Editing KSGU:Volume 10 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 32===

“…Alberto?”

Martha shot a questioning look, and one operator groaned, looking terrified. There were less than two minutes until the laser was fired, and the sudden, expected report had Ronan looking towards the monitor, and the operator..

“What’s going on? I told that child about the ‘Gryphios 2’, so he should be with the “General Revil”. Why is he next to the “Magallanica”…?”

The blood was slowly drained from Martha’s face as she answered; so too was the operator who conveyed the report from the “General Revil”. He gave a pleading look to the commander seat, but Aibres too was perturbed by this unexpected turn of events. There was a tense mood in the control room, and Bright was the first to move. He nudged a muzzle aside as he approached the operator. “Hey…!” The guard called out, but Ronan raised a hand to cut off the guard, and looked towards Bright’s back while the latter snatched the headset..

“I’m Captain bright of Londo Bell. I want to speak to ship captain Maseki of the ”General Revil”.”

Bright initiated the conversation as he stared at the target on the monitor. Ronan too looked back at the distant visual of the “Magallanica”, at the countless machines around the massive ship. The “Nahel Argama” had retreated into a safe zone, but there appeared to be two mobile suits next to the “Magallanica”. There was grainy, block noise on the footage, but the analysis showed that they were Unicorn-types. It was one thing for the “Box” key, the first unit to be there, but why was the second unit, sent as the assassin of the Foundation, just remaining there as though it was protecting the “Magallanica”? Ronan had many doubts, but the issue at hand was not the movements of the machines.

There was a Base Jabber in the space approximately 50km away, flashing as it sent a laser signal─was it him? Alberto Vist, the eldest son of the ex-chairman of the Foundation, Cardeas Vist, got involved in this situation as Martha’s confidant, yet he would not leave the “Magallanica”. The listless movements seemed to indicate that he was trying to prevent the firing of the colony laser. The “Nahel Argama'' was beginning to retreat, so perhaps it too obtained intel from Alberto. Ronan had a feeling that Martha would not be playing tricks, and spotted Aibres approaching from behind. “If he’s in that Base Jabber, he’s going to be caught in the laser.” Aibres whispered as he glanced aside at Martha.

“If we stop the countdown now, it’ll take a really long time to restart. There’s also a possibility of short-circuiting it, and being unusable ─”

“It is fine.”

Martha suddenly said, and Aibres’s shoulders shivered. Ronan gasped as he looked back at Martha, who was standing some way away from him.

“Continue the countdown.”

She continued with a calm tone, her expression erased from her face as she looked towards the monitor. Patricide─Ronan witnessed a destiny that was about to be repeated, saw the countdown being less than a minute, and looked away from Martha, who was not looking at anyone in particular, merely passing glances. Aibres remained silent as he returned to the podium of the commander seat, ignoring Bright who was handling the wireless communications with the “General Revil”. “Capacity, particle filament formed. Base trajectory set.” The operators’ stoic voices range, and the mood of the control room turned tense in the final phase..

“Laser agitation medium is now moving erratically.”

“Vibration caused by resonating waves detected in the cylinder.”

“Adjusting cooling circulation. Mass balancing done.”

“Angle stabilizer activated.”

“Impending actual output at 92 million Gigawatts per second.”

The operators reported, and the tip of the “Gryphios 2” gave a strong glow. The thousands of capacitors installed in it started to resonate, and the massive cylinder resembling a vacuum tube glowed, giving off light inside this colony-sized object. The output of 92 million Gigawatts per second was the equivalent of a colony’s annual energy consumption. The “Nahel Argama” might be able to escape given that it was retreating, but the “Magallanica'' would not escape its fate of destruction. Looking on, the “Gryphios 2” resembled a celestial torchlight. Ronan looked up at it, and closed his eyes for a moment. 29, 28, 27…the countdown voice echoed, and Martha, staring at the monitor adamantly, started to shiver.
“Senator Ronan！”

Less than 20 seconds on the meter, Bright’s voice came from the operator seat. Ronan looked towards him, his heart still jolting.

“Your son, Ensign Riddhe, is over there now!”

For a moment, Ronan did not understand what was said, “What…?” he uttered unwittingly, turning his stunned face towards Bright.

“It appears he’s piloting the second “Unicorn” unit. This is what Mr Alberto said…!”

Bright said, and brought the headset to his ear again. The “Magallanica”  stood poignantly behind him, and next to the 6,500m long snail shell were the Unicorn-types who were not even a speck—“How…why!?” Martha’s yelled awoke Ronan’s numbed mind, and he looked up at Aibres on the seat. The countdown was less than 10 seconds. “We can’t do anything!” A lament echoed in the control room.
 
“We don’t know what will happen if we stop now. We can’t stop!”

The scene of him personally embracing his son appeared in his blank mind. “Increasing output. Limit reached.” “Restraint field, removed.” The operators' voices continued. 5, 4, 3, 2…’’yell, shout, kneel down and beg for forgiveness.’’ His heart was filled with many turbulent voices, but he could not move despite looking up at the commander seat, at Aibres' face. The latter’s eyes were bloodshot as he weighed the possibility of having the head of the Settlement Issues Council owe him a favour for eternity, against the massive maintenance costs of the colony laser that could be wasted. Aibres closed his eyes, trying to hide his bias. A moment later, he opened his eyes, not looking at Ronan, but forward towards the “Gryphios 2” on the monitor.

“…Fire. Fire away.”

Aibres’ contorted face eked out this command, and the monitor showed a powerful light. ''Stop!’’ Ronan yelled in his heart, but one had to wonder if his voice took form. He stumbled forth, and the light scorching the source of it all filled the control room. Ronan had a vision of his son being vanquished.