"No, Captain Badgiruel!"
But in the next instant, Lacus Clyne's clear voice, edged with a rare note of anxiety, rang out over the comms.
Natarle froze, her brow furrowing in confusion. Liam, seated at the executive officer's station, was a beat slower to look up. In that split second, a beam fired from somewhere out of sight pierced the Dominion's starboard Lohengrin turret just as it began gathering a terrifying amount of energy.
Boom!
The violent explosion sent a shock wave through the massive warship, shaking it hard.
On the bridge, shrill alarms mingled with the groan of twisting metal as several crew members were thrown from their seats. The immense energy building inside the Positron Cannon broke free and ran wild. Like a flood bursting through a dam, it ravaged the Dominion's starboard side, forming a brief but blinding ball of plasma that swallowed every speck of cosmic dust around it.
"What!?"
Natarle gripped the edge of the command console through the violent shaking, disbelief flashing in her eyes. That lethal strike could only have been a precise shot from an enemy mobile suit.
But the display showed no enemy mobile suits anywhere within the usual range for a shot that accurate! Then where had it come from...?
As her mind raced for an answer, the radar operator cried out in alarm.
"High-temperature object approaching at speed! Unknown mobile suit!"
"Damn it...! Fire every Korinthos antiaircraft missile!"
There was no time to assess the ship's damage. Drawing on her tactical instincts, Natarle gave the order to intercept without hesitation.
But before the dozens of missiles roaring out of the stern launch tubes could reach the mysterious mobile suit, several thin beams flashed through space and detonated every missile with chilling precision. It was as though they had struck an