OK I this it's been almost a week since the new year started but here's my belated New years present to you all.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Seed.
'It looks like the rifle's beam energy is refilled along with the fuel supply.' The Gundam pilot thought as he finished checking through his mobile suits internal systems.
"Hey you know you can relax now right?" Mu asked standing outside of Wing Zero's hatch.
"Not necessarily. We may have fought off the pursuing Zaft forces for now but odds are more than likely they'll come after us again."
"Mere hours after they're previous loss?"
"This ship, the Strike, and my mobile suit are all top priority targets at this point. From a Zaft official's prospective the sooner they destroy this ship the better and considering that we're currently traveling overseas isolated from any nearby reinforcements this would be the most opportune time to do so."
"Meaning they come after us even if it's a little reckless on their part."
"Considering what'll happen if this ship reaches Alaska they can't afford to do otherwise."
"True." Mu La Flaga placed a hand under his chin.
"Meaning the only way we're ever gonna get them off our backs is to destroy their submarine carrier."
Heero didn't bother with any type of reply leaving the Lieutenant to continue.
"It should be much more doable now that our pursuers had half their forces shot down."
"It doesn't mean we can get complacent."
"Fair enough still it's not like we can predict everything that comes our way so we mine as well cross whatever bridge we need to when they're in front of us."
"That may be the case but this bridge could be a lot closer than many on this ship think."
"Oh come on with what happened last time Zaft attacked they would at least have to wait to receive reinforcements unless they had a death wish!" Exclaimed Cagalli as she came over to where the other pilots were.
"Hate to break it to you little lady but as Heero put it making sure this ship goes down ASAP is well within Zaft's best interest and because of that if a certain degree of risks needs to be taken in order to complete their mission they'll go through with it."
"Well if they do it'll be easy enough to take care of them." Cagalli said before walking away.
"She's underestimating the enemy." Heero mused.
"Seems that way and it's probably going land her it a tight spot."
"If she fails to recognize when something beyond her abilities it'll be her own fault."
"That's a little cold don't you think? It wouldn't hurt to show some sensitivity like you did when the desert dawn tried to take revenge for that town being razed to the ground."
"I simply refrained from being blunt with what I was really thinking back then for the sake of avoiding needless arguments. The truth of the matter was that the death of her comrades was their own fault for being as impulsive as they were."
"Well I can't really argue with that. But still you could stand to show a little more empathy."
"As long as I'm traveling with you guys I'll help fight off whatever comes after this ship."
Mu sighed."I guess that's all anyone can really ask for."
Leaning over the catwalk's railing the Lieutenant glanced at the mechanics resupplying the Skygrasper's weaponry.
'Though personally I think I can speak for everyone here that we'd rather just have smooth sailing the rest of the way.'
Mu glanced down at the first floor and spotted Kira staring up at the Strike with a look of frustration.
It was understandable in a way. While the young Coordinator didn't take any joy in killing enemy soldiers that didn't necessarily mean he wanted to be powerless.
It was probably more than a little frustrating for him not to be able to help protect the Archangel when it was previously attacked.
Personally though Mu La Flaga felt that if anything he should be taking advantage of the downtime and resting while he had the chance even if that was easier said than done with the extreme possibility that Zaft forces were right on their tail even if the Archangel's systems indicated otherwise.
XXXXX
"Are we really supposed to go along with this plan?!" Nicol exclaimed having just been informed of Morrison's intent for the remainder of the La Cruset as well as its newest member.
"It's practically like the general's asking us to die!"
Athrun grimaced silently. At this point he pretty much felt it was safe to assume that was indeed the case all things considered but the general wasn't giving them any real leaway to do anything else. Daniel on the other hand had simply joined their group for the sake giving the two fellow Zaft reds the chance to redeem themselves and now it looked like that decision was going to very likely cost him his life if he stayed with the two of them. Speaking of the newest addition.
"We should simply focus on coming up with the best strategy possible for dealing with Wing Zero."
"Danial I don't think you understand, Wing Zero is far more dangerous than any other enemy we've come across during this war."
"So I've been told but that doesn't mean it's invincible. Especially if rumors of one of the only special squadron members damaging it have any truth to them."
Athrun recalled watching whatever footage was caught of the confrontation between Wing Zero and the one GuAIZ that held its own against the mobile suit single handedly. The fight certainly proved Daniel's point but the pilot of the GuIAZ in question displayed skill on on level that was out of Athrun and Nicol's reach, even if the three Zaft reds came up with an effective strategy nothing was really guaranteed.
"That may be but the pilot of that GuIAZ was on another level from us."
"Maybe but if we can at least buy enough time for General Morrisom to sink the legged ship."
"But that still leave Wing Zero." Nicol mused.
"Without a supply point."
Athrun's eyes widened as he realized what Danial was implying.
"You mean to simply starve Wing Zero's pilot of their supplies?"
"Yeah. Without that ship the won't be able to reload their weapon, recharge their machine's battery supply, or refuel."
"Meaning that after everything is said and done they'll either run out of power or fuel and plummet to the bottom of the ocean."
"That just might work!" Nicol exclaimed.
"There's just one problem. It's more than likely that the general just set us up to face Wing Zero because he also wants us dead so how do we know he won't accuse us of deserting?"
"If this plan works he won't have much leeway to do so and even then it'll be much easier to defend should that time come since the success of this plan will finally take Wing Zero out of the pitcher. Besides his orders are only to face off against Wing Zero not to fight it specifically until it or us are destroyed so there shouldn't be any problem as long as we buy the others the time they need."
"Fair enough. Now with that out of the way we just need to figure the best tactic that'll keep us alive."
XXXXX
In another part of the ocean a small fleet of five Earth Alliance warships were heading out to intercept the Archangel.
However the none of those in command aboard the Archangel were never made aware of this however since the fleet never came with any intention of rendezvousing with them or anything that could be considered hospitable.
In truth they were sent out by order of Admiral Sutherland in order to seize the Wing Zero while the Archangel was isolated from any significant witnesses.
The Commander who was a man in his mid thirties with combed back brown hair in charge of the fleet known as Michael Verden sighed. The orders he was given were try and catch Wing Zero when it was away from the new warship since it still had the Strike on board but if things went south then he was to simply have both mobile suits subdued and the ship destroyed.
At this point aside from having the Earth Alliance's only remaining Gat series mobile suit onboard as well as three useful individuals the Archangel had already become obsolete on the eyes of the top brass since they could already have it replicated and the fact that the ship and the fact that they'd likely displeased with the fact that the Strike's pilot was a Coordinator.
Personally while Michael was no less disgusted with who the Strike's pilot was than that of the top brass at the very least he believed that the Archangel should be given more consideration given the three potential contributors it had on board, surely they were worth trying to put a little more effort into keeping alive but the way the higher ups saw it they had worth but not enough that to jeopardize the real prize the fleet was sent to obtain.
'I guess in the end all I can is hope on the Archangel mind their own business. While it would be pleasurable to end that inhuman fuck piloting the Strike I'd rather keep potential allies to cause of preserving our pure and blue world.'
Glancing around the room Michael was less than surprised to see to atmosphere was full of tension and anxiety and he imagined it would be the same on any of the other ships particularly amongst the pilots. It made sense considering the opponent the fleet would eventually be facing.
Wing Zero had proven to deadly opponent on its own and even disposing of one of them during the eighth fleet's clash with Zaft in the Earth's atmosphere. It was safe to assume more than a few mobile armor pilots would lose their lives but by the end of the day they were a dime a dozen. The Earth Alliance near numberless army at its disposal so it wasn't like those who died couldn't be replaced and each individual ship within the fleet was filled to maximum capacity with Mobile armors so it had more than a few forces to spare even if they suffered a good amount of casualties during this mission.
Still as long as the main objective was successful it would all be worth everything Wing Zero had proven to be capable of the mobile suit would surely be of great use in contributing to the cause of ridding the earth sphere of the wretched Coordinators.
"Sir will be in range of the Archangel's radars in another forty-three minutes."
"Have our pilots ready to launch at a moment's notice. We'll wait for them to come to us."
XXXXX
"The Rau Le Creuset team will launch ahead of us and once they've preoccupied Wing Zero's attention the rest of us will launch to deal with the legged ship." Marceo said over the radio from within the cockpit of an amphibious mobile suit known as a ZnO.
"Sir are you sure you can even trust those guys? They turned against our own forces and one of them even went as far as to fight alongside the Strike."
"I assure they'll do as they've been instructed which is to face off with Wing Zero, their futures depend on it."
'Assuming they can actually come out of this alive.'
The General smirked as all three G weapons launched from the submarrian carriers followed closely by specialized jet like platforms called GooHLs which the machine's landed on providing them with atmospheric flight capabilities. 'If you guys retreat before mission comes to an end you're definitely being executed I promise you that.'
"As soon as Wing Zero has launched we'll all launch and focus our attention on sinking the legged ship." Morrison announced before donning a near sociopathic grin.
Those onboard the legged ship, the Mobile armor pilots, and especially the Wing Zero's pilot were all going to pay dearly for the humiliation they put him through earlier.
XXXXX
"Captain we have three units on radar!"
Ramius tensed up upon hearing this. Mu La Flaga had informed Ramius of how Heero Yuy believed the enemy would attack again because the Archangel's current location made for too great of an opportunity since it was so isolated but still the idea it would actually be on the same day as the previous one.
For Zaft to go this far the opportunity Heero mentioned them having must have made them more than a little determined seize it.
It may have made sense when all things pertaining to the circumstances surrounding the situation were considered but Ramias really would have preferred for this never to have happened at all, the Crew was still mentally drained from the last fight and having to go into another so soon would only serve to drained them that much further.
'If they're able to follow us out this far while concealing their own vessel they're likely onboard of submarine carrier.'
"Do we have any idea as to what units they sent out."
"Two of them are the Blitz and Aegis the third one is an unkown."
"Do we have a visual of the mobile suit?"
"Yeah...It's a new G weapon!"
Upon hearing this everyone on the bridge's eyes widened considerably. Back when Zaft had stolen the other G weapons aside from the Strike during their attack on Heliopolis it was a given they'd eventually reverse engineer the technology the mobile suits had which became apparent in the desert when the special squadron fought Heero, but for them to have already created a completely new G weapon type mobile suit was more than a little nerve racking since it only meant that the difference in battle strength between the Earth Alliance and Zaft would only widen.
'If only we were able to complete the G weapon project on schedule back at Heliopolis we wouldn't have our backs nearly against the wall already.'
"Put it up on the main monitor."
Upon hearing the command the officer did as they were instructed and bought an image of what indeed was a new G weapon type mobile suit to the main monitor.
It had a black chest and torso that was shaped like the Strike's with the key difference being silver ventilation shaft covers over the gaps on either side of its chest along with a white hatch. Its head was mostly black and had a shape like the Duel's save for its mouth plate which was flat and plane like the Aegis' which was white in color compete with yellow eye and forehead sensors along with a planely shaped gloden V-fin. Its forearms and lower leg both had somewhat bulky armor plating which was jet black in contrast to its upper arms and legs which were snow white.
Ramias' eyes narrowed in frustration. The G weapon project was supposed to remedy the difference in battle strength but now it only seemed widen it even further making the entire war effort next to hopeless.
With the rate things were going Zaft would soon be able to do whatever it wants unchecked and unchallenged by anything aside from Wing Zero and if that happened the Earth Alliance would inevitably be forced to surrender.
The Archangel needed to get the Strike to Alaska and fast but unfortunately the enemy was being relentless with their pursuit of the ship if this second attack on the same day was anything to go by.
"Ready the helldarts to intercept the incoming mobile suits and launch both sky graspers. What's the status of Wing Zero?"
"We just need to open the hatch and He'll launch." Mirriallia answered.
"Good. Inform him of the unkown unkown G weapon."
"Alright." Miriallia quickly established link to Wing Zero causing a window showing Heero inside of its cockpit.
"Heero we're facing the Blitz, Aegis and an new G weapon type mobile suit that we've never seen before so you shouldn't let your guard down."
"Roger that."
XXXXX
The Gundam pilot quickly cut the link upon receiving information about the new mobile suit.
If Zaft truly made a new unit based off the fake Gundams design Heero figured the only possible explanation behind its creation was either that it was a new high performance unit built with the specific purpose going against Zero or the Strike if not both or simply a means to rebolster the Zaft team's numbers since Heero had already taken out two of their members.
Either way it was an enemy that would need to be dealt with but Heero would need to be a bit more cautious, unlike the four machines stolen by Zaft this new unit was one that the Archangel had no data on for Heero to look over beforehand meaning he was essentially going in blind not knowing what capabilities the enemy mobile suit had up its sleeve.
"Heero Yuy, Wing Zero launching." With that he left the ship and spotted the three machines each riding aboard a platform know as a Guul if Heero's data was correct which were basically meant to give the fake Gundams a means of atmospheric flight.
Heero raised an eyebrow ever so slightly at the sight. Considering where Zaft currently stood in this situation and the importance of their mission it would be far more logical to include the remaining DINNs from the previous attack in this one to ensure their mission's success. Simply put it seemed like they were deliberately underestimating Heero and the others onboard the Archangel.
The idea came off as more than a little irrational at this point considering what happened during the previous encounter, Zaft should know better than to get complacent at this point especially with the prowess Heero possessed.
Yet all that was within sight were the three units. 'Something isn't right.'
Hailing the ship Heero was soon patched through to the Archangel's bridge.
"Has something came up?" Ramius inquired.
"Not at the moment however but it might be wise to keep the Archangel's ammo in reserve and simply have both skygrapsers stay near the Archangel after launching."
"What basis do you have for suggesting this?"
"The DINNer that retreated from the last skirmish aren't anywhere right now."
"That may be but why should we refrain from any counter offensive against the enemy in front of us because of that?"
"Because there's a very real possibility that they might try to launch after the both Skygraspers are away and the Archangel's exhausted enough ammunition."
"You think they're waiting to ambush when we're at our most vulnerable."
"There's a high probability of that. I can't say for sure but it'd be best to be prepared just incase."
"I second that." Mu chimed in before receiving a verbal lash out from Cagalli.
"Are you kidding me? We're seriously supposed to sit here twiddling our thumbs when there are three G weapon type mobile suits intent on sinking this ship?!"
"It's the smart thing to do. We can't leave the Archangel exposed out of any desire to get up close and personal with the enemy."
"But the longer those mobile suits are around the more people Zaft will use to needlessly kill! And that seriously doesn't bother you?!"
"Enough!" Ramias said over the radio. "We'll be going with Heero's suggestion."
A low grunt was heard before Cagalli muttered the word "fine".
"Alright prepare to launch both skygraspers."
XXXXX
In the ship's hanger both skygraspers were loading onto both catapults in each of the Archangel's legs.
Mu La Flaga was simply ready to launch and simply patrol the air from a safe distance. A part of him would have much rather have been helping Heero deal with the two remaining G weapons as well as the unknown unit but he understood that leaving the Archangel open while there was a strong possibility of enemy reinforcements showing up wasn't wise.
Cagalli on the other hand was blinded by her own eagerness to engage the enemy before her. The way she saw it the faster the G weapons within Zaft's possession were destroyed the better it would be for everyone. It was bad enough that they were ever built to begin with but to ignore an opportunity to stop their needless rampage and be one step closer to ending the war was downright idiotic on so many levels.
If Zaft had any reinforcements everyone could deal with them when they showed up assuming they actually had anything more up their sleeve. If they really were withholding anything in reserve then it should of been the stolen G weapons, they were far better than any other mobile suits to date and going by that logic they'd be Zaft's biggest trump card on the battlefield so holding mere mass produced units like GINN, DINN, CGUEs, or that new model they used against Heero in the desert would be downright irrational.
With those thoughts clouding the better part of her judgement she suddenly increased throttle and raced towards the three G weapons.
"Hey stop we're supposed to stay close to the ship!" Mu called out only to be ignored.
"Dammit, our guest onboard our ship decided to disregard your orders."
"What, why would she-? Nevermind headout to assist her and Heero with dealing with the G weapons." Ramias replied.
"What about the Archangel?"
"Our weapons are all still fully loaded. We'll stay back and reserve our ammo for any potential reinforcements but if things start looking bad we'll assist you."
"Good to know even though we probably won't need it with the skill Heero has."
XXXXX
Ahead of the others Heero fired his buster rifle causing the three enemy mobile suits to scatter.
The Blitz and unknown unit flew to either side of Heero and began firing their respective beam rifles at him. The Gundam pilot was able to dodge whatever beams came his way with ease and fire a shot at the Blitz forcing it the back off temporarily before turning his attention to the unknown unit.
Since its capabilities were unknown it stood as the biggest threat to the Archangel so it stood to reason that it needed to be destroyed in the shortest time span possible.
Taking aim Heero fired his buster rifle which the unknown evaded before attempting to close some of the distance between itself and him.
Letting loose another shot Heero kept his rifle trained on the unknown unit as it dodged his shot via dashing to its right before he fired another shot only for the same result to come into play before the unknown machine attempted to counter with two crimson beams from a pair of railguns mounted on each side of its torso.
Heero simply blocked both shots with his shield before countering with a shot of his own which the unknown unit avoided via climbing.
The Blitz had taken aim at Heero was forced to change its target and shoot down an incoming missile aimed right at it.
Heero glanced at a miniature zoomed in window that showed one of the Skygraspers heading his way.
It wasn't equipped with any striker pack, that combined with the fact it was disregarding the plan to keep the Archangel defended and prepared in case of an enemy attack made it pretty clear who was piloting it.
Cagalli. She was the only possible candidate to do something this idiotic. Mu La Flaga was an ace pilot but one who knew his own limits, Cagalli on the other hand was someone that may have had determination but she'd throw herself at anyone without considering the risk being taken.
Unfortunately for the blonde teen that reckless nature was about to cost her which became apparent when the Blitz launched its piercer lock at her.
"Not so fast!" A red beam slamming into the piercer lock destroying it in the process."Girl you really need to learn to not be this damn reckless otherwise you're going to get yourself killed." The pilot of Skygrasper one said.
"Like doing nothing when Zaft's most dangerous weapons are right in front of us is any better. We need to take these out here and now."
"Do you even realize how close you were to being shot down?!"
"It doesn't matter. I need to do something about these stolen mobile suits!"
Heero simply tuned out the argument between the Lieutenant and Cagalli. It was clear the latter in her eagerness to take out the fake Gundams was blind to reason which didn't really matter to Heero, he promised to do all that was within his power to protect the Archangel's crew but that didn't necessarily include Cagalli or Kisaka especially when the only reason the two of them were there to begin with was because the former wanted to tag along insisting that the crew needed her help.
So long as she didn't get in Heero's way he couldn't have cared less what she did. Acting quickly Heero climbed evading a shot from the Aegis' rifle before returning fire with his own long range weapon.
The Aegis this released a pair of missiles from the GULL it was riding which Heero countered with his Vulcans before he spun around to block another attack for the unknown unit's railguns.
'It looks like they've become more coordinated with their tactics.' The gundam pilot briefly noted before dodging a shot from the Blitz before returning fire.
The Blitz was forced even further on the defensive when Mu La Flaga fire the impulse cannon from the launcher pack at it.
The Blitz tried to retaliate with its beam rifle but Mu effectively maneuvered out of the path of any shots that may have hit him otherwise.
Cagalli meanwhile let a missile loose at the Aegis which shot the projectiles down with its CIWs before shifting its aim to the Skygrasper two and getting its left wing.
Soon the mobile armor was losing altitude while its began shifting the direction of its forced descent towards an a fairly far off group of islands.
"I'm going down!"
Heero didn't bother with any type of verbal acknowledgment and simply kept his attention on the unknown unit spraying in its general direction with his shoulder Gatling guns to force it off balance before taking a shot with his rifle.
The unknown unit by some miracle managed to climb in time to avoid before destroyed in its entirety but the beam from Heero's rifle did manage to hit the GULL it was riding on.
The unknown unit jumped off the jet like platform just before it exploded. Heero was about to give his full attention to the two remaining enemies before the jet like contraction mounted to the unknown unit's back suddenly detached itself before changing its shape into a platform similar to the GULL the mobile suit was previously riding and flew underneath the unknown unit's feet allowing the mobile suit to land on and ride it essentially serving the purpose the GULL was before it was destroyed.
'A detachable transformable backpack. It looks likes Zaft tech might have more to offer than I would have originally thought.'
The unknown unit took aim with its rifle and began firing at Heero who evaded any beams that were on a path for him before returning fire and forcing the unknown unit to back off temporarily.
Suddenly new signatures showed up on Wing Zero's radar alerting the pilot to what he suspected would show up sooner or later right from the beginning.
"Zaft reinforcements." He mused before using one of his secondary cameras to get a better view of what they consisted of.
Unsurprisingly they were mostly DINNs, six in total along with one mobile suit that was nowhere in immediate sight even though his radar indicated otherwise. The gundam pilot figured it must have been an amphibious type.
"I'm gonna head back to the Archangel and give whatever support I can." Mu announced.
"Roger that I'll deal with these units as quickly as possible and assist you."
As Mu headed back in the direction of the Archangel Heero fired a shot off at the Blitz which was about to shoot skygrasper one from behind.
The fake Gundam managed to maneuver out of the way but nearly lost its balance to the point of falling off its GULL.
'It looks like these pilots are being a lot more cautious than before.'
XXXXX
Inside the Archangel's hanger Kira walked along the catwalk over towards the Strike.
With the ship's constant rumbling it was pretty obvious the enemy was upon the ship.
Looking up at the Strike which was still missing its left arm Kira remembered the time in the desert when Heero made it clear to him that he needed to get strong enough to protect the ship with his own power before the Gundam pilot eventually decided to depart from ship.
When the young Coordinator remembered that he grew frustrated as he recalled how he wasn't able to do a thing during Zaft's previous attempt at destroying the Archangel.
He didn't want to take human life but that didn't make potentially letting his friends die acceptable.
'I know I'll probably wind up in the brig for this but if it means I'll be able to do something then it's worth it.'
XXXXX
"Use the Igelstellung to keep the DINNs at bay and launch prepare to launch surface to air missiles." Ramias ordered.
Captain the mechanic team is informing me that something's happening in the hanger.
"Patch him through."
The main monitor displayed Murdoch on screen.
"We're in the middle of a battle this isn't the best time to be contacting the bridge."
"I know but we got a situation involving the Strike!"
Ramias' eyes widened. "Just what kind of situation?"
"It's the kid. He's boarded the machine and is loading it on the catapult!"
"Switch the camera views to the catapults."
The crewman in charge of them did as they were order and everyone on the bridge was treated to a rather shocking sight. The Strike was indeed on the Catapult still missing an entire arm held a bazooka its remaining hand and had a spare Beam rifle mounted to the back of its waist.
Ramias stared at the Strike monetarily wondering if Kira really meant to launch.
While the young Coordinator from Heliopolis wasn't always the most level headed individual Ramias would have figured that he'd know better than to be so reckless as to launch when the Strike was so far from optimal condition.
Given that it currently wasn't fit to go into battle with the damage it had sustained Kira had to know of the major disadvantage he would be left at.
"Ensign Yamato return the Strike to the to the hanger at once." Ramias ordered upon connecting to the Strike via the radio.
"I know that what I'm doing is dangerous but I still want to protect this ship."
"Do you even realize the position you'll be put in if you go through with this?"
"Yes, but I can still help defend this ship even if it's only a little." Kira declared resolutely stunning the Captain of the Archangel.
"Is this really what you want?" Ramias asked after getting over the surprise of the sheer determination the young Coordinator had shown with his persistence given what his normal view of fighting in general were.
"Yes. So please let me launch."
Ramias sighed in defeat. "Very well but you're to remain on top of the Archangel's deck and fight defensively, am I clear?"
"Yes Captain."
Ramias turned her attention to those present on the bridge. "Open the ship's hatch."
Badgriuel's eyes widened considerably. "Captain do you realize the risk you're taking with the Strike?!"
"Of course but we need all the defensive prowess we can get. We have a total of six DINNs attacking the ship."
Badgiruel grunted in disdain but didn't argue any further. This plan was to reckless since the chance of Kira being shot down here relatively high.
XXXXX
Athrun was more than a little on edge as things stood now. While he, Nicol, and Daniel were managing to stay in the fight...and alive for that matter it was taking everything they had to keep things that way.
There had already been more than a few extremely close calls and it didn't help things when the two mobile armors decided to get involved.
Luckily Athrun was able to shoot one of them down and the other one fell back when the rest of the Zaft forces began their attack on the legged ship.
But even then the enemy mobile suit known as Wing Zero still held the upper hand over the course of the fight managing to easily weave through or block any gunfire directed at it and counter at every turn keeping the three on their toes.
Athrun decided to try utilizing the missiles on his GULL only for Wing Zero to counter them with its Vulvans before firing its shoulder guns at Athrun who had to pull back to ensure he wasn't hit.
"Let's try to lure him further away from the legged ship." Daniel declared over the radio.
"What will that do?" Nicol replied.
"Ensure he can't try to assist rest of the crew during his fight with us. The last thing we need is for Wing Zero to start offing our DINNs while they're focused on sinking the legged ship."
"Makes sense but will he fall for it."
"Not if we make it too obvious. If we suddenly turn tail and retreat Wing Zero's pilot would likely see through it."
"Then what do you suggest."
"We continue the fight but fall back bit by bit gradually over time."
"That just might work."
"I agree that it's the best option we have." Athrun mused as he took aim with his rifle and fired at Wing Zero.
XXXXX
Heero evaded beam fire from the Aegis before sending a shot from his rifle at it. Unsurprisingly the fake Gundam pulled back and avoided the blast before the Blitz fired one of its lancer darts at Heero which he quickly countered with his Vulcans before returning fire which the stealth type mobile suit avoided via creating distance between itself and Wing Zero.
The next attacker was the unknown unit which utilized its grenade launcher only for Heero to shoot it with his Vulcans while it was heading towards him causing it to exploded at the midway point between the two mobile suits.
Like its two partners the unknown unit back off a bit just enough that it'd be ready to defend or evade if the situation called for it.
Heero realized something was up. Throughout the entire skirmish the three enemy units had been incredibly cautious which could be dismissed as them attempting to preserve their lives at first glance but normally someone with that kind of mindset would have retreated already due to fear clouding their judgement and they couldn't have been persisting out of sheer desperation.
While there was some possibility that the position that the pilots of the fake gundams were in was along the lines of fight or die (especially in the case of the Aegis and Blitz considering their actions in the desert) their moves were still thought through, they weren't reckless with anything they did. In fact what painted what they were doing as odd was that they weren't trying to press any type of offensive at all.
While the strategy may have assured the highest chance of survival for the three pilot they had to know that if they didn't try to truly go on the offensive they'd never shoot Heero down and the fight would drag on...
The perfect soldier's eyes narrowed. 'So that's their plan. In that case.'
Heero increased his throttle getting in middle of the unknown unit and the Blitz before splitting his rifle into two separate guns and pointing each of them at both mobile suits.
'I'll have to get a bit more serious about dealing with these three.' With that thought in mind Heero fired both rifles simultaneously.
Both units maneuvered out of each shots' path but unlike all the previous times neither one came out unscathed.
The Blitz ended with its entire left arm being disintegrated and the unknown unit lost the lower portion of both legs below the joints along with it transformable backpack causing the mobile suit to fall into the sea.
If the three pilots goal was merely to distract Heero long enough for the rest of the Zaft forces to destroy the Archangel then he'd see to it they were all dealt with in the minimal amount of time.
Unbeknownst to Heero or the two remaining Zaft pilots they were getting closer to a third party with their own agenda.
XXXXX
By some off chance Mu La Flaga managed to shoot one of the DINNs down taking off some of the pressure. Overall it was more than a little relieving even if there were still five more units to deal with.
It was all the Hawk of Endymion could do to keep from being shot down, he was forced to stick within close proximity to the Archangel since it was the only source of breathing room he could get since its barrage was keeping the DINN at a distance.
Unfortunately the Archangel was being pushed to its limit since the DINNs were all returning fire on the ship when Mu didn't have their attention from different positions.
As things stood Kira was the only ally that Mu really had at the moment since Heero had his hand full with the two remaining G weapons as well as the new mobile suit. At this point the Earth Alliance ace pilot really wasn't worried after everything Heero had accomplished so far Mu was more than a little confident that the enigmatic pilot would come out on top before long and hopefully dispose of the remaining two G weapons within Zaft possession.
He wished he still had Cagalli's help at the moment but her hotheaded nature lead her to make the stupidest decision possible and get herself shot down early on in the fight. Mu (and likely Ramias) hoped she somehow survived. If so they'd have to look for her when this was all over.
Kira at the very least was contributing to the Archangel's defense shooting at any DINN when the came into his line of fire. In spite of his massive disadvantage he was fairing surprisingly well. His shots were well aimed enough that even if they didn't hit their mark the Zaft units were forced to keep their distance out of caution meaning they couldn't press their offensive as much as they pleased.
One of the DINNs climbed to a higher position and sprayed the Strike with a hail of bullets but thanks to the Strike's phase shift armor and Kira angling the Strike so the hole where its left arm had connected to the body wasn't hit by anything the DINN's attack was ineffective. The young Coordinator then took aim with his rifle and fired on the assaulting DINN hitting it straight in its chest and destroying the machine outright before turning his weapon on another one and shooting one of its rifles rending the armament useless and forcing the Zaft unit to back off momentarily.
"It looks like the kid's improving. Heero's decision to let him face the desert tiger may have been the right one afterall." Mu La Flaga mused whilst turning his attention to a DINN that was within his sights.
XXXXX
"Sir we have Wing Zero in our sights. It's currently in engaged with the stolen G weapons."
"Should we send out our pilots while they're preoccupied with fighting each other?" Another officer inquired.
Michael Verdan placed his hand under his chin. "No if anything it would be better to wait for Wing Zero to take out the two G weapons."
"Are you sure? They could act as a distraction for it while our pilot work to subdue the mobile suit."
"Yes one might assume that but war often plays out differently how one thinks it will."
"What do you mean?"
"If we tried to utilize the plan you suggested the G weapons would also turn their guns on our pilots and more of them will be lost." 'Assuming any of them actually survive in that scenario.' "And besides if we until Wing Zero disposes of the G weapons within Zaft's possession when can essentially kill two birds with one stone."
"I see."
"Good. For the time being we'll wait for them to come to us that way we'll have a chance to carry out our mission without catching the attention of the Archangel's crew."
It may have more accurate to say the Commander planned to kill three birds with one stone rather than just two. If everything went according to plan Wing Zero would be captured, the stolen G weapons would be destroyed depriving the Coordinators of a major trump card, and the three assets that could contribute further to the Earth Alliance's cause.
'For the preservation of our pure and blue world.'
XXXXX
"Da-dammit!" Nicol screamed out as he tried to keep his distance from Wing Zero which was rapidly closing in it with its beam saber drawn and its reassembled rifle attached to its shield.
Nicol ignited his beam saber as Wing Zero brought its own down in an overhead swing and attempted to block the attack.
The Blitz was of course pushed back by the sheer force behind Wing Zero's swing before it took aim with its Buster rifle and fired.
A yellow beam disintegrated the Blitz's left foot along with the GULL it was riding causing the mobile suit to plummet into the sea.
Athrun who was watching this watch with horror stricken eyes. The only person who was willing to give him and Nicol a chance to prove themselves and Nicol who was the only remaining member of his Zaft red team were likely still alive but with the way things were going Wing Zero would soon have nothing stopping it from destroying the Zaft forces assaulting the legged ship and the blame would fall on all three Zaft reds which would would lead to their execution.
Athrun couldn't let that happen. If it was just himself facing such a fate he may have simply accepted it but Nicol and Daniel were a different story. He already lost Rusty and Meguil during the attack on Heliopolis, Yzak during the fight within the Earth's atmosphere, and Dearka during the clash in the desert needless to say the Bluenette was tired of losing one friend after another.
Now he was going to lose two more (and go with them to the otherside) at this rate. He couldn't simply let that happen- no he wouldn't let that come to pass. The pilot of Wing Zero may have been unreasonably skilled beyond anything Athrun had ever encountered to date but he wasn't invincible. Even if he had to lose his own life in the process he'd do whatever it took to make sure Wing Zero didn't win the fight in end.
With newfound resolve to ensure that the only two friends among Zaft he had left had a future the Bluenette suddenly saw the image of a seed that was the same color as his eyes slowly spinning and descending until it burst into numerous specs of light. Afterwards Athrun felt a much more calm and preceded to fly straight towards Wing Zero.
He didn't care if the pilot of the mobile suit was a Natural, Coordinator, or some kind of inhuman demon like many amongst Zaft were making him out to be because of their unreal prowess for the sake of his friends who were still alive Athrun would succeed with his mission no matter what.
XXXXX
The perfect soldier had to admit he was a little surprised when the Aegis started taking a more aggressive approach.
It wasn't so much the disregard in its previous caution but rather the increase in skill. The shots from its rifle were much more precise than before.
The Aegis fired the last missiles from the GULL it was riding which Heero intercepted with his Vulcans before the Aegis leaped off the GULL transforming into its mobile armor configuration before firing its scylla cannon at Heero who pulled to the side to avoid whilst the Aegis changed back to its mobile suit form and landed back on top of the GULL.
Taking aim with its rifle the red mobile suit quickly let loose a couple of shots which Heero either dodged or blocked before he decided to use his Vulcans to shoot the Aegis midrange armament.
Once the bullet found their mark the Aegis quickly tossed the rifle aside just before it exploded and ignited its beam saber before making a beeline towards Wing Zero.
As the fake Gundam brought its beam saber around horizontally Heeor brought his own up to intercept the blow.
Both mobile suits locked blades and pushed against one another before Heero was caught off guard momentarily when the pilot of the Aegis did something that was outside his line of expectations for possible scenarios of what their next move might be.
They didn't attack in any shape or form per say but rather they hailed him.
"Why? Why did you have to show up on the battlefield back in space? Why did you have to stick your nose into this war? Why are you fighting against Zaft?!" They yelled out.
"Simple, because individuals from your side provoked my getting involved when they showed up where they didn't belong."
Both opponents pulled away from each other before they closed in once more clashing Beam sabers and flying past one another in the process.
The two mobile suits turned to face their respective opponent before making a beeline for them clashing blades again before they repeated the process multiple time.
"What exactly have we done that made us your enemy?"
"You threatened to drag people I know into this pointless war when they already been through enough as it is."
When both machine clashed Beam sabers passing each other Heero took aim with his rifle and fired at the Aegis or more specifically its GULL.
The beam quickly hit the platform which the Aegis leaped off of before changing to its mobile armor configuration and flying straight towards Wing Zero.
Heero had to admit this pilot had a lot of potential. More so than even Kira. Had they been born in his own world and given the proper training they may have been a possible candidate for a Gundam pilot. But regardless of whatever hypothetical scenarios could be painted around them the Zaft pilot was little more than an enemy that needed to be dealt with.
The fake gundam opened its claws and readied itself to fire the Scylla cannon however Heero was one step ahead and had his shoulder Gatlings ready and let loose a hail of bullets strait into the cannons.
Since the Cannon itself was a separate contraption from the Aegis' armor it didn't have the protection of phase shift and thanks to this the bullets from Wing Zero tore into the cannon damaging into along with much of the inside of the Aegis' frame.
Inside the red mobile suit's cockpit its controls started sparking and short circuiting before the pilot picked on this and put their arms in front of them to shield their face. However when the panel from of them blew up they received a great deal of shrapnel in their arms causing them to scream out in pain while their unit plummeted into the sea below.
Heero was about to head back to assist the Archangel when his radar detected around eighty to ninety plus units heading straight for him causing him to give pause.
The reason for the said pause wasn't simply because they showed out of the blue but rather because of who their IFF codes identified them as Earth Alliance mobile armors.
The perfect solider's eyes narrowed. While anyone onboard the Archangel would think the sudden appearance of this faction was a sign they could breathe a sigh of relief Heero knew better.
The last message the Archangel got from Alaska HQ was to get to Alaska with what they had in other words HQ made it abundantly clear they had no intention of sending any reinforcements to aid the ship in its endeavours.
For this many EA units to seemingly appear as conveniently as they did without any notification to the Archangel couldn't have been a coincidence, there had to be a motive which Heero doubted was anything good.
"I'll need to wipe these forces out while the Archangel is distracted by Zaft forces."
XXXXX
A DINN tried to position itself to take a shot at the Strike but Kira was quick to react and shot off one of the DINN's wings which threw the mobile suit off balance.
The pilot attempted to regain control in desperation momentarily before the Archangel's Igelstellung finished it off.
"Alright just three more." Suddenly an explosion was heard and the entire ship vibrated. It was immediately clear that something impacted the ship the problem was the Kira couldn't see where it had taken place from his position atop the ship's deck.
"Does anyone know where that hit came from?"
"Underneath us." Mu La Flaga answered. "They likely have another underwater mobile suit."
Kira gritted his teeth upon hearing that. Things were hard enough with dealing with the remaining DINNs alone an underwater type mobile suit could only make things worst. Kira couldn't do anything from where he was. Mu La Flaga couldn't' do much of anything since he had his hands tied with dealing with the DINN's and even if they weren't he wasn't particularly equipped to deal with the unit in question.
The Archangel itself wasn't in any better of a position considering it didn't have any weapon located on it belly, simply put the ship's underside was vulnerable and poorly defended and that wasn't even taking the other obvious problem it was currently faced with in the form of the DINN's.
Heero could probably deal with it but was a preoccupied with the other Gundams from Heliopolis as well as that new one Zaft made. Wherever they went Kira could no longer be sure they seemed to have drifted away from any radar range or anywhere the naked eye could see them.
Another impact was felt from the Archangel's underside. 'Dammit at this rate that underwater mobile suit will be the end of us.'
There was a third impact to the ship's underside. Kira tightened his grip on the Strike's controls. With the way things were the G weapon pilot saw only one option available.
'I'll probably wind up in the in the brig for this but if it gives me a chance to save everyone...'
Kira dropped his beam rifle and preceded to grab the bazooka that he had laid one the deck besides the Strike when he first took his position atop the deck. Without any hesitation he engaged the thrusters causing to Strike to perform a high leap before plunging straight into the ocean.
"Ensign Yamato! You were ordered specifically to stay on top of the ship's deck!" Ramias almost yelled out.
"We need to do something about this underwater mobile suit before it destroys the ship."
"I'm aware but we can't rely on tue Strike for that especially with the condition it's in!"
"There's nothing else we can do." Kira replied before cutting the link and turning his attention to the mobile suit before him.
It was moderately similar to the GUUNs Heero dealt with earlier but more elaborate in terms of design with a dark green color scheme and claw at the end of both arms.
XXXXX
Marco Morassim was more than eager to have a personal hand in getting revenge for what happened during the previous encounter with the Earth Alliance's legged ship which was why he was partaking in the attack personally with the ZnO he was currently pilotin
While the DINN pilots were doing what they could from the air Marco was playing his part striking at the legged ship's underside.
He half expected some kind of reaction, maybe from the mobile trying to futilely shoot him from above when all he needed to do was stay submerged to render their efforts useless or maybe for the legged ship to try somehow get a clear shot at him leaving it open to attacks from the DINNs. The response he actually got however was one he could only wonder if it was somebody's idea of a terrible joke.
The Strike armed with a bazooka had submerged to face the General. Considering the reports he had received of its capabilities so far it's biggest area of expertise lied in space but it was also able to compete with BuCUEs on land in the desert but to fight underwater was a different matter altogether but what the General really found really insulting about this form of ratalian from the enemy was the Strike's condition.
It was missing an entire arm and the crew seriously sent it out into battle? Marco could only wonder if this was done out of sheer arrogance or desperation. Either way being faced with such a poor opponent was an insult to his pride which the pilot of the Strike would have to be the one to pay for.
Immediately the General made a beeline for the Strike firing one the energy cannons located in his mobile suit's palm's.
The Strike veered to the side to avoid the blast before taking aim with its bazooka.
"You're gonna have to do a lot better than that!"
XXXXX
the ZnO released numerous torpedoes at the Strike forcing Kira to delay firing his only weapon aside from the two the Strike always carried and pulled back whilst firing his CIWs to destroy the incoming projectiles one by one.
Returning his focus to the opponent before him Kira was greeted to the sight of the amphibious Zaft mobile suit rapidly closing in on him.
Since he didn't have time to take aim with his primary weapon Kira attempted to climb and let the enemy pass underneath him, unfortunately however the ZnO managed to grab ahold of the Strike's leg and began pulling the mobile deeper into the water.
Alarms suddenly went off in the Strike cockpit alerting Kira to excessive strain on the internal structure of the Gundam. It didn't take long for Kira to realize it was due to increasing water pressure created from the constant descent into the ocean courtesy of Kira's current opponent pulling him downwards.
Upon realising that utilizing water pressure to crush the Strike from the inside was the enemy's entire intention Kira increased his throttle power to maximum output.
It's descent was stopped but the enemy refused to let go and persisted in trying to drag the Strike further down and as a result the two mobile suits' position became stagnant leaving the two in tug war like situation as they pulled in opposite directions.
"Dammit let me go already!" Kira exclaimed as the control and monitors inside the cockpit started to spark. While he stopped the enemy mobile suit from dragging him down any further into the depths of the sea he needed to get closer to the surface before the Strike's internal structure succumbed to the pressure it was currently under already but first Kira needed to break free from the ZnO's grasp.
He tried utilizing the Strike's free leg to kick at the hand holding onto to him but the enemy pilot quickly thwarted the attempt by using their machine's other hand to stopped the kick midway and got ahold of the other leg.
Kira growled in frustration at the situation he was in before utilizing an extremely risky option the could easily damage the Strike further and pointed his Bazooka straight downward at the ZnO underneath him.
From his current position Kira's weapon guaranteed to hit the Zaft mobile suit since there would be any way for it to dodge the explosive shell fired at it however because of the extremely close proximity of both machines the Strike's feet would undoubtedly be caught in the blast.
Kira doubted the mechanics or the rest of the crew would be happy about that idea since the Strike was in poor enough condition as things stood but there wasn't anyway getting around it.
XXXXX
Marco's eyes widened when he saw the Strike point its bazooka at him.
Initially the General had wanted to simply dragged the Strike down far enough into the ocean's depths and let water pressure would do the rest in order to take the suit out without wasting ammo on it when that said ammo could be used toward dealing with a more suitable target like the legged ship.
But the Zaft General didn't anticipate the Strike's pilot risking further damage to their mobile suit especially since it was the only one aside from Wing Zero that the Earth Alliance even had.
Was the General really going to ve done in here by a machine missing an entire limb and barely even armed? The very idea of that was too humiliating to put into mere words. No Marco refused to be defeated by such a piss poor opponent like the one in front of him, his pride wouldn't allow it.
"Like the hell I'll be beaten like this!"
XXXXX
Just before Kira could fire the Bazooka the ZnO finally released its grip on both of the Strike's legs and began descending as fast as it could.
Kira merely maintain his aim at the enemy mobile suit before he began pressing down on the trigger button inside his cockpit.
'You're not getting away.'
The explosive shell soared from the head of the Bazooka and through the water straight down down the ZnO which pulled to the side avoiding obliteration but at the cost of its right arm.
Kira was caught off guard when he suddenly heard an enraged voice over the radio on an open channel.
"That's no fucking way in hell I'm gonna lose to a half baked excuse of a pilot using a machine that's in shitty condition like you!"
With that the ZnO charged at the Strike full force ramming into it causing the mobile suit to dropped the Bazooka in the process before grabbing ahold of its head it the process.
"Let's see how you fare after I take your head off!"
Kira's main monitor showed a bright glow that came from enemy mobile suit's palm meaning one thing it readying itself to shoot the at point blank range in the face.
The Coordinator pilot panicked momentarily before the image of of a seed the same color as his eyes appeared in the back of his mind which slowly spun and descended until it bursted into multiple particles of light.
With a much clear and calmer mind Kira quickly withdrew a Schneider knife before using it to cut through the claws clamping down on his machine's head at their joints breaking free from the ZnO grip into the avoid losing the Strike's head completely.
When the Zaft mobile suit's energy cannon did fire however it broke off a piece of the Strike's V fin.
Kira preceded to bring the Strike's knee up scraping it along the surface of the ZnO's body until it the top of the kneecap snagged its hatch. The pilot from Heliopolis followed through even after this happened and the Zaft mobile suits hatch was ripped off as a result.
What followed was a massive torrent of sea water flooding into the cockpit and within moment the water pressure crushed glass visor of the helmet the Zaft pilot was wearing.
Kira began to make a straight shot for the surface but not before sending a kick to the ZnO knocking it that much deeper into the water and increasing the pressure to the point that the Zaft pilot's fate was sealed.
Soon the Strike's head dipped out of the water just in time for its pilot to be treated to the sight of Mu La Flaga shooting down a DINN.
"Kid please tell me you managed to take care of that underwater mobile suit after that stunt you just pulled!" Came Mu's voice.
"Yeah they're taken care of."
"Good that means we just gotta take care of the last of these DINNs and things can finally calm down...mostly."
"Um what do you mean by mostly?"
"Let's just say once you're back onboard the Archangel you're gonna learn the true meaning of hell hath no meaning like a woman scorned."
Upon hearing this Kira suddenly had a sinking suspicion that in spite of everything he had just been through he would be going from the frying pan into the fire.
XXXXX
"Sir we need to order a retreat now!" Exclaimed an officer standing next to Michael Verden who could only stare wide eyed in horror at the massacre unfolding in front of his eyes and those of the crew and fleet who were still alive at the moment.
When the operation first began the Earth Alliance Commander of the Atlantic federation had expected a great deal of casualties after all the pilots sent out were facing a mobile suit that's shown itself to be far more powerful than any GINN or CGUE and it was a struggle to bring even one of those down on average and considering Wing Zero was far above any GINN it was impossible not to expect for some difficulty with this mission.
But still Wing Zero was still just a single unit one the battlefield against ninety plus mobile armors, no matter how powerful it was it couldn't hope to fight its way out of this predicament.
How wrong the Commander was. Upon initially encountering the fleet Wing Zero preceded to simply fly into the middle of the swarm of mobile armors occasionally shooting a few down with its Vulcans or shoulder Gatlings whilsts putting away its beam saber and splitting its rifle into two seperate guns.
Having seen this ability firsthand while Wing Zero was fighting the stolen G weapons Micheal didn't give it a second thought simply dismissing the act as a sign of desperation.
To the Commander's absolute shock all exceptions were thrown out the window when Wing Zero aimed both guns to either side of him and fired. Unlike the previous time where both weapons simply released beams that were comparable to the Aegis' scylla cannon the two released here were far more massive and continues engulfing any mobile armors in their path easily disintegrating them within a single second. Things only went further south when Wing Zero rotated its body clockwise causing the beams to rotated with it mowing down mobile armor units in rapid succession.
Less than a full into the skirmish the mobile armors had lost more than half their original numbers. Anyone that was left was either hysterical, or in denial about what was happening...assuming they didn't simply self detonate they jets and commit suicide to take the easiest way out.
"The hell with this shit, there's no way we can win this!"
"This can't seriously be happening, there's no way a suit like this can exist!"
"The entire mission was pointless. We're just ants to this guy!"
"Fuck all of this I'm getting out of here. I don't wanna die!"
These were voices of various disheartened pilots who were somehow still alive for the moment.
Unfortunately for any of them Wing Zero's pilot didn't have an ounce of mercy for them and preceded to fired a few continuous beam albeit less powerful than the first two to mop up most of the remainder before rejoining his two rifles into one and using the reassembled rifle to destroy to of the Earth Alliance ships with horrifying ease before landing on a third one before attaching the rifle to its shield, drawing its beam saber once more, and slicing through the ship's bridge.
Which brings us to now
"Sir we need the order to retreat!" An officer exclaimed as Wing Zero took to the air once more and began picking any remaining mobile armors with its shoulder gun and vulcans only to receive silence from the horrified Captain.
Seeing the carnage unfold in front of his eyes Michael Verden could only laugh quietly at first before he grew louder gradually to the point where those closest to him began to stare at him in worry and then everyone on the bridge.
The Commander's laughter only grew in volume until it reached they point of total hysteria disturbing everyone else who was present.
"Sir you need to come to your senses. We need to figure how we're gonna get out of this alive!" The Officer pleaded.
"This has to be a dream. That's right this is nothing more than a dream. There's no way Southerland would send us to our deaths like this!"
The officer could only stare at the Commander destabilized state before he suddenly heard a nearby explosion.
Looked in the direction it came from the officer was greeted to the sight of the only other remaining ship now reduced to burning wreckage.
Glancing back at the Commander it made sense why their mental state near instantly declined. What was supposed to be a simple but difficult turned into a disaster which in turn lead to the fleets massacre.
Whoever the pilot name Heero Yuy was, they were an absolute monster with the power they were displaying.
That was all the officer could think as Wing Zero turned its rifle to the ship they were assigned to and fired the shot the would send the last remnants of the fleet to oblivion.
XXXXX
As Heero stared at the burning wreckage from the fleet he had just destroyed his eye showed a fierce anger.
It seemed like Earth Alliance was even more devious than he had imagined. They were actually poised to stab those amongst their own side in the back if it getting what they want.
It wasn't just Heero who was in potential danger but also the entire crew amongst the Archangel.
The Gundam briefly considered trying to warn them but they'd likely never believe him and if he told them of the fleet he had just wiped out they'd think he just needlessly killed much needed reinforcements, ultimately it would be up to the ship's crew to realized their sides truest colors on their own.
Switching to Wing Zero Neo bird mode Heero quickly made for the Archangel.
XXXXX
"These DINN pilots are a little too persistent for their own good." Mu La Flaga mused to himself.
It was a relief when Kira had somehow managed to take out the underwater mobile suit but the remainder of the DINNs persisted in their attack even now.
Now that the DINNs had their numbers reduced and the Archangel no longer needed to worry about any distraction in the form of its underside being exploited the Hawk of Endymion had more breathing room which increased further when when used the impulse cannon to shoot another DINN down.
"Alright we're almost at the end of this!" Mu declared before turning to a DINN that had previously lost one of its rifles courtesy of Kira.
The Zaft mobile suit fired a flurry of missile from the missile silos located on each side of its chest forced Mu to take evasive acting.
Luckily he was still close enough to the Archangel that its Igelstellung were able to take care of the projectiles giving Mu relief before he tried to turn back towards the DINN to be greeted with the sight of it pointing its rifle at him and readying itself to fire.
"Shit!" Mu exclaimed thinking it might have been the end for him before a familiar mobile suit with an emerald color beam saber in end rushed the DINN cutting the machine in half straight through it torso before the two halves exploded.
The last DINN turned its attention to Heero firing both rifle long enough to be on the receiving end of retaliation from Wing Zero's shoulder guns which swiftly tore the mobile suit asunder.
"It's good for you to finally show up."
"The stolen mobile suits along with that new unit were more persistent than I had expected."
"Make sense. You were right to suspect they'd attack us again but they were really pressing it this time but since it's over and we came out on top what say you we head back to the ship?"
"I've no reason to disagree."
"Good but before that could you get the Strike back on board? Our pilot from Heliopolis decided to get involved in the fighting and took a dip in the process."
"Alright."
Alright that's the end of this chapter.
Sorry for the long wait I meant to get this out much sooner but work got in the way.
Anyway please review.
Im off the work on the third ch for Hope path (rewrite) since that was supposed to come out first but my phone decided to delete the entire chapter when I was 90% done while it was in my pocket making me want to take a hammer and smash it to pieces but I had to refrain for obvious reasons.
And to those wondering why a small Earth fleet tried to subdue Heero out of the blue like that no that wasn't just random, earlier in the story Southerland had already planned to try to have Wing Zero taken from Heero during the course of the war so the Earth Alliance could use it as a weapon against Zaft at their leisure.
The attack was basically that attempt being made.