Save the Day Program, once again. (Gundam IBO/Satisfactory SI): Chapter 33

“It’s inside! It’s inside the ship-AAAHHHH-“

The pain-filled scream rang out across the comms before it was abruptly cut off. But before it did, everyone heard the rage-filled mechanical roar of the Angel that wanted their kind extinct.

Then, the tell-tale whine of its beam cannon charging up was heard from across the hangar before the lance of energy wiped out everyone trapped in there.

“Kujan-sama! Open the doors! Let me out of here!! IOK!! YOU PROMISED ME REVENGE! I CAN'T DIE LIKE THIS-“

Jasley could not speak anymore as the mechanical monstrosity grabbed his Graze-Frame and crushed him beneath its feet while its six arms pulled the mobile suit limb from limb.

Iok Kujan watched this massacre with horror from the control room of one of the Halfbeak-class, his Gundam frame having been abandoned in the Hangar after he ran for his life once he realized what he was facing.

Originally, when he realized that he was facing an active Mobile Armor, he wanted to destroy it with his own hands and claim the honor of being awarded an Order of the Seven Stars.

However, as the fight that only lasted for a few minutes took place, he soon realized the terror of these Angels that nearly drove humanity extinct.

Without any hesitation, he ordered a full retreat for his forces, intending to leave this machine floating helplessly in space as it had long since exhausted its hydrogen thrusters during their fight.

However, the learning computer of the Mobile Armors was not to be underestimated as it latched onto his Gundam the moment he took off, allowing it to easily use him as a springboard and reach his Skipjack-class.

Desperate for escape, he moved to the Halfbeak-class instead, hoping to escape this calamity.

Yet, he could not help but feel even more desperate as his Skipjack-class was destroyed from the inside out and the Mobile Armor moved on to the rest of his fleet, having replenished its fuel reserves with its Pluma and using the wreckage of his ship as resources to constantly repair itself and put out even more Pluma.

Strangely enough, the Mobile Armor seems to have locked onto Iok and moved only towards his ship after destroying the Skipjack-class.

As the desperate cries and pleas for help rang out across the comms, Iok Kujan beheld the Angel’s baleful red optics glaring at him from across the void of space.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

With a start, Iok woke up from the nightmare with adrenaline running through his veins.

Instantly, he realized that something was wrong as he beheld the clean, white walls of the room he was currently in.

Normally, he would have realized that this was some kind of medical facility where he was being treated. However, there were too many things out of place here for this to be a normal medical room.

The first anomaly was that there was no medical pod, as was required to treat someone of his status.

Then, there was the strange smell of blood in the air despite the room appearing pristine. There was also the strange equipment that looked far too advanced for this to be anywhere but Gjallarhorn HQ, but then, the question once again arose as to why he was not in a medical pod.

“Patient awake. Notifying command.”

“Who is there!? I, Iok Kuan, head of the Kujan family, demand that you reveal yourself and tell me what is going on!”

The only response he received to his authoritative words was silence.

Suddenly, the door to his room opened, revealing a familiar man who made Iok subconsciously relax.

“Lord Elion?”

Rustal Elion, head of the Elion family, simply looked at Iok but undisguised disdain.

“You've made quite the mess this time. Kujan.”

Iok Kujan felt a chill run down his spine at those words.

However, one does not become a head of one of the Seven Stars without some political know-how.

So, he chose to play dumb and delay for some time, until he understood what was going on.

And try to figure out a way to get rid of the restraints holding him down.

“I don’t know what you mean, Lord Elion. I assume we are at Gjallarhorn HQ? Why was I never informed that we had such advanced tech in our possession?”

Rustal gave him an amused smile at those words.

“Don’t worry about that. But, do you really not know why you are here?”

“No.”

“I see. Then, do you know what this is?”

With a press of a button, one of the walls opened up to show a screen playing a video.

A video of his fleet being dismantled from the inside out by the mechanical monstrosity he unleashed in his quest for power and glory.

The powerful roar of the beast rang out from the video, making Iok shake a little in fear.

Rustal Elion turned to give a stern glare to the younger man as he paused the video.

“Five Halfbeak-class ships, one Skipjack-class ship. Six thousand men and women. Three hundred and fifty Mobile Suits. Six hundred Mobile Workers. And most importantly of all, not one, but two Gundam Frames. All lost with no survivors aside from you.”

“WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!??”

The sudden roar from the older man made Iok flinch on instinct before his own temper came to the forefront.

“SHUT UP! THAT WAS MY FLEET AND THOSE WERE MY MEN! YOU HAVE NO AUTHORITY TO REPRIMAND ME ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE! I KNOW WHAT CAUSED THIS AND I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE ONCE I AM DONE HEALING!”

“….Is that so? There really is no saving you. Iok Kujan. Embrilla Kujan would have been ashamed.”

“WHA-“

The door to his room opened once again, this time revealing a woman with blond hair and blue eyes wearing a business suit.

“I assume from the shouting that you are done? Mr. Elion?”

“….Yes. Ms. Ada. I assume Thornton knows?”

“Indeed. We could hear you shouting from across the hall.”

“I see. In that case, I am devastated to say that Iok Kujan has expired due to his injuries despite FICSITS’s best efforts at trying to save his life. Of course, you will be compensated for all the help you provided him until now, and Gjallarhorn will be forever grateful for your help.”

Iok felt dumbfounded as he heard those words, instantly realizing what was going on.

However, before he could speak out, a group of woman wearing pure white lab equipment that covered all their features rushed in and pressed him to the table.

“DAMN YOU! RUSTAL ELION! DAMN YOU TO HELL-AAAAAHHHHHH!!”

The rage-filled screams of the former Kujan head rang out across the facility as the women injected anesthetics into his system.

Soon, Iok Kujan finally fell to the influence of the drugs, allowing the women to start operating on him so that ADA could find out if the genetics inherited from the original users of the Gundam frames had any effect on their compatibility with said Mobile Suits.

From this day on, Iok Kujan was no more, and Subject G-16 was born.

Meanwhile, Rustal Elion walked with ADA through the halls of the FICSIT facility in the Jupiter Sphere.

“Did your people retrieve the Gundam Frames?”

“We did. However, as per our contract, they now belong to FICSIT. However, we have kept our part of the deal and have scrubbed anything related to Gjallarhorn and any sensitive data that Gundam Zepar might have held within it.”

“Thank you, Ms. Ada. However, I would still like to inspect it myself, if you don’t mind? I am a paranoid man, you understand?”

“Of course. They are in the Hangar. You can go ahead and check for yourself.”

Rustal Elion nodded his head at those words and continued walking with the enigmatic woman who worked for the equally enigmatic man whom she called her boss.

“Gjallarhorn just lost five ships and hundreds of mobile suits, mobile workers, and thousands of crew. Assuming, based on how quickly you retrieved Kujan before his death and how easily your forces took apart the Mobile Armor, I estimate that you were already prepared for such an eventuality when we caught wind of his escapades over here. So, why didn’t your forces intervene beforehand?”

Ada simply raised an eyebrow at that question.

“Please don’t insult our intelligence, Lord Elion. Mr. David knew all along that you had no intention of saving that fleet. Even if we had saved them, he estimated that you would find some way to get rid of them before they reached Earth. He also believes that you are not really interested in the short-term cost of our shared goal and are more focused on the long-term benefits. Was he wrong?”

At her words, Rustal Elion could not help but laugh loudly.

“No. No, he wasn’t. Truly, am I that easy to read for you two?”

“No. Lord Elion. You are not easy to read. It's just that we have experience working with people who hold a similar mindset, so we were able to guess based on that experience.”

“I see. Then, tell Thornton that I would love to hear more about these ‘experiences’ when I have the time. Perhaps, during another chess game?”

“I will convey your wishes to him.”

The man simply nodded at those words.

And so, the most influential man in Gjallarhorn walked with the second in command of FICSIT Inc., each lost in their own thoughts.