The Marasai swung sharply, leaving a luminous arc in the air. It was a clean, almost elegant movement, typical of a pilot with real combat experience. Charlie noticed it instantly.
—Be careful... this guy knows what he's doing,— he warned.
Christopher adjusted the sights on his Nemo, breathing through his mouth to avoid involuntarily pressing the controls.
—I see it, boss. I'm keeping my distance.
The Marasai suddenly accelerated, going from a wide trajectory to a direct collision. Charlie had to cut propulsion and dive to avoid a burst of energy that passed centimeters from the head of the mobile suit.
—Damn it! That shot was meant to kill.
Christopher responded with a quick shot, but the Marasai swerved sideways, barely using his ankle thrusters to dodge. It wasn't a common move: he was a pilot trained for precision duels.
—He's playing with us—Charlie muttered.
The Marasai confirmed it a second later: he fired again, this time not to hit, but to force them both apart. He was forcing the formation to break.
Charlie reacted instantly.
—Chris, don't follow him if he takes you out of your line of sight. This guy wants to isolate us.
-Understood.
The Marasai accelerated again, and this time it went after Christopher.
—He's coming for me!—Chris warned.
The enemy mobile suit descended like a spear, rifle pointed at Nemo's torso. Christopher veered to the left, but the Marasai had already anticipated that direction, adjusted its sights, and fired.
The shot hit the side armor of the Nemo, tearing off an entire panel.
—Agh!—Christopher groaned through gritted teeth. "It hit me... it's not critical, but I lost secondary stabilizer."
Charlie, who had managed to reposition himself, opened fire to force the Marasai to back away.
—Stand back a little, Chris! Don't face it head on!
But the Marasai pilot didn't back down. It was as if he were testing how much they could hold out.
Suddenly, he changed tactics: he holstered his rifle and activated the hip-mounted bazooka. It was too heavy a weapon for such close-quarters mobile combat, but that made him even more dangerous.
—Bazooka! Move!— Charlie shouted.
The shot roared like thunder. Both Nemos threw themselves to the sides. The explosion lit up the sky and kicked up a cloud of dust and metal.
Christopher gasped.
—This guy is crazy.
—Or he's desperate to get to the Albatross— Charlie said. —Which means we have an advantage.
The Marasai reloaded with an expert move.
Charlie took advantage of the moment the enemy looked towards the ship to adjust his tactics.
—Chris, listen carefully. I'll lure him in. You go around to the left. Don't shoot until I tell you to.
Christopher hesitated.
—Boss… if you stay in front—
—There is no alternative. Do it.
Christopher obeyed, propelling his Nemo into a cloud of smoke to hide.
Charlie faced Marasai, lowered his altitude and charged straight ahead, provoking him.
—Come for me, Titan…
The Marasai took the bait. He put away the bazooka, went back to his rifle, and sped off.
The duel was reduced to a straight line: two vehicles closing the distance, both firing bursts that grazed armor and exploded in the air.
Charlie dodged one, two, three shocks. A fourth one hit him on the shoulder, making him spin around.
—Charlie! —Christopher's voice boomed on the channel.
—Don't shoot yet!—he replied.
The Marasai was approaching. The distance was minimal.
The enemy pilot raised his shield and prepared a ramming attack. Charlie saw it coming and waited for the perfect moment—
—Now, Chris! Now!
Christopher emerged from the smoke like a green shadow. He fired relentlessly, striking the Marasai squarely in the shoulder joint, right where it met the shield. The impact ripped the shield off its hinges and sent it reeling.
—Nice shot!— exclaimed Charlie.
But Marasai, far from retreating, accelerated even more.
He pointed it at Christopher.
—Chris, back off! You've made an enemy of him!— Charlie shouted.
The Marasai raised the rifle, pointing it directly at Christopher's Nemo.
—CHRIS, MOVE IT!— roared Charlie.
But Chris had already made his decision.
Instead of retreating, it accelerated forward, straight toward the Dodai Kai that was holding the Marasai in the air. The Titan barely had time to react.
—What are you doing?!—Charlie shouted desperately.
Christopher did not respond.
His Nemo collided with the Dodai, forcing an impossible angle. The enemy pilot tried to stabilize, but it was useless: he was exposed.
Charlie understood instantly.
—Chris… no! Don't do it! DON'T DO IT!
But it was too late.
With a single, precise shot, Charlie destroyed the Dodai Kai.
The explosion swallowed the air around the three vehicles. Marasai's legs were ripped off, the actuators dangling like severed tendons. The thrust vanished. Gravity did the rest.
Without the platform that supported it…
without functional propulsion systems…
The Marasai fell.
And Christopher fell with him.
Both vehicles began spiraling down, locked together. Chris's Nemo had secured the Marasai by the remnants of its shield, using its full weight to prevent the Titan from rejoining the fight.
A suicidal act.
An act that saved everyone.
—CHRISTOPHER!—was Charlie's last cry, choked, broken, piercing through the radio.
The interference started eating away at the signal.
For a second, Chris managed to transmit something. A whisper amidst static.
The Nemo and the Marasai disappeared into the low clouds, falling towards a destination from which no one returns.
Charlie gritted his teeth; his hands trembled on the controls. He knew he couldn't stray. He knew he couldn't follow him.
Finally, before falling, the Marasai's radio crackled to life. A final transmission from someone who had pushed Chris to his limits.
—Nemo unit pilot—His voice sounded young, which perfectly explained his erratic fighting style. —The girl you're taking with you, don't take her into space—
—We'll fall and crash to the ground. Do you really want those to be your last words?— added a wounded Chris.
—Vieru will only bring them death; don't let her reunite with her parents, it's for her own good.—
—Their... parents?— Chris whispered, incredulous.
There was no response.
The two machines crashed brutally into the surface. They bounced once, as if the planet itself refused to receive them, and finally Marasai—by then a burning ruin—exploded in an orange flash that devoured the horizon.
Christopher's Nemo never got up again.