After about an hour, Zhou Tianming identified the problematic shuttle among Copernicus City's numerous spacecraft.
By cross-referencing its flight path with the covert Mobile Suit routes from Patrick's side, he discovered a debris field.
It wasn't located between Earth and the various satellites, but rather in space just beyond PLANT.
The Black Tortoise arrived in the vicinity around 7:00 PM.
From the Bridge, the optical telescope only revealed floating accumulations of metallic scrap and debris.
Zhou Tianming contemplated rescue strategies.
Lenore must have guards watching her - they needed to prevent desperate measures against the mother and child.
This ruled out any plan that would eliminate all opponents at once. Without hope of survival, people tend to act recklessly, especially religious fanatics.
They had to find a way to protect both of them first.
After careful consideration, he formed a plan.
"White Rabbit, prepare the Vermilion Bird and modify several Feather Plumes for the rescue team."
"Understood!"
He paused briefly. "Switch to stun guns. Not in front of Athrun..."
"Understood!"
Zhou Tianming rose from the captain's chair and looked at Lacus beside him. "You should return to your room."
Lacus shook her head. "I want to see what real combat looks like."
"It's too early for you." Zhou Tianming turned her by the shoulders and guided her toward the corridor. "Understanding this kind of battle has no value - it's just meaningless slaughter."
Lacus leaned back, digging her heels into the floor, but still couldn't resist Zhou Tianming's strength as she was pushed into the hallway. "I've grown up! Please don't treat me like a child!"
"If you're an adult, you should understand the reasons behind conflicts. Read more books - watch less of this killing."
Guiding her to his study, Zhou Tianming pointed at the bookshelf. "Reading a couple of political textbooks will be more useful than watching me fight."
Lacus turned to protest, but Zhou Tianming suddenly closed the door, the panel brushing past her nose and leaving a red mark.
Clutching her nose, Lacus glared furiously at the door, her cheeks puffed up in anger.
"White Rabbit, lock the door. Don't let her out until she's finished two political textbooks."
"Understood."
Inside the room, after several attempts at the door lock all showed red X marks, Lacus stared indignantly at the lock.
In the changing room, Zhou Tianming changed into a specially designed black pilot suit.
Turning the wrist switch, the suit automatically vented air and conformed to his body, while yellow patterns on the clothing lit up.
"Let's see how effective this is. If it works, the improvement won't be minor."
Arriving at the ejection rail where the Mobile Armor was parked, Zhou Tianming flipped down from the elevated platform, landing precisely inside the Vermilion Bird's cockpit. He powered up the systems with practiced ease, waiting for the self-check procedures to complete.
The forward hatch opened as the ejection rail extended outward, electromagnetic field generators lighting up sequentially along both sides.
"Zhou Tianming, Vermilion Bird, launching!"
Amid flashing electric arcs, the Vermilion Bird was catapulted out at tremendous speed.
After clearing the Black Tortoise, its wings unfurled with crimson radiance, transforming into a scarlet meteor streaking through space.
It soon reached the debris field, plunging into it without slowing down.
The Feather Plumes on its wings constantly adjusted its attitude as it maneuvered nimbly through clusters of space junk and fragments.
It didn't take long to spot the target - sitting openly in a relatively clear area without any attempt at concealment. Ten gray-white Ginn units with large fin antennas, mono-eyes, and bulky thruster packs surrounded a shuttle.
Zhou Tianming pushed the pedals down, maxing out the thrusters as the Vermilion Bird's wings flashed crimson and accelerated further.
The Ginn units detected the Vermilion Bird and turned in unison, their mono-eyes fixed on it while raising 76mm heavy assault rifles to open fire.
But the Vermilion Bird was too fast - by the time the yellow tracers left their barrels, it was already upon them.
With wings emitting red light, the Vermilion Bird spun and dodged up and down through the bullet streams, its head-mounted vulcan cannons spitting fire.
The rounds struck the heavy assault rifles of three nearby Ginn units, forcing them to discard their weapons moments before the rifles exploded.
In the flash, the Vermilion Bird suddenly accelerated and shot upward.
The three disarmed Ginn units drew solid heavy cleavers from their waist mounts, remaining near the shuttle while the other seven formed up and pursued the Vermilion Bird. They moved cautiously, maintaining a circular formation while monitoring all directions.
Whenever the Vermilion Bird emerged from behind debris to charge, countless bullets would immediately shred the cover, forcing it to retreat quickly.
The back-and-forth continued with the Ginn commander maintaining disciplined control, refusing to recklessly pursue the Vermilion Bird.
Several charge attempts were repelled, creating a stalemate.
The battlefield fell silent as the Vermilion Bird seemed to disappear, launching no further attacks.
The seven Ginn units scanned with their mono-eyes.
After ten minutes, one pilot reported: "Commander, could that MA have gone for the shuttle?"
Smith considered this: "Stay alert - it might be waiting for us to lower our guard."
"One MA can't rescue anyone alone. Without dealing with us, we can easily recapture any hostages."
Suddenly, debris and fragments from all directions - above, below, left, right - accelerated toward the Ginn units.
They opened fire, instantly shredding the incoming junk, but more came flying at high speed.
"Cease fire!" Smith shouted. "He's wasting our ammunition! Tris! You and units 3 and 4 draw swords to clear the debris! Units 5 through 7, provide covering fire!"
"Understood!"
The Ginn formation shifted, with four outer units drawing blades to slice through the incoming debris.
The three inner units stood back-to-back with rifles ready, their pink mono-eyes scanning constantly.
Abruptly, a massive rock came hurtling at extreme velocity. The three inner Ginn units opened fire, their rounds embedding deeply in the asteroid but failing to shatter it. Within moments, the boulder was upon them, forcing the Ginn units to scatter and evade.
The moment they scattered, the Vermilion Bird darted out from behind the boulder, spinning as it unleashed a torrent of bullets toward the Ginn units.
Some dodged with swift movements, others raised their swords to shield their cockpits, while two dragged nearby debris as cover and returned fire. A barrage of rounds flew.
The Vermilion Bird's wings glowed, accelerating its speed as bullets chased closely behind.
The remaining Ginn units regained their composure and opened fire.
Trajectories wove a net gradually enclosing the Vermilion Bird.
In that split second, it surged forward instead of retreating, transforming into a crimson streak slipping through the gaps of the still-forming "net."
In a single breath, it closed in on a rifle-wielding Ginn.
Vulcan cannons spat flames, rounds striking the Ginn's mono-eye.
The mono-eye shattered, spewing black smoke.
As the head turned, the nearest Ginn raised its arm to shield its eye—bullets ricocheted off, leaving only dents, but the assault rifle in its hand exploded from a hit, shredding its palm.
Nearby Ginns swung their swords down. The Vermilion Bird's left wing Feather Plumes drooped, emitting a red glow as it pivoted vertically, evading a greatsword sweeping beneath its belly.
By the time the Ginns swung their blades horizontally, the Vermilion Bird had already accelerated into the distance.
Though no units were lost, the assault made them acutely aware of the Vermilion Bird's prowess, driving them to regroup tightly. From afar, hidden behind a massive rock, the Vermilion Bird peered out, its green mechanical irises contracting and shifting.
Zhou Tianming smirked. "They're sufficiently rattled. Let them wrestle with shadows for a while."
With that, he stealthily guided the Vermilion Bird toward the shuttle.
At the shuttle, three Ginns scanned their surroundings vigilantly.
Suddenly, they spotted three red streaks hurtling toward them.
Small and swift, the crimson lights closed in instantly.
They slashed with their swords, but the streaks nimbly dodged, coiling up the blades.
"What?!"
A pilot's exclamation was cut short as his screen flooded with red—then shattered, sharp orange-red metal piercing through his body.
They melted into red beams before a scream could escape.
Inside the shuttle, crew noticed the Ginns outside briefly twitch their swords. A concerned operator keyed the comms: "Respond. Any anomalies?" Silence.
As alarms were about to sound, static crackled through the speaker: "All... clear."
The shuttle operator sighed in relief. "Don't scare us like that. Why is the interference so severe here?"
Outside, the Feather Plumes embedded in the Ginns' abdomens split open, releasing White Rabbit units clad in green camouflage, their faces painted to match.
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