Gundam, the Gundam journey of a certain glue guy and his mecha girl.

"Don't rush, we only have one chance. We need to make sure Lohengrin hits the target and keeps moving forward!"

Despite the danger, Bakiruru remained calm and composed as she issued her orders.

However, the ZAFT warships were not easy targets, and the Archangel's high-profile raid naturally attracted the attention of Artis, who was in charge of the ZAFT fleet.

"Don't panic! The enemy only has one warship. Turn around quickly and engage with the main guns! Also, have Gamow and our ship turn around together to form a crossfire and make sure to sink the enemy ship!"

But his reaction was exactly as Bakiruru had predicted.

"Missile launch tubes one through four, fire anti-beam detonators!"

The main guns of the Vesalius and Gamow fired simultaneously, and thick, emerald-green beams shot towards the Archangel from two directions. However, under Bakirulu's command, the defensive barrier formed by four anti-beam mines unfolded precisely in the trajectory of the ZAFT warship's guns.

"The beam disappeared; it was an anti-beam detonation!"

Amidst the screams of the Vesalius crew, Artis saw the Archangel's silhouette drawing ever closer.

His ominous premonition finally came true.

Chapter 21 The Hard-Won Victory

Archangel, bridge.

"How is Lohengrin's charge status?"

"Energy fully charged, ready to launch at any time!"

Miria stared intently at the screen in front of her, answering Bakirulu's questions loudly.

"On my command, target is the ZAFT Laurentia-class battleship, Lohengrin, prepare..."

Bucky Lulu paused for a moment, mentally estimating the defensive barrier formed by the anti-beam mines on the Archangel's hull, before giving the order.

"Fire!"

A thick beam of red and white light shot out from one of the Archangel's "front legs," carrying devastating energy as it struck the Gamow. This powerful weapon, capable of piercing the outer armor of a fortress, easily penetrated the Lawrence-class battleship, renowned for its sturdy ships and formidable cannons, cleaving the Gamow in two. In a spectacular explosion, the Gamow was completely reduced to a pile of space debris.

But the sinking of the Gamov did not mean the end of the battle. Maru did not relax after sinking the enemy ship, but anxiously gave orders.

"Quickly, Sergeant Neumann, get out of the way immediately!"

Although the rudder of a space battleship no longer requires the same force to turn as that of ships of the old days, the short-haired young man sitting in the control seat still turned the rudder with all his might, just like a sailor of the old days.

Under his control, the Archangel moved with the agility of a fighter jet, its massive hull rapidly flipping to the right, allowing the shelling from the Vesalius to pass between the Archangel's "legs".

"Set target to ZAFT Nazca-class battleship. Missile launchers, numbers 5 to 12, fire! All gun emplacements, fire freely!"

The Archangel launched its remaining missile tubes, firing the anti-ship missiles that had already been loaded. At the same time, the railguns and beam cannons on the ship also fired a salvo at the Vesalius. Although the Archangel's shells had a low hit rate due to the high speed of the ship, several shells still hit the Vesalius.

Although these shells did not hit the Vesalius's key positions and were not enough to sink it, they did completely suppress the Vesalius.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Archangel turned around in front of the Vesalius and left the war zone without looking back.

"Fire on starboard side!"

"Electromagnetic catapult destroyed!"

"Turret number two has lost response!"

Chaos had broken out on the bridge of the Vesalius, and Captain Artis had collapsed in his captain's seat.

Artis seemed to already envision himself being court-martialed for his poor command that led to the sinking of the Gamow, but his sense of duty as a soldier compelled him to issue what was likely the last order of his military career in a hoarse voice.

"Vesalius, slowly reverse and create distance from the enemy ships. Also, call Captain Cruze at the front and tell him our situation."

-----------------

"The Gamow was sunk? Tch, what on earth is Artis doing?"

Upon receiving the message, Kruze decisively swung his heavy slash at the short sword, manipulating Xigu to retreat. The short sword, after dodging Xigu's thrown blade, did not continue its pursuit.

Both the Shigu and the Dagger were in poor condition. They appeared to be unharmed, but the Shigu had used up all its ammunition, and the Dagger had also discarded two shoulder weapons in the high-speed mobile battle, and its energy was almost depleted.

Raiwen's physical strength, like his body, had reached its limit. Sweat soaked into his tight-fitting standard uniform, and the wet, sticky feeling made him very uncomfortable.

"Kruze has left? How are the others?"

[Aegis, Thunder, Storm, and Duelist have also gradually withdrawn from the battlefield.]

"Where are Kira and the captain?"

Both the Assault and the Möbius Zero survived, but their condition was far from ideal.

Al enlarged the appearance of Strike and Mobius Zero on the screen at this moment.

The assault rifle's empty backpack was now tattered, its shield was reduced to half, its beam rifle was missing, and only half of the V-shaped antenna on its head remained, clearly a mark left by a beam. However, the machine itself was largely undamaged, which should save the servitors in charge of its maintenance a lot of trouble.

Mu's Mobius Zero had now returned to the form Raven had first seen it in, its bare body now gone, its four wire-controlled cannons presumably destroyed in the battles with Storm and Duel.

However, Mu himself...

"Captain Maru, Lieutenant Baqilulu, I love you both so much!"

Judging from how he's wailing and howling on the radio, he's probably out of danger.

[Raven, the Archangel is here. Let's go back together.]

As the white behemoth came into view, Raven's highly tense nerves finally had a chance to relax.

"Okay, let's go back together."

-----------------

At this moment, the bridge of the Vesalius fell into a deathly silence.

The Gamow was sunk, and the newly replenished mobile suit force suffered heavy losses again, with even the Vesalius sustaining multiple damages.

This is the first time since the Cruze team was founded that they have suffered such a great loss.

Artis, who was in charge of commanding the fleet, was devastated. He knew he would be held responsible for the sinking of the Gamow, so he sat motionless in the captain's seat with his head down ever since the Vesalius was out of danger.

Aslan and the others who gathered at the bridge didn't look much better. They couldn't take down their opponent even in a two-on-one situation. Diego and Yzak looked even worse. They were attacking not just a mobile suit, but a mobile suit, which allowed the opponent to escape alive.

Is it because the enemy is very strong?

That short sword was indeed very difficult to deal with; apart from Kruze, no one had the strength to stand up to him alone.

The remaining two enemies, the Strike and the Mobius Zero, were entirely ZAFT's advantage.

At the beginning, the Strike's movements still retained a hint of the raw energy of a new recruit. When Nicol's Lightning Bolt joined the battle, the combined attack of Aegis and Lightning Bolt did indeed push the Strike to the brink of defeat. However, the Strike's momentum suddenly changed, and its movements became abruptly more agile, managing to exhaust the energy of Lightning Bolt and Aegis.

Yzak and Diego were initially suppressed by the Dagger in single-player mode, and then turned to besiege Mobius Zero. Unexpectedly, the opponent was determined to escape in all directions, even using the wire-controlled cannon as bait to save his life. Until Kruze ordered a retreat, they were unable to take down the opponent.

In the midst of this somber atmosphere, Kruze, having changed his clothes, walked into the bridge.

"What are you all doing gathered here? Go back and get some rest first, and remember to bring me a combat report later."

"Captain?"

Everyone was surprised by Kruze's magnanimous treatment. After suffering such a huge defeat, he didn't even utter a single reprimand. This could not be explained by mere magnanimity.

"All right."

Kruze raised his hand, signaling his subordinates to stop dwelling on the topic.

"The biggest responsibility for this failure lies with me, the commander, for my misjudgment of the battle situation. I misjudged the enemy's strength. It has nothing to do with you. That's all."

Without waiting for anyone's reply, Kruze walked to the porthole on the bridge and looked in the direction the Archangel had left, reliving the feelings he had experienced in the battle with the Dagger.

'Unlike the Vladas, you have that straightforward and innocent quality, but in this era, how long can you retain that straightforwardness, pilot of the short sword?'

Chapter 22 Rest Time

"Cheers to the brave drivers!"

Starting with Miriam's lively voice, a small victory celebration began in the Archangel's dining hall.

Various dishes were already laid out on the table. Although these dishes were just canned food prepared slightly, the long-lost peaceful atmosphere was a rare moment of relaxation for them, who had been on the run.

Several students were particularly excited, letting loose without any inhibitions, since the idea of ​​holding this celebration banquet was proposed by Bakirulu, the strictest person on the Archangel.

The Archangel won a great victory this time. Not only did it successfully rescue its allies, but it also launched a proactive attack, severely damaging the enemy mobile suit force and sinking a warship.

The Archangel was just a short distance away from its current position when it would be able to rendezvous with Halbarton's Eighth Fleet, at which point it would be able to completely escape its predicament of constantly having to flee.

However, the cost was that the three pilots, who were the main combat force, were exhausted, and their machines also needed a time-consuming comprehensive overhaul.

Therefore, Bakiruru used this small victory celebration as a way to boost morale and also to allow the three pilots, who had just finished a major battle, to properly adjust their condition.

Of course, drinking alcohol is not allowed, and even relaxation has its limits. Bakiruru requires every driver to be ready to go at any time.

For the Archangel, Basiluru's presence was like that of a family's head steward. Without her imposing presence, the Archangel, a ship composed of students, refugees, and a small number of soldiers, would have become incredibly disorganized.

However, it is clear that among the Archangel's crew, there is one who seems to be inherently intolerant of strict rules.

"Ah, I really want a drink! Little Maria, could you please get me a bottle of wine?"

Mu lay disheveled on the chair against the wall, looking like an uncle who had just finished playing pachinko.

This disheveled fellow, with his uniform draped loosely over his shoulders, is named Mu la Vlad, and surprisingly, he appears to be a captain, and even has the nickname 'Emmy's Falcon.'

"Hey, AI over there, I can hear you!"

Mu turned his head and spoke to a mechanical toy on the table that looked like a surveillance camera with legs.

This little thing is the new body Raven made for El. It can carry El's mind core and move freely on the ship. The camera-like body also has a built-in speaker so that El can broadcast her sharp comments anytime, anywhere. On the body, there is also a small display screen that displays the image of a white-haired girl. According to El, this is the image she designed for her future humanoid body.

"Lieutenant Bakirulu specifically instructed the captain not to drink alcohol when she took him away. Captain, have you forgotten so quickly?"

Raven walked over, patted Mu on the shoulder, and handed him a glass of orange juice.

Incidentally, Maru also sneaked over to join in the fun at the beginning of the banquet, but was quickly dragged back to the bridge by Buggyuru.

Mu took the orange juice, hooked Raven's shoulder, and made him sit down.

"Tch, of course I know. But even if I drank a little now, it wouldn't matter. Anyway, my Mobius Zero can't be fired. There are no spare parts, it's beyond repair, and if something happens, I can't go into battle. Isn't your short sword the same? I heard Chief Maintenance Officer Maddock complain that although it looks fine on the outside, the internal parts are badly worn out. If we want to continue fighting, we have to do a complete overhaul. Just how outrageous was your battle with Kruze?"

Raven shrugged.

"There's no way around it; without fully utilizing the short sword's capabilities, I simply can't keep up with Kruze's movements."

Raven recalled his previous battle with Kruze.

“That guy completely understands the performance of the shuriken, and he can dodge my attacks with minimal movement. On my side, I need to make several times more movements to keep up with his movements. If it weren’t for the superior performance of the short sword, I wouldn’t have been able to hold him off at all.”

“I know, I know, that guy is really troublesome. It's all thanks to you for holding off the most troublesome one, otherwise I don't know what would have happened.”

Mu, who had suffered greatly at the hands of Kruze, nodded repeatedly.

"Don't even mention me, Kira's performance this time was also outstanding. He single-handedly held off both Blitz and Aegis from start to finish. Their destructive power is much stronger than Shiku's. Hey, Kira, stop spacing out!"

Kira had been staring at the plate in front of him since the beginning. Even after resting for a while, Kira's body still hadn't forgotten the state he had entered when he was attacked by Aegis and Thunder.

When Thunderbolt joined the battle and, together with Aegis, cornered Kira, his senses suddenly became incredibly sharp, and his physical reflexes improved dramatically. He could easily see through the enemy's movements and react in time.

It was in this state that Kira managed to hold out until the very end amidst the pincer attack from the two machines, but no matter how he tried to recall it later, Kira could never recapture that state.

"Kira, what's wrong?"

Kira was brought back to his senses by a cool sensation on his cheek.

“I…I’m just worried about what to do if ZAFT attacks at this time. Teacher, your short sword is still under repair. Right now, the only weapon I can use is my Assault.”

Kira instinctively made up an excuse to cover up his true feelings.

"We'll deal with whatever comes our way. Right now, your priority is to rest. Don't always be frowning at your age, or you'll get wrinkles."

Raven chuckled twice, using a half-joking remark to dispel the gloom in the boy's heart.

However, Kira's words were not unfounded. The Cruze, having suffered heavy losses, would certainly not let the Archangel go easily, but the pursuit by the Cruze team also presented an opportunity for Raven.

A legitimate opportunity to put Lux back into PLANT.

"Oh my, what is this child? So cute."

A light, cheerful female voice rang out from the table. Everyone looked over and saw that the girl with the signature long pink hair had appeared at the table at some point, holding El in her hands.

Miss Lacus, I am Al, not a toy.

"Oh, this is really rude of me, I'm so sorry, Miss El."

Lux apologized and put Al back, while the people around didn't pay much attention to this young lady who shouldn't be there, acting as if it were nothing unusual.

However, Miriam and Katz's expressions changed. They had been present when Frey and Lacus had their conflict a few days ago.