Siege Battle

"Heavy bombardment equipment for attacking strongholds? To think they'd use something like that here—is ZAFT planning to completely destroy this place!"

At the CIC on the bridge, Mu cursed as he watched the images captured on the screen.

He knew Le Creuset was always bold in his methods, but he hadn't expected him to be this reckless.

This was a non-military colony of a neutral nation.

To deploy such a weapon here—had he lost his mind?

"MS heat signatures detected. Data match: Ginn. Quantity: six!"

"MS heat signature detected. Data match... X303—it's the Aegis Gundam!"

A flash of red light appeared behind the Ginn MS squad, and Jackie, responsible for intelligence analysis, gasped.

It was one of the stolen X-series units; a heavy, suffocating atmosphere descended upon the bridge.

They never imagined that one day they would be attacked by the very MS they had built themselves. This situation was truly...

"To think it's already been deployed in combat...!"

Murrue muttered bitterly, her fists clenched tight.

Her emotions were inexplicably complex; the fact that she would one day be attacked by an MS of their own making—this kind of thing—

Seeing Captain Murrue's state, Mu bluntly threw out a line: "Right now, it's an enemy unit. Do you want to let the Archangel be sunk by it?"

"Prepare to fire the Corlnth M114! Initiate laser guidance immediately!"

Second Lieutenant Natarle Badgiruel, acting as the CIC combat commander, had the fastest reaction speed.

To her, there was no such thing as "our MS" or "enemy MS"; there were only enemies and allies in her eyes.

And enemies had to die.

Almost the moment her voice fell, the flustered bridge crew began clumsily operating the Archangel according to her orders.

"All units, take note: physical projectiles are useless against the Phase Shift Armor equipped on the X-series units. Link the main cannons to the radar, spread the focus!"

Captain Murrue also regained her composure at this moment and issued her orders: "Everyone, be careful to avoid damaging the colony during combat. Our top priority is to evacuate the Archangel from Heliopolis!"

This colony had already suffered enough; it was best not to make matters worse.

At the same time, inside the destroyed Morgenroete factory.

Amidst the sounds of explosions, Kira found the weapon pack belonging to the Strike Gundam.

He installed it according to the computer's instructions.

"Sword Striker Pack—is it a sword..."

Kira still felt lingering fear regarding the consequences of his previous attack.

If such a powerful weapon were used without restraint inside the colony, it was hard to guarantee he wouldn't tear the colony apart.

"Using this sword should prevent that—"

Filled with unease, Kira equipped the Sword Striker Pack onto the Strike Gundam.

The 15.78m Anti-Ship Sword "Schwert Gewehr" was a weapon that combined both a physical blade and a laser blade.

Possessing the strength to easily slice through battleship armor, it was a piece of close-combat equipment.

It also came with a small shield.

"Athrun! Since you're following us, let us see your resolve!"

Within the MS squad, Michel shouted a reminder before piloting his MS toward the nearby Archangel.

Athrun remained silent, offering no reply. He had come in this time primarily to confirm his own suspicions.

"Everyone, spread out. Formation two-three. Since I am the squad leader, I will not allow any of you to act recklessly!"

Because of his status as a red-uniform pilot, Ino had become the temporary leader of this squad: "Michel, you're pushing too far ahead! The Archangel isn't an ordinary warship! Get back here immediately!"

"I! I understand!"

Michel had wanted to retort upon hearing Ino's warning, but thinking of Ino's concern for him, he had no choice but to slow down and close in on the squad's position.

He wasn't someone who didn't know how to be grateful; Ino had been rushing to support him the moment he returned to the warship.

Although he hadn't held out until that moment, he had to remember this favor from Ino.

"Understood!"

"Yes!"

"Got it!"

Orni and the others in the squad heard the command and began to operate according to standard procedure.

It couldn't be said that all members of the squad obeyed Ino completely, but it also couldn't be said they wouldn't listen.

Generally speaking, Ino had a decent relationship with every pilot, though it was only "decent"—they weren't exactly best friends.

However, Ino's concern for them and his attitude toward Michel made them subconsciously choose to trust him.

At least Ino was different from those guys like Yzak.

As long as it didn't involve too many principles, they were willing to listen to Ino's orders.

"Orni, Giles, Michel—you three are responsible for stalling the Archangel!"

When Ino issued the order, he assigned Michel to the battle against the Archangel.

He wasn't sure exactly when Michel had died at the hands of the Strike Gundam, but as long as the Strike Gundam hadn't disengaged, he would never let Michel face it alone.

"Huh? Wasn't it agreed—"

"Execute the order! The Strike Gundam is left to me and Axi!"

Ino rudely cut Michel off, then turned to Athrun and said, "Athrun, I won't interfere with what you want to do or what you intend to do, but I hope you don't forget which side you're on, and don't come to disturb me while I capture the Strike Gundam!"

Ino couldn't care less about Athrun's so-called friendship right now.

Though he was reluctant, in order to keep that idiot Michel from dying here, he had to face the "hacker" that was the Strike Gundam head-on.

Of course, Ino had enough confidence in his own survival; after all, even a "hacker" had limits—it was as if he weren't a "hacker" himself.

However, the only thing he feared was Athrun coming over to trip him up halfway through.

"Understood."

Hearing the word "capture," Athrun felt slightly more at ease.

Beep, beep, beep!

Just as Ino made his move.

The sound of a radar lock echoed through the cockpit.

"Everyone, scatter!"

As Ino's voice fell.

Over a dozen missiles trailing smoke flew in from the stern of the Archangel.

"Why are they coming straight for me—"

Looking at the radar lock warning in the cockpit, Ino complained while maneuvering his Mobile Suit to evade backward.

He relied on the facilities inside the space colony to perform manual interception.

Rat-tat-tat—

Boom—

In just a moment, Ino raised his rifle and detonated four of the incoming warheads prematurely.

Beep, beep, beep!

"What the hell?"

Bang!

However, before Ino could catch his breath, he saw a high-energy beam pierce through the smoke and fire toward him.

"Damn it, am I really that eye-catching?"

Watching the beam pass through the spot where he had just been standing, Ino couldn't help but curse.

Had the Archangel lost its mind? Instead of targeting Michel and the others who had already entered the warship's attack range, it was locking onto him on the periphery. Was it sick?

Beep, beep, beep!

But the current state of the battle didn't allow Ino time to complain.

As the piercing sound of the radar rang out.

Several more anti-air warheads were chasing after him.

Facing this tactic from the Archangel, Ino, piloting his Ginn, could only fight while retreating.

For a moment, countless warheads bloomed around Ino like fireworks.

"It really is him!"

Inside the CIC command center, watching the movements and skilled shooting style of that Mobile Suit, Mu couldn't help but frown.

He had felt a sense of familiarity the moment he saw that Mobile Suit.

Now it seemed his guess was correct; this guy was the strange fellow who had first stalled him outside the space colony.

"Kira."

Recalling the opponent's piloting ability, Mu hurriedly connected to the Strike Gundam: "After you go out, you must be extra careful of that guy whose color is different from the other Ginns. That guy is no ordinary pilot. If the situation looks bad, immediately pull back toward the Archangel and seek support!"

"Hm?"

Kira listened to Mu's warning and instinctively replied: "Mm, I understand."

"Is there something special about that pilot?"

Captain Murrue looked puzzled; she had heard of the name "Endymion Hawk."

"He's not your average red-coat. With his current level, Kira is simply no match for him."

Mu had to admit that ZAFT really was full of talent.

Any random pilot who popped up could use a Mobile Suit inferior to his own to pin him down completely.