While Roz and the ZAFT unit were locked in combat, the Nahel Argama was far from idle. In fact, since the battle began, there hadn't been a single moment of respite.
"New ZAFT MS squad at nine o'clock!"
"Foundation fleet entering firing range!"
Reports flooded in. Even Murrue Ramius felt a massive headache coming on. Moreover, the Requiem strike aimed at Roz earlier had sent her heart into her throat, leaving her in a cold sweat.
Under such an attack, she had briefly feared Roz was dead; she had frozen in place until she saw that blue radiance, finally allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Bzzzt—this is Halberton."
Suddenly, Admiral Halberton's voice crackled over the communication channel.
"The attack just now came from the Requiem project—a facility supposedly abandoned by the Foundation royal family after their defection from Earth."
"They have deployed a ferocious defensive fire-net around the facility. The Eighth Fleet currently cannot push through to destroy it."
"What about fleet bombardment? If their muzzle is exposed, we should be able to strike the Requiem directly," Natarle Badgiruel interjected, her brow furrowing instinctively.
"It's no use. We tried. They close the muzzle hatches immediately after firing. The outer plating is treated with anti-beam coating, and with the massive array of CIWS and missiles... long-range bombardment has had negligible effect." Halberton shook his head grimly.
"What about internal demolition? A facility like that must have underground tunnels," Murrue suggested anxiously. After all, the battlefield already contained the Earth Alliance's Gryps and ZAFT's GENESIS. Adding a third superweapon was like throwing fuel onto a wildfire.
As it stood, the combined fleet was the weakest of all factions. Unless a deus ex machina miracle occurred, they would be unable to break this disadvantage.
"I just received a report from the Marines. Their hidden forces within the Requiem have already detonated the tunnels leading to the surface..." Halberton shook his head. "Estimates suggest that for the Eighth Fleet to break through their point defenses and the reserve MS forces, breach the outer armor, and destroy the Requiem, it would take at least thirty to forty minutes."
Silence fell over the bridge upon hearing Halberton's words. Only the sounds of the ship's armor groaning under shellfire and the hum of instruments remained.
How to destroy GENESIS? How to destroy Gryps? How to destroy Requiem? Questions swirled in their minds without answers. Should they send the Freedom and Justice equipped with METEORs? Even then, no matter how they divided them, they could only strike two superweapons at most.
Just as everyone was mired in conflict, an unexpected voice chimed in.
"Captain Murrue, I have a proposal."
A green-haired youth appeared on the screen.
"Go ahead, Marvin." At this point, Murrue had no better ideas and was willing to hear anyone out.
"The Narrative Gundam in the hangar—the spare unit—can be deployed with the A-Packs." Marvin spoke while seemingly calibrating something on his end.
"But we don't have any pilots left. Everyone has already launched..." Natarle began, but then her eyes widened as she realized something. "Wait, Marvin, what are you doing right now?"
Sitting in the cockpit of the Narrative Gundam, Marvin glanced at the comms and unhesitatingly pulled out a data cable, plugging it into the interface behind his right ear.
"Ngh... ah..."
The violent surge of data caused Marvin's body to twitch instinctively. "The Narrative Gundam... I will pilot it..."
After a while, Marvin finally exhaled a sigh of relief.
"The Narrative Gundam's A-Packs are equipped with two mechanical claws capable of hacking into enemy facilities."
At this point, Marvin gave a thumbs-up toward the communicator.
"My dream as a child... was to be a pilot. I self-taught myself MS piloting while working for Big Bro Roz. It'll be fine."
"I will be the one to deal with Gryps."
Hearing the resolve in Marvin's voice, Murrue fell into silence.
The small screen on her armrest showed that the Haros in the hangar had already begun assembling the A-Packs onto the Narrative Gundam. Clearly, the Haros were aware of the situation and were supporting Marvin.
"...You know that if you die, Roz will be heartbroken, right?"
Murrue finally spoke. She looked at Marvin in the communication channel, as if trying to look through the screen and Marvin's artificial prosthetic eyes to see into his soul.
"So, you must come back alive."
"I can't guarantee I'll make it back alive, but even if I die, I've already arranged a successor for Big Bro Roz."
Marvin scratched his short green hair, yet he remained smiling as he gave a thumbs-up to everyone in the communication channel.
"But since you've said that... I will do my best to survive until I return to the Nahel Argama."
"I understand..."
Murrue remained silent for a moment before finally making her decision. Or rather, this was likely the only breakthrough anyone could think of at the moment.
"Then, Marvin is authorized to launch in the Narrative Gundam."
-----------------------------------
Amidst the sky-filling artillery fire, the deck of the Nahel Argama suddenly sprang into operation.
The Narrative Gundam appeared on the deck, mounted with heavy equipment that bore a slight resemblance to the GP03D. Several reinforced thrusters, shaped like fuel tanks, were installed to the rear of the machine by mechanical arms.
Though these reinforced thrusters utilized the same engine type as the Archangel and did not use chemical fuel, Roz had—for reasons unknown—still designed them in the shape of rocket boosters.
"According to the battle plan, the Narrative Gundam will initiate a direct breakthrough to the vicinity of Gryps and destroy it," Murrue explained the general objective over the comms. "As for Requiem and GENESIS..."
"I'll handle GENESIS."
Athrun, piloting his METEOR-equipped unit while weaving through the Foundation Kingdom's fleet, stated his decision. After destroying a Baldur-class battleship, he flew straight toward GENESIS.
"Then I will deal with Requiem—"
As Kira began to speak, Marvin interrupted.
"No, Kira. Go and help the Eighth Fleet dismantle the turrets and armor around Requiem."
Marvin flexed his fingers, limited his body's output, and gripped the control sticks.
"I'm going to use Gryps to ram and smash Requiem directly, ensuring it can never be used or repaired again."
"...Can you do it?"
"No problem."
Once the communication cut out, Marvin looked at the sky-filling fire displayed in the cockpit and the acceleration device ahead awaiting his launch; he felt instinctively nervous. Even though he no longer needed to breathe, he still took several deep breaths to calm himself.
"Staying in the hangar all this time, you must have been quite frustrated too, Narrative..."
"But it couldn't be helped. The battles became increasingly dangerous, and Big Bro Roz needed even greater power."
"Even if your soul was taken by Big Bro, this remaining shell still wants to fight... doesn't it?"
At this, Marvin smiled. "After all, I am a mechanic. I may not compare to Big Bro Roz, but I can still sense your general emotions."
"Well then, I don't know if this will be our last flight, but please lend me your strength."
Marvin stepped on the pedals. The A-Packs' thrusters and the reinforced propulsion units ignited simultaneously, emitting a dazzling light.
"For Big Bro Roz, take me for a flight."
Just as Marvin's words fell, as if the soulless shell wanted to let out one last roar to seize victory for its creator, the Narrative Gundam lifted its head.
Although Marvin was not a Newtype and the NT-D had not been activated, the psycho-frame on the Narrative Gundam nevertheless emitted a faint red glow.
"Marvin, Narrative Gundam A-Packs, launching!"
Marvin chuckled, echoing Roz's format as he spoke those words.
The Narrative Gundam detached from the deck at extreme speed. Influenced by its overall size and the reinforced thrusters, the sensation of speed was even stronger than that of the Dendrobium.
"Yes... just like that."
Feeling the intense G-forces reported by the sensors, Marvin's lips curled into a wide grin. "So this is what flying feels like..."
"Keep flying, Narrative!"
As Marvin pushed the pedal further, the Narrative's speed grew faster and faster.
.......................