Dusk stained the tidal flats of Hokkaido and Honshu leaden gray, and a bitter gale carried a briny tang as it battered the coldly gleaming armor of the Akashima Unit.
As the mainstay mecha defending northern Honshu, its red paint stood out sharply against the backdrop of the moon, now transformed into a brilliant blue planet.
The heavy particle cannon on its shoulder still radiated heat after pulverizing the third wave of small assault forces.
But the alarms suddenly shrieked, and a rapidly approaching white dot swelled on the radar screen.
Euro Unit-02 broke through the clouds, its streamlined silver-white frame like a blade forged from ice and snow, plunging down with world-shattering force.
"Warning! Enemy energy readings have exceeded the critical threshold!"
Inside the Cockpit, warning lights flashed wildly. First Lieutenant Toji Suzuhara gripped the controls, sweat running from his temples down his cheeks.
He was the captain of this Akashima Squad.
The Akashima Units immediately adjusted their positions. The hum of charging particle cannons mingled with the sea wind as a searing red beam shot straight at the white Unit-02.
It was not that they did not want to evade it, but the white Unit-02 was clearly far more maneuverable than the squat Akashima Units.
"You go ahead. We'll cover your retreat." Toji Suzuhara decisively abandoned any thought of fleeing.
At that moment, he was like one of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre defending Jerusalem. True religious knights would never allow invaders to violate God's territory.
Euro Unit-02's maneuverability far exceeded expectations, its frame tracing an uncanny arc through the air.
It easily evaded the attack while its shoulder-mounted guns unleashed a dense barrage of plasma rounds.
The Akashima Unit fired its thrusters and slid across the ground, gunfire throwing up burst after burst of loose sand.