Second Spaceport Defense Battle (5)

While dodging incoming fire, the Ginn's Heavy Assault Machine Gun opened fire, spitting out bullet after bullet from its muzzle.

The bullets erupted from the barrel, scattering in every direction.

BOOM!

An explosion rang out.

A Vanguard Fighter was pierced through its fuselage and detonated instantly.

BANG!

A sharp, piercing sound echoed.

A Vanguard Fighter's left wing was struck; thick smoke billowed from the shattered wing as the fighter spiraled out of control toward the ground.

BANG!

Another sharp, piercing sound followed.

A Vanguard Fighter's right wing was hit, and thick smoke poured from the shredded wing. Although the pilot fought to stabilize the craft, it was futile, and the fighter plummeted uncontrollably toward the earth.

As the two fighters lost altitude, the pilots realized there was no saving their crafts and, without a moment's hesitation, chose to eject.

The cockpit hatches blew off, and the ejection systems engaged.

The two pilots were launched into the air, slowly descending toward the ground beneath their parachutes.

Just as they stabilized their descent, an explosion roared overhead.

The shattered fighters disintegrated into countless fragments that rained down toward the ground, and the sharp, high-velocity debris happened to slice through the pilots' parachutes.

Large holes appeared in the fabric.

"AHHH!"

Terrified screams tore from their throats.

The damaged parachutes could no longer function, and the two men lost all control over their descent. Pulled by gravity, they accelerated, plummeting closer to the ground and closer to death.

As they hurtled toward their end, others above them reached it first.

Three Vanguard Fighters converged from different directions to attack the Ginn piloted by Felix, pouring cannon fire from all sides.

Under such pressure, Felix remained calm and collected, maneuvering the Ginn with minute movements to evade the incoming fire from all three directions.

The Ginn raised its weapon and opened fire on the Vanguard Fighter ahead.

DA-DA!

Two shots rang out as bullets left the muzzle.

The first bullet served as bait, forcing the Vanguard Fighter to maneuver, while the second, guided by Felix's precise calculations and predictions, intercepted the fighter's flight path and blew its nose apart.

BOOM!

A thunderous explosion echoed.

The Vanguard Fighter disintegrated in mid-air.

Having dealt with that one, the Ginn pivoted to fire upon the other two Vanguard Fighters.

With a few simple maneuvers, he took them out one by one.

After finishing them off, Felix had no time to rest; his hands continued to work the controls, firing at the remaining Vanguard Fighters in the sky.

BANG!

A bullet struck a Vanguard Fighter's wing, and thick smoke poured from the damaged section as the craft spiraled toward the ground.

BANG!

Another bullet struck a Vanguard Fighter, this time hitting the rear thruster nozzle. With the propulsion system destroyed, the fighter lost its thrust and could no longer maintain flight.

It lost altitude rapidly, diving straight toward the ground.

Other Ginns, seeing the state of these two fighters, did not hesitate to finish them off.

"Damn it!!"

The pilot growled, his face twisted in a desperate, futile attempt to save himself, but it was too late; the bullets struck the fighter with lethal precision.

After the secondary barrage, the two damaged fighters disintegrated in mid-air. Watching them explode, the Ginn pilots turned their attention back to the remaining Vanguard Fighters.

Meanwhile, on the ground:

The Earth Alliance Forces' ground troops were having a miserable time.

"Bastards! What is the Air Force doing? How could they let the ZAFT military spare several MS to attack us on the ground? How are we supposed to deal with this?"

A tank commander's face was twisted with tension as he spat out the words. Having said this, he ordered his driver to maneuver the tank in a desperate, frantic attempt to evade fire.

The gunner aimed at the Ginn in the sky through the optical sensor.

"Damn it! Their aerial maneuverability is just too good; there's no way to get a lock!"

After several failed attempts and a few wasted shots, the gunner complained in despair. Hearing this, the commander spoke calmly from within the tank.

"The more critical the moment, the less you can afford to panic, otherwise what awaits me..."

The commander's words trailed off, his eyes widening with sheer terror as the fear of death took hold.

BOOM!

Under his horrified gaze, a violent explosion tore through their vehicle, leaving the rest of his sentence to be finished in the next world.

Having finished off that tank, the Ginn, which was mowing down ground targets with ease, turned to engage the remaining vehicles.

BOOM!

With another explosion, yet another tank was obliterated on the ground.

As the ground vehicles were being picked off, the Vanguard Fighter units in the sky were meeting the same fate.

Felix piloted the Ginn to shoot down a Vanguard Fighter, his peripheral vision catching the state of another. He adjusted his controls, and the Ginn raised its arm to fire.

Click!

A bullet discharged from the chamber.

BANG!

The bullet struck the Vanguard Fighter.

BOOM!

Shortly after the impact, the fighter erupted in a violent explosion, a ball of fire blooming in the sky as the craft disintegrated and plummeted toward the ground.

"Pay more attention to your surroundings during combat; don't fixate all your focus on a single target."

After helping his subordinate eliminate the threat, Felix issued the reminder over the comms. Even as he spoke, he maneuvered the Ginn to dodge an incoming attack and raised his weapon to fire.

BANG!

The bullet pierced the head of the Vanguard Fighter!

The nose was torn apart, the pilot died instantly, and the fighter exploded and broke apart in a flash.

"Understood, Captain!"

A reply came through the comms.

Hearing the response, Felix gave a soft grunt of acknowledgment. He manipulated the Ginn to swap magazines, the discarded one tossed forward by the mobile suit's other hand.

The magazine flew forward.

The pilot of the Vanguard Fighter saw the incoming object and banked to dodge. No sooner had the maneuver been completed than a bullet came streaking toward him.

It was too late to evade.

The bullet struck the nose of the fighter with pinpoint accuracy.

BOOM!

An explosion rang out, and the pilot, along with his fighter, was swallowed by the flames. Amidst the fire, debris from the Vanguard Fighter rained down toward the ground like droplets of water.

After firing, the Ginn, under Felix's control, soared through the sky, weaving through incoming fire. Closing the distance to a Vanguard Fighter, he drew the Heavy Slash Blade from his waist.

He cleaved the nose of the fighter in one stroke.

The cockpit was shattered instantly, and the pilot perished on the spot.

The fighter spiraled out of control toward the ground.

Sheathing the blade, he raised his weapon to fire.

A bullet erupted from the muzzle, racing toward another Vanguard Fighter.

BOOM!

An explosion echoed from a distance away.