"Captain, we—"
"Proceed according to plan. Start the main guns and aim for the Archangel—"
"But Eno..."
"I think Eno would agree, even if he knew. After all, he's been captured, and we don't even know whether he's alive or dead."
Le Creuset cut off Adis's concern.
"But the Mobile Suit team is still in action. If we fire the main guns..."
Seeing Adis at a loss, Le Creuset responded with a faint sneer. "No one on our team is stupid enough to get hit by friendly fire. If we don't hurry, the enemy ship will fire first."
Adis hesitated, but in the end he gave the order as instructed. "Prepare to fire the main guns! Target the enemy battleship!"
Aboard the Archangel, Dalida checked the instrument panel again, then raised his voice.
"—A laser targeting the Archangel has been detected from a Nazca-class ahead! We've been locked on!"
Murrue and the others, wholly focused on the Mobile Suit battle before them, were stunned by the report.
Natarle issued an order without hesitation.
"Aim the main guns at the Nazca-class ahead—fire!"
But Murrue, seated in the captain's chair, hurriedly turned toward CIC to stop the order. "Wait! Lieutenant Flaga's Moebius Zero is closing in! We can't fire the main guns!"
A direct hit from the specially designed Positron Blaster Cannon was enough to destroy an entire battleship in one shot.
—If they fired recklessly now, they would inevitably hit the Moebius Zero as it approached the enemy ship according to the battle plan.
And because of the Moebius's surprise attack, they couldn't even risk using the radar to send a message.
"That's too dangerous! If we don't fire, the enemy will attack us with their main guns!"
Natarle shouted back, "Are you going to gamble the lives of everyone aboard this ship?!"
She knew this would put Lieutenant Flaga in danger, but they had already been locked on by the enemy radar. If they didn't take countermeasures, even the Archangel might not survive unscathed.
"Do not fire—take evasive action!"
Captain Murrue pressed her lips together and made her decision. "Inform Eno Kamal of the ship's actions, and tell him to be careful!"
There were enemy ships ahead and behind them, and their Mobile Suits were greatly outnumbered. If they wavered and lost their composure now, they would truly have no chance of victory.
But could the surprise attack really succeed...?
Before she knew it, Murrue's palms had grown damp.
"This is over... Hm?"
Suddenly, Le Creuset jerked his head up.
A strange sensation crawled along his skin and up to his scalp. It was all too familiar, and it roused the hatred and thrilled shudder deep within him—
"Adis! Maximum power from the engine room! Lower the bow! Sixty-degree angle!"
The sudden command sprang from Le Creuset's mouth without warning.
"Huh?"
Adis looked at Le Creuset, bewildered.
They had already locked onto the enemy battleship. Why were they suddenly making such a drastic change in direction?
"Adis!"
Adis's momentary delay only heightened Le Creuset's impatience and irritation.
He understood Adis's confusion. That sensation was impossible to communicate. But understanding that didn't change the fact that—
Beep, beep—
[A heat source is approaching beneath the ship—it's a Mobile Armor!]
But before Adis could do much more—
A Moebius shot out from below like an arrow loosed from a bow.
In the cockpit, Mu La Flaga roared as he accelerated toward the Vesalius at full thrust.
At that moment, the soldiers reacted without needing any orders. The Vesalius's engines suddenly roared louder, and its thrusters began firing at maximum output.
The automated defense system launched intercepting shots at the Moebius.
But the two were too close, and there wasn't enough time to reload.
The Moebius flipped and dodged the Vesalius's automatic defenses, then launched four remote-controlled cannons.
Bang, bang, bang—
From this perfect firing position, countless rounds slammed into the Vesalius's engine room.
Rumble—
Almost as soon as the Moebius had emptied its magazines and passed the Vesalius—
Flames burst from the Vesalius's engine room.
"Wooo!"
Mu, who had been silent for so long, couldn't help throwing his arms up in triumph.
He darted through the incoming barrage of intercepting shots.
Clang!
A cable shot out from the Moebius and latched onto the Vesalius's outer hull.
Using the cable's momentum to swing around, the Moebius cut free and sped away, all beneath Le Creuset's furious gaze.
[Engine room heavily damaged! Thrust reduced!]
[Damage to the fifth atmospheric bulkhead! Fire detected! Damage control, seal the compartment!]
The crew's cries of alarm relayed the ship's condition one after another.
"Enemy Mobile Armor is retreating!"
The machine flashed past, and Adis shouted furiously, "Shoot it down—!"
But with the ship shaking and tilting so violently, the main guns couldn't get a clear aim.
The general's pawn was right before them, yet the balance of the game had suddenly turned upside down.
A newly built ship and its Mobile Suit opponents had used the very force they were supposed to protect as bait, while an old Mobile Armor had struck straight at the heart of their defenses.
Such a cheap trick—Adis turned indignantly toward his captain, only to freeze in astonishment.
"Damn you, Mu...!"
Le Creuset cursed, gripping the armrests so tightly they seemed ready to snap. Beneath his mask, his face was twisted with demonic fury.
It was the first time Adis had seen Le Creuset show such intense emotion.
At the same time—
Unaware of Mu La Flaga's situation, Eno piloted a Ginn, providing the Archangel with nimble long-range support.
Since his energy was being drawn directly from inside the Archangel, the beam weapon in Eno's hands barely stopped firing after its first shot.
"Damn it, this guy's so annoying!"
Dearka, driven back by the enemy's repeated attacks, couldn't help cursing.
Actually, Dearka wasn't afraid of the enemy's firepower alone.
The Buster Gundam might not have a shield, but it was highly maneuverable. Even if his opponent kept shooting for the rest of his life, he wouldn't hit Dearka.
The problem was the Archangel.
The Archangel already had formidable firepower, and now it had a nimble gun platform providing decent long-range support.
Dearka was absolutely seething.
The enemy wasn't even that strong, yet the Archangel's firepower had forced him back.
Even easygoing Nicol was getting fired up by now.
They had no real skill, but they were using their battleship to keep him pinned down—who could put up with that?!
However, Eno had no idea how frustrated the two of them were.
He had actually been keeping his attention on the Strike Gundam, which was being completely overwhelmed not far away.
"Is this what you'd call force-feeding someone experience?"
Watching Kira get relentlessly suppressed, Eno couldn't help teasing him.
Given his own situation, he could certainly help Kira out. But after thinking about Kira's abilities, Eno put the idea of supporting him aside for now.
Pressure was what drove people to improve.
With Athrun nearby, there was little chance Kira would be killed in a single slash.
And with Eno watching over him from here, while Yzak and Michel were helping him gain experience up front—
Chances to train like this didn't come along often.
Before you continue