"The... the shield is flying?!"
Having nearly been killed by the Unicorn previously, Lunamaria had been keeping a close eye on that sector of the battlefield. Seeing the psycho-shields move on their own left her dazed.
"Is that the Dragoon system mentioned in the files?"
"Clearly not. Aside from the missiles earlier, the thermal sensors haven't detected any thruster heat signatures," Rey replied, his voice calm as he piloted his Zaku Warrior to destroy a Dagger. He turned his gaze toward the Unicorn, which was raising its Armed Armor BS once more.
"Then what on earth is that thing..."
"Stop worrying about that, Rey! Get over here and help me!"
Just as the atmosphere was becoming heavy, Shinn's voice rang out over the comms—and it sounded pathetically desperate.
"That golden Orb machine—beam attacks are useless against it!"
"...I understand."
Hearing Shinn's frantic shouting, Rey's expression twitched. When we launched earlier to send Stellar away, he was a man of firm resolve, ready to face a court-martial. How did he become so pathetic the moment he got back?
However, Rey knew that while they were currently locked in a fierce battle with the Earth Alliance, it was best not to drag Orb fully into the conflict, especially since the Minerva was currently alone.
"I'll handle the golden machine. Shinn, swap with me!"
A second later, Rey's Zaku Warrior accelerated toward the Akatsuki. The Zaku raised its machine gun and unleashed a spray of fire, tracer rounds drawing a dazzling chain of light through the dark.
"Cagalli, get back!"
Seeing the incoming kinetic rounds, Mu's eyes widened. He maneuvered the Strike to shield the Akatsuki.
If Phase Shift (PS) Armor represented a machine that put all its talent points into physical defense, then the Akatsuki's Yata-no-Kagami armor was the opposite—total investment in beam resistance and reflection. Since the shield was also coated in the same gold leaf, its physical durability was merely "adequate." The Akatsuki was dangerously vulnerable to solid projectiles.
Of course, a machine specialized for beam reflection was designed for a "future" where beam weapons dominated the battlefield.
The machine gun rounds hammered against the Strike's shield and armor like a rainstorm. Mu instinctively checked his energy gauge. Fortunately, with the new nuclear reactor, the power levels remained perfectly stable. He breathed a sigh of relief.
But compared to Mu, Rey's expression was far from positive.
"The Strike's energy levels are wrong!" Rey realized the discrepancy after noting the volume of fire the Strike was soaking up. "The hit-to-drain ratio doesn't match the data... is it nuclear-powered?!"
It only took a moment of thought for Rey to feel he had grasped the truth. "Is it because of the Freedom?!"
As one of the two "stolen" nuclear-powered machines, ZAFT possessed extensive data on the Freedom. Speak of the devil—the Freedom was currently weaving through the battlefield, its beam rifle systematically disabling the limbs and sensors of the Earth Alliance Daggers.
"Shinn, you handle the Freedom!" Rey commanded over the private channel while maneuvering his Zaku to skirmish with the Akatsuki and the Strike. "You know the deal—the more combat results you rack up now, the better for you later!"
"Tsk... I know!"
Shinn gritted his teeth and flew the Impulse to the front of the Minerva. A high-energy beam suddenly erupted from a specialized emitter on the Minerva, striking a receiver unit on the Impulse's head.
As the energy was absorbed, the Impulse—which was running low on power after the high-intensity duel with the Akatsuki—was instantly recharged to full capacity. This was the Deuterion Beam Energy Transfer System, a core design feature of the Minerva and the Impulse, allowing for rapid battlefield recharging to ensure the MS's endurance.
With his batteries full, Shinn exhaled slowly and turned the Impulse to intercept the Freedom.
-----------------------------------
The Freedom and the Impulse engaged, their movements locked in a dance of hesitation.
It was a clash where both sides were holding back. Kira, true to his nature, harbored a deep-seated aversion to taking lives. Shinn, on the other hand, had no desire for this fight; his mind was fixed on escaping so that Mayu could safely get Stellar to medical aid. This resulted in a stalemate of precision strikes—both pilots aimed for limbs and sensors. Occasionally, one of Shinn's stray shots would clip the Freedom's torso, only to be effortlessly deflected by Kira's shield.
However, this lingering standoff was destined to be shattered.
By some stroke of luck—like a blind cat finding a dead mouse—a Dagger stumbled directly into a sniper beam fired by Lunamaria, its armor melting before it erupted into fragments. Lunamaria exhaled a small sigh of relief and began scanning for her next target.
That was when she spotted the Impulse and the Freedom squared off, seemingly testing one another. Remembering that the Freedom was classified in ZAFT intelligence as a "stolen" unit, and recalling the very reason for the Minerva's mission, she didn't hesitate to shift her aim.
"Shinn, I've got your back!"
Lunamaria wasted no time. She braced her Gunner Zaku Warrior, aligned the long-range beam cannon, and pulled the trigger.
"Wait! Luna, don't!"
Shinn's eyes widened in horror. He tried to stop her, but the sniper beam had already reached full charge and streaked toward the Freedom. Kira reacted instantly, his thrusters flaring as the Freedom banked sharply, letting the massive yellow beam scorch the space where he had been a second before.
A sniper... from that unit?!
Kira, whose marksmanship was top-tier even among Orb and Compass pilots, immediately identified the source of the attack: a red Zaku Warrior perched on the Minerva, leveling its sniper cannon for another shot. He realized that if he continued to deal with the Impulse, the Zaku's interference would become a fatal variable.
Kira dodged another shot, his brow furrowing. This sniper's skill needs work... she's not even lead-aiming. Her shots are just lucky guesses.
Still, in a high-mobility machine like the Freedom, even a "lucky" hit could be catastrophic. He decided it was better to neutralize the sniper first.
Kira pivoted the Freedom and charged straight toward the Zaku Warrior.
"No!"
Seeing the Freedom break away from him and head for Lunamaria, Shinn panicked. He pushed the Impulse to its limit, chasing the Freedom's trail in a desperate bid to intercept.
Lunamaria watched the Freedom bypass the Minerva's anti-air fire and close the distance. She fired rapidly, calculating the gap. Long-range wasn't her specialty, but if the Freedom entered mid-to-close range... her Heat Hawk was ready.
"Now!"
As the Freedom hit her predicted range, Lunamaria fired one last shot, slung the sniper rifle onto her machine's back, and snatched the Heat Hawk from her shoulder shield.
"Stop it!" Shinn felt like he was going to stomp through the floor of his cockpit trying to force more speed out of the Impulse.
But before Lunamaria could swing, Kira casually fired a single shot from his beam rifle. The green beam clipped the Zaku's head and part of its torso, severing critical control lines. The Zaku's forward lunge stalled mid-motion. A second beam struck the ammunition rack of the discarded sniper cannon; the resulting explosion tore the weapon to pieces, sending shrapnel raining down onto the Zaku and the Minerva's deck.
Shinn watched the explosion in stunned silence.
"Luna! Are you okay?! Answer me, Luna!"
He screamed into the comms, but the channel remained chillingly silent.
"You... you bastard..."
Seeing his comrade's fate unknown, the conflict and hesitation within Shinn vanished, replaced by a cold, erupting fury. Something seemed to snap in his mind. He slammed the controls, sending the Impulse hurtling at the Freedom.
The thrusters roared. The Impulse used its shield like a battering ram, slamming into the Freedom with the force of a freight train before Kira could even register the change in speed.
The feeling... it changed?!
Stunned by the sudden shift in Shinn's combat style, Kira performed a desperate roll to break away from the impact.
"...I'm sorry."
Shinn brought the Impulse to a halt, turning to face the now-wary Freedom.
"I see now that stalling you is impossible. To protect my comrades, I have to take you down!"
The Impulse lunged again—no more hesitant potshots, no more testing the waters. It was a relentless, storm-like assault.
Round two had begun.
...................