SEED-Victory

Thor Keni saw this and grumbled.

No way, the GINN could still retreat after that? Wasn't it supposed to be unable to move once its head was blown off?

Wasn't the destruction of its main head monitor supposed to leave it blind and unable to move around recklessly?

And now it could still move, and even knew which direction to go. This was completely unscientific.

The anime misled me. Kira, you misled me too. I actually thought it would be just like the anime, where blowing off the head would finish it.

What a shame. I was so close to capturing another GINN...

Thor Keni opened a comm channel to Mu La Flaga, whose Moebius Zero had already been damaged in battle.

"Uncle Mu, head back to the Archangel first. Leave the rest to me."

"I'm counting on you, kid. I'm withdrawing first."

Mu La Flaga piloted the battle-damaged Moebius Zero back toward the Archangel.

Just then, another Earth Federation Army escort ship was destroyed by a ZAFT GINN.

Watching the battleship's explosion flare up, Thor Keni muttered to himself.

"Should I save them or not? If I save them, I'll alter the original plot, and all my advantages will be gone."

"If I stand by and watch them die, though, that feels a little cold-blooded."

"Whatever. I'll take it one step at a time and let nature take its course. George Alusta's fate is in his own hands."

Thor Keni shook his head and drove Blitz Gear straight toward the battlefield at high speed.

On the way there, he fired another shot at the headless GINN fleeing the scene. A beam pierced its cockpit.

The moment Thor Keni entered the battlefield, he saw the shocking ratio of forces: two enemy GINNs against two friendly battleships and one Moebius.

He was utterly speechless. Had he arrived one moment later, it would have become two against zero.

Blitz Gear immediately raised its right arm and fired several rapid shots from the beam gun mounted on its Assault Shield System at one of the GINNs.

The GINN failed to dodge in time, and its cockpit was pierced clean through.

The final GINN charged at Blitz Gear, continuously firing its rocket launcher while raising its Heavy Machine Gun in its left hand to spray bullets.

Faced with that fierce assault, and with Blitz Gear lacking PS Armor, Thor Keni could only dodge with all his might.

Aegis Gundam seemed to have received word as well and charged toward Blitz Gear, with Strike Gundam close behind it.

Seeing on the radar that Aegis Gundam was about to arrive, Thor Keni could only trade damage for damage. He raised his weapon and kept firing at the GINN.

He closed in while firing. Once the distance was right, he made a precise maneuver and split open the cockpit with his Beam Saber.

But Blitz Gear lost one of its left legs, and its body was riddled with bullet holes.

Still, the ZAFT GINN's cockpit had been exposed, making the situation inside visible to the naked eye.

The GINN pilot had already been instantly killed by shrapnel from the cockpit hatch explosion caused by Thor Keni's earlier attack.

Thor Keni finally let out a breath of relief and looked at the last ship he had saved.

"George Alusta, you sure are lucky..."

Before he could finish, a red beam streaked past him and struck the last remaining escort, the Moebius, aboard that battleship.

Flames erupted from the Moebius in an instant before it exploded violently.

Seeing that, Thor Keni immediately accelerated away. He had no desire to be pierced clean through by Aegis Gundam.

Strike Gundam watched Aegis, already in MA form and about to rush Blitz Gear, then fired its beam gun like mad.

The MA-form Aegis quickly transformed back into MS form and turned around, no longer paying attention to the Blitz Gear piloted by Thor Keni.

It resumed its rhythmic dance with the Strike Gundam piloted by Kira Yamato.

Watching Aegis leave, Thor Keni let out a trembling sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness Athrun has a soft spot for Kira and ignored me. Otherwise, I might've ended up just like that Moebius."

"Turned into a firework. That was close, way too close..."

Before Thor could finish lamenting, two more green beams streaked past him.

They struck and pierced the final Earth Federation Army escort ship.

Flames burst from the two huge holes in the escort vessel before it exploded violently, hundreds of times more spectacularly than the Moebius just now.

Thor broke out in a cold sweat and sighed.

"George Alusta, it's not that I didn't save you. Your luck was just too bad, so don't blame me."

He shook his head again to calm himself, then said to Nami.

"Nami, once we get back, help me delete everything I said to myself earlier from the Black Box."

"Understood, Master. I'll wipe it clean and make sure no one discovers your privacy."

At that moment, the Archangel broadcast over the common channel across all frequencies. Natale Bagiru spoke.

"This is the Earth Federation Army vessel Archangel."

"This ship is currently providing protection to Lacus Klein, daughter of Siegel Klein, chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council."

The moment those words were spoken, the battlefield fell silent. The ZAFT Nacskha-class battleship and Aegis Gundam both ceased their attacks.

"We happened to discover her lifeboat, and although we are protecting her on humanitarian grounds..."

"Should this ship suffer any further attack, however..."

"We will regard it as your ship abandoning responsibility for Lacus Klein."

"At that point, we will handle this matter according to our own intentions."

"This is our formal notice."

Aboard the ZAFT Nacskha-class battleship, Rau Le Creuset confirmed Lacus Klein's identity and immediately issued an order.

"All units, cease fire."

On the Archangel's bridge, Natale Bagiru said to Mwu Lamias.

"I can't let Strike Gundam and the Archangel be sunk here."

Mwu Lamias understood the helplessness of the situation as well.

"Understood, Lieutenant Natale Bagiru."

Natale Bagiru shouted sternly.

"Someone, escort Miss Lacus Klein back to her room."

After hearing Natale Bagiru's earlier announcement, Thor Keni immediately relaxed and collapsed into Blitz Gear's seat.

"What a relief, it's finally over. I nearly got myself killed twice."

"Good thing I wasn't the target, or I would've been caught by surprise."

"Looks like I'm still too inexperienced. From now on, I need to stay aware of everything around me on the battlefield."

He contacted Nami in his mind and had her retrieve the New DG Cells still gathering materials nearby. This was enough collecting for now.

Then Thor Keni personally collected all three GINNs he had shot down, leaving none behind.

He carried one in each hand and another on the Claw Anchor, then quickly took a detour back to the Archangel.

Then he thought about it again. No, wasn't this basically saving the ZAFT Nacskha-class battleship?

Natale Bagiru was kind of a useless teammate too. Their results this time were obviously better than in the anime.

Originally, the enemy had been left with two GINNs and one Aegis Gundam. This time, only one Aegis remained.

The difference was huge, wasn't it?