The MA squads raised no objections, and Halberton assigned the finest two units still available in Eighth Fleet. Under the lead of the GINN, the two MA squads formed a triangular formation and began the counterattack of the Earth Alliance forces.
With the fleet present, Earth Alliance compensated for poor accuracy with sheer fire density. ZAFT was forced to spread out and penetrate the center of Eighth Fleet in waves, preventing the massive warships from maintaining long range fire coverage.
This tactic would normally have struck perfectly at the outdated weapons of the Alliance Forces forces when only MA escorts were available. Mobius could not fill the gaps between ships, and once MS units broke into the formation, warships relying only on point defense became huge targets.
However, once Siegfried led the charge, the situation began to turn. It was no longer Eighth Fleet being split apart, but ZAFT itself, scattered as it tried to avoid concentrated fire.
There were about three squads of GINNs on the field. After being separated by the warships, their original three unit formations were completely broken, and Siegfried focused on these isolated machines in what could only be called a slaughter.
This former ZAFT MS, indistinguishable in paint from its enemies, closed in under the cover of explosions. After evading incoming fire, it rushed into close range, and in the next instant the Heavy Slash Blade pierced straight into the enemy cockpit.
Another GINN nearby abandoned a nearly finished attack on a Drake class ship when it saw its ally destroyed and moved in for revenge. Siegfried dodged its shots with ease, and under his distraction, the Mobius squad slipped to the side and fired their linear cannons in sequence. The GINN was hit repeatedly and vanished in a burst of explosions.
Yet while Siegfried's group claimed two GINNs, several ships of Eighth Fleet were being sunk at the same time under attacks from the G units. After another glance at the battlefield, the boy chose the nearest two unit formation as his next target.
The biggest advantage of operating with Mobius was saving ammunition. Since the battle began, Siegfried had not used his heavy assault rifle, let alone the Heavy Particle Cannon on his back. His role was to draw enemy fire so the Mobius could shoot, or to close in and finish the job with the Heavy Slash Blade.
This approach only worked against isolated GINNs. With the military discipline of Cruze Team, losing two MS units was enough to alert them, and after orders from the mothership, there were almost no lone MS units left. At minimum, they moved in pairs, and Siegfried was finally forced to use ranged weapons.
The heavy assault rifle rounds crossed through the cold void as two ZAFT GINNs prepared a pincer attack, trying to corner Siegfried and force a mistake while he dodged. Before they could take position, the Mobius squad rushed up from behind him, but after just one exchange, one of the three machines was lost.
With no time to dwell on the huge gap in combat power, Siegfried kept lining up the enemy GINN in his sights. When his shots finally crippled its legs, the MS lost all ability to evade and was finished by a barrage from the Mobius linear cannons, turning into a mass of fire.
"One more."
The only reply was a burst of static from the Mobius squad guarding his back. The boy did not need to think further, as he knew that in a three on one fight, the squad had been wiped out.
"Damn it!"
Was it anger. Siegfried was not a member of the Alliance Forces forces, and he had never met these MA pilots before, so there was no bond between them. Yet in their first encounter on the battlefield, they followed Halberton's orders and gave their lives to shield him, and as an ordinary person, he could not remain unmoved.
After changing magazines, the assault rifle fired again. The GINN already damaged by Mobius could not escape Siegfried's lock, and another flash of fire added one more mark to his tally.
After that, with the remaining three Mobius, Siegfried destroyed two more GINNs. Half of the standard MS units ZAFT had committed were now gone, and with earlier losses inside the fleet, only three G units and two GINNs remained against Eighth Fleet.
Rau had already noticed the disturbance caused by the GINN he had nearly shot down. After issuing a few simple orders, the white clad officer boarded his personal unit, Xigu.
Before Rau even entered the fight, Siegfried felt his luck run out. The Storm and Duel had received their orders, and unable to find the Assault, the furious Yzak Joule naturally made this disgraceful GINN his primary target.
A five tube missile pod fired in a single volley. The slower Mobius units could not evade at this range, and two were hit. The last remaining unit poured linear cannon fire toward the Duel as it charged.
Unfortunately, the Duel had PS armor, and after being damaged by Kira, it had been fitted with additional external armor. With this layered protection, Yzak Joule charged straight through the fire and drove the Beam Sword through the fragile MA armor.
At this point, all the MA squads Siegfried had borrowed from Halberton were gone. The only good news was that the Type Zero and the Assault launched from the Archangel in succession, and the Type Zero had already reached visual range, its four mobile weapon pods spreading out.
"How dare you run wild in Miguel's machine. I will kill you."
Even now, with the Beam Sword right in front of him, Siegfried had no idea whether Kira had injured Yzak Joule's face with that strike. There was no chance to think about such things, as the gap between a GINN and the Duel was as crushing as that between a Mobius and a GINN.
He sidestepped the Beam Sword and kicked the Duel in the chest, then pushed the thrusters to maximum and slipped behind it. The external armor reduced its mobility, and he tried to repeat the tactic he had used on the Thunder.
"Is this really necessary, you turtle shell."
Once behind it, Siegfried found that unlike the Thunder, there was no weak point to exploit. The Assault Shroud fully covered every joint of the Duel, leaving no gap for a solid blade.
He pressed the muzzle against the rear thruster and pulled the trigger. This time the chance paid off, and Siegfried managed to destroy one of the Duel's thrusters.
By then, Mu's Type Zero had joined the fight. Useful or not, it at least held back the Storm and the remaining GINN, weaving through the wreckage of warships. Using the smaller mobile weapon pods, the veteran pilot even shot down an unprepared GINN.
Soon after, Kira arrived in the Assault as expected. The Aegis immediately abandoned the remaining forces of Eighth Fleet and chased after its fated rival, but the Duel acted as if it did not see the Assault at all and kept its focus on Siegfried.