KSGU:Volume 4 Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Part 1

The red and black magma-like glow was the proof that there was a chain reaction exploding inside the ‘cove’. The pulsating hot red light seeped out from the cracks, causing the boundaries 4 asteroids that crashed together at this point to appear vaguely. The scattering rubble and dust that flew with the wind was dyed a light red because of radiation, and “Palau” looked like it was burning thoroughly from afar.

Several mobile suit were basked under the same radiation light as they flew out from the bottom of the cracks. The monoeyed giants forced their way out from the gaps between the asteroids that crashed into each other in waves, and it would be appropriate to describe them as hellish devils. Nasri caught sight of an old “Geara Doga” from the pilot use periscope and squeezed the trigger of the low recoil cannons. The “Loto” with the 729 logo poked its head out from behind the rocks and fired the 120mm cannons on its shoulders.

A slight tremor passed through the machine, and the shells flew out from the two low recoil cannons. The bullet speed was as slow as a snail when compared to the sublight mega-particle shots, but it was not a problem in this distance of approximately two meters. The winged shells that was also designed to work under atmospheric conditions hit the “Geara Doga” in less than a second and blew up its body above the waist. The “Loto” let out its burner flares to move backwards before the enemy’s forcefully separated upper and lower bodies were devoured by the explosions. “FIRE THE LASER AT THE CRACK!” Nasri shouted without warning as he turned the periscope to the crack.

The laser support designator installed on the “Loto”s head fired an infrared laser. That invisible light was reflected on the crack, forming a reverse-cone shaped beam called a laser cone, and it was used to show the target coordinates to the “Complete Jegan” that flew in from above.

The “Complete Jegan” shot out the anti-ship missiles installed on its shoulder missile launchers, and lit its booster pods on the back above the cracks. Under this close distance and the laser guiding through the optical sensors, the Minovsky Particles could not block the eyes of the missiles. The large missile heads that could even be equipped with nuclear shells flew into the laser cover and hit the tip of the cone—the crack indicating the enemy’s escape hole.

White hot light expanded, and the dirt that was blown apart by the impact flowed deep into the cracks. The mobile suits that were trying to escape were caught in this torrent of debris, their limbs were crushed as they exploded, and the new impacts blew up the cracked surface. Mobile suits limbs and flames shot out together, forming a burnt furnace at the crack. The absolute zero space surrounded everything at this point, causing the melted and collapsed rock surface to freeze quickly.

With that, the slightly large crack was basically sealed off. We just have to shoot down all the enemy units that are coming out from the crack— Nasri glanced at the rocky surface that had frown steam and gas as he looked for the next enemy under the periscope. They managed to seal off the main forces in the ‘cove’, but they still could not relax. The path leading from the tunnel to the spacegates were not covered, and they had limited ammunitions.

If we miss the timing to leave, we’ll be surrounded and unable to move. “Has the 920 sent a signal?” Nasri saw their allied “Loto” moving towards the highest point of “Palau” as he let out this umpteenth prompt. “Unable to confirm.” His vice commander answered with an anxious voice, and Nasri nearly cursed out.

It had been 12 minutes since the ECOAS 920 “Loto” fought its way through the 14th space gate. Hasn’t that guy reclaimed the target? He recalled his old friend showing an emotional face that was different from before, and suddenly felt his stomach hurting. That most stubborn blockhead in ECOAS kept insisting on saving that target civilian in this operation. He’s not a guy who’ll make a wrong decision based on personal feelings, but if we want to carry out the mission of retrieving the RX-0, he has to be colder than usual when making decisions on the spot. If the situation requires for it, I may need to fight my way into “Palau” and kick that guy’s butt…

“A large number of enemies appeared at the south side! Coming in fast.”

The vice commander let out a sudden voice, causing Nasri’s latter thoughts to vanish. It was too early to say that they were enemy reinforcements. He held his breath for just a moment as he saw the large swarm of enemy markers appearing on the sensor range. “FIRE A SIGNAL TO THE “NAHEL ARGAMA”!” He instinctively shouted.

“RETREAT BACK TO “COROLLA”. CONFIRM THE NUMBER OF ENEMIES FIRST—”

“They’re here!”

The pilot let out a whimper, and the main camera monitor was immediately filled with a white light. The tremor rocked the machine, and the buzzing of the siren filled the control seat. Nasri held onto the grip of the periscope and put his eyes on the eyepiece. The remaining particles of light spread in space, and multiple enemy unit markers overlapped each other. A mobile suit that was right in front appeared on the one-to-one scaled display.

The machine did not have a serial number, only the logo “Sinanju”, and instantly closed in its distance with them. Nasri aimed the low-recoil cannons at the enemy unit and stared at the CG corrected machine image. This machine gave out a red afterimage, flickering its thruster unit that was reminiscent of wings, as it flew over the “Palau” surface to them.

“The red mobile suit…!?”

Nasri let out this doubt from his mouth and squeezed the trigger. The moment the 120mm cannons were shot out, the red machine seemed to vanish from their sights at that instant. We can’t win. We’ve been had. This instinct pierced through Nasri’s body, but he did not even have time to think as he immediately moved the periscope to try and catch sight of the enemy. At that moment, the nightvision monitor suffered a blackout, and an impact several times that of before rocked the “Loto”.

The condition monitor showed the “Loto”s CG network, and the cannons on the shoulders were flickering red. The red person got below them and used a beam saber to slice off the low recoil cannons. The AMBAC program could not correct the loss of mass in time, and the “Loto” lost its balance as it crashed onto the rocky several. Short-circuited sparks came out from the pilot seat, and the air bags that were shot out from the console covered Nasri’s head.

“EVADE! BEFORE DAGUZA AND THE REST ESCAPES—”

WE CAN’T LET OURSELVES TO BE FINISHED HERE! In the midst of this tremor where he could have bitten his tongue, Nasri’s voice was immediately swallowed by the heat spurting out wildly from the control seat.

The “Sinanju” swung its beam saber from the “Loto”s shoulder to the flank, vaporizing Nasri and the rest inside the control seat. in the face of the particle beam saber that melted the metal, the 8 ECOAS members kept in the infantry transport room at the back were also vaporizing by their lit normal suits and scattered into space like dust. The “Loto” that was sliced diagonally exploded, and the black corpses were vaporized cleanly without even a fingertip as the red machine was the only thing at the scene reflecting the light of the explosion.

Part 2

Angelo knew that the small machine that exploded was the transformable mobile suit the Special Forces used. It was the mobile suit of those guys who stealthily entered the civilian colony and carried out the act of terrorism under the name of counter-terrorism—the Manhunters. He did not feel anything else about this just desserts they suffered as he stared at the “Sinanju” that appeared amidst the explosion before stepping off the landscape of the “Palau” like he was touring around. Full Frontal’s mobile suit lit the light for the counterattack as the red machine flew off to find its next prey.

Wave after wave of “Geara Zulus” wielding beam rifles in their hands let out thruster trails as they followed the “Sinanju”. Angelo felt unhappy that the mobile suit other than those of the escort squads were interfering in Frontal’s battlefield, but it could not be helped as it was a organizational battle. He let his machine shoot out flares from its booster pod and stared at the ships waiting at the back.

The flagship “Rewloola” was at the center, and he could see the Salamis-class patrol ships and the disguised trading ships lined up, causing the ships that were putting out the flames to be covered in darkness. The number of ships that left the ‘cove’ and hid themselves amidst the sea of debris during these past 1,2 days amounted to about 80% of all their forces stationed at “Palau”—in terms of fighting strength, it was 95%. Most of the ships and mobile suits that were sealed inside the ‘cove’ were antiques that were past their usable life, and the soldiers were just a coalition of anti-government forces who had no other place to head to. Those people who came over with the idea of changing directions according to the times were just ‘old blood’ that should be changed. These things were tails that should be changed without pity if they wanted to break off their bond with “Palau” and let the Neo Zeon Army revive for real.

That Federation army that didn’t know this and thought their attack succeeded will now see the real hell. Angelo broke ranks and looked over at the space that had become a battlefield from the southern tip of “Palau”. The rubble and Minovsky particles that were scattered everywhere meant that the motion sensors were practically useless, but they could still catch sight of the enemies within a range of 40km. The enemy units that broke into the “Palau”s anti-air range was a special specs Jegan, a transformable unit with serial number RGZ-95, and also—

“What? They only sent in such few numbers…?”

Angelo moved the unit to the “Corolla A” with the red hot surface. It was impossible to catch sight of the enemy ship’s powerful mega-particle cannon, but it was impossible for the number of units covering the ship to be more than the advanced squad. Even if they counted the Manhunter mobile suits that were hiding on “Palau”, that was still less than ten. He could not ignore the possibility that there were other units waiting to seize the moment, but there was no greater chance than this to send in a large number of forces to the enemy base. Angelo let the machine move through the 3 “Corollas”, inspected the battlefield that was a mess full of anti-air fire, and matched the speed of the “Sinanju” at the “Calyx”. On approaching, the “Sinanju” quickly raised its hand out and held Angelo unit’s hand like it was pulling someone.

“Captain, I can’t estimate the number of forces the enemy has. Even if we consider the strength attacking “Palau”, it’s still too little. There should be a main force hiding elsewhere…”

(They’re aiming for the “Unicorn”. It’s possible to attack with very little forces if they just want to create an opening to reclaim the target. It’s just as expected.)

The voice that came back through the communicator caused the doubts within Angelo to disappear quickly. That’s right, the Federation doesn’t have the guts to launch a full-scale battle. This is not beneficial to them. It’s because they’re surrounded by so many things that they can’t move properly, which is why we’re going to fight the advanced squad using their own plan as expected.— Angelo reflected on these words as he spoke to affirm, “Then, has that guy found that Unicorn yet?” Frontal moved the monoeye of the “Sinanju” sharply,

(It begins. We just need to deal with them without wearing out our forces. At the right moment, retreat.)

The voice that felt like it could see through everything rang in Angelo’s ears, and the “Sinanju” broke contact before lighting the thruster unit. Angelo sent a laser signal to the escort squad searching for the enemies to order to retreat. He saw the escort squad’s units give a hand signal to show that they understood before turning around, opened the slot and stepped on the foot pedal. The wings on the back swayed about like a tail, and the purple “Geara Zulu” raised the beam launcher to the waist as it got ready to take on the enemy. It accelerated like a bullet.

If that’s the case, there’s no need to waste time exerting our fighting strength. The Captain and I alone are able to crush these weaklings. Angelo dodged left and right and eyed the specially equipped Jegan as his first target. That heavily armed Jegan that was equipped with large missiles outside the missile launchers floated between the “Calyx” and “Corollas’ That was crashed into each other. It seems that this guy’s mission is to fire missiles into the gaps between the asteroids that are the escape holes and seal off the ‘cove’ completely.

“Such a cowardly thing to do! You’re planning to deal with “Palau” by using a billiard-like trick…!”

Angelo did not want to use long-ranged weapons to get rid of the enemy. He let the machine jump on a rubble, closed in on the Jegan and drew out the beam hook before the opponent could dodge. He suppressed the head of the Jegan as it fired the beam launcher, and let the machine get behind the enemy. The enemy machine turned around with the AMBAC and shot the beam rifle, but the beam could only graze past Angelo’s unit head before dissipating in the air. Both sides faced each other, and the beam hook sliced neatly into the Jegan’s abdomen.

The part that was equipped with multiple armor was flipped out, and the pilot that was exposed to the high heat was melted together with the cockpit. Angelo then sliced the missile launchers and let his unit leave the scene before the huge fireball was triggered. The surrounding rubble exploded, and with the remnant of the enemy unit vaporizing behind him, Angelo turned to look for the next prey.

“This is to open a way to Neo Zeon’s revival. None of you can think of returning back alive…!”

Part 3

The light expanded through the bridge window, and there was an explosion different from that of a normal mobile suit’s explosion. Otto inadvertently got up from the Captain’s seat “What’s the matter…?” and muttered. (Juliet 5’s signal got cut off!) Mihiro’s voice rang in his ears.

(There’re many enemies appearing from behind. The advanced squad is being surrounded!)

The sensor operator called out, and Otto turned his frozen face to the main screen in front of him. A large amount of rubble was blown out from the asteroid’s collisions, and the motion sensors were basically useless; however, they could use the optical observations to detect the enemy movements. The advanced squad had just gotten close to “Palau”, and an unknown large number of mobile suits came moving over from somewhere. Looking at the numbers, it seemed that the number of ships on standby at the back were not just a few. One could tell from this that there were hidden main forces beside the fleet docked at the ‘cove’. The main force was in ambush, waiting for the moment because they predicted the attack from here.

Those left inside the ‘cove’ are just bait. It’s a trap. Otto felt this understanding numb his limbs as he raised his volume, “Call the covering forces to back them up!”

“Deploy the anti-air fire. Use the dummy-rubble. Our ship will head straight in. Is there contact with ECOAS?”

(The line got cut. The laser signal too was cut after they got into “Palau”.)

Mihiro transferred the reply from Operator Bellard in the second communication room as she turned her pale face over at Otto. It’s too slow. The fake balloon were expanded, and countless fake rubble appeared, but Otto ignored them as he held onto his hands that were covered by the normal suit. The plan was that there would be contact once they retrieved Banagher Links or the “Unicorn”. Leaving aside the “Unicorn”, it’s weird that they haven’t met Banagher yet. Has he not reached the retrieval point? Otto checked that it had been 15 minutes since the battle started, and looked at the “Palau” that deployed its anti-air fire, only to frown because of the words he heard (We’ve been had!)

(The “Sleeves” predicted our action and set the trap first. They’re not an opponent we can beat by fighting head on. Captain, hurry up and give the order for our ship to retreat!)

Alberto supported his large body that was slumped into the commander’s seat and continued to say such self-explanatory words as he reached his neck out to Otto. It seems that he has forgotten that this ship is so reckless because on him. “Our allies are still in a battle. How can we retreat like this!” Otto growled back and looked away from Alberto, never wanting to meet his stare again.

“There’s a 30 minute time limit in this operation. ECOAS should be contacting us soon. Until then…”

Can we hang on? Otto swallowed the words he was about to say back down his parched throat, and exerted force on the fingertips resting on the armrests. The engine power’s back to normal. There’s also the option to retrieve all surviving units and escape with maximum speed. If we miss the timing to leave, we might end up in a calamity where we’re annihilated— Otto stared at the beams that were flashing silently, and as he gritted his teeth, (There’s a new laser signal from “Palau”!) Mihiro’s urgent voice rang through the wireless communicator.

(Is it ECOAS!?) Liam shouted out as she turned to the communication console. (No, this signal is…) From behind, Otto stared at Mihiro, who was stumped for words as she worked on the communication console, and saw a look of surprise on her face as she turned around.

(It’s the “Gundam”!)