The port of Dakar was located at the North-Eastern area of the plateau where the political and economic hub was. The port was completely filled with harbor facilities, and the grey seawall continued to extend to the neighboring Hann Bel-Air industrial zone. Including the artificial pier that formed a harbor, the water body stretched on for more than 30km, and there were only more than 200 ships moving within the harbor. The Dakar port was not some eye-opening large port, but it was a major base of production and energy generation filled with Gas Complexes and metal, chemical plants built on reclaimed land. To the locals who had enterprises coming in, it was an integral facility for logistic functions.
The average water depth of the harbor was 50m, but as a part of the seabed was dug up artificially, most of the water depth was around 25m. The block that was 100m deep from the pier was a relic of a “refuge trench”, built for the Federation army spaceships to dock—the absurd strategy to let the marine ships have the same density as spaceships and sink them to prevent enemy bombardment was acted here. In fact, most of the ships that once sank into the sea could not be used, and had no chance to be used in the refuge trench of Dakar’s port. However, the chiselled-out stretch remained as they were, and the submerged waterway leading to the port weaved under the sea like a giant snake. As for the security level of the capital, these completely useless facilities became relics with negative effects that caused blind spots. They could only let the sea’s radar network, the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) gather here.
On May 1st, the SOSUS detected a strange source of sound, and Dakar, which was in the Greenwich Meridian, was at 6.06am. two mobile suits, the RAG-79 “Aqua GMs” that belonged to the Federation navy, submerged to the bottom of Dakar’s port located 100m at the wharf wall, and started to clean up the sludge that piled at the bottom of the sea. They landed, activated their sensors to maximum output, and started to move to the port in the sea.
The machine of the “Aqua GMs” had jet units all over the place, and the shoulders that also functioned as ballast tanks were as high as the head. For a GM-type mobile suit that was lean and streamlined, this “Aqua GM” looked rather crude in its silhouette. It was built hastily during the War, was hardly improved on, and was not really easy to pilot. The massive block-shaped body had old-looking colors on it, but the Federation had no better amphibious mobile suits. The spaceship with the Minovsky Craft installed was flying in the sky above, and mobile suits gained wings called SFS at this point, so this amphibious mobile suit that could attack the enemy from underwater lost its advantage for a long time. The weakened Zeon remnants would naturally be unable to extend their forces to submerged motherships if it did not factor in the weakness of it not being easily usable. The Federation itself had half forgotten about it too.
But no matter the kind of machine, there would be people who would put their hearts and efforts in developments. One of the “Aqua GMs” that landed on the port of Dakar was piloted by Captain Feido, codenamed with the Call Sign Harpoon 1. He was a pilot of the amphibious mobile suit ever since the One Year War. The Zeon amphibious mobile suits had launched raids on the coast many times, cutting ship supplies, and terrorized the seas on Earth. At this point, they had disappeared, but the underwater was a world that could not be surveyed easily even by watching, a place filled with natural Minovsky Particles called water. Even if the “GM III” rode on the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) to stand guard, some situations require diving underwater for a response. This confidence caused the pilot to give up many chances of changing vocations and retraining as he continued to be an amphibious unit pilot. To him, this was a rare opportunity for him to prove his point. After the Federation navy submarine “Bonefish” met its demise, the tale of an Atlantic Ocean monster “Sea Ghost” suddenly became very realistic. Many used to see it as a malfunction of the SOSUS, and they did not even have any antisubmarine measures at that time. However, that attack was detected extremely close to Dakar, and was determined to be the doing of a Zeon submarine.
It would take some time before the allied submarines that departed would arrive here. If there were really an enemy unit submerged, there would be no doubts that the diving team’s mobile suits would be the only ones that could deal with it. Feido stared at the LCAC hovering over his head, let the “Aqua GM” charge right at the port and descend to the seabed 150m deep. The amount of light was such that it was impossible to see a hand stretched out in front with the naked eye, and all the all-view monitor CG could determine were the sunk ships and reefs. Feido used the night-vision camera and sonar to determine the situation in the sea, and activated the optical fiber communication channel once the “Aqua GM” called Harpoon 2 landed behind.
The communication was carried out by active sonar that started to spread. The sonar from Harpoon 2 started to let out a sharp echo in response to Feido’s unit that was flickering its light from the visor, and the unit then used the jet units on its back and waist to stamp off the seabed. The machine was holding a torpedo missile launcher in its hands, and gradually floated like a diver, swinging its arms as it swam over to the other side of the reefs that overlapped the “Water GM”. The water surface that looked like an aurora would not even let through the light of a star, and the machine immediately merged into the veil of thick seawater.
The pinger on the sea surface would let out sounds at regular intervals, creating a perimeter on the sea where the Sea Ghost was. Also, one could discover a sonar buoy that was casted down for the anti-submarine machines. There was a tanker that was veering greatly to the left, and it definitely changed course because of the LCAC that was on patrolling requesting it to change its course. There were not a lot of ships that were entering and exiting the port, but there was a need to work together with the coast guards and regulate the transport inside the port completely, if the raid would only end after noon. Once the enterprises and media express their unhappiness over the economic loss, the first party to be affected would be the navy. Feido did not have the time to even curse as he let his unit navigate towards the open sea.
The “Aqua GM” machine became a lot lighter as it released the seawater from its high pressure ballast tanks. The machine left behind a trail of water flowing as it left the seabed. The “rescue trench” dug during the war and the seabed that could be seen appeared in his eyes, and he spotted a black shaped object moving out from the shadows of a sunken ship.
It looked like a mobile suit, but it was not a GM-type. The machine had arched surfaces all over it, and its head was located in its short and stout frame. Its relaxed arms were not holding any weapons, and in fact, given the shape of the hands, it was impossible for it to “wield” any weapons. The end of the arms that looked extremely fat looked like a class when viewed together with its head, and the silhouette of that thing which looked like a shelled crustacean was practically—
“…No way.”
That silhouette was reminiscent of the Zeon Repulic army’s “Z’Gok” amphibious mobile suit. Is it a remnant of the War? Feido could not even confirm what he just saw as he stared at the ghost-like figure. It’s impossible for such a thing to appear in this age now. I don’t know if there’s really a Sea Ghost at the bottom of the sea or the dead souls of those who should have died off in the War—but everything is planned too perfectly. Feido tried to convince himself with a bitter smile, but something leaped up from behind the “Aqua GM”, rocking the cockpit with a tremendous shockwave.
“What’s that…?”
The mechanical hand that had 5 fingers reached over from the back, covering the main camera. The vision of the all-view monitor was covered by something, and Feido immediately pressed the message button of the pinger to report this emergency.
The Harpoon 2 will immediately realize something was amiss once it hears the soundwaves that moves 4 times faster than in air. Even if I’m to be sunk here, I should be able to leave it to him. That was what Feido planned, but the active sonar of the machine remained silent as the sonar communicator could not take effect. That was because the arm of the “Aqua GM” that was suppressed from behind covered the sonar signal located on the mask.
The right arm of the machine was completely restrained too, and he could not fire the torpedo launcher that was equipped to its arm. Feido tried his best to move the “Aqua GM”s left hand and pull the beam pike from the waist. He considered the fact that the beam would be negated in water, and that it would only release the beam when making contact with the enemy armor, but the beam pike fell to the bottom of the sea before he could make use of its abilities. The enemy wrecked the pinger, quickly raised its other arm, and used the heat knife to stab through the cockpit of the “Aqua GM”.
The macromolecular compound ceramic-type blade broke through 3 layers of armor and reached right into the cockpit. Feido’s body was first sliced in half by the blade, and the blade that had electricity charged through let out an intense heat. The cockpit that was burnt together with its pilot let out a small explosion, and the cracks of the armor let out several bubbles and conducting liquid. The frozen body of the machine fell forward, and an arm reached out from behind to support the “Aqua GM” that had become a corpse before it could make any unnecessary noises. The mobile suit—the “Zee Zulu” let the enemy machine lie down on the seabed as it bled out conducting fluids and lit its head to signal its allied machine.
It raised the heat knife it was wielding in its hand, and its 3 sharp claws built on the side of its forearm provided a contrast to it, creating a crab-like silhouette on the machine. The black shadows that received the signal were of the same structure started to move, and though they looked similar to the amphibious machines Zeon made in the past, they were just a form the “Zee Zulu” possessed.
The basic structure of this machine was not too different from the main line of mobile suits “Geara Zulu” Neo Zeon used. However, the “Zee Zulu” looked vastly different once it was equipped with claws for close combated and vest-shaped diving equipment. The ballast tanks latched around the neck made it difficult to see the actual outline of the head and the body, while the fins on its legs made it look extremely big on its ends. It was humanoid and yet not humanoid, and was an oddly-shaped machine that could be called a demon in the sea—it inherited the genetics of the amphibious mobile suits Zeon had. The “Zee Zulu” moved out from the blind spot created by the sunken ship, and used the reefs as cover as it quickly approached the other “Aqua GM”. The moment it made contact, it used its sharp claws bent as a hook to rip through the abdomen of the enemy unit.
The pilot of Harpoon 2 did not manage to understand what was going on as the “Zee Zulu” immediately used its claws to rip the cockpit together with the pilot inside. It ignored its allied unit that was planning to take the next action as it let out a signal from its pinger. The large amount of soundwaves with different frequencies from the Federation mobile suits was released from the sea spread through several kilometers, and a 3rd “Zee Zulu” received these sounds through the SOSUS sonar receptor.
The 3rd “Zee Zulu” used its heat knife to club the cable of the sonar receptor as a response, and let its fin feet leave the floor. The machine moved to the port, and soon after, the reefs behind it started to rumble and create a large amount of dust that slowly floated up. The large black mass looked like a floating shell, and the artificial object showed the glow of its monoeye at the center, revealing its true identity as it followed the “Zee Zulu” and approached Dakar.
The Sea Ghost—the “Shamblo” hovered above the sonar receptors that were not working as their cables got cut, and showed its actual body and started to move forward. The sonar receptors on the sea would not detect the sound of the MHD propeller units moving forward, and the machine would not be affected by the perimeter of the pingers. The pingers were set beyond the range of the SOSUS so that the sonar receptors would not be overly burdened.
Of course, the controllers of the SOSUS would immediately realize that the cables were snapped, but it would be too late by the time the navy understood the situation and arrived. Dakar was right in front of the “Shamblo”, and Madhi Garvery grinned as he stared at the edge of the “Refuge Trench” on the main monitor. It was so easy for an enemy to invade Dakar, the capital of the most powerful organization in history, the Earth Federation government.
“It’s about time.”
Madhi said some unnecessary words. He looked down and saw his 3 children that were wearing pilot suits, Abbas, Walid and Loni. He was wearing a helmet with the corporate logo of Garvey Enterprises on it. The 17 opened leaves of the palm branch were surrounded by a circle, and the logo was designed off the bird-eye’s view blueprint of Palm Island, an artificial island that was built on the sea off Dubai. The consoles and seats of the cockpit had the same picture on them as well. The construction of the “Shamblo” was assisted by Zeon, so they had to show the logo of Zeon on the surface. This little logo however showed the real heart of the “Descendant of Dubai” quietly.
The “Shamblo” followed the 3 “Zee Zulu” and transformed into cruise mode as it approached Dakar. The pot of Dakar basked under the morning sunlight, reflecting it off the surface, not detecting the monster rumbling underwater.
The 3 main thrusters installed at the tail of the ship took the momentum released by the fusion hybrid engines and let out a rumbling sound. The hot air that was whipped up caused the sand and dust to rise, covering the body of the 112m ship that stood vertically, and the “Garencieres” finally started to move.
The ship was merely ascending slowly at first, and after several seconds, the unique triangular prism broke free from the exhaust and the dust storms and rose into the skies. The ship entered the blue sky vertically like a rocket that was launched a long time ago, creating a slightly tilted pillar of cloud in the Sahara Desert.
The “Garencieres” was not equipped with a Minovsky Craft, and could not move freely under gravity and rise in the air. Like an ordinary spacecraft, it could only lift itself through its streamlined body and fly without losing its speed. The “Garencieres” blew by the clouds and drew a long arch as it entered the stratosphere, tilting horizontally in a gradual manner as it continued its flight. The G-force that struck the ship gradually lost its momentum, and the bodies that were pressed down on the chairs were finally regaining their sense of up and down. Zimmerman heaved a sigh and relaxed his hands as he moved them away from the handles of the captain’s seat. Sitting at the navigation seat and steering seat were Flaste and Alec, and they too relaxed their shoulders as they turned back to their respective consoles.
“Current altitude is 9,800m. Fusion cores are in good condition.”
“All hands, remove acceleration guard. We’ll be flying horizontally. Estimated time of arrival in Dakar is 0800. Mobile suits related crew, standby. Deck crew, start inspecting the ship and check all parts and tools under gravity conditions carefully.”
Alec continued off from Flaste and used the microphone to pass the message through the ship in a stiff tone. This man’s steering skills were the real deal, but he continued to show a tense expression, probably because he could not accept the fact that he was taking over for Gilboa. Don’t be nervous. Zimmerman wanted to speak up, but he immediately kept quiet after noticing that his mouth was dry. He took a sip of drinking water, and muttered in his heart, I really have no right to tell other people off here. If I’m not tense, I won’t even think of crashing into the capital of the Earth Federation—
“A little more than an hour before we reach Dakar…it’ll be easy if we’re just going there.”
Flaste probably sensed Zimmerman’s feelings as he let out these words. It had been two days since they got back from Dakar, and as the ship was busy with the preparations and resupply, he did not have time to talk, but there was no doubts that he had suspicions regarding this operation. “Looks like you have something to say?” Flaste, who was looking at the water, glanced behind from the navigation seat, shrugged and said, “I have nothing to argue about this.”
“But it’s a big thing to attack Dakar. Once the compromise with the Federation is broken, we might have a 3rd Neo Zeon war if it’s not dealt with properly. Instead of saying that it doesn’t feel realistic, I really can’t guess what Frontal’s thinking as I look at this situation …” “The lead in this operation is Madhi Garvey. We just have to drop the “Unicorn” above Dakar and let it land safely on the parliament hall. What we can do after that is to wait for the Laplace Program to unravel its seal.”
Of course, we can’t just remained relaxed like this. Flaste avoided the sharp stare from Zimmerman, “I understand here.” and continued.
“We can understand that they deliberately chose to take action during Congress recess so that the Senators supporting Zeon would not be affected. However, didn’t Lord Madhi say that he wanted to destroy all the power on Dakar? Even if that guy’s titled the “Descendant of Dubai”, he’s a big shot who hasn’t tasted military food before. Who knows whether we can believe in what he plans to do…”
“That’s why we need to assign escorts for the “Unicorn” and give it weapons to launch. If things go bad, we can drop the machine and retreat immediately—”
“Nope, if Madhi’s daring to say that, it means that he has a powerful ace up his sleeve. We might end up being controlled if we let an outsider handle that.”
Just like how the “Unicorn” ended up controlling Banagher. Flaste threw these unexpected words, causing Zimmerman to be caught off guard, worrying him inside. Flaste sensed his silent expression and sighed before turning back to the console, “And Frontal never met with Madhi directly, right?”
“We also have to consider the intentions of those hiding behind the back of the Republic, right? To what extent are those guys willing to help Neo Zeon? I don’t think that the Republic has the power to withstand the Federation’s counterattack before it gets broken up…is the value of the “Laplace Box” really worth using the entire Neo Zeon for exchange?”
He expressed his doubts too directly, and even Alec beside him turned an uneasy stare over. At this point—no, it was because it was at this point that they had to check whether they were on stable footing or not, and everyone had this kind of thought. Up till this point, both sides had been detouring around to avoid a certain predicament, as everything would end if they met up directly. At this moment, the situation was right in front of their eyes. Zimmerman looked at his chest that was hiding its indecisiveness and bit his lips tights to prevent himself from saying what he really thought. He then answered with the callousness of a commander, “I can say that what happened before already showed the value of the “Box”.”
“The Federation and the Vist Foundation are having bloodshot eyes while chasing after it. No matter what’s inside, it’s worth exchanging for one or two capitals. However, what we have to take note of is—”
“Banagher’s side, right?”
Flaste answered first, showing his unhappiness over this superficial answer in his eyes. “…That’s right.” Zimmerman answered as he looked away awkwardly.
“He’s willing to listen to the instructions now, but it’s going to be hard to tell what will happen when he witnesses Dakar being attacked. If he’s really intending to fight, our forces alone won’t be enough to stop him.”
Zimmerman said this and went silent with a concerned feeling. He brought Banagher along to the desert and treated him like a crew member just to prevent this aforementioned situation; Flaste knew about this, and the main crew members were notified as well. There was no such thing as unpaid kindness in this world. The “Unicorn” would move according to the heart, the pilot’s mental state and open a way to the “Box”. Thus, it was all the more reasonable to try and pull him over to their side…but am I really doing all that for this?
He could not tell. Zimmerman never had pure intentions in the first place, and he admitted his own hypocrisy as he darted his stare out of the window to look at the dull-looking blue sky. He would be in for a long time if he expressed his own doubts about this operation, but he did not have the thought of objecting to this in his heart. Banagher was not the only one being fooled; all the crew members on this “Garencieres” were the same. He fooled the grudging flesh and souls, and even though it had nothing to do with the revival of Zeon, the first person he fooled when he chose to enter the battlefield and run away was himself, not anyone else.
Whether it was Zimmerman or Madhi or even possibly Frontal, that lie was starting to break due to the series of incidents surrounding the “Box”, and that was why everyone was starting to panic. It did not matter whether the “Box” truly existed or not, they just needed to create an opportunity. It was just like what Madhi said, they waited too long. We’re tired of waiting, we have to take action before we forget, even if we will have to meet with the ugly battles they kept avoiding, even if that path of blood repaid upon blood will only lead to destruction—
“Well, I don’t think we have to worry about that guy.”
Flaste suddenly raised a relaxed voice. Zimmerman recovered from his deep thoughts and looked up.
“That guy has completely believed in you, captain.”
Flaste’s eyes had a hidden honest light that reached the soul, completely different from his casual tone. We believe in you too, captain. Zimmerman could not stand his expression that was saying this as he looked away. The white sun that just rose looked overly dazzling to his eyes that were deprived of sleep.
Anyone would look larger when lying down, whether they’re humans or mobile suits. The mobile suit deck tilted 90 degrees inside the “Garencieres” that was flying horizontally, and the machines that were docked inside naturally fell onto the floor, held down by the restrains. The “Unicorn” that was lying horizontally on the hangar looked mighty, and could be aptly described as a giant.
“I put two beam Gatling guns on the left arm’s mounting rack. It uses a special connecting frame, so the aiming and firing operating is combined together. Of course, the operating of the shield won’t be affected.”
The mechanic Tomura, who had been assigned to maintain the “Unicorn” ever since it was taken back, said this. It seemed that it did not matter to him who he was talking to as long as it was about machines, so there was no sign of any awkwardness on his face. His 30+-looking face was lightly sprinkled with moustache, and Banagher could see a splitting image of Takuya on him as he stared at the “Unicorn” that was equipped with the Beam Gatling guns. The Gatling guns were originally meant as an additional armament for the “Kshatriya”, and at this moment, they were mounted and attached to the forearms of the “Unicorn”. The long barrels that were mounted together caused the machine to look rather bulky. A total of 8 gun muzzles were pointing out from the shield, showing an intimidating presence, and anyone would imagine the devastation they would have when they were used.
In the end, he was still forced to take part in the battle due to the circumstances. He planned the landing at the Central parliament hall to unravel the seal of the Laplace Program. It would be Madhi Garvey’s job to suppress Dakar, and the chances of the “Unicorn” being involved in the battle were not high, but it was impossible to tell without actually being at the scene. Banagher adjusted the collar of the pilot suit and covered up the suffocating feeling rising up in him, “Won’t this make it heavier?” he raised his primary concern.
“Logically, you should be able to adjust through the AMBAC settings. If you don’t want to use a weapon that’s too heavy, do you want the rifle—beam magnum? It has only 1 shot left, and you can just leave it here. However, it might help the balance of the machine. Well, the power output of the “Unicorn” does make things easy.”
Banagher looked at the personal beam rifle that was hanging on the equipment rack at the other side of the hangar, and felt his heart sink somewhat. The Magnum cartridge could unleash the energy of 4 normal rifle shots in a single shot, and though the power would more or less be negated under the atmosphere, one would wonder what consequences would there be if it was used in the city. As he gulped, Tomura patted him on the shoulder and gave a bitter smile, saying, “Don’t think of it as such a serious thing.”
“Bringing it along is just a precaution here. Your guards Ivan and Kwani are both veterans, and there’s nothing to worry if you listen to their instructions. Besides, the battle should be over once you reach Dakar.”
The nonchalant voice caused Banagher to remember the face of another veteran mobile suit pilot, Gilboa. Tomura and the other crew members would not actually show that they were mourning over the absence of Gilboa, at least in front of Banagher, and he did not know whether they were being considerate about him, or that war would cause emotions to numb gradually. “I’m not really concerned.” He simply said this as he stepped onto the ladder leading to the cockpit. He reached the platform that was extended out of the cockpit and turned his stare that was saddled with heavy emotions he could not leave aside at the “Unicorn”.
“It’s weird. I didn’t think Neo Zeon weapons fit so well with Federation mobile suits.”
“That’s because both sides are of universal specifications. The mounts are interchangeable too.”
“Both sides can find a common ground here, so why can’t they stop fighting?”
“During the course of a war, this is the only aspect of technology people become familiar with. The manufacturer’s the same anyway, so it’s more efficient to unify the specifications.”
“So this is for Anaheim Corporation’s convenience?”
“And for on-site convenience too. It’s helping now, isn’t it?”
Tomura answered from behind the handle of the platform, and his face was telling Banagher that it was pointless to think too much into it. If there were an economy that could live only by war, would it not be obvious to make everything efficient? Banagher digested on this bitter understanding as he climbed down to the cockpit at his feet. He ducked his head into the seat that was facing up, and attached the back of the pilot suit with the attachments. The standby power source was activated, and the CG image of the “Unicorn” equipping itself with the Beam Magnum appeared on the condition window.
He knew that it was stupid of him to ride a Neo Zeon ship and wait for the launch, but he had to do this in order to reveal the true identity of the “Box”. He let his finger slide onto the touch panel of the display board, checked the position of the cockpit he had not rode on for a long time, and suddenly stopped once he detected Daguza’s scent.
The assistance seat beside the linear seat was still inside the all-view monitor, and nothing showed that Daguza was once here. If the battle hasn’t ended, what will happen if I end up having to fight the Federation? No matter what excuse I find, it’ll be against what Daguza hoped to do, isn’t it? No matter how he questioned himself, Banagher could not find an answer, and he clenched his fists tight. The atmosphere shook the ship, creating a rumbling sound that breezed by his ears. It was telling him that he was gradually closing in on Dakar—
At this point, petroleum resources were declared to have been depleted since a long time ago, but though the tankers that travelled across oceans had virtually disappeared, but this did not mean that tankers themselves lost their importance. Natural gas were as depleted as oil fields themselves, but there were still unstable gas hydrate veins even after a long time since such mining technology was devised, and the natural gas that was extracted from these parts continued to be used as raw materials for the chemical or urban gas industries. The method of using pipes to transport it directly, and also the method of transporting liquidised gas by ship had continued on since the old age, and this kind of work was handed by the companies shipping the Liquefied Natural gas (LNG). Amongst the ships that were moving to and from Dakar, a ship approximately 200,000 square meters was considered the largest-class of “guests”, and such large ships that were easily mistaken for space motherships when viewed from afar would often move around the industrial area.
The “Zeus IX” was affected by the marine navigation controls the Federation navy implemented, and had to make a huge detour as a result. It was one of the LNG ships. The flat hull that was common for a tanker had a thin low-temperature heat sink that came with membranes, and the squared storage tank that was like a huge container exposed a little part on this open-aired deck. It was 350m in length, but the total number of crew members, including the captain, was less than 15 due to the grace of automation. The liquefied gas the ship was carrying would be sent to a LNG chain located in Bel-Air industrial area, and this was one of the necessary procedures required in the automated process when the gas is to be transported from the tanks to the containers. As long as they dock the ship onto a sea berth, the port’s facilities would take the necessary measures.
It was 6.40am. The “Zeus IX” docked at Dakar’s harbor 20 minutes later than expected, and it arrived at the 23rd sea berth the LNG chain designated. The tugboats, which were equipped with buffers at the bow, positioned themselves on both bow and stern as according to the instructions of the maritime pilots, which were sent from the harbor management, and the large tanker that had a capacity of 200,000 tonnes was silently nudged into its sea berth. At this phase, the docking was practically complete. The captain stared at the backs of the sea maritime pilots that were skilfully doing their job, and heaved a sigh of relief. However, that was before the tremors under his feet came about, shaking the bridge.
The feeling of colliding into a reef came from below as the impact struck, and the ship felt like it was being gouged over and over again as the tremors continued. The “Refuge Trench” here was originally meant for spaceships, and was 100m in depth, so there was no reason for the “Zeus IX” to meet any reefs at this point when its draft depth was 21m deep. The captain’s feet were tangled by the continuous tremors as he rushed to the window in front. He saw that the tank on the open-aired deck was alright, and was about to designate someone to carry out safety checks, but at that moment, something from the outboard appeared at the edge of his sights.
That object sliced through the sea surface, and as a large amount of water flowed down, it raised what looked like “claws”. It had sharp “claws”, two on top and one at the bottom that could bite, reminiscent of a raptor’s foot. It was impossible to measure using the scale of heavy machinery, and the large “claws” that was no less than 30m long when completely appeared sliced down onto the open-aired deck, letting out a huge boom at the scene as the metal sank in. The captain inadvertently covered his ears and saw the “claws” sink into the broadside and pierce through the tank on the deck. The handrail of the broadside was twisted, and the nickel-iron alloy that formed the tank was ripped through like paper. The volatile gas immediately escaped from the crack, and a white steam covered the entire open-aired deck.
Once the LNG that was stored below -160 degrees Celsius became volatile, the moisture in the air would freeze, and the extremely cold gas that was heavier than air would remain around. That kind of low temperature caused the “claws” stabbed into the tank to freeze, creating a thin layer of ice around the surrounding sea surface, but this level alone was not enough to slow the movements of the “claws”. It discarded the ice columns that was made of frozen seawater, and stabbed deeper into the tank, opening a large hole as if it wanted to rip it out together with the portside. The gas started to leak at an explosive rate, and as it made contact with the outside temperature, it got less dense, becoming white steam clouds that covered the “Zeus IX”.
At this rate, the bridge and everyone inside would be frozen together. The siren rang loudly, and the captain immediately ordered everyone on the bridge to evacuate. He had already left the window that was starting to freeze, and the other crew members were intending to escape from the bridge, but none of them could escape outside.
It was unknown whether it was due to the sparks were created due to the ripping of the wall, or that the owner of the “claw” deliberately triggered it. No matter the reason, the “Zeus IX” that was covered in steam let out intense heat at a certain point, causing the gas that reached its kindling point to burst into flames. This kind of flame would burn slower than oil, but the crimson-red flames still covered the ship in an instant, prompting the liquefied gas that was stored inside to ignite as well. The liquefied gas vaporized completely, and the gas body expanded to several hundred times as it burst through the tank, penetrating through the double-layered hull that surrounded the tank. The “Zeus IX” had a large scale explosion from inside, and the large impact caused a shockwave that spread into Dakar.
The expanded flame caused the tugboats around it to be crushed and overturned immediately, and the tip of the fire slowly rose to the skies in a slow motion-like manner. The shockwaves created a mini-tsunami that struck at the wharf, and the loud sound of the explosion reached the center of the city, but no one could understand the situation immediately. The ones to take initial action were the Dakar patrol squad mobile suits stationed at the harbor; they immediately got into battle formation once they witnessed the mushroom cloud that rose and started to approach the place where the explosion took place.
The two propulsion propellers roared, and the bottom of the LCAC broke the waves as it mowed forward. The RGM-86R “GM IIIs” that were lying on the LCAC readied their beam rifles and fired. Once they got news that they lost contact with the diving team, the pilots responded quickly and intended to search for the enemy units that seemed to have enter the harbor. However, these people that were attracted by the burning tanker did not know that there was an unexpected situation happening, ready to strike them.
The plateau region opposite the Bel-Air industrial zeone had a row of waterfront warehouse. If one were to look over from the place where transport trucks would not stop at, the burning remains of the tanker looked no different from a red-hot tong offshore. At this point, the sea surface off the uay was rising, and the large “claws” showed itself with a large amount of water. The “claw” swung down at the neighboring port, the gantry cranes used for lifting cargo were knocked down like paper, and the three sharp blades immediately sank into the concrete ground.
The flexible robot arm supporting the “claw” let out a tremor from its armor, and the main body that had been submerged underwater all this time was starting to rise up. The sea surface rose again, the “legs” that were attached to the arms appeared on the surface, and the “head” with the monoeye, the “body” that had the silhouette of a living being appeared in order. Once all the parts were shown, that hill-like large body was covered by the sun, and the harbor that was stabbed in by the “claws” was covered by a short moment of darkness. The seawater rained down like a waterfall, the object used its massive mass that was several times more than a ship to crush the harbor, and it used the outstretched “claw” on its other leg to stab into the wharf and climb onto land slowly.
The large leg that resembled an elephant’s stabbed through a truck together with the wharf, and the air-cushioned rear that resembled a hermit crab shell rumbled. The “claws” that were brought in together with its legs underwater moved with the help of its flexible robotic arms that were like independent arms, and the reddish-brown color of the machine machine matched its appearance, giving the vibe of a lobster. The armor that extended sideways from its groin was reminiscent of bat wings, and the head that was protruding out from this gap was giving off the flair of a reptile. The image all the parts gave was of bits and pieces, but that mysterious combination felt like a mad chimera—the “Shamblo” that had transformed into its land form pushed aside the Jin-Poles in its way as it landed, and the sharp claws that were fixed on the flexible arm swung down at the waterfront warehouses.
The roofs over the waterfront warehouses were crushed easily, and the sharp claws punctured the containers inside deeply. The flexible robot arm pulled its leg forward, crushing the remaining warehouses as it moved forward. This large body, which had a maximum height of 32m and more than 70m in length, would bring about a carpet bombing-like destruction on the ground just by moving forward. With the assistance of the air cushion at its rear, the “Shamblo” trampled over the waterfront warehouses that were leveled and started to advance to the center of Dakar.
To the “GM III” squadron that was moving over the sea to the burning tanker, it looked like a mountain range made of steel moving. There was less than 4km from there to the parliament house at the plateau area, and there was no need to second-guess what the enemy’s objective was. They hurriedly turned around and rushed over to the object that looked like a mobile armor. However, their movements were detected by the “Zee Zulu” squad hidden underwater.
The three “Zee Zulus” readied their combat claws on their forehands and approached the LCAC hovering over the water. Both sides crossed paths, and the claw easily stabbed through the bottom of the LCAC that was made of vulcanized rubber as it tumbled and stopped working. The machine lost its balance greatly as it was pulled down by the inertia of 40 knots, and the “GM III” that were knocked off the LCAC fell into the water. The non-amphibious mobile suit would not drown, but there was no reason for it to function properly in the water. While they were confused, the pilot frantically tried to identify their positions, but what appeared in front of them were heat knives that swung straight down.
Once the “Zee Zulu” stabbed its heat knife through the cockpit of the “GM III”, it immediately pulled back and moved away from the bubbles and conducting fluids. The other “Zee Zulus” dealt with their prey and submerged underwater again to wait for any enemy forces that would arrive next. Everything happened underwater, and some time would be required before the Dakar defense squad could grasp what was going on and take appropriate action. The burning tanker and the sunk LCACs were merely the results of an unknown situation at this point—and the “Shamblo” did not care about that commotion as it moved its oddly-shaped silhouette to the plateau area.
The large body triggered a quake, and an emergency siren rang through the streets. That buzzing sound finally rang through the speakers all over the city after several years, creating a commotion on the streets that were still sleepy in the morning. Sirens that had a tinge of a looming disaster shook the air in Dakar.
“You’re saying Dakar’s attacked by the enemy?”
While the news to activate the anti-air surveillance branch was to be announced, he was in the captain room, washing his face to wake himself up. Bright rushed into the bridge and asked loudly, and once he heard First Officer Meran answer with a serious expression, “It’s a report from the Senate Council”, he felt like his breathing was blocked.
“An air raid? How many enemies are there?”
“I don’t know. The Senate Council itself doesn’t seem like it grasped the situation either. Our satellite link with the Dakar security is cut off too.”
Minovsky particles—no matter whether they were scattered by either ally or foe, the scale of battle was definitely abnormal. This is definitely not a trivial matter, he exchanged looks with Meran who said that, and turned to look at the navigation screen behind him to roughly estimate the estimated time required from their current position to Dakar. It had been more than 20 minutes since the “Ra Cailum” received the report of a launch exhaust from what looked like a VTOL ship and head off to the Western Sahara. The battleship that was still in the process of accelerating had already passed over the Libyan desert, and there was still less than 5000km distance left before they reached Dakar. If they considered the accelerating and decelerating, it would be approximately an hour later before they reached Dakar. It was impossible to shorten the time further due to the ship’s acceleration functions under the atmosphere. Even if they moved towards space first before rushing down to the atmosphere, they would end up moving over Dakar at this distance. So we can only rush over to Dakar directly in the sky?—
“All hands, get to second alert. Mobile suit squad, standby.”
Bright’s lips moved before he could make a conclusion. There’s no time, and there’s no need to wait for instructions from the Senate Council. Get to the scene first and confirm the situation. The Londo Bell Task Force was granted an unconditional authority to do as they please during an emergency intrusion on the Federation government. “Our ship will now head to Dakar. Hurry up on plotting the shortest navigation course, equip a booster onto the Base Jabbers and get them onto the catapult decks together with the “Jestas” on standby.” Bright gave the orders he could think of immediately as he sat on the captain’s seat at the middle of the bridge. The ordinary bridge length of a “Ra Cailum”-class was more 15m, and the breadth was 6m strong, forming a horizontally structure. There were 8 crew members under the navigation branch, and soon after the alarm rang, two duty staff members that were on standby to assist during an alert situation rushed to the scene, and the bridge was filled with activities that were somewhat tense.
“Depending on the situation, we may open the battle bridge. All departments, check the circuits!” Meran yelled with a gruff voice and showed a battle-hardened face he had not shown after 3 years. No matter how much they educated, it was impossible to create such an atmosphere during training. Bright sensed that the fatigue he endured for the past few days was cleared off, “What are they planning…” as he mused to himself. For the past 2 days, the “Ra Cailum” rushed over to the Middle East, merely to detect the movements of the Zeon remnants forces. However, their bases that were scattered in the desert showed no signs of movements. It was unknown where this enemy came from, either from above ground or from below. “Does it have something to do with the VTOL ship that was reported?” Meran, who was standing beside the captain’s seat, added on uietly,
“If the exhaust fumes detected in the Western Sahara is from that “Garencieres”…”
“That is a possibility, but I don’t think it has the capability to take down Dakar. If the “Laplace Box” is on that ship, the logical thinking would be to return to space first.”
“I heard that “Palau” was abandoned. Is it possible for those “Sleeves” to launch an all-or-nothing attack after losing their base?”
“Those men of the man who called himself another coming of Char aren’t that simple-minded…we lost the initiative, I guess.”
These excessive words caused Meran to frown. Was the entire series of incidents starting from “industrial 7” related to this assault on Dakar? It was impossible to discern with just the information Ronan Marcenas provided. There should be a more complicated and deeply rooted reason that existed behind these incidents, just like the “Laplace Box” term that was filled with mystery. He knew that as long as he could not approach that core, he would become a chess piece that was easily to manipulate, always dwelling outside the situation.
He wanted information. This information he wanted need not be filtered by principles or benefits. A she thought about this, he remembered the faces of several people he was familiar with. “EWA, Uniform 011 is going to launch.” The voice of the communications operator rang, “Tell them to hurry up.” and Bright immediately answered back instinctly.
“There might be a need to continue. Tell the pilots to remain on standby and get ready to launch.”
“Understood. Informing mobile suit team.”
“Control room, your response is too slow. What are you doing!”
Once the situation began, his body that was used to responding started to move. He roared into the wireless communicator of the bridge as he observed the movements of the crew that had become dull after approximately 3 years, and endured the anxiety in his heart as he looked forward. I have to get the correct information before I get manipulated. As the ship rumbled due to the acceleration, this thought quickly fastened itself within Bright’s heart.
The shoulders were equipped with electronic units large enough to cover the head, and the EWAC “Jesta” looked like a headless machine as a result. The EWAC that was equipped with large sensor machines on the mounts located on both arms looked really amped up as it left the mobile suit deck first; it passed through the air lock linked to the catapult deck and vanished from their sights.
The catapult was equipped with a Base Jabber, and the mission of the EWAC machine was to ride on it, head to the frontlines to collect information to send back to the mothership. The Base Jabber the mobile suit was riding on had a speed of less than 1 Mach, but if it was externally equipped with a booster and stood on the catapult deck, it would reach Dakar faster than the battleship that would have to spend time accelerating and decelerating. Even if it reached the place earlier by 10 minutes, this precious distance alone would be enough to determine the fate of the battlefield.
There would be a burden felt inside the ship that was accelerating would move, as if the body was moving up a slope. The airlock was released, and the mobile suit deck that was removed from its pressure state lacked sufficient oxygen. Thus, Riddhe saw the EWAC leave through his helmet visor. He immediately ran towards the wall of the catwalk and used the gondola of the hangar to slip into the cockpit of the “Delta Plus”. The reason why he ended up diving in and ended up landing diagonally on the linear seat was because he was used to zero gravity conditions. He was wrapped tightly by his own pilot suit, and could not help but have the wrong impression that he was in space.
“Watch it! There’s gravity here!”
Sergeant Hanna poked her upper body into the cockpit, let their helmets touch, and lashed out at Riddhe. She, who was assigned as the personal mechanic officer for the “Delta Plus”, was considered an expert mechanic on the “Ra Cailum”. Her face lacked makeup, and the blond hair that was tied backwards lacked charm, but Riddhe felt that there was nothing to be picky about when it came to a woman he was working with, simply because she did not take special care of him just because of his background. “Roger that!” he shouted back, and grabbed his hurting neck as he pulled the display board in front. The power was already activated, and the all-view monitor showed the majestic sight of the vast mobile suit deck and the RGM-96X “Jestas” lined on the deck.
Including the EWAC machine that launched and a machine that was docked at the overhaul space, there were 12 mobile suits in the ship. They moved the “ReZELs” and the “Jegans” they had away and switched them with unproven new models, simply because this voyage was limited only for experimental frames. He saw that the crew of the “Ra Cailum” were like him, troubled over this unexpected situation, and could only fight back desperately. As he suddenly thought about it, he pondered, What is the enemy planning by attacking the capital this time? (Uniform 001 to all units.) As Riddhe thought about this, this voice from the wireless communicator caused him to prick his ears.
(Once the frontline determines the situation, Solton’s squadron will launch first. Based on the developments on the battle, we may let Dalton’s squadron move all. All machines, maintain current position and remain on standby.)
Uniform 1—Commander Solton, who was the mobile suit squad leader on the Ra Cailum, had a voice that sounded overly clean. Riddhe could not help but lift his head, and he stared at the face shown on the communication window. Solton’s squad that included Nigel and the Tri-Stars had 6 machines together, and Dalton’s squadron that was led by lieutenant Commander Dalton had 6 machines too. Riddhe however did not belong to any squadron. (Everyone grasped the traits of the “Jestas”? There’re people who lack actual combat experience though…) Solton’s voice continued on, and Riddhe frantically yelled, “Please wait!”
“Who’s commanding my Romeo 008?”
(The Romeo 008 is excluded from the order. Please wait on standby inside the ship.)
“Please let me join in too! I won’t be able to fulfill the order the Senate Council told me to do directly if I remain inside the ship.”
On the other side of the communication window, Solton’s sharp nose still looked very distinct from behind the visor as he turned his ferocious looking stare over. Riddhe could sense the stares of the other people who were listening through the wireless communicator, but he could not bother himself with this. No matter what the objective of the enemy was, the attack on Dakar was most likely related to the “Box”. If he could not get himself involved in this, there would be no point for him to stay here.
(This notification will not change. We have a limited number of Base Jabbers. The leading suad doesn’t have the room to let you join.)
“The “Delta Plus” is a transformable mobile suit. It should be able to fly on its own even in gravity—”
(I said that the notification will not change.)
Solton’s cold voice indicated that this was the final straw. Riddhe could not spit on the words he swallowed, as he understood that the other man was not trying to make things difficult for him. They could not let an unknown new member join the squad, as there were be a level of uncertainty in the battle. As a commander, Solton made the correct decision, but Riddhe, who understood this, planned to fulfill the duty of his “family”. He again sensed this pain that was cutting him inside out as he was ripped by the two sides to him. At this moment, he head a voice interrupt, (Captain).
(There are 6 Base Jabbers, and the Base Jabbers for the leading squad has to return to the mothership before Dalton’s squadron can launch. Considering this, if we use the Romeo 008 as a substitute for the leading squad, we can leave one of those Base Jabbers behind.)
Nigel barged into the communication window, showing an expression that was hard to determine like usual. Solton too recognized the ability of the Tri-Stars, and this debate caused the atmosphere to show signs of wavering through the wireless communicator.
(In contrast, one of those won’t have to come back. Maybe the leading squad alone can carry out an independent attack from both air and ground.)
(But…)
(If we can leave the Base Jabber to the squadron launching later, the machines that are in charge of battle can continue to remain in the air. If we look at how we can assure our communication—)
(I understand. Then, Romeo 008, launch with the leading squad. The Tri-Stars are to watch over you.)
Both sides clashed during the “welcoming ceremony”, so there would be no problem for a new member to be left to the Tri-Stars. Solton showed his flair as someone with battle experience as he quickly changed his conclusion, (I’ll notify everyone of the specifics later. That’s all) he left behind these words and disappeared from the communication window. Riddhe lost the chance to thank him, and looked at the window. Nigel’s eyes could not be read,What do you mean by this? and he cut off his communication window from Riddhe’s sights as Riddhe could not get a response.
(Don’t be mistaken.)
What replaced it was Watt’s voice that came from another channel. (We haven’t recognized your skills yet. Leader Nigel’s just caring about efficiency.)
(Yeah, but you still owe us a favor. You better tell us what direct order the Senate Council told you directly.)
Daryl too spoke from another channel. These people were originally test pilots for the UC project, and this was most probably a pressing issue to them who were involved in the truth in this incident. Once he vaguely understood this, he let his body sink deeply into the linear seat. If I can tell people about what’s going on that easily, I won’t have to go through so much trouble. He grumbled in his heart, and a rumbling shook the bottom of his belly as the cranes and trolleys on the deck started to tremble.
The sound came from the EWAC machine that was to launch first, and the Base Jabber that was ferrying it lit its booster rockets. The catapult that followed the linear trigger let out a unique operating sound, and once the two sounds overlapped, the boom from the booster rocket gradually moved off in the direction of the bow. The next moment after it was launched, an extremely loud noise comparable to that of an explosion came from the other side of the partition wall, and Riddhe seemed to see an illusion of the Base Jabber letting out a long trail of exhaust. It was moving faster than the mothership that was moving beyond supersonic speed, flying right at Dakar with a bullet-like trajectory—
Hope you can reach there quickly. Riddhe recalled the scenes of Dakar when his father brought him there in his younger days, and could not help but clench his fists.
There was a residential area in the plateau area where the political and economic hub existed. Most of them were official residences for high-class cadres, but some of them were clustered residences for several enterprises, meant to be used as dormitories, and these houses formed a quiet condominium zone amongst the elites in Dakar.
It was because the area had both the functions of a living area and a working area that the morning was late. There was less than 2km from this place to the office buildings, and it was possible to attend work on time even if they left their homes at 8.30am, if they were using public or private transport. Thus, every family would normally wake up after 7am. However, this day was different, as there was an emergency alarm that rang before 7am, forcefully waking up the residents from their slumber.
(We’ll continue to provide you the latest news. The military is currently defending Dakar harbor. An evacuation order is given to the plateau area, and all residents there are to evacuate from the area. Those within the affected areas, please continue to keep your televisions and radios on and evacuate as calmly as possible. You should reduce the amount of luggage you have to the bare minimum…)
Something sounded like it landed nearby, causing a quake which shook the windows of the buildings nearby, and the announcer that looked tense when speaking became fuzzy on the screen. The satellite television could not receive the signal, and noise was the only thing that could be picked up from the portable televisions and radios. A housewife who was watching to the news was married to a husband working in an ocean consultant industry located in the plateau area. She gave up on identifying the words on the screen that was telling them to evacuation and left the television. She took out the firefighting pack from her stuff and slung I over her shoulder. All the residents of Dakar were tasked with a responsibility to have a firefighting pack ever since the time when they were occupied 9 years ago, but she never thought that the day would come for her to use it. She let her 5 year old child carry a child-use pack and quickly stuffed a change of clothes and bottles into the bag. “HURRY UP!” she lashed out at her husband who was at the washing basin. “I KNOW THAT!” her husband yelled back while looking half-asleep.
“Don’t tell me this is a fire drill?”
“Why would such a sound be made during a drill? Here, hurry up too, Mitch!”
The son, who was studying at a kindergarten in the city, was staring at the live television feed, giving an expression that showed that he did not understand what was going on at all. He saw black smoke coming out from the harbor from the telecast and even pointed at the television nonchalantly, saying, “Ah, it’s Pointe Bernard.” The housewife carried that little body and walked towards the corridor. They were living on the 25th floor of this high-rise condominium, and the housewife frantically reached her hand for the door, thinking that if this were to keep up, it was likely that the elevator would stop working. At this moment, the loudest explosion at this point echoed through the surroundings, and the floor of the floor rose by several centimeters.
The sound of the utensils breaking and things collapsing immediately rang afterwards. “WHAT’S GOING ON!?” her husband came running to the window, and the housewife carried her child as she got to his side. They opened the window that continued to shake and arrived onto the veranda. The view of this veranda was not really good as there was a high-rise condominium that was of the same height as it, however, the roof of the condominium on the opposite side was letting out flames and smoke that rose up. It was a paranormal-like scene they had never seen before, right in front of their eyes. The black smoke rose, and the mushroom cloud expanded in space as several fireballs gradually expanded all over from the bottom of this fire. The fireballs drew a high arch as it landed right in the middle of the city, and the housewife witnessed one of them flying right at them.
Something thin and long that was burning let out an expanding trail of black smoke “What the?” “The hand…?” this conversation she had with her husband became her last money. “It’s a hand!” the child that was being carried called out, and it was too late by the time the family intended to leave the veranda as that object the condominium they were living in directly.
The “GM III” let the explosion snap through its arm as it passed through the upper levels of the condominium, crushing several floors of different levels as it got itself anchored deeply into the building. The artificial fingers were buried under the rubble, and dust mixed with glass fragments exploded out, covering the entire condominium. Two mobile suits flew above this condominium, seemingly trying to blow the dust away, but this had nothing to do with the people who were crushed together with the buildings.
The 6 “GM IIIs” that were moving in pairs continued to leap as they rushed off to the harbor. Whenever they landed, the asphalt would show cracks, and the fusion rockets jets on their backs were creating hot winds as they lifted these large bodies. The front “GMIII” turned its back on a truck that was blown aside due to the wind pressure and landed on the Boulevard de I’Arsenal. It immediately hide inside the blind spot of the building and raised the beam rifle it held in the right hand at the street. There was an oddly-shaped mobile armor landing at the direction where the gun was pointed.
That mobile armor could be described as either a prawn or a hermit crab as it wriggled its body and reached its large claws in front in an intimidating manner. Even if it were a wide street, it was impossible for any building to remain unscathed when this mobile armor passed by. After it climbed past, there was a path of charred rubble from the harbor to this point, and also a large hole that showed the explosion of a mobile suit. It remained for a short moment before it swung its unexpected agile claws to crush the building. The “GM IIIs” retreated to the intersection room together with the scattered rubble.
They could not approach the enemy easily. There was an opening at the armor near the groin, and it was the nozzle of a spreading mega-particle cannon that the “GM IIIs” feared. As long as it glowed, the artificial light would cackle and devastate the scene, causing the surrounding buildings and roads to be melted and blown apart.
“It’s hard to tell from its appearance, but it’s flying really quickly. Don’t stand forward too much!”
“Anyway, lure it out of the city and force it back to the harbor!”
That was a code the “GM III” pilots had. As the first pilot head off to attract the attention of the mobile armor, the other 5 machines would use the opportunity to scatter and surround the enemy before aiming the beam rifles from the blind spots of the buildings. Unlike the “GM IIIs” that could easily dodge past a 6-level building, the full height of this mobile armor was approximately 10 levels tall, and the width it occupied was more than twice that of a building. When extended fully, the full length of the sharp claws would likely reach 100m, and it was more difficult to miss it. However, the beams fired by the 6 “GM IIIs” did not hurt the mobile armor at all.
The mobile armor opened the container block shutter protruding from its back before it was surrounded, and fired small objects into the air. 10 of such objects that looked like shells came sputtering out from the container block. When seen from afar, these objects looked like flying bullets, lit their vernier thrusters and used their thrust force to remain in the air.
That objects that looked like small balloons started to open up 3 prongs, showing parts that looked like flower petals, radiating a mirror like glow. The reflective bits surrounding the mobile armor looked like they had a will of their own as they quickly moved around to block the mega-particle beams that flew in from all directions. Like a mirror reflecting light, the beams of extremely hot particles were reflected at the speed light, causing the straight beams to be twisted and deflected off into an unexpected direction.
The beams that were deflected pierced through the buildings, roads and the cockpits of the “GM IIIs”. Two “GM IIIs” were hit directly by the beams their allies fired, and lost their functions as they collapsed into explosions of flames. The scattered armor shrapnel blew the street lights, and new black smoke rose up the streets that were already filled with smoke.
“It deflected the beams…?”
By the time the squad leader realized this, the surviving subordinates were already firing their beams with reckless abandon, causing two more “GM IIIs” to be crushed by the deflected beams. The reddish-brown machine frame was surrounded by the lights of the explosion as the mobile armor continued to move forward as if nothing happened. The reflective bits acted like small fish that surrounding the big fish as they swayed around in the air together. Its monoeye was flickering amidst the gap of the part that suspiciously resembled a head. The squad leader let his emotions explode within him as he detected that inhuman monstrous stare from that stare. He landed on the road and let the machine draw the beam saber. The “GM III” fired its beam at the mobile armor to hold it off, and charged right into the enemy’s clutches.
“You bastard!”
He would have a chance of winning as long as he could break through the defensive line of the bits and duck inside the mobile armor. He darted in a zig-zag and raised his beam saber to hack at the mobile armor, but the sharp claws that moved quickly were faster, and the “GM III” was crushed before it could even retreat. It was grabbed by the claws that were of the same height and raised high, becoming a humanoid hammer smashing buildings on both lef and right side. The machine was thrown into the air twice, thrice, and finally slammed into the ground headlong. The head of the “GM III” was crushed headlong as it was slammed to the ground at supersonic speed, and the squad leader who was thrown off the linear seat had his neck broken as he died immediately. However, this was nothing to the mobile armor. It casted aside the “GM III” that became a wrecked puppet and raised the claws, using them as shovels of a bulldozer as it destroyed the buildings in its way while moving forwad.
The dome-shaped hover that formed the tail supported its large body, and the two mini-Minovsky Crafts located between its legs created an I-field at the feet. The overly massive claws could move on its own flexibly through the recoil against the ground, and the “Shamblo”, which obtained the power of the Minovsky Crafts that would really take effect on the ground, proceeded forward like it was shaking on ice, using its large body to crush the buildings in the office area. To the people that were finally starting to evacuate, it looked just like a steel “monsters”, and this level of panic and confusion that could not be triggered by a mere air raid dominated the plateau region. Buildings would fall whenever this body that looked like a small hill moved, and the storm of dust created a brown turbidity on the streets. The waterfall of rubble and glass rained down on the people who did not know where to run to, and the vehicles that were crushed by the pressure from the explosions slammed into the show windows of the department stores.
The pilots of the TINCOD II, Federation fighter jets that launched from Dakar’s air base, witnessed that hellish scene from 1000m above. All transformable mobile suits were sent to the factories for inspection, and the Dakar air defense forces did not have any forces other than the TINCOD II. The pilots were planning to assist from sideways as they sortied, but the situation in front of them defied all expectations they had. The first line of mobile suits that should be standing their ground were wrecked without a trace, and the mobile armor that took nay a scratch continued to proceed on.
(The beam weapons aren’t effective on the target. Permitting the use of air-to-ground missiles. Stop the target in its tracks.)
“But, the evacuation…!”
The pilot could not help but exclaim as he witnessed the ferocity of the mobile armor from the canopy. He could see the public wriggling through the ranks from behind the dust and smoke that remained. There was less than 200m from the rear end of the group to the target, and there were quite a few people who could not run away in time as they remained at the target’s feet. There was no need to imagine further the effects of the bullets, but the anti-air defense bureau’s order was not to be overturned.
(Our utmost priority is to prevent the target from approaching the parliamentary hall. Begin the attack.)
There was no other choice. There were also residential areas on the way to the parliamentary hall. The pilot immediately closed his eyes and casted the colors of the countless clothing from his sights, “Affirmative, beginning attack”, and pulled the control stick. The TINCOD II rose in height together with its allied machines and fired the air-to-ground missiles from below its wings.
The array of missiles rained down from the two machines that followed, and the shells rushed to the mobile armor, dragging several trails of white smoke. At that moment, the mega-particles cannon of the mobile armor let out a glow, and the reflective bits that were hovering around were dyed with the same color. The beams that should be fired in all directions were fired at the bits, and the reflected beams bounced off the bits, creating a net of light. The light of light became a barrier of lightning that sparkled greatly, causing the missiles that flew in directly to be covered with a layer of hi-heat particle membrane.
The fireballs continued to expand, and the explosion-like smoke covered the mobile armor. The wind pressure crushed the glass of the surrounding buildings, and the people and vehicles that could not get away in time were blown away like toys. However, the target did not look to be damaged in any way. The missiles were shot down before they could reach the mobile armor, and were exploded.
“A beam barrier…it’s using that as a barrier!?”
The fighter jet passed by from above and abruptly turned around once it flew out of the harbor. The pilot took the G-force that struck tremendously and switched the weapon control to the Vulcan guns. If the barrier is created by reflected beams, it should not be able to maintain it for a long time. I’ll continue to fire and break through the barrier, and if I’m successful, I might be able to shoot a bit down. The pilot thought of this strategy in less than a second, gave an indication to his allies, and turned his reticule on the heads-up display to aim at the back of the target. The moment he placed his fingers on the trigger, the mobile armor suddenly turned around and quickly lifted its thin and long head.
The head that looked like that of a snake’s split down from top to bottom, and the cover on both left and right sides split apart like a large snake opening its mouth wide. The mooneye of the mobile armor let out a mysterious glow, and the large caliber mega particle cannon let out a spark for just an instant before a thick beam flew right at the fighter jet squad that was approaching.
The mobile armor head, which was supported by a snake belly-like construct, continued to fire the beam from its mouth as it tilted slightly to the right. The beam that moved together swept the sky like a fan, and the fighter jets that were not designed to be armored were crumpled like paper planes in the face of this mega particle beam that could match an enemy’s cannon. The TIN Cod II that touched the belt of light was instantly bared from its armor, and the pilots were cremated before they could identify the light. The 2 fighter jets that were hit directly were nearly charred completely, and the machines that lost their original shape remained in the air. The remaining two fighter jets were knocked off by the impact, and ended up crashing inside the city before they could press the emergency escape function.
The fighter jets that crashed exploded immediately, causing a new fire to rise in Dakar. Mahdi Garvery stared at the black smoke that filled the screen on the wall, and could not help but laugh. The “Shamblo” has fulfilled its projected capabilities, and even if all of Dakar’s forces were gathered, they can’t cause any damage to it. The Federation military that thoroughly believed that there will be no large-scale skirmish is so fragile here.
Abbas is in charge of piloting, Walid is in charge of searching the enemy, and Loni is in charge of using the psycommu to control the reflective bits and set an iron-wall defense on the “Shamblo” . There’s no need to worry about the controls of my three children. With the bits barrier around, the “Shamblo” is unmatched in anti-air capabilities. Dakar’s mobile suits aren’t worthy of fear, and the “Zee Zulus” are holding off the enemy reinforcements from the sea. The Federation won’t be able to handle this unless they drop a nuclear missile or a Thermobaric bomb, but they can’t possibly have the guys to use these weapons in the center of the capital.
“Location 147, a fighter jet squadron is closing in again.”
“There’re mobile suits in front too. There are mobile suits gathered around the parliament. 6 GM-types and for tanks.”
“Anti-air!”
Abbas and Walid reported, while Loni’s clear voice was mixed in. The sharpness of the senses caused the psycommu function to increase, driving the hatred the reflective bits had for the enemy. Mahdi felt satisfied by how the bits would deflect the enemy beams like organisms gathering and scattering over and over again, and stared at the high-rise building of the Hotel Empire that was beyond the swirling flames. The building that was 150 levels tall looked exceptionally tall, and this skyscraper, which represented the Western civilization, ignored the hell right below its eyes as it stood tall looking like it had nothing to do with its surroundings—
“Abbas, turn the machine to 178.”
Mahdi suddenly had a violent impulse within him as he ordered. “Attack target, Hotel Empire. Prepare to fire the main cannon.”
The three people seated at the front jerked their shoulders. “The hotel, you say?” Abbas was the first one to turn around and ask, and Mahdi, who saw Loni widen her eyes too, argued back, “That’s not a hotel, that’s a symbol.”
“It symbols the civilization of the white men who stained our Muslim territory and devoured this Earth to the brink of destruction.”
“But father, that is a place unrelated to the battle. We’ll just end up flaming the hatred others have of us if we meaninglessly increase the damage.”
Loni ignored her two brothers who were unable to speak up as she got up from her seat and gave a tense look at her father. Mahdi took her stare “Loni, those people used to mock us.” and said silently,
“A barbarians who’ll only imitate the white men on the surface, but is still hanging their knives on their waists…that’s how those people viewed me. Whether it’s the receptionist, the door, or any guest that brushed by, I can tell from their eyes even if they wouldn’t say it. Those people sold their souls to the society of white men, no matter the color of the skin. To those people, we’re just caged animals, pitiful beasts that are reared in the zoo to exchange for the self-satisfaction of a multi-cultural society.”
Am I crazy? Mahdi asked himself in a corner of his mind, Then let me go crazy. and then answered his own question as he looked away from the speechless Loni. Father, grandfather, Loni’s mother, they all died in despair and hatred. I could only keep living to vent the regrets of those souls. I interacted with top-class education and culture in those white men’s society, and continued to be an alien that hated them. I tasted the feelings of bitterness, deceit and infidelity, I lived through such a life full of oxymorons, and it’s to be expected that I’ll lose my mind, but it’s all for this day. What should I do if I don’t unleash my madness? Who’s the one causing me to go mad!?
“The white men killed God and dumped the excess humans into space. They built their own private club on this planet. That arrogant tower that mocks God has to be destroyed. Attack!”
The “Shamblo” opened its mouth again and exposed the mega particle cannon as it lifted its head. Once the bits deflected the enemy shots, the high-output beam caused the surrounding air to ionize, and the torrent of light flew in a straight line, and struck the Hotel Empire direct.
The beam pierced through the building in the center, and the 53rd to 59th levels were burned through as the beam immediately cut through it. This alone caused several hundred people to be vaporized when they were evacuating, but the mega-particle beam that lasted for 2 seconds did not just fire through the beam, but also caused a sweeping devastation at that angle.
The beam that pierced through the building swung from left to right, causing the ugly charred black trail to be scattered on the exterior of glass. The Hotel Empire was sliced through horizontally, and 3 quarters of its volume was burned off as another 7 levels of space was hollowed out—naturally, Hotel Empire was divided into 2 with the vanished part as the border.
The dust continued to rain down like a landslide, and the higher levels that lost their support started to tilt down slowly. It continued to tumble and break up before finally lying horizontally on the ground in the form of burning hot dirt and dust that was several thousand tons, covering the group of skyscrapers below it. The rubble, glass, humans that were mixed together hailed down from above, and the surrounding buildings and streets were crushed under the debris. The original shape of the surrounding buildings were gradually breaking up, and the higher levels that barely managed to maintain the shape of a high level ended up leaning on them, causing the buildings to crush under the pressure, creating a loud shattering that rang through the city.
The tsunami of dust covered all roads that could be considered roads, and devoured the people who were overcome with fear as it continued to expand. The “Shamblo” remained in this brown fog and turned to where the parliament hall was. The mouth that opened looked like it was going to swallow the sky, and the silhouette of a monster roaring appeared from behind the dust.
(Is everyone seeing it here!? The Hotel Empire just collapsed! It sounds like a pillar supporting the land collapsing. The dust and hot air are blowing over here…!)
“There’s a live telecast from Dakar now!” a certain someone called out. It had been 10 minutes since the “Garencieres” reached the battlezone, and they completed a check on all areas before they launched.
About 10 members were on the mobile suit deck, scattered in a corner. Banagher saw that the two escort pilots were joining in, and left the cockpit of the “Unicorn” to head to the last row. The communication panel on the received the signal of the live television feed and aired the footage. Banagher saw the image of the skyscraper that was taken from above the sea. The entire city looked like it was burning, and over there, half of Dakar’s skyscrapers were already razed to a sea of dust—
(Who’s starting this kind of attack, and for what reason? We do not know the full details. Unconfirmed reports have pointed out there was a logo of Neo Zeon on this weapon called a mobile armor…ah, it’s firing its beam again! Is that a Federation mobile suit exploding? It’s so loud. I don’t know if I should stay here and report the news for long…)
The noise that got stronger drowned out the words afterwards, and the light of the explosion that radiated on the panel could not be seen. It was a miracle that they could receive a television feed on the television feed when the Minovsky Particles were scattered around. The crew remained silent, and as the crew gulped, Banagher too stared at the breaking footage that was taken from Dakar. One could see a new mushroom cloud blowing up from the other side of the noise. He understood that the high-rise building that was sliced in the middle was the Hotel empire where he had his meeting with meeting. The trail of destruction carried on from the harbor like a tremendously large bulldozer, and at the front of it was an abnormally shaped object that was giving off light…if seen from above, that mobile armor looked like a beetle with its wings opened. It trampled everything in its path and caused the horrifying devastation to expand. All of that could be seen on the panel.
What is going on here? The streets he walked on with Loni, the city beside the sea where Zimmerman gave him a toast, all these things were gradually disappearing like they were being erased. It was like “Industrial 7”—no, even then, he could feel that both ally and foe were trying to keep damage to the minimum. This however had no signs of it. That machine was destroying and destroying over and over again. It looked like it was deliberately raising hatred, maximizing damage and showing itself off.
“Isn’t this too one-sided…?”
“Is that the machine the “Descendant of Dubai” is piloting?”
The crew muttered with pale expressions. Tomura stared at the movements of the mobile armor, looking completely speechless by this scene of curb-stomping. Is this what it means to attack Dakar? Is this the doing of the man called Mahdi Garvey? Banagher felt his heart beat wildly as the blood rushed up to his head, making him dizzy, and he clenched his fists. That’s the job I’ve been assigned? I have to wait for Dakar to be leveled under this destruction and let the “Unicorn” land on the desginated coordinates? Is this the “situation” that I admitted I’m a part of?
I can’t accept this. I won’t accept the people who allowed such a thing, or the me that thought I understood the situation and let others arrange for me to enter. Banagher took a step back from the wall of people surrounding the communication panel, looked up at the “Unicorn” that was quietly lying horizontally, and moved away from them.
He moved from the mobile suit deck and head down the corridor leading to the bow. He endured the urge to remove the pilot suit and throw it away, used his hand to unlock the airlock, and dashed down to the bridge at the end of the path. Something’s definitely wrong here. This should be something unexpected to everyone. He continued to convince his throbbing chest as he arrived in front of the cabin door glowing with red light, and barged into the bridge in a lunging manner.
The “Garencieres” bridge that had 3 fixed crew members was only as wide as a passenger aircraft pilot room. The captain’s seat could be seen right beside the door as he entered, and the navigation and steering seat were a step below, lined side by side with each other. Banagher used his hand to block the light that immediately shone in from the front, and looked at Zinnerman who was seated on the captain’s seat, looking rather surprised and looking away immediately afterwards. Banagher realized that there was something unnatural about him, and was about to call out, Captain , but his words were stuck in his mouth.
The monitor image on the console was airing the live telecast from Dakar. Banagher saw that Zinnerman was not willing to turn his face to look at him, and passed through the door. “The optical sensor is reacting! A ship-class!” Flaste said, and a shocked Banagher looked over in front again.
“Coordinates 302, approximately 600 distance. Class…seems like a Ra Cailum-class. Target’s currently dropping in height. Looks like it intends to enter Dakar by the coast.” The block-shaped noise was shown on the ceiling screen, and there was the silhouette of a ship after CG correction. A white ship could be seen moving through the clouds, and even Banagher could tell that it was a Federation spaceship. “Is that the Londo Bell flagship?” Zinnerman mused, and Flaste turned to him and asked, “What do we do?” Zinnerman then turned to glance at Banagher, and answered,
“We better not take action. That “Shamblo” mobile armor has an iron wall-like anti-air defense. It’s impossible for them to approach Dakar easily even with reinforcements.”
The stare that met for a short moment turned away immediately, and Zinnerman continued, “Notify Mahdi first. A laser communication probably won’t work even in this situation. The sight of Dakar covered with dust and black smoke was in front of his eyes. He knew—he knew the truth about Mahdi’s operation, and that I would come here. Banagher felt like he was toppled over by the pressure of that stubborn face, but continued inside the room. The automatic door closed in behind him, indicating that he could not retreat, and the sound rang sounded exceptionally loud.
“…That’s right. The enemy has a powerful cannon and an anti-beam weapon. It’s suicidal to approach from the air. You have to stop it from the Base Jabber.”
The G-force weakened as the deceleration took part, and they could witness Dakar directly on the visual from afar, 5 minutes away from where they were. Bright affirmed the destruction that was more thorough than whatever he had expected, and he gave this order with a suppressed tone. Squad leader Solton was on the monitor panel as he answered anxiously, (Can we use the ship’s cannons to hold it off and create an opening for the mobile suit squad to attack it directly?)
“No. The enemy has created a mirror barrier that can deflect mega-particles. If we carelessly fire our cannons at it, the city will be destroyed by the deflected shots.
There was the term “reflector bits” in the ship database search engine. That was a psycommu weapon used by the Federation army during the Gryphs Conflict, and there were signs that this technology landed in Neo Zeon’s hands thereafter. Leaving aside the logo printed on the mobile armor, was it possible that Neo Zeon was the one doing this? The EWAC machine that left first could not even approach within a 10km radius, and Bright felt that something was amiss as he stared at the vague visual from afar and frowned. The “Ra Cailum” was in first level alert, and inside the bridge, Meran, who just finished making contact with another end, stealthily handed a piece of handwritten piece. Bright received it, “We’ve just made contact with the Dakar security squad.” and then spoke into the voice receiver.
“They’ll send over the hovers used by the mobile suit. Solton squadron is to ride on those and approach Dakar by sea.”
(That takes too much time…!)
“But we’re forced to do so in the first place. The information shows that there are enemy marine mobile suits hidden underwater, so you have to split up, land outside the city, flank it from both sides and lure it out of the city. Looking at how it’s attacking, I’m guessing that the enemy is definitely aiming for the parliament hall.”
Once they could identify its objective, they would be able to set up a formation to surround it. The mobile armor had to destroy all obstacles in its way, so it was not moving too quickly. (Are they intending to hold the parliament hostage?), Solton asked, and Bright answered, “I don’t know. There should be a break in the parliament.” However, he was flabbergasted by something abnormal. Right, there’s no point in occupying an empty parliament here. There’s no consistency in this strategy. The enemy’s just attacking to destroy over and over again—like it’s trying to release the grudges it held within for years.
As expected, this is obviously different from what Neo Zeon used to do. It is plausible that they would send a colony or asteroid crashing down to destroy its target, but it’s not their mindset to trample onto a city directly while hearing the cries of those near them. But why? Bright questioned his mind that lacked information, and ended up slowing down in his decision-making completely. He gritted his teeth, (Please allow me to make a suggestion!) but another voice rang, causing him to lift his head again.
(Please let Romeo 008 head to the scene first. If it’s the transformable “Delta Plus”, it can attack independently even when fighting alone. I can lure the enemy’s attention before the main forces land.)
Ensign Riddhe appeared on the communication monitor and stated his own opinion. Bright was overwhelmed by that concentrated expression, and lost his opportunity to chide off the other party for arguing as he immediately answered, “You’ll be shot down!” However, Riddhe did not show any signs of fear as he answered, (I’ll let an unmanned Base Jabber follow me too.)
(We can use the Base Jabber as a shield, and I’ll retreat before it gets shot down. I’ll then transform into the waverider and attack from low altitude. As long as I use the buildings as a shield, I should be able to hide from the enemy’s eyes.)
That sounds reasonable. Bright immediately made this decision, “What do you feel, squad leader Solton?” and asked through the open channel. In response, the mobile suit squadron leader Solton answered, (With regards to Romeo 008, I wish to let you decide, captain.), his voice filled with an emotion that was beyond anxiousness, one of astonishment, and Bright could tell that he was hinting that another pilot was to be summoned into this call.
“Lieutenant Nigel, are you listening? What do you think?”
(He’s a load that can’t coordinate with the squad, so isn’t it good that he does whatever he pleases?)
Nigel did not show a change in his subtle expression, but it seemed that he had already prepared an answer. Those words were harsh, but he would only use this tone when an opponent he recognized was involved. “There’s also need to send someone to guide the landing forces.” Bright confirmed Meran’s expression as he said this, snorted out, and held onto the receiver of the wireless communicator again.
“Alright, we’ll have Ensign Riddhe head down to the scene first. However, your mission is to scout. Don’t proceed too deeply.”
The hatch of the starboard catapult deck was opened, and a strong wind blew into the bridge with a terrifying roar. The decelerating G-force was barely felt, but the “Ra Cailum” ship was still approaching at supersonic speed. The catapult decks on both sides looked like they were elevated, and the sound of them clattering continued to ring into the ears. Riddhe isolated the sounds that came in through the armor from his consciousness as he held onto the control set. The “Delta Plus” that was moving used its arm to grab the handle of the Base Jabber, and several indicators were lit on the display board.
(Path is clear. Romeo 008, prepare for launch.)
The voice of the communications operator rang. It was the meticulous voice of a man. How’s Mihiro and the rest of the “Nahel Argama” doing? Riddhe suddenly thought of this, but felt that it was pointless to think too much as he shook his head. (Lord Ensign, don’t be anxious.) Nigel then spoke up, causing him to lift his eyes that were looking down.
(I’m being honest here. I won’t be able to wake up well if you die in battle.)
“I understand. Dakar is a place I’m familiar with. I’ll go over to prepare the way first.”
(The capital’s like your backyard, huh? As expected of the prince of a Senator.) Daryl uttered som sarcastic words from another channel. (We haven’t settled our battle against you, so don’t die off on us first.) Watts too interjected, “Understood.” And Riddhe answered. Hating words could be considered a form of mental stabilizer. Looks like I’m more suited to being a pilot. Riddhe harbored such a bitter and hurtful feeling as he immediately casted them away and turned his tense face to the front again.
“Riddhe Marcenas, Romeo 008. Launching!”
The Base Jabber gently floated towards the lateral slip facing the outboard, and left the mothership with the headwind blowing. The “Delta Plus” that was clinging onto this Base Jabber lowered its posture, and Riddhe tried his best to endure the wind pressure that was stronger than what he expected. He saw the “Ra Cailum” move away from him in front as he proceeded to lower his height, and as he overlooked the coastline of Cape Verde, he let the machine glide down to a low height of 50m above the water. The mothership that was moving off of the coast of Dakar became a cloud as it vanished without a trace, and several trails of black smoke remained on the Cape, entering his sights.
As he looked over from the other end of the horizon, there was black grime that remained at a intersection where the sea, sky and earth met. It was smoke that was rising from the burning Dakar—exactly how much damage was caused? Riddhe let the shock from the sea below steady himself, and flew around the coast of the Cape at a speed less than supersonic. In less than 2 minutes, he reached a place where he could witness the devastation for himself. This Universal Century Manhattan obtained massive funding and an amazing amount of prosperity ever since the capital was moved for the second time, and at this point, the place became a large cremation field—the skyscrapers were giving off smoke like charcoal, and the landscape was full of rubble as they formed this scene.
The prevailing winds that blew by the skyscrapers brought the smoke to the sea, and it was impossible to tell where the fires were. The scattered dust was spread all over the plateau area, and the vestiges of destruction that lasted from the harbor to the city center were indistinguishable. The razed rubble and beastly trails were 100m in diameter and 2km in length, and they looked like trails of tractors moving down the corn fields. The tumbled buildings were crushed over each other, and the mobile suits that were exploded and ripped apart could be seen all over the place.
The scenes of the brand new capital that he walked down with his father, hand in hand, soon after it was moved here, was no longer to be seen. Riddhe took in air from his nostrils and suppressed the blood surge that was rising up his brain as he continued to let the machine fall further and fly right at the Bel-Air industrial zone. There was a gas complex and a chemical refinery plant on this reclaimed land right in front of him, and he chose a roundabout method to enter the city. Where’s the enemy mobile armor that caused such damage? He stared at the gaps between the group of buildings, and the moment he saw a new fireball of explosion from beyond the smoke, the reddish-brown object that rumbled at the base of the skyscrapers appeared in his eyes.
“Over there…!”
Riddhe’s first impression was that it was larger than he expected. He compared the enemy unit to the buildings, and guessed that it was almost twice the height of the “Delta Plus”, while the maximum length of its claws could match a medium-sized ship. Are those shining around it the reflective bits mentioned in the report? He stared at the floating objects that would change how they glowed according to the angle, and wanted to use the expanded window to catch sight of them. at that moment, a chilling feeling caused him to pull his control stick.
Riddhe sensed that the mobile armor that had its back facing him was twitching slightly, moving its monoeye viciously. The moment after he let the Base Jabber rise up in height, the mobile armor let out a glow, and a deep bellowing sound that was like thunder raced past the ankles of the mobile suit in the air. The veil of dust was blown apart, and the cackling flash surrounded the gas complex below his eyes. Immediately, there was a burst of red flames as the liquefied gas tank was immediately blasted, but he did not see the outcome. The machine took the impact from the shockwaves as it endured the hot air that blew from the front, and Riddhe let the machine rush into the huge wall of fire that expanded in front of him. He heard the rumbling sounds of the hellish fire, and before he could experience any goosebumps, he let the “Delta Plus” move away from the Base Jabber.
The “Delta Plus” became a free-falling object for just a moment before it transformed into a waverider that passed through the black smoke and rose up. The mobile armor let out a beam, crushing the unmanned Base Jabber into dust. The explosion created a chain reaction; Riddhe let the waverider turn towards the city center while the gas complex that was in a sea of fire and smoke as a cover, before the machine rushed through the skyscraper.
The “Delta Plus” that transformed into a waverider was not as fast as the Base Jabber. Riddhe used the road two blocks away from the mobile armor, used the buildings as a cover, and let the machine glide through the place with a low altitude of 30m. The vehicles on the road were blown aside by the shockwaves, and the glass of the buildings on both sides of the road was shattered, none of which were left behind. Riddhe let the “Delta Plus” move 500m away from the mobile armor before transforming it into the mobile suit form to land on the ground. The machine took the effects of the acceleration as its feet were sunk deep into the asphalt, and it glided for another 200m before it finally stopped.
The silhouette of the mobile armor raising its large claws could be seen on the other side of the buildings that were intertwined. The “Delta Plus” wielding the beam rifle kept its posture down as it continued to dash through the buildings, and then lean its back on a department store facing the intersection point. The large buildings collapsed onto the roads, and it would take less than 30 seconds for the enemy to close in onto the roads before the 2 blocks. If he fired from extremely close range, the bits would probably be unable to respond in time. The “Delta Plus” poked its head out from the back of the building like it was peeking out to look at the surroundings, and Riddhe spotted the silhouette rumbling on the department store wonders. The two figures, probably an old man in charge of cleaning the department store and a lady, looked like they were utterly terrified of the 20m tall giant as they backed away.
There’s still some who’re unable to run away in time? Riddhe could not understand what he saw immediately as he stared at the faces of the two people on the expanded window. A loud boom from a fired beam rang nearby, causing Riddhe to look forward in surprise. There was a “GM III” that crashed into the opposite building and retreated backwards, firing the beam rifle in its hands wildly as it fell down on its backside. That “GM III” saw the head of the large mobile armor swing down the large claws at the intersection point in front of the two blocks, and fired the missiles from the launchers docked on its shoulders.
Riddhe was unable to stop the other party in time. The missiles that were fired without careful aim hit the buildings along the streets directly, causing the exploding flames to rise up continuously. He saw one of the missiles fly through the glass window of the department store and explode deep inside the building. The wind pressure and shockwave that came from within blew the outer wall of several levels, and he could clearly see the old man and the woman caught within the exploded rubble.
The “GM III” continued to fire its beam rifle wildly at the road covered with dust and smoke. Riddhe grabbed the arm of the mobile and pulled it to the blind spot of the collapsed department store. (Khairul was killed…!) as the pilot continued to ramble on, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” Riddhe used the communication channel to yell out at him,
“Why are you using missiles at such a place!? There’re still people in the city!)
(But we can’t let that guy approach the parliament hall…)
“For the sake of your pride, you…!”
Before Riddhe could finish his lashing, he again felt a bone-chilling intent on his back. He instinctively stepped on the pedal, and at that moment, something that looked like a shining mirror appeared in the blind spot of the department store, and the light of an electrical discharge immediately filled his eyes.
The reflective bits took the beams fired by the mobile armor and deflected the mega-particle shot into the cockpit of the “GM III”. Despite having left the scene just a moment before, the “Delta Plus” still could not dodge the shockwave caused by the explosion of the “GM III” completely, and the machine was knocked into the outside signboard of the building before collapsing onto the floor. Riddhe was barely able to maintain his consciousness due to the protection of the linear seat’s shock absorbers, and he immediately used the vernier thrusters to get the “Delta Plus” up. After that, the building beside it scattered in an explosive manner, and the large claws of the mobile armor approached its head like it was covering the roof.
It was simply impossible to believe that something of that massive size had such agility and quick vision. The head of the mobile armor appeared on the other side of the collapsed building, its monoeye glowing through the smoke. Riddhe screamed and tried his best to light the main thrusters. The “Delta Plus” was able to fly up due to the power boost from its legs, and once it dodged the attack of the claws, it transformed into the waverider. The large claws that missed crushed the ground, and the scattered fragements embedded themselves into the bottom of the waverider as it escaped.
“Don’t joke around…!”
Riddhe dodged the mega-particle cannon that could let out a salvo, and as he let the machine turn, there was a physical shot that came from another place, hitting the mobile armor. The “Guntank II” squad, comprised of machines with complete semblance of tanks on their lower bodies and humanoid-looking upper bodies, started to launch cannon strikes in the direction of the parliament hall. The 120mm low recoil cannons that was equipped on both shoulders let out a flash of fire, and the cannons that came from many directions caused the mobile armor to be lit with shots. The bits that surrounded the mobile armor glowed together, and the beams that came flying from all directions burned the surrounding buildings and pierced through the “Guntank IIs”. It was just explosions, scattering and falling happening, and tragic wails could be heard as the people, who were scampering around and could not escape in time, were eradicated by the collapsing rubble and flames the next moment. No matter the age or gender, all forms of flesh that were human in shape were immediately turned into scraps of flesh.
“There’s no reason for them to die because of such a thing…!”
If this is a tragedy caused by the “Box”. Riddhe let the machine transform, duck low, charge forward and squeezed the trigger of the beam rifle to its maximum. The beams that were deflected by the bits ripped apart the dust, grazing past the head of the “Delta Plus”. The machine then stood on the road in front of several blocks and started firing again. “Get over here!!!” he did not care that the reflected beams grazed past his shields as he let the “Delta Plus” leap up again.
“I won’t let you kill anyone else. Just make me the only victim of the “Box”…!”
The beam rifle continued to let out shots, and the beams that were reflected back in less than a second shook the machine. Riddhe continued to launch his attacks fervently as he forced the machine to retreat back to the coast.Anyway, I have to let the mobile armor retreat to the city and buy time for the civilians to evacuate. How long can I last? His mind that was thinking about this could not work at all, and the “Delta Plus” continued to shoot in a suicidal manner as it danced around the skies above Dakar.
The Federation mobile suit continued to launch suppressing fire in despair as it intended to lure the “Shamblo” away, probably to let the civilians evacuation. Banagher could tell that it was the new model mobile suit he met during the battle of “Palau”, Ensign Riddhe’s “Delta Plus”.
Is this the same model, or is Ensign Riddhe the one fighting? as he stared at the visual that was filled with noise, This isn’t the time for me to stand by and watch Banagher made the conclusion and turned to leave the bridge of the “Garencieres”. But just before he could press the open switch of the automatic door, “Where are you going?” Zinnerman asked, and Banagher felt his heating body shudder and respond.
“I’m going to sortie in the “Unicorn”. There’s no reason for such a situation to continue if I can just unseal the Laplace Program, right?”
He kept his voice down as he avoided facing the other man. If he had seen the other man’s face, Banagher would probably start lashing out. He intended to pass through the door directly, “No you can’t”, but after hearing the stiff response, he stopped in his tracks again.
“You’ll be shot down if you launch now. Wait till the cleaning is complete.”
“Cleaning…there’re people who’re unrelated to this dying out there!? These are hundreds we’re talking about here! Do you feel that’s right!?”
“This is the strategy. There’s no such thing as right or wrong.”
Zinnerman did not look away as he said this with conviction. Banagher was overwhelmed by the powerful stare in front of him as he thought for a moment, Is this really the case?. He exchanged looks with Flaste, who too glanced back, and though Flaste wanted to give Zinnerman a grudging look, he could only look forward in a futile manner.
These people knew that such a thing will happen. This is too weird. This is wrong. Banagher shook off Zinnerman’s sharp stare and decided to head through the door this time. However—
“Don’t go.”
An icy feeling passed through Banagher’s back as a voice of refusal rang. He looked back and saw Zinnerman’s still-unwavering eyes and the muzzle of the handgun he was holding in his hand.
“Captain…” Alec muttered as he got up from the steering seat. Flaste merely looked over from the back of the chair, not showing any signs of intervention. Banagher was frozen by the muzzle pointing at him as he felt the strength seeping out from below his belly, and he murmured, “Are you serious…?” Zinnerman answered back in silence, the automatic handgun in his hand remaining unmoved.
He could sense a completely incompatible sense of fortitude from Zinnerman’s eyes, just like what he felt from Madhi. That fortitude became wind pressure that swayed Banagher’s body. The sad eyes he saw in the desert and Dakar, the eyes that were filled with hollows that pitch dark like an abyss; Banagher did not consider which true feelings the other man had were. He looked back at those black eyes, reaffirming that those were two aspects Zinnerman had. A new explosion appeared on the monitor again, and a white flash scorching the city gradually expanded—
The industrial zone in the sea of fire let out a thicker veil of smoke, the collapsed hotel debris was covered by smoke, and at that moment, Nigel Garrett sensed danger rising up from his feet.
“It’s coming…”
The “Jesta” unit 7 looked down at the sea surface flowing below and raised its beam rifle to get ready. The driver piloting the float ferrying the “Jesta” on the water surface did not sense the pressure coming from below the sea, merely thinking off getting by this sea surface that was smothering with smoke and onto the coast of Dakar. If I get distracted by this guy with such a normal response, I won’t be able to sense what I can sense. Nigel looked back through the all-view monitor, and looked at Daryl and Watt’s units that were following behind. He saw that their “Jestas” were being tense as they laid prone on the floats, putting the beam rifles at a position where they could fire immediately, and affirmed that his sense was not wrong.
There were six LCAC transports the Dakar security sent. After launching 10km off the coast of Dakar from the “Ra Cailum”, Solton’s squadron rode on the LCAC that were on standby above the sea, and took two different routes to approach the coastline. The team led by Solton landed on the north side of the industrial zone, while the Tri-Stars led by Nigel moved inland through the southern Bernard cape. They deliberately avoided reaching the harbor directly as they were wary of the enemy forces hidden within the harbor, which would intercept them. However, they would not have to work so hard just to make a detour if they could escape just like that. The enemy had already sensed that that they were approaching, and they were waiting in ambush underwater. The water depth was 40m deep, and this would be the most probably place the enemy would launch their attacks.
“Daryl, Watts! That’s it for our boat ride. Air transit!”
On hearing their leader declare this without warning, (Roger that!), both men answered back as their voices rang through the wireless communicator. (What are you planning to do!?) Nigel heard the LCAC driver yell out. “Line up with the friendly units. Scatter immediately after we leave.” After he said that, he let the machine get up.
The LCACs that were practically rectangles lined up about 100m away from each other. The “Jestas” kneeling on the platform were holding onto their beam rifles with both hands, and let the personalized shield resting on their backs to appear on the side of their left arms. Nigel stared at the 1km stretch of sea beyond him and let his sense expand around to grasp the sense of pressure at his feet. The incoherent pressure that was dissolved into the sea gathered at one point and started to let out a sense of killing intent. It feels like there’s an icy cold knife object on my back. This is—!
“Let’s go!”
Nigel yelled and stepped on the pedal. The thrusters on the back and calves lit up together, and the three “Jestas” leapt from the LCACs at that same time. These LCACs that were ferrying lumbering tanks in the old ages would not topple because the mobiles suits leaped off like this. Nigel was boosted by the high-output of the thrusters as he leapt 300m into the air, and he saw a black shadow gradually floated up from below the LCAC.
The Neo Zeon amphibious mobile suit did not expect them to rise up, and hesitated just when they were about to attack the LCACs. Daryl and Watts leapt up, and as they crossed over at Nigel unit’s feet, they raised their rifles at the same time and fired at the black shadows. The mega-particle shots that passed into the sea surface caused the seawater to rise up, and the enemy with two jet units on its back could be seen on the sea that parted. Nigel immediately aimed the reticule at the target.
“Over there…”
The transmitter trigger moved along with the index finger of the “Jesta”, and the rifle let out a beam. A light was shot down from above, piercing through the cylindrical jet units on the back and the abdomen of the enemy unit hidden in the sea. The flash that immediately expanded caused the mud on the seabed to be scattered, and the shockwaves that became supersonic caused the water on the sea surface to vaporize. The seawater rose due to the explosion, and as the large water pillars stood on the sea, a deep sound reverberated through the air and immediately spread towards the coast of Dakar.
We got rid of one here. Nigel piloted the machine that became a free-falling object and landed softly on the LCAC. He turned his back at the raging pillar of water as he examined the coast. Daryl and Watts units were crossing through in the air, and before they landed on each other’s LCAC, Nigel had already seen a water bubble at a corner of the coast. The enemy amphibious mobile suit looked like a fisherman landing on the shore as it was dripping water, facing the water. The next instant, it lit its thrusters, and the machine started to climb up the cliff facing the water.
The enemy mobile suit leaped up as it abandoned the ballast tanks on its abdomen, and folded the claws on its arms. This alone caused the short and stout silhouette to change. It resembled a Zaku-type humanoid machine, removed the waterproof case on its shoulders, and drew its beam machine gun. The large mega-particle bullets rained down from the cliff, causing the LCAC to be surrounded by several thin water pillars. “Don’t stop! Get up there immediately!” Nigel yelled as he fired a suppressing shot of beam before jumping onto the coastline.
The machine landed on the shallow beach that was 5m deep in water near the Bellard cape that had a natural view, and fired its beam rifle again. The enemy unit used the cliff that was approximately 30m tall as a shield, squeezed the trigger to fire back, and hid behind the cliff. The LCACs ferrying Daryl and Watts used this opening to land, and the bottoms of air cushions rolled up the shore. “We won’t be able to use the LCACs from here on. Everyone scatter.” Nigel instructed as his “Jesta” continued to trample on the sand of the shore and approach the cliff.
Daryl and Watts’ units got off the LCAC and aimed at the cliff as they scattered sideways. How many of the enemy units are still in ambush? Has Solton’s squadron landed safely? The radar could not work at all due to the Minovsky particles, and Nigel stared at the rising smoke on the other side of the cliff as he gave hand signals to Daryl and Watts’ units that were hidden in the blind spots. The “Jesta” pointed its left finger at Daryl’s unit, and then pointed at its main camera again. Once Daryl received the instruction to scout and started to take action, Nigel put the stock of the beam rifle on the “Jesta” shoulder tightly.
“You better hang in there, Lord Ensign…”
Nigel muttered as an inspiration as he let the machine crouch low and move. The sounds of the battle going on in the city caused the air to let out tremors interruptedly, preventing anyone from hearing the sound of the tide.
The intangible killing intent floating in the air would sometimes form a breeze. That would be the premonition of an enemy’s attack. Loni closed her eyes and gathered her concentration on the “wind” that blew, and imagined herself reaching her hand at the direction of where the wind came from.
The psycommu picked up the imagination in Loni’s mind as it reacted with the reflective bits, prompting a defensive net to be cast on the left side of the “Shamblo”. The reflected light pierced through the roof of the buildings, chasing the enemy mobile suit that transformed into a fighter jet to dodge. This person is different from the rest. Loni muttered subconsciously as she bit her lips. The other enemy units were just attacking without a plan, but this transformable mobile suit was radiating a clear pressure. It was planning to lure them away, and the embodiment of this strong will formed a strong wind that blew into Loni’s skull.
She opened her eyes and saw the opposing machine on the main screen. She stared at the lean humanoid profile that transformed into a mobile suit again, moving into the blind spots between the buildings, identified the civilians gathered at the cross junction, and gasped. It had been almost 2 hours since they landed, but she did not discover any organized retreat in the first place. The civilians that were evacuated were forced by the overly messy actions of the Federation mobile suits, and could run about helter-skelter. They, who were running to different directions, ended up meeting at the intersection while escaping and crowded around. The police officers holding loudhailers tried to stop them, but there was no effect at all.
That transformable mobile suit was fighting on its own to protect the evacuating civilians. It was firing meaningless merely to change the course of the “Shamblo”. Loni felt a pain that reached her mind as she understood this, and put her hand on her helmet. She discovered a school bus that was unable to move amongst the vehicles. It was the same as the one she saw in front of the parliament hall, and the crying girl who fell down was on it—
“Father.”
Loni shook her head that was starting to hurt more and more as she turned her eyes behind. “There’re too many civilians evacuating in front of us. Let’s head to the coast and attack from the East side. That transformable mobile suit pestering us will quiet down after that.
“No. The “Shamblo”s energy isn’t infinite. We don’t have the leisure of detouring around.”
Mahdi sat on the captain’s seat as he continued to stare at the screen, not budging at all. Then, why did you carelessly use up energy to fire the main cannon at the hotel? “However…!” Loni raised her pitch, but once she met her father’s unexpectedly calm eyes, she swallowed the latter half of the words she wanted to say.
“Loni, we’ve detoured for far too long. We have to choose the shortest route from how. This will help to become an example for those rebels who plan to follow our path in the future.”
As Mahdi said this, “There’re tanks coming from the front”, he heard Walid report, and immediately changed expressions again, and looked like he did not remember anything he had said as he turned to focus on the screen. “Destroy them”, his expression immediately twisted, and the “Shamblo” lifting its long narrow neck reverbed through the cockpit block. Loni felt the rhythm full of madness on her back, and inadvertently thought of getting up. “Loni, focus on defense.” However, Abbas said this, causing her to gasp.
“Father’s right. If we continue to take physical hits, even the “Shamblo” won’t be able to hang on.”
There’s no way back now. She saw her oldest brother state this silently in his eyes, saw the two “Guntank IIs” that were closing in from the other side of the intersection path, and could only return back to her seat reluctantly. The cannons on the shoulders were giving off little sparkles, and the “Guntank IIs” fired the smoothbore shots. Loni closed her eyes to let her consciousness merge with the psycommu installation. The reflective bits appeared in front of the body, and the fired mega particle shot was deflected. The massive body of the “Shamblo” was then covered with a tremendous flash from the arrays of beams.
The smoothbore shot that touched the screen scattered, and black smoke rained on the array of light that cackled. The ionized air deflected the air, bounced off the surrounding rubble, and knocked aside the school bus that remained stuck on the road. The body of the bus looked like it was kicked high up by a giant as it slammed into the ranks of civilians, and as Loni stared at this scene from the corner of her eyes, she peremptorily closed her eyes. That transformable mobile suit fired its suppressing shots laterally. What are you doing!? How many people must you kill before you’re satisfied? the firm anger became a “wind” that struck Loni, causing her hurting head to be burdened further.
What am I doing? this thought rose within her consciousness, causing the psycowaves to deviate slightly. However, the bits that learned how to deploy themselves did not slow down. The lights from the deflected beams were excoriating her through her eyelids, and she was struggling in the midst of the system.
“…I do not remember tying you and bringing you up here. Logically, you could have chosen not to wear that pilot suit. The reason why you thought that this shouldn’t happen is because you lack imagination.”
The “Shamblo” was flashing on the monitor in the background, and Zinnerman said this as he turned his back on it, the gun and his stare remaining unmoved. Those were the eyes of someone who had killed someone before, the same eyes he had when they first met—stone black emotionless eyes that were devoid of expression. He felt that it was a lame argument, and as he was about to trip over, he eked out words from his trembling voice, “Did you predict this before it happened, captain?” Zinnerman answered, “That’s what it means to suppress the city.” His voice echoed through the cramped bridge of the “Garencieres”.
“Is suppressing just to attack unnecessary places and trample on those escaping!? This can’t even be considered a war! It’s just a venting of hatred…!”
The black eyes that were reminiscent of black Go stones shuddered slightly, and the mouth that was covered by the thick and hard beard showed signs of being speechless. Banagher recalled, That’s right. This man never squeezed the trigger when he first pointed the gun at me. He just said “Leave the kid alone” and didn’t do anything else before he left.
The other man was not someone who could not empathize with him. His heart was wailing too. “Captain, please tell them to stop.” Banagher pressed on as he took one step closer to Zinnerman.
“You too know that man, Mahdi, he’s not normal. If this keeps up, Dakar will really be destroyed completely.”
Banagher stared at his wavering eyes , and took another step to close his distance with the gun. Zinnerman sat on the captain’s seat, not budging at all.
“You should be able to see the world more clearly than someone like him, right? If you want to say that this is war, why did you bring me to the desert? Why do you want to save Miss Marida? She’s calling you master not because she’s a Cyber-Newtype, captain. Her soul was saved by you, just like me, so that’s why she—”
“SHUT UP!”
A blunt impact hit Banagher on the face, and his body flew out and slammed into the wall. Banagher could not fall as the bridge was too cramped, and as he ended up sitting on his backside, he saw Zinnerman standing furiously, away from the focus of his vision.
“Don’t talk as if you know everything. I was concerned about you because you’re the key to getting the “Box”. Besides, it’ll be more convenient for the future if I pull you here.”
The voice of the words the other man said echoed in Banagher’s brain that rang endlessly. You’re lying. Just when Banagher was about to let out this voice, it melted within his mouth, and he turned to look at Flaste on the navigation seat. Flaste sensed some awkwardness as their eyes met, and did not say anything as he looked in front again.
“You just said that this isn’t war, huh? Open your eyes and look carefully. This is what happens during a war. There’s no philosophy, no reputations, no pride. All it has are people killing others and people being killed.”
Zinnerman grabbed the collar of the pilot suit as he forcefully pulled Banagher up and slammed him onto the console. Banagher put his hands on the monitor, saw the black flames swirling in the air, and could not help but look away.
“It’s considered a good thing to kill off someone immediately like that. There are people who died in more cruel ways, who were tortured when they were alive, until their deaths. What’s wrong about unleashing our rage? Our war hasn’t ended in the first place.”
“This reasoning…is no different from the Federation army that razed the Zeon towns!”
Zinnerman stumbled in his words, but Banagher did not have the time to observe the other man’s expression. Another flying punch flew right at his face, and he ended up falling on his backside for a second time. His slightly concussed brain was ringing, and a strand of snot dripped onto this floor. This seemingly became an opportunity as he felt the heat sensation in his body fading off, and his lower body that wanted to stand up lost its strength. Banagher did not even have to look at Zinnerman, who stood dumbfounded, and the blood droplets that were mixed with saliva dripped down his lowered face.
He lacked imagination, and he had no answer to that. There would be deaths when suppressing. He lacked this sense of surreal in his heart, but he managed to make it all the way to this point—No, that’s not it. 100 people dying is too many, but it can’t be helped if 10 people dies. Banagher had this thought somewhere in his heart, and allowed himself to be part of the situation. This is to identify the true identity of the “Box”, this is to fulfill the responsibility I have to do; he was ready to say these words in his heart, but he ended up viewing things from his own perspective, and took action as a result.
However, Zinnerman was different. He knew right from the beginning that it would end up like this. He joined this operation under this premise, and at this point, he still wanted to fulfill the role he was assigned. Even if the operation was overboard in some aspects, it was the responsibility of the Neo Zeon higher ups, who accept the proposal from Mahdi, and he had no need to be criticized. The military was an organization that ran in such a way, and Zinnerman was a soldier right down to the core. Banagher understood that he saved the “Unicorn” and showed concern to him as part of his job. The fatherly affections he had for Marida was also to use her as a fighting strength. He endured hardships in a fallen military organization, harboring his hatred for the Federation in his heart. If there was a need, this man, who should not be underestimated, would become cold and cruel—but if that was the case, why was he so agitated? Why were his eyes, his words stabbing into his chest, and hurting him so painfully?
He kept saying that it was the truth, but in fact, he could not agree to it either. He stated those words that were not his true intent as his real thoughts, and kept torturing himself inside. He had to bear the responsibility as a soldier and the responsibility to take care of the “Garencieres” crew. If he did not bear them, he could not do anything, but once he bore the responsibilities on his soldiers, he would attach thoughts that did not match his heart onto himself, and would even have to kill off the voice inside him. He knew that this was a sad thing about humans. He could not feel comfortable with his heart that could not kill off the last glimmer within him—
“Those who are sad…live on with their lives to abandon that sadness…Those who can truly say such words in their hearts have the right to punch others. I’m willing to be punched by that kind of person.”
Banagher himself did not understand what was going on as his words came out from his mouth. He wiped away the trail of blood on his lips as he looked up at Zinnerman, who twitched his eyebrows.
Cardeas, Marida, Daguza and everyone on the “Nahel Argama” were the same. They were restrained by their past, limited by their organizations, but those people chose to leave their own wills as a mark thoroughly. It was because he accepted their support that he could remain here. As he supported himself off the wall, he let his staggering body stand up, clench his fists, stared at the other man, and said, “You don’t have the right to do that now.”
“If you want to punch someone, GO PUNCH YOURSELF!”
As he yelled out loud, Banagher used the momentum to swing his right fist. Zinnerman immediately dodged this attack, but his hulking body hit the console at the back, and as he looked like he was going to trip, Banagher immediately went forward to swing his left fist. The bearded face was immediately hit with an uppercut, “You brat…!” and Zinnerman growled as he swung the handgun grip down. However, Banagher used this opening to get into Zinnerman’s clutches and slammed his head into the other man’s belly with all his strength.
Zinnerman grunted as he dropped the gun from his hand and fell onto the floor on his backside, probably because he was hit in the solar plexus. Banagher immediately got onto the other man and started swinging his hurting fists onto the bearded face that was restrained on the floor.
“You’re just lying to yourself, as if you knew everything…! You understood very well that this is just a blatant massacre of innocents! It can’t make up for anything…!”
After taking 3 punches, Zinnerman was bleeding from his mouth as he suddenly widened his eyes. He grabbed the arm that was about to swing the 4th fist down, and yelled “YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING, BRAT!”. The bear-like arm strength easily lifted Banagher, and as Banagher was raised helplessly, Zinnerman used his sole to kick into the his stomach. He was sent flying behind, and the back of his head hit the floor hard.
“You want me to forgive the Federation? What kind of joke is that? Do you know how it’s like for someone who used to have a wife and a child? I can’t even exchange my own life for theirs, let alone the world! They’re unique gemstones in this world, the gemstones who taught me everything about the meaning of being born and living on! Do you know how I felt when they were tortured to death!?
I can’t even lie to myself here! I’m waiting for this moment. And I even want to help out there…!”
“But that’s why…! You can’t drag other people to hell just because you’ve seen hell yourself!!”
Banagher spit out the blood in his mouth as he stamped onto the floor and slammed himself into the other man. “You stubborn brat!” Zinnerman grabbed Banagher by the chest, who was then slammed to the war, but he started kicking at Zinnerman’s vitals wildly. Zinnerman held back from letting out a voiceless scream as his bruised face gradually filled Banagher’s sights. His large body fell backwards, and he was dragged down by Banagher as both of them tripped into the narrow space beside the captain’s seat.
Both of them were grabbing each other by the chest, restraining each other as they twisted and tumbled around on the floor. Do what you feel you have to do, continue saying “Even so”. Banagher was driven by the words throbbing inside his body as he wanted to gnash at Zinnerman’s throat. “Flaste! Don’t just watch, hurry up and get this guy off me!” Zinnerman pushed Banagher’s chin away as he growled, and from the corner of his eyes, Banagher could see Alec frantically getting up from his seat. However—
“Sorry, I’m a little busy right now. Please try and figure out a way yourself.”
Leave them alone. Flaste seemed like he was hinting to this as he said calmly while holding back Alec. “You…!?” Zinnerman growled as he lost his strength in his hands, and Banagher swung aside the hands that were choking him below. He slugged hard at the surprised bearded face with his fists, and got onto the hulking man who tried to sit up again. Zinnerman grabbed the armrest of the captain’s seat, and barely avoided falling backwards. He let out an ambiguous howl and reached his trunk-like thigh at the other person.
Banagher got kicked hard in the stomach as he took a counter, and his body flew 2m away and crashed hard into the wall. He could not breathe and could only open his mouth wide as he fell limp, sitting on the floor limply. Even though he wanted to get up, he could not exert strength in his legs, and his body was aching like his heart. He bent his body down as his shoulders were rising up and down, panting. Zinnerman’s round belly was huffing too, and his swollen face glanced at the ceiling.
The two people’s panting remained in the bridge, and the sound of the engine gradually swallowed it. Alec merely gave a short glance from behind the back of the chair, while Flaste did not bother to look over. Banagher was unable to tell which parts of his body were aching at this point as he stared right at Zinnerman in the airs and used his arms to forcefully support himself off the floor. He endured the sharp pain that was piercing through his skullcap and gradually leaned his back on the wall, “I don’t know…I really don’t know…” and allowed his trembling throat to let out a vague hoarse voice.
“The pain of having a wife and child killed…what’s right, what’s wrong…I don’t know at all…”
He could not argue back “even so”. He did not have the right to talk about others this way as he was unable to really understand others. As he understood this all too clearly, Banagher gritted his teeth and forced his numb knees to stand up. Zinnerman did not wipe away the blood on his lips as he turned his eyes, right under his swollen eyelids, at Banagher.
“However, it’s not right to stop my soul from feeling…just because I don’t know…just because there’re too many sad things.”
This is a one and only cog that can make decisions on its own. Don’t lose it— We lived on to abandon our sadness. Banagher used these words his heart heard as his pillars of support as his feet stepped onto the floor again.
“I have a heart that can empathize with other people’s sadness, and I don’t want to forget about that. I want to be someone who can take the sadness…just like you, captain.”
Zinnerman widened his eyes, and their eyes met for less than a second. He might start shooting at me from behind the next moment. Is it good? Banagher reached for the switch button of the automatic door before he could answer his own question. He held his breath and walked out of the bridge.
He took in the external air that blew into the corridor, opened his eyes that were closed temporarily, exerted strength in his abdomen, and took a step forward. The sound of the automatic door closing rang, the stares on his back were blocked, and the only thing left was the corridor in front of him, dyed in red light. Zinnerman did not use the handgun; If he had minded about that, he could have shot Banagher whenever he could, but he did not do so. Was it because of the key to the “Box”? Banagher endured the questions that rose up his heart, accepted the reality as it happened, clenched his fists and ran out.
The “heat” that was growing from within his body was suppressing the throbbing pain and spread through the entire body. Once he passed through this dim corridor, he would be able to reach the mobile suit deck where the “Unicorn” awaited.
The giant claws supported by the flexible mechanical arm were raised and swung down with force. The head of the “GM III” was crushed as it rolled onto the road, and it was crushed to bits by the incoming large claws like scrap metal.
The mobile armor looked like a giant elephant that could trample over humans as it lifted its head, letting out a metallic roar. Another “GM III” ran out from a blind spot of the building, and drew its beam saber as it fired the missiles docked on its shoulders. The missiles hit the array of beams and exploded into fireballs; and the “GM III” leapt up and swung its saber overhead at the mobile armor. However, the reflective bits field would not waver just because of this level of attack.
The machine was caught by the flashing high-heat net, and its limbs were trembling as if they were electrocuted and fell backwards. The “GM III” knocked away the vehicles abandoned on the road and grinded away several tens of meters. Riddhe glanced at the friendly unit that was damaged as he fired a beam to restrain. He grabbed the “GM III” by the arm and pulled it into the blind spot of the building. The mobile armor then swung its large claws down, crushing the road the two mobile suits originally were.
(Are the reinforcements from Ivory Coast…?)
The voice of the “GM III’ pilot rang through the communication channel. “You’re wrong here, but reinforcements are reinforcements.” Riddhe answered as he let the “GM III” shoulder rest on the shoulder of the “Delta Plus” and picked him up like he was carrying an injured person. As he moved to the street on the next block, the pilot continued with a hazy voice, (You’re the only one here? Where’re the rest?). The “GM III” tripped on its way and knelt down on the road. “Pull yourself through!” Riddhe angrily chided.
“The landing team will be here immediately. Hurry up and retreat while you can still move.”
Riddhe said as he loaded the last energy cap into the beam rifle. From behind the building, he glared at the mobile armor that was whiffing up dust. The Ra Cailum squad still had not contacted Riddhe, perhaps because they were distracted by the aqua mobile suits lying in ambush in the coast. The mobile suits of Dakar’s security had mostly retreated, and they were preparing a final defensive line around the parliament hall. At this point, there was no way they could prevent the assault of the mobile armor, and they could not guide the civilians who were unable to run away in time. However, he could not retreat from here and let the enemy hasten. I can still go on. Riddhe thought in his heart as he stared at the lights of the alerts indicating malfunctioning conditions all over the machine, let the thoroughly battered “GM III” lean on the building, and raised his beam rifle that had only 8 shots left, and used it to aim.
(The balancer is not working. This machine can’t make it…)
The “GM III” reached its arm over to pull the hand of the “Delta Plus”, seemingly trying to call out to RIddhe as the pilot’s voice rang. For some reason, Riddhe felt a chill in his heart as he looked back at the other machine.
(There’s a hospital in front. We can’t let that guy move forward…you still have shots in your rifle?)
“Yeah…”
(That’s good. I’ll try to slide over to that guy’s feet. If I can get in, fire at me.)
Ridddhe sensed that the cracked main camera of the “GM III” had the warmth of a human stare overlapping it. “This…! I can’t—” Riddhe gasped, but that pilot emphasized calmly, (You have to do it.)
(It’ll be great if that explosion can open a hole in that beam screen. Listen. Don’t hit the generator directly.)
Once he gave this instruction, the “GM III” that was standing with the support of the “Delta Plus” stepped onto the street, but it was obviously staggering. “Wait…!” Riddhe yelled, but the pilot did not care as the “GM III” lit the thrusters on its backpacker and charged headfirst like a bullet
(Joule…listen to your mother’s words…!)
The pilot’s shout rang in the midst of the noise, and the beam sabers it drew on both its hands let out beam particles. The mobile armor that arrived at the intersection point turned its monoeye savagely, and spotted the “GM III” that was charging right at it. The reflective bits that quickly formed a defensive array let out a reflection of beams.
The right arm of the “GM III” was blown away with the beam saber, and the left arm equipped with the shield was gradually ripped from its shoulder. But even so, the “GM III” continued to charge in and rush at the array of beams, and the almost charred machine ducked beside the feet of the mobile armor. The severity of the damage was such that the wireless communicator was filled with more noise than before, and the signal was suddnely cut. The mobile armor skipped trampled the stiff frozen “GM III” and continued to proceed forward as if nothing happened. Having witnessed this scene right in front of him, Riddhe’s fingers that were on the rifle trigger were trembling.
“You bastard!”
He again ended up witnessing someone dying again, and after shaking aside the hesitation with the voice he managed to squeeze out from his stomach, he squeezed the trigger. The mega particle shot came surging from the “Delta Plus” beam rifle, hitting the side of the mobile armor’s as the barrier could not make it in time. The beam that should have hit the “GM III” directly and cause an explosion that should scatter the array of bits was deflected by the large claws right before it hit, becoming scattered particles
An anti-beam coating. That object had not only reflective bits to reflect the beams, but also an anti-beam coating that could negate mega-particles. Its defense for its blind spots could be said to be completely perfect. As this sense of despair passed through Riddhe’s back, the large claws came swinging down at lightning speed, filling the sights of the all-view monitor.
The machine that was intending to retreat floated up from the ground, and a tremendous lateral G-force struck the cockpit. The wall of a building came falling onto him at a startling speed, and right when he could not help but close his eyes, an explosive impact and boom surrounded the “Delta Plus”.
The machine that was trapped by the mobile armor’s claws ended up thrown into the buildings on the street. A dust cloud then appeared from the shattered building, and the machine that was picked up together with the rubble was slammed into the building on the opposite end. The arms supporting the linear seat swayed and cackled, and Riddhe’s head was buried into the air bags ejected from the display board. However, just before he could support his body, a new impact lunged at him. The mobile armor pulled the “Delta Plus” from underneath the rubble, raised the claws holding the suit above its hair, and slammed it to the ground with the help of gravity.
Riddhe immediately lit the thrusters on the back, but it did not manage to decelerate significantly. The back of the “Delta Plus” was slammed hard onto the road, and the machine was half buried in the cracked asphalt. The large claws grabbed the lower half of the machine to restrain it, while the other claw rose slowly over the head of the “Delta Plus”, showing its malice that it was trying to dice it up as it opened its sharp blades. Riddhe sensed that his body was going to be crushed by this impact and scattered apart as he gritted his bloodied teeth.
Is this the end? I can’t do anything, I’ll die here without being able to save anyone. As Riddhe’s concussed mind eked out these thoughts, How annoying, he muttered in his heart that felt everything was unrealistic. Dok, a familiar brainwave entered his mind, and he sensed that his body was shaking in resonanace.
Dok, dok. The brainwaves that were released entered his forehead, and the skin that was covered by the pilot suit gradually stood on its hairs. Those waves were resonating with his heartbeat, with time and space—Riddhe looked past the large claws of the mobile armor and saw a bright glow from the other end of the dust. The source of light that was high up in the sky seemed to be slowing down, and the light and waves were gradually strengthening.
That guy’s coming. Riddhe instincts were connected with the visual, numbing his body that was restrained on the road. He did not look at the face of the dead god right in front of his eyes as he stared at a spot in the sky that was dyed brown by the rising smoke.
The hatch on the starboard was opened completely, and once the steam that was caused by the air pressure difference rushed all, the all-view monitor was covered with a thin layer of fog from top to bottom. From the clouds, he could see the ground 7,000m below, and the streets of Dakar were giving off ink-like black smoke.
Even from this point, he could still see the trails that indicated that the “Shamblo” passed by. He saw the pitch black trail of destruction that followed the grey city, and gulped his saliva before grabbing onto the control stick he felt familiar with. The belly of the “Garencieres” flying horizontally dropped down, and once the restrains of the hanger were released, the “Unicorn” would fall down like a bomb. The air flow that was surging from the cockpit hatch rumbled, and the mechanic Tomura yelled with a voice no softer than it, (Are you really going to do that!?)
(There’s still a battle going on! You’ll definitely be shot down if you go down now!)
(It doesn’t matter. Whatever the brat wants…right, captain?)
Flaste said while imitating Zinnerman’s tone. The visual network was not connected, but Banagher could tell that he was laughing dryly. He too curled his lips up, but his face immediately gave off a sharp pain, and he applied some anti-inflammatory spray on his face again. As he endured the pain on his face and blinked, Tomura’s voice rang (That’s what the higher-ups said. Are you alright, Banagher?)
“Yeah. Mr Tomura, everyone on the “Garencieres”…and the captain. Thank you for taking care of me.”
No one responded, but Banagher felt that this was fine as he closed his visor helmet. There’s no need for any more words. I’ve already accepted what I should accept in my heart. (What’s with that tone there!? Stop saying such ominous things!!) Banagher ignored Tomura’s doubtful voice as he looked at the streets right below his eyes, and then reported that he was going to leave the ship through the wireless communicator, which Zinnerman was probably listening to.
“Banagher Links, “Unicorn Gundam”, launching!”
The restrains holding down the limbs were removed, and the “Unicorn” was ejected from the “Garencieres” as it left. The white machine passed through the clouds, and as it became a free-falling object that ripped through the air, the G-force that struck heavily forced Banagher down onto the linear seat. The height meter value drop continuously, and the details of Dakar shrouded in black smoke were gradually becoming clearer.
There were dust filling the air, crushed buildings everywhere, and wreckages of debris scattered all around. The piled up rubble were giving off heat, and there should be countless corpses buried underneath. The people who had never dreamt that they would die on this day originally had their own plans, and at this point, they became rubble of intellect and blood—the swirling black smoke was rising from there, and to Banagher’s eyes, it looked like it ha da consciousness. There were two different auras coming out in equal parts, a side doing the killing and a side being killed, forming a chilling layer that engulfed the “Unicorn” in it, seemingly showing the resentment of the people who did not die in peace.
Dok. Such a pulsation resonated, and Banagher felt the “heat” in his body awakening. It was the pulsation of the “Unicorn”…no, it was the pulse of the machine that accepted the heart of the pilot and amplified it mechanically. To anger, to hate, to beat the enemy; those are the emotions rising within me. The machine wants to use my heart as the core of its explosion; it’s making a pulsating feeling that wants to control me with the system…!
“That’s right, I should be angry. This is too unreasonable.”
Banagher subconsciously said this as he licked his bloodied lips. Dok, the pulsating rang as the “Unicorn” responded.
“You’re built for this. You have to fight in the face of unreasonable things. But don’t get devoured by anger.”
The burning sensation seemed to respond to Banagher’s thoughts, and the burning sensation that was swirling in the stomach started to shake. I can’t let this emotionally-driven heat, this heat born out of a yearning heart, I can’t let it extinguish. However, I can’t let myself get devoured by it. I can’t let it fade, I can’t let myself drown in it, I have to let it become part of my body. If this is something born within my body, there’s no reason why I can’t pilot it. My heart has a path that heads down the path between light and darkness—
“I’m not the key to the “Box”, I’m a living person. I’m fighting against something unreasonable too, I’m someone who hopes to drive possibilities forward, and you’re the machine that’s in charge of amplifying the power for that kind of person.
If you understand a human’s heart, you can empathize with the sadness inside my heart. “Gundam”! Lend me your power…!”
Dok, Dok, dok. The pulsating accelerated, and the display board that was dyed red showed the NT-D sign. Banagher felt a sharp pain in his nose, and his heart that was beating with it started to increase in rate. He closed his eyes, imagined a large wave coming right at him, and once he opened his eyes, he removed his hand from the control sticks.
The dual-eyed sensor looked like it was responding to the eyelids that opened as it slid open from below the face mask. At the same time, the full psycoframe glowed as it expanded, and the lone horn on its forehead gradually formed a V-sign. The “Unicorn” opened its shield to withstand the air flow, let its freefalling frame turn around, and “transformed” through its own will as it extended its limbs in the sky. The phosphorous psycoframe lights outlined the “Gundam” in the middle of Dakar’s sky.
The restrains on the headrest held down the helmet, and the drugs used to weaken the anti-G forces were injected into the body. He felt like he was dipped in some thick fluid, and a second felt like it was extended to ten. As he felt his heartbeat slow down, Banagher told himself, It’s alright, I can hang on. He looked at the height meter that dropped past 2,000m, and then stared at the landscape that was closing in rapidly. He had already grasped the location of the “Shamblo” and the situation of the “Delta Plus” caught within. He could clearly interpret the trajectory in which his machine would fall down from the atmosphere.
He held onto the control stick and transferred the necessary imagination he needed to the intention automatic system. The psycommu and psycoframe picked up the signals as they moved together, and the machine flipped in the air as it whipped out the beam Gatling gun. The two 4-barreled Gatling guns let out large beam pellets before Banagher could even squeeze the trigger, and the hot torrent of light rained down on the “Shamblo”.
The “Shamblo” could not evade the screen of beams in time as it twisted in agony, and there was a white machine letting out a red phosphorous trail as it flew above it. The “Unicorn Gundam” leash is definitely in my hands.Banagher decuded calmly as he continued to squeeze the imaginary trigger. The large body of the “Shamblo” let out a tremendous flash as it was covered by numerous bullets of light, looking somewhat scared.
The mega particle shot that passed through the reflective bits grazed the armor, and the cockpit block was shaken intensely for the first time. The light filter could not block the intensity completely as this flash filled the screen completely, and this overly dazzling light caused Loni to look away inadvertently. She heard Walid say with a screaming like voice, “It’s the “breaking horn”!”
“It’s too early for the “breaking horn” to mobilize! No, why is it attacking u!?”
The “Shamblo” felt Mahdi’s wavering as tilted forward. The large claws left the ground, and the transformable mobile suit broke free from its restrains and left the scene. An attacking consciousness was formed as it fired a beam—Loni realized that she did not have the time to detect this “wind” that was formed, and as she witnessed the transformable mobile suit leave, she focused on the new enemy that was approaching from the sky above. She had no time to digest the meaning of the term “braking horn” as she tried to focus on operating the psycommu controls, “Mahdi Garvey!” but an angry yell caused her to widen her eyes.
(The seal of the “Box” will be opened immediately. It’s pointless to keep fighting, so make everyone retreat!)
She recognized this voice. The name of a boy called Banagher Links appeared in Loni’s mind, and she looked back at the captain’s seat behind her. “The “Gundam” with the “breaking horn”…is the key of the “Box” talking here? Mahdi murmured as his face was gradually filled with anger.
“Then why are you getting in our way? Did Zinnerman give that instruction!?”
(This isn’t anyone’s instruction. I said that it’s meaningless to fight on. If you don’t retreat, I’m going to use the power of the “Gundam” to prevent you from invading further!)
The voice of the boy was significantly different from back then as it rang, and at the same time, the white machine descended in front of the “Shamblo”. It whipped out the two beam Gatling guns equipped on its left arm, just like what it declared, showing a will to become a wall. That was definitely the “Gundam” she saw on the news footages many times before. An intense “wind”, far different from mere antagonistic intent alone, blew over, and Loni looked back at her father’s face again. “How’s the communication with the “Garencieres?” Mahdi asked Abbas, “No response,” and once he got this response, he cursed, “That Zinnerman betrayed us?” and slammed his fist onto the console.
“…It doesn’t matter. Destroy the “breaking horn”, that “Gundam”.”
Walid turned his surprised look over, and from beside him, Abbas showed a shaken expression at his father. “But that machine has information on the “Laplace Box”…!” Mahdi then glared angrily at the oldest brother who argued back, “SHUT UP!!” and yelled as he turned his bloodshot eyes at the screen.
“That’s just a verbal agreement we had with those aliens. Since they intend to stop us, we must break through them. We must move forward and rip that “Gundam” to bits with the “Shamblo” claws…!”
The man saying this had a hideous face, and the body sitting on the captain’s seat looked exceptionally small. Loni felt that there was something released in her chest. Is this a crusade? Even a boy like Banagher is going to fight against us. What exactly are we doing? The questions she had no answer to gradually appeared in her mind, and continued to pull the consciousness in the psycommu back into her body of flesh. The expanding mega particle cannon of the “Shamblo” took her father’s agitated emotions, and that pressure spread out from within, chiding the thoughts linking Loni and the bits.
The ionized air got ripped, and the radial beam that fired like a needle was curshed by the surrounding buildings. The white mobile suit immediately let itself retreat, stopped its thrusters approximately 300m away, at an intersection point, and turned around without slowing down. The machine that was reaching supersonic knocked aside the vehicles on the road, and the atmosphere that was ripped apart became steam as it dragged a white trail.
“The “Unicorn Gundam”…Banagher Links?”
Riddhe stared at the white trail that was imprinted amidst the dust, and turned his stunned expression to the unexpected intruder. The key to the “Laplace Box”, the product produced by the UC plan, based on the legendary white mobile suit as the blueprint, the machine that could be said to be the culprit behind everything saved him again—
The “Unicorn Gundam” scattered the psycomframe’s phosphorous light and stepped onto the road as it raised the beam Gatling guns in its hands. It looked like the machine was toying with the mobile armor, but the barrier set by the reflective bits would not allow any fatal damage on it. The “Gundam” beam shots were deflected, leaving black bullet holes on the building it used to stand on, and the lines of fire were scattered right at it. The “Gundam” used the I-field on its shield to neutralize the attacks, but it continued to slow down as it took the recoil, allowing the mobile armor to use its expansive mega-particle cannon.
That machine can pride itself on its near instantaneous maneuverability under zero gravity, but now, it’s trapped by the thick atmosphere. Riddhe shook his head, told himself to leave his thoughts behind, and let the transformed “Delta Plus” waverider make an emergency turn. The “Unicorn Gundam” was caught by the beams and tangled up, before its back was slammed into the wall of the building. The mobile armor did not let go of this opportunity as it turned around at a shocking speed and lunged its large claws at its enemy. The “GM III” from before was lying at the feet of the mobile armor, still barely able to maintain its original profile—Riddhe saw the light reflected from its main camera and squeezed the trigger of the beam rifle without hesitation.
The beam that was shot down from diagonally above passed through the “GM III”, turning the machine into a bright orange fireball. The shockwave that expanded caused the surrounding buildings to collapse, and the winds from the explosion filled all the streets. The massive body of the mobile armor immediately tilted sideways, and as it was surrounded by flames, it lifted its head, letting out a creaking metallic sound. During this moment, Riddhe did an emergency landing with the transformable mobile suit “Delta Plus”. Its thrusters flared up once it landed, and glided along the ground like how a hover walked as it grabbed the arm of the “Unicorn Gundam” that was buried under the rubble.
“Jump on! This isn’t an opponent you can handle head on!”
(Mr Riddhe…!?) he did not listen to Banagher’s replying voice as he pulled the “Unicorn Gundam”, checked that the other machine could stand on its own, and let its main thrusters flare out. The “Delta Plus” machine jumped up, and the “Unicorn Gundam” then lit its thrusters to follow. Both machines escaped from the scene, and the large mobile armor claws let out a biting sound as the beams scattered all around crossed the sky shrouded in black smoke.
Both machines, which barely managed to escape the perimeter created by the beams, landed on a main road located two blocks away. Riddhe examined the large frame of the mobile armor that was blocked by the buildings that stood, and checked that the hover unit at the rear end was damaged. It’s caused by the explosion of the “GM III”, which means this guy;’s not immortal. Once we can break through the barrier of beams, we can defeat it. Now, the problem is how to make the bits collapse.
At that instant, an idea flashed in Riddhe’s mind. He looked at the “Unicorn Gundam” that landed beside him on the monitor, and then looked at the personalized beam rifle it was wielding in its right hand. After that, he placed the manipulator hand of the “Delta Plus” on the other machine’s shoulder, saying through the wireless communicator “We have to break through at one point” as he summoned the map of the plateau area on his window.
“If we combine your firepower with my mobility, we’ll be able to break through its stomach. Can you use that beam magnum?”
(There’s only one shot left.)
“Then that means that we have only one chance. Get on me. Once the waverider approaches the enemy, fire the Gatling gun at it, and once the bits are held off, fire the beam magnum at it—”
An icy feeling entered his heart, erasing the latter half of his words. He broke off contact and let the “Delta Plus” leave the scene, while the “Unicorn Gundam” retreated back. At the same time, the mega-particle cannon that was fired tore the buildings, causing dust to expand and scatter.
(Mr Riddhe…!) Banagher’s yell was drowned out by the noise, and Riddhe yelled back “Talk later. Let’s go!” as he let the “Delta Plus” transform into the waverider. The fighter jet saw the buildings blow up blow him and did emergency turns to dodge the mobile armor attacks and drop down in height. The “Unicorn Gundam” leapt off from the roof of the building and got onto the waverider, causing the body of the latter to tilt greatly to the side.
Riddhe tried to raise the machine before it lost its speed and veered between the mobile armor. The “Unicorn Gundam” knelt down and lit its main thrusters on the back, causing the waverider to accelerate with the thrust from two machines. It dodged the beams closing in from behind and circled behind the remains of the Hotel Empire. Once it made an emergency turn again, the “Unicorn Gundam” riding on it let its body tilt in the same direction as the waverider, grabbing onto it like a snowboard. The two machines completed a near 90 degrees turn while tilting parallel to the ground, passed through the array of skyscrapers and charged right at the mobile armor.
I really get along with this guy instinctively. Riddhe hid this bittersweet reality inside his heart as he went full throttle and let the machine remain as low as possible. The “Delta Plus” flying through passed through the gap between the buildings, and the “Unicorn Gundam” on it raised the beam Gatling guns on its left arm to the front. Now’s the time, the timing was in perfect unison with Riddhe’s silent thoughts as the 4 barreled guns spun and fired mega-particles, firing a thin line of light bullets diagonally above the mobile armor. The reflective bits array reflected it off, radiating flashes everywhere. The bits moved quickly, tracking down the beams, and gathered at a spot above the mobile armor; at that moment, there was a momentarily opening at the hover unit of the exterior that looked like a hermit crab.
Chance. The moment Riddhe called this in his heart, the large body of the mobile armor suddenly spun, causing the scattered rubble to scatter dust in an explosive manner. The mobile armor immediately turned 180 degrees around, opened its mouth, and aimed its mega particle cannon at the two machines. Riddhe pulled the control sticks, and the mobile armor let out a thick belt of mega-particles. The cackling scorched air charged right at the machine, and the scattered particles that came with the shockwave burnt the flying armor below. The building below the beam path was melted until nothing was left, and the waverider barely managed to escape from the scorching hell as the rubble exploded into the sky like a volcano.
(Damn it…!) Banagher’s groan rang through the wireless communicator. They just missed by a little, and Riddhe too gritted his teeth as he glared at the mobile armor that was moving away below him.
“Can’t we just get rid of it easily…!?”
The “breaking horn” rode on the transformable mobile suit in its fighter jet form and dodged into the blind spot of the building. The feeling of the “wind” gradually faded, and Loni held her breath as she looked for the two overlapping machine silhouettes. Both presences became one as the two mobile suits summoned a “wind” that caused the reflective bits to sway slightly. “They keep dodging…!” Mahdi, who sat on the captain’s seat, grumbled.
“It appeared from that Neo Zeon ship, and now it’s fighting alongside a Federation mobile suit. This “Shamblo” won’t be sunk by that bat-like “Gundam”…!”
Mahdi ignored Abbas, who was handling the controls, and operated the main cannon as he got ready to aim. The “Shamblo” moved gradually, and the cannon finished loading its second shell before tracking the enemy unit that flew away. Loni wanted to speak up and stop him once she saw that the Trade Center Building was in its path, but Mahdi had already squeezed the firing button of the main cannon. The “Shamblo” again let out a scorching light, and the ionized air caused the flash to fill the screen.
The Trade Center took a direct hit and gradually melted, while the hole that pierced through its upper layers expanded gradually. The construct of the upper levels lost their support as they tilted sideways and plummeted, and it took no more than 10 seconds for it to fall onto the ground. The Trade Center, which took up one-third the entire field of vision, became a flaming torch was broken into two, and the fallen constructs caused a tremendous amount of dust to rise up like a tsunami. Loni looked at the countless humans that fell together with the rubble and heard the sounds of flesh hitting the ground and bouncing off. The blunt sounds echoed in her mind, and she shuddered as she felt the flying hearts seemingly enter her helment.
No matter the gender or age, all the people in the tower were wrecked, and became filth that was not even in humanoid shape. It’s still not working time yet, the people inside the buildings should have time to evacuate. Loni tried to convince herself logically, but the sound of humans being wrecked continued to ring, and the screams and wails of their final moments in life, the agonizing groans over being burnt alive swarmed up on her. It hurts, it’s hot, help me— several thousand voices rang. Loni could hear the crying of that girl who fell in front of the parliament hall too—
“You can stop now, father…!”
Loni undid the attachments on her collar, took off and threw aside the helmet that was connected with the psycommu function. Once she did that subconsciously, she suppressed the disgust she could not shake off as she looked back at the captain’s seat behind her.
“The “breaking horn” is right. It’s pointless to keep fighting. Let’s go back.”
Her two older brothers’ shoulders shuddered, but she ignored them as she stared right at her father’s eyes. Mahdi first showed a stunned expression, “What did you say…?” before giving off a savage stare, and Loni could not help but get up from the seat installed with a psycommu inside it.
“We should have expressed our thoughts sufficiently. I learned that Allah has a merciful and understanding heart. if we continue to massacre, we’ll be defying God.”
She climbed up the ladder beside the seat and approached the captain’s seat. “What are you doing? Get back to your seat.” Mahdi growled, but Loni ignored him as she approached.
“There are women and children on the Federation streets too. Father, please show mercy…”
“Shut up! Did you forget how your mother died!?”
Mahdi swung aside the hand that intended to touch his shoulder and turned his knife-like sharp stare at Loni. She was pushed aside by the arm that forgot to hold back its strength, and her back slammed into the wall behind her.
“Your mother killed a Federation soldier in the midst of the chaos after the war. She killed a despicable soldier who intended to rape a Muslim female in a refugee camp. The jury was completely one-sided, your mother was sentenced to death, and I couldn’t do anything to save her. I could only let your mother die all just to protect the trust of the company, all just to protect the cursed inheritance as a “Descendant of Dubai”!
I endured everything all for the sake of this moment. I’m going to use this “Shamblo” to wreck the parliament hall and prompt all the Muslims to rise up. Our family’s tragic wish will be fulfilled soon, and now even you want to betray me?”
The tears rolled down his suddenly widened eyes, dampening his face. This isn’t father. It’s impossible for such a man to be my father. Loni thought, but felt that this might be the first time she was seeing her father’s true state, and felt an indescribable disappointment expanding in his heart. She felt like the moment when she heard news that her mother died, when the world she was looking forward to was cut away from her, when she felt like she was abandoned in the darkness—and at this moment, she thoroughly felt the sense of depression that could not be described when she lost a relative.
The back that looked as tall and large as a mountain whenever it stood in front of her during worship no longer existed. Loni lowered her head, leaned her back against the wall, and turned her determined-looking face at Mahdi again. As he quickly wiped his tears, Mahdi did not meet his daughter in the eyes as he said, “The barrier will weaken. Hurry up and head back.” As she stared at this father of hers, she reached her hand out to her ankle.
“Father, please stop.”
She pulled out an automatic handgun from her ankle holster, raised it to her chest, and pointed it at the helmet in front of her. “Loni…” Mahdi growled as his eyes shuddered, his 2 black iris meeting with Loni’s.
“Mother doesn’t hope that you do this. We’re just letting the hatred and sadness we have spread across the world.”
“You…you pointed a gun, at your own father…?”
The rage rising through the pores caused his expression to twist, scattering dust upon the obsidian-like eyes. Loni was unwilling to look on as she yelled, “Your soul’s already swallowed by this machine!” and looked away from her father in front of her.
“Please turn back to normal and become the usual father—”
“SHUT UP!”
Mahdi yelled as he reached his hand out to Loni, holding an automatic handgun as well. On seeing that gun, Loni saw her father squeeze the trigger, and her sights was suddenly occupied by the flash.
She did not hear the gunshot, and the impact that exploded within her chest sent her flying to the wall behind her. The flash vanished, and the gun muzzle gradually appeared in her sights again, showing smoke swirling from it and lighting her father’s crying face. Her sights tilted to the side, becoming blurry, and her horizontally slumped body leaned beside the captain’s seat.
“Father, what did you…!” “SHUT UP!” the voice of this angry outlash slowly faded, and Loni’s vision that finally recovered started to darken. She used the last of her consciousness to turn her stare to the main monitor.
The “breaking horn” —the “Gundam” that had the name of the legendary beast, could be seen flying in the midst of the sky stained by mirages and smoke. The person causing that refreshing “wind” to blow definitely won’t make such a mistake. He probably won’t be restrained by the twisted and rigid ideas, and can snap the fences restricting people with that iron will of his. Even if he’s slandered as a bat—no, that’s not a bat. It’s an actual existence. It’s flying easily in the middle of the world divided between enemy and allies, and it will head back to the horizon of possibilities sooner or later. Unicorn, this name really fits it completely. It’s a sacred and noble thought instrument.
I finally got to meet you, but this is the only thing I can do. I’m sorry, Banagher… Loni’s fading consciousness mused, and she closed her eyes. She could not hear the argument between her father and her brothers, and the clear silence descended upon her body that was lying horizontally.
The surge of emotions became a poignant agitation, causing Banagher’s chest to resonate as it shook his bones and flesh. The machine in front of him was giving off a thought like a hot air blowing through the desert—
“Miss Loni…is that you, Miss Loni?”
Banagher did not understand the reason. However, he could be certain that he was not mistaken with this feeling. Loni was calling him, telling him loudly, take down this machine, take down this thing that’s making people walk down a wrong path. He stood in front of the “Delta Plus”,looked down at the massive body of the “Shamblo” from beyond the smoke, and could only frown as he saw how the enemy unit stopped due to some mysterious reason. (The bits are moving strangely!) It seemed that Riddhe too had this sensation.
The bits remained around the “Shamblo” that slowed down, and had nowhere to go as it remained in the air. The power that protected the “Shamblo”,the pressure that could deflect all interference disappeared. It can work,Banagher erased the feeling he had from Loni in his mind that concluded this and yelled back, “LET’S GO, MR RIDDHE!” The “Delta Plus” lowered its height immediately and flared all the thrusters gathered on its back.
Banagher too stepped on the pedal, and the “Delta Plus” that obtained the thrust from the “Unicorn Gundam” charged right at the “Shamblo”. The rapidly-approaching danger caused the “Shamblo” to shudder, and the trails of beams immediately expanded upon the two machines flying at low height. Banagher saw the reflective bits start to move again, and subconsciously let the “Unicorn Gundam” left hand reach in front of him. The hard pressure from before is gone, we can take it down. He gathered his consciousness instinctively and closed his eyes, while the “Unicorn Gundam” that responded to the thoughts suddenly opened its five fingers.
The NT-D sign flashed, and the psycoframe increased in brightness. An invisible wave was released from the opened hand, and the reflective bits surrounding the “Shamblo” were shaken as if a strong wind blew by. The bits li their vernier thrusters, but could not resist that invisible pressure in the end, and were scattered away like they were bounced off.
Several bits lost control and flew away in an awry manner, while several others hit the surrounding buildings and were taken down (The barrier’s broken…!) Riddhe’s voice rang into Banagher’s ears, and Banagher opened his eyes.
“The main cannon’s coming! Pull down!”
The shockwaves knocked down the street lamps on the road, and the “Delta Plus” immediately flew down at low altitude. Banagher stared at the rows of buildings flying on both sides and switched the weapon to the beam magnum that was left with one shot. The “Shamblo” quickly turned around to fire the mega-particle cannon in its mouth at the two machines. “Charge right over there!” Banagher shouted as he put his finger on the trigger button.
The “Shamblo” main cannon let out a burst of light, and the wild winds of shockwaves and scattered particles grazed over the two machines’head. The “Unicorn Gundam” raised its shield to protect the machine and its right hand to aim the beam rifle as it ripped through the heat wave. The mouth was hot due to the aftereffects of the beams, and there was a Neo Zeon crest below it, on the chest, the source of the madness that would cause people to stray from the path. Perhaps Mahdi and Zinnerman were both going crazy because of that madness. That kind of negative pressure, born out of human intellect and blood, existed in his body too.
“I can see it, Miss Loni…!”
Loni’s body was spread wide open, telling Banagher where she should aim. The eyes that were of the same color as Audrey’s, similar to his mother, were guiding him. His fingers shuddered for just a moment before he calmly squeezed the trigger of the beam rifle.
The last round was ejected, and the mega-particle cannon that was compressed with 4 times the energy of an ordinary beam rifle was fired. It went through the body of the “Shamblo” directly, burning through the cockpit block, and tore past the hover unit on its tail. The lingering fragrance from Loni vanished, and the “Shamblo” that exploded from within let out black smoke from its mouth. I can hear Mahdi screaming, as he thought about this, the “Delta Plus” went over the head of the “Shamblo” and passed by behind it.
A chain of explosions was triggered within, and once the gaps on all the armor were letting out black smoke, the beetle-like head of the“Shamblo” sunk weakly. The large claws supported by the flexible mechanical arms tensed up in a struggling manner, and the hover units that were floating above the ground slightly touched the road surface. The “Shamblo” had ceased to move completely, and the large remnant was exposed amidst the rubble. The lingering smoke was like a hill surrounding the machine, covering the end of the “Descendant of Dubai”.
“The enemy machine has stopped?”
The images taken by the EWAC machine 3,000m above in the sky could be distinguished, but were definitely not clear as it had been dodging the enemy’s attacks. Bright stared at the screen and focused on the silhouette that looked like a mobile armor as he heard the response from the EWAC machine pilot, (Looks that way. It seems that the “Gundam” got rid of it.)
“Gundam”. Bright repeated this name he was very familiar with and let out a breath from his nose. The enemy units hidden along the coast were most likely dealt with, Solton’s squadron had landed onto the Dakar, and the bridge of “Ra Cailum” was gradually reverting back to its usual calmness. He sensed that the killing intent had vanished, looked away from the mobile armor that seemed to be silence, and stared at the back of Meran, standing beside the communication operator, “What about the coordinates of the ship that released the “Gundam”?”on hearing this question, Meran turned his slightly black face to the other man, “Positive 087, currently leaving gradually.” And said this with a slightly meaningful voice.
“Perhaps it is that “Garencieres”. Do we pursue after it?”
Meran then walked towards the captain’s seat and said with a voice only Bright could hear. If it were the mothership of that “Gundam”, the chances of it being the case is very high. The mobile suit that acts as the key to the “Box” in the UC plan—the “Unicorn Gundam” was taken by Neo Zeon, so why did it stand up for our side? Is it because it’s a “Gundam”? Bright pondered for a while, came up with a childish conclusion to his own question, and answered the other man “No, there’s no need.” He turned his stare to the front.
“Check the damage on Dakar, and come up with a strategy to aid them. Is the “Gundam” still there?”
“Yes. It seems to be moving alongside Romeo 008.”
“Good. Get Ensign Riddhe to secure the “Gundam”, and send our landing forces there.”
Anyway, this is all we can do for now. Bright ignored Meran, who was facing the communication seat, and narrowed his eyes at the black smoke that remained parallel to his sight. Even though the battle has ended, the flames lit in Dakar won’t vanish immediately. The mobile armor is less than 1km away from the parliament hall and can logically create tens of thousands of casualties, but it finally stopped. What intentions does it exactly have for attacking Dakar? What intentions did the “Unicorn Gundam” have for stopping it—he put his hand onto his head as he could not comprehend what was going on at all. “We’re still not connected to the Senate Council’s communication channel?” Bright spoke to the communication operator, but a short approach alarm rang, and the operator then shouted back, “A hi-heat source coming in from positive 093!”
“It’s giving off a signal identifiable from our side, but the affiliation is unknown. It’s currently headed to Dakar.”
“Reinforcements? What’s the status with the laser communication?”
While the bridge was in the midst of a commotion, “No response” the communication operator’s voice rang. “Continue to call the other side. Air surveillance, don’t slack off!” Bright glanced over at Meran who angrily growled, and then turned his stare to the radar screen. The identification serial code starting with DO-DAI is certainly the serial of a Federation-use mobile suit transport carrier, but the heat source of the mobile suit riding on it is blinking an unidentified code. It’s an allied machine, but this flying object with unknown nature and motives still came to Dakar after so many delays—
The killing intent that vanished once before caused Bright to feel his hairs stand again. He inadvertently clenched his fists and looked at the black rising on the other side.
(Romeo 008, do you hear me? Solton’s squadron is currently approaching you. Secure the unknown Gundam-type. If it has any intention of resisting, use whatever means you want. Secure the Gundam-type mobile suit—)
The voice from the communication channel was filled with noise, and Riddhe’s originally elated body and mind calmed down thoroughly. He cut off the communication screen that only had a voice, and panned the sights of his main camera to the left. The “Delta Plus” that landed on the wastelands of rubble moved its head and stared at the body of the mobile armor that was giving off thick smoke from within. The eyes that were reminiscent of a human were glowing from beyond that veil of smoke, and the V-shaped blade antenna showed its silhouette as the “Unicorn Gundam” slowly revealed itself as it approached Riddhe.
The psycoframe that was revealed from its armor was fading in brightness, and the red reflective-like glow covered its body like tattoos. Riddhe looked back at it again from close range, and he found that the Gundam-type head looked as life-like as a human wearing a helmet—the eyes were showing a calm glow, seemingly expressing the feelings of the pilot within it as well, and his mind was secretly incensed by this.
This is the mobile suit with the key to the “Box”. As long as this guy doesn’t exist, everything wouldn’t happen. If I can just not understand the fate of my “family”, I won’t have to bear this burden on my shoulders and sit in the cockpit like an ordinary pilot. If this guy didn’t appear in front of me, if Mineva can become an uninteresting woman—regret and anger fought each other within him, expanding, causing him to forget the feeling of the way he managed to link up well with the machine in front of him. The thrill when they were accelerating for each other as they raced caused all his senses to sharpen. If only I can remain at that moment of ecstasy.
(Are you Ensign Riddhe?)
The metals bellowed as they touched each other, and the voice of the pilot rang within the interaction window. The “Unicorn Gundam” was touching the “Delta Plus” on the shoulder as it opened the communication circuit. The excitement had calmed down, and the other side seemed to have calmed down too. Riddhe lifted his head slightly and saw Banagher Link’s face on the communication window.
(I never thought that I would meet you here in such a way…is Audrey alright? Did you make contact with the “Nahel Argama”—)
Banagher intended to lean the body forward as he talked. However, Riddhe did not look at the other party’s face. He held his breath and fulfilled what he had to do at this point.
The “Delta Plus” shook aside the hand resting on its shoulder and pushed the “Unicorn Gundam” aside. The “Gundam” tripped, and by the time it managed to steady itself with the AMBAC, the “Delta Plus” was aiming its beam rifle at the abdomen.
(Mr Riddhe…!?)
“I’ve received an order to capture that “Gundam”. Get off that cockpit, Banagher.”
Luckily, the visuals on the communication window were cut off the moment the interaction channel was removed. (Mr Riddhe, why…!) Riddhe merely let Banaher’s outcry chide his ears as his hand holding onto the control stick was trembling.
“Don’t call me as if we’re close with each other. Without you, things wouldn’t end up like that…!”
(Why’s that so? Mr Riddhe, Audrey—)
“You and the “Gundam” are obstacles preventing this Audrey you speak of—Mineva from living peacefully. Get off!”
My chest is going to break open. At this rate, I’ll go crazy too—just like this mobile armor that lies dead in front of me. Riddhe lowered his eyes and waited for Banagher to answer in a prayer. I feel you’re a man of your word. I’ll leave Audrey to you. The boy with such strong-willed eyes actually used those words to lay a curse on him and bind him, and though he hoped that the other party would step aside after realizing what was going on—
(I don’t want to.)
The other person rejected RIddhe’s selfish thoughts, and the expected answer rang within his ears. He widened his eyes, gritted his teeth, and pointed the beam rifle.
“Don’t make me burn you alongside the cockpit!”
(I won’t get down. I won’t hand the “Unicorn” to you when you’re talking like this, Ensign Riddhe. Please tell me, tell me the reason!)
The “Unicorn Gundam” took a step back and turned its duel-eye sensors, replicating the eyes of the pilot, at the “Delta Plus”. Having spoke up, the other party turned its defiant stubborn eyes right at Riddhe, whose finger on the trigger was trembling as he turned away from the “Gundam”that had a human-like face.
Squeeze the trigger, Riddhe told himself in his heart. The“Box” definitely mustn’t be opened. You should have heard of the truth. You can’t let the “power that can topple the current world” be released. Nobody has that right. Even if you don’t take it back, the secret will be secured if you destroy the “Unicorn Gundam” here. Everything will end like that, and you can return back to your original life. Nobody will blame you. The other side of the scale is the fate of the world, any act is allowed, even if Mineva—
No. This answer that flashed through caused his hand holding on the control stick to shudder, and he sensed how cold the sweat he was giving off was. Mineva won’t forgive me, and I won’t forgive myself, even if I, a part of the 100-year lie, is already tainted beyond hope— he looked down and opened his tense hands. The lock-on signal vanished, and the “Delta Plus” arm raising the beam rifle dropped weakly.
“…Go.”
I’m an idiot. He mused in his heart that felt neither regret nor relief as he moved his finger away from the trigger. The “Unicorn Gundam”shuddered, and Banagher let out a troubled voice, (Mr Riddhe…)
“Go! The Federation reinforcements will come over immediately. You must leave Dakar before it gets surrounded. If you drag on, I’ll—”
The words he should continue on were covered by the sharp approaching alarm. He immediately checked the coordinates and looked up and the sky together with the “Unicorn Gundam” that was in a defensive stance.
The smoke was blown aside by the wind, and there was a white plane flying by for a short moment in the blue sky. Something small, the size of a fingertip, was already over their heads, adding wings to the rectangular machine, It appeared under the sunlight, and the humanoid figure shown from there entered Riddhe’s eyes.
The mobile suit that had its limbs spread wide open fell down quickly like it was parachuting down. The bright morning sun lit its streamlined profile, and the golden lone horn on its forehead was radiating. That machine was pitch black, and it was flickering strongly under the bright sunlight, absorbing everything in—
“A black…”Unicorn”?”
The eyes hidden by the facemask let out an attacking flair. Riddhe unconditionally moved and let the “Delta Plus” fall back, while the “Unicorn Gundam” retreated at almost the same instant too. The scorching beam came a moment late as it broke the road surface. That beam caused the surrounding rubble to vaporize, shake the remains of the mobile armor, and the explosive flash and shockwaves expanded right near where the two machines were.
That’s not an ordinary mega-particle shot. Is that the same type as the “Unicorn Gundam” personalized beam rifle—the beam Magnum? Riddhe dodged about in the midst of the scattering rubble, brought his machine to the blind spot of the mobile armor, and aimed at the descending black machine with its beam rifle. The black “Unicorn”-like machine lit its thrusters, spun around in the air, and dodged the bullet path at a speed unfitting a free-falling object. The beam Gatling gun of the “Unicorn Gundam” spewed out a bunch of beams and expanded a line of mega-particle fire at where the black “Unicorn”was landing, but this action did not managed to restrain it. The black “unicorn”opened the shield on its left arm, created an I-field, and parried aside the fire from the Gatling guns without missing one.
There was a golden light radiating from the shield that opened to form an X-frame, and a golden glow appeared from the opposing armor, causing Riddhe to feel a chill. It has the same structure as the “Unicorn Gundam”,and its psycoframe glows as well—the black-based machine with golden patterns ducked into the blind spot of the building, and as Riddhe inadvertently moved there, its roof was crushed. The mega particles that wrecked the two levels pierced the side of the “Delta Plus” feet, while the heat of the asphalt being vaporized and the shockwaves lunged at it at the same time. The “Delta Plus” was knocked aside with the rubble, and its back was slammed into the buildings that were collapsing.
The dust rose, covering the machine that was sunk within the building wall. The black “Unicorn” did not care about the “Delta Plus” that was stuck, landed on an unscathed roof, and turned its dual-eye sensor under the facemask at the “Unicorn Gundam”. Its arm quickly raised the beam rifle and aimed at the “Unicorn Gundam” kneeling on the floor. Riddhe saw this surreal scene of two “Unicorns” facing each other, pulled the control sticks that were not reacting, “RUN AWAY!” and yelled with all his might,
“IT’S AIMING FOR YOU, FALL BACK!”
The collapsing rubble hit the machine, robbing the sight off Riddhe’s all-view monitor. The veil of dust covered the silhouettes of the two machines, and the last thing he managed to see were the red and golden lights rising out before the deep darkness shut off his sights.
On a closer look, the black “Unicorn” that was falling at around the 20th level did not have a lone horn. The multiple long horns were lined down the middle of the head, creating the look of a horse mane or a rooster’s crown. The long horns were giving off a golden glow, lighting a bright color on the fully black machine, and also added some excessive decoration on the motionless face under the facemask.
The eyes glowing under the black facemask were looking at Banagher, radiating a sinister presence that was no difference from arrogance. Kill, the “aura” expressing this intent passed through the armor and came right at the cockpit. Banagher instinctively squeezed the trigger of the beam Gatling gun. The mega particle shots that were fired rapidly blew apart the roof of the building, causing new dust to sputter from there, but the black “Unicorn” seemed to have prepared for this as it jumped off the roof, lit its thrusters flare, flew into the sky, turned its back away towards the sun, and suddenly opened its limbs.
The limbs expanded from within, and the armor gaps showed a golden glow. The skirt armor on the waist and the armor on the shoulders lid apart, two beam saber grips rose from behind, and the mane on the head split down the middle. The long horn that had multiple spikes broke in half, and the multi-blade antenna reminiscent of lightning decorated the forehead. At the same time, the facemask spun half a round upwards, and the golden color surrounded the dark dual-eye sensors appeared like eyes.
““Gundam”…!?”
There were no other words to explain. That was a black “Unicorn Gundam”—no, a “Gundam” like a lion, with a mane that formed a V-shape, radiating a golden glow. It landed and stepped onto the asphalt ground, and then went all out with its thrusters, going at an equivalent output level as that of the “Unicorn”. The black shadow ripped through the smoke and charged over, filling Banagher’s eyes as he could only widen them in shock.
“Fast…!”
The intention automatic system did not respond at all, and the difference in mobility was too great. The “Unicorn Gundam” took the slam from the black “Gundam”, was sent flying several meters away, and crashed into a commercial building surrounded by glass. A large around of glass rained down, almost burying the machine trapped in the building, but the black “Gundam”, which stopped its thrusters, charged forward again. Banagher fired his Gatling gun to hold the opponent off and let the “Unicorn Gundam” get up. The black “Gundam” kicked the road and agilely dodged the shots before jumping up and kicking into the back of the “Unicorn Gundam”, whose right arm was restrained before Banagher could look back.
It was slammed into the tenant building, and while it was picked up, it was slammed into the building on the other end. The weight of the 30 ton body was multiplied with the speed, and the building that took the weight of the “Unicorn Gundam” immediately exploded and collapsed. The impact the machine took caused the linear seat to rattle, and Banagher felt his internal organs shaking as he let out a yell, unable to bear the pain. The corroded psycowaves prompted the machine to respond, and the “Unicorn Gundam” got up on its own and reached its hand for the beam saber on its shoulder. However, as its hand held onto the grip, the black “Gundam” had already snuck right in front of the “Unicorn Gundam” as it delivered a kick to the abdomen at a lightning quick speed.
Banagher’s world was suddenly twisted, and the shock absorbers could not absorb the impact completely as it shook his head. His helmet attachments fell off, his body was ripped off from the linear seat as it laid onto the display board, and after that, his sights were blocked by the air cushions that suddenly appeared. His chest felt a pressure reaching his lungs, and his consciousness was gradually fading away from his body that could not breathe. The “Unicorn Gundam”, which took this powerful kick, knelt down, knocked aside the vehicles on the road as it spun, and did not get up as its white frame remained still on the asphalt plain, unable to get up.
The black machine stood with the sun behind, and the “Gundam” which looked like a lion turned its emotionless stare at the “Unicorn Gundam”. Those human-like eyes seemed to overlap with a certain person he was familiar with. Is it my imagination? As his consciousness faded, he looked at the eyes of that black “Gundam” and called out the name of that person from within his throat.
“Miss…Marida…”
The darkness intensified, and his remaining consciousness was slowly devoured. The icy cold darkness that led to hell was like the armor of the black “Gundam”, surrounding Banagher and sending him to a lulling unconscious abyss.
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