Gundam SEED: Witches of the Cosmic Era

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 3: Colony Battle: Heliopolis Pt.2

January 25th, C.E. 71

Heliopolis Colony, Lagrange Point 3

Time: 1459 hours

The two metal titans were riding down one of the elevators that would take them to Morgenroete's secret underground hangar bays, spoils of war in hand. When the elevator stopped, the two Mobile Suits stepped forward, advancing towards one of the two Cornelius-class tender ships the Orb Marines were able to secure so far after wiping out all EA resistance as they each carried either the head of the Duel, the right arm of the Blitz, or the right leg of the Buster. As the two Mobile Suits stepped into the open catapults and walked inside the hangar, they were greeted to the sight of technicians and mechanics working frantically to secure everything as quickly as possible. One of them saw the two units and directed them over to two of the vacant docking areas. They promptly did so, but not before depositing their spoils of war in an area designated for spare parts.

The two aces, now able to relax, took off their helmets and gulped in a breath of fresh air. "Well, that was disappointing." Federica commented, referring to the point that the two weren't able to destroy any of the four stolen prototypes.

Yoshika nodded. "Yeah, we can only hope that everything else goes smoothly." It took her a moment to realize what she just said. "Ah, dammit…"

The Romagnan smirked. "Now you've done and jinxed it, Sahaku." She remarked in amusement before contacting the mechanics and informing them of what their Mobile Suits needed.


Gertrud Barkhorn was running as fast as her legs could carry her, even as she, Minna, Lynette, and Sanya dodged past several technicians, mechanics, and Orb Marines scrambling as fast as they could.

"Dammit, of all times for ZAFT to attack, why now!?" Gertrud asked herself in irritation.

"No use asking about it now, Barkhorn! We need to secure the new units!" Minna answered.

Lynette and Sanya could only nod, being too focused on actually making it to the secret development labs where the five new prototype Gundams were being developed.

Upon reaching the hangar, the eyes of the four girls fell upon their newly assigned units, with each of which bore some resemblance to the original prototypes they were based on. The first unit could easily be identified as a long-range oriented machine that was obviously based on the Buster, and was equipped with improved sensors and weapons systems in comparison to the original. The second unit had a general-purpose frame like the Duel, but it also sported improvements of its own. The third was an obviously upgraded version of the Blitz, while the fourth looked like an upgraded Aegis.

The four girls ran to their new units, entering the cockpits and engaging the start-up sequence. As the metal titans hummed to life the technicians around the four prototype Gundams scattered, both to assist the others in moving as much of the equipment as possible and to get out of the way of the four behemoths lest they get squished underneath their feet. With the way clear of any potential hazards the four Gundams started the short trek through the large corridors of the colony. It only took them a few minutes of walking to reach their destination.

It was a massive hangar, and in it was an equally massive vessel, that had some reminiscent features to the Earth Alliance's Archangel. For one, she was a good margin bigger than her Earth Alliance counterpart, which translated into having more space in her interior for three additional Mobile Suit/Mobile Armor hangars, two additional catapults which brought the count up to four, and more space for ship-mounted weaponry. The other most noticeable differences, however, were that the color scheme was the complete opposite of the Archangel as well, with the hull being painted primarily a midnight black color with dark grey trim, and that the design of the hull was nothing like her counterpart, favoring a much more roomy boxy design than the tight squeeze the Archangel's various geometries gave to her internal space. This ship was the ORB-LCAM-01YA Archdemon-class Trans Hydro-Atmospheric Stealth Assault Battleship/Carrier Archdemon, developed using data stolen from the Earth Alliance who built their new ship right here in Heliopolis.

'We still don't know who let them do that,' Trude thought to herself as her ORB-Y102 Defiant Duel Gundam walked into one of the four open catapults and into the hangar that it was connected to. 'Although the Sahakus have their suspicions, they can't act without solid evidence. Damn it… Yoshika's already pissed about that. The fact that we still don't have solid evidence is going to drive her up the wall.'

As she emerged into Hangar #2, a glint of white caught her attention on the right monitor. Looking at it, she was greeted to the sight of a Mobile Suit the likes of which she'd never seen before. It bore a striking resemblance to the RX-78NT-1 Gundam "Alex" that had been recently assigned to Perrine "Lightning Countess" Clostermann, which had itself been developed from the combat data gathered from Yoshika's RX-78-2 with only a few notable differences despite their shared color scheme. Where the forearms of the "Alex" have a pair of 90mm Gatling Guns built within and stored underneath armored covers, this machine instead had a pair of beam guns in each arm. The cockpits of the two machines were also slightly different, as while both utilized the prototype 360° Panoramic Monitors and Linear Floating Seats, the "Alex" was a single-seater while this machine was a two-seater. But the final and most distinctive difference was the backpack; while the "Alex" utilized an updated version of the backpacks used by the RX-78 series that also featured Striker Pack compatibility (sans the shoulder options), this machine's backpack consisted of a large rack with two oversized gunbarrel-like weapon pods that were vaguely shaped like tuning forks with a large beam cannon mounted in the middle and a pair of large thrusters on the rear end of each.

'So… that's the new experimental Mobile Suit. The RX-78NT-X Exceed Gundam, if I remember correctly.' Trude thought to herself as she docked her unit to the ship, the docking clamps locking into position and securing it in place as she shut the suit down. Climbing out of the Defiant Duel, she took notice that several mechanics and engineers were around the new Mobile Suit, opening up maintenance hatches and attaching numerous cables that were connected to several external hard drives dedicated for OS maintenance. 'But it seems as though only the hardware is complete and that the OS and other pieces of software are facing problems for the time being.' Now she couldn't help but smirk slightly. 'Perhaps this is a good time to teach that American some discip-'

It was at that precise moment her thoughts were interrupted by a pair of small grabby hands taking hold of the bountiful chest Trude secretly prided herself in. "Gotcha~!" A young girl's voice sing-songed from behind her as she groped her latest victim.

"Good one, Lucchini!" Another voice from behind the native of the Karlsland Colony Cluster laughed.

Driven by both her anger and (although she'd never admit it) embarrassment, Trude whirled around to slap away the offender only for said offender, a young Italian girl who was only around 15 years old, had long hair tied into two twin tails and a pair of blue eyes, to evade the slap with ease. "Too slow~!" The little girl, whose name was Francesca Lucchini, teased.

The redheaded American who was with her took notice of Trude's flustered face and smirked. "So, even the 'Perfect Soldier of the Karlsland Cluster' is capable of feeling embarrassment, eh?" Said American, who had orange hair that went down to her upper back, a pair of bright blue eyes and looked to be around 26 years old, asked in amusement. This girl was Charlotte Elwyn Yeager, but she preferred to be called Shirley.

Trude was seeing red. "Dammit, Yeager! How many times do I have to tell you to keep that girl in check?! Does the word 'discipline' not mean anything to you?!"

Shirley waved her off as she looked at her charge. "So~, how were they?"

"They were big, but yours still wins~!" Lucchini sang as she glomped the American, causing her to laugh loudly.

The Karlslander was pissed at how she was being ignored, but before she could do anything a voice broke in. "Now, now, you three. Let's not get into any fights here, shall we?"

It was a voice that instantly made the Karlslander snap to attention as she turned around. "Lieutenant General Galland!"

Adolfine's previous tone turned stricter. "We don't have time for pointless squabbling, ladies. In case you've all forgotten, Heliopolis is currently under attack. So if you three can't find something else to do, then I suggest you stay out of the way. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Adolfine didn't bother to see if those three would stop their infighting for now; she had more important things to take care of. As she let herself drift towards the new prototype Mobile Suit, her eyes caught the sight of two Moebius Zero High Mobility Types, two of the few surviving examples currently in existence, and were piloted by none other than the newcomers Shirley and Lucchini who had defected from the Earth Alliance's Zero Corps after the Battle of Grimaldi Front.

'Who'd have thought the end result of that battle would see two of the Earth Alliance's most skilled aces and most prized machines practically leap onto our lap?' Adolfine thought to herself, remembering the battle on that fateful day for a moment before shaking her head.

She had work to do, after all; the reminiscing can wait.


Within the colony's interior, Kira Yamato was having an incredibly difficult time.

After being pulled into the cockpit of a gray mobile suit by a woman in a Morgenroete maintenance uniform to take cover from an explosion, he now found himself having to pilot the machine (which turned out to not only be a Gundam, but its color scheme also now matched that of the infamous RX-78-2 he'd seen on the news more than once) in order to protect not just himself, but the bystanders who are in the line of fire as well, his friends included.

The cherry on top was that his childhood friend, Athrun Zala, was among the ZAFT forces that had attacked the resource satellite.

The console beeped out in warning, alerting him to the approaching enemy mobile suit, which the onboard computer identified as a standard green GINN equipped with an Assault Shroud. Kira grunted, having the GAT-X105 Strike Gundam duck under the sword swing and shoulder tackle the offender into an evacuated building, wedging the heavier than normal ZAFT suit into it. Seeing his enemy was stuck in the rubble for the moment, he returned his attention to the keyboard and continued to recalibrate the suit's OS (which was still incomplete) into something he could work with. "Take the calibrations and reset the zero-moment point and CPG. Then connect the control module directly to the modular ion pump. Reconstruct the neural linkage network. Renew meta-active field, reactivate feed forward-"

He was abruptly cut off by another alert that demanded his attention. Turning towards it, Kira noted that it was a radar lock warning. He looked back at the GINN, and his eyes widened as he saw two grenades fire from the opened chest plates. He quickly shifted the Strike to the left, managing to avoid one of the grenades as it smashed through a nearby office building's window and detonated inside.

The second grenade caught the Strike in the upper right torso, sending the Mobile Suit stumbling back where it impacted against another building. The Phase Shift Armor withstood the explosion, but he lost a small percentage of his battery power in the process. Kira swiftly righted the machine back into a standing position, ready to evade another attack. But a quick look at his opponent told him that the GINN was too busy trying to free itself from the rubble it was wedged in, with the missile tubes in the chest and on the extra leg armor all visibly empty.

This bought him some time, and he quickly resumed recalibrating the Strike's OS.


Rusty Mackenzie, the orange-haired pilot of the GINN Assault Type, was not having a good day.

This mission was just supposed to be a relatively simple and quick smash-and-grab; steal the Earth Alliance's five prototype Gundams, destroy their prototype warship, and get out of dodge before the Orb Colonial Militia Guard and Naval Militia can mount a proper response. However, no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy. While Dearka, Yzak, Nicole, and Athrun had fulfilled their vital parts of the mission, he was the only one of the team lagging behind as he failed to capture his own G-Weapon. Bad luck would have it as he was briefly knocked unconscious by a female EA technician he was in a gunfight with over one of the G-Weapons. That small amount of time he took to regain consciousness would be costly as that enemy of his had time to board and pilot the G-Weapon whose color scheme now resembles that of the infamous RX-78-2 Gundam and now identified to him as the GAT-X105 Strike Gundam from Athrun shortly before he left.

"Oh, how original of the Naturals. Can't make your own shit? Then just simply copy from others and assume it would be just as good as the original! Like that's gonna work if you stick a good MS with a bad pilot!"

Lucky for him, Rusty at least got a second wind by acquisitioning a GINN Assault Type from Miguel Aiman who had already left together with Athrun in the GAT-X303 Aegis Gundam. While Rusty had the advantage in the beginning to put what was a fake RX-78 on the backfoot since his enemy seemed like a clumsy ditz trying to pilot the MS, said G-Weapon managed to surprise him with that tackle that had his GINN stuck in a pile of rubble as he struggled to get free.

'This isn't good. The pilot just suddenly got better all of a sudden, and the Assault Shroud equipment is weighing me down while I'm stuck. Might as well purge it since it's all empty now.'

Rusty's GINN purged itself of the now empty Assault Shroud and the ejection of said equipment helped free it from the rubble it was stuck in. But by then, Kira had finished recalibrating the Strike and was already on the move, heading off in another direction.

"As if I'll let you get away! You get back here!" Rusty yelled as he fired his GINN's JDP2-MMX22 Experimental 27mm Armor-Piercing Assault Rifle at the Strike which proceeded to expertly dodge each shot while running and then disappearing into a corner. As Rusty's GINN chased after the Strike and was about to turn the corner, he was suddenly hit by a sword slash from the Strike to the chest, forcing Rusty back.

"What?! Where did the Strike get that sword?"

Behind the Strike was the scene of the earlier battle with two Crossbones Vanguard mercenary MS pilots that resulted in the entire GINN squad being wiped out, the Crimson Lightning and White Devil if he remembered correctly. The weapons the defeated GINNs had on them were still around the previous battle site, and the Strike had apparently helped itself to those weapons. It now sports a MA-M3 Heavy Blade in the right hand and an MMI-M8A3 76mm Heavy Assault Machine Gun in its left hand. The Strike then fired a barrage from its newly acquired ranged weapon, forcing Rusty to seek cover.

"Damn it! The tables have completely turned on me! Before I was the one fully armed and the Strike had nothing. Now it's fully armed and I'm the one light on weapons."

Rusty leaned out of cover to lay down some shots but was forced back into hiding as the Strike, now dual-wielding two 76mm HAMGs, fired in his direction. Rusty then got on the radio.

"This is Rusty to all ZAFT forces. I have failed to capture the last G-Weapon. It is highly armed with weapons scavenged from dead GINNs and I am too light on weaponry to continue with the capture objective. I'm falling back, over!"

"Le Creuset to Rusty, I read you. Proceed to fall back to friendly lines and assist our fleet's escort GINNs in defending the fleet. I will deal with the last G-Weapon after I have dealt with a certain annoying Hawk. Over"

Rusty wasted no time and launched away from cover as it was blown apart from a shot by the Strike, which was now holding a M68 "Cattus'' 500mm Recoilless Rifle. As Rusty's GINN flew towards the space port to rendezvous with the fleet, he looked on from across Heliopolis and grimaced as the tide was slowly starting to turn against ZAFT. The Orb forces have finally fixed the MS elevators that ZAFT infiltrators had sabotaged prior to the operation, and now the mainstay of Orb's MS forces - GMs, GM Cannons, and Guncannons - were pouring out of the elevators and some from underground tunnels and lifts to meet ZAFT's GINNs head on. And if that wasn't bad enough, he thought he had seen two Moebius Zeroes blasting through a GINN fireteam and headed off somewhere in one of the colony's many service tunnels. Multiple Tomcat Tigers were already present across numerous battles taking place inside Heliopolis as they provided air support for Orb's MS forces, pinning most of the GINNs to the ground and suppressing them with precise bombing runs in unison with GM Cannons and Guncannons laying down heavy weapons and artillery fire. The GINNs were beginning to wilt away in the face of Orb's Mobile Suits as more GMs entered the fight from across Heliopolis armed not only with standard GM handheld machine guns, but also some of the GM variants could be seen using electromagnetic-powered Rail-Rifles. In addition to the standard GMs bearing the Colonial Guard green on white color scheme, there were GM Type-Cs (aka GM Kai) that were used by Orb Marine pilots as shown in their Orb Marine dark blue on gray color scheme. A series of explosions to his upper right alerted Rusty to another ZAFT MS squad being taken out, as a CGUE and its GINN comrades were destroyed by a squad of GMs being led by a GM Command Space Type. The GM Command Type actually went out of its way to attack the CGUE up close, pulling out its plasma sword and stabbing it into the CGUE's cockpit, taking the ZAFT MS out of the fight as the Orb MS pulled back and let the lifeless CGUE tumble away.

"Why hasn't Le Creuset given us the retreat order yet?" Rusty asked himself. "ZAFT has worn out its welcome here; Orb has the numbers advantage, and it's only a matter of time before the Colonial Militia and Spacy kick us out and bring the fight back to our fleet."

Rusty was almost at the spaceport when alarms went off. His GINN's left arm was stuck and blown off as something fired at it. As Rusty turned to look at where the shot had come from, his eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

Rusty spotted five MS standing just outside of a service tunnel while GMs poured out from it heading towards their objectives. What was different about these particular units was how familiar they looked. The colors were different, there was extra equipment on them, and their aesthetic appearances were all minorly different. But still they were easily recognizable to Rusty.

"No… this can't be! That's not possible! I know that my friends had already stolen most of the G-Weapons and one is still in EA hands! So how? How can they still be here?!"

Right before his eyes was a second set of different yet similar G-Weapons. One of the new G-Weapons that resembled the Strike aimed its weapon–the 45mm XM8 Gundam Rifle–at Rusty's GINN and fired a few more shots that hit the thrusters, right arm, and lastly the cockpit. Rusty screamed as the shots hit true and his GINN exploded.


Yoshika looked on at her first kill with the ORB-Y105 Strike Witch Gundam, currently equipped with the AQM/E-X01/B Aile Striker Pack. Instead of a beam rifle, she opted to use the ballistic-based 45mm XM8 Gundam Rifle to take out the fleeing GINN. While the Gundam Rifle may have been a mid-range weapon like most handheld MS weapons, in the hands of a capable pilot it could be used to land precise shots from a surprisingly long distance. While still a ballistic weapon, it was comparable in power to a beam rifle. Plus, the 501st JFW "Strike Vanguard" pilots that piloted Orb's own versions of the EA's G-Weapons had orders to avoid using ranged beam weaponry as much as possible to reduce internal damage to the colony. This order extended to the rest of Orb's MS forces as they made use of normal machine guns or Rail-Rifles dialed to a lower power setting.

The team took the time to survey the battlefield and assess the present situation. Shirley and Lucchini had already deployed in their Moebius Zero HMTs with the objective of clearing out ZAFT stragglers inside Heliopolis's many service tunnels, and if their intel was correct, they would eventually run into the infamous White Mask of ZAFT and engage him there. Their own objectives were simple: assist the Colonial Guard and Naval Militia in pushing back ZAFT out of Heliopolis and taking the fight to their fleet, and dealing with the last remaining G-Weapon in EA hands. It was no surprise that Yoshika would be given the task of either capturing or killing the Strike Gundam as her Strike Witch Gundam is its sister unit and counterpart. Capturing was of course preferable as the Strike Gundam, despite being inferior spec-wise, was still a potential goldmine for Orb's Office of Naval Intelligence to assess how far the EA had advanced in MS tech development.

Still, it would be no easy task for the runaway princess, who would be going in dark. Orb forces had no further intel on the Strike Gundam other than its location. They didn't know who the Strike's pilot was, what additional equipment it may have, or if any supporting elements from the EA such as armored vehicles and Mobile Armors were present. Furthermore, the Strike was located near the Morgenroete facilities that housed the EA's G-Weapons, which was on the opposite side of Heliopolis. To make sure the EA didn't get suspicious, Orb had its own G-Weapons built and housed in the opposite end of Heliopolis. That was going to be a lot of distance to cover with a plethora of enemies in between.

Gripping the controls, she was about to take off when she received a transmission from Commander Wilcke. "Remember, Lieutenant Miyufuji. While capturing or destroying the Strike is your primary objective, you are to pull back should the engagement go on for too long. We need to keep the damage to the colony as low as possible. We also cannot tip our hand to the EA so soon, so you must pull back if you risk running into a significant EA presence."

"Roger." Gunning her thrusters, the Strike Witch Gundam's pilot took off and made a beeline towards the Strike Gundam's last known location. Behind her, the ORB-Y102 Defiant Duel Gundam, ORB-Y103 Ballista Buster Gundam, ORB-Y207 Schwarzer Blitz Gundam, and ORB-Y303 Athena Aegis Gundam all took flight towards their own objectives.

The Athena Aegis, Defiant Duel, and the RX-78-6/HMC Mudrock Gundam High Mobility Custom flew in an arrow formation to engage ZAFT formation of sixteen MS who were busy fighting two squads of GMs in front of them. They would pay dearly for their inattention when the Defiant Duel let out a burst of heavy machine gun fire with its two "Rheinmetall 3" MG 42 (or R3MG-42), instantly cutting down seven GINNs while the other Karlslander-piloted Gundams took out the stragglers who weren't taken down by the Duel.


The Schwarzer Blitz entered battle cloaked in Mirage Colloid and deployed smoke as it moved to engage the GINNs and CGUEs that were closest to it, sending panic rippling through the ZAFT forces in the area from the sudden smokescreen. They fired blindly through the smoke that surrounded them, but all they managed to hit was the surrounding buildings as the Schwarzer Blitz ducked before their lines of fire.

Sanya lashed out with the Trikeros Kai's bladed edge, bisecting one of the GINNs from left hip to right shoulder as she aimed the Gleipnir Kai at a second unit and fired. The superheated piercer lock shot out from seemingly nowhere and grappled onto a second GINN's left shoulder and squeezed hard, crushing the ZAFT suit's shoulder armor as the Schwarzer Blitz raised from a crouch and reeled it it. The Gundam twirled for a moment, swinging the captured GINN around itself twice before releasing its improvised flail at a third GINN. The two suits crashed into each other, and Sanya took advantage of the opportunity to fire a small barrage at both machines with six of her shield's Spike Darts, the small explosive-filled kinetic penetrators punching through the armor of the GINNs and detonating within.

The ground around her suddenly exploded as the remaining ZAFT suits blazed away with their ranged weaponry, having been clued in to her general location by their commander spotting the Spike Dart barrage through the lifting smoke. With the shockwaves of the explosions dispersing the smokescreen completely, Sanya disengaged the Schwarzer Blitz's Mirage Colloid in favor of switching the Layered Phase Armor to Standby Mode, ready to activate should the outer armor layer be breached.

The sudden appearance of a Gundam-type in such close proximity sent a new wave of terror through the nearby ZAFT forces, but the commanding CGUE pilot was quick to shake off his panic and open fire as he opened up the distance as the Schwarzer Blitz charged, managing to scare a few hits but doing no damage to its Layered Phase Armor. The Gundam ducked under a panicked burst of machine gun fire from two of the GINNs and reared its left arm back, Gleipnir Kai glowing red hot, then struck with the Trikeros Kai's bladed edge in a wide slashing motion. The bladed shield sliced through the first GINN, and the superheated piercer lock, borrowing the momentum of the first attack and still attached to the left arm, punched through the GINN's torso and cockpit, and Sanya maneuvered it to be used as a momentary meat shield to absorb a barrage of bullets. The improvised shield didn't last long, but that suited Sanya just fine. Leaping upwards to escape the impending detonation of the second GINN, Sanya locked onto a third GINN and a CGUE and launched her "Magashira no Hoko" Harpoons, skewering the respective suits through the head and right shoulder. She reeled herself in, using the two ZAFT suits as makeshift anchors, and ignited her shield's Long Beam Saber while pulling out a second saber with her suit's left hand. Once in melee range she struck, bisecting both enemy suits from head to crotch while taking care to avoid the harpoons and cables.

The single CGUE and six remaining GINNs took one look at the current fight and attempted to retreat, but one of the GINNs was suddenly sniped in the cockpit from a shot fired by an XM82B. The remaining ZAFT suits whirled to face where the shot had come from, just in time to see a greyish-blue RGM-79SP GM Sniper II, the latest sniper-type MS to enter production and the first production MS in general that can surpass the performance of the legendary RX-78/79 Gundam line, pull the trigger for a second shot. Another GINN went down, and the survivors scattered in an attempt to flank the new arrival.

Eila, the premier test pilot of the GM Sniper II, wasn't deterred, and sniped a third GINN before rolling to the right to evade a burst of machine gun fire from the commanding CGUE. She took cover behind a nearby building as the long-range visor scope on her suit's head lifted to expose the larger general purpose visor underneath, then drew her suit's sonic blade to counter the sword slash of a GINN that charged at her from behind. The two remained rooted in a sword lock for only a moment before the sonic blade sliced through the GINN's sword and lopped off its right arm at the elbow. She was forced to evade another burst of machine gun fire before she could finish it off, and she took cover behind another building to buy enough time to switch from her XM82B to her FN SCAR-H. Now properly armed for the current situation, Eila peeked out of cover and fired a three-round burst at another GINN. The targeted machine was quick to retreat behind cover, but it wasn't fast enough to prevent its left hand from being shot off, rendering the rest of the limb all but useless.

An alert sounded as a GINN popped out of cover behind her, and Eila was forced to block a barrage of machine gun fire with her shield as she boosted away to find a more defensible location. The commanding CGUE, however, had other ideas, as its pilot had managed to maneuver his suit to her right flank right as the remaining GINN showed up on her left. She boosted upwards to avoid a round fired from a "Cattus" 500mm recoilless rifle, then dashed to the left to engage the GINN, quickly firing off several 3-round bursts that staggered the GINN as its right leg was struck. It tumbled sideways to the right, letting go of its weapon as it tried and failed to maintain balance, and smashed into a building. The GINN's pilot tried to reach for her machine gun, but she didn't have enough time before her machine's cockpit was cored through by another 3-round burst courtesy of Eila's GM Sniper II.

She was forced to dodge another burst of machine gun fire as a previous GINN made itself known again, its missing left hand identifying which one it was. Eila boosted backwards, then sideways behind another building. She turned another corner, heading towards her target on a different street, before boosting upwards to gain altitude while lowering the visor scope. Sure enough, the GINN was hidden itself behind one of the buildings, its sight trained at a spot she would have boosted right into had she not gone airborne. The GINN's sensors picked her up, but it was too little too late; by the time it had begun to move Eila had already fired six rounds downrange, all of them impacting the upper torso of the ZAFT suit, with two bullets punching through its main fuel tanks. The machine detonated, which marked both its funeral pyre and Eila's exact location to the two remaining ZAFT units in the local area.

Fortunately, she had already found her next target; the GINN with the missing right arm.

Unfortunately, it had also already spotted her, and was now firing its machine gun at her in single-shot mode to increase its accuracy.

Eila rolled to the left to avoid the first shot, then boosted forwards to close the distance while returning fire in case she missed. It turned out to be the right call, as the GINN reacted quickly enough to retreat behind cover before any of her bullets found their mark. She then raised altitude to avoid a burst from the closing CGUE, then rolled to the right to dodge another set of shots from the GINN. After dodging two more times Eila felt she had suitable closed the distance, and opened fire with another burst. The first two missed, but the third found its mark on the GINN's left knee, making the suit stumble collapse back behind cover as the joint gave out from the direct hit. As she flew over the GINN's position, Eila snapped the left arm of the GM Sniper II out, hurling the sonic blade that had still been in its grasp straight down, and nailed the GINN in the cockpit, instantly killing the pilot and making the struggling machine stop cold.

She turned to face the sole ZAFT suit that remained of the two squads, and the CGUE stared back, its pilot only now noticing the the emblem on the GM Sniper II's right shoulder, which consisted of a silhouette of a black fox overlaid on a Ace of Diamonds surrounded by a few snowflakes. The CGUE took a hesitant step back as its pilot now recognized Eila for who she was, but before it could cut and run a few sparks momentarily appeared from the ZAFT suit's neck.

Then it was violently yanked upwards, as a pair of giant black scythe-like claws materialized out of nowhere.

A moment later the Schwarzer Blitz finished disengaging its Mirage Colloid, the CGUE hanging from the stealth unit's "Maga no Ikutachi" Energy Absorption Claw as if it were hung by a noose. Then the ZAFT suit spasmed violently as the claws absorbed all of the suit's remaining power, including its auxiliary battery. After thirty seconds it was over, and the CGUE slumped lifelessly. Sanya let the suit go, and it collapsed onto the roadway as she drew an Armor Schneider II from the suit's right skirt. With the precision of a surgeon she struck, jamming the knife directly underneath the cockpit hatch, then forced it open to reveal the red-suited pilot she had bested.

"Please. Surrender now." The Orussian cluster native broadcasted from her suit's external speakers.

A moment passed, and the ZAFT Red stepped out of the cockpit, his hands raised in surrender.

Sanya made a showing of stowing away her knife, then held out the palm of the Schwarzer Blitz's left hand as she kneeled the suit down. The ZAFT pilot hesitated for but a moment before figuring that his chances of survival would be greater if he cooperated, and stepped onto the offered palm. Sanya cradled the man as gently as she could with the Schwarzer Blitz's manipulators, then slowly took off to head back to the Archdemon.

Within the cockpit of the GM Sniper II, Eila couldn't help but smile at Sanya's gentle nature shining through again, even if it meant they'd most likely be getting a tongue-lashing from the Vice Admiral later on. She keyed her radio to the Archdemon's CCIC to inform them of their new prisoner even as she moved to escort the Orussian Cluster native. "Lieutenant Juutilainen to Archdemon, come in. I need to speak to Captain Misaki."

"Misaki to Juutilainen, go ahead." The captain's voice responded after a few moments of waiting.

"How quickly can you get an escort and a cell ready? Lieutenant Litvyak is bringing in a live one."

It took the captain a moment to figure out what that meant. "They should be ready as soon as she arrives."

Eila nodded to herself, satisfied with the answer. "Understood. Juutilainen out."

With that out of the way, the Lieksa native contacted Sanya on a private link. "You should have waited for me earlier, Sanya."

"But didn't you say the GM Sniper II could keep up with the Gundams, Eila?"

"They can keep with the RX-78s, and even exceed them in certain cases. But the G-Weapons are a different breed altogether, especially the ones Ursula and Tabane redesigned." Eila responded, referring to the Gundams of Project Vengeance.

"You could have asked for the RX-78-2 after Yoshika transitioned over to a new MS. Then you could have piloted a Gundam too… like me."

Eila chuckled as she remembered her simulated battles against Yoshika's RX-78-2 with her GM Sniper II. She always teased Yoshika how their tie ratio proved that her Gundam was finally showing its age.

"HA! No thanks. Besides, that one is already going to Mio."

"Does she like it?"

"I imagine so. A big upgrade from the GM Striker she last used."


In another sector of the battlefield, three Gundams were ripping through a platoon of GINNs and CGUEs. After a while, Mio let out a brief laugh at the sight of the dead ZAFT suits in front of her.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you, Mio?" Spacy Lieutenant Takei Junko, piloting the RX-78-3, asked her companion.

"You bet. The RX-78-2 is top notch compared to my previous GM Striker." Mio Sakamoto remarked proudly, piloting the RX-78-2 which was now equipped with Type 70 Beam Sabers instead of the previous sonic blades. "I haven't had this much fun since the Fuso Sea Cluster Incident."

"A lot of them are bunching up," noted Orb Army Major Kuroe Ayaka, pilot of the RX-78-7 7th Gundam. A smirk formed on her face seeing the GINNs, which were unusually equipped with shields on their left arm (she had been wondering when ZAFT would finally start equipping their GINNs with them), shift into a defensive formation in hopes of deterring the Gundams from picking them off. "They've huddled together, nice and tight. Wanna give that tactic a try, ladies?"

Both Mio and Takei smiled. "You bet!" "Let's do this."

Thrusters roaring, the three Gundams charged at the opposing shield wall with 380mm Hyper Bazookas drawn. The Fusoans opened fire, the explosive rounds breaking the shield wall formation and leaving the GINNs momentarily stunned and in disarray. When the pilot of the commanding CGUE looked up, he saw a single unit charging directly at him with a large dust trail behind it, with two more trails branching away to either side and disappearing behind a pair of buildings. He quickly composed himself, and began barking orders to the recovering GINNs into a more spread out defensive formation, with more than half of the ZAFT units moving to reinforce the flanks while the rest opened fire on the lone Gundam that was still charging them.

This proved to be a mistake, as to the CGUE pilot's horror the other two Gundams leapt out from behind the first, all three of the dreaded units emptying their bazooka's magazines into the ZAFT formation from above. The cacophony of the ensuing detonations that destroyed two GINNs and damaged three more rattled the ZAFT commander for a brief moment, and by the time he recovered and realized that the previous branching dust trails were just decoys, the Gundam with the White Devil's mark was on him with its beam saber drawn.

"Fuso Stream Attack!" the Fuso Gundam pilots declared, lashing out with a flurry of slashes as they tore into the surprised enemy formation. The nine remaining GINNs and the CGUE didn't stand a chance; the majority of the ZAFT suits were still brandishing their guns, and most of those were cut down as they hurriedly tried to swap weapons. The pilots of two of the GINNs panicked and opened fire, but all they hit was either the surrounding buildings or the wrecks of their fallen brethren. Only the ZAFT commander was able to react fast enough to draw his sword, but the heavy blade didn't stand a chance against the RX-78-2's new beam sabers, and both the metal blade and the CGUE were felled in a single slash.

Giving out a satisfied sigh as she surveyed the carnage, Mio said, "Now that was awesome."

The three Fusoan aces looked at each other, then took off to look for more hostiles.


Onboard the Archdemon

Vice Admiral Chifuyu Orimura stood at the command table on the command deck of the ship. The deck was a buzz of activity as the ship itself had become the main command-&-control center for all Orb forces defending Heliopolis following ZAFT's attack on the space colony, with Chifuyu having moved her command to the ship in anticipation of the worst that could happen to the colony as a calculated contingency. Unlike most admirals who tried to run whatever ship they were on, Chifuyu left it up to Spacy CAPT Akeno Misaki to run the vessel. It was her ship to command from the start, and Chifuyu was too busy coordinating the defenses of Heliopolis with Orb Army Lt. General Adolfine Galland to order around the ship's bridge crew.

"Vice Admiral, Captain, we've just begun preliminary startups on the ship. The Archdemon will soon be ready to sortie," announced Mashiro Munetani, Spacy LCDR and Executive Officer (XO) of the Archdemon. "Also, the marines have just finished loading the five Astray units into Hangar Deck 3, and the rest of the 504th is now ready to launch."

"Good. Let's get ready to sortie immediately, lest we end up like the Archangel," said Akeno, remembering the initial reports of ZAFT's initial bomb attack taking out the Archangel's bridge crew and command - and perhaps the ship itself.

"Belay that. Keep the Archdemon on standby but ready to launch when I give the order. All Naval Militia and Spacy ships are to sortie at once." Chifuyu ordered.

"Ma'am?" Akeno asked.

"The Archangel is still unaccounted for, and there are still EA forces out there in Heliopolis," replied Chifuyu who was looking at various holoscreens show what few EA Moebius MAs, missile trucks, and tanks are left along with Mu La Flaga's Moebius Zero HMT. "I don't want to tip too much of our hand to the EA and ZAFT so soon, even in a crisis such as this. Plus, there is that one G-Weapon that remains in EA hands. LCDR Doglio, what is your status?"

"Admiral, my G-Line is finished resupplying, and my girls are already in their MS and ready to deploy to assist the 501st in pushing ZAFT back."

"Hold off on that. I want the 504th to remain on standby alert for the time being in case ZAFT has any hidden surprises in store. If Rau Le Creuset truly is out there and is one in overall command, and if the Archangel is as tough as I think it is and managed to survive the blasts, then he might resort to fielding D-Type weapons to destroy it… even if the ship's still within the colony."

Federica's eyes widened for a moment, as she was previously unaware of Rau's likely presence on the battlefield. And the Vice Admiral raised a very good point.

Rau Le Creuset was one of ZAFT's most ruthless commanders. He was well known for ensuring that there were no survivors against any target he decided to attack, even if there were civilians in the area that might get caught in the crossfire.

Copernicus City was a very good example of that.

Six months back, Rau Le Creuset had led an attack against the Earth Alliance's 5th Fleet, which had been docked at the city at the time to allow its crew some R&R before it could return to the fight. The strike force had hit hard and fast, giving the EA fleet little to no time to react before several squadrons of GINNs equipped with D-type weaponry descended upon the nearly defenseless ships, their weapons precisely targeting the docked EA vessels. The fleet had been completely destroyed, with only a few ships managing to start firing back before they were sunk. The one-sided victory was celebrated throughout the high command in ZAFT, the victory allowing them to expand the amount of space they could safely control.

The cries of outrage from the city, which had suffered heavy damage when the debris from the ships rained down and heavily damaged several industrial and residential areas resulting in the deaths of more than 4,500 civilians via explosive decompression, were promptly ignored by the radical majority in the ZAFT Supreme Council.

Chifuyu then opened a channel to Colonial Guard Sergeant Major Lynette Bishop and Spacy Lieutenant Junior Grade Perrine H. Clostermann. "I have new orders for you two. I need you to head over to the Archangel's port facility and confirm the status of the EA's prototype warship. If possible, I would like to have the EA ship captured with our troops, the same as five of their Cornelius-class tender ships if most of their personnel are killed."

"But Admiral Orimura, I thought we were to assist Yoshika in her objective-" Lynette replied, before she was cut off.

"Lieutenant Miyafuji will be more than enough in either capturing or destroying the enemy Strike Gundam. A green EA pilot this late into the MS game isn't gonna stand a chance against someone like her."

"Understood, ma'am. We are moving to confirm the Archangel's status," replied Perrine. The connection ceased as the Ballista Buster and Perrine's RX-78NT-1 Gundam "Alex" started heading to the Archangel's port facility.

Chifuyu then turned to look at the man brought before her and Adolfine in the Archdemon's CCIC: Professor Kato, the man in charge behind Project Astray.

"Professor Kato, we're glad to have you with us," said Adolfine. "I trust you have all the blueprints and data on the Astray Frames with you?"

"I do indeed, General," remarked the man as he held up his briefcase as if to confirm his statement. "However, there remains a persistent issue with Project Astray that needs to be resolved, and I would like both yours and the Admiral's help on the matter."

"Issue? What exactly is the problem?" asked Adolfine as Chifuyu too looked at Kato. Kato then pushes up his glasses as he is about to explain a delicate matter.

"The problem is with the Astray Frames' Operating System. The OS system for Coordinator-use is already complete. However, the Natural-use OS program still remains incomplete as we have been unable to create the perfect program that would allow Astrays to be piloted by Naturals."

"Couldn't you use the existing OS programs used by the RX-78 and 79 Gundams and customize it for the Astrays?" asked Adolfine. "Ursula Hartmann designed Orb's early Gundams and Mobile Suits' OS that allowed them to be piloted by Naturals. Surely, a rework of Orb's existing MS program for the Gundams and GMs would suffice."

"That's where you're wrong. As you know it, the Astrays are the next generation mass-produced MS we have in the works, with their design based on past combat data generation from the older Gundams and select GM models. As such, they are designed to be far better than all our previous MS as mass-production models. We had already tried using existing OS programs but found them insufficient for the task at hand. The Astrays are so advanced and complex in their design that we can't even use the RX-78 and 79's operating systems and computers. A new OS and computer system are needed for the Astrays, which my team had to design from the ground up. While we were able to complete the Coordinator-use OS on schedule, the OS for Natural-use remained stuck in limbo for quite a while, until..."

"Until... what?" Adolfine asked, even as she idly overheard Akeno confirm the readiness of the escorts and holding cell for Sanya's POW and instruct the Orussian native to obscure his sight of the ship.

"Until I was able to procure help from an unsuspecting student at Heliopolis's Engineering College where I work at. A talented, gifted, and hard-working young man he is. Whatever problems I had with bits and pieces with the Natural-use OS I had, he was able to fix and correct problems we had, errors that we hadn't seen before, and even rewrote some bits of our data to make things run more smoothly and efficiently. I had plans to recruit him for Project Astray through Morgenroete to have him fully work on the Natural-use OS program and complete it."

Chifuyu and Adolfine could only look at the man in disbelief as Kato told them that he had outsourced the work of writing a Mobile Suit's OS program to a college student. A civilian outside of the military and space industrial complex handling sensitive and classified data and material rattled them as military officers.

"You will be questioned further on details on this matter later," remarked Chifuyu. "I take it that you want us to look for this student of yours?"

"Yes. He is essential to the completion of the Natural-use OS for the Astrays. Without his help, the Astrays would suffer the same problem as ZAFT's MS, in they are so complex they could only be piloted by Coordinators. That would severely limit the number of Astrays that Orb can deploy and significantly delay their timely deployment should the current status quo of the war change."

"The status quo has already begun to change the moment the Sahakus intercepted that transmission that confirmed cooperation between the Earth Alliance and Morgenroete to develop the G-Weapons and the Archangel. The only reason we've allowed the G-Project to continue until now is so we can steal that information and design improved versions for Orb while monitoring their own progress," said Chifuyu. "We can't have half of Orb's entire MS force be stuck with GMs and Guncannons because we designed a superior mass-produced MS that can only be used by Coordinators. It's only a matter of time before the EA is able to create and mass-produce their own Natural-use Mobile Suits; in fact, it wouldn't surprise me if they're already designing mass-production versions of the G-Weapons on Earth. Orb needs to remain ahead of the curve; it's essential to our very survival."

Chifuyu then turned to the holoscreens. "I will redeploy Mio, Takei, and Kuroe to go look for this student of yours, Kato. I will also requisition whatever ONI assets we have on hand for the search."

"And I will have whatever Army and Marine ground forces we have available to do a search-and-recovery mission for your student," added Adolfine. "Can you tell us the name of your student?"

"His name is Kira Yamato."


Meanwhile, two rival pilots were engaged in a ferocious duel within one of Orb's extensively large maintenance service tunnels. While both were equally skilled pilots, the stalemate could only last for so long before one of the rivals would find an opening and exploit it. This was unfortunate for Mu as Rau was able to hide and get behind him for a brief moment and took out three of his four Gunpods. Just as Rau took out Mu's last Gunpod, he came under fire from two more enemies. To Rau's shock, his new enemies were also Moebius Zero HMTs, the same MA piloted by his nemesis and rival. Giving a scowl, he briefly broke off from his engagement against Mu to continue his original mission of eliminating the last EA MS. The three Moebius Zeroes continued their chase after him, all three firing their weapons with Rau returning fire in an alternating sequence to force them back. Mu was glad for the moment to have unexpected reinforcements but he remembered that he was the only Moebius Zero pilot stationed at Heliopolis. He wondered who the two Moebius Zero pilots were until they radioed him.

"It's been a while, Squadron Leader La Flaga. You miss us?"

"Wait a minute, Shirley. Is that really him? That's really Mu, right?"

"Of course it's Mu, there's no one else in the EA that White Mask would have a serious axe to grind against."

Mu smiled in disbelief and surprised as he recognized their voices.

"Yeager! Lucchini! Boy, am I glad to see you ladies! I thought you guys died with the rest of Zero Squadron at the Endymion Crater!"

"Yeah, well me and Lucchini here are tougher to kill than what the EA brass thought," said Shirley.

"Now if only Morgan Chevalier was here. Then the squadron reunion would be complete!" chirped Lucchini.

Mu chucked at the thought before he turned serious. "Why didn't you two come back if you two were still alive? I really thought I was the last one!"

Both Shirley and Lucchini frowned.

"We couldn't go back. Not after what happened on the Grimaldi Front at Endymion Crater. So many of our friends died because the EA brass detonated the Cyclops bomb," Shirley bitterly replied.

"And then they called that a victory when they killed all our friends and their own soldiers with their own hands. Unacceptable! Unacceptable! UNACCEPTABLE!", shouted Lucchini.

"So, you guys deserted and joined up with Crossbone Vanguard?" Mu asked.

"Pretty much, yeah," Shirley answered sheepishly. "That event left a bitter taste in our mouth and made us leave to seek greener pastures."

"Better pay. Better food. People who actually treat us well with respect and not as disposable cannon fodder. What else was there not to join up with Crossbone Vanguard?" added Lucchini.

Their brief conversation was interrupted with gunfire from Rau's CGUE.

"So, the Rabbit and Cat have finally reunited with the Hawk. I can take out you annoying animals all at once."

"Enough talk, you two. Shirley, Lucchini. Let us take out that White Mask bastard once and for all. Just this one time together as a team."

"Roger," replied the duo Witches as the three Moebius Zeroes formed up in arrow formation to attack Rau's CGUE with Mu leading ahead to the pack.

However, despite their numbers advantage and Moebius Zero HMTs being much more powerful MA units than the EA's standard TS-MA2 Moebius, the tight tunnels restricted their maneuverability, costing Shirley and Lucchini some of their Gunpods as Rau shot them down with a quick burst each. Both pilots fought fiercely with Rau fighting harder than he had previously in order to go up against three ace pilots at once. Eventually one of the shots from the Moebius Zero blew a hole in the in the service maintenance tunnels and Rau's CGUE would pass through it followed by its pursuers. Both friendly and enemy pilots would breathe a sigh of relief as they now have left the claustrophobic tunnels and entered the colony's interior, giving them more space to maneuver and fight properly. It was then that both Rau and the three Moebius Zero pilots eyed a certain MS that caught their attention.

"Oh? So that's it," remarked Rau.

Mu eyed at the Strike Gundam as his senses tensed up once more. "The final unit?"

Both Witches' eyes widened as they gasped in shock as the last remaining EA MS was the last thing they expected to come across.

"Shirley… is that what I think it is?"

"It damn is, Lucchini. That's the goddamn Strike. And if the Strike is here… then where the hell is Yoshika? She should have been here by now!"

Rau didn't waste any time as he began to speed his way towards the Strike. Both Moebius Zero HMTs tailed after him firing their EMLs and remaining Gunpods, but Rau dodged them and tried to take out Mu with his CGUE's Heavy Sword. Mu survived by using his Moebius Zero's last remaining weapon to intercept the melee weapon. Shirley gritted her teeth as Mu lost his last weapon and Rau gunned after the Strike.

"Shirley, he's gonna take out the Strike!" Lucchini practically cried out as her Moebius Zero missed her shots.

"We're not gonna make it! Yoshika, where are you?!" shouted Shirley.

Both Witches expected the Strike to be destroyed in a barrage of gunfire from Rau's CGUE. But the Strike activated its PS Armor and blocked the bullets from the CGUE's HAMG. What happened next would shock all the combatants as there was a huge explosion from under them and a ship flew out from beneath the ground, forcing the Moebius Zeroes and the CGUE to scatter lest they get hit by the ascending ship.

"So, the infiltration team failed to destroy the ship," Rau noted.

"A warship? Within the colony?" stuttered Mu.

Both Shirley and Lucchini looked at the ship and immediately recognized the warship.

"Shirley, that ship! It's the Archangel!"

"I know. I thought ZAFT had destroyed it in the initial assault. I'm surprised that the ship survived intact. Now I understand why the Sahakus wanted to build the Archdemon. That massive assault carrier was without a doubt modeled after the Archangel. Given how tough the Archangel is, they made the right choice."

"Yoshika, Lynette, Perrine… where are you guys?" Lucchini asked herself. The Witches looked around the battlefield with worried looks on their faces as neither Yoshika nor the duo Lynette and Perrine were around or even remotely nearby.

The Witches could not pause for a second as Rau's CGUE made a pass and fired a second barrage at the Strike and the Archangel which failed to do any damage. The Archangel responded with firing missiles at the CGUE, which made the Witches react with gunfire to those missiles as any hit to the colony from those missiles would be extremely damaging. The Witches became frustrated and resumed their focus on taking out the White Mask to get the situation slightly under control. However, a sudden powerful beam was fired at the CGUE from the Strike using its "Agni'' 320mm Hyper Impulse Cannon. It destroyed the CGUE's right arm and continued on to blow a hole in Heliopolis, exposing the interior to outer space which the CGUE used to escape and flee back to its fleet. The sheer destructive power of the Gundam terrified the Witches.

"Shirley… that Gundam. It blew a hole right through in the colony! How could a Gundam have such sheer firepower?"

"Lucchini, we're falling back now! We lost control of the situation completely and Le Creuset's escaped. The EA forces have practically regrouped around the Strike and Archangel. We have no reinforcements to help us take them on and few remaining weapons on us. At this point, it's not a matter if the colony will collapse, but when!"

Both Orb Mobius Zeroes hurriedly retreated back to friendly lines and back to the Archdemon. Vice Admiral Chifuyu and Lt. General Adolfine needed to know what had transpired.


Yoshika couldn't help but take quick glances at the numerous battles unfolding around her as she mentally prepared herself for her own fight. To her left, she could see a squad of GINNs moving to engage a formation of GMs with machine guns blazing. The Orb suits managed to block a majority of the shots with their shields, but an unlucky GM had its right leg blown off just below the knee as nine bullets managed to pierce through the armor. The GINN responsible for the shots attempted to move in for the kill on the off-balanced machine, but was blocked by another GM that had rushed to aid its stricken comrade.

To her right, she could see another battle taking place, with a few GMs and GINNs having already been destroyed. This particular fight was being fought on the ground, with both sides using the surrounding buildings as cover. As a GM peeked out of a corner to search for any signs of enemy movement, its head was blown off by a GINN wielding a sniper rifle, forcing the Orb unit to quickly fall back, The GINN, in turn, was able to advance up to the next building before its previous position was bombarded by artillery fire from a pair of RX-77D Guncannon Mass Production Types, forcing it into cover again before the gunners could correct their fire.

A third battle was taking place above her current position, closer to the colony's central support shaft, which was quick to catch her attention. This particular engagement was being fought by a flight of four GM Kais alongside a pair of RGM-79CA GM Raids–and was that a GM Trainer?!–against a squad of GINNs that were being led by a ZGMF-1017M GINN High Maneuver Type. The GINNs split into two groups, flanking around the Orb suits as they opened fire. The GMs were able to block a majority of the shots with their shields as they returned fire, but one unfortunate GM Kai took four HE rounds to its right thigh, severing the right leg as its fuel tanks erupted and throwing the Colonial Militia suit off balance. The GINN HMT, seeing an easy kill, moved in to finish the job but was intercepted by the GM Trainer's CAR-15 as it moved to defend the damaged Orb unit. Dodging the shots, the ZAFT ace unit retaliated with its JDP2-MMX22 Experimental 27mm Armor Assault Rifle, forcing the GM Trainer to block with its shield as it returned fire. The GINN HMT weaved to and fro, avoiding the shots with ease as it closed the distance, then maneuvered around the shield at point-blank range and stabbed its assault rifle's bayonet through the instructor's observation window on the trainer unit's torso.

Yanking its weapon free, the GINN HMT moved to attack the unprotected back of another GM that was dueling a GINN when it was suddenly shot at from behind, the bullets destroying the left leg before it could properly react. The GINN HMT spun around, its pilot shocked that the GM Trainer was still able to fight. The trainer unit, its upper observation/second control seat having been empty the entire fight, charged its opponent as it discarded its empty weapon, drawing its sonic blade as it moved to engage in close quarters combat. The GINN HMT, also out of ammo in its primary weapon and not having enough time to swap magazines, charged the trainer and moved to stab it in the cockpit. As the GM Trainer raised its shield to block, the GINN HMT suddenly spun left on its axis while adjusting course to pass to its right of the trainer, the result being its left arm coming down behind the Orb unit's shield and clotheslining the unit. Slightly rattled from the impact, the ZAFT ace was quick to take advantage of his current position as he shifted his grip on his main weapon and stabbed the GM Trainer in the side of the torso, straight through the cockpit block.

But it would be the GM Trainer that would have the last laugh, as its pilot had managed to recover and react fast enough to stab the GINN HMT through the armpit and upper torso with their sonic blade right before its cockpit was stabbed, rupturing the large primary fuel and oxidizer tanks that fed the GINN HMT's ship-grade engines and spilling the mixture within the suit… which had numerous severed wires that were sparking lethal amounts of voltage as well as a now-activated plasma sword.

The ZAFT ace only had enough time to hear a single blare of an alarm before the plasma sword ignited the spilled mixture, consuming him and his Mobile Suit in the resulting detonation. The GM Trainer's shield, which had been smashed against the GINN HMT's torso when the latter performed its previous maneuver, allowed the Orb suit to survive as it was pushed away by the force of the blast, at the cost of its shield and left arm. The suit fell away, the GINN HMT's weapon still impaled in its side.

Meanwhile, the remaining GMs in the squad were able to dispatch the rest of the opposing GINN squad, at the cost of two GM Kais being forced to fall back due to heavy damage and the rest of the suits sporting varying degrees of lighter damage. As the remainder of the squad attempted to recover, they were set upon by two squads of ZAFT Mobile Suits that had freshly arrived on the scene from the spaceport. Their weapons primed, the new squads of GINNS set themselves upon the weakened Orb formation in the hope of avenging their fallen comrades.

The ZAFT pilots' thoughts of vengeance were then rudely interrupted as the lead GINN in the first eight-ship formation along with his wingman were torn apart by a hail of gunfire from below, followed closely by a third unit being sliced apart by a bright pink beam saber as another Mobile Suit blazed through the formation.

Yoshika Miyafuji Sahaku had arrived.


ORB-Y102 Defiant Duel Gundam

Model number: ORB-Y102

Namesake: Defiant, Duel

Unit type: Prototype General-Purpose MS

Developed from: FA-78-1 Gundam Full Armor Type, PF-78-1 Perfect Gundam, GAT-X102 Duel Gundam

Developed into: MBF-M2A Astray Assault Type

Variants: none

Manufacturer: Morgenroete Inc.

Operators: Orb Union, 13th Azad Task Force/Crossbone Vanguard

Known Pilots: Gertrud Barkhorn

Power-plant: 3 x Ultracompact Energy Battery (1 x located in torso; 1 x located in Assault Shield; 1 x located in Astray Flight Pack), [REDACTED]

Armor: Luna Titanium Alloy/Carbyne Composite; Layered Phase Armor

Armaments:

2 x 20mm "Phalanx" Block 9MS CIWS – The 20mm "Phalanx" Block 9MS CIWS are a variant of the current evolution of the "Phalanx" CIWS from the Old Calendar Era. Unlike the Block 9D CIWS installed on naval vessels, the Block 9MS are specially modified to be installed in the head of a Mobile Suit. While their smaller caliber of 20mm makes them useless against the armor of enemy Mobile Suits, they have a much higher ammunition capacity as a trade-off. Their smaller caliber also makes them better suited against missiles, aircraft, and precise targeting of the sensors of an enemy Mobile Suit than similar CIWS with a higher caliber such as the Earth Alliance's "Igelstellungs", which are more of a multi-role CIWS since their larger caliber is capable of damaging Mobile Suit armor.

2 x Type 70 Beam Saber – The two Type 70 Beam Sabers are the primary melee weapons of Orb's next-generation Mobile Suits and are similar to the beam sabers that both the EA and later ZAFT equip to their own MS. The sabers are more powerful than the previous Sonic Blade's Plasma Sword mode, and are capable of slicing through both Mobile Suit and ship armor with relative ease if it hasn't been treated with an anti-beam coating or a similar countermeasure. They do, however, have one weakness; as the beam particles are kept within an uncontained energy bind, the blades don't have a repelling factor, and are therefore unable to block and parry other beam sabers of the same type. They are mounted on the backpack when not in use.

"Ferociter" Assault Mantle – Developed from the Full-Armor System and Weapons System of the FA-78-1 Gundam Full Armor Type and the Chobham Armor of RX-78NT-1 Gundam "Alex", this upgrade package greatly enhances Defiant Duel's combat capability with new weapons and extra armor plates to increase the Defiant Duel's firepower and resilience against heavy attacks. It also raises the Defiant Duel's defense without sacrificing mobility by having Removable Armor Modules with built in thrusters and maneuvering verniers that can be purged along with the extra armor plates if the armor suffers heavy damage. Like most Mobile Suits equipped with extra armor plating, the heavy bulk somewhat hinders the Defiant Duel's movement under gravity.

2 x Beam Cannon – Mounted on the additional shoulder armor of the "Ferociter" Assault Mantle, the two Beam Cannons were developed using data gathered from both the EF-12R G-Sky's ion cannons and structural data of the RX-78-6 Mudrock Gundam, and have more firepower than the standard beam rifle. Each beam cannon has a small external battery pack behind it that can store ten shots worth of energy so as to reduce the load on the suit's main battery, and can be ejected when their charge is depleted. The weapon can still be operated by drawing power from the suit's main battery once the external battery is jettisoned.

2 x 10-tube Large Multipurpose Missile Launcher – Mounted on the additional hip armor of the "Ferociter" Assault Mantle, the two 10-tube Large Multipurpose Missile Launchers were developed using data gathered from the 9-tube "Fliegerhammer" Multipurpose Rocket Launcher. Like their predecessor, these launchers are capable of being loaded with a variety of missile types, including anti-air, anti-ground, multipurpose, wire-guided, unguided anti-ship rockets, and even active radar decoys/jammers, which can both spoof and scramble enemy radars for a short period of time, with each tube holding two missiles for a total of twenty available warheads. These launchers can be ejected once their payload has been expended, with their large size allowing them to be optionally used as either makeshift decoys or bludgeoning weapons/shields in the event of an emergency.

Triple Beam Gun/Claw Emitter – Typically mounted on the hardpoint on the right arm, the Triple Beam Gun/Claw Emitter is a new type of weapon devised by Tabane Shinonono of Morgenroete that is a proof-of-concept of a multi-mode weapon that can freely switch between close-quarters and short to medium range combat within a moment's notice. When used in Beam Gun (BG) mode, each shot is only slightly weaker than a beam carbine (which in itself is weaker than a beam rifle), but can be fired quickly in three-shot bursts, and when switched to Beam Claw (BC) mode each barrel becomes an emitter for a single beam claw. Attached to the back of the weapon is an external battery pack that can hold enough of a charge for either thirty shots in BG mode or three minutes of continuous operation in BC mode before being depleted, and can be ejected once the battery runs dry. The weapon can still be operated by drawing power from the suit's main battery once the external battery is jettisoned.

Assault Shield – The Assault Shield is an upgraded version of the shield used by the GAT-X102 Duel Gundam and is the Defiant Duel's primary defensive armament. Unlike other MS handheld shields, the Assault Shield is equipped with its own weapon systems in the form of two 2-tube 220mm Missile Launchers on the sides and four Beam Saber racks arranged in a diamond formation on the lower half of the backside, as well as the hardpoints needed to attach the 40mm 6-barrel Hyper-Velocity Linear Gatling Gun and its 1,200 round drum. In addition, there is a large battery built into the shield that provides power to both the Mobile Suit and the Gatling gun when it is mounted.

40mm 6-barrel Hyper-Velocity Linear Gatling Gun The 40mm 6-barrel Hyper-Velocity Linear Gatling Gun is an evolution of the 75mm Shield-mounted Gatling Gun that incorporates the same railgun technology as other Rail-Rifle guns in Orb's armory. Despite the caliber of the rounds being just over half that of its predecessor, they can penetrate through fifty more millimeters of armor thanks to the dramatically increased velocity of each bullet: just over 2.5 times that of a standard shell-firing weapon. The weapon is fed from a 1,200 round drum mounted on the back side of the Assault Shield, and is primarily powered by the shield's built-in battery unit.

4 x Type 70 Beam Saber – In addition to the two Type 70 Beam Sabers mounted on the backpack, there are four more sabers mounted on the backside of the shield and serve as replacements should the primary pair be lost or if an ally needs a replacement in a hurry.

2 x 2-tube 220mm Missile Launcher – Mounted on the sides of the Assault Shield are a pair of 2-tube 220mm Missile Launchers, which can be loaded with small multipurpose missiles. As the small size of these missiles means they can only carry a limited amount of propellant and a small warhead, their maximum effective range is range is only 500 meters, restricting their usage to close-in fights where they have the highest probability of hitting a targeted weak point.

2 x "Armor Schneider II" Combat Knife Stored in the Defiant Duel's side skirt armor are a pair of folding "Armor Schneider II" Combat Knives, which are improved versions of the Armor Schneiders equipped to the GAT-X105 Strike. The biggest difference between the two is that the Armor Schneider IIs are now equipped with a data-gathering functionality, allowing the knives to change their vibration frequency if the first strike fails to cut or pierce through the enemy's armor so that the next strike is guaranteed to do damage, even if the target is equipped with Phase Shift Armor.

2 x XBP-L-71 Prototype Beam Pistol – Stored in specialized holsters that form the front skirt armor are a pair of small XBP-L-71 Prototype Beam Pistols. These weapons are smaller than the XBC-L-71 Prototype Beam Carbines and have even less range and firepower as well, but they have an even higher rate of fire as a tradeoff, and are best suited for close-range shootouts. On the back of each pistol is a small fixed battery unit that can store enough energy for fifteen shots before the Mobile Suit's primary battery takes over.

Special Equipment and Features:

Layered Phase Armor – An improved version of the Earth Alliance's Phase Shift (PS) Armor technology first developed by Tabane Shinonono, Layered Phase (LP) Armor works in a similar manner to the Trans Phase (TP) Armor system that the EA would develop later in the 1st Alliance-PLANT War. LP armor is basically a two-layer armor system, with the PS Armor on the inner layer of normal armor. The inner PS Armor only activates when the outer layer is breached, thus saving energy and preventing the consumption of large quantities of energy non-stop until the armor is turned off. This results in LP-armored units having a longer operational time as well as more energy for their power-hungry beam weapons. However, LP-armored Mobile Suits are still vulnerable to heavy attack from multiple vectors (a sufficiently powerful weapon could also overpower the LP armor).

3D Ultracompact Optical Sensor Array A 3D sensor array made of ultra-small optical sensor units, it is mounted in the head and protected by a visor; the visor looks similar to the one used by UT-1D Civilian Astray DSSD Custom. When used together with high performance graphic processing units, super high-definition recording is possible.

Dual Hand PlugsFirst tested with the MBF-P01 Gundam Astray Gold Frame, the Dual Hand Plugs allow the Defiant Duel to use both Orb Union and Earth Alliance MS weapons.

External Connector A connector for attaching additional equipment to the back of the suit. It is similar in function to the hardpoint on the back of the Strike Gundam. The connector is exposed when the backpack is lowered to the rear skirt armor.

360-degree Panoramic Cockpit (Test Unit) – In place of a standard cockpit, the Defiant Duel Gundam is equipped with a prototype 360-degree Panoramic Cockpit. The multiple panels of the panoramic monitor make up a single 360-degree display, which covers the entire inner surface of the spherical cockpit. The image displayed on the monitor is a computer simulation constructed from the cameras distributed around the Mobile Suit's exterior. The viewpoint is that of the Mobile Suit's head, and the image is carefully edited to remove the Mobile Suit itself.

Linear Floating Seat (Test Unit) Instead of a regular cockpit seat, the Defiant Duel is equipped with a new linear floating seat. In this arrangement, the seat is suspended in the center of the cockpit, supported by a linear arm which electromagnetically counters G-forces and impact shocks in order to protect the pilot. When used in conjunction with the 360-degree panoramic monitor, the linear seat also gives the pilot a larger field of view and eliminates blind spots.

Astray Flight Pack (Test Unit) – Attached to the External Connector is a test version of the backpack that is to be installed on the MBF-M1 M1 Astray once it enters mass production. This particular version features numerous small bulges that contain extra sensors and diagnostic equipment to constantly monitor the flight pack's condition when in combat. There are also a pair of large external fuel tanks attached to the side hardpoints to increase the suit's effective operational time.

Optional Equipment:

1 x Beam Rifle

Type 71 Beam Rifle (M1 Astray)

57mm High-energy Beam Rifle (Strike Witch)

57mm High-energy Beam Rifle w/175mm Grenade Launcher

Shield

350mm "Gáe Bulg" Rail Bazooka

GM handheld ballistic weapons

ZAFT MS handheld ballistic weapons

Colors: Black and Red (GBF colors)

Technical Notes: The ORB-Y102 Defiant Duel Gundam is the first of the five redesigned Earth Alliance G-Weapons developed as a part of Project Vengeance. Numerous design changes were made to improve the unit's performance, including swapping the "Igelstellung" CIWS for the smaller "Phalanx" for increased ammunition load, Dual Hand Plugs for increased weapons compatibility, improved thruster output and a flight pack to increase maneuverability, Layered Phase Armor for increased defense and battery longevity, the "Ferociter" Assault Mantle offense and defense, and a 360-degree panoramic cockpit and linear seat to increase situational awareness. Like the original GAT-X102 Duel Gundam, the Defiant Duel Gundam is a well-balanced, general-purpose machine that can handle a variety of combat situations. Appearance-wise, it shares a similar armor layout with the other two Y100 frames, the Ballista Buster and Strike Witch, allowing the Defiant Duel's armor to be maintained and repaired using parts from the other two when needed. Similarly, 70% of the internal systems and hardware are shared amongst the five Gundams of Project Vengeance, greatly increasing their ease of maintenance and simplifying the logistics for spare parts.


ORB-Y103 Ballista Buster Gundam

Model number: ORB-Y103

Namesake: Ballista, Buster

Unit type: Prototype Artillery MS

Developed from: RX-78-6 Murdock Gundam, GAT-X103 Buster Gundam

Developed into: MBF-M2B Astray Fire Support Type

Variants: none

Manufacturer: Morgenroete Inc

Operators: Orb Union, 13th Azad Task Force/Crossbone Vanguard

Known Pilots: Lynette Bishop

Power-plant: 4 x Ultracompact Energy Battery (1 x located in torso; 3 x located in "Siege" Flight Pack (1 x internal, 2 x external)); [REDACTED]

Armor: Luna Titanium Alloy/Carbyne Composite; Layered Phase Armor

Armaments:

2 x 20mm "Phalanx" Block 9MS CIWS – The 20mm "Phalanx" Block 9MS CIWS are a variant of the current evolution of the "Phalanx" CIWS from the Old Calendar Era. Unlike the Block 9D CIWS installed on naval vessels, the Block 9MS are specially modified to be installed in the head of a Mobile Suit. While their smaller caliber of 20mm makes them useless against the armor of enemy Mobile Suits, they have a much higher ammunition capacity as a trade-off. Their smaller caliber also makes them better suited against missiles, aircraft, and precise targeting of the sensors of an enemy Mobile Suit than similar CIWS with a higher caliber such as the Earth Alliance's "Igelstellungs", which are more of a multi-role CIWS since their larger caliber is capable of damaging Mobile Suit armor.

2 x Type 70 Beam Saber – The two Type 70 Beam Sabers are the primary melee weapons of Orb's next-generation Mobile Suits and are similar to the beam sabers that both the EA and later ZAFT equip to their own MS. The sabers are more powerful than the previous Sonic Blade's Plasma Sword mode, and are capable of slicing through both Mobile Suit and ship armor with relative ease if it hasn't been treated with an anti-beam coating or a similar countermeasure. They do, however, have one weakness; as the beam particles are kept within an uncontained energy bind, the blades don't have a repelling factor, and are therefore unable to block and parry other beam sabers of the same type. They are mounted on the backpack when not in use.

"Siege" Flight Pack – Attached to the External Connector is the "Siege" Flight Pack, which was developed using combat data from the EF-12R G-Sky and uses the Astray Flight Pack as the structural base unit. This flight pack is armed with two 60mm Gatling Beam Cannons and two 300mm Rail-Cannons to give the Ballista Buster additional firepower, a pair of external battery packs on the sides to reduce the load on the main battery unit, a pair of additional main thrusters to help compensate for the increased weight, and a pair of external fuel tanks on the bottom to increase the suit's effective operational time.

2 x 60mm Gatling Beam Cannon – Mounted on the upper flanks of the "Siege" Flight Pack via short movable arms is a pair of 60mm Gatling Beam Cannons. These weapons have an extremely high rate of fire, at the cost of each beam being significantly weaker than a shot from a beam rifle, and are therefore best suited for intercepting enemy attacks and missiles and for providing suppressing fire.

2 x 300mm Rail-Cannon – Mounted on the top of the "Siege" Flight Pack is a pair of 300mm Rail-Cannons that were developed using the Duel Gundam's "Gáe Bulg" Rail Bazooka as a base. The raw firepower of each rail-cannon is somewhat weaker than a rail bazooka, but this is offset by their higher rate of fire and the fact that there are two of them. Each rail-cannon is fed through a 10-round helical magazine, granting a total of twenty rounds of available ammunition before they have to be reloaded.

2 x 220mm 6-tube Missile Pod – Mounted on the shoulders are a pair of 220mm 6-tube Missile Pods which can be loaded with small multipurpose missiles. As the small size of these missiles means they can only carry a limited amount of propellant and a small warhead, their maximum effective range is range is only 500 meters, restricting their usage to close-in fights where they have the highest probability of hitting a targeted weak point. Each tube is loaded with two missiles, granting a total of 24 missiles available per sortie.

2 x Tri-Weapon Gauntlet – The Tri-Weapon Gauntlet is a proof-of-concept multi-mode weapon developed by Tabane Shinonono that can freely switch between close-quarters and short to medium range combat within a moment's notice. Each gauntlet is equipped with two 45mm Rail-Rifles for medium-range shooting, a 140mm Grenade Launcher for destroying heavy enemy armor, and a Type 70 Beam Saber/Tonfa for melee engagements, as well as a small shield for defense.

4 x 51mm Rail-Rifle Mounted on the sides of each Tri-Weapon Gauntlet is a pair of 51mm Rail-Rifles, and are identical to the MPT-76 Battle Rail-Rifles. Each rifle is fed through a 72-round box magazine, granting a total of 288 rounds of available ammunition before they have to be reloaded.

2 x 140mm Grenade Launcher Mounted on the bottom of each Tri-Weapon Gauntlet is a single 140mm Grenade Launcher, and is identical to the 140mm EX-41 Grenadier Rifle. The weapon is fed through a six-round helical magazine and can fire the same types of grenades as the XM25 "Punisher" Launcher Rifle.

2 x Type 70 Beam Saber/Tonfa Mounted on the top of each Tri-Weapon Gauntlet is a single Type 70 Beam Saber/Tonfa. The sabers are more powerful than the previous Sonic Blade's Plasma Sword mode, and are capable of slicing through both Mobile Suit and ship armor with relative ease if it hasn't been treated with an anti-beam coating or a similar countermeasure. These sabers can either be ejected from the gauntlet to be wielded by the Mobile Suit's hands, or be activated while still attached to the gauntlet as beam tonfas. They do, however, have one weakness; as the beam particles are kept within an uncontained energy bind, the blades don't have a repelling factor, and are therefore unable to block and parry other beam sabers of the same type.

2 x XBC-L-71 Prototype Beam Carbine – Mounted on the side skirt armor is a pair of XBC-L-71 Prototype Beam Carbines. These weapons are smaller than a standard beam rifle and fires weaker beams as well, but have better handling and excellent rapid-fire capabilities as a tradeoff. On the bottom of each carbine is a small fixed battery that can store enough energy for thirty shots before the Mobile Suit's primary battery takes over.

2 x "Armor Schneider II" Combat Knife Stored in the Ballista Buster's side skirt armor are a pair of folding "Armor Schneider II" Combat Knives, which are improved versions of the Armor Schneiders equipped to the GAT-X105 Strike. The biggest difference between the two is that the Armor Schneider IIs are now equipped with a data-gathering functionality, allowing the knives to change their vibration frequency if the first strike fails to cut or pierce through the enemy's armor so that the next strike is guaranteed to do damage, even if the target is equipped with Phase Shift Armor.

2 x XBP-L-71 Prototype Beam Pistol – Stored in specialized holsters that form the front skirt armor are a pair of small XBP-L-71 Prototype Beam Pistols. These weapons are smaller than the XBC-L-71 Prototype Beam Carbines and have even less range and firepower as well, but they have an even higher rate of fire as a tradeoff, and are best suited for close-range shootouts. On the back of each pistol is a small fixed battery unit that can store enough energy for fifteen shots before the Mobile Suit's primary battery takes over.

350mm Gun Launcher – Like the original Buster Gundam, the Ballista Buster is equipped with a 350mm Gun Launcher on the right side of the backpack, and can be combined with the 94mm High-Energy Rifle to form either an Anti-Armor Shotgun or a Hyper Impulse Long-Range Sniper Rifle. Unlike the original, however, the model equipped to the Ballista Buster was redesigned to allow the weapon to fold into a more compact form to make room for the "Siege" Flight Pack when the backpack is moved to the rear skirt armor.

94mm High-Energy Rifle – Like the original Buster Gundam, the Ballista Buster is equipped with a 94mm High-Energy Rifle on the left side of the backpack, and can be combined with the 350mm Gun Launcher to form either an Anti-Armor Shotgun or a Hyper Impulse Long-Range Sniper Rifle. Unlike the original, however, the model equipped to the Ballista Buster was redesigned to allow the weapon to fold into a more compact form to make room for the "Siege" Flight Pack when the backpack is moved to the rear skirt armor.

Special Equipment and Features:

Layered Phase Armor – An improved version of the Earth Alliance's Phase Shift (PS) Armor technology first developed by Tabane Shinonono, Layered Phase (LP) Armor works in a similar manner to the Trans Phase (TP) Armor system that the EA would develop later in the 1st Alliance-PLANT War. LP armor is basically a two-layer armor system, with the PS Armor on the inner layer of normal armor. The inner PS Armor only activates when the outer layer is breached, thus saving energy and preventing the consumption of large quantities of energy non-stop until the armor is turned off. This results in LP-armored units having a longer operational time as well as more energy for their power-hungry beam weapons. However, LP-armored Mobile Suits are still vulnerable to heavy attack from multiple vectors (a sufficiently powerful weapon could also overpower the LP armor).

3D Ultracompact Optical Sensor Array A 3D sensor array made of ultra-small optical sensor units, it is mounted in the head and protected by a visor; the visor looks similar to the one used by UT-1D Civilian Astray DSSD Custom. When used together with high performance graphic processing units, super high-definition recording is possible.

Dual Hand PlugsFirst tested with the MBF-P01 Gundam Astray Gold Frame, the Dual Hand Plugs allow the Ballista Buster to use both Orb Union and Earth Alliance MS weapons.

External Connector A connector for attaching additional equipment to the back of the suit. It is similar in function to the hardpoint on the back of the Strike Gundam. The connector is exposed when the backpack is lowered to the rear skirt armor.

360-degree Panoramic Cockpit (Test Unit) – In place of a standard cockpit, the Ballista Buster Gundam is equipped with a prototype 360-degree Panoramic Cockpit. The multiple panels of the panoramic monitor make up a single 360-degree display, which covers the entire inner surface of the spherical cockpit. The image displayed on the monitor is a computer simulation constructed from the cameras distributed around the Mobile Suit's exterior. The viewpoint is that of the Mobile Suit's head, and the image is carefully edited to remove the Mobile Suit itself.

Linear Floating Seat (Test Unit) Instead of a regular cockpit seat, the Ballista Buster is equipped with a new linear floating seat. In this arrangement, the seat is suspended in the center of the cockpit, supported by a linear arm which electromagnetically counters G-forces and impact shocks in order to protect the pilot. When used in conjunction with the 360-degree panoramic monitor, the linear seat also gives the pilot a larger field of view and eliminates blind spots.

Anti-Armor Shotgun When the High-Energy Rifle and Gun Launcher combine, with the Gun Launcher on the front, it forms a very powerful shell-firing Anti-Armor Shotgun. It fires a single stream containing multiple shells that later splits apart, resulting in a scatter shot that damages a wide area. It appears that about four or five shells fired from the Anti-Armor Shotgun is enough to destroy some battleships.

Hyper Impulse Long-Range Sniper Rifle When the High-Energy Rifle and Gun Launcher combine, with the High-energy Rifle on the front, it can form a Long-Range Sniper Rifle. This beam cannon type weapon has a very high energy output, firing a larger beam that is capable of penetrating several targets, including battleships, making it the strongest weapon in the Buster's arsenal. As the name implies, it also features sniping capabilities due to the longer range of the beam. Although the combined forms have higher power, the rate of fire is decreased.

Long Distance Optical Observation System The sensor unit in the forehead of the Ballista Buster is a prototype version of the Type 71-44 Improved Sniper Beam Rifle's high-precision sensor and aiming rectification system. Under favorable conditions, these sensors have a maximum range of 400 kilometers (which is farther than the maximum detection range of some battleship sensors), allowing for both ultra-long-range sniping and observational reconnaissance/recording of enemy movements.

Optional Equipment:

1 x Sniper Beam Rifle

BOWA BR-S-85-L3 Beam Sniper Rifle (GN Sniper Custom's)

BR-M79L-3 Sniper Beam Rifle (R-4 Type Beam Rifle) [GN Sniper Custom's]

BLASH XBR-X-79YK Long Range Beam Rifle (GN Sniper II's)

BOWA BR-M-82L-9 L-9 Type Beam Sniper Rifle (GN Sniper II's)

HWF GR·MLR79-90mm Long Rifle (GN Sniper II's)

GM handheld ballistic weapons

ZAFT MS handheld ballistic weapons

Colors: [A/N: based on Lynette Bishop's SW uniform]

Technical Notes: The ORB-Y103 Ballista Buster Gundam is the second of the five redesigned Earth Alliance G-Weapons developed as a part of Project Vengeance. Numerous design changes were made to improve the unit's performance, including swapping the "Igelstellung" CIWS for the smaller "Phalanx" for increased ammunition load, Dual Hand Plugs for increased weapons compatibility, improved thruster output and the "Siege" flight pack to increase maneuverability and offensive power, Layered Phase Armor for increased defense and battery longevity, a new Long Distance Optical Observation System for better sniping/long-range optical reconnaissance capabilities, several beam sabers to give the suit melee combat capability, and a 360-degree panoramic cockpit and linear seat to increase situational awareness. Like the original GAT-X103 Buster Gundam, the Ballista Buster Gundam is a long-range fire support unit that has enough firepower to rival some battleships. Appearance-wise, it shares a similar armor layout with the other two Y100 frames, the Defiant Duel and Strike Witch, allowing the Ballista Buster's armor to be maintained and repaired using parts from the other two when needed. Similarly, 70% of the internal systems and hardware are shared amongst the five Gundams of Project Vengeance, greatly increasing their ease of maintenance and simplifying the logistics for spare parts.


ORB-Y207 Schwarzer Blitz Gundam

Model number: ORB-Y207

Namesake: Schwarzer, Blitz

Unit type: Prototype Stealth Combat/Reconnaissance MS

Developed from: GAT-X207 Blitz Gundam, TMF/TR-2 BuCUE Tactical Reconnaissance Type

Developed into: MBF-P01-ReAMATSU Gundam Astray Gold Frame Amatsu, MBF-M2S Astray Tactical Reconnaissance Type

Variants: none

Manufacturer: Morgenroete Inc

Operators: Orb Union, 13th Azad Task Force/Crossbone Vanguard

Known Pilots: Sanya V. Litvyak

Power-plant: 3 x Ultracompact Energy Battery (1 x in torso; 1 x in "Trikeros Kai"; 1 x in "Maga no Ikutachi" Striker Pack); [REDACTED]

Armor: Luna Titanium Alloy/Carbyne Composite; Layered Phase Armor

Armaments:

2 x 20mm "Phalanx" Block 9MS CIWS – The 20mm "Phalanx" Block 9MS CIWS are a variant of the current evolution of the "Phalanx" CIWS from the Old Calendar Era. Unlike the Block 9D CIWS installed on naval vessels, the Block 9MS are specially modified to be installed in the head of a Mobile Suit. While their smaller caliber of 20mm makes them useless against the armor of enemy Mobile Suits, they have a much higher ammunition capacity as a trade-off. Their smaller caliber also makes them better suited against missiles, aircraft, and precise targeting of the sensors of an enemy Mobile Suit than similar CIWS with a higher caliber such as the Earth Alliance's "Igelstellungs", which are more of a multi-role CIWS since their larger caliber is capable of damaging Mobile Suit armor.

2 x Type 70 Beam Saber – The two Type 70 Beam Sabers are the primary melee weapons of Orb's next-generation Mobile Suits and are similar to the beam sabers that both the EA and later ZAFT equip to their own MS. The sabers are more powerful than the previous Sonic Blade's Plasma Sword mode, and are capable of slicing through both Mobile Suit and ship armor with relative ease if it hasn't been treated with an anti-beam coating or a similar countermeasure. They do, however, have one weakness; as the beam particles are kept within an uncontained energy bind, the blades don't have a repelling factor, and are therefore unable to block and parry other beam sabers of the same type. They are mounted on the rear skirt when not in use.

"Gleipnir Kai" Heat Piercer Lock/Crusher Mounted on the left forearm, the "Gleipnir Kai" is a rocket-propelled grappling claw which can be fired to pierce or grab an enemy unit and then be retrieved on a line. This version is improved from the "Gleipnir" installed on the GAT-X207 Blitz Gundam as it now incorporates heat technology into the claw, allowing it to more easily pierce through enemy armor as well as now having the capability of crushing it when the claw is superheated.

"Trikeros Kai" Offensive Shield System Mounted on the right forearm, the "Trikeros Kai" Offensive Shield System is an improved version of the "Trikeros" used by the Blitz Gundam. Like the original, the "Trikeros Kai" is armed with a beam rifle and a beam saber, but is now equipped with twelve "Spike Dart" Miniature High-Explosive Hypervelocity Kinetic Energy Penetrators instead of the previous version's Lancer Darts. Unlike the previous version, the beam saber function is now incorporated into the beam rifle, and a beam blade can now be emitted from the rifle's barrel. The outer edges of the shield are also sharpened and have been equipped with sonic technology, allowing the shield to effectively slice through heavy enemy armor. At the rear of the back side of the shield is a built-in battery unit, which can provide power to both the "Trikeros Kai" and the Schwarzer Blitz itself.

57mm High-energy Beam Rifle w/Heat Energy-dispensed Suppressor – The "Trikeros Kai" incorporates the same beam rifle used by the ORB-Y105 Strike Witch Gundam. The end of the barrel is equipped with a Heat Energy-dispensed Suppressor, which lowers both the flash of light and the amount of heat emitted when the beam rifle fires to reduce the suit's detectability.

Long Beam Saber – Incorporated into the 57mm High-energy Beam Rifle, the Long Beam Saber functions exactly the same as the Type 70 Beam Saber, with the exception of the blade's length, which is twice that of a normal beam saber.

12 x "Spike Dart" Miniature High-Explosive Hypervelocity Kinetic Energy Penetrator – The "Trikeros Kai" is equipped with twelve "Spike Dart" Miniature High-Explosive Hypervelocity Kinetic Energy Penetrators instead of the Blitz Gundam's three Lancer Darts. While this change allows for more ammunition to be carried, they are not as effective against heavy enemy armor as their smaller size prevents them from carrying as much propellant as their larger counterparts, and therefore can't build up as much momentum when launched. Their small size also prevents them from being used as spears, although they can still be used as daggers.

2 x "Maga no Ikutachi" Energy Absorption Claw (Test Version) A prototype version of the "Maga no Ikutachi" Striker Pack that would later lead to the development of the finished version used by the MBF-P01-Re Gundam Astray Gold Frame Amatsu, these claws can drain the batteries of enemy MS, weakening them while recharging the Schwarzer Blitz's own battery units simultaneously.

2 x "Magashira no Hoko" Harpoon (Test Version) Mounted on the prototype version of the "Maga no Ikutachi" Energy Absorption Claw Striker Pack, they are a pair of harpoons equipped with Phase Shift technology and forged with pure Luna Titanium Alloy, and thus can penetrate almost any armor (including the RX-78 Gundam line), then be retracted on tether lines.

2 x "Armor Schneider II" Combat Knife Stored in the Schwarzer Blitz's side skirt armor are a pair of folding "Armor Schneider II" Combat Knives, which are improved versions of the Armor Schneiders equipped to the GAT-X105 Strike. The biggest difference between the two is that the Armor Schneider IIs are now equipped with a data-gathering functionality, allowing the knives to change their vibration frequency if the first strike fails to cut or pierce through the enemy's armor so that the next strike is guaranteed to do damage, even if the target is equipped with Phase Shift Armor.

2 x XBP-L-71 Prototype Beam Pistol – Stored in specialized holsters that form the front skirt armor are a pair of small XBP-L-71 Prototype Beam Pistols. These weapons are smaller than the XBC-L-71 Prototype Beam Carbines and have even less range and firepower as well, but they have an even higher rate of fire as a tradeoff, and are best suited for close-range shootouts. On the back of each pistol is a small fixed battery unit that can store enough energy for fifteen shots before the Mobile Suit's primary battery takes over.

Special Equipment and Features:

Layered Phase Armor – An improved version of the Earth Alliance's Phase Shift (PS) Armor technology first developed by Tabane Shinonono, Layered Phase (LP) Armor works in a similar manner to the Trans Phase (TP) Armor system that the EA would develop later in the 1st Alliance-PLANT War. LP armor is basically a two-layer armor system, with the PS Armor on the inner layer of normal armor. The inner PS Armor only activates when the outer layer is breached, thus saving energy and preventing the consumption of large quantities of energy non-stop until the armor is turned off. This results in LP-armored units having a longer operational time as well as more energy for their power-hungry beam weapons. However, LP-armored Mobile Suits are still vulnerable to heavy attack from multiple vectors (a sufficiently powerful weapon could also overpower the LP armor).

3D Ultracompact Optical Sensor Array A 3D sensor array made of ultra-small optical sensor units, it is mounted in the head and protected by a visor; the visor looks similar to the one used by UT-1D Civilian Astray DSSD Custom. When used together with high performance graphic processing units, super high-definition recording is possible.

Dual Hand PlugsFirst tested with the MBF-P01 Gundam Astray Gold Frame, the Dual Hand Plugs allow the Schwarzer Blitz to use both Orb Union and Earth Alliance MS weapons.

360-degree Panoramic Cockpit (Test Unit) – In place of a standard cockpit, the Schwarzer Blitz Gundam is equipped with a prototype 360-degree Panoramic Cockpit. The multiple panels of the panoramic monitor make up a single 360-degree display, which covers the entire inner surface of the spherical cockpit. The image displayed on the monitor is a computer simulation constructed from the cameras distributed around the Mobile Suit's exterior. The viewpoint is that of the Mobile Suit's head, and the image is carefully edited to remove the Mobile Suit itself.

Linear Floating Seat (Test Unit) Instead of a regular cockpit seat, the Schwarzer Blitz is equipped with a new linear floating seat. In this arrangement, the seat is suspended in the center of the cockpit, supported by a linear arm which electromagnetically counters G-forces and impact shocks in order to protect the pilot. When used in conjunction with the 360-degree panoramic monitor, the linear seat also gives the pilot a larger field of view and eliminates blind spots.

Mirage Colloid Stealth System – The Schwarzer Blitz is the first Orb mobile weapon to use the Mirage Colloid Stealth System. In this system, a powerful magnetic field is utilized to hold in place microscopic prisms capable of blocking infra-red emission as well as bend visible light and radio waves around an object (e.g. a Mobile Suit). This system's energy consumption is considerably high, and even with the Schwarzer Blitz's three energy batteries it can only remain active for up to 240 minutes. Even then, operating the suit in any basic capacity such as moving the limbs will reduce this time limit even further. Also, since the Phase Shift component of the Layered Phase Armor is disabled while the Mirage Colloid is active to conserve power, the Schwarzer Blitz is highly vulnerable in its cloaked state if an enemy is able to locate its position.

Gas Propulsion Stealth System - Besides its Mirage Colloid stealth system, the Schwarzer Blitz is equipped with a specialized stealth system, which uses jets of gas to propel the suit while the Mirage Colloid System is active. Since this gas doesn't emit any heat, the Blitz Astray is able to avoid detection by thermal sensors. This gas is stored in external tanks mounted on the inner legs, and can be ejected once depleted.

12 x Smoke Dispenser Port – There are a total of twelve smoke dispenser ports scattered on the Schwarzer Blitz's body, with two on each arm, two on each leg, and four on the torso. The smoke generated is thick enough to temporarily blind optical sensors, while radar imaging is also jammed in a small area due to the countless thin aluminum strips that are also ejected from the ports.

Hardpoints for Striker Packs – The Schwarzer Blitz also features hardpoints on the back for Striker Packs, which is primarily used for the "Maga no Ikutachi" Striker Pack.

Enhanced Multiband Sensor Cluster – Other than the 3D Ultracompact Optical Sensor Array, the Schwarzer Blitz also carries a cluster of sensors mounted on the side of the head, giving it a wider data-gathering range.

Metaphase SQUID Sensor – A sensor unit that allows the unit to carry out reconnaissance even under the effects of N-Jammers. This sensor also contains bi-directional quantum bit-stream communication system, which is still in experimental phase and in principle, is capable of eavesdropping on enemy's laser communications.

Optional Equipment:

2 x 9-tube "Fliegerhammer II" Guided Rocket Launcher The Fliegerhammer II is an improved version of the original "Fliegerhammer" Rocket Launcher used by Sanya V. Litvyak's custom GINN. Unlike its predecessor, it can fire more rockets27 total compared to the original Fliegerhammer's 18 rocketsand can be ejected once depleted of rockets. The Schwarzer Blitz can carry up to two "Fliegerhammer II" rocket launchers when sortieing, and when not in use are attached to the back of the shoulders.

GM handheld ballistic weapons

ZAFT MS handheld ballistic weapons

Colors: Colors: [A/N: based on Sanya V. Litvyak's SW uniform]

Technical Notes: The ORB-Y207 Schwarzer Blitz Gundam is the third of the five redesigned Earth Alliance G-Weapons developed as a part of Project Vengeance. Numerous design changes were made to improve the unit's performance, including installing "Phalanx" CIWS for missile interception, Dual Hand Plugs for increased weapons compatibility, improved thruster output and the "Maga no Ikutachi" Striker Pack to increase maneuverability and offensive power, Layered Phase Armor for increased defense and battery longevity, improved sensor arrays to increase its reconnaissance and signal-intercept capabilities, and a 360-degree panoramic cockpit and linear seat to increase situational awareness. Like the original GAT-X207 Blitz Gundam, the Schwarzer Blitz Gundam is a special operations unit that can turn invisible to both sensors and the naked eye. Appearance-wise, the armor layout on the torso, upper arms, skirt, and thighs is similar to the three Y100 frames, the Defiant Duel, Ballista Buster and Strike Witch, allowing for some of the Schwarzer Blitz's armor to be maintained and repaired using parts from the other two when needed. Similarly, 70% of the internal systems and hardware are shared amongst the five Gundams of Project Vengeance, greatly increasing their ease of maintenance and simplifying the logistics for spare parts.


ORB-Y303 Athena Aegis Gundam

Model number: ORB-Y303

Namesake: Athena, Aegis

Unit type: Prototype Commander-use Transformable Assault MS

Developed from: RX-78E Gundam GT-FOUR, ORX-005 Gaplant, GAT-X303 Aegis Gundam

Developed into: MBF-M2D Astray Command Type

Variants: none

Manufacturer: Morgenroete Inc

Operators: Orb Union, 13th Azad Task Force/Crossbone Vanguard

Known Pilots: Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke

Power-plant: 4 x Ultracompact Energy Battery (1 x in torso, 1 x in backpack, 2 x in Movable Shield Binders); [REDACTED]

Armor: Luna Titanium Alloy/Carbyne Composite; Layered Phase Armor

Armaments:

2 x 20mm "Phalanx" Block 9MS CIWS – The 20mm "Phalanx" Block 9MS CIWS are a variant of the current evolution of the "Phalanx" CIWS from the Old Calendar Era. Unlike the Block 9D CIWS installed on naval vessels, the Block 9MS are specially modified to be installed in the head of a Mobile Suit. While their smaller caliber of 20mm makes them useless against the armor of enemy Mobile Suits, they have a much higher ammunition capacity as a trade-off. Their smaller caliber also makes them better suited against missiles, aircraft, and precise targeting of the sensors of an enemy Mobile Suit than similar CIWS with a higher caliber such as the Earth Alliance's "Igelstellungs", which are more of a multi-role CIWS since their larger caliber is capable of damaging Mobile Suit armor.

6 x Type 70 Beam Saber – The six Type 70 Beam Sabers are the primary melee weapons of Orb's next-generation Mobile Suits and are similar to the beam sabers that both the EA and later ZAFT equip to their own MS. The sabers are more powerful than the previous Sonic Blade's Plasma Sword mode, and are capable of slicing through both Mobile Suit and ship armor with relative ease if it hasn't been treated with an anti-beam coating or a similar countermeasure. They do, however, have one weakness; as the beam particles are kept within an uncontained energy bind, the blades don't have a repelling factor, and are therefore unable to block and parry other beam sabers of the same type. Two of the beam sabers are handheld, and are mounted on the backpack when not in use, while the other four sabers are mounted on the limbs, with two on the forearms and two on the feet.

2 x Movable Shield Binder – Instead of a normal shield, the Athena Aegis Gundam is equipped with two Movable Shield Binders that are mounted on the arms. Developed using blueprints of the ORX-005 Gaplant test unit designed and supplied by Tabane Shinonono as a base, the Movable Shield Binders are both the primary offensive and defensive armament of the Athena Aegis, as each binder incorporates a beam rifle and two rail-rifles due to their increased width, and an anti-beam coating on its surface to protect against enemy beam weaponry. In addition, each binder also incorporates thruster units on the back for increased mobility, an external propellant tank for increased fuel load, and a single built-in battery to increase the suit's effective operational time.

2 x 57mm High-energy Beam Rifle – Mounted in the forward centerline of each binder is a single 57mm High-energy Beam Rifle, which is the same beam rifle used by the ORB-Y105 Strike Witch Gundam. These weapons can freely switch between fire-linked and independent firing modes, and are capable of firing at two different targets simultaneously.

4 x 51mm Rail-Rifle Mounted on the sides of each High-energy Beam Cannon is a pair of 51mm Rail-Rifles, and are identical to the MPT-76 Battle Rail-Rifles. Each rifle is fed through a 72-round box magazine, granting a total of 288 rounds of available ammunition before they have to be reloaded.

"Scylla" 580mm Energy Cannon – Mounted in the torso of the Athena Aegis is a "Scylla" 580mm Energy Cannon. It is the largest caliber beam weapon to be mounted on a Project Vengeance Mobile Suit and is also the most powerful; a single well-placed shot is all that's needed to take down a battleship. However, this comes with the cost of the weapon consuming a substantial amount of energy per shot. Unlike the Scylla that is equipped to the original Aegis, the Athena Aegis does not need to transform to use this weapon due to the redesigned torso and transformation, and it is available in both MS and MA mode.

2 x "Armor Schneider II" Combat Knife Stored in the Athena Aegis's side skirt armor are a pair of folding "Armor Schneider II" Combat Knives, which are improved versions of the Armor Schneiders equipped to the GAT-X105 Strike. The biggest difference between the two is that the Armor Schneider IIs are now equipped with a data-gathering functionality, allowing the knives to change their vibration frequency if the first strike fails to cut or pierce through the enemy's armor so that the next strike is guaranteed to do damage, even if the target is equipped with Phase Shift Armor.

2 x XBP-L-71 Prototype Beam Pistol – Stored in specialized holsters that form the front skirt armor are a pair of small XBP-L-71 Prototype Beam Pistols. These weapons are smaller than the XBC-L-71 Prototype Beam Carbines and have even less range and firepower as well, but they have an even higher rate of fire as a tradeoff, and are best suited for close-range shootouts. On the back of each pistol is a small fixed battery unit that can store enough energy for fifteen shots before the Mobile Suit's primary battery takes over.

Special Equipment and Features:

Layered Phase Armor – An improved version of the Earth Alliance's Phase Shift (PS) Armor technology first developed by Tabane Shinonono, Layered Phase (LP) Armor works in a similar manner to the Trans Phase (TP) Armor system that the EA would develop later in the 1st Alliance-PLANT War. LP armor is basically a two-layer armor system, with the PS Armor on the inner layer of normal armor. The inner PS Armor only activates when the outer layer is breached, thus saving energy and preventing the consumption of large quantities of energy non-stop until the armor is turned off. This results in LP-armored units having a longer operational time as well as more energy for their power-hungry beam weapons. However, LP-armored Mobile Suits are still vulnerable to heavy attack from multiple vectors (a sufficiently powerful weapon could also overpower the LP armor).

3D Ultracompact Optical Sensor Array A 3D sensor array made of ultra-small optical sensor units, it is mounted in the head and protected by a visor; the visor looks similar to the one used by UT-1D Civilian Astray DSSD Custom. When used together with high performance graphic processing units, super high-definition recording is possible.

Dual Hand PlugsFirst tested with the MBF-P01 Gundam Astray Gold Frame, the Dual Hand Plugs allow the Athena Aegis to use both Orb Union and Earth Alliance MS weapons.

360-degree Panoramic Cockpit (Test Unit) – In place of a standard cockpit, the Athena Aegis Gundam is equipped with a prototype 360-degree Panoramic Cockpit. The multiple panels of the panoramic monitor make up a single 360-degree display, which covers the entire inner surface of the spherical cockpit. The image displayed on the monitor is a computer simulation constructed from the cameras distributed around the Mobile Suit's exterior. The viewpoint is that of the Mobile Suit's head, and the image is carefully edited to remove the Mobile Suit itself.

Linear Floating Seat (Test Unit) Instead of a regular cockpit seat, the Athena Aegis is equipped with a new linear floating seat. In this arrangement, the seat is suspended in the center of the cockpit, supported by a linear arm which electromagnetically counters G-forces and impact shocks in order to protect the pilot. When used in conjunction with the 360-degree panoramic monitor, the linear seat also gives the pilot a larger field of view and eliminates blind spots.

Optional Equipment:

60mm High Energy Beam Rifle

GM handheld ballistic weapons

ZAFT MS handheld ballistic weapons

Colors: various red jewel and gemstone colors

Technical Notes: The ORB-Y303 Athena Aegis Gundam is the fourth of the five redesigned Earth Alliance G-Weapons developed as a part of Project Vengeance. Numerous design changes were made to improve the unit's performance, including swapping the "Igelstellung" CIWS for the smaller "Phalanx" for increased ammunition load, Dual Hand Plugs for increased weapons compatibility, improved thruster output to increase maneuverability, Layered Phase Armor for increased defense and battery longevity, Movable Shield Binders for increased offensive and defensive capabilities as well as increased mobility, a completely redesigned transformation system based on Tabane Shinonono's experimental ORX-005 Gaplant that reduces the stresses induced on the frame while also strengthening its integrity, and a 360-degree panoramic cockpit and linear seat to increase situational awareness. Like the original GAT-X303 Aegis Gundam, the Athena Aegis Gundam is a transformable commander-use unit that has enhanced communication and analysis capabilities, as well as high offensive power. Appearance-wise, the armor layout of the upper arms, skirt, and thighs is similar to the other four Project Vengeance Gundams, allowing those sections of the Athena Aegis's armor to be maintained and repaired using parts from the other two when needed. Similarly, 70% of the internal systems and hardware are shared amongst the five Gundams of Project Vengeance, greatly increasing their ease of maintenance and simplifying the logistics for spare parts.