"Kira, don't space out in the middle of battle!"
Yang Hui's sharp reprimand crackled through the comms, snapping Kira back to attention.
"Ah, sorry..."
"Don't apologize—make up for it with action."
"Right, but..."
Kira had been about to say that Yang Hui and Lyle were already so strong—what more could he possibly do?
But then he saw Lyle's machine discard its empty rocket launcher and switch to the heavy machine gun and heavy battle axe mounted on its rear waist.
"You really think we're invincible? With just a heavy machine gun left, we can't handle this many BuCUEs," Lyle grumbled over the comms.
Thanks to their earlier performance, the number of BuCUEs had been reduced from twelve to six.
But that had been due to the element of surprise and overwhelming firepower. Now, with the rockets depleted, the heavy machine gun lacked one-hit-kill capability. The only weapons that posed a serious threat to the BuCUEs were the heavy battle axe and sword—and the desert-specialized GINN's mobility was only on par with the BuCUEs.
Repeating their earlier feat was impossible now.
Moreover, Yang Hui and Lyle were facing their own problems.
"Tch, what a pain. Why do rocket launchers only carry two shots? And why aren't they magazine-fed?"
"Calm down. We're lucky we got our hands on these at all."
Yang Hui sighed at Lyle's complaints. Their mission to retrieve Cagalli had been covert, requiring them to infiltrate ZAFT-controlled territory without the Dawn Gundam or Gundam Cherudim. Joining the battle had been a last-minute decision, forcing them to purchase equipment from the Earth branch of the Junk Guild.
There was only one Lowe, so acquiring two desert-specialized GINNs and decent weaponry had been the best they could manage.
And while Kira had only seen Yang Hui and Lyle dominating the battlefield, he didn't realize that their earlier high-intensity maneuvers had strained their mobile suits' frames. Several components on the status display were already flashing yellow.
"Yang Hui, Mr. Dylandy, return to the ship for resupply," Kira suggested as he maneuvered the Strike Gundam to support them.
"Good idea! But I doubt they'll give us the chance—"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Before Lyle could finish, a barrage of missiles and shells erupted from the Archangel's five and seven o'clock positions, blasting plumes of smoke across its hull.
"Ah—!"
"Enemy ships detected at five and seven o'clock!"
"What?!"
"Two more? Were they lying in wait?"
"ECM and ECCM intensity increased by 17%! Valiant cannon barrel temperatures approaching critical!"
The Archangel's situation hadn't improved despite Yang Hui and Lyle's efforts—if anything, it had worsened. While the BuCUEs and helicopter units hadn't caused major trouble, the ship was now surrounded by one carrier and three destroyers, not to mention the dozens of LaGOWEs aboard bombarding the Archangel or providing anti-air support, keeping Mu's Skygrasper at bay.
"Captain, permission to use the Lohengrin!" Natarle Badgiruel urgently requested the use of the positron cannon to turn the tide, but Murrue immediately refused.
"No! That would cause too much pollution to the surface! Adjust the Valiant's power and firing rate instead."
"But—"
"That's an order!"
"Understood."
Rank had its privileges, and Natarle Badgiruel had no choice but to accept Murrue's command.
Privately, thanks to Yang Hui's influence, the relationship between Murrue and Natarle wasn't as tense as in the original timeline. But in battle, their philosophies still clashed—Murrue considered broader implications with greater compassion, while Natarle prioritized combat objectives above all else. To her, the environmental impact of positron cannons mattered less than securing victory.
"Boom—!"
Two more direct hits struck the Archangel's flank, the massive impact immediately destabilizing the ship. It listed sideways, one of its stabilizer wings embedding into factory ruins.
"The Archangel!"
Yang Hui, Lyle, and Kira all saw the Archangel in peril and prepared to return to its aid.
"Scatter!"
Heeding Yang Hui's warning, the three mobile suits dispersed just as a brilliant pink beam sliced through their former position. An orange phantom now stood before them.
"Finally showing yourself, Tiger?"
The LaGOWE—a land combat commander's mobile suit customized for Andrew Waltfeld, built upon the BuCUE's framework. Painted in Andrew's signature flamboyant orange, it featured a dual-seat cockpit separating piloting and gunnery duties for enhanced mobility and precision.
Technically, it boasted four jet engines on its back wings for superior thrust, with redesigned leg structures allowing greater agility than the BuCUE despite its larger size. As a commander's MS, its head housed an enlarged comms antenna for improved battlefield coordination.
Armament-wise, having acquired Earth Forces' X Series MS technology, the LaGOWE became ZAFT's earliest non-Gundam unit to standardize beam weapons—dual beam sabers mounted in its mouth and beam cannons replacing its original back-mounted twin cannons. Combat claws on its feet further augmented close-quarters prowess.
"Lyle, Kira, assist the Archangel."
"But—"
"Are you serious?"
Both Lyle and Kira objected. A GINN's specs couldn't match the LaGOWE's, especially with Yang Hui's already damaged unit facing an intact enemy.
"Go. I'll hold him off—the Archangel takes priority."
"...Roger."
Lyle's machine turned away immediately, but the Strike Gundam hesitated.
"What are you waiting for?"
"Yang Hui, you should support the Archangel. Let me handle this—"
"That's someone you know. Could you really fight him?"
"I..."
"Go. Don't worry about me."
"Understood. Wait for my return!"
The Strike Gundam departed too, leaving the LaGOWE and Yang Hui's GINN in eerie silence, simply observing each other without movement.
Then their comms linked, initiating a conversation more suited for a tea party than a blazing battlefield.
"Hey kid, is this really okay? Even though it's modified, your mobile suit... can't keep up with your movements, can it?"
"Tch, you noticed?"
"Heh, in this situation, you even sent your comrades away. Isn't that too arrogant? Be careful or you'll die."
"I think you're the one underestimating me, Waltfeld."
"Oh?"
The friendly chat ended abruptly. The moment Andrew Waltfeld's voice faded, both mobile suits moved—comrades one second, mortal enemies the next.
...
Taking advantage of the chance to resupply, Lyle's machine restocked its rocket launcher ammunition. He planned to perform quick maintenance before heading to the front to open a path, but during resupply, he saw Cagalli jump into Skygrasper Unit 2's cockpit.
"Hey! What are you doing? Get down!" Lyle didn't even have time to disembark, shouting over the open channel while attempting to block Skygrasper's path with his GINN.
But Skygrasper had already activated—it was too late to intercept now.
"I can't let a perfectly good mobile suit sit idle at a time like this! I'm fighting too!"
Ignoring Lyle's protests, Cagalli sent Skygrasper Unit 2 charging out of the hangar.
"That reckless noble girl!"
With Archangel surrounded on three fronts, Lyle had intended to deal with the destroyer and LaGOWE at the rear right. But now, he had no choice but to follow Cagalli.
"Skygrasper Unit 2 has launched!" Miriallia reported the situation to Natarle and Murrue.
"What!?"
"Hey! Who's piloting Unit 2?" Mu asked urgently upon seeing the reserve unit deploy.
"It's Cagalli!" Lyle immediately responded. "That girl's acting recklessly again."
"What did you say!?"
"I'll keep an eye on her. We'll join up with Unit 1 to engage the carrier and destroyer ahead, opening a path for Archangel."
"...We appreciate the assistance."
"Just doing my job."
Not daring to delay further—not even for basic maintenance—Lyle grabbed his rocket launcher and launched again.
Once deployed, Cagalli's performance surprised Lyle. Units 1 and 2 executed crossing maneuvers, using the destroyer as their convergence point to leave twin explosions and thick smoke below the bridge to port and starboard.
"Hoh? Not bad." After this praise, Lyle's machine pulled the trigger—two rockets struck the LaGOWEs stationed on the destroyer.
Lyle's machine leaped onto the destroyer and fired directly at the bridge.
"BOOM!"
"Nice work!"
As one destroyer fell silent, Cagalli cheered—only to be interrupted by alarm sirens.
At that moment, Lyle's machine hurled its last rocket at a LaGOWE on the carrier, then immediately drew its heavy machine gun to spray the sky, shooting down all missiles tailing Skygrasper Unit 2.
"Stay focused. The battle isn't over yet."
"D-don't nag me!"
Chastened by Lyle's scolding, Cagalli concentrated fully on the fight.
Assessing the situation, Lyle saw only the carrier and a few LaGOWEs remained ahead—something he could handle alone. He opened a channel to Mu and Cagalli.
"Lieutenant Flag, Cagalli—support Kira at the rear. I'll handle the carrier."
"But..."
"Hurry up!"
"R...Roger."
"I'm counting on you, kid."
With the Skygrasper gone and Lyle's unit out of rockets, the heavy machine gun alone could hardly deal significant damage to the mothership.
"Seriously," Lyle grumbled as his machine drew the Heavy Battle Axe. "Never thought I'd be forced into close combat one day."
No sooner had he spoken than his unit dashed through the hail of bullets, leaping high onto the La Seine. With a sweeping slash of the Heavy Battle Axe, one LaGOWE was cleaved in half, while the heavy machine gun riddled another LaGOWE with holes.
"Let's wrap this up fast. The unit can't take much more," Lyle complained, eyeing the yellow warnings flashing across all his components.