The Sinanju and the Kshatriya continued their simultaneous attack on the Alpha. The Kshatriya forced the crippled Gundam Alpha back with attacks from its several funnels. Unable to dodge them as effectively, the Gundam Alpha was sustaining a heavy amount of damage. In addition, the Sinanju would add in its own attacks alternating between firing its beam rifle for kill shots and going in and aggressively diving in with its beam saber.
"This is the end, Gundam," Frontal declared over his comms. Another Beam Rifle blast took disarmed the Gundam Alpha leaving it helpless. He, then charged forward, but immediately backed off when he noticed something was off. Then he heard a screech and turned around to see that the Kshatriya had been downed by an unknown fighter. Marida limped back to the Garniceries who had at this point been taken under the care of the Rewloola.
"Frontal-sama, I will be heading back," Marida said over the comms channel, "watch out for that fighter, he's strong."
"I understand," Frontal replied. He took a defensive stance, watching the skies for him. The Gundam Alpha made its way back to the Eternal. Now only a body with no legs and one arm, it was unsuited for combat. "I guess you will be added to my list of opponents 'I'll be facing sometime in the future, 'new Gundam," Frontal whispered o himself. He settled himself down and began to take in his surroundings. The Mirage Frame was extremely hard to see against the blackness of space, and he had to fall back on his abilities as a Cyber Newtype to find him. "an opponent that comes at nearly the end of the battle to only take down tired and crippled opponents, how dishonorable," he stated over the comms.
"You said it yourself earlier, ' this is war,' " Zachariah replied. He deactivated his Mirage Colloid system and went straight for the Sinanju in fighter form. In rapid succession, he fired beams from the Beam Submachine Gun mounted on the Mirage Frame. As the Mirage Frame strafed the Sinanju, Frontal raised his shield to block the incoming shots. He sensed a different plan and tried to back off, but Zachariah had managed to destroy his shield with the bladed wings of the Mirage Frame. He transformed and turned on the Sinanju and continued firing his Submachine Gun.
"You're a tricky one," Frontal said, "I like that. If I hadn't backed off from that attack, you surely would've killed me." He paused for a moment and drew a pair of Beam Tonfas. The yellow beams glowed to life and highlighted the Sinanju's villainous presence. "However, it'll take more than a few tricks to stop me." He soon began circling around the Mirage Frame and tried to find the perfect time to strike. Frontal was patient about it, as he realized his enemy's pilot, Zachariah, was either veteran of another war or a very skilled ace. "May I know your name," Frontal asked. The communications link opened up with a video message, and he got to see his enemy's face. It was a younger man but nonetheless had the look of experience on the battlefield.
"Zachariah Zala, 1st Mobile Suit Force and FAITH Member of the ZAFT Military," Zachariah replied. He drew out his Ama-no-kiri Katana from its scabbard mounted on the side of his mobile suit. "Now that my blade has tasted your blood, the next strike will surely kill," the VPS Blade transformed in strength and structure according to the combat data it collected upon cutting through the shield of the Sinanju.
"Zachariah Zala," Frontal declared, "you are a formidable opponent, and I respect that. But your blade shall not touch me." Frontal armed his Beam Tonfa and stared down at the Mirage Frame. All of time stood still as the two examined each other. The mark of experience as the two formulated their battle plans and tried to figure out what would be their best moves and counters.
Time resumed.
The Mirage Frame activated its Mirage Colloid system, immediately disappearing. Frontal scanned the skies, seeing nothing, but felt Zachariah's presence lurking about around him. The Mirage Frame jumped from above him and tried to take out the main camera. The Sinanju rotated to face him and blocked the strike with his beam tonfa. The Mirage Frame continued his attack with a kick with its bladed anklets. The Sinanju closed in on it to make sure the Mirage Frame didn't have any room to try and counterattack.
Zachariah backed off and transformed the Mirage Frame into its fighter mode and put himself farther away from the Sinanju. Transforming back into his mobile suit form and back into his fighter form to make a sharp turn, he divebombed the Sinanju, unleashing a volley of blasts from his Beam Submachine Gun. The Sinanju strafed the blast and returned fire with its Beam Rifle. The Mirage Frame twirled around the beams from the Sinanju and flew past him quickly, going to another point and repeating the same maneuver. Frontal had caught on to his tactic and timed his next blast to catch him when he was in the middle of transforming.
A direct hit, Zachariah was stunned for a bit, and the Sinanju closed the gap while firing its Beam Rifle at the Mirage Frame. Zachariah activated his SEED Factor, his eyes became a dull blue and a blue crystal shattered in his mind. He easily dodged the shots to make sure he wouldn't go down and used the momentum to gain some speed while in Mobile Suit form to push towards the Sinanju. The Sinanju challenged him and drew its Beam Tonfas. Zachariah drew his Ama-no-Kiri Katana and a combat knife; he dashed forward and the two blades met and once again. This time with the combat knife in hand Zachariah tried to go for a kill shot toward the Sinanju's cockpit but Frontal had already predicted this move. He cut off the Mirage Frame's left hand with a Beam Axe as Zachariah tried to plunge the knife into the cockpit of the Sinanju.
"Gaah," Zachariah exclaimed when the hand came off. The Mirage Frame backed off from the duel, but Frontal, knowing he had the advantage, now pressed the attack. His attacks were relentless and without the shield mounted on the left hand it was impossible to block and dodge all of them. "I won't go down here," he said to himself. The Sinanju was overwhelming him, he didn't know how to react as if the Sinanju had an idea about every way he could try to turn the battle around and blocked him out of it. "So this is what it's like to fight a true veteran." Unlike his experience fighting against, a young and wild Apollo, Frontal was controlled and calculated. He didn't make moves without a good reason and he was effective at them.
Back on the Eternal, Shinonome grew impatient as she watched the battle unfold. She wanted to assist Zachariah, but was unable to as the Blue Frame had to recharge. She put her hands together and prayed for his safe return, as the two pilots soared across the sky.
Zachariah, knowing it was only inevitable he was going to be defeated at this rate. Planned out his attack to at least cripple the Sinanju so that if anyone else was to ever meet this machine again the fight wouldn't be nearly as lopsided. He continued to exchange blows with the Sinanju, but now he grew a bit desperate. Then everything connected. He backed off and transformed into fighter mode. "This is for my friends," he said to himself. He pushed the controls to maximum charging directly into the Sinanju. The Sinanju sidestepped the attack but was still hit by the bladed wings right in the cockpit area. Zachariah wasn't left entirely unscathed, the Beam Tonfa managed to cut through most of the Mobile Suit. The right half of the Mirage Frame had been sliced completely off.
With both of their cockpits revealed, Zachariah could see the face of his foe. A blonde man dressed in a red piloting suit sat before him. His face was covered by a steel mask that had red eyes. "So this is how it ends," he told him, "two soldiers staring at each other one last time. Before one kills the other."
"I'd hardly say it's a last time," Zachariah replied, "We'll see each other some time."
"Oh I definitely believe this is the last time," Frontal said. He tried to move his mobile suit but was unable to do so. Frontal briefly looked at his Mobile Suit's hands and his own. He almost puked at the sight. The Mirage managed to cut so deeply into his cockpit that it had shred his hands apart. At first, he bellowed, realizing the loss of his hands, but then calmed down immediately after. "Well played," he told his foe, "but I see you aren't nearly hold up as well." He was right, the Beam Tonfa had cut into Zala's cockpit and managed to take his right arm clean off his shoulder.
The Rewloola sent a signal retreat and a couple of Geara's went out and picked up the Sinanju. "Frontal-sama, the Nahel Argama is on its way with reinforcements, we have to depart." The Sinanju and the Gearas rallied with the Rewloola and set a course for an asteroid field.
"I guess we will meet again, Zala," Frontal said as he gazed down at a very weak and barely conscious Zachariah. At the same time, the Eternal sent out retreat flares, Shinonome went out to pick up Zachariah and the remains of the Mirage Frame. Upon gazing at the cockpit, Shinonome was horrified at what she saw. She hopped out of the cockpit and went towards Zachariah. Unlocking the straps that kept him held to the cockpit of the Mirage Frame, she flew him back up to the Blue Frame and flew it and the Mirage Frame back the Eternal.
"Sayaka, " Zachariah smiled weakly, "man, am I glad you came." She put her head against his as they glided into the hangar of the Eternal. Even though they were wearing helmets, he could feel her warmth stretch out to him.
"You did great, Zach," she assured him. Shinonome held him close as they touched down in the hangar. The flight crew helped them out and rushed Zachariah to medical wing. The Nahel Argama approached the Eternal and stopped near it. The Captain noticed and the deckhands searched for open communication channels for the two ships to talk to each other.
"This is Captain Joash Connor of the Eternal speaking, " he declared, "we are in need of assistance please respond." Dead silence for a minute. "Try a different channel," he told one of the deckhands, before he touched the panel, they heard microphone buffering on the other side.
"This is Captain Otto Mitas of the Nahel Argama," he replied, "we are willing to assist you on one condition. You and your crew will assist us in our mission or at least declare that you are allies with the Earth Federation." Those words would mark the beginning of the Eternal joining the Federation amidst the Laplace conflict to wipe out the remnants of Zeon.