Archangel

"Impossible! With just the personnel we have, it's nearly impossible to launch this warship!"

Inside the inner dock of Morgenroete, Neumann sat on the bridge of the Archangel and protested.

However, Natarle Badgiruel, who had temporarily taken over the duties of captain after the commanding officer was killed in action, did not stop the startup procedures.

Instead, she snapped at Neumann: "Do we even have time to be saying things like this now? Rather than waiting here for death, you'd be better off thinking about what to do next!"

At the same time, the surviving Jackie returned with several soldiers: "Report! As per your orders, I have brought everyone who is still capable of moving!"

They were all members assigned to the new warship Archangel as part of the 'G' Project.

"Take your stations immediately! If you don't know how, just follow the computer's instructions!"

"There are ZAFT ships outside! We can't engage in combat!"

Neumann still tried to stop Natarle.

"I know that!"

Natarle glared at him fiercely, then ordered: "Prepare the special cannons for firing simultaneously with the launch. You can do that, Sergeant Neumann!"

Hearing Natarle's arrangements, Neumann guessed her intentions and quickly rushed to the combat pilot seat, focusing his attention on the console.

Firing the cannons while launching—what a reckless woman.

With this thought, Neumann began to earnestly carry out his duties.

"Launch sequence initiated! Due to the emergency, skipping processes C30 through L21! Main power online!"

"Power output rising normally! 450 seconds until rated capacity!"

"That's too long! What is the status of the conduit between us and Heliopolis?"

Hearing the sudden question, Jackie answered in a panic: "It, it's still connected!"

"We can draw power from there too! Link the conduit! Route the power to the energy buffers..."

Sitting in the captain's seat, Natarle Badgiruel issued combat orders in an orderly fashion.

At the same time.

Mu La Flaga piloted his MA, chasing Le Creuset through the inner wall of the space colony.

Suddenly, the interior landscape of the colony was laid bare before his eyes: ruined streets, debris from explosions, and corpses scattered around the blast sites—

However, having seen many battlefields, Mu only frowned slightly before putting it all out of his mind.

His gaze was quickly drawn to a spot where the black smoke was particularly dense.

"Is this the last one?"

With a single glance, Mu spotted the unit being resupplied on a trailer, as well as the figures running about in a panic beside it.

"Easy enough to find."

Le Creuset also noticed that MS.

As he spoke, he piloted his CGUE straight toward that final X Series unit.

"Damn it, you absolutely—"

Beep, beep, beep!

Mu was just about to pursue him.

But he saw Le Creuset suddenly change direction and flip back: "Still too naive, Mu La Flaga—"

Rat-tat-tat—

Almost at the moment the two units crossed paths.

The MA and the MS fired their attacks simultaneously.

However, one was a hasty response, while the other was premeditated.

Accompanied by the piercing alarm from the cockpit.

"Le Creuset!"

The MA piloted by Mu La Flaga was struck in the fuselage by Le Creuset.

The hit Moebius Zero trailed a long plume of smoke as it plummeted rapidly downward.

Seeing Le Creuset turn again and fly toward the nearby unit, he was completely powerless to stop him.

"Hurry back to Morgenroete! You can't possibly handle a CGUE without weapons!"

Murrue, clutching her bandaged shoulder, shouted toward the Gundam nearby: "The previous battle must have consumed a considerable amount of power; you must replace the battery! If you run out of power, the Phase Shift Armor will fail!"

As the officer in charge of the 'G' Project for the Earth Alliance, she knew very well the capabilities of a unit like the CGUE.

However, no sooner had Murrue finished speaking than the unit, which had just activated its Phase Shift Armor, suffered a violent impact.

"Waaah—!"

A barrage of rifle fire accurately struck the Strike Gundam.

A violent shockwave transmitted from the exterior, and the Strike Gundam lost its balance and collapsed to the ground.

"Ngh...!"

Inside the cockpit, Kira Yamato struggled to control the machine, forcing it to stand up from the ground.

"Armor like a turtle shell, but—this ends here!"

Le Creuset declared, piloting his CGUE to hover directly above the Strike Gundam.

Bang!

Boom!

Yet, before Le Creuset could pull the trigger, a powerful main cannon beam suddenly streaked in from the side.

The beam pierced through the inner wall of the colony, causing the bedrock of the mining area to collapse instantly.

As Le Creuset piloted his CGUE backward to evade the flying rocks and scattered debris.

A massive, snow-white warship burst forth from the thick smoke and dust.

"...Archangel?"

Le Creuset knew the name of this warship, but he never expected it to appear before him in such a manner.

"A warship... inside the colony...?"

Kira Yamato watched in stunned silence; he could not believe that a flagship, let alone such a massive warship, was hidden within the city he called home.

"MS detected, ZAFT affiliation, CGUE!"

Inside the Archangel, Corporal Jackie quickly identified the MS nearby on the radar.

"Scatter anti-air warheads—fire!"

Natarle issued the combat order immediately.

As the missile bays at the rear of the warship opened, several anti-air missiles launched in unison, trailing smoke as they flew toward the CGUE.

"Troublesome pests!"

Seeing this, Le Creuset had no choice but to abandon his attack on the machine below, piloting his CGUE to retreat toward the main axis of the colony.

Rumble—

The tracking missiles failed to adjust in time, striking the main axis of the colony and detonating.

The once-peaceful ground began to shake, emitting the screeching sound of tortured steel.

"...Are you kidding me!"

Feeling the colony tremble, Kira Yamato's heart tightened as he frantically began searching for weapons.

If he allowed the warship to continue fighting inside the colony, the main axis would snap, and the colony would be lost.

Above.

The battle between the Archangel and the CGUE continued.

Relying on agile maneuvers and the cover of the colony's main axis, Le Creuset fought while retreating, searching for an opening.

"Hm?"

However, he soon noticed something amiss.

He saw that the MS below had equipped itself with gear at some point.

Looking at the massive cannon muzzle and the energy conduit, a cold glint flashed in Le Creuset's eyes.

"I cannot let you live!"

Driven by killing intent, Le Creuset rolled to evade the missiles and quickly raised his rifle, locking onto the trailer below.

If he destroyed the trailer, the machine linked to it would be crippled, if not destroyed.

Beep, beep, beep!

Yet, that split second of hesitation cost Le Creuset his advantage.

Accompanied by a piercing alarm.

A fierce energy beam fired from the opponent's cannon first.

Because the distance was too close, Le Creuset could only manage a desperate evasive maneuver.

Watching his right arm melt away from the energy beam, and facing the warship that was waiting for an opening, Le Creuset had no choice but to flee through the hole the enemy had blasted, carried out by the pressure of the leaking atmosphere.

"—This, how could it be like this..."

Kira Yamato looked at the aftermath he had caused, his face turning pale with panic. He didn't even dare to fire a second shot, only able to watch helplessly as the enemy retreated.

It was just an MS, how could it possess such terrifying firepower...