"To all ZAFT Forces within our territorial waters: You are currently within the territorial waters of the United Emirates of Orb. We demand your immediate withdrawal from our waters. Failure to comply will be considered an act of provocation, and we will respond with military force to expel you. Repeat—immediately withdraw from our territorial waters..."
"Damn it! There's no time!"
Immediate withdrawal? Are you kidding me?
From their current position, it would take about ten minutes to exit Orb's territorial waters. Moreover, Orb's escort fleet had brazenly positioned their target at the center—wasn't this a blatant slap in their face?
"Athrun!"
"...Prepare for battle." After a brief hesitation, Athrun weighed all possibilities and quickly made his decision.
"What?"
"Hoh? I'm impressed, Athrun. Never thought you'd show such decisiveness."
Yzak and Dearka agreed with Athrun's call. They had long held a grudge against Orb, especially after their recent covert infiltration was discovered and they were secretly expelled. That humiliation, like charity, had deeply wounded their pride.
"But this could spark an international incident..." Nicol worried.
"Prepare for battle. They won't let us go!" Athrun didn't want to fight Orb either.
Athrun might be naive, but he wasn't stupid!
The expansion of territorial waters, announced publicly via press conference—this was no small matter. Logically, extensive preparations should have been made beforehand. At the very least... PLANT should have been notified in advance. There was no way their current position just happened to fall within the newly claimed waters.
The timing, the location, the target—everything was too coincidental!
In the end, Athrun could only reach one conclusion—the Sleeping Lion had awakened, baring its fangs at them, ready to use them as the heralds of its resurgence.
...
"The ZAFT Forces are moving."
Submarine units were indeed hard to detect, but knowing full well that the ZAFT forces surrounding Orb were submarines, did Yang Hui really have no countermeasures? He had long prepared sonar detection methods and pinpointed every ZAFT unit's location.
"[Stage Operation] has begun. Disperse."
"Roger." x3
Gundam Exia, Gundam Cherudim, and Gundam Virtue broke formation, heading toward three separate directions. Dawn Gundam spread its wings, standing atop the Archangel's deck with arms crossed, like a deity looking down upon mortal beings.
The Archangel had repeatedly attempted to establish communication with Dawn Gundam, but Yang Hui ignored it. This was no longer just about escorting the Archangel out of Orb.
[Stage Operation]—to propel Orb onto the world stage. By leveraging the Archangel's departure and ZAFT's interception attempt, they would manufacture a pretext to strike back at ZAFT, declaring to the world that Orb was no longer a weakling to be bullied at will!
Orb was small, certainly no match for the Earth Alliance or PLANT. But it was not helpless prey. Anyone who dared to bully Orb now would have to be prepared to lose a chunk of flesh!
At a visible distance, the azure sea was tainted by patches of shadows as three Voskugrov-class submarine aircraft carriers surfaced. Their MS catapult decks opened, launching AMF-101 DINNs and GOOhNs into action. Among the aerial DINN formations, four mobile suits—Duel, Buster, Blitz, and Aegis—rode their flight platforms, blending into the sky.
The battle had begun. The incessant comms finally connected, but before Murrue could ask what was happening, Yang Hui directly issued orders to the Archangel: "Archangel, proceed toward Alaska. We'll clear the path for you. Stay out of everything else."
"But—"
Beep—
The call cut off abruptly, leaving Murrue and the others stunned. They had no idea what was going on, but one thing became clear: Orb's fleet wasn't just here to escort them out of Orb.
"Hey, hey, hey! What the hell's going on? When do we sortie?" Mu called the bridge.
Both the Strike Gundam and the two Skygraspers were prepped and ready. They'd braced for a tough fight upon leaving Orb, but despite the tension, no sortie orders had come.
"Looks like... we won't need to sortie after all," Murrue said helplessly.
"What do you mean?"
Murrue gave a bitter smile and shook her head, recounting everything that had just happened before linking the real-time external feed to the three mobile suits' screens.
"This... Hah, quite the parting gift. Makes you wonder how we're ever supposed to repay it," Mu muttered, pulling off his helmet and rubbing his face with a wry chuckle.
"Orb... is joining the fight?" Tolle and Kira, pilots of Skygrasper Unit 2, couldn't believe it—yet the brutal reality was right before their eyes.
Outside the Archangel, the GOOhNs spearheaded the assault, torpedoes locked onto Orb's warships. Just as they were about to fire, alarms blared crimson, a relentless beep-beep-beep filling the air.
"What the— Aah—!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!...
Before the torpedoes could launch, Orb's fleet struck first. A barrage of anti-submarine missiles rained from the sky, diving into the water like fish and striking every target with precision.
The missiles weren't just aimed at the submerged GOOhNs—the airborne DINN squadrons were also targeted. But unlike the disoriented GOOhNs, the DINN units reacted swiftly, countering with scatter shots and machine gun fire to intercept the incoming missiles. Only one or two DINNs slipped through the net, exploding in bright bursts.
"Damn Orb! Attacking without warning—!"
"Take them out!"
Yzak and Dearka were furious, ready to break formation and tear Orb's fleet apart. But Athrun swiftly blocked their path.
"Don't rush ahead!"
"Move, Athrun!"
"Don't lose sight of our real enemy—scatter!"
A relentless stream of pink beams sliced through the air. The three mobile suits barely dodged in time—had they been slower, they'd have been hit.
Yet even as they scattered, the Dawn Gundam's barrage didn't stop. Twin beam submachine guns spat a storm of fire, dense beams raining into the DINN formations. In an instant, four or five brilliant explosions lit up the sky.
The Dawn Gundam spread its wings, flames flickering as it leaped into the air, transforming into a dancing meteor. Its golden radiance once again heralded divine judgment.
"Go, Bit."
"Watch out! It's coming!"
Upon seeing the familiar golden glow, a surge of fear overwhelmed them. The Duel, Buster, Blitz, and Aegis—along with all the DINNs—swiftly retreated, putting distance between themselves and the Dawn Gundam.
But could mere DINNs hope to match the Dawn Gundam's speed? Especially when it was equipped with a nuclear engine and operating at full power.
Gracefully weaving through the crossfire, golden beams scattered like petals. Just by passing nearby, several DINNs were riddled with holes before exploding.
"Damn it! Aahhh!!!"
When fear reached its peak, it erupted into boundless courage. The Duel Gundam emptied its entire ammunition in an instant, drawing its beam saber and charging toward the Dawn.
The pink beam saber clashed against the golden wall formed by the Bits, their collision sending shockwaves rippling outward.
The Dawn Gundam remained unfazed, merely tilting its head slightly to regard the Duel Gundam. With a flick of its wings, it sent the Duel reeling, the pink blade nearly piercing its armor.
"Yzak!"
At that moment, the Blitz Gundam rushed in from the side, shoving the Duel away—only for the razor-sharp blade to plunge into its own right shoulder.
With a twist and upward flick of its wrist, the Blitz Gundam's right arm was severed clean off.
"Nicol!"
The Buster Gundam's covering fire arrived just in time. The Dawn Gundam immediately shielded itself with its wings, the glow of its Bits deflecting the relentless barrage. Golden spheres of light exploded one after another, the tremendous impact forcing the Dawn back.
Seizing the opportunity, the Aegis Gundam moved to the Blitz's side, shielding it as they retreated. Meanwhile, the Duel Gundam snapped out of its daze and followed suit.
"Fall back!"
"Athrun..."
"We can't win this! Retreat!"
Athrun had believed that their near-death experience would prevent them from being instantly defeated by the Dawn Gundam. If the four machines of the Zala Team maintained formation and kept up their suppressive fire, they might have had a chance.
But reality shattered his plans. Yzak's recklessness not only broke their formation and wasted their opportunity but also cost the Blitz Gundam an arm—its most crucial one at that.
Most of the Blitz's weaponry was mounted on its right arm. Without it, the Gleipnir claw anchor on its remaining left arm would be useless against the Dawn.
Their only option now was retreat. Once they left Orb's territorial waters, they'd be safe.
"Damn it! I'm taking it down today!"
Yzak refused to back down, but the Blitz Gundam held the Duel back with its remaining arm.
"Let go of me, Nicol! I'll—"
"Look out! It's coming!"
While the three were entangled in their retreat, the Buster's suppressive fire weakened. The Dawn Gundam surged forward again, streaking toward them like a meteor.
"Athrun! Yzak! Dearka! Get out of here! I'll hold it off!"
"Nicol..."
Ignoring Athrun's protests, the Blitz Gundam charged back toward the Dawn, firing its claw anchor—only for it to be sliced in half the moment it got close.
But the Blitz Gundam refused to give up. The gentle Nicol erupted with unparalleled courage and determination, ignoring the Bit's attacks on his machine. Using the explosions as cover, he closed in on the Dawn Gundam through the dense fire. With his remaining hand, he grabbed the Dawn Gundam's head, igniting his thrusters at full power to drag both mobile suits down into the ocean depths.
Three, two, one—BOOM!
An explosion erupted underwater.
"Nicol!"
"No... way..."
"Damn it!!!!!"
The world seemed to fall silent as the Dawn Gundam and Blitz Gundam sank beneath the waves. The massive explosion left their fates unknown—who had won, who had lost, whether either still lived.
Yzak was consumed by grief and fury. Nicol had been driven to this because of him. He wanted revenge—he wanted to annihilate every Orb warship on the battlefield!
But the Buster Gundam clung tightly to the Duel Gundam, forcibly retreating alongside the Aegis.
"Let me go! Dearka! Let me go!"
"Don't let Nicol's sacrifice be in vain!"
The sharp rebuke shattered Yzak's frenzy, leaving him to pound his console in a
nguish, cursing through tears of regret.
The three machines withdrew, while the few remaining AMF-101 DINNs desperately intercepted the missile barrage, covering the retreat of their three mothership carriers.
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