The beams wove a dazzling and lethal web, constricting around the Unicorn.
But the Unicorn was no aimless insect, and this Dagger squadron was not a top-tier predator capable of laying an inescapable trap.
Within the lattice of light, the Unicorn performed a fluid roll, passing through the gaps by the narrowest of margins. The closest shot grazed the shield on its left arm, scattering sparks.
Simultaneously, the five Daggers serving as the vanguard closed in, drawing their beam sabers to swarm the white machine.
Facing this encirclement, Roz felt no panic. He simply pressed the foot pedals deeper. Against such a formation, the best tactic wasn't to retreat, but to surge forward—to smash a hole through their perimeter and seize the initiative for himself.
Fortunately, the Unicorn's thrust-to-weight ratio and structural integrity were more than sufficient to support such a violent maneuver.
He expertly raised the shield on his left arm as the thrusters on the backpack erupted with thick, blue plumes of fire, pulling the machine into a streak of azure light. The shield slammed into a Dagger marked with "SB" like a high-speed locomotive hitting a stationary car.
As a mass-produced unit of the Earth Alliance, the Dagger's structural strength was nowhere near that of the Unicorn. Due to budget constraints and ease of manufacture, its durability was merely average among mobile suits. Upon contact with the shield, the Dagger was propelled backward a few meters before it began to disintegrate. Limbs and internal components tore away, scattering into the void, and its torso armor buckled under the sheer kinetic force of the impact.
Casually flicking the wreckage of the Dagger's torso off his shield, Roz extended the beam saber from the Unicorn's left forearm and drove it through the remains, finishing the kill with a fluid thrust.
The Unicorn spun gracefully in the vacuum, its mono-horn sensor turning to face the remaining twenty units.
The initiative was now firmly in his hands.
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"Preheat main cannons! Lock onto those two Nazca-class ships!"
Aboard the Earth Alliance vessels, the crew was operating at a fever pitch. Although they knew deep down that the odds of a Dagger squadron defeating the "White Devil" were slim, they still placed their faith in their pilots. Consequently, the fleet shifted its primary tactical objective toward the two Nazca-class ships.
Rather than standing by as idle spectators, they delegated full command of the MS engagement to the squadron leader, allowing the warships to focus on the ZAFT-style vessels. This would not only create openings for the MS but also whittle down the enemy's naval strength.
"Opening fire without a single word... it seems the presence of those Nazca-class ships is the trigger," Murrue analyzed from the bridge of the Nahel Argama.
"If we leave them be, Lacus's two Nazca-class escorts will be destroyed," Miriallia, acting as the ship's CIC, added with a look of helplessness. "This kind of fighting... when will it ever end?"
"As long as the Earth Alliance and ZAFT remain at each other's throats, this fight won't end for us," Mu's voice crackled over the comms. "We know Lacus, her people, and what they stand for—but these Alliance soldiers don't. They just see a ZAFT fleet."
"Their maneuvers haven't faltered despite encountering the Unicorn, and their tactical logic is clear... there's no doubt the pilots of those MS are battle-hardened veterans," Natarle Badgiruel remarked, sighing as she watched the Daggers on the bridge projection sacrificing their lives just to slow Roz down. "It's a shame such veterans are going to be lost here..."
"Incoming fire-control radar lock detected! The Nelson-class and Drake-class are preparing to fire!"
Warning sirens wailed. Miriallia frowned at the readouts on her screen.
"Deploy the Gottfrieds! Begin preheating and target the enemy warships!" Murrue ordered. Though she had just lamented the situation, her hand did not waver.
Setting aside the fact that the Nahel Argama was technically Roz's property, her duty as Captain meant she could not ignore such direct hostility. She wouldn't dream of abandoning resistance and leaving her crew exposed to danger.
"Gottfrieds preheated!"
Natarle looked at her console, where the crosshairs were already boxing in the enemy ships.
"The person I used to be died in the sky..." she whispered, a sound only she could hear. Her grip on the control stick tightened, and her gaze turned steely. "For the rest of my life, I'm living for myself."
Having survived a betrayal and been rescued by the very person she was meant to oppose, she had shed the rigid dogmas of her past. She had made a choice for this second life with her own heart.
"Fire!"
At Murrue's command, Natarle pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Eight thick beams of light slammed into the hulls of the two Drake-class ships. They precisely melted through the outer armor, striking the ammunition depots directly. Following the violent sympathetic detonations of their magazines, the two ships were torn into several massive chunks of wreckage.
Smaller shards of debris pelted the Nelson-class flagship, creating a cacophony of metallic clangs against its hull.
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While the Nahel Argama engaged the Nelson-class, Roz was keeping just as busy.
The Unicorn sidestepped a Dagger swinging its beam saber. Raising the Beam Magnum, Roz pulled the trigger on the vanguard unit. The massive beam engulfed the unfortunate machine, and the purple high-energy discharge radiating from the shot instantly neutralized the surrounding wetware units.
As the final shot from the current magazine was spent, a specialized mechanical arm behind the shield activated. One of the spare magazines shifted from its flat position against the shield to a vertical one.
Roz tapped the Beam Magnum against the shield. The mechanism ejected the spent energy pack and slotted the fresh one into the rifle with practiced fluidity. With a sharp metallic click of the locking structure, the Beam Magnum was reloaded and ready.
With a casual flick of his controls, he used the shield on his left arm to deliver a crushing blow to a Dagger that had managed to get close.
Perhaps due to a critical system failure, the Dagger exploded barely two meters after being struck, creating a sudden cloud of thick smoke and metallic shrapnel.
The Unicorn burst through the haze. To the eyes of the remaining Dagger pilots, the white machine looked less like a mobile suit and more like a predator closing in for the kill.
"Evade! EVADE!"
Seeing the Unicorn raise its Beam Magnum once more, the squadron commander screamed his orders.
Unfortunately, he was the target this time. Before he could utter another word, he was enveloped by the thick beam of light, vanishing instantly into the void.
........................