"All ships disperse, return fire with ship cannons! Hellden maintain covering fire while retreating! MS units launch immediately!" Captain Addis had already abandoned Creuset's original containment mission—not because he'd lost his rationality, but because the enemy showed no intention of fleeing. They were charging straight into artillery combat. If their fleet didn't counterattack at full strength, they risked total annihilation.
Following Addis's orders, the twelve Nazca-class battleships bared their sharp claws. Deadly ship cannons roared to life, firing in crisscrossing patterns toward the White Tiger.
"Enemy ship artillery incoming!"
"Evasive maneuvers!"
"Detecting multiple heat signatures separating from enemy vessels—confirmed as MS units. Database comparison shows... 46 GINNs and 24 Gells!"
"So they've arrived?" Sumeragi's gaze darkened. While GINNs posed little threat to the White Tiger, the Gells were another matter entirely.
ZAFT's new mass-produced MS, developed from the CGUE platform, had eliminated the CGUE's shoulder-mounted radiator fins and complex array of attitude control nozzles. Instead, it enhanced the output of its backpack thrusters while adding an additional set of shoulder-mounted boosters, granting thrust comparable to the GAT-X series.
After analyzing the GAT-X series' armaments, Matius Arms developed the MA-M21G Beam Rifle—a weapon matching the GAT-X series' beam rifles in output, capable of destroying an Alliance warship in a single shot. The unit's shield also adopted an offensive-defensive hybrid design, equipped with twin beam claws at its front. Additionally, a pair of EEQ7R extension brakes were mounted at the waist, utilizing rocket-assisted wired hook claws with an attack range extending dozens of meters. These could directly damage enemies or employ built-in short-range small-caliber beam cannons for point-blank attacks. The head also featured two MMI-GAU2 "Woodpecker" 76mm Automatic Vulcan Gun Systems developed by Mayus Military Industries.
The Gell was ZAFT's mass-produced counterpart to the GAT-X series—its performance spoke for itself. Yet this very excellence made it difficult to pilot. Though mass-producible, only a select few could truly master it.
"MS units scatter! Major Flag, Barry, Jiang, Lowe—sortie immediately! Disrupt their formation and prevent them from encircling the White Tiger and Eternal!"
"Roger!" x3
The Outframe Gundam Green and Astray Gundam Red Unit charged fearlessly toward the incoming enemy MS forces, with the Astray Gold Frame following closely behind.
"Shing—!"
The Kikuichimonji left its scabbard in a flash of cold steel, smoothly bisecting two GINNs at the waist like slicing through mirrors. As missiles approached from behind, the Red Frame didn't even glance back.
Several beams lanced out, obliterating the missiles targeting the Red Frame, while two sharp short spears pierced nearby GINNs. Powerful currents traveled through cables connected to the spears' ends, flowing from the GINNs' bodies into the Gold Frame.
"Lowe, you're being too careless," Jiang Kerry warned.
"Heh, I knew you were right behind me," Lowe replied casually. Had he really not noticed the incoming missiles? Of course he had—he simply trusted that Jiang Kerry's Astray Gold Frame was nearby enough to cover his back.
"Sigh, you're really making this difficult for me," Jiang Kerry sighed helplessly. He genuinely didn't know how to handle Lowe's carefree attitude and reckless nature.
They had known each other for less than a month, and this was their first time fighting side by side. Where was the supposed tacit understanding?
Yet Lowe treated him like an old comrade, confidently leaving his blind spots in Jiang Kerry's hands. How was Jiang supposed to react to that?
"Ahaha, you'll get used to it!" As he spoke, the Astray Red Frame swung its blade, slicing through two incoming beam claws. The Astray Gold Frame responded seamlessly, firing its rifle and piercing through an ambushing [Gells]. At the same time, the Red Frame launched a lightning ball at another attacking [Gells], then cleanly bisected the overloaded machine into a "human stick" with a swift slash.
"See? We make a great team."
"Hah." Jiang Kerry could only offer a wry smile, though he had to acknowledge Lowe's skill as a Mobile Suit pilot. The man was no amateur—keeping up with Jiang, a former Earth Forces ace, proved that Lowe was a top-tier pilot in his own right.
"Still, now I finally get why Yang Hui loves chopping people into 'human sticks' so much," Lowe quipped, maneuvering the Red Frame to evade beam fire. "It feels amazing!"
"The Commander isn't as fond of it as you think..." Jiang Kerry countered. Yang Hui didn't appear on the battlefield often, but each time he did, he inflicted devastating losses. Footage of the Dawn Gundam's sorties existed, and back when Jiang was still an Earth Forces pilot, he had studied them thoroughly—knowing your enemy was key to survival.
From what Jiang knew, few pilots survived encounters with the Dawn Gundam. The number of Mobile Suit pilots Yang Hui had killed was easily in the triple digits. And yet Lowe claimed he liked disarming opponents? Ridiculous.
"Really?"
"Really."
"Alright, fine. Though I've been on the receiving end—well, not me, Gai was. I got sliced up by Setsuna."
"Uh—watch out!"
Three [Gells] attacked from different angles—two suppressing with gunfire while the third extended a vicious beam claw from its shield.
"Damn it!"
The Red Frame couldn't turn in time. The Gold Frame lunged forward, drawing its beam saber to intercept the ambush—but in doing so, it left itself exposed to enemy fire.
"Jiang!" The Red Frame lacked ranged weapons, having even discarded its beam rifle, so Lowe couldn't stop the [Gells] from shooting. Instead, he positioned his own machine in front of the Gold Frame as a shield.
At that moment, a beam pierced through one of the [Gells] just as it was about to fire. A green blur rushed in, its gun-mounted battle-axe cleaving through another enemy unit.
"Schwing—"
The Kikuichimonji struck again, severing the Gells of the Astray Gold Frame before both mobile suits retreated simultaneously. As the Gells exploded into fragments drifting in space...
"Are you alright?"
"Thank you very much."
"You're welcome."
Lowe gazed at the Outframe Gundam Green that had rescued them with admiration. "Gold Frame, Red Frame, and now Green Frame are all here. Just missing the Blue Frame, right? Wait no... there's also the Purple Frame. I wonder who Yang Hui gave that to?"
The three Astray Gundams of the same series—each with vastly different appearances and armaments—exchanged glances before splitting off in three directions, charging back into the ZAFT Forces' MS formations.
Meanwhile, although the surprise attack by the three Astrays had achieved decent results by dividing the MS units into several segments, they weren't Yang Hui, nor were they Setsuna, Lyle, Tieria, Kira, or Athrun. They couldn't completely suppress ZAFT's MS units, allowing numerous GINNs and Gells to slip through and surround the White Tiger and Eternal.
The M1 Astrays, led by Asagi, Mayura, and Juri, struggled to hold off the assault.
"Mayura! Watch your back!"
"Wha— Ah~!!"
In a moment of distraction, Mayura's unit was flanked by a Gells, its beam claws mere inches away—too close to react.
Just then, electromagnetic rounds streaked in from both sides, striking the Gells' head and left leg, thwarting its ambush. Simultaneously, the Strike Gundam rushed in at high speed, slicing the Gells cleanly in half from behind.
"You okay, kid?" The Strike retracted its wired pods while firing to destroy two GINNs.
"Major! I'm fine..."
"Don't charge too far ahead—you'll get killed!" Though Mu had less MS piloting experience than Mayura, he was a battle-hardened veteran with combat skills far beyond hers.
"U-understood!"
"You two as well—tighten formation and cover each other."
"Roger!" X2
As the only ace remaining near the White Tiger and Eternal, Mu had to take command of the MS units.
"Ah, the pressure's intense... I'm still a rookie too!" Grumbling, the Strike deployed its wired pods again, coordinating with its beam rifle and the heavy machine gun on its shield to take down three more GINNs before searching for its next target. But by then, Mu had noticed the Strike's energy reserves were running dangerously low.
Currently equipped with a brand-new wired pod pack—far superior to the Perfect Strike—the Strike still consumed energy much faster than with the Aile Striker, Launcher Striker, or Sword pack. And since the battle began, Mu had been playing firefighter, dashing across the battlefield nonstop, draining his reserves rapidly.
Yet the battle remained too chaotic for him to return to the ship for resupply, leaving Mu sweating bullets.
"When's that young master coming back?" Mu muttered after destroying another Gells. But then...
"Right about now."
"Wha—"
A familiar voice suddenly came through the comms, causing Mu to pause mid-sentence. Before he could finish speaking, a golden meteor streaked past his vision, rushing into the battlefield from behind the White Tiger and Eternal, leaving a trail of brilliant fireworks in its wake.
"Holy—! When did my mouth become prophetic?" Mu laughed at himself. He hadn't expected Yang Hui and the others to return for support the moment he wondered when they'd show up.
Not only Yang Hui, but the Archangel had arrived as well, entering the battlefield from the side. Its red, white, and blue Lohengrin Positron Buster Cannon swept across, engulfing two Naska-class ships in an instant.
At the same time, Gundam Exia, Gundam Cherudim, Gundam Virtue, Freedom Gundam, Justice Gundam, Rebirth Gundam, and Covenant Gundam had all arrived, swiftly passing by the White Tiger and Eternal.
"What's wrong, old man? Can't hold out anymore?" Rebirth Gundam halted beside Strike, Dearka's teasing voice ringing through the comms.
"Bullshit! I was fighting wars before you were even born!"
With that, Strike prepared to rejoin the battle. Now that the aces had returned, the outcome of this fight was already decided. There was no point wasting time going back for resupply—might as well use the remaining energy to take down a few more enemies.
But... at that very moment, a strange signal intruded into Mu's mind.
"This feeling... It's Creuset!"
Following the peculiar sensation, Strike suddenly veered toward the interior of Colony Sadler.
"Hey! Old man! Where are you going!?" Dearka urgently called out.
"There are ZAFT forces inside the colony!"
"What!?"
Shocked, Dearka saw that none of the allied units around could break away. With no other choice, he followed Strike into Colony Sadler.
(End of Chapter)