, Clamp Hammer ×1, Chainsaw Claw ×1
(All weapons and components from the first to sixth forms were scavenged—or stolen—over time.)
Special Equipment: Twin Ahab Reactors, Ahab Nano-Layered Armor, Alaya-Vijnana System