Felix's peripheral vision caught the flash of an explosion as he maneuvered the Ginn. He banked left in midair to dodge an attack, then flipped the Ginn again to evade another.
After dodging two attacks, the Ginn opened fire with the Heavy Assault Machine Gun in its hands.
Bullets burst from the muzzle.
One shot instantly blew a Vanguard Fighter apart.
After taking it down, the Ginn maneuvered again.
It dodged an attack fired from the right, then raised its gun and fired behind itself.
"What!"
The pilot of the Vanguard Fighter behind him stared in shock, unable to believe it. The next moment, bullets tore his fighter apart, and it exploded in a flash of light.
After blowing up the Vanguard Fighter, Felix turned his attention to the fighters in other directions.
As they maneuvered through the air, the fighters aimed at Felix's Ginn and opened fire. The Ginn searched for targets while maneuvering to dodge.
After evading one attack after another, the Ginn opened fire with the Heavy Assault Machine Gun.
Rat-tat!
The gun roared, sending bullets flying from the barrel.
Boom!
The bullets pierced a Vanguard Fighter. With a roar, it exploded in midair, its fragments falling toward the ground.
After firing, the Ginn maneuvered through the air, dodged an attack by banking sideways, and drew the Heavy Slash Blade. It slashed a Vanguard Fighter as it streaked past, blowing it apart instantly.
Before the explosion, Felix piloted the Ginn away, keeping it clear of the blast.
The Ginn maneuvered backward, then dodged attacks fired from the left, the right, and behind.
It raised its gun and fired first at the left.
After firing, the Ginn flipped through the air to dodge bullets fired from behind, while the Heavy Assault Machine Gun opened fire once more.
As it fired, the Ginn continued maneuvering, dodged an attack from the right, then fired in that direction.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three explosions rang out at that moment.
The three Vanguard Fighters that had just joined the attack on Felix were destroyed.
Before Felix could catch his breath after blowing up all three, another Vanguard Fighter formation launched an attack. The barrage came at a fierce pace from tricky angles. An ordinary pilot would have struggled to withstand such an assault.
But Felix was used to being surrounded and faced the barrage with ease. Amid the fire, the Ginn darted about like a dancing sprite.
With a constant series of forward and backward maneuvers, side-to-side dodges, and flips, it evaded the dense barrage. At the same time, the Heavy Assault Machine Gun in its hands never stopped firing, pouring out a steady stream of bullets.
At the Earth Alliance Forces' rear base headquarters
"How is the battle going?"
Watching the large screen, Hope asked his adjutant.
Horton turned to Hope and gave his report.
"The fighting is intense. We've suffered heavy casualties, but we've inflicted heavy losses on those ZAFT Forces as well."
At that, Hope interrupted Horton and continued questioning him.
"What's the situation with that formidable ZAFT MS? Have our forces destroyed it?"
Horton paused to consider the question before answering.
"ZAFT deceived us. They have far more MS units than our scouts found. The units we sent to surround that MS were attacked and disrupted by their reinforcements. They haven't completed their assigned mission yet."
Hope raised his hand to check his watch. Seeing the time, he spoke.
"Our forces have nearly run out of ammunition, and the enemy must be close to running out, too."
Then Hope suddenly issued an order.
"Order our forces to return!"
"Yes, Commander!"
Horton saluted and replied.
Turning to the communications officer, Horton relayed Hope's order. The officer received it and passed it on to the front-line troops.
After the order was transmitted, Hope continued.
"Have the missile units strike the ZAFT Forces at the front line and cover our troops as they withdraw. The ground forces are to abandon any damaged vehicles that can no longer move. Their crews should board other vehicles and withdraw from the battlefield."
"Yes, Commander!"
The front line
The Earth Alliance Forces, locked in a fierce firefight with the ZAFT Forces, received the order from headquarters in the rear. After reading it, they began preparing to retreat.
Only a minute or two later, missiles came in from the rear.
With the missiles joining the battle, the Earth Alliance Forces' Vanguard Fighter units were able to withdraw safely. The ground forces seized the opportunity to abandon their vehicles and retreat into the woods.
Boom, boom, boom!
After a string of explosions, a wall of fire like a blazing rampart appeared before Felix and the others. Seeing it, Felix made no rash move.
"Captain, should we pursue them?"
A voice came over the comms.
Felix checked his ammunition and asked the unit, "How much ammunition does everyone have left?"
The brief question brought a string of replies: barely any. Hearing this, Felix promptly ordered a retreat.
At Felix's command, the unit returned to the spaceport.
Inside Victoria Spaceport
Felix and the others piloted their Ginns down in an orderly fashion onto the spaceport's runway. Under Felix's control, the Ginn entered the Hangar.
The Maintenance Crew inspected Felix's Ginn.
While they were checking it, Felix climbed out of the cockpit and left the Hangar.
At headquarters
"How did it go?"
Andrew looked at Felix as he returned, set a cup of warm water in front of him, and asked. Felix sat in a chair, resting. He looked at the water but didn't hurry to drink it. After a short rest, he picked up the cup and took a sip.
"Not bad!"
Felix looked at Andrew and gave him a two-word answer. Andrew glanced at the table, then at Felix, and took a sip of his coffee.
"After this battle, the Earth Alliance Forces may hold off for a while."
"They probably won't launch a large-scale attack, but they certainly won't hesitate to fire missiles at the spaceport. We still can't let our guard down."
Felix set down his cup and answered Andrew.
Andrew nodded in agreement, setting down his coffee at the same time.
"Get me some water!"
Doug's voice reached the two of them.
Felix and Andrew turned to look and saw Doug walk in wearing his flight suit. Like Felix, he was drenched in sweat, exhaustion written all over his face.
"You're back?"
Felix looked at Doug and spoke to him.
Andrew got up to pour Doug a glass of water.
Before you continue