Crossing Orb: Newtype Commander

The boarding quarantine lasted three hours.

Soldiers from the Eurasian Federation boarded the Archangel, inspected every compartment, and took a headcount. They confiscated the crew's personal communication devices, restricted their movement, and even set up a perimeter around the Archangel. Ostensibly, it was to "prevent PLANT espionage," but everyone knew in reality—they were under house arrest.

Kira sat in the cockpit of the Strike Gundam, his fingers flying across the touchscreen. He was setting the OS's time lock—automatically locking after six hours, requiring his biometrics to unlock. This was the last thing he could do for the Archangel.

"Kira, are you ready?" Thor's voice came from outside the cockpit, tinged with tension.

"Almost there." Kira pressed the confirm button, and a message popped up on the screen: "It's done."

He jumped out of the cockpit and saw Thor standing at the hangar door, his face covered in sweat. "A lot of Eurasian Federation soldiers have come in. They've sealed off the hangar and said, 'No one is allowed to enter.'"

Kira's heart sank. "Where is Commander-in-Chief Athha?"

"On the bridge. Negotiating with that Colonel Garcia."

The atmosphere on the bridge was more tense than ever.

Colonel Garcia stood before the tactical table, his hands resting on the surface, leaning slightly forward. He was a man in his fifties, short and stout, with graying hair, but his eyes were bright—a shrewd, greedy kind of bright. He wore the uniform of the Eurasian Federation, his chest adorned with medals, each silently flaunting his "achievements."

"Captain Lamias, I understand your situation." Garcia's voice carried a hint of formulaic sympathy. "Artemis is willing to provide temporary shelter for the Archangel. But—there's no such thing as a free lunch."

Maru looked at him, her brown eyes devoid of emotion. "Your conditions?"

"First, all weapon systems of the Archangel must be handed over to Artemis for management. Second, the Strike Gundam must be transferred to the Eurasian Federation's technical team for evaluation. Third—" Garcia paused, a slight smile playing on his lips, "Command of the Archangel will temporarily be taken over by Artemis."

Mu leaned back in his chair and whistled. "Colonel, are you telling us to surrender?"

"This is standard procedure," Garcia's voice turned cold. "The Archangel carries top-secret information from the Allied Forces. As an ally, the Eurasian Federation has the right to access this technology. We will return it after the assessment is complete."

Natal stood before the fire control console, her blue eyes fixed on Garcia. "Colonel, 'After the assessment'—how long exactly?"

"That depends on the tech team's progress. It could take a few days, a few weeks, or—"

"Maybe never." Char's voice came from the corner of the bridge, calm and clear.

All eyes turned to him. Char sat on the sofa, his military jacket draped over his shoulders, the bandage on his left shoulder faintly visible through his shirt. His deep red eyes gleamed faintly in the bridge lights, his expression as calm as a still pond.

Garcia stared at him, his brow furrowing. "Who are you?"

"Warrant Lieutenant Amuro Ray, aboard the Archangel."

The air in the bridge seemed to freeze. Garcia's pupils contracted, his fingers tightened slightly, and his expression shifted from arrogance to confusion. A name he'd never heard of before.

"Amuro..." Garcia's voice changed, no longer arrogant, but tinged with doubt, "What are you doing here?"

"We're trapped. With these kids." Char stood up and walked to the tactical table. He was half a head taller than Garcia, his deep red eyes looking down at him with a natural sense of oppression. "Colonel Garcia, I suggest you reconsider your terms."

Why?

"Because the Archangel and the Strike Gundam don't belong to the Eurasian Federation. They are the assets of the United Army, and you have no right to seize them. If you forcibly take them, the Atlantic Federation won't stand idly by." Char's voice was calm, but every word carried weight. "Moreover—ZAFT's Kruze team is outside. They won't give up the pursuit just because you opened the light barrier. They're waiting, waiting for you to make a mistake."

Garcia sneered. "Kruze? That masked man? He's been fighting for half a year and still hasn't broken through Artemis's defenses. You think I'm afraid of him?"

"You should be afraid of him," Xia's voice remained calm. "Because he is no ordinary enemy. He will exploit your arrogance, your greed, and every one of your weaknesses."

Garcia's face darkened. "Warrant Lieutenant Amuro, are you threatening me?"

"I'm reminding you."

The two locked eyes, and the air on the bridge almost froze. Maru, Natal, and Mu held their breath, their fingers on their weapons. The soldiers of the Eurasian Federation also raised their rifles, aiming them at Char.

Garcia was the first to look away. He turned his back to Char. "Warrant Lieutenant Amuro, I heard your opinion. But Artemis's decision will not change. The Archangel and the Strike Gundam will be taken over by the Eurasian Federation. This is an order, not a discussion."

He walked towards the bridge exit, stopped at the door, and glanced back at Char. "By the way—the light barrier is activated. No one can get in or out. ZAFT can't get in, and you can't get out."

The door closed.

The bridge was deathly silent.

Maru closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Natal's fingers tapped lightly on the fire control panel, while Mu leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. Kira stood at the bridge entrance, clutching the plastic puppy in his hand, his amber eyes filled with confusion.

Char stood before the tactical table, staring in the direction Garcia had vanished. His expression was calm, but his mind was racing—Garcia's arrogance, the energy core of the light barrier, Kruze's fleet waiting outside. All the fragments were piecing together, forming a dangerous pattern.

"Warrant Officer Amuro? That's a strange name." Maru's voice was hoarse. "What do we do now?"

Char turned around and looked into her eyes. "Don't worry about the name. Now we can only wait. Wait for Garcia to make a mistake, wait for Kruze to make his move, wait for the moment the light barrier fails."

How do you know the light wave barrier will fail?

"Because every barrier has a weakness. Once you find it, you can break it. And don't forget Thunderclap," Char's voice was calm, but his deep red eyes burned with a reassuring light. "Now, there's only one thing we need to do—get ready."

Artemis Fortress, Command Center.

Garcia stood before the holographic screen, staring at the Archangel's docking location. His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest, Char's words replaying in his mind—"You should be afraid of him."

"Colonel, the technical team for the Archangel is in position," the adjutant's voice came from behind. "We can begin analyzing the Strike Gundam at any time."

"Let's begin." Garcia didn't turn around. "Tell the tech team to crack the OS at all costs. I need to obtain the Strike Gundam's core data within forty-eight hours."

"However—that MS system is locked and requires specific biometrics to unlock."

Garcia turned around, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Then let him unlock it. By persuasion, by threats, by any means necessary."

The adjutant hesitated for a moment. "What if he doesn't cooperate?"

"Then let them cooperate." Garcia's voice turned cold. "We have 800 'guests.' If even one of them causes a problem, he'll always cooperate."

The adjutant lowered his head. "Yes, sir."

Garcia turned back to the holographic screen. On the screen, Char's face—that young, calm, unsettling face—flashed in the data stream.

“…” Garcia said in a low voice, “You escaped Kruze’s pursuit in Heliopolis, but this is not Heliopolis. This is Artemis, my territory. Here, I call the shots.”

L4 outer perimeter, Wesalis.

"Captain, Artemis's light barrier has been activated," the adjutant reported. "The Archangel is trapped inside and cannot leave."

Kruse's lips curled into a slight smile. "Started up? Excellent."

"What do we need to do?"

"Wait." Kruze leaned back in his chair, his eyes behind the mask fixed on Artemis on the holographic screen. "Wait for the moment the barrier fails."

"But—the light wave barrier has never been breached. How could it possibly fail?"

Kruze didn't answer. He stared at the small dot on the screen—Artemis, the pride of the Eurasian Federation, ZAFT's nightmare. But in his calculations, the collapse of that fortress was only a matter of time. And the Alliance had already handed him the key to breaching Artemis.

Arrogance, greed, infighting—these are the true weapons. More deadly than any beam cannon, any missile, any mobile suit.

"Order all teams to maintain distance and continue surveillance. Once the barrier fails, the entire army will attack."

"yes!"

Kruze sat alone in the captain's seat, a slow smile playing on his lips behind his mask.

"Char Langlad Ashar, what will you do? Will you confront the entire fortress with force? Or will you try to persuade Garcia with your 'protection' rhetoric? Whatever you do, I look forward to seeing your choice. Because your choice will determine the course of this war."

Outside the window, Artemis's light barrier shimmered with rainbow colors in the starry sky, like a beautiful, indestructible gem.

But Kruse knew that the gem would eventually shatter.

On February 14, CE71, the Archangel was trapped in the Artemis Fortress.

Garcia's greed pushed everyone to the edge of a precipice, while Kruze's fleet waited outside, the light barrier flickering in the starry sky offering a false sense of security.

Char Langlad Ashar stood at the porthole of the bridge, gazing at the beautiful, indestructible barrier, his crimson eyes reflecting rainbow-colored light.

"Wait," he whispered, "wait for it to break."