As the leader of Orb, a single order from Duran brought huge quantities of relief supplies to the colony ship.
Of course, the ship was not within Orb's territory. But Duran easily forced the country where the Destroy Gundam had devastated the city to turn the ruined area into an Orb concession zone.
Then, in a series of political maneuvers, Duran declared war on PLANT, accusing them of harboring a murderer—Shinn Asuka, who had sheltered Stella.
Naturally, it was only a declaration of war. Orb did not launch an immediate attack.
Instead, they began heavily promoting the story of the colony fleet.
The propaganda was half true and half fabricated.
According to the official narrative, the ship had departed during the era of the Great Space Age, and after an incredibly long journey, it had finally returned. A piece of forgotten history had resurfaced.
This idea actually came from Orb's strategists. It would help the survivors integrate into society more easily.
Meanwhile, the declaration of war against PLANT served another purpose:
It raised public support for Orb within the concession zone and encouraged the local population to generously accept the immigrant survivors.
Of course, Duran himself had thought deeply about the appearance of the colony ship.
The only thing he could be certain about was that it must somehow be connected to him.
But the exact reason?
He had no idea.
His dimensional travel had triggered a chain reaction.
This realization filled Duran with mixed feelings.
More unknowns meant more danger.
He felt both fear and excitement at the same time.
"Mr. Duran, thank you very much for your help," Lynn Minmay said solemnly.
Duran waved it off.
"No need to thank me. But regarding that space monster, I hope you can provide more information."
"There have already been reports of the creature destroying buildings. I believe we need to send an elite team to eliminate it."
"If the mission is to destroy the space monster," Minmay replied, "our VF squad leader, Kana, can assist you."
"Thank you for your cooperation," Duran said. "I'll assign Captain Kana to the Archangel for this operation."
In truth, Kana was the only surviving VF fighter pilot.
But in battles where VF squadrons were constantly wiped out, Kana had proven himself repeatedly.
Despite being the last survivor, he had saved the colony ship's personnel many times.
From a rookie pilot, he had grown into a battle-hardened elite.
Since the Archangel had been placed under Duran's command, the arrest warrant against it was naturally canceled.
Cagalli was reassigned by Duran as assistant to the leader.
She wore a gloomy expression every day.
Yet from another perspective, she had to admit something:
Duran's strategy of developing the domestic economy while redirecting conflicts outward was extremely effective.
Under Duran's rule, Orb had become more vibrant—but also more aggressive.
Aboard the Archangel, Kira met Kana.
One was a Super Coordinator piloting the Freedom Gundam.
The other was a battle-scarred veteran flying a mass-produced VF fighter.
One was the legendary warrior who fought without killing.
The other was a soldier who slaughtered space monsters without hesitation.
Warriors from two different worlds would now fight together.
"Space monsters are immune to lightspeed weapons," Kana explained grimly.
"But they have little defense against physical attacks."
"The only way to kill them is simple."
"Cut them into pieces."
He spoke with murderous intensity.
This would be his final battle.
Once the space monster threatening Earth was destroyed, he planned to confess his feelings to Lady Minmay.
(Seriously… don't raise a death flag like that!)
"Would a beam saber work?" Kira asked.
The Freedom Gundam relied almost entirely on beam-based weapons.
If beams were ineffective, Freedom would become little more than a target.
"A beam saber?" Kana looked confused.
"I don't know. VF fighters don't carry that kind of equipment."
"Then we'll have to try."
The enormous lizard-like creature rampaged through the city like something crawling out of a movie screen.
It roared wildly, smashing buildings with its tail.
"Freedom Gundam, Kira Yamato—launching."
"VF Fighter, Kana—launching."
The monster stood nearly thirty meters tall, yet it moved far more nimbly than most machines.
Kana's VF fighter circled the monster, launching missiles and weapon pods.
Freedom provided support from the rear.
"So, wife, what do you think?" Duran asked while watching the live broadcast from Orb.
"Aren't I watching the same thing right next to you?" Teresa replied dryly.
"It's powerful, but that's about it. Probably not as strong as an Abyssal One."
Duran stroked his chin.
"If I released Silver-Eyed Isley to fight that monster… do you think he'd win?"
"I don't know."
"…"
In the end, Duran decided not to release an Abyssal One.
He wasn't arrogant enough to believe his personal charisma could make them obey suicidal orders.
"Worst case, I can settle everything with my greatsword," Teresa said coolly.
"No need for my wife to step in," Duran said confidently.
"I still have faith in those two pilots."
The moment he finished speaking—
Freedom Gundam was suddenly stabbed through the cockpit by the Destiny Gundam.
It turned out that when Shinn fled the previous battlefield, the space monster had followed him.
For some reason, the monster's brainwaves were remarkably similar to Stella's modified mind.
Both were filled with destructive impulses.
Unexpectedly, Stella became capable of controlling the space monster.
Whenever Shinn wasn't paying attention, she would sneak out and cause destruction.
This time, when Shinn chased after her in the Destiny Gundam, he saw Freedom targeting the monster.
Without thinking—
he launched a surprise attack.
Kira was simply unlucky.
His attention was focused entirely on the front battlefield.
By the time the warning alarm sounded—
it was already too late.
"Kira—!"
Kana was shocked.
He hadn't expected to lose another comrade so quickly.
He immediately turned his fighter around and unleashed a barrage of fire toward Destiny.
But Shinn had entered SEED mode.
He dodged the attack easily.
Then he positioned himself in front of the space monster—clearly protecting it.
"Idiot! Do you even know what you're doing?!" Kana shouted.
"You're helping a space monster! You're helping humanity's enemy!"
Destiny didn't respond.
The monster slowly retreated behind it.
Once it disappeared completely, Destiny shot upward and left the battlefield.
"Damn it!"
Kana had never been this furious in his life.
He rushed to check on Kira.
Fortunately, Kira was only injured and unconscious—not dead.
Orb soon released the full details of the operation to the public.
They lodged a formal protest to PLANT, demanding that they hand over Shinn Asuka and the criminal Stella.
PLANT naturally denied any knowledge of Shinn's whereabouts.
The two sides reached a stalemate.
Meanwhile, the Atlantic Federation was making secret moves.
The foolish Shinn Asuka had been manipulated by a masked man named Neo, unknowingly becoming an accomplice of the Atlantic Federation.
Duran, however, felt completely exhausted.
Being Orb's leader had already drained him.
He had no energy left for elaborate conspiracies.
To make matters worse, a fake Lacus had appeared on PLANT.
Even the real Lacus in Orb was feeling the pressure.
In short—
everyone was taking turns making moves on the world stage.
The situation was chaotic beyond belief.
Even Chairman Durandal had not yet revealed his Destiny Plan.
But since Meer Campbell had already appeared impersonating Lacus, it likely wouldn't be long.
The global situation was now a tangled mess.
Pull one thread—
and the entire world would tremble.
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