Following the loading of the new unit prepared for Athrun onto the Eternal, this small fleet of mismatched ships departed from Industrial 7.
The group consisted of two Izumo-class ships from Orb, two Nazca-class ships repainted in the same blue scheme as the Izumo-class, the specialized support ship Eternal, and the Nahel Argama—which was twice the size of any of them. Despite the chaos of its origins, the Nahel Argama, as the largest vessel, naturally took on the air of the fleet's flagship.
Mounted on the left side of the Nahel Argama was the GP03D. Three Jestas—sporting their high-intensity anime-style liveries—were currently assisting Haros in various maintenance robots to finalize the GP03D's preparations.
The central gap of the GP03D was perfectly filled by the Unicorn, which sat quietly in its dormant state inside the massive mobile armor. Various Armed Armor components were stored in the two forward-opening weapon containers, ensuring the unit could equip them quickly after detaching from the Dendrobium. Currently, the only component still attached to the Unicorn itself was the Armed Armor XC.
Inside the cockpit, Roz's hands moved fluidly across the touch panels. Although the GP03D had been built to his exact specifications, he wasn't about to take any risks. To prevent any "unknown issues" during the heat of battle, he was personally running a full diagnostic on the link between the MS and the Orchis platform.
So far, no errors had cropped up. He just needed to wait for the progress bar to finish filling, and the setup would be complete. But before he could even lean back to catch his breath, a priority communication cut in.
"This is Murrue. A small Earth Alliance force has been detected ahead: one Nelson-class and two Drake-class vessels."
Murrue's voice was steady; she had clearly prepared herself for such encounters.
"The Alliance fleet is launching MS. Count is twenty-four. All MS units, please sortie immediately!"
Given the current state of the Earth Alliance, they weren't interested in diplomatic ID codes. If a ship looked like a ZAFT model, they opened fire.
"What? Why is there an Alliance fleet here? Isn't this Orb's sovereign space?" Marvin, busy in the hangar, looked up in confusion. "The hangar is a mess right now; we can't clear the launch paths fast enough!"
Hearing Marvin's report, Murrue frowned. Because of the ongoing work on the GP03D and the sheer number of units crammed into the bays, the hangar was currently a logistical nightmare. If they tried to launch the main MS force now, they'd be too late to intercept.
The Unicorn was currently docked and mid-calibration, and the Jestas outside were unarmed. Should she ask the other ships to launch their units?
Just as Murrue was about to contact Lacus, Roz's voice broke through the channel.
"I'll handle the sortie. Marvin, eject the Beam Magnum and the spare shield from the right-side elevator."
On the GP03D monitor, the progress bar that was halfway finished was instantly cleared. The locks securing the Unicorn hissed as they released one by one. Roz slammed his foot onto the pedal.
The Unicorn detached from the GP03D. Though its backpack looked small compared to other specialized MS, it erupted with thick plumes of fire, propelling the suit forward with frightening acceleration.
The machine turned gracefully, sweeping past the front of the bridge and toward the right-side catapult track. The Beam Magnum and a spare shield—carrying three additional magazines on its back—were ejected from the lift. The Unicorn caught them in one fluid motion.
As the weapons linked to the suit's power system, the panoramic cockpit display filled with weapon parameters.
"Whew..."
Roz gripped the control sticks, calming his racing heart.
"Unicorn, let's go."
The unit's head camera tilted up slightly. For a fleeting second, beneath the gap in its faceplate, the Unicorn's eyes seemed to glow with a light far brighter than usual.
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"Unknown fleet detected ahead... four vessels of unknown class, but two ZAFT Nazca-class ships have been identified."
A few minutes prior, this Earth Alliance fleet, en route to the Gryps frontline, had stumbled upon Orb's mixed fleet.
"Three against six... Captain, what are our orders?"
"Orders? Open fire!"
A veteran officer with a thick beard squinted his eyes and gave his answer without hesitation.
"So what if they are strong? Even if we go down, we will tear a piece of flesh off ZAFT before we go! For the sake of all humanity living on Earth—everyone, begin the engagement!"
"Yes, sir! MS units have been launched!"
Eighteen Daggers marked with "SB" on their shoulder armor and six commander-type Daggers flew toward the Orb mixed fleet.
In the current Earth Alliance, with the exception of Halberton's forces stationed on the Moon, the integration of "wetware" units had been completed. The military had implemented a squad structure across the board: one human pilot acting as a commander for three to six wetware-controlled MS, vastly expanding their operational numbers.
Likely due to the fierce opposition from Muruta Azrael, the leader of Blue Cosmos, the "Extended" (Enhanced Human) squads did not follow this wetware integration.
"Enemy MS detected, count is one... Is that the White Devil?!"
The radar operator's shout sent a wave of tension through the bridge. Whether in ZAFT or the Earth Alliance, the Unicorn's notoriety was immense. This wasn't something manufactured by propaganda; it was a reputation Roz had carved out, battle by battle.
While many feared the Unicorn, a significant number of rising ACE pilots had made defeating the white machine their ultimate goal.
"Alpha Team, Beta Team, act as the vanguard! All other squads, encircle the White Devil!"
Eight Daggers accelerated toward the Unicorn, while the remaining units peeled off, preparing a pincer movement to box it in.
Watching the Dagger squads close in, Roz remained silent. He raised the Beam Magnum.
"Everyone, I'll see you in hell..."
The Alpha Team leader, acting as the vanguard, saw the Unicorn's muzzle level with his machine. Before he could finish his sentence, he vanished into a thick beam of reddish-white light.
Although the two vanguard squads had attempted to evade at maximum speed, two wetware MS were still caught by the purple high-energy discharge trailing the shot. They were sliced in half and erupted into fireballs in the vacuum of space.
"...Alpha remnants, merge with Beta Team and continue as vanguard. All other squads, proceed with the mission."
In the Dagger comms channel, the squadron commander's voice remained eerily calm. He had long since made peace with the deaths of his subordinates—and his own.
Given the performance gap between the Dagger and the Unicorn, coupled with the skill gap of the pilots, they were mentally prepared to trade eight-to-one, or even sacrifice the entire squadron just to take down the White Devil.
As the flanking squads reached their predetermined positions, the Daggers raised their beam rifles in unison.
"Fire!"
The beams from the rifles wove together into a deadly web, closing in on the Unicorn at its center.
.......................