Boom!
The Sassari slammed directly into two aircraft carriers that were only slightly smaller than itself. External armor plates sheared off and fell away as Mikazuki Augus drew his Sword Mace, sweeping a nearby GINN out of the sky. In a fluid motion, he spun and leaped, kicking another GINN aside before finishing it off with a blast from his mortar.
"Eight... no, eighteen Mono-eyes left..."
And that was only in the immediate sea. There were likely nearly a hundred Mobile Suits scattered across the islands of Alaska. It was clear that ZAFT had deployed its entire combat strength to decapitate the Earth Alliance high command.
"Forget it. The priority now is protecting the Archangel. The Cyclops System..."
Mikazuki glanced down at the data on the Cyclops System that Orga Itsuka had sent to his monitors.
"A ten-kilometer radius? We're cutting it close... but it's enough."
"Attention ZAFT and Earth Alliance forces! The Alaska base is about to activate the Cyclops System self-destruct! All units, cease fire and withdraw immediately!"
A voice suddenly crackled over the public comms, causing Mikazuki and everyone else on the battlefield to freeze for a split second.
"Kira?"
At the helm of his ship, Orga Itsuka let out a chuckle.
"Kira Yamato, huh? Mika, this friend of yours is quite the character. He refuses to aim for the cockpits when he fights, and now he's giving warnings to both sides. I can't tell if he's stupid or just incredibly naive."
"Both, probably," Mikazuki replied indifferently. "Judging by his tone, he's finally set foot on the path he chose for himself. Let him be."
Orga paused, his expression shifting to one of helpless amusement.
"Fair enough. But we should get him to evacuate regardless. The obstacles ahead are cleared; it's time for us to make our escape too. Honestly, the durability of this ship exceeded my expectations. Even after those collisions, it only lost a few armor plates. Nothing vital is broken. Maybe we don't have to scrap it after all."
"Is that so?"
Hearing this, Mikazuki detached from the Sassari. Taking to the air, he made short work of the two GINNs that were relentlessly pursuing the Archangel.
Inside the bridge of the Archangel, Sai Argyle stared at the thermal signature on his CIC monitor and screamed, "The Cyclops System has been activated!"
Murrue Ramius shouted instinctively, "Maximum flank speed! Evacuate the area immediately!"
Barbatos landed firmly on the Archangel's central deck. Facing the bridge, Mikazuki shouldered his Sword Mace. Inside the cockpit, he popped a Mars Palm into his mouth and spoke calmly.
"Don't worry. We've already cleared the blast radius. We're safe."
Starting from the very center of Alaska, a transparent, crimson hemisphere rose and began to expand rapidly.
The cities on land, the ZAFT Mobile Suits, the bodies of Alliance soldiers and civilians all were incinerated by the energy reaction, reduced to a fine bloody mist. It wasn't just the land; the energy tore through the surrounding waters, vaporizing the ZAFT carriers and warships that had drawn too close. In the blink of an eye, the ZAFT forces that had been deployed in full force were cut down by more than half.
The crew of the successfully escaped Archangel looked back with lingering fear at the hellscape behind them. It was only thanks to the timely arrival of Mikazuki and Orga that they had made it. Otherwise, the Archangel would never have broken free from ZAFT's encirclement, and they would have shared the fate of the ZAFT soldiers in the lower levels of the Alaska base frozen in a deathly struggle.
"ZAFT took a heavy loss this time. Well, not that it has anything to do with us," Orga remarked with a touch of schadenfreude. To him, the death toll didn't matter. They weren't family or friends, so why bother feeling sorry for them?
Mikazuki felt exactly the same way. "Mmm. Can your ship still move?"
"Yeah, but not very far. I'll have to set it down soon."
Mikazuki noticed the guidance lights appearing on the deck. There was an island ahead, likely the place where they intended to stop for a brief rest and repairs. He steered Barbatos off the central deck and muttered a single word.
"Orb."
Orga's voice was filled with confusion. "Huh? How did you know?"
"A feeling. Besides, the Orb Union is the closest territory. Given the Archangel's condition, there's nowhere else they could possibly go."
"True. For the Archangel, it's the only viable option. However... will Orb allow them to enter?"
"They will. If it's that Bearded Uncle we're talking about..."
Landing a step ahead of the Archangel, the Sassari and Mikazuki's Barbatos touched down on the island. Mikazuki deactivated the Alaya-Vijnana System, and his vision immediately went half-dark again.
"It really is better when I can see with both eyes. Oh well, it's about the same as being plugged into Barbatos..."
Muttering to himself, he raised the cockpit hatch. He could hear the low rumble of the Archangel as it began its descent.
Ten minutes later.
The Archangel landed, and its exit ramp hissed open. Murrue Ramius led the crew as they rushed off the ship. Looking up, they saw Barbatos standing tall on a high ridge, Sword Mace in hand. It looked like a proud, solitary wolf standing guard, watching them with a cold, otherworldly gaze.
"Mika!"
Murrue spotted Mikazuki jumping down from Barbatos and ran toward him.
The moment he landed, Mikazuki was caught in a soft embrace. His face was buried between two ample mounds, and that familiar feeling of suffocation returned.
Do all women like doing this? I can't breathe... but Murrue smells nice. It's a bit different from Lacus.
It wasn't until Mu La Flaga, Kira, and the rest of the crew caught up that Murrue finally let him go. Her eyes were brimming with tears as she looked at him.
"Ever since you went missing, I've been so worried. Where on earth did you go?"
"Ah, it's a long story... I'll let Orga explain it to you."
Before Kira and the others could hear what Murrue and Mika were saying, a sharp shout cut through the air.
"Mika! You idiot, you're dumping all the trouble on me again!"
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