Chapter 98: SEED – A Temporary Calm 3
Tolle Koenig glanced at those watching the training simulators, trying to break the awkwardness as he spoke.
"Ah! My score's been beaten—was that just now by Cagalli? Sigh, looks like I'll have to push harder and take back my rank."
The helmsman nearby, overhearing Tolle Koenig's words, said helplessly, "This isn't an arcade machine, you know."
Rank crushes reason—the higher the rank, the greater the authority. With no choice, Tolle Koenig had to put on a serious face and reply,
"Understood. I'll treat this as live combat and take it seriously."
"That's more like it. If you get shot down and fail to surpass your previous score, then you won't be getting dinner tonight."
"Don't worry, I'll definitely beat my record."
Miriallia Haw, standing close by, also cheered him on. "You can do it, Tolle, you'll be fine!"
Cagalli Yula Athha walked up to the Skygrasper, wanting to take a closer look, but was stopped by the maintenance crew.
Left with no choice, Cagalli returned to the simulators and watched Tolle Koenig continue his training.
Tolle's piloting was smooth and fluid, and compared to her earlier clumsy flying, he swiftly wiped out the Ginns on the screen.
It didn't take long before Tolle overtook Cagalli's score, stabilizing at 25 million points.
It wasn't that Tolle Koenig wasn't working hard—it was just that he'd been distracted by Kira Yamato.
While idly flying the simulator, he happened to peek at Kira's screen and saw that the guy was once again with Flay Allster, starting another round of their silent war.
Tolle really felt envy, jealousy, and bitterness!
Although Kira Yamato and Flay Allster exercised some restraint—only easing their tension every few days—Tolle figured Flay was doing it to make sure Kira had enough stamina to keep piloting the Strike Gundam in battle.
Ever since Tolle had stopped Sai Argyle from clashing with Kira, it seemed Kira and Flay had been getting along better and better.
But as for him and Miriallia Haw—ever since they boarded the Archangel, months had gone by without any release. At best, they occasionally shared a kiss.
The frustration kept piling up, no wonder he was becoming more and more pervy lately.
It had to be because of the lack of release—yes, that had to be it.
Meanwhile, seeing Tolle Koenig's score surpass her own, Cagalli Yula Athha couldn't help feeling a little dissatisfied.
She sat down at the simulator next to his and said,
"Tolle, let's have a match. Let's go into versus mode and see who shoots down the other first!"
Seeing the wild girl's challenge, Tolle shook his head and refused.
"No way. It's break time, I'd rather spend it with my girlfriend, Miriallia."
"Pfft, win and then run off? Coward. Spineless."
Although Cagalli muttered it under her breath, Miriallia Haw still caught it.
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she bristled, snapping back at Cagalli.
"Tolle defeated the Blitz Gundam twice before using only a Moebius and a Ginn! He just doesn't want to bully you."
Then she turned to Tolle Koenig.
"Tolle, go duel her! Show her how strong you really are and make her admit it!"
With no choice, Tolle reluctantly nodded in agreement. He'd wanted to avoid this Cagalli—this Miss Hotheaded No-Brains—but somehow he could never dodge her.
Sure, when she wore a dress and kept quiet, she looked pretty good. But that was only when she wasn't talking. The problem was, she never stopped talking!
And so the two began a head-to-head match. In the first round, faced with Cagalli's barrage, Tolle Koenig relied on the advanced skills he'd honed piloting the VF-1SS, dodging every attack with ease.
Cagalli, unwilling to give in, kept pouring fire on him—main guns, beam cannons, missiles—spraying them like they cost nothing.
Unfortunately, her Skygrasper ran out of ammunition before long, while Tolle hadn't fired a single shot. Finally, with one precise blast from his beam rifle, he destroyed her.
In the second round, Cagalli tried conserving ammo, chasing Tolle doggedly and only firing in bursts.
But Tolle still gave her no chance. With a mid-air spin, he got behind her Skygrasper and unleashed a full volley, securing the second win.
By the third round, Cagalli had learned a little. She stopped doggedly tailing Tolle and instead kept her distance, attacking him from range.
The two traded shots, dodging each other's fire, locked in a stalemate. Finally, in a passing maneuver, Tolle maneuvered his Skygrasper directly above hers, nudged her with a light bump, and sent her spiraling downward.
Seizing the chance, he fired off two missiles to finish her, claiming victory once again.
As expected, the result was 3–0. Tolle Koenig won handily.
Without even looking back, Tolle Koenig immediately grabbed Miriallia Haw and walked off.
Cagalli—Miss No-Brains, Hotheaded, and Never-Happy—was definitely improving fast. If he stayed any longer and kept playing, there was a real chance she might actually beat him.
Better to retreat while ahead. Besides, if he didn't leave now, Murdoch would probably drag him off to work on MS maintenance again.
He'd just snuck in a bit of rest earlier, so it was best to run while he still could. A little more playtime was better than none.
That left only Cagalli Yula Athha, sitting dazed in her simulator.
Still unwilling to lose, she dove right back into solo training, determined to one day defeat Tolle and take her revenge.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, the Desert Tiger—Andrew Waltfeld—was already submitting requests to his superiors for reinforcements, beginning troop mobilization in preparation for an all-out assault on the Archangel.
Not long after landing on Earth, Yzak Joule and Dearka Elsman had their units fully repaired.
But with supplies at ZAFT's Carpentaria base running short, the two were temporarily assigned to Andrew Waltfeld's forces.
Along with them came large numbers of desert-specialized long-range heavy artillery mobile suits: the BuCUE Desert Type, as well as the Desert Tiger's personal unit: the LaGOWE.
LaGOWE
Rank: D+ Mobile Suit
HP: 1600
EN: 240
Mobility: 100
Armor: 300
Terrain Adaptability: Sea – , Land A, Air –, Space –
Fixed Armaments: Dual Beam Sabers (1800/20); Twin Beam Cannons (Back-mounted, 1600/20)
BuCUE (Desert Type)
Rank: D Mobile Suit
HP: 1800
EN: 250
Mobility: 40
Armor: 320
Terrain Adaptability: Sea –, Land B, Air –, Space –
Fixed Armaments: Twin Shoulder Beam Cannons x2 (1800/20); Quad Vulcan Guns (500); Twin Arm Cannons (1400)
Optional Hand Armament: Heavy Machine Gun (600)
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