Serpent Tail

The vast universe is filled with mysterious unknowns, constantly beckoning for exploration.

On the silently cruising Vesalius.

Ino and the others gathered on the bridge.

"Alright, now that you have all reviewed the data provided by the Intelligence Division, feel free to share your thoughts."

Le Creuset, dressed in white, stood on the bridge and spoke to the group.

"The idea of some 'ghost unit' is impossible, but this solo operation is indeed strange."

Rusty frowned as he voiced his confusion, which was shared by everyone present.

"Normally, when a Mobile Suit conducts an operation, there would be a support warship nearby, but this guy doesn't have one."

Nicol frowned as he analyzed the situation: "According to intelligence reports, the Mobile Suit that attacked the supply base was a Ginn, but a Ginn's battery cannot support such long-range travel."

Ino and Athrun also furrowed their brows.

The origin of their current mission was the series of supply stations along the ZAFT route that had been destroyed one after another recently.

According to the surviving Mobile Suit pilots, the opponent was operating alone, and the base radar had not detected any heat signatures other than the Mobile Suit itself.

The surviving Mobile Suit units had also attempted to pursue the enemy.

Yet, strangely, it was as if the opponent's energy would never run out; after destroying the base, they simply left the pursuing forces far behind.

To be honest, when he first heard the news, Ino's first thought was nuclear power.

But upon closer reflection, a nuclear engine was impossible at this point in time.

After all, the Neutron Jammer had only been deployed for a short while. Under these circumstances, neither the Earth Alliance nor PLANT had developed a Neutron Jammer Canceller, let alone any other faction.

But setting aside nuclear power, Ino truly could not think of any other energy source that would allow a Ginn to possess such endurance.

"Ino, what is your take?"

Le Creuset looked toward Ino, who was frowning in thought.

Facing Le Creuset's inquiry, Ino pondered for a moment before saying, "Could it be a modified unit?"

He really couldn't think of any other answer besides that.

It wasn't nuclear power.

There was no warship support.

The unit was still a Ginn.

Under these circumstances, he couldn't think of any other reason besides a modified Mobile Suit.

"A modified unit?"

Athrun had actually considered this possibility as well, but who could modify a Mobile Suit to such an extent?

Or rather, which faction did this person belong to?

"Mercenaries?"

Athrun suddenly thought of other active elements on the battlefield.

Mercenary is a general term.

It wasn't just PLANT that had Mobile Suit pilots; the vast majority of Coordinators lived on Earth.

And some Coordinators who didn't harbor much hatred toward the Earth Alliance, yet were capable of piloting Mobile Suits, could easily choose to step onto the battlefield for money and become mercenaries.

"But do ordinary mercenaries have this kind of strength?"

Ino frowned slightly; he felt that this world didn't quite align with the one in his memories.

Because in his memories, there was nothing related to mercenaries.

He could understand the existence of mercenaries—after all, it was war, and mercenaries were normal.

But the question was, what kind of mercenary had such immense strength?

One had to realize that when the second supply base was destroyed, ZAFT had increased the garrison forces at the supply bases.

Yet, the opponent still managed to shoot down four Mobile Suits and destroy the base, even with six Mobile Suits stationed there.

One against six, shooting down four, and escaping unscathed.

Although those Ginn pilots weren't like Athrun and his peers, they weren't people just anyone could trifle with either.

"Mercenaries, just a bunch of trash."

Yzak, who had been silent until now, crossed his arms and said with disdain: "Since they chose to be hired, they should be prepared for death."

For Yzak, whether it was mercenaries or a Natural, he would not fear anyone in combat, nor would he be inferior to anyone.

Upon hearing this, Ino and the others exchanged glances and then couldn't help but smile.

Indeed, while mercenaries might sound impressive, compared to ZAFT, they were almost as insignificant as pebbles on the roadside.

Although the opponent was also a Coordinator, there was a vast gap between Coordinators and Coordinators.

Beep, beep, beep~

Just as the group was joking around, the soldier in charge of the radar system shouted, "MS heat source detected in the yellow sector! Distance 800!"

Athrun and the others turned their gazes toward Ino in unison.

This was because, within the Vesalius, only Ino and Michelle Aiman currently possessed custom MS.

Ino looked toward Le Creuset.

"Michelle Aiman is already in the hangar preparing."

Le Creuset replied with a light chuckle.

Almost at the same time he spoke.

Michelle Aiman, standing by in the hangar, had already boarded his custom MS.

Receiving the reply, the group turned their eyes to the warship's screen.

As the MS heat source approached.

The enemy's image was magnified and projected onto the display.

"It really is a modified MS."

Looking at the appearance of the enemy MS, Nicol subconsciously glanced at Ino as he spoke.

However, Ino did not respond, as his attention was entirely focused on this MS.

Muzzles spat fire.

The three ZAFT MS opened fire.

Yet, facing the concentrated fire of three MS, the opponent dodged them with just a few evasive maneuvers.

In the process, he used his rifle to strike one of the MS.

"Seems like he's got some skill."

Watching the opponent's maneuvers, Ino's eyes lit up.

Strictly speaking, the opponent's actions were simple, but maintaining such accuracy while changing direction at that speed was not something an average pilot could achieve.

Athrun and the others also raised their eyebrows slightly.

However, none of them spoke; although the opponent's reactions showed he was not weak, he was merely "not weak," not yet worthy of being called strong.

Just as the opponent shot down the second MS.

The MS piloted by Michelle Aiman had already detached from the warship, raising his rifle and charging toward the unknown MS.

In the blink of an eye.

One yellow and one gray MS were locked in combat in the space not far from the supply base.

Flying bullets traced thin trajectories through the dark cosmos.

The silent flashes of fire from the muzzles spoke of the killing intent between the two.

Time ticked away, second by second.

The expressions on the faces of Ino and the others gradually shifted from their initial ease to gravity.

Because that guy Michelle Aiman seemed unable to take the opponent down.

"Do you need me to sortie?"

Ino asked Le Creuset.

The opponent's maneuvers indicated he was no mere passerby pilot; if this stalemate continued, Michelle Aiman might be in danger.

"Facing Michelle Aiman, he still barely has the conviction to fight, but if you go out too—"

Le Creuset thought for a moment and said, "Let's observe Michelle Aiman's strength here first."

After listening, Ino roughly understood Le Creuset's meaning.

The opponent's goal was to destroy the supply base, but that did not mean he would choose to fight to the death.

And their goal was to shoot him down.

If the opponent realized the situation was untenable and chose to flee, ordinary MS would never be able to catch him.

Facing one Michelle Aiman, the opponent was already struggling; if he were to add himself to the fray... anyone with a brain would choose to run away immediately.

"Who are you! Someone with this level of strength shouldn't be unknown!"

Inside the MS cockpit, Michelle Aiman felt the pressure radiating from the enemy machine and couldn't help but ask.

The pressure of this battle was only slightly weaker than that of Yzak and the others.

"Serpent Tail, Gai Murakumo!"

As he spoke, the gray MS drew a physical longsword and accelerated toward him.

"Melee? Just what I wanted!"

After saying this, Michelle Aiman dropped his rifle, drew his own longsword with a backhand grip, and charged to meet him.

Clang~

The two MS collided in an instant.

"You're no ordinary pilot, tell me your name!"

It wasn't as if Gai Murakumo hadn't fought ZAFT personnel before, but those with this level of skill could be counted on one hand.

"Le Creuset Team, Michelle Aiman—that is the name of the man who will kill you!"