The battle around the Library continued, but at this point, aside from the garrison forces on the agricultural colony restlessly waiting for the order to sortie, Durandal fell into silence.
Ignoring the one-sided battle where the Library's mobile suits were being rapidly eliminated due to the Unicorn's participation, Durandal focused entirely on the combat footage of the Unicorn and the Kshatriya.
He opened a document and frequently dragged the video timeline, analyzing the previous fight.
While the Library-manufactured Kshatriya's use of DRAGOONs brought a slight surprise to Durandal, the result—the Kshatriya completely losing control of its DRAGOONs after the Unicorn captured one and underwent its transformation, revealing its "Gundam" form—made him instinctively frown.
"It gained operational control immediately after capturing a DRAGOON... Does that mean Amuro hacked the DRAGOONs' operating system from within? No, given the time he spent weaving through the beam attacks, even the strongest Coordinator couldn't possibly perform such a feat..."
Durandal typed the characters "DRAGOON" into the document, then paused. "...Or does the mobile suit have a specialized AI built in?"
Putting aside Blue Cosmos's wetware, the best artificial intelligence in this world was probably Hachi, in Lowe Guele's possession, but Durandal was unaware of Hachi's existence. He could only compare it with currently known AIs, leading him to the deduction that "the Unicorn contains a very powerful artificial intelligence."
Of course, Durandal still couldn't rule out the possibility of Roz Links simultaneously piloting the Unicorn to evade beam attacks and cracking the DRAGOONs' operating system.
"Sure enough, against the Unicorn, wired control is better."
After much thought, Durandal shook his head. Next to the "DRAGOON" notation, he added the words "Wired Control".
While wired DRAGOONs were significantly more primitive than the current wireless versions, and their firing angles were less flexible, facing an enemy like the Unicorn that could seize control of the DRAGOONs, ensuring the mobile suit's weaponry remained under one's own command was the highest priority.
However, a mobile suit like the Kshatriya also gave Durandal a few ideas.
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"Are those... Funnels?" Roz Links frowned, looking at the two white Mobile Suits releasing Funnels in front of him.
The skirmish with the Kshatriya's two dozen DRAGOON units and the overwhelming beams had left Roz Links slightly fatigued. Because the DRAGOONs were not Psycommu systems, the Unicorn couldn't quickly counter them. He could only continually capture the units to find the interface and seize control.
However, if he used ranged attacks to destroy these Funnels, the ZAFT agricultural colony would be in his line of fire, and it would inevitably be affected by the Beam Magnum.
Clearly, the man named "Durandal" he had talked to earlier was still restraining the garrison forces on the agricultural colony. Otherwise, ZAFT's forces would have launched the second the battle began. If the agricultural colony were affected by the Beam Magnum, this fragile stability would instantly collapse.
However... just because he didn't have the right weapon didn't mean others didn't.
Roz Links shifted his gaze away from the two units constantly releasing DRAGOONs and searched for a suitable target.
"Then, you're the target!"
Just then, Roz Links spotted an orange-and-white MS, and its face, which had a faintly familiar resemblance to the Duel Gundam.
He chose this unit because Roz Links saw that it was holding something like a bazooka in its hand, and it had a beam rifle on its waist, similar to the Duel.
Such conventional armaments were exactly what Roz Links urgently needed.
The most crucial point was that this unit was slow, with mobility comparable to some modified version of the Buster Gundam nearby.
Why not target the modified Buster? Simply because Roz Links hadn't used a bazooka in a long time, and he was currently quite nostalgic for that type of weapon.
Roz Links stomped the pedals. The Unicorn, having holstered the Beam Magnum and freeing its right hand, flashed its beam saber from the forearm as it zipped past the Funnels of the two white units.
With a smooth roll, Roz Links sliced a Funnel in half with the beam saber. But there was no moment of sorrow for the passing of the Funnel. The next thing to face the beam saber was the white MS, which was rotating the disc on its right shoulder and using its Funnels as gun turrets!
"Roz Links?! You're here..."
Lowe Guele, who was being besieged by several Library MS and harassed by DRAGOONs, looked at the Unicorn bursting into the fray with pleasant surprise. But in the next second, he watched the Unicorn casually slice off the white MS's disc-shaped shoulder armor, exit the battle, and fly toward another orange-and-white MS, leaving him momentarily stunned.
"...Ah, gone again."
The orange-and-white MS, which looked like a modified Duel, saw the rapidly approaching Unicorn and drew a beam saber from its knee.
In the next moment, the Unicorn's shield slammed onto the orange-and-white MS, knocking its hand aside.
"Trying to run? Hand over your bazooka obediently!" Seeing the bazooka within reach, Roz Links flashed a wide, genuine smile.
Before the orange-and-white MS pilot could react, the Unicorn spun to its left side, and the beam saber pierced directly into the machine's waist, exiting the other side.
To prevent any potential counterattack, Roz Links twisted the beam saber twice inside the mobile suit before retracting the blade.
He used his left hand to retrieve the Duel-type beam rifle from the unit's waist and his right hand to grab the weapon, which looked like some kind of Rail Bazooka, secured by a mechanical arm.
With a forceful yank of his right hand, the mechanical arm holding the bazooka snapped off. The unit, along with the high-energy battery compromised by the beam saber and now preparing to explode, was flung away.
The Unicorn's hand interface quickly synchronized, and the weapon information immediately appeared in the all-around cockpit.
"Gáe Bulg Rail Bazooka... It's been a while since I used a bazooka. I hope I'm not rusty." Looking at the unfamiliar name with a touch of familiarity, Roz Links raised the bazooka in his hand and fired a shot at the modified Buster, which was retreating nearby.
The round shot out of the barrel at extreme speed, accurately hitting the modified Buster's... lower body?
Although it didn't hit the cockpit, perhaps the PS Armor's power output was adjusted to coordinate with other weapons? This single rocket blast overloaded the PS Armor of the modified Buster.
"The trajectory is low... were the parameters changed? To prevent it from being picked up and used?" Roz Links narrowed his eyes, seeing that the rocket, which he had clearly aimed at the cockpit, instead hit the lower body. He adjusted the aiming reticle slightly higher.
Another round flew out of the barrel, accurately striking the modified Buster, which had lost its PS Armor, and shredded the cockpit.
Just as Roz Links knew the approximate location of the Strike's cockpit, he also knew the approximate location of the Buster's cockpit, which was currently in Orb's possession and not yet returned.
"Now then... you're next!"
Without hesitation, Roz Links raised the Duel-type beam rifle in his left hand and accurately point-blanked two newly launched Funnels.
"Roz Links?! You're here again?!" Lowe Guele, seeing the Unicorn approach once more, retracted the large sword on the Red Astray's back, parried the Gale Strike Gundam in front of him, and complained.
"Hurry up and destroy these two units called Nix Providence! Gai and I can't hold on much longer!"
Gai Murakumo, piloting the Blue Astray, was constantly circling one of the white MS with a beam rifle in one hand and a large sword in the other, trying to find an opening to rush toward the Nix Providence.
Roz Links responded to Lowe Guele with several green beams.
These beams precisely point-blanked several DRAGOON units, creating a vacuum in the firepower.
The Unicorn, holding the Gáe Bulg Rail Bazooka, thrust into the gap in the battle. It spun sharply, kicking both feet into one of the Nix Providence units.
The bazooka, which even the Duel Buster needed a mechanical arm to assist with, fired three rounds in rapid succession from the Unicorn's hands.
Two shots shattered the Nix Providence's PS Armor, and the third struck the Nix Providence's battery, causing it to explode right under the Unicorn's feet.
Taking advantage of the other Nix Providence's momentary distraction, Gai Murakumo quickly seized the opportunity. The Blue Astray surged forward toward the Nix Providence in front of him.
At such close range, the DRAGOONs were completely useless, forcing the Nix Providence to draw its beam saber.
But in the next second, the Blue Astray's massive sword knocked the Nix Providence away.
"Nice teamwork!"
Roz Links, having just destroyed one Nix Providence, quickly estimated the PS Armor status and approximate trajectory of the one Gai Murakumo had knocked away, and expertly raised his weapon and fired.
Two rounds cleaved the Nix Providence in half at the waist. The rounds that passed through the mobile suit even flew toward the "Library," creating yet another hole in the already tattered exterior of the base.
Gai Murakumo showed no mercy, knowing that he wasn't entirely sure of the Nix Providence's cockpit location. The massive sword in his hand sliced into the Nix Providence's upper body from bottom to top, churning the fractured cockpit and machine components into debris.
"That's teamwork."
At this moment, Gai Murakumo finally relaxed slightly. He shook the Nix Providence's wreckage off his large sword. The Blue Astray nodded toward the Unicorn and turned to fly toward the two Gale Strike units that were besieging the Red Astray.
Just then, a red-and-white high-energy beam shot from afar, destroying an MS attempting to fly out of the "Library."
"...Mu, four MS units are flying toward you. I'll head back now..." Roz Links saw two Gale Strikes, one Duel Buster, and one modified Buster flying toward the Strike piloted by Mu La Flaga and instinctively moved to fly back toward the battleship.
"No... you go dismantle that Library to prevent future trouble." Mu's voice came through the comms. "Though I can't beat you, I can handle these few units."
"You should have some faith in the abilities of me and Murrue."
"...I understand. Call me if you can't hold out." Roz Links was silent for a moment, then steered the Unicorn around to face the "Library," swapping the Duel-type beam rifle in his left hand back for the Beam Magnum.
"Heh... How can a man say he can't hold out?" Mu chuckled in the comms, his voice hearty.
.....................