"What a pain in the ass!"
Inside the Buster Gundam's cockpit, Dearka stared at the dense barrage of missiles and streams of fire from the Archangel.
After charging in only to be driven back, Dearka couldn't help cursing. "Why do these guys always make me do this kind of crap? This isn't what my Mobile Suit is for!"
GAT-X103 Buster Gundam.
A long-range attack Mobile Suit designed for overwhelming firepower.
Its right arm was equipped with a 350mm anti-armor shotgun;
its left arm carried a 94mm high-energy beam rifle;
and its shoulders mounted two six-tube 220mm missile pods.
For long-range combat, it used weapons formed by combining two entirely different gun barrels.
The weapons on either side could be joined together to form an anti-armor shotgun cannon or an ultra-high-pulse long-range sniper rifle.
Because of its role, the Mobile Suit wasn't equipped with any shields.
The Buster Gundam was a long-range sniper Mobile Suit with no defensive capabilities, relying entirely on its extreme range to deliver precise strikes.
But now—
Beep beep beep!
The radar alarm in the cockpit interrupted Dearka's thoughts.
"Ah, hell, I'm a long-range gunner!"
Watching the missiles fill the sky, Dearka cursed and linked up his weapons.
Bang!
He pulled the trigger.
The anti-armor shotgun cannon instantly unleashed countless pellets into the space ahead.
Rumble—
For a moment, the fiery flashes of exploding missiles nearly blotted out the sky ahead.
Beep beep beep!
Bang!
But the next second, two golden railgun shells streaked through the flames.
Watching the railgun shells pass through the spot where he'd been standing just moments before, Dearka felt absolutely miserable. That feeling in his gut had only grown worse.
I'm supposed to be providing long-range support, so why the hell am I flying into the enemy's combat radius to act as a fire-support unit?
Do you know what long-range support means?
Long range!
I'm a long-range Mobile Suit!
But no one would ever know what he was thinking.
"Dearka, cover me. I'll sneak attack from below!"
"Wha—"
Dearka hadn't finished speaking when Nicol's Mobile Suit vanished from the radar and screen.
Then—
Beep beep beep!
The piercing sound of a radar lock rang out again.
"You guys have got to be kidding me!"
Dearka cursed as he saw the enemy suddenly focus all their fire on him. He piloted his Mobile Suit into a frantic escape. "I'm a long-range gunner, not a damn assault tank!"
Rumble—
Dearka wanted to retreat outright, but was worried about Nicol. So he braved the Archangel's fire and darted wildly around in the limited space.
Only he knew how frustrated he felt.
While the battle raged,
Ino had changed into his pilot suit and climbed into his Mobile Suit. Honestly, getting into a Ginn aboard the Archangel always felt oddly novel.
"You really plan to take this Mobile Suit out?"
Sergeant Murdoch asked Ino, who was preparing to climb into the machine.
"Do we have any other Mobile Suits?"
Ino asked from the cockpit.
"...No," Sergeant Murdoch replied bluntly.
"Then there you go."
With that, Ino pressed the button to close the hatch.
If he had a choice, who would want to go out and risk his life? But for the sake of a peaceful life in the future, risking it once or twice was manageable.
And strictly speaking, this didn't really count as risking his life.
The Archangel had plenty of firepower. As long as the Strike Gundam could hold off Yzak, Athrun, and Michel, Nicol and Dearka alone would have a hard time breaking through the Archangel's defenses in a short time.
With Ino helping from the side, the Archangel itself was unlikely to face any real danger.
Naturally, standing on the Archangel's deck wouldn't put him in much danger either.
"Be careful out there."
Sergeant Murdoch didn't know why Captain Murrue and the others had agreed to let Ino pilot a Mobile Suit into battle at a time like this.
But all he could do was trust them—to trust Captain Murrue and the others' decision.
Ino's launch naturally couldn't escape the bridge's notice.
"Please, Mr. Ino."
Captain Murrue's voice came through the cockpit.
"I'll do my best."
Seeing the worry in Captain Murrue's eyes, Ino sighed and answered before hurriedly ending the call.
Right now, he just wanted to get outside as soon as possible, help Kira with a couple of shots, and then wait until they reached Artemis.
Soon,
under Ino's control, the ZAFT-built Ginn arrived at the Archangel's catapult.
The gate ahead slowly opened, revealing a sea of stars that shimmered across the opposite side.
Ino had never imagined he'd be piloting a ZAFT Mobile Suit out of the Archangel. He couldn't help spacing out for a moment.
[Catapult link established—]
[All systems nominal.]
[320mm Fire God Impulse Cannon equipped—ZGMF-1017 Ginn, launch!]
Miriallia's voice brought Ino back to his senses.
Gazing into the vast starry darkness ahead, Ino closed his helmet visor. "ZGMF-1017 Ginn, Eno Kamal—launching!"
Whoosh!
Almost as soon as Ino finished speaking,
a powerful force pressed him back into his seat. It was a feeling he hadn't experienced when launching from the Vesalius.
But the sensation came and went quickly.
The next instant, Ino appeared outside the Archangel, carrying the Strike Gundam's 320mm Fire God Impulse Cannon.
"A Mobile Suit?"
"Th-that's Ino's Mobile Suit, isn't it?!"
Nicol and Dearka couldn't help staring in surprise.
That color scheme, that design, that model—there was no mistake. It was Ino's Ginn.
But now...
Seeing their own Mobile Suit appear on the opposite side, the two felt strangely disoriented.
But if Ino's Mobile Suit was here, did that mean he'd been captured by the enemy? Had they even modified his Mobile Suit and sent it out?
"Damn Natural-borns!"
"Is Ino all right?"
Before they could dwell on it much longer,
the Mobile Suit that should have belonged to them stood on the Archangel's central deck.
Beep beep beep—
Amid the piercing radar alarm,
the Ginn raised its gun and locked on to them before their eyes.
At the same time, the Archangel launched a barrage of missiles.
The two had no time to think about Ino or the Ginn. They immediately began covering each other as they retreated at high speed.
"That's more like it. We can all get along peacefully."
Seeing them pull back, Ino canceled his lock on them and turned to look at the Strike Gundam not far away.
Unless necessary, he didn't want to provoke Dearka and Nicol too much.
They looked like they were being brutally cornered by the Archangel, but if they were pushed too far and started fighting for their lives, things would get troublesome.
The Archangel was big and sturdy enough to take a beating, but Ino's small, flimsy Mobile Suit wasn't.
"Ino's Mobile Suit?!"
Aboard the Vesalius, Adis and the others had also received a report of the battle near the Archangel.
For a moment, the news left them unsure whether to be glad or to feel sorry for Ino.
"Looks like Ino's been captured. What a truly unfortunate piece of news."
Le Creuset looked at the message from the Laurasia-class battleship, his eyes narrowing slightly behind his mask.
He knew about Ino's identity as a spy.
So had Ino really been captured, or had he... returned home in glory?
For some reason, Le Creuset's words sounded rather strange to Adis.
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