"Damn it, damn it, damn it!!!"
The Captain, who had personally moved from the captain's seat to the console, was raging helplessly.
Though his fury was terrifying, it was ultimately powerless.
"Captain... we're about to enter the Milton's precise attack range!"
A Blue Cosmos member screamed in despair.
Within the precise attack range, the Beam Cannons would be automatically corrected by the computer, leaving them no chance to evade, and could accurately hit their Bridge.
They didn't even have time to self-destruct.
Seeing that all was lost, the Blue Cosmos Captain stopped struggling and glared fiercely at the Mistral outside the Bridge.
Most of the Mistrals were pushing from below them, but this one Mobile Suit had recklessly peeked out just a little, and it happened to be in the blind spot of their frontal Close-in Weapon System.
Through the thick glass, he seemed to see a young man and a boy sitting inside that Mistral.
At such a young age, they must be Coordinators.
As this thought crossed his mind, the young man in the main pilot seat seemed to sense something and looked up.
Their eyes met.
The Captain grinned viciously at him.
"Initiate self-destruct now!"
Even if he couldn't destroy Copernicus, he would make these accomplices and Coordinators die with him!
"Yes!"
Understanding the Captain's intention, the other Blue Cosmos members all showed a fanatical expression in unison.
"For the Blue and Pure World!"
"For the Blue and Pure World!"
"For the Blue and Pure World!"
"They're going to self-destruct! Reverse thrust! Everyone retreat!"
From the optimal observation point, Fred, who had been intently watching the Drake-class Bridge, immediately shouted upon seeing this.
Hearing this, the prepared crew quickly used tow vehicles to shield the fragile glass protection of the Cockpit and began flying backward.
"What?!"
The Captain's vicious expression turned completely stunned as he watched this scene.
However, the self-destruct command was already irreversible.
In the last two seconds of his life, time seemed to stretch infinitely.
The Captain even had time to mentally review his plan once more.
Only profound confusion brewed in his heart.
His plan had been flawless.
Given Copernicus's defensive capabilities, successfully hijacking the Drake-class had meant 80% success.
Yet, the remaining 20% had failed completely.
Whether it was the unexplained destruction of the main power, or the collective thrust of so many Mistrals preventing them from approaching Copernicus.
Even now, with the self-destruct.
They were like prey caught in a spider's web, only able to entangle themselves further step by step.
"Only you will die, and you won't go to a pure universe. Go to hell."
In the final second of the countdown, Fred activated the laser communication on his Mistral.
The mockery in his voice replaced their fanatical expressions with resentment.
"Who are you? I won't let..."
But there wasn't even time to finish the curse before the Drake exploded.
Countless fragments flew from the direction of the engine explosion toward the many Mistrals.
However, as an engineering mobile suit, the Mistral's hand-held work cart structure was also extremely sturdy.
With their three-second early retreat, they successfully moved away from the explosion source.
The remaining kinetic fragments, just as Fred had calculated, caused no further damage to the Mistral.
Even those occasionally hit by fragments were shielded by the trailer, preventing impacts on vulnerable areas like the cockpit.
To the people of Copernicus, it seemed as though a brilliant rain of fire was falling before their eyes.
Some fragments not blocked by the Mistral scraped against the city's outer walls, creating fleeting sparks.
Clearly, due to the distance, they had lost their destructive power. Kinetic energy of this level was insufficient to penetrate Copernicus's outer walls.
"Are they... all dead?" a young man asked tremulously, his voice cutting clearly through the silent crowd, yet no one could give a definite answer.
Because of the intense explosion and the distance, they could only see the red glow from impacts on the outer walls ahead, unable to discern what had actually happened.
If watching the Mistral push away the Drake-class earlier had brought the joy of survival, now a profound sorrow lingered in everyone's hearts.
"Brother! And Kira! What happened to them!?" Flay, who had also witnessed the scene through the room's window, rushed to her mother.
Her eyes were wide and bloodshot.
Heather tightly embraced the rushing Flay, taking a deep breath.
"They should have retreated at the last moment. They're fine. I'll go ask now," Heather said, struggling to keep her voice steady, though inwardly she felt numb, devoid of any joy of survival, filled only with worry.
Although current information and the earlier light in the sky indicated what had happened, what if...
Besides Heather, the other two mothers exchanged glances and silently stood up in agreement.
Out in space beyond Copernicus.
Both in ZAFT and Atlantic Federation ships, Halberton and Andrew rose from their Captain's seats, speechless for a moment.
Being in space, they could clearly see that almost all the Mistrals were unharmed. Only a few had been hit on the edges, but most had escaped in time.
Such an exaggerated combat plan—aside from the few Mistral pilots who died initially from being caught off guard—had resulted in almost no other casualties.
A crisis that had nearly led to the destruction of all Copernicus was just... resolved?
This realization felt unreal.
Even now, both sides watched the Mistrals in the forward space zone, still unable to process it.
"There's an expert on the other side," Andrew mused after a long silence, marveling.
To devise a counterattack plan of this level in such a short time.
Was it blind luck?
Or precise calculation?
The former would be manageable, but if it were the latter...
Then one had to admit, the opposing commander was remarkably versatile.
"Captain, we...?" the Adjutant asked after letting out a sigh of relief.
"Of course we're going over. We're a merchant ship. Be careful—don't give us away."
As he spoke, Andrew sprawled casually back into his seat.
The previous seriousness seemed to have completely vanished.