Editing KSGU:Volume 7 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 10===

The tropical forests, which were said to cover 14% of the landscape in the past, once took up 3% of the land. It was said that this figure rose back to 6% during the Universal Century. The primary reason behind this accomplishment was the countermeasures against global warming during the old age, and the reforestation started once the Space Migration officially began. But at the same time, the indigenous people who relied on woodcutting for a living lost their jobs. They did not get proper education to gain decent jobs, and could not find any jobs even if they wanted to make the switch. These people who were the “excessive” were naturally deported into space first, and were living in the colonies where they would not suffer famines or floods. The highly civilized, highly educated did not think about what the actual people involved were thinking as they showered the latter group with good intentions.

The descendants of those ‘excessive population’ stayed in the tropical rainforests that were protected, located within the clustered jungle region of Eastern New Guinea, 17 years ago. These colony residents who were living behind the moon, the people who were abandoned furthest away from Earth, arrived here with the help of the armor called mobile suits, and took part in the invasion of Earth with their comrades scattered along the continent. However, most of the squads could not defend the frontline that was overextended, and could not return back to their motherland—the Republic of Zeon, and could only end up scattered in the forests.

There were the “Zakus”, the main forces of the republic, the “Goufs” that were developed on Earth’s frontline bases, and the amphibious “Goggs” machines. The monoeyed giants used to trample through the forest and fight against the Federation army, but at this point, it was covered by the forest and moss, and the cockpit that was gradually rotting away because a nest of poisonous snakes. To the salvage industy, this was a gold mine. However, there had not been any incidents of anyone ransacking the mobile suits lying asleep in this place ever since the war end. That was because of a widely accepted misinformation that a core reactor exploded in this place before, and the radiation spread around.

In fact, that was a mean to prevent others from approaching this place, and the old battlefield was already covered by green shrubs for a long time. As of this night, It had been 17 years, 1 month and 15 days, when the first “Zaku” landed on this land—counting from the time the 3rd wave of the Republic’s forces pushed into the South Pacific. What may be the last two remaining “Zakus” were strolling through the forests; their soles that were as large as minivans stepped on the reddish-brown dirt loudly, and the multi-layered sea of trees let out hissing sounds. The trees in this area were more than 30m tall, and thus, the giants that were 17m tall would not be protruding their heads out. It was impossible to see two machines moving from above, and only the birds that were woken from their sleep flew out of the branches away from the machines’ paths, their chirping were the only thing rang under the moonlight.

The MS-05L “Zaku” walking in front is a variant of the initial Zaku-type version, and it had a large sub generator behind it, which also powered the long-barreled beam rifle it was wielding. This sniper-type “Zaku” that was produced in limited numbers at the end of the war could be considered the latest amongst the “Zaku I”, commonly known as the “Old Zakus”. However, the fact that it had become an antique on this day would never change. Following behind was the MS-06K “Zaku Cannon”, a first generation machine that did not have a moveable frame as well. The cannon equipped on its right shoulder looked powerful, but also gave the feeling of the distance in age.  As both machines were products produced before the linear seats were created, they did not have all-view monitors, but rectangular flatscreen panels in the cockpit for navigation.

A crescent moon covered in clouds was shown on one of the monitors. If one were to look over, it seemed that the glowing colonies could be seen in the middle of the stars that littered the sky, but their homeland, located behind the moon—the Side 3 currently renamed as the Zeon Republic could not be seen. “It’s so far…” Yomen Kirks muttered as he narrowed his eyes at the moon that would appear and disappear between the trees from time to time. (What?) the neighboring unit Kandle asked back through the wireless communicator, but Kirks ignored it as he let the feeling of the control stick seep into his hand slowly after having not held it for 3 years. The rhythm of the main generator reached Kirks fingertips, and before the breath of the still-alive “Zaku I” could reach inside his body, he stepped on the brakes and let the machine stop.

“This area alone should be enough, right? It’ll be troublesome to go back if we move too far from the base.”

He looked up at the crown of trees covering him from above as he called out into the wireless communicator. There were no stares from anyone else in this area deemed as a radioactive quarantine zone, and in this forest hailed to have 40 of all lifeforms in the world, the nocturnal animals that had not changed even since the ancient days were letting their howls echo through. The “Zaku Cannon” stopped in its tracks and stood to the rear left side of Kirks’ machine (Yes…) Kandle’s choked on his words as his voice came in through the wireless communicator.

(It’s such a pity. We actually have to bury the machines we kept up till now with our own hands…)

“It can’t be helped. My Sniper Zaku and your Zaku Cannons are just walking antiques now. Since we can’t find anyone to reclaim it, we can only leave it here.”

(That’s true…but they can move though.)

“It’s only a matter of time before they stop moving anyway if they aren’t recharged. We haven’t activated it for quite a few years. You should be rejoicing that they’re able to make it all the way here.”

Kirks released his hands from the control stick and stroked the console in front of him. “We can probably earn a lot if we can sell these to a weapons fan…but this guy probably doesn’t want to be treated as a plaything.” Kirks muttered to himself, and use this surge of emotions to undo the seatbelt of the seat. He took out some highly potent plastic explosives from his spare parts and connected the cables to the countdown timer. He installed them below the console seat, switched off the light of the main generator, and opened the door.

The humid air covered his entire body, and his skin that was more than 50 years old was aging slower, but sweating at this point. As long as the explosion was triggered, the cockpit would be blown to bits, and the “Zaku I” would be in the equivalent of a death state. Kirks pulled out the lift wire used to get up and down the machine, and landed on the double-layered armor at the abdomen, “Don’t blame me.” He said to his beloved machine.

“Some idiot who started a fireworks display in Dakar, and those Federation dogs came killing after us. We can only slip away here. I want to bring you guys along, but based on whatever the sponsor said, it seems that sacrifices are necessary.”

Kirks put his foot on the metal ring of the lift wire and activated the countdown wire. The countdown timer set on the seat started to tick down, and the red numbers of the 5 minute time limit looked exceptionally eye-catching in the cockpit with its lights switched off.

“Our sponsors want to pacify those Federation dogs, so we have to create proof that the Zeon remnants were rounded up for him. As payment, those dogs will let us off. Well, this is embarrassing; we came all the way here from our homeland, and we even lived till now…”

The anti-Federation organization acting as their sponsor, EGUM,  would only accept machines of at least the 3rd generation, and the machines had were moved away from New Guinea through all sorts of means. This was the prelude to the extinction of the Zeon remnants on Earth, and the Shinbu base that had always been the largest rally point in the Southern Pacific was moving towards its end—this closure was too unbearable, no different from an escape in the middle of the night, but Kirks had no intention of blaming those people fromEGUM.

The higher-ups ofEGUM, who were aiming to overthrow the Federation government, hoped that the Earth army continued its current military production, and the National Defense senators used the profits of the war economy to control the politics. The anti-government forces were aiming for the moment the Senate started to audit its budget and launch a limited terrorist attack to increase the budget required; and in this sense, EGUMand Neo Zeon were practically waiting for the Federation government to take action. Their time of feeding their subordinates and disguising themselves as Neo Zeon was finally about to come to a close. They lost a homeland they could return to, and what they could only rely on was the belief that they could revive Zeon—no, the people who had things they could believe in were all dead. The terrorist had fallen to the extent of being a mercenary, and he dragged his body, rendered lethargic by the humidity, to live a haphazard life. Now, this man could finally clear off the pretense he had in the past, and that was all.

In this situation, the “Sleeves” that were living in space were not too different. Perhaps the Dakar incident was the last smoke lit, foretelling that they would soon reach annihilation. In the end, once the coexistence with the Federation, the hired terrorists all over the world would be faced with unemployment. If the Zeon Republic dissolves in Universal Century 100, the name of Zeon would vanish completely, and people like him would probably devolve into real ghosts. “We could have ended things off with a bang.” Kirks squeezed out these heartfelt words from his bitter chest as he turned his bitter smile away from the cockpit.

“There was that Delaz Conflict, and then there were the two Neo Zeon wars. There were so many chances for you to appear, but for some reason, I can’t send myself to my death here. Kandle’s about to have his 3rd brat here. That guy was just a snotty brat during the descent, and now he’s a decent father here. It’s no wonder you and I are old now…”

The middle-aged man’s face, which had useless flesh gathered as he brazenly lived his tough life, was reflected off the switched-off monitor panel. The buzzing of the insects’ wings grazed past his ears, and Kirks gave himself a slap on the face, suddenly felt embarrassed, trembled and lowered his eyes, saying, “Bye then. Go over there and wait for me first.” After this short goodbye, Kirks left the cockpit. Suddenly, there was a communication call, (Leader! We got a code. It’s from the sky!) and Kandle called up as Kirks was about to reach his hand for the lift wire switch.

“From the air? A Federation patrol?”

Kirks immediately brought his upper body into the cockpit and pressed the call button. In this case, it would be earlier than what they expected. ''The Federations should be starting their search tomorrow.'' The misinformation of this place being contaminated by radiation had been keeping people at bay, and since Kirks and his company had been hiding in this place all this while, he did not feel that the scout planes would fly by here. He regretted switching off the main generator as he looked sidelong the flank of the abdomen at Kandle’s “Zaku Cannon”. (No, this is…) Kandle muttered as his gasp could be heard clearly through the wireless communicator.

(It’s a secret code used by the Zeon army, a code used during the 3rd drop!)

Kirks’ heart instantly stopped, and then started to beat again. He took the earphones set on the seat and brought his ears over to them. The sound that was similar to the old Morse code entered his old brain through his eardrums, awakening his memories. It was a code he memorized in his head 17 years ago. At that time, he was encased inside a HRSL capsule together with his mobile suit, and he had been listening to that voice until the moment he was launched down to low orbit. ''When my fear and excitement rang in cadence, that was the code—!''

“Please…provide assistance…give the Federation…a good one…?”

Kirks inadvertently uttered these words out as he deciphered this code, and the sound of the words caused his heart to race again. At the same time, the sound of an engine, akin to that of the wind, passed by from above, and Kirks looked up at the sky through the canopy of trees. The crescent moon was giving off a thin and sharp light, and a small dot with a trail of smoke appeared before this light. It was a transport ship with its navigation lights off—no, from its extremely long shape, it seemed to be a VTOL-type ship returning to Earth.

(Leader…) Kandle let out a puzzled voice “Cut off the wireless communication. Remain on standby.) Kirks instinctively ordered and continued to watch the ship as it flew through the night ship. It was calling out with a code used during Earth’s invasion, and most probably, it was a ship sent in from ship. Kirks could not think of what sort of effect it would bring as he decided to cut the countdown of the bomb. ''BEEP.'' The numbers were stopped, indicating a time of less than 2 minutes, and his heart continued to beat in the cockpit of the “Zaku I”, unwilling to fade away.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[KSGU:Volume_7_Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
| Return to [[Gundam Unicorn|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[KSGU:Volume_7_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>