[Anti-spacecraft missiles—launch!] [Cluster warheads—launch!] [Anti-beam depth charges loaded! (Disperses beam particles, reducing the impact of beam weapons on the ship.)] ["Valient Mk-8" (Valient) linear railguns ×2—fire!]
Inside the battleship.
As the five Mobile Suits entered combat range, Second Lieutenant Badgiruel issued the order to engage without hesitation.
Countless warheads shot out from the Archangel's stern, streaking toward the Buster Gundam and the other units in the distance.
But a flurry of beams flashed past.
Amid bursts of fire, Dearka and the others shot down every incoming warhead.
"Dearka, you and Nicol deal with the battleship. Michel and I will take care of that damn Mobile Suit!"
After saying this, Yzak raised his gun and shot down a stray missile, then piloted his unit toward the Strike Gundam in the distance.
"Huh? Why?"
Dearka replied, sounding displeased.
"I gave you the biggest prey. What do you have to complain about?"
Yzak finished speaking and aimed at the Strike Gundam, which was still frozen in confusion in the distance.
But before he could pull the trigger,
Michel beside him fired first.
Bang!
A dark green beam shot across the battlefield, headed straight for the Strike.
Beep beep beep—
At the radar's warning, Kira turned his unit around, raised his shield, and retreated.
Crackle—
The beam struck the shield, sparks scattering across the screen. But perhaps because he was already familiar with this kind of attack, Michel's beam posed no threat to him.
"Die, die, die! Just die!"
Michel didn't care. He simply kept his gun trained on the Strike and fired relentlessly.
He had only one thought now: kill him!
Kill the Strike Gundam!
Only then could he find peace of mind.
Bang, bang, bang!
Thick beams poured from Michel's gun in a relentless barrage. With the heavy particle cannon modified from the M69 Elephant, Michel had completely pinned down the Strike Gundam.
"Nice work, Michel!"
Seeing this, Yzak simply stowed his beam rifle, drew his Beam Saber, and charged.
Rat-a-tat-tat—
Boom!
Yzak cleared away several incoming missiles with the Vulcan gatling guns built into the Duel Gundam's head.
Then he sped right past Athrun and charged straight at the Strike Gundam. "If you can't handle it, then I will, you good-for-nothing!"
The Duel Gundam, with its blue-and-white frame, had the most standard configuration of the five units.
It had beam sabers mounted on both shoulders, and the weapon in its hands was a 57mm beam rifle equipped with a 175mm grenade launcher.
"Die!"
The instant he reached attack range, Yzak roared and swung his blade under Athrun's watchful gaze.
The pale red Beam Saber came down furiously through the darkness of space, trailing red light.
Warned by the radar, Kira retreated to evade the blow. As he dodged the Beam Saber, he hurriedly raised his gun and aimed at Yzak.
Bang, bang, bang!
But before Kira could pull the trigger, Michel fired another beam from the distance.
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
Kira raised his shield to block the beam and quickly retreated.
Beep beep beep!
But the Duel Gundam ahead pursued him like a poison that clung to its victim.
"Kira, Yzak..."
As Athrun watched,
the Strike Gundam was driven back again and again by Yzak and Michel working together, trapped in one dangerous situation after another. One mistake, and Kira would die on the spot.
Yet faced with the Strike Gundam's desperate plight, Athrun could do nothing.
Or rather, by standing there and doing nothing, he was already betraying Yzak and the others.
But if he was supposed to attack Kira, he simply couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. For a moment, all he could do was stand there and watch, his heart torn.
"You spineless good-for-nothing!"
Yzak glanced at the Aegis Gundam and cursed Athrun over the open channel when he saw him standing there without lifting a finger.
Then, ignoring Athrun's reaction, he raised his shield and swung his blade, charging forward through the scattered beams Kira fired.
The more Yzak looked at Athrun, the more he couldn't stand him.
Before, he'd simply disliked him. Now... anyway, he was a good-for-nothing. The unit would be better off with Ino than with Athrun!
Thinking of Ino, Yzak's gaze at the Strike Gundam grew even colder.
Yzak wouldn't claim he and Ino had been the closest of friends.
But he did admit one thing: Ino was a friend he respected, a schoolmate, a classmate, and a comrade-in-arms.
And now that guy—someone Yzak had respected—had died such a miserable death at the hands of the trash in front of him. This was a debt that had to be repaid!
"Die!"
Yzak's anger, stoked without his even realizing it, erupted in a furious roar.
Michel had also gone berserk, beams pouring relentlessly from the heavy particle cannon in his hands.
If he hadn't been without a Beam Saber, he would have charged straight in and traded his life for the enemy's in a heartbeat.
[Anti-beam depth charges—launch!] [Automatic counterattack system activated!] [Cluster warheads loaded and launched!] [Anti-aircraft warheads set to automatic launch!] [Railguns firing!] [······]
On the bridge.
Unaware of Yzak and Michel's feelings, Ino floated as the battleship veered.
His attention was fixed entirely on the battlefield displayed on the screen.
The Archangel's firepower was formidable. It was no exaggeration to call it the most heavily armed battleship around.
Just look at its weapons.
Two positron blasters mounted in the ship's legs, designed to destroy fortresses;
four 225cm Gottfried Mk-71 guns in total on both sides, also known as the main guns;
Valient Mk-8 110cm linear railguns on the wings;
Besides those three types of heavy weapons,
the battleship was also equipped with sixteen 75mm automatic multi-barrel CIWS guns, installed across nearly the entire Archangel and giving it powerful close-range interception capabilities for self-defense.
There were also sixteen anti-missile launch tubes at the rear.
Twenty-four large missile launch tubes in the stern.
Four anti-submarine torpedo tubes.
On top of that, the Archangel's unique laminated armor and heat-resistant gel gave it the ability to travel independently through Earth's atmosphere and back, as well as strong resistance to beam weapons.
It could be said that the Archangel had been armed to the teeth from the very beginning of its development.
So the Archangel's safety wasn't a problem.
At least in the short term, the Blitz Gundam and Buster Gundam couldn't do much to it.
It was the Strike Gundam, the one he hadn't thought would be a problem, that was in serious trouble.
As a competent pilot, Ino could sense Kira's desperate situation just from the battle playing on the screen, even without being there himself.
Michel had completely pinned him down at long range. Even moving freely was a luxury.
In close combat, Yzak was relentlessly tearing into him.
It was only thanks to the Strike Gundam's decent performance and Kira's proficiency in defending against long-range attacks that things hadn't gone worse.
Otherwise, after just these few minutes, Kira would probably have become space debris.
Even so, if Kira couldn't find a way to break free of Yzak's close-range assault, it was only a matter of time before he was defeated.
"The butterfly effect..."
Rumble!
Ino hadn't finished speaking when a burst of flame suddenly lit up on the Strike Gundam.
"Kira!"
"The Strike Gundam!"
Amid the cries of Tolle, Miriallia, and the others,
Yzak cut off one of the Strike Gundam's legs.
Looking at the unit, which had clearly lost its balance, Ino forcefully slapped the back of some chair, gritted his teeth, and left the bridge.
Something really had gone wrong.
A unit's legs didn't matter much in space, but that was true for pilots familiar with their machines.
For someone unfamiliar with the unit, suddenly losing its counterweight could make it difficult to control when piloting.
Kira might not actually die here, but what if he did? What if he really got killed?
In the future, he was counting on lying low and letting Kira and the others save the world.
Besides, judging from the battle on screen, Kira really couldn't hold out much longer.
Captain Murrue watched Ino leave, and the worry on her face eased somewhat.
She knew how capable Ino was. After all, being a ZAFT Red Uniform was proof enough.
"I'm counting on you, Ino—"
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