Chapter 33: SEED – Victory
Tolle Koenig, watching the situation unfold, muttered in exasperation.
[No way… Ginn's like this and it can still retreat? Weren't we told that once you blow its head, it can't move?
Didn't they say it clearly—if the main head monitor is destroyed, it's basically blind and can't act recklessly?
And yet it's still moving, and it even knows the direction. This makes no sense at all.
The anime tricked me—Kira, you tricked me. I actually thought it worked just like in the show: blow the head and it's over.
Sigh, what a pity. I was this close to capturing another Ginn.]
He opened comms to the already battle-damaged Mu La Flaga.
"Uncle Mu, head back to the Archangel first. Leave the rest to me."
"I'm counting on you, kid. I'm pulling out."
Mu La Flaga piloted the heavily damaged Moebius Zero back toward the Archangel.
Just then, another Earth Alliance escort ship was destroyed by a ZAFT Ginn.
Watching the fiery blast engulf the ship, Tolle Koenig muttered to himself.
"Sigh… should I save them or not?
If I save them, I'll be disrupting the original plot, and all my advantages will be gone.
If I just watch them die, I'll feel like a cold-blooded bastard.
Ah, whatever—one step at a time. Let nature take its course. George Allster, your luck's your own problem now."
Shaking his head, Tolle piloted the Blitz Ginn at high speed toward the battlefield.
On the way, he took the time to fire another shot at the headless Ginn that was retreating. A beam pierced straight through its cockpit.
As soon as Tolle entered the battlefield, the shocking numbers hit him—forces were at a 2:3 ratio.
Enemy: two Ginns.
Allies: two warships, one Moebius.
He was speechless—one step later, and it would've been 2:0.
The Blitz Ginn raised its right arm, beam rifle mounted on the shield system, and unleashed rapid fire at one of the Ginns.
Caught off guard, the Ginn's cockpit was blown wide open.
The last Ginn charged the Blitz Ginn, firing rockets nonstop and raking heavy machine gun fire with its left hand.
Faced with the relentless assault—and with the Blitz Ginn lacking PS armor—Tolle could only dodge frantically.
It seemed Aegis Gundam had received word, rushing toward the Blitz Ginn, with Strike Gundam hot on its heels.
Seeing on radar that the Aegis was almost upon him, Tolle decided to trade blows, relentlessly firing at the charging Ginn as he closed the distance.
Once in range, he precisely maneuvered and sliced the cockpit open with his beam saber.
But his own Blitz Ginn lost a left leg in the process, its armor riddled with bullet holes.
The Ginn's cockpit was now exposed, and it was clear to the naked eye—the pilot had been killed instantly earlier when shrapnel from the cockpit hatch explosion pierced him.
Tolle finally exhaled in relief, glancing at the last surviving ship.
"George Allster, guess you're lucky—"
Before he could finish, a red beam streaked past him, striking the last Moebius escort of that ship.
Instantly, the Moebius erupted in fire, followed by a massive explosion.
Seeing this, Tolle immediately accelerated away—he had no desire to end up with a beam through his own cockpit courtesy of the Aegis Gundam.
Strike Gundam, seeing the Aegis about to go after the Blitz Ginn, opened fire frantically with its beam rifle.
The Aegis, in MA form, quickly transformed back to MS mode, breaking off pursuit and ignoring Tolle's Blitz Ginn, resuming its deadly "dance" with Kira Yamato's Strike Gundam.
Tolle watched the Aegis depart, letting out a breath of relief tinged with fear.
"Sigh… good thing Athrun's obsessed with Kira and ignored me. Otherwise, I'd have ended up like that Moebius just now—turned into a firework. That was close… too close…"
Before he could even finish sighing, two green beams shot past him, hitting and piercing the last Earth Alliance escort ship.
The two gaping holes in the warship's hull spewed fire, followed by an explosion hundreds of times more brilliant than the Moebius earlier.
Tolle broke into a cold sweat.
"George Allster, don't blame me for not saving you. Your luck just ran out—it's not on me."
Shaking his head to calm himself, he said to Nami,
"Nami, when we get back, erase all the things I muttered earlier from the black box."
"Understood, Master. I'll delete everything perfectly clean—no one will find out about your privacy."
At that moment, the Archangel broadcast a wideband transmission. Natarle Badgiruel's voice came through.
"This is the Earth Federation warship Archangel.
We are currently protecting Lacus Clyne, daughter of Siegel Clyne, Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council."
The moment she spoke, the battlefield fell silent. The ZAFT Nazca-class warship and the Aegis Gundam both ceased fire.
"We discovered her escape pod by chance, and have taken her under our protection from a humanitarian standpoint.
However, if this vessel comes under attack again, we will regard it as abandonment of your responsibility toward Lacus Clyne.
At that point, we will act on this matter at our own discretion.
This is our statement."
Aboard the ZAFT Nazca-class warship, Rau Le Creuset confirmed Lacus Clyne's identity and immediately issued an order.
"All units, cease fire."
On the Archangel's bridge, Natarle turned to Murrue Ramius.
"I cannot allow the Strike Gundam or the Archangel to be sunk here."
Murrue could only respond helplessly.
"Understood, Ensign Natarle Badgiruel."
Natarle barked her next order.
"Someone, escort Miss Lacus Clyne back to her quarters."
…
Hearing Natarle's announcement, Tolle Koenig slumped back in the Blitz Ginn's seat, finally relaxing.
"Sigh… it's finally over. Twice now I almost got wiped out.
Thank goodness I wasn't the target—otherwise I'd have been caught in a sneak attack.
Seems I'm still too green. On the battlefield, I'll need to keep constant watch on my surroundings from now on."
Through his mental link, he instructed Nami to recover the neo DG cells that were still gathering materials nearby—this collection would end here.
Then, Tolle personally gathered up the three Ginns he had shot down, not leaving a single one behind—one in each hand, and one on the claw-anchor—before making a detour back to the Archangel.
But then it hit him—wait a second, wasn't this actually saving ZAFT's Nazca-class warship?
Natarle Badgiruel really counted as a pig-headed teammate this time. In fact, the results here were better than in the anime.
Originally, ZAFT still had two Ginns and an Aegis Gundam left. This time, only the Aegis remained.
What a huge difference.
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