Chapter 353: Pseudo Penelope
Tolle nodded in agreement. "Yeah, just be more careful from now on. What's done is done—don't dwell on it too much."
Feeling slightly reassured, Erica pointed at the Blitz Gundam and asked, "What about the Zero Unit? I saw on the monitors that it seemed to be severely damaged."
"The Zero Unit is completely scrapped," Tolle said dejectedly. "PX System double overclocking wrecked the entire frame. Repairing it would be more trouble than just building a brand-new one." He then pointed at the Blitz Gundam and continued, "This Blitz Gundam isn't cutting it either. I can't fully bring out my strength with it—too few weapons."
"I see… that is troublesome. And the Zero Unit really is damaged too badly," Erica said, lowering her head in thought. After a moment, she added, "There's still a complete spare set of Strike Gundam parts at Morgenröte, along with components for the Phoenix pack. If we rush the assembly aboard the Huayan, it should be finished in a single night."
"Parts for the Crimson Strike Gundam?" Tolle stroked his chin and thought for a bit. Then inspiration struck, and he said to Erica, "I've got another modification idea. It'll be perfect for putting that stolen beam-twisting technology to use."
"Great, I'll arrange it right away." Hearing that there was new technology involved, Erica nodded happily and hurried back toward the Morgenröte factory area.
At that moment, Tolle began chatting with Nami in his mind. "Nami, help me design a flight armor suitable for the Strike Gundam—something similar to the big white goose, the Penelope Gundam.
Also, use Gundanium alloy from the Wing Gundam world for all the materials. That way, the overall weight can be reduced to the minimum.
Flight energy consumption and thruster load will be lower too, making it suitable for long-duration flight.
As for micro funnel missiles, forget those. With PS armor around, they're basically useless anyway. To save costs, just replace them with standard micro homing missiles.
Of course, it'd be even better if we could add something like the Fang-type remote beam blades from the 00 Gundam series to boost combat power."
"Understood, Master. Nami guarantees completion of the task."
Very soon, a design blueprint for the Strike Gundam's flight armor appeared in Tolle's mind, and the two of them began refining the plan together…
Before long, dusk arrived. Rescue operations continued in an orderly manner, but the MS pilots were both physically and mentally exhausted, sitting down in front of their machines to rest.
Erica began directing the Haro maintenance robots to transport various Strike Gundam components aboard the Huayan, starting work on the pseudo Big White Goose—Flight Armor Strike Gundam.
Yulia also came over to Tolle and said softly, "Darling, I've safely escorted Shinn Asuka onto an evacuation ship headed for the ZAFT Carpentaria Base."
Tolle nodded. "Good. That's for the best. Let the Seed grow on its own."
"Yes, he's a good child. With some proper guidance, everything should turn out fine."
"By the way, Sister Yulia, what are your plans next?"
"Mina is at the Pillar of Heaven, and the machine you gave me is there too, so I can only be a crew member for you," Yulia replied with a shrug. Then she pointed at the Blitz Gundam and added, "Erica said they're building your new machine. How about I pilot this Blitz Gundam instead?"
"You'd better stay on as crew," Tolle replied. "The Blitz Gundam's safety margin is way lower than the machines I build. Let's not risk it."
Yulia puffed out her cheeks, pretending to be angry. "Darling, are you looking down on me? I'm an ace pilot too, you know."
Tolle immediately shook his head vigorously. "No, no, that's not it. Don't say things like that. And you've seen it yourself—the Huayan doesn't have many people. We really do need crew."
"…Fine, you've got a point." Then Yulia licked her lips and said, "But once we're back in space, you'd better properly comfort my fragile, wounded heart."
Tolle's eye twitched as he realized he'd been played by this woman again.
At that moment, Cagalli hurried over once more. Seeing some soldiers about to stand and salute, she encouraged them instead. "Everyone did great. Thank you all for your hard work. Even though we don't know why the enemy retreated, make sure to take this time to rest properly."
Just then, Kira and Athrun landed their machines at the Orb base as well.
As soon as they exited their cockpits, Cagalli grabbed Tolle and ran over. Mu, Kisaka, Dearka, and the crew of the Archangel followed after them.
After stepping down from their cockpits, Kira and Athrun stared at each other with grave expressions.
Under everyone's gaze from a short distance away, they slowly walked toward one another.
Kisaka looked at Athrun's face and suddenly remembered. "So he's that ZAFT soldier from back then."
Nearby soldiers immediately caught on and raised their rifles, aiming at Athrun.
"He's not an enemy!" Kira said to everyone.
Cagalli also hurriedly intervened. "It's fine—lower your weapons."
At Cagalli's command, the soldiers immediately lowered their guns.
However, the people from the Archangel, including Murrue, looked somewhat dejected. Deep down, they had misunderstood Kira, thinking he was also with ZAFT.
The most shocked of all was Dearka. He never imagined that Athrun would, like him, end up standing on Orb's side.
When the two got close, Kira and Athrun stared at each other for a long time, neither knowing how to start.
At that moment, the mechanical bird Tori flew over and landed on Kira's shoulder, easing the tension between them.
Kira smiled and said, "Hello, Athrun. Long time no see."
Athrun gathered his courage, clenched his fist, and replied, "Kira…"
———
Flight Armor Strike Gundam (Pseudo · Big White Goose – Penelope)
B+ Class Mobile Suit
Terrain Adaptability: Sea C, Land B, Air A, Space A
Fixed Armament:
Beam Rifle x1; Combat Knife x2; Head Vulcan Guns x2; Left Wrist Assault Shield System (includes Beam Saber x1; Beam Rifle x1)
Flight Armor Armament:
Micro Homing Missiles x200; Calamity Giant Claws x2; Shoulder Beam Cannons x2; Fang Remote Beam Blades x6.
Special Equipment:
Flight Armor Modules; Close-Combat Battle Sensors; PX System; Intelligent Auxiliary System; Multi-Lock System; Enhanced Energy Battery Pack; High-Performance Built-in Flight Armor Battery Packs x6.
Defensive Armor:
Gundanium Alloy; T+VPS Armor; Energy Bias Armor.
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