Crossing Orb: Newtype Commander

Chapter 100 A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire

"Captain, what are you worried about?" Natal walked to her side and stood with her at the porthole.

"I'm wondering why Butterfield retreated."

"Because of Lux Clyne. He doesn't want the PLANT to be affected on the battlefield."

“No,” Maru interrupted her. “It’s not just because of Lux. If he wanted to, he could have destroyed the Assault Rifle before Lux even reached the edge of the battlefield. He had that ability, and his troops had that ability. But he didn’t.”

Natal's fingers paused slightly. "You think he's hesitating?"

"I think he's thinking." Maru turned around and looked into Natal's eyes. "Butterfield is not Kruze."

Kruze hated the world, hated everyone; he fought to destroy. But Butterfield was different—he fought to protect. To protect ZAFT's men, to protect PLANT's citizens, to protect what he believed was worth protecting. When he saw Lux on the battlefield, he asked himself—"What am I protecting?"

There was a moment of silence on the bridge.

"Captain," Natal's voice was soft, "you're becoming more and more like Commander-in-Chief Askha."

Maru was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"I like to think about what's behind war. Not just tactics, not just strategy, but—why."

Murrue's lips curled into a slight smile. "Perhaps it's because I learned so much from him. When he was at Heliopolis, he single-handedly stood in front of the Kreuzer squadron, letting Kira and me go first. When he was at Artemis, he faced Garcia's threat alone, protecting everyone on the ship. When he was at the front lines of the Eighth Fleet, he piloted his golden machine towards thirty mobile suits, covering our descent to Earth. That's the kind of man he is: he never says why, but his actions speak for themselves."

"Some people are worth protecting. Some people are worth fighting for. Some things are more important than life itself."

Early that morning, the Archangel's reconnaissance radar detected an unusual signal.

It wasn't ZAFT's Baku—the radar signature of those four-legged mobile suits was already deeply etched in Natal's mind. This signal was different; it was smaller, more stealthy, and moved more slowly. Its trajectory wasn't a straight line, but a curve, as if it were both evading something and searching for something.

"Captain, unidentified vehicle signals detected to the southeast," Natal's voice came from the fire control console. "Number—three. Type: civilian modified off-road vehicles. Moving towards our ship, approximately fifteen kilometers away."

Maru frowned slightly. A civilian-modified off-road vehicle—who would drive a civilian off-road vehicle in this ZAFT-controlled desert?

"It might be a resistance organization." Mu leaned back in his chair, a glint in his eyes. "I heard about them when I was on a mission in Africa. The local people were resisting the ZAFT-occupied guerrillas. They know the desert, they know ZAFT's defenses, they know where the water sources are, where the hidden routes are. If the Archangel could get their help..."

"But can they be trusted?" Natal's voice held a hint of doubt. "What if they're ZAFT spies?"

"Why not try to believe?" A gentle voice came from the corner of the bridge.

All eyes turned in that direction. Lux Clyne stood at the bridge entrance, holding a pink Haro in her arms, her eyes gleaming with a calm, certain light.

"Miss Lux," Maru asked.

Lacus walked to the porthole, gazing at the dark desert outside. "Not all Coordinators support Chairman Sara's policies, and not all Naturals hate Coordinators. In this desert, some have chosen a different path—not fighting for PLANT, not fighting for the Earth Alliance, but fighting to survive. Why don't we try to believe in those people?"

There was a moment of silence on the bridge.

Murrue stared at Lux's retreating figure for a few seconds, then turned to Natalie. "Captain Bakiruru, have Mu pilot the Sky King to pick up those vehicles. If they're a resistance group, bring them to the Archangel. If they're ZAFT spies…"

"I will destroy it on the spot." Mu stood up and walked towards the hangar.

Fifteen minutes later, Mu's Sky Tyrant emerged from the Archangel's hangar, tracing a silvery arc in the moonlight. It flew low over the sand, the dust kicked up by its thrusters forming a long yellow curtain behind it. Ahead, the lights of three civilian-modified off-road vehicles flickered in the darkness, like three lost fireflies.

"This is Mu La Fraga. Vehicle ahead, please identify yourself." Mu pressed the communication button, his voice steady.

There was a few seconds of silence on the communicator, then a man's voice came through—hoarse, with a heavy North African accent, but with an undeniable firmness: "I am Selin Hawke, the Desert Tigers' resistance. We have been searching for the Archangel."

Mu frowned slightly. "How did you know the Archangel was here?"

"Because someone uploaded the Archangel's trajectory online. When you broke through the atmosphere, you were photographed by civilian observation satellites." The man's voice carried a hint of amusement. "ZAFT thought they were the only ones who knew your location. But they forgot—this desert is our territory."

Mu paused for a moment, then pressed the communication button. "Selene Hawke, come with me. The Archangel is waiting for you."

Guided by the Sky Overlord, three off-road vehicles drove into the Archangel's temporary camp. When the vehicle doors opened, Murrue saw a group of people, men and women, young and old, dressed in rags but with determined eyes; some were Naturals, and others were Coordinators.

Their weapons were a motley crew, ranging from standard Allied rifles to ZAFT-captured equipment and even homemade guns. But their eyes shone with the same light—the light of "resistance."

Selin Hawke was their leader, a middle-aged man in his forties with an old scar running from his left forehead to his right cheek. He was blind in his left eye, but his right eye remained sharp. He wore desert camouflage and had a pistol at his waist. He walked up to Maru and extended his hand.

"Captain Lamias, it's an honor to meet you."

Maru took his hand. "Mr. Hawke, thank you for coming."

"You're welcome. We're here to trade. You need intelligence, we need weapons. It's mutually beneficial." Selin released his grip, took out a hand-drawn map from his pocket, and spread it on the table. "This is ZAFT's troop deployment map in North Africa. The location of every outpost, the cycle of every patrol route, the time window for every supply depot—it's all on it."

Maru's eyes lit up. "How did you get this information?"

"It cost them their lives." Serin's voice was calm, but every word carried weight. "Many of my brothers died on this map. Some were trampled to death by Baku, some were blown up by missiles, and some were captured and executed. But before they died, they sent back what they saw."

There was a moment of silence on the bridge.

Natal walked to the table, staring at the hand-drawn map, her finger lightly tracing its surface. "If this intelligence is accurate, its value is immeasurable. We can avoid ZAFT's main patrol routes and choose the safest flight path to leave North Africa."

"It's true." Selin looked into Natal's eyes. "I swear on the lives of my brothers."

Maru stared at the map for a long time, then looked up at Selin. "Mr. Hawke, what are your conditions?"

"We need ZAFT's weapons. Rifles, ammunition, rocket launchers, anti-MS weapons. The more the better. We don't want money, we don't want supplies, we just want weapons." Selin's voice was low. "We're not in this for the money, we're in this to take over ZAFT..."

Drive us out of our homes. This desert belongs to us, not to PLANT.

Maru was silent for a moment. "The Archangel doesn't have any extra weapons. But once we reach the Allied-controlled area, we can request them from the Allied forces—"

'

"The Coalition?" Selin sneered. "The Coalition won't help us. They see us as cannon fodder, expendable resources. They give us the worst equipment, send us to the most dangerous places, and then use our corpses to fill the trenches. We don't trust the Coalition, just as we don't trust ZAFT."

"Then why do you trust us?"

Selin looked into Maru's eyes. There was no fear in those brown eyes, only a calm, resolute light. He thought of that woman—his wife, the wife who died in the ZAFT air raids. She had those eyes too, that same resolve, that same "unwillingness to be conquered."

"Because you have ties to Orb." Selin's voice lowered. "I've seen Commander-in-Chief Asha's speech. Humanity knows no race, evolution knows no path, and the future knows no faction"—these are words we've never heard before.

The great powers treat us like a stray dog; no one will consider us. Because we are nobody. The whole world heard what Commander-in-Chief Asha said, and we are willing to try to believe him.

Murrue's lips curled into a slight smile. "So you want to contact Orb through the Archangel?"

“Yes,” Selin nodded. “We don’t need the Alliance’s charity, nor ZAFT’s pity. What we need is an ally who truly believes that humanity transcends race. If Orb is willing to help us, we are willing to provide Orb with any intelligence—about ZAFT, about the desert, about this land.”

A moment of silence fell over the bridge. Everyone looked at Maru, awaiting her decision.

Murrue closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, a resolute look filled her brown eyes. "Mr. Hawke, I will convey your request to Chief Commander Ashar. But until then, the Archangel is willing to offer you all the assistance it can—not as a warship of the Allied Forces, but as someone who believes in the same ideals."

Selin stared at her for a long time, then smiled. The smile looked especially warm on his scarred face. "Captain Lamias, you've made me believe one thing."

"What?"

"General Askha's philosophy is not just empty talk. Because there are people willing to take action for it."

Late that night, Char received an encrypted message from Maru. The message was long and detailed the situation of the resistance organization "Desert Tigers," their leader Selin Hawke, their intelligence network, and the conditions under which they were willing to provide assistance to Orb.

After reading the message, Xia remained silent for a long time.

"VEDA, analyze Celine Hawke's identity information."

"Selene Hawke, 43 years old, North African, natural person. Former Major of the Earth Alliance Africa Front Intelligence Department, forced to retire in CE68 for opposing the Blue Universe policy. After retirement, he returned to his hometown and organized a resistance movement. In CE69, his wife was killed in a ZAFT air raid. Afterwards, his resistance movement shifted from 'opposing the Blue Universe' to 'opposing all external occupiers'. Currently, his organization has approximately 300 members and controls three oases in the Sahara Desert."

"What about his philosophy?"

According to his public statements, Selin Hawke has said that the hatred between Naturals and Coordinators is created by the superstructure, and ordinary people should not pay the price for it. His organization is primarily composed of Naturals. His motto is, "This desert is our home."

""

Char's lips curled into a slight smile. Yet another person willing to believe that "humanity transcends race," and willing to take action to support that belief.

"VEDA, send a reply to Maru Ramias. Content: Agree to cooperate with the Desert Resistance. Provide armed support on the condition that they protect the Archangel's safe departure from North Africa. Also, inform Selin Hawke-Ob's fleet that it will provide them with further support when appropriate."

7

"Instruction recorded."

He stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the starry sky. In some corner of that sky, deep in the Sahara Desert, some were fighting for the same ideals as him. They were not soldiers, not politicians, just ordinary people who refused to be conquered. But their very existence was proof.