Save the Day Program, once again. (Gundam IBO/Satisfactory SI): Chapter 32

Ancient Debris Field, Defunct Ariadne Network route, Somewhere near Venus, P.D. 323.

Within the large area of wreckage and asteroids known as the Debris Field by the entire Sol System, a small fleet of Gjallarhorn ships, made up of five Halfbeak-Class ships and one Skipjack-Class ship, floated near a derelict ‘Cocoon’.

One of the countless other destroyed beacons of the Ariadne Network in this area.

A few dozen Graze-Frames worked on carefully moving the debris from the area while a few Mobile Workers were being used by the Gjallarhorn forces to pry open the Cocoon to access its hidden hanger.

“Iok-sama, most of the debris has been removed from the area, except for the one that is currently serving as the anchor for the Cocoon.”

Iok Kujan, the current head of the Kujan family, smiled when he heard the words of his subordinate.

“Good. How about the Cocoon?”

“The progress is relatively slow, but we should be able to remove its restrictions in an hour at most, giving us access to the cargo within.”

“Haha! You did well, James. Go join the rest of the guys for some R&R.”

The man called James brightened up at those words and enthusiastically saluted before leaving the room, leaving behind the grinning head of the Kujan family and his ‘Guest’.

“Didn’t you say you would help me deal with that old geezer and that stupid brat Naze in exchange for information about this place? Kujan-sama, are you going back on your word?”

Instantly, the grin on Iok Kujan’s face turned into a sneer as he looked at the exorbitantly dressed former criminal behind him.

“I never go back on my word, Jasley. As for why we are here instead of going to the Jupiter Sphere? Isn’t it obvious?”

Iok turned from the fuming man towards the viewport that showed the floating debris from the Calamity War.

“If what you told me is true and FICSIT has indeed joined hands with Teiwaz, we need an edge to defeat them. An edge that we cannot have with the meager fleet that the Kujan family has access to at the moment.”

“That is why I need merit to improve my position amongst the Seven Stars. Only then can I challenge that old man Elion and get things done in a proper way, as is expected of Gjallarhorn.”

“And you will gain said merit by retrieving an ancient relic of a Mobile Suit from this Cocoon?”

Iok Kujan smirked at the words of the former head of JPT Trust, which was once part of Teiwaz.

“Your words alone show your ignorance and your background as a space rat.”

At his words, Jasley Donomikols could not help but grit his teeth in anger and helplessness.

Ever since he was exiled from the Jupiter Sphere by McMurdo, he had been floating in space, moving from colony to colony, looking for a place to reestablish his foothold.

Unfortunately, the entirety of the Jupiter Sphere was still under the purview of the Teiwaz, which meant that he had no chance of rebuilding his power base, and he could not leave for the Martian space since that entire sector was now ruled by FICSIT.

As for the Venusian colony and the Mercurian colony, he would rather die than go to those hellscapes.

It was in these times of despair that he stumbled upon Iok Kujan, who was searching for information on FICSIT and Teiwaz.

Being who he was, the man instantly smelled the opportunity to regain his power by serving under one of the Seven Stars while also getting revenge on the Teiwaz and FICSIT.

An opportunity that he took without hesitation.

However, as the days went by, Jasley was slowly starting to regret his decision.

Iok Kujan saw everyone who was not born on Earth as ‘Space Rats’. A tag that was normally only used for the Human Debris. He also looked down on such people and claimed that they had no proper heritage to speak of, since they were not born on the home world of humanity.

In simple terms, Iok Kujan was an Earth supremacist and believed that the rest of the colonies should only ever be considered second-class citizens of humanity, with the people of Earth being the masters of the race.

Ignoring Jasley’s anger, Iok turned back to look at the Cocoon from within the bridge of his Skipjack-class ship.

“The Gundam Frames are not just some ‘random’ ‘obsolete’ junk from the Calamity War. They are the pinnacle of Mobile Suit technology. Machines whose manufacturing was so difficult, even during the peak of human civilization, that there only existed 72 such frames, two of which never even left the fabrication facilities by the time the war ended, and the majority of the others were destroyed during the Calamity War.”

“It is also the existence of such frames that gives credibility to the various families of Gjallarhorn.”

“…..If it is really that powerful, why did that old man McMurdo keep its existence a secret until now and never try to retrieve it for himself?”

“Fear.”

At Jasley’s confused look, Iok smirked.

“The Gundam frames need the Alya-Vijana system to realize their full potential and power. Something that is considered a forbidden technology thanks to Gjallarhorn’s ban on it.”

“The Teiwaz would never risk losing their legitimacy as a business by being in the procession of such ‘forbidden’ technology. That is why, despite knowing that this derelict Cocoon houses a Gundam Frame from before the War, he never tried to retrieve it.”

Iok Kujan’s grin turned savage.

“Not to mention the superstition and disgust that is prevalent across the Sol System against any technology that involves integrating man with the machine, including prosthetic technology.”

‘A prejudice that Gjallarhorn created in the first place in order to discourage the development of such technology in the future.’

A statement that Iok did not dare utter despite being sure that he was away from the HQ and no one would know.

“…I see. Then, what are we going to do once we retrieve this Gundam Frame?”

“It depends. If the machine is completely intact, including its armor pieces and armaments, I would like to compare it to my Zepar and see if it has something that can be useful to my machine. If not, then we will head straight back to HQ.”

Once again, Iok Kujan smiled savagely as he imagined the dumbfounded expression on Rustal Elion’s face.

“With this, that old bastard Rustal Elion can no longer stop my family from rising in power. I will finally be able to move out from under his control and do what I want.”

“I cannot wait to see that bastard’s expression-“

“Iok-Sama! We are through!”

Suddenly, Iok’s words were cut off when the communication from his Mobile Workers came through, showing the excited face of the leader.

“Good! Wait for me. I will sortie in my Gundam right away!”

“Come, Jasley. I will show you just how ‘obsolete’ a Gundam frame really is!”

Jasley silently followed Iok Kujan to the hangar and boarded a Graze-frame while Iok Kujan boarded his Gundam Zepar.

Within minutes, Iok Kujan blasted off from the hangar, followed by Jasley.

The moment they arrived at the Cocoon, the Mobile Workers pulled open the doors of the Cocoon, revealing its hidden hangar and the precious cargo within that was hidden here during the last days of the war.

Iok Kujan stared in awe as the three centuries old Mobile Suit still gleamed under the lights of the hangar as if it was brand new, fresh off the assembly line.

Snapping out of his daydreaming, the head of the Kujan family started his verification as per the protocol of Gjallarhorn when encountering a potential Gundam frame.

“Activating Remote Ahab reactor spool sequence. Protocol Handshake confirmed. Activating reactors.”

Instantly, the twin Ahab reactors of the mobile suit hummed to life as the optics of the Gundam frame shone with light, as if the ancient demon had been awakened from its slumber.

“….Twin Ahab reactors confirmed. Gundam frame designation identified. ASW-G-32.”

Iok grinned like a madman as he looked up at the machine from within his cockpit.

“You will be my ticket to gaining more power, Gundam Asmoday.”

Unfortunately, the head of the Kujan family would not have much time to revel in victory.

As the awakening of the ancient demon had also awakened its nemesis.

“Iok-sama! We are detecting another Ahab wave from nearby-Oh my god! It's coming from beneath the Cocoon, from inside the Asteroid!”

“WHAT!? WHAT IS GOING ON-“

Iok was thrown about within his cockpit as his Gundam spasmed, as if trying to do something by itself, as if trying to break off some unseen chains, but failed because several important factors were missing from it.

The head of the Kujan family would not need to worry for too long about what was going on, as his questions would soon be answered.

As the asteroid beneath his feet shook itself apart, revealing the ancient mechanical Angel buried beneath the cocoon, slumbering for eternity, and awakened by the rebirth of the Demon above it.

[WARNING: MOBILE ARMOR DETECTED]

[CHASSIS TYPE: HARAEL]

Instantly, the standard OS of Gjallarhorn that is installed on all its Mobile Suits was replaced by something much older.

[GUNDAM FRAME TYPE]

[ZEPAR]

[ASW-G-16]

[ERROR: ALYA-VIJNANA SYSTEM NOT FOUND]

[UNABLE TO INITIATE ANTI-MOBILE ARMOR SYSTEMS]

[SHUTTING DOWN AUTONOMOUS MODE]

Just as quickly as it happened, the changes within Iok Kujan’s Gundam frame subsided, leaving the head of the house stunned and unable to understand what happened.

That was why he had no chance to dodge the powerful and vengeful beam cannons of the Mobile Armor that concentrated all its firepower on the Gundam frames, both the dormant one and the one with Iok Kujan.

As his desperate battle for survival and escape from the ancient calamity began, Iok Kujan was unaware that he and his army were not alone in this area.

For a group of Voidspawns acted as the proxy for their masters, who watched this battle with great interest.

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Iok Kujan:

Gundam Zepar:

Gundam Asmoday:

Halfbeak-Class ships: