"Red particles..."
Looking at the machine continuously launching attacks from the sky, Roz frowned slightly.
Although the previous beam attacks seemed intimidating, the damage they dealt to his shield was negligible. His decision not to activate the Beam Shield or the I-Field was strategic; he wanted to feed those fleeing bastards the false intel that the "Penelope is weak against beams."
On one hand, the shield's inherent anti-beam coating was already quite formidable; on the other, he wanted to guard against the pilot of the Sengoku Astray, who might still be lurking nearby to observe the Penelope's combat capabilities.
"...Hey, Setsuna, do you recognize that machine?"
Seeing a unit that radiated particles similar to Celestial Being's mobile suits, Roz instinctively turned on his external speakers to question Setsuna, who was still lying on the ground.
"No... I don't recognize it."
Setsuna's voice sounded weak, but his consciousness was clearly stable. "I've never seen that unit in Celestial Being."
"I see... Then the only way to get information is to beat her into submission."
After a brief moment of thought regarding the machine before him, Roz made his decision.
The Penelope rapidly transformed. Amidst the roar of its Minovsky Flight unit, it closed the distance toward the machine emitting red light particles.
"Eh? You two know each other?!"
The female pilot of the red-particle machine was clearly caught off guard; she hadn't expected Roz and Setsuna to be acquainted, nor for Roz to launch a direct assault on her. It was evident that her intel hadn't accounted for Roz's existence.
The giant beam sabers on the Penelope's shoulders pivoted, locking onto the machine hovering in the sky. Two purple beams erupted from the mounts, rocketing toward the enemy.
"Beams?"
The woman's surprised voice rang out over the speakers. Clearly, having just arrived, she hadn't witnessed the Penelope's earlier combat. However, even the mildest person has their limits; faced with the Penelope's counterattack, she reacted without hesitation.
The red-particle machine extended the shield on its left shoulder. Red light particles coalesced into a protective layer. The purple beams slammed into the GN Shield, the sheer force pushing the entire machine backward.
"Unless your beams can match the frequency of GN particles, don't think you can break through Gundam Throne Drei's GN Shield!"
The female pilot seemed unfazed by the shoulder cannon fire. "Taste my GN Missiles!"
From the two shield-like binders on the Throne Drei's shoulders, a total of eight missiles streaked out. Trailing crimson GN particles, they curved through the air to encircle the Penelope.
Looking at the GN missiles closing in and the Throne Drei raising its baton-like beam rifle, Roz knit his brows.
The Penelope spiraled through the air, its head-mounted vulcan guns firing in short bursts. The rounds accurately intercepted the incoming GN missiles, triggering a series of explosions in the sky that bloomed into flames mixed with red particles.
"Roz... those red GN particles are abnormal."
At this moment, AllMind had dropped its usual cynical attitude. Frowning, the AI floated beside Roz Links. "Machine readings indicate that those red particles carry high levels of radiation; they are harmful to the human body."
"...Particles with such high toxicity are completely at odds with Celestial Being's philosophy."
Glancing at the data displayed on the touch screen positioned by AllMind's left hand, Roz couldn't help but frown slightly as well.
"So, we can infer that this machine has some connection to Celestial Being, but not a very close one, right?"
Facing the incoming beams of red particles, Roz increased the pressure on the foot pedals. The Penelope accelerated once more, maneuvering nimbly through the sky with several sharp-angle turns, successfully evading the red beam fire from the Throne Drei.
For the current Roz, he could withstand the G-forces of sharp-angle maneuvers even without wearing a pharmacological pressure suit.
"Dammit..."
The female pilot of the Throne Drei felt for the first time just how weak her machine's armaments were.
After firing a full salvo of GN missiles to no effect, relying solely on the machine's GN handgun beams to combat another unit felt far too forced.
Furthermore... for some reason, she felt the cockpit's lock-on on the Penelope becoming increasingly blurred, and even the machine's handling felt slightly sluggish.
Beep beep beep beep...
The female pilot stared at the approaching "pixelated blur" as the optical rangefinder's alarm blared incessantly in her ears. Her eyes widened instinctively, and her right hand clamped down hard on the trigger.
The red beams formed a rain of fire, enveloping the Penelope.
Roz raised his shield with a calm expression, his eyes narrowing slightly.
'The piloting skills of the person in front of me feel even worse than Setsuna F. Seiei's. They are fighting entirely based on the machine's performance and traits; I haven't even seen this unit attempt a displacement maneuver until now.'
"Don't come any closer!"
The pixelated target grew larger and larger, and the rangefinder's alarm became more urgent. Instinctively, the female pilot drew the machine's beam saber, extending a red blade to slash at the Penelope.
Roz did not hesitate. He drew the large beam saber from the shoulder; a thick green blade—twice the width of a standard beam saber—extended and clashed against the red blade of the Throne Drei.
"Ugh... this output?"
The moment they made contact, the female pilot felt a massive vibration. She could clearly sense her machine being pushed backward by the Penelope.
The already pixelated Penelope occupied the entire cockpit screen. Under the influence of the interference, the glare from the point where the beam sabers met flashed wildly inside the cockpit like a stun grenade.
With a burst of power from the Penelope, the beam saber in the Throne Drei's left hand was forced aside to its right. Meanwhile, Roz's right hand—which had already holstered the Beam Magnum—precisely gripped the Throne Drei's left arm.
The female pilot watched with her own eyes as the status indicator for her machine's left arm turned red instantly and then went dark.
Under the Penelope's crushing force, the Throne Drei's left hand and the beam saber were pulverized, reduced to a tangled mess of scrap metal.
Immediately following this, Roz pulled the control lever. The Penelope swung its arm, hurling the Throne Drei away.
The G-forces from the combination of the machine's rotation and gravity caused the female pilot to grip the controls instinctively. Failing to stabilize the machine's balance, she slammed into the sandy ground.
"Hah... hah..."
Panting heavily, she saw the sky where the morning sun was rising.
And then, she saw the Penelope descending rapidly, stepping directly onto the Throne Drei.
The machine's metal frame groaned in protest, sinking further into the sand under the Penelope's immense weight.
"Ugh..."
The impact of the Penelope stepping on her machine caused the female pilot to let out another cry of pain.
"Name or code name. What is your relationship with Celestial Being, and why did you come here?"
Roz raised his Beam Magnum, aiming it at the area between the Throne Drei's waist and chest. "Since you are using particles similar to those of Celestial Being, I will give you one chance to speak."
-----------------------------------
While Roz Links was under fire, a similar machine had appeared where Shinn Asuka and Stellar Loussier were located.
Spindle-shaped devices trailing red particles danced through the sky, repeatedly lunging toward the Banshee Norn and the Psycho Zaku, which were standing beside the Kyrios preparing to escort it away.
"An enemy attack?!"
Seeing the sudden strike, Shinn frowned. Like Stellar, he maneuvered his machine using hover-movements to circle away from the Kyrios.
"...Huh?"
At that moment, Hallelujah—who had just begun to relax—widened his eyes instinctively as he watched the attacking devices.
Clearly, these spindle-like units were only intended to force Shinn and Stellar away from the Kyrios.
"Who is it?"
Almost instantly, Shinn locked onto the source of the attack.
It was a machine with a giant sword mounted on its right shoulder, emitting red light particles from its back. The devices that had just attacked were methodically flying back into the machine's skirt armor.
"DRAGOONs, or some kind of Psycommu weapon."
Observing the operational pattern of these "spindles," Stellar began her analysis, sharing her findings with Shinn over short-range communication.
"No... I don't sense a psychowave strength sufficient to control Psycommu weapons. They're likely something similar to DRAGOONs."
Shinn glanced at the nearby Psycho Zaku.
Perhaps due to the environment, Stellar's emotions were more stable than in the past; she was speaking more and even providing slight analysis of the battlefield situation.
"What are you two whispering about down there?"
A somewhat boastful male voice broadcasted from the machine above. Clearly, he did not take Shinn and Stellar seriously. "Trinity, Throne Zwei, Michael Trinity. Executing Gundam recovery and extraction plan."
"If I were you, I'd leave this place immediately."
"Never heard of him... and we didn't receive any word of this."
Shinn maneuvered the Banshee Norn to deploy the Armed Armor BS.
Between the plates, beams formed by blue particles flowed continuously, with occasional particle jets breaking through the field's constraints and leaking out. "Hey, Celestial Being pilot, do you know him?"
"I don't know him. Never heard of him."
Hallelujah's confused voice came from inside the Kyrios.
"You heard him. Your justification is insufficient. I refuse."
After hearing Hallelujah's words, Shinn gripped the control levers with both hands as he stared at the machine hovering in the sky.
"...It doesn't matter. My mission is to get him out. Beating you into the dirt before dragging him away works just fine for me!"
Michael laughed maniacally. "In fact, trashing you guys is exactly what I wanted! GN Fangs!"
The remote weapons known as GN Fangs flew out from the Throne Zwei's skirt armor once again.
Unlike their previous spindle-like appearance, they now deployed small metal forward-swept wings, opening fire from their tips in a continuous barrage against the Banshee Norn and the Psycho Zaku.
"Stellar!"
At the sight of this, Shinn raised the Armed Armor BS toward the sky and pulled the trigger.
Irregular blue beams danced through the air, sweeping across two of the GN Fangs and causing them to explode instantly, turning into fireballs that scattered red light particles.
"Infighting?"
Meanwhile, taking advantage of the fact that the Banshee Norn and Psycho Zaku were occupied with moving the Kyrios, Soma Peries—dressed in her pilot suit—ran to a destroyed Tieren and pulled the suited Sergei Smirnov from the wrecked cockpit.
"Aren't all members of Celestial Being on the same side?"
"There's likely a communication breakdown between two different units... that sort of thing happens all the time in the Human Reform League."
Sergei removed his mask, only to wince as he took a sharp breath. "Besides, in this state where the communication systems have all been rendered useless for some reason, exchanging information becomes even more difficult."
"Lieutenant Colonel! Your left arm is fractured!"
Soma noticed the abnormality in Sergei's left arm and immediately began rummaging through the damaged cockpit for a medical kit.
"Don't forget to grab the flare gun, communicator, map, and compass. I don't know if the communicator will still work after the battle, but I'd rather not try to survive the Taklamakan Desert with you while we're short on food and water."
Enduring the pain, Sergei sat on the Tieren's outer armor and watched the battle unfolding nearby.
The Psycho Zaku was utilizing its sub-arms to operate three beam gatling guns. Along with the beam bazooka in her main hands, she maintained a continuous stream of fire at the GN Fangs zipping through the sky.
Two GN Fangs were struck by the beam gatlings and erupted in the air. A yellow beam fired from the beam bazooka streaked toward the Throne Zwei, but the machine performed a mid-air roll to evade it.
"Tch..."
Michael clicked his tongue, his expression darkening.
In the very first exchange, half of his GN Fangs had been destroyed, yet he hadn't dealt any effective damage to the two target machines below.
The Throne Zwei unsheathed its Buster Sword, performed a spin in the air, and charged toward the Banshee Norn, which appeared to have less firepower.
After all, the Throne Zwei was a close-quarters combat specialist. Squaring off against a firepower maniac like the Psycho Zaku could lead to a humiliating defeat, so he chose the "softer target"—the Banshee Norn, which seemed to lack abundant ranged weaponry.
However, he had clearly misjudged his target. This wasn't a soft target; it was a blade sharp enough to cut his hand off.
As the Throne Zwei approached with its giant sword raised, Shinn felt his mind go blank for an instant.
It was back. That familiar sensation had returned.
The Armed Armor BS retracted at some point, and his right hand gripped a specially modified Beam Magnum. His left arm, encased in the Armed Armor VN, threw a punch directly into the Throne Zwei's descending sword, bringing the enemy's slash to a dead stop.
Under the gaze of everyone present, the Armed Armor VN on the left arm suddenly split open, forming a pair of hideous, massive claws. Revealing the enclosed left hand, the Banshee Norn's hand clamped down on the Throne Zwei's Buster Sword.
The specially modified Armed Armor DE "Shield-Axe" on its back flipped around rapidly. The Beam Magnum in the right hand slotted into the "Shield-Axe," the grip transforming and locking into place.
The originally streamlined Armed Armor DE unfolded, forming a massive buster sword that combined physical and beam edges.
Immediately after, the Banshee Norn swung the greatsword, cleaving into the GN Handgun on the Throne Zwei's left arm.
The beam blade detonated the GN Handgun's magazine; caught between the impact of the greatsword and the resulting explosion, the Throne Zwei was sent flying backward.
The remaining four GN Fangs flew toward the Throne Zwei as it was knocked back, attempting to provide cover fire according to their programming.
But for Stellar, hitting these GN Fangs—which had their thrusters exposed and were moving with clear intent—was far too easy.
The three beam gatlings unleashed a dense barrage of fire, enveloping the GN Fangs and the Throne Zwei.
A sub-arm that had been free to change magazines pulled out a rocket launcher and rapidly emptied its load of high-explosive rockets into the fireballs created by the exploding GN Fangs.
"What fluid coordinated attacks..."
Carrying a pile of supplies and supporting Sergei—whose left arm had been temporarily set—into the cockpit of the Tieren Taozi, Soma witnessed the spectacular combination play between the Banshee Norn and the Psycho Zaku.
"The pilots of those two machines are battle-hardened veterans..."
Having just sat down in the cockpit, Sergei watched the fight through a breach in the Tieren Taozi's armor. "Their timing is impeccable, and they strike without the slightest hesitation. That enemy machine is no match for them."
"I really don't know where they came from, and they're so young..."
Sergei stared at the silhouette of the Banshee Norn, lost in thought.
Shinn couldn't hear Sergei's lament; he was busy maneuvering his machine through the turbulence caused by the exploding GN Fangs.
Before long, his target came into view—the Throne Zwei, holding its giant sword in front of its body to shield itself from the high-explosive rocket fire.
The Banshee Norn gripped its greatsword with both hands, raising it high above its head. The backpack thrusters erupted with massive plumes of fire, blowing away the residual shockwaves from the GN Fang explosions as the machine flew nearly parallel to the ground.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, a heavy, devastating blow struck the Throne Zwei before its pilot could even react.
The Throne Zwei's left arm was severed instantly. Even the giant sword it prided itself on was sliced smoothly in two. Near the Throne Zwei's torso, the cockpit structure was now faintly visible.
The sheer force of the impact sent the Throne Zwei tumbling backward once more, crashing into a sand dune.
Shinn maneuvered the Banshee Norn to gain altitude, once again raising the greatsword over his head as he dove toward the downed Throne Zwei.
But in the next second, an unfamiliar, needle-like sensation pricked Shinn's mind. He instinctively pulled back on the control levers, bringing his assault to a dead stop. The machine hovered motionless in the sky.
"Stop! It's all a misunderstanding!"
A male voice finally broadcasted from a loudspeaker. A blackish-red beam grazed past the Throne Zwei lying on the dune, kicking up a massive spray of sand nearby.
"Banshee Norn, mission complete."
The voice of Louise, piloting a ReZEL Type-C (Defenser A-Unit), came through the short-range communication. "You can stop fighting now... for the time being."
-----------------------------------
Not long ago, in the sector where the ReZELs were located.
"Lockon Stratos, right?"
Kakyoin Tsubaki maneuvered her ReZEL, scanning the Dynames that was down on one knee after enduring over ten hours of continuous bombardment. "Can you still move?"
'What a ridiculous machine,' she thought. 'After being shelled for that long, it hasn't sustained any critical damage?'
"Yeah... I'm alright. But it looks like there's a slight issue with the right leg actuators. Care to give me a hand?"
Lockon didn't feel any shame about being "rescued by a woman." Instead, he relaxed and asked the ReZEL squad for assistance. "Just help the Dynames get back on its feet; flying back won't be a problem."
As he spoke, Lockon controlled the Dynames to pick up its sniper rifle, which had been dropped when the suit was forced to its knees. Compared to the sci-fi aesthetic of the Dynames itself, the sniper rifle looked somewhat plain.
One ReZEL used its thrusters to maintain a hover, gliding over to the Dynames. It grabbed the Gundam's arm and pulled it up.
"I'm letting go now. You steady?"
Evelyn operated her machine with extreme patience, her movements as precise as a surgeon performing an operation.
"Yeah... saved my life. Much appreciated."
Lockon let out a sigh of relief once the Dynames' feet were firmly planted on the ground.
"Next is heading ba—"
Before Lockon could finish his sentence, Tsubaki cut him off.
"Enemy attack! Scatter!"
The three ReZEL units dispersed nimbly using their hover movement. Before Lockon could even react, a blackish-red beam suddenly streaked across the sky.
The beam struck the spot where the ReZEL squad had just been standing, but it carefully avoided the Dynames. Clearly, the attacker's goal was to destroy the ReZEL squad.
The ReZEL squad didn't hesitate. Their left-arm shields began firing continuous three-round bursts of purple Mega Particle Beams that looked like glowing arrows.
The two ReZEL units equipped with the Defenser A-Unit opened their missile pods, unleashing a massive volley of missiles at the attacking machine in the sky.
The machine in the sky retreated steadily to evade the Mega Particle fire. It drew a beam rifle and swept the incoming missiles with red beams, but it could only destroy a portion of them.
It was forced to deploy the shield on its left shoulder; particles glowing with a red light formed a beam shield, blocking the remaining missiles and Mega Particle Beams from the ReZELs.
"This is Trinity, Throne Eins, Johann Trinity."
A male voice broadcasted from the sky.
"My mission is to escort you, Celestial Being, safely out of the Taklamakan Desert... Can you still fight, Gundam Meister?"
It was a dark green machine. The massive cannon barrel on its right shoulder was still aimed toward the ground; it was clearly the source of the previous bombardment.
"If you can still fight, destroy these units from the capture force. It won't take long for the armies of the three superpowers to regroup..."
"Hey, hey, hey! What do you think you're doing, talking to yourself like that?"
Lockon finally spoke up. Although the guy in front of him didn't seem hostile toward him, he had opened fire on the ReZEL squad indiscriminately.
While Celestial Being didn't mind having mud slung at them, if the "attacking an ally" label stuck, it would be a disaster.
"I don't know you at all. In fact, you're the suspicious one for attacking Celestial Being's allies the moment you show up."
Even though the Dynames had leg actuator issues, Lockon raised his GN Sniper Rifle and aimed it at the Throne Eins in the sky. He might not actually pull the trigger, but he had to show his stance in front of the ReZEL squad.
"I'd rather hear your explanation right now."
Lockon's voice turned serious. "Who exactly are you, and why did you attack Celestial Being's allies? If you don't speak within five seconds, I'm firing!"
"Celestial Being's... allies?"
Johann frowned instinctively as he looked at the three ReZELs aiming at him from a distance. "We are an independent branch under Veda. Our only intelligence was that our mission was to rescue Celestial Being; we had no information regarding you having other allies."
"Regarding that, you can consult Veda."
"Hah... The Taklamakan Desert is being completely jammed right now. We can't even maintain long-range comms between machines, let alone contact Veda."
Lockon let out a cold laugh, his finger resting on the trigger of his pistol-style long-range sniping controller.
"Regardless, we harbor no ill-will toward Celestial Being. Furthermore, doesn't the fact that this machine uses a GN Drive and emits the same GN particles as yours suffice to prove my identity?"
Surprisingly, despite Lockon's aggressive questioning and the lock-on from three ReZELs, Johann remained remarkably stable.
"In any case, if there's nothing else, I suggest we rendezvous with your teammates first."
Johann turned his machine in a specific direction. "I have the coordinates of your teammates' locations from before the jamming started... My younger brother and sister are a bit over-excited and aren't very good with words. They might end up fighting your allies."
"Tch... I'll be watching you!"
Hearing Johann's words, Lockon's heart sank. Caught between the urgency of checking on his comrades and the worry of a misunderstanding with Roz Links and the others, Lockon had no choice but to stop his questioning.
At the very least, time was not on their side in the Taklamakan Desert. Once the GN particle concentration dropped, the three superpowers' attacks would inevitably resume.
.....................