Chapter 80: SEED—The Burning Desert I
"Protect us! Kill all of them! Hahahaha…"
After Kira Yamato left the room, Flay Allster curled up, tears streaming from her eyes as she broke into maniacal laughter.
Tolle Koenig shivered with goosebumps at the sight, instantly shutting off the video. This woman was just too crazy—he really couldn't stand her.
Meanwhile, the Desert Tiger's forces had already begun their assault on the Archangel.
Three BuCUEs unleashed a barrage of missiles and railgun fire at the ship.
TMF/A-802 BuCUE
Rank: D+
Life: 1400
Energy: 240
Mobility: 90
Armor: 300
Terrain Adaptability: Sea–, Land A, Air–, Space–
Fixed Armament: Dual Beam Sabers (mounted in mouth) ×1 (1600/20)
Optional Armament: 13-tube 400mm Missile Launcher (1000); Twin-barrel 450mm Railgun (1400)
The Archangel could only return fire with its automated point-defense guns and anti-air missiles.
On the bridge, Murrue Ramius, who had been resting, hurried back and asked, "What's the situation?"
The radar operator immediately reported: "First wave of attack: six missiles. We've intercepted them with auto point-defense guns and anti-air missiles. The attack originated from within the shadows—unable to pinpoint exact launch coordinates."
Realizing the enemy's firing position was still unclear, Murrue Ramius immediately shouted:
"Level-One Battle Stations! Engines online! Major Mu La Flaga, Ensign Kira Yamato, and Warrant Officer Tolle Koenig—stand by in your mobile suits! Load anti-beam depth charges, deploy neutron jammers!"
[What's that? Why is Kira Yamato already an Ensign while Tolle Koenig is still just a Warrant Officer? Well, that's because when they rendezvoused with the Eighth Fleet, General Halberton gave everyone a promotion—everyone on the Archangel went up one rank. Unfortunately, Tolle was a prisoner at the time and missed out. His Warrant Officer rank was something Murrue Ramius patched on afterward. After all, mobile suit pilots are basically treated the same as fighter pilots—the lowest officer rank is Ensign. Since he'd officially become a mobile suit pilot, she at least had to give him some recognition, so Warrant Officer was the bare minimum. Pretty reasonable, right?]
Captain Natarle Badgiruel opened the comms to the hangar and asked, "Major La Flaga, can you launch yet?"
Mu La Flaga replied, "Not yet. Still making final adjustments."
"Major La Flaga, please complete them as quickly as possible."
Once the channel closed, Mu turned to Sergeant Murdoch and said, "The situation's critical. At the very least, just get it flight-ready and let me sortie first."
Murdoch objected, "I told you already, this is too reckless. We haven't even finished loading ammo—out there you'd just be a sitting duck!"
Mu looked away helplessly, continuing to adjust his Skygrasper.
From the side, Tolle Koenig asked hesitantly,
"How about I take the Ginn out first, buy some time while you finish adjusting the Skygrasper?"
Murdoch shot back, "You? Out there you'd basically just be a slow-moving target."
"Eh, I'll give it a try. If it doesn't work, I'll just stand on the Archangel's deck and be a turret."
Mu nodded, "Alright. Be careful—watch yourself."
Tolle quickly boarded the Ginn. Unfortunately, the shield-and-sword system still hadn't been modified in, so he only had a standard beam rifle to work with.
Back on the Archangel's bridge, the radar operator reported again: "Three more enemy craft at five o'clock—ZAFT attack helicopters! Missiles incoming! Enemy contact lost again."
"They're using decoys?!" Natarle said in frustration. "Anti-air missiles, intercept them!"
A volley of missiles roared from the Archangel, but they were too late to block the attack. Luckily, those missiles weren't aimed at the ship—they detonated harmlessly in the nearby desert sands.
The three BuCUEs vanished from sight, leaving the attack helicopters to press the assault.
The Ginn launched from the catapult, but the moment it touched the ground, its legs sank deep into the sand, severely hindering mobility. Tolle couldn't even walk properly.
He had no choice but to push the thrusters hard and retreat back onto the Archangel's deck. On the way, he nearly got hit by his own ship's automated point-defense guns.
Luckily, he reacted fast—otherwise, he might have gone down in history as the first isekai pilot to die to friendly fire in a mecha world.
From the deck, the Ginn raised its beam rifle and fired at the helicopters overhead. But just like in the anime, beam rifles on Earth required adjustments to work properly—the accuracy was abysmal. Not a single hit.
Tolle quickly switched to the heavy machine gun and opened fire. By sheer luck, he managed to hit one helicopter after a few bursts. After that, though, he couldn't even graze another. All he could do was hang on and hope Kira Yamato showed up soon.
A few minutes later, Kira finally boarded the Strike Gundam and opened comms to the bridge: "Where are the enemies? Open the hatch—I'm launching."
Natarle responded, "We don't have a clear read on enemy positions or numbers yet. Hold your sortie for now. Warrant Officer Tolle Koenig is already on deck providing defense."
"What are you talking about?! Enough of this—just open the hatch, I'll take them out."
Everyone noticed how strangely rough Kira's tone had suddenly become.
Murrue frowned, clearly displeased, "His tone's not exactly polite, but let him launch. The Archangel can't handle all these scattered attacks, and the Ginn isn't suited for desert combat."
Natarle immediately issued orders: "Tell the Ginn to keep the helicopters at bay as best it can. Open the hatch—let the Strike launch. Ensign Kira Yamato, be mindful of gravity interference upon launch."
Kira nodded and guided the Strike onto the catapult, switching to Launcher equipment before blasting off.
But the moment the Strike touched down, its legs sank deep into the sand. Without any preparation, the entire suit toppled over, instantly becoming target practice for the helicopters.
Watching from the deck, Tolle muttered to himself: thank god I knew about this ahead of time, or I'd be in the same mess as Kira.
Except his Ginn didn't have Phase Shift armor—if he had toppled in the sand too, those helicopters might've already blown him to pieces.
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