Gundam: A Gundam Enthusiast's Journey with a Mecha Girl

Chapter 94 The Vortex of Death

"Stop! Stop right now!"

No matter how much Yzak shouted at this moment, he couldn't change the fact that the nuclear missile was heading towards PLANT. The despair emanating from the Covenant's cockpit made Kruze squint his eyes with pleasure.

But the next moment, the divine will looked in another direction. Kruze could feel an undeniable presence rapidly approaching from that direction.

A thick beam of light tore through the darkness of space, shooting from that direction. This barrage, with the power of a battleship's main gun, pierced through the space where the two armies clashed, precisely striking the center of the nuclear missile barrage. One by one, the nuclear missiles were detonated by the direct impact of the beam.

The intense light from the nuclear explosion instantly engulfed Ytzhak's vision, causing him to involuntarily raise his hand to shield his eyes.

"Those were indeed nuclear bombs. Athrun, Kira, we must shoot them down without missing a single one!"

Raven's voice came through the communication.

"I know!"

Aslan's body was tense, his eyes fixed on the approaching nuclear bombs.

“It’s alright, Athrun. Didn’t we already do something similar in Orb?”

Kira's voice was gentle yet firm. The instant the multi-target locking system completed its search, Kira and Athrun simultaneously pulled the trigger.

The Meteor, controlled by freedom and justice, unleashed its full firepower in a single instant. A barrage of beams and missiles of various colors engulfed the nuclear missiles, intercepting one nuclear missile after another heading towards PLANT. The destructive light of the nuclear explosions and the Meteor's intercepting barrage complemented each other, creating the most dangerous fireworks show in front of PLANT.

One artificial sun after another rose, illuminating almost the entire universe.

The few that managed to slip through the barrage were detected by the Deep Strike's multi-purpose sensors and destroyed one by one by Raven's precise fire.

The coalition's nuclear strike was temporarily averted, but on the other side of the universe, ZAFT's trump card had just been revealed.

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Behind the Yakin Duve Fortress, a super weapon whose location had been concealed by a mirage system slowly revealed its form to the world from the shadows of the fortress.

This is a giant gamma-ray laser cannon that ZAFT calls "Genesis." No defense can withstand its attack, and its range is enough to reach Earth from the L5 space zone. A single shot would be enough to completely wipe human civilization off the surface.

Ironically, Genesis, with its terrifying power, was originally developed to power spaceships exploring outer space.

Of course, for Patrick, sitting in the command center, the exact purpose of Genesis' development was no longer important.

"Genesis enters its final stage; the entire ship must evacuate from the radiation range."

"Genesis, aiming scope deployed. PS armor, activate."

"Anti-neutron jammer, activated. Move the nuclear charge to the firing position."

"All systems are functioning normally and are ready to launch at any time."

As the launch process came to a close, Patrick stood up from the command post, drawing the attention of everyone in the command center. He raised his right arm, waved it down towards the space illuminated by the nuclear explosion, and shouted loudly.

"Watch out for Naturals! This strike will become the light of creation for us Coordinators!"

"Genesis, launch!"

The next moment, a destructive torrent of light erupted from the massive mirror array of Genesis, sweeping across the cosmic realm where the fierce battle was taking place.

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The torrent of light sliced ​​the battlefield in two, and countless things caught in it, whether warships or mobile suits, were all gradually dissolved and dissipated in the ravages of Genesis.

Nearly half of the Allied fleet disappeared under the bombardment of Genesis. The formation of warships and mobile suits was wiped out as if erased from the middle, leaving a gaping hole.

The bombardment of Genesis did not only kill the Allied Forces; many ZAFT troops who were entangled with the Allied Forces and had no time to retreat were also swallowed up by this torrent of light, leaving not even a trace behind.

Even though the light of destruction had dissipated deep within his retina, the trauma it caused lingered in Raven's mind for a long time.

The sheer number of lives lost in that instant was overwhelming even for Raven, who had gradually grown accustomed to the feeling of death through countless battles.

It was the mental shock that erupted when thousands of lives vanished at the same moment. The fear, the confusion, the regret all converged into an indescribable mass that surged toward Raven.

An endless, sticky feeling enveloped his consciousness, the dead man's delirious murmurs echoed in his ears, and feelings of hatred almost swallowed him up.

Raven took deep breaths, trying to break free from the suffocating feeling, but all his struggles became meaningless in the face of what seemed to be an endless stream of dead souls.

His overly acute senses were now like poison, eroding him.

Meanwhile, Kruze, in the divine will, let out a morbid laugh.

He had survived until now precisely for this moment.

The combination of negative emotions received by the psycho-framework gave him a profound sense of happiness, and the frantic release of dopamine gave Kruze an ecstatic bliss.

But that's not enough; this level is far from sufficient.

Humanity is just one step away from destruction, and all he has to do is give it a gentle push from behind.

An ominous light emanated from around the cockpit of the divine will. He glanced at the location of Genesis, then propelled the machine toward that place at full speed.

However, a high-output beam of light shot from behind blocked the path of the divine will, forcing Kruze to stop.

Kruse could feel that familiar feeling, that only person who could give him a sense of pressure, rushing towards his location.

The divine will immediately shifted, and after dodging the beam of light, it moved at high speed to the side without stopping.

Kruze's decision was correct. A continuous stream of beams shot towards the location of the divine will. If Kruze hadn't been decisive enough, the divine will would have had no chance of surviving the beams.

Following this dense beam of light, the behemoth-like figure of the Deep Assault Force hurtled straight towards the Divine Will.

"Only you are unforgivable!"

The large beam cannon on Deep Strike's right shoulder once again unleashed a scorching high-energy beam. The continuous beam, following Deep Strike's movements, swept across the trajectory of Divine Will like a light blade.

However, Kruze remained in control. While piloting the Divine Will to dodge the artillery fire, he multitasked, sending out the Dragoon submachine guns according to his will and scattering them around the Deep Assault.

Emerald green beams shot in from several directions simultaneously, enveloping the Deep Assault Force.

However, the dragon riders' seemingly infallible all-around attacks failed this time.

The hostility from Kruze came from all directions, but Raven read Kruze's intentions from this hostility.

Despite its seemingly cumbersome nature, the Deep Strike, under Raven's skillful control, skillfully maneuvered through the Dragoon's beam net, dodging their shots with perfectly timed maneuvers.

Chapter 95 Siegel and Patrick

PLANT, Aprilius I.

Four months have passed since the day Siegel resolved to fight to the end and sent the Eternal away.

During this time, relying on his prestige among the PLANT people and the connections he had built up over the years, Siegel moved between various colonies, evading arrest by the Legal Affairs Bureau while launching a media offensive against Patrick through various channels.

Siegel and Patrick, comrades who fought for PLANT's independence in their early years, now see each other as mortal enemies.

If he could, Siegel wouldn't want to see this outcome, but he couldn't bear to watch Patrick drag the entire country into an abyss of no return.

By the standards of a politician, Patrick is clearly unqualified. He is too emotional, and after his beloved wife was embroiled in the Bloody Valentine incident, he became overly paranoid and extreme. Even after assuming the presidency of the Supreme Council, he placed his personal feelings above the national interest.

The principle of prioritizing the adjuster, if used as a rallying cry during wartime, would still be within Siegel's tolerance. However, this principle seems to have truly taken root in Patrick's mind. The idea of ​​"killing all natural persons" seems to be more than just a slogan to Patrick.

Siegel's resolute opposition to the Coordinator Priority doctrine was not due to any sympathetic sentimentality. When the Blood Valentine incident broke out, he was equally outraged by the Alliance's barbaric actions, determined to wage war against Earth, and even signed the resolution to distribute neutron jammers throughout the Earth Sphere.

When a neutron jammer triggers a global energy crisis on Earth, causing hundreds of millions of people to lose power, heating, and transportation and become displaced, Siegel feels no guilt whatsoever.

But Siegel knew from the beginning that no matter how advanced PLANT's productivity was, with only 6000 million people, it would ultimately be unable to fight a long-term war of attrition with the entire Earth.

Furthermore, due to the genetic issues of the Coordinators, the birth rate of the next generation of PLANT is precarious, to the point that laws such as the Forced Marriage Act, which interfere with the freedom of citizens, are needed to maintain the birth rate.

Coordinators created through artificial means are ultimately just a chance detour in human history. If Coordinators do not choose to coexist with natural humans, then a hundred years later, those Coordinators who cannot give birth to the next generation will face irreversible self-extinction.

Therefore, he continuously calls for peace, seizes every opportunity, and insists on dialogue with the rationalists on Earth. Even after being wanted by the PLANT government, he did not stop.

When news of the coalition forces and ZAFT exchanging devastating superweapons reached his ears, Siegel realized that he had to take action.

The Earth Forces' nuclear missiles were intercepted at the last minute by the young people he valued, but the Genesis missiles used by the ZAFT forces afterward, once launched, could not be intercepted like nuclear missiles.

Siegel recognized the prototype of Genesis. Although it was not originally built as a weapon, once weaponized, it was fully capable of directly attacking Earth.

Given Patrick's mental state, after being betrayed repeatedly and witnessing PLANT being nuclearly attacked again, it is entirely possible that he would have directed Genesis towards Earth under the influence of extreme emotions.

If human civilization on Earth is truly destroyed as a result, what awaits the 6000 million people of PLANT is not the glorious future promised by Patrick, but only the end of their solitary withering away in the dark universe.

Taking advantage of the radical government's focus on the front lines, Siegel resolved to gather all available forces to launch a coup and stop Patrick's actions before everything became irreversible.

"Lord Siegel, all action teams are in position. Please give the order."

"Let's begin. Proceed according to plan, rescue Kanaba and other moderate senators, and take control of the Supreme Council building!"

"Yes!"

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Patrick, who had set up his command post in the Genesis control room, was very satisfied with the results of Genesis's operations.

The Earth Forces' offensive was thwarted in an instant, and the entire fleet was thrown into chaos. Faced with the ZAFT forces' counterattack, the Earth Forces were powerless to retaliate.

'Renoya, my fellow countrymen who perished, do you see this? The Earth Forces that killed you with nuclear bombs are now reduced to such a wretched state! But this is far from enough. Wait a little longer, until Genesis replaces the reflector, and I will be able to personally exact my revenge!'

He lost his beloved wife, parted ways with his lifelong best friend, was betrayed by the subordinate he trusted completely, and ultimately pushed his son to the opposite side.

At this point, Patrick had lost everything; all that remained was his belief in revenge.

"Sir, the Earth Forces have rejected our surrender offer. Where will Genesis set its next target?"

When the young officer approached to ask him questions, Patrick slowly uttered two words.

"Earth."

The young officer couldn't believe what he was hearing and his eyes widened in surprise.

Not only was the subordinate taken aback, but everyone in the Genesis control room turned to Patrick with questioning eyes.

Even the younger generation who speak out in PLANT harbor a unique sentiment towards the planet that gave birth to humanity. Yet now, Patrick is about to point the cannons of Genesis at Earth.

Is it really something humans should do to destroy the planet that gave birth to humanity?

Moreover, Earth is not only inhabited by naturals; the total population of Coordinators is a staggering 500 million, and the 60 million people on PLANT are just a fraction of them.

However, Patrick, who was being watched by everyone, was completely oblivious to the complex emotions in their eyes.

"Didn't you all hear me? I said, Genesis's next target is Earth! Isn't that the cradle that gave birth to us? Our home as Coordinators is only PLANT! Earth is inhabited only by Naturals and their minions. Have you all forgotten what those murderers did on Junius 7?"

"I'll say it again, the next target of Genesis was Earth. Repeat it for me!"

“Uh, yes! Genesis’ next goal…”

Under Patrick's intimidation, the young officer stammered as he repeated the order, while Yuki Rei, a member of the staff and seated in the control room, stepped forward.

"Please wait a moment, Your Excellency Sara!"

But what answered him was a gunshot.

Yuki Rei had a bloody hole in his chest, and in his dying moments, he heard Patrick's words, which were calm yet chilling.

"What a pity, Yuuki, I never thought you were a traitor like Kruze..."

Chapter 96 Breaking the Blockade

Although there was no evidence to prove that ZAFT had deployed superweapons at Fort Jakin Dover, the members of the Three Ships Alliance, trusting Raven, still followed his advice and arrived in space outside Fort Jakin Dover.

They had just arrived at their destination when they witnessed the launch of Genesis.

Erica, who was traveling with the Kusanagi, quickly deciphered the principles and structure of Genesis, and the conclusion she reached made everyone gasp.

If Genesis points to Earth...

"We must act immediately to stop Genesis' next launch!"

Although it would be futile for the three-ship alliance to confront the defenders of Jakin Dover fortress head-on, Lux's proposal was not questioned at all.

Beams and missiles quickly filled the entire space, and the garrison of Jakin-Duve Fortress soon discovered this small fleet composed of various forces. Dense barrages of bullets rained down on the three-ship alliance like a storm.

Artillery fire swept past the attack aircraft, but Mu, sitting in the cockpit, showed no fear.

Four wire-controlled cannons flew off the backpack and nimbly maneuvered behind several ZAFT aircraft that were chasing the Strike Gundam.

As the ZAFT aircraft in front of them focused their attention on the attack, railgun shells and micro-missiles were simultaneously fired from the cannon barrels, turning the ZAFT aircraft into expanding fireballs.

However, no matter how amazing Mu's results were, he still felt a sense of powerlessness when faced with the surging enemy planes.

The same scene is playing out elsewhere.

Aisha piloted the IWSP Dagger, unleashing a salvo from her twin railguns. The high-speed railgun shells cleaved a Gates aircraft hurtling towards the Eternity in two. She then swiftly turned, using the Gatling guns on her composite shield and the two single-mounted cannons on her shoulders to repel three Kings aircraft that had approached from behind.

But after completing this procedure, fine beads of sweat appeared on Aisha's forehead.

"This set of equipment is so complicated! How did those two manage to use it so skillfully in the desert?"

While Aisha was frantically operating the weapon system of the IWSP backpack, in a corner she didn't notice, a GAZ aircraft set up a beam rifle towards the unsuspecting back of the IWSP short sword.