On the battlefield along Orb's coastline, the smoke had yet to clear, and the tremors from the Akatsuki Gundam's heavy impact with the ground had yet to subside. Shinn Asuka's Destiny Gundam held its Anti-Ship Sword poised over Cagalli's cockpit, and the shadow of death had already fallen over her heart. Around them, Orb and ZAFT forces continued their bitter fighting. Clashing metal, booming Beam Cannons, and pilots' cries mingled in a chaotic, brutal din. No one noticed a silver figure break through the clouds and hurtle toward them like a thunderbolt, carrying an air of overwhelming destruction. In an instant, it stood between the Destiny Gundam and the Akatsuki Gundam.
The Justicar Gundam appeared too suddenly for anyone to react. It had not paused for a moment after launching from the Starry Sky's Hangar. With its enhanced thrusters, it had flown straight into the heart of the battlefield at subsonic speed. Its silver frame cut across the sky, leaving a fleeting afterimage, while the pale blue energy patterns across its body gleamed coldly in the sunlight like flowing blades, radiating an imperious menace. Orb's pilots and ZAFT's soldiers were all absorbed in the fierce fighting. Only Shinn Asuka, who was closest, sensed the powerful energy fluctuations immediately and caught sight of the silver Mobile Suit that had suddenly appeared.
Shinn Asuka's pupils contracted. His hands tightened sharply around the controls, and surprise and wariness flashed in his eyes. He could clearly sense that the energy surging within this silver Mobile Suit far exceeded that of his Destiny Gundam. Its cold, imposing presence bore down on him like a mountain, momentarily leaving him breathless. What enraged him even more was that, after coming to a halt, the silver Mobile Suit unhesitatingly raised its Ultra-High-Pressure Beam Rifle and aimed directly at