A day later, an alarm suddenly blared on the Archangel, which was still undergoing repairs.
Dalida of the CIC reported, "This ship has been locked by a laser. Confirmed as hostile lock."
Murrue, who had just lain down, immediately got up upon hearing the alarm, quickly changed her clothes, and just as she walked out, she ran into Mikazuki.
Mikazuki didn't stop, but left a few words: "I'll go to the Hangar and wait."
"I'm counting on you."
Murrue didn't stop either, rushing to the Main Bridge.
Mikazuki hung his coat behind a chair and connected to the Alaya-Vijnana System. This time, he didn't launch directly, but waited for Murrue to give him launch permission.
"Mika, I investigated this area. This is a ZAFT Military ground unit, Andrew Waltfeld, captain of Waltfeld's Forces, the guy known as the Desert Tiger. He's the one causing trouble for the Archangel this time."
Orga put the gathered intelligence on the screen. Mikazuki glanced at Andrew's photo and then ignored it. All those dense words... he couldn't understand them.
397 Boom Boom
Explosions and the ship's tremors continued non-stop.
Then, Murrue's voice came through the communication:
"Mika, I'm counting on you."
"Alright."
Mikazuki gripped the control stick, and Barbatos's eyes lit up. Just as he was about to launch, Kira from the second catapult deck connected to the CIC's communication:
"Where are the enemies? Strike is launching!"
Miriallia was startled by Kira's blunt tone.
"Uh, but still..."
"Open the hatch quickly!"
Natarle, behind Miriallia, said, "The enemy's position and strength are still unclear. Let Barbatos launch first; his radar seems to be able to pinpoint the enemy's position..."
"Stop with the idle talk. Just open the hatch directly."
Natarle, listening to Kira's tone, also frowned, looking up at Murrue on the Main Bridge.
She had heard Kira and Natarle's conversation just now and felt that something was really wrong with Kira. Subconsciously, she wanted to ask Mikazuki's opinion.
Mikazuki, inside Barbatos, also heard the communication and said with a raised eyebrow, "Though I don't know what's wrong, if he's so eager, let him go."
Murrue nodded.
"Mika... I understand. Although his tone is unpleasant... Strike, launch!"
Kira launched first, getting what he wanted. Mikazuki followed closely. Mu La Flaga couldn't launch because the Zero Type had problems, and the two Air Superiority Fighters from the Eighth Fleet support for the Archangel hadn't been adjusted yet.
"Hey, Mika, something's not right with Kira's state."
"Hm, I can tell. Something seems to have happened, but it has nothing to do with me."
"Indeed, Mika. Three Mobile Suits are hidden behind the sand dunes to the southeast, and there are five more a bit further away, plus six helicopters in the sky. Quite abundant, aren't they?"
Mikazuki came to the Archangel's deck, set up his smoothbore cannon, shot down all the incoming enemy shells targeting the Archangel, and then squinted slightly after glancing at the radar.
"Is there a Warship about 20 kilometers away?"
Orga chimed in:
"So those ridiculously powerful shells must be coming from that Warship, right? No matter how you look at it, the power is battleship-level.
Compared to that... Strike's condition isn't great. Are you really going to ignore him?"
Mikazuki glanced at Strike, who was struggling against three suddenly appearing quadrupedal beast-type Mobile Suits below, and said indifferently,
"No need. If he can't even handle opponents like this, what's the point of him launching?"
"Mu La Flaga, Air Superiority Fighter, launch!"
Mu's Air Superiority Fighter was finally adjusted and launched smoothly, but his objective was to find the enemy's command tower.
The Archangel also found the source of the attack but was not yet sure of the exact location, only that it was 20 kilometers to the southwest. So Mu set out to provide target guidance.
On a distant high ground, a Military Jeep was parked. Two men in ZAFT cold-weather coats looked at the distant battlefield through binoculars.
A handsome man with brown hair smiled and said,
"Oh, so that Mobile Suit on the Archangel is the wolf that thrashed Creuset Team? The intelligence says he has absolute attack power.
But now he's acting as a battleship escort. It seems they trust Strike enough.
Hmm... that fighter jet is... I haven't seen it before. Is it not participating in the battle?... I see. Is he looking for my Warship? Interesting."
A young soldier with a hat next to the man stood up and said,
"Captain, should we shoot down that unit?"
Andrew Waltfeld, known as the Desert Tiger, completely ignored the Air Superiority Fighter flying overhead, his gaze fixed straight ahead.
"No, let him search. At this distance, even if they fire missiles and laser beams, they won't harm us.
Continue the operation. Gather intelligence on the enemy. Notify the helicopters. If possible, lure the wolf on the Archangel down. I want to see if this monster, who defeated Creuset so many times, is truly as ridiculously strong as rumored."
"Yes, sir! Notifying all operations units..."
Andrew himself got into the Jeep, picked up a cup. In the back seat, there was a thermos and a box of coffee beans. While the battle raged in the distance, he leisurely brewed his coffee.
He took a small sip of coffee.
"Oh, the coffee beans lost five percent of their flavor, but it's still good. I like it..."
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