Faced with the Unicorn, which had drawn its beam saber and was rapidly approaching, Prokos in the Kshatriya cockpit frowned, instinctively preparing to draw his own beam saber in response.
The Kshatriya's left wrist deployed a beam saber hilt twice the size of a normal MS's. The Kshatriya twisted its wrist to grasp it, extending the beam blade and thrusting it toward the Unicorn.
A familiar beam shield deflected the beam blade—which was twice the size of a normal MS beam—as the Unicorn rapidly closed in on the Kshatriya.
The beam saber's particle stream scattered into space like water hitting a hard rock.
"Beam Shield?! How is it this powerful when used on an MS?!" Prokos' eyes widened instinctively, seeing the Unicorn aggressively pushing forward with its beam shield and superior thrust.
Suddenly, the Unicorn's figure ignored the scattered beam particles and emerged from behind the shield, its beam saber slashing toward the Kshatriya.
LK1, the DRAGOON operator, frowned and immediately deployed all the remaining DRAGOONs from the Kshatriya's left "wing," while using the wing itself to shield the front of the mobile suit.
The wing, which had previously withstood being rammed into the "Library" wall by the Unicorn and could be used as a shield, was cleanly sliced open by the Unicorn's beam saber, which had its output power increased, revealing the mobile suit underneath.
"Don't freeze! Retreat quickly!"
Seeing the scene unfold and noticing Prokos, who seemed momentarily stunned, LK1 frowned. He and LK2 immediately steered the thirteen deployed DRAGOONs to attack the Unicorn in front of the Kshatriya.
Sensing the murderous intent from all directions, Roz Links maneuvered the Unicorn, kicking the waist of the still-reeling Kshatriya, and activated the thrusters.
The violent impact slightly distorted Prokos's actions in piloting the Kshatriya. Fortunately, LK1 and LK2 maintained a steady hand, preventing any distortion in their DRAGOON operation.
As the Unicorn distanced itself from the Kshatriya, the beams from the DRAGOONs converged on the Unicorn's previous location, weaving a dense net.
"Tsk... DRAGOONs..." Roz Links frowned, looking at the thirteen attacking DRAGOONs on the all-around monitor.
"Can't we hack them?"
Seeing the DRAGOONs preparing to attack, Roz Links instinctively wanted to push their direction, just as he had done to missiles while piloting the Jegan A-Type.
However, Roz Links watched with his own eyes as the DRAGOON he managed to push and slightly change direction instantly corrected its trajectory. Roz Links didn't even have time to push it a second time.
"Their DRAGOONs are completely different from ours."
At this moment, a large Haro, fixed to the pilot seat and the size of a normal Haro, flapped its wings and explained, "Our DRAGOONs are Psycho-Frame-based Psycommu weapons, while their DRAGOONs are more like computers connected by a local area network."
"Of course, if you want to hack them, I can help you." The large Haro wobbled in its fixed position. "But you need to capture one DRAGOON first so I can access their local network entry point."
"So, I need to capture one DRAGOON first, right?" Roz Links gritted his teeth, looking at the dozen DRAGOONs marked on the all-around monitor.
"Then let's do it."
Immediately after, Roz Links stomped the pedals again. Blue flames erupted from the Unicorn's back thrusters as it charged toward the Kshatriya.
"Not again... Don't hold back, launch all the remaining DRAGOONs!"
Watching the Unicorn rapidly close in again, Prokos felt a slight cold sweat break out on his forehead.
Just from that brief contact, he had already sensed the gap in technical skill and physical conditioning between himself and the Unicorn's pilot.
The Kshatriya's output power was enough to overwhelm any other Library mobile suit, yet it was forcefully pushed back by the Unicorn and even had its hand crushed... What kind of monster was the opposing pilot to maintain such a high-speed fighting style while operating a machine with this much output power?
"...You're the boss, we'll follow your lead."
Hearing Prokos's order, LK1 frowned and released the rest of the DRAGOONs.
It was important to remember that the Kshatriya was still using first-generation DRAGOONs, and sustained operation was an issue. They frequently had to return to the docking ports for rapid charging to maintain operational continuity, then re-lock onto the enemy and relaunch.
This weaponry, which significantly increased the procedures even after simplification, had yet to be mass-deployed by ZAFT.
Now, with one wing already damaged, the charging ports were strained, forcing LK1 to be highly focused, manually adjusting the DRAGOONs' target acquisition and return for charging.
Twenty-two DRAGOONs surrounded the Unicorn. Dense beams, like a spiderweb, threatened to capture the Unicorn.
A normal person seeing such a dense concentration of DRAGOONs might have given up immediately.
But Roz Links was someone who had faced the "Great Sunwheel Nu Gundam" in simulation training and endured the DRAGOONs operated by "Amuro Ray" for two minutes without hacking them. Moreover, these DRAGOONs showed very obvious signs of manual manipulation... If they were manually controlled, there would inevitably be flaws to exploit as a breakthrough point.
In the very next moment, Roz Links found several DRAGOONs that could serve as "breakthrough points." As he pulled the trigger on the control yoke, the Unicorn, which was turning and flying toward a different direction just before the beams formed a net, looked up at a DRAGOON not far away.
The vulcan cannons in the head unit fired two streams of rounds, effortlessly tearing apart the DRAGOON and creating a gap in the otherwise airtight "beam spiderweb."
"What?!"
Seeing the break in the surrounding net on the screen, LK1's eyes widened. He immediately started maneuvering the DRAGOONs that had just returned to the Kshatriya and were rapidly charging, sending them back out.
"Good chance!"
Roz Links quickly took advantage, destroying another DRAGOON with the head vulcans. Before the Kshatriya could react, he flew through the gap created by the lost DRAGOONs.
"You're not getting away!"
Seeing the Unicorn about to escape the net, Prokos panicked. He activated the four beam cannons near the Kshatriya's chest, firing scattering white beams toward the Unicorn.
The newly deployed DRAGOONs also flew toward the escaped Unicorn, firing green beams from their muzzles once again.
The Unicorn moved through the gaps in the beams with the fluidity of a fish swimming in the sea, seizing a DRAGOON it passed by in its hand.
The Unicorn's hand interface quickly adjusted, completing a direct connection with the DRAGOON.
"Hmph hmph, interface connected... Done! I'm inside their local network. They are your DRAGOONs whenever you give the word."
The large Haro sounded quite pleased, flapping the wings on its head. "However, the signal radiation range in Unicorn mode doesn't seem very wide... You know what to do, right?"
"...Of course, I do."
Hearing the Haro's reply, Roz Links grinned. "The time for the counterattack is now, Unicorn!"
As if sensing Roz Links' mood, the Unicorn, weaving through the beam net, raised its head, looked at the nearby Kshatriya, and deployed its armor, revealing the red glow underneath.
The Unicorn, trailing a red stream of light, smoothly broke free from the beam net once more, reappearing in the Kshatriya's view.
"It transformed... Just as the images showed, a GUNDAM..."
Prokos clenched the control yokes, looking at the machine bathed in red light and its distinct face.
And at this moment, LK1 and LK2's eyes were wide as they watched the DRAGOONs rapidly disappearing from their operation list on the screen.
"...Quick, evade! Those DRAGOONs are not ours!"
"What the... hell are you talking about?"
Alerted by LK2, Prokos also noticed the DRAGOON identification markers rapidly and sequentially disappearing from the screen.
The DRAGOONs, which had been performing continuous maneuvers, were now quietly drifting in space, motionless.
The Unicorn, glowing with red light, extended its free hand toward the Kshatriya and slowly formed a fist.
The remaining eighteen DRAGOONs swiftly reversed their direction. In less than half a second, the missing DRAGOON icons reappeared on the Kshatriya's screen.
However, the icons, which had previously been blue (ally), were now the same red as the Unicorn's icon, marking them as "enemies."
Following instinct, Prokos commanded the Kshatriya to fold its remaining three wings, entering a defensive posture like a broken flower bud.
"What is happening?! Why have all these DRAGOONs become enemies?" Prokos's eyes were bulging, watching the utterly humiliating scene unfold.
"They hacked into our control system and took our DRAGOONs... No, the DRAGOONs are now theirs!" LK1 was sweating profusely, frantically hammering the keyboard in the cockpit, trying to regain control of the DRAGOONs.
But clearly, even the strongest Coordinator would have trouble against the powerful Hachi; moreover, LK1 had been operating for so long yet still couldn't reclaim control of the DRAGOONs.
"Damn it..."
Prokos watched helplessly as several DRAGOONs, using precise angles, continuously fired at the Kshatriya's wings. They eventually melted a small hole, and the other DRAGOONs followed, shooting into the wing's interior through the compromised weak point.
One DRAGOON, exploiting the moment the Kshatriya retracted its beam saber, used its remaining battery power to burst forward at an aggressive angle, colliding with the Kshatriya's left shoulder and firing at point-blank range.
On the mobile suit status display, the Kshatriya's left shoulder instantly turned black. Accompanied by an explosion, the pilot could clearly see the Kshatriya's left arm being blown off.
While PS Armor was excellent at defending against physical rounds, it proved insufficient against beam weaponry.
Like sharks smelling blood, the remaining low-battery DRAGOONs surged toward the exposed left shoulder weakness of the Kshatriya.
"Whaaa! Stay away from me!" Seeing the DRAGOONs swarming toward the Kshatriya, Prokos instinctively cried out.
He stomped the pedals. The Kshatriya abandoned its defensive posture, attempting to rapidly distance itself from the DRAGOONs. The beam cannons near its chest fired beams at the attacking DRAGOONs.
Several DRAGOONs were hit by the beams and exploded midway, but a good number of the beams also struck the "Library," which had already stopped rotating, adding insult to injury to the already battered structure.
"Phew... Safe." Finally, after retreating and counterattacking, the attacking DRAGOONs were completely destroyed, and the few remaining DRAGOONs stopped functioning due to depleted batteries.
But at this moment, LK1 and LK2 froze, staring at the cockpit screen.
Prokos, who had just caught his breath, followed the silent gaze of LK1 and LK2 to the screen.
The Unicorn had appeared right in front of him, pulling out the beam rifle from the video files—the one capable of destroying a Destroy Gundam in a single shot. The PLANT colony he had used as a shield was quietly rotating behind the Unicorn.
"Hee... Can we negotiate?" Realizing that the tide had completely turned, Prokos's genetic survival instinct kicked in. "I surre..."
Before Prokos could finish his attempt, Roz Links unhesitatingly pulled the trigger on the control yoke.
A red high-energy beam burst from the muzzle, struck the Kshatriya's chest, and effortlessly vaporized a large hole in the center of the mobile suit, scattering debris.
To draw the Kshatriya away from the PLANT colony and prevent it from continuing to use the colony as a shield, Roz Links had used the captured DRAGOONs in a specially designed attack pattern to lure the Kshatriya into retreating.
The plan was now clearly a success: the Kshatriya retreated along the planned route, allowing Roz Links to maneuver the Unicorn to face it directly.
"Phew... it's over."
Having dealt with the most troublesome enemy unit, Roz Links sighed slightly, looking back at the PLANT agricultural colony that continued to operate peacefully.
For some reason, the garrison forces on the colony seemed utterly indifferent, allowing the Library and Roz Links' side to fight fiercely without ever showing up.
But now was not the time to be distracted. Lowe Guele and Gai Murakumo were still under siege by the Library's other mobile suits.
'Though, their MS piloting skills... I feel like Yzak Joule could easily beat them.' Roz Links shook his head, stomped the pedals again. The Unicorn, trailing a red stream of light, flew toward the Red Astray and Blue Astray, who were locked in a fierce battle.
.........
(T/N: Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!)