The Coordinators possessed courage.
However, their current courage seemed more like desperate valor born from being cornered.
After all, the Allied Forces' Naturals were poised to launch a massive counteroffensive imminently.
Seventy percent of their mobile forces had been lost in the Alaska campaign.
It was crucial to remember that expanding PLANT's military required time, and round-the-clock production of weapons and equipment also demanded time.
Another critical point was that the Coordinator population had always been their Achilles' heel.
Previously, ZAFT Forces had already lowered the recruitment age to an inhumane level.
A single major defeat had left every household in PLANT mourning.
This demonstrated just how strained Coordinator human resources had become.
Even though the average Coordinator's capabilities surpassed those of Naturals, many soldiers represented the future of the Coordinators themselves!
Thus, the all-out attack on the two spaceports under Allied Forces control became an unavoidable necessity.
Only through victory could Coordinators buy the precious time they needed to survive.
And with time came more opportunities!
Of course, Patrick, the current leader of the Coordinators, wasn't acting without strategy.
Even though attacking the Allied Forces' spaceports was a last resort...
"Heh heh heh."
Atlantic Federation Army soldiers hidden near the Panama Spaceport watched as ZAFT Forces' Mobile Suits repeated their old tactic of descending from the sky.
Countless well-prepared soldiers wore pleased smiles on their faces.
As the old saying goes, "After three days apart, view someone with new eyes."
The Atlantic Federation Army today was completely different from before.
Deployed here were the absolute elites of the Atlantic Federation Army, including not only mass-produced Strike Daggers.
But also 30 authentic Daggers reserved for aces only, equipped with Strike Gundam Striker Packs.
Watching the Coordinators enter the battlefield, although the proportion of new-model Qilin units among the enemy forces had significantly increased.
Most Atlantic Federation Army soldiers didn't believe they would lose this time.
Without claiming absolute advantage, they were confident of victory.
"Open fire!"
Immediately coordinating with the dense anti-air defenses deployed inside the spaceport.
When Coordinator soldiers who had evaded the anti-air firepower landed on the ground.
The well-rested Atlantic Federation soldiers launched their ambush.
"So the Atlantic Federation has formed organized MS units too."
The ambushed Coordinator soldiers weren't surprised, especially since the East Asian Federation had already set the precedent.
This saved them the trouble of adjusting to the fact that their enemies now also possessed Mobile Suits.
Leading with Qilin units, the Coordinator soldiers understood that this battle would determine PLANT's very survival.
Thus every Coordinator soldier fought with desperate, life-risking bravery.
The battlefield situation escalated to white-hot intensity from the very beginning.
However, even though ZAFT Forces had selected only the best soldiers for this mission.
They still couldn't match the numerically superior Atlantic Federation Army.
Forget about advancing their battle lines.
Even the initial advantage gained through surprise attacks was gradually being lost.
After all, to reestablish its authority, Azrael had invested heavily in Panama!
Moreover, to demonstrate his commitment, Azrael was now personally stationed at the Panama Spaceport, acting as a military supervisor.
Satisfied with the battlefield situation map, Azrael regained some of his arrogance due to the efforts of his soldiers.
He brushed off the frustration of having been overshadowed by the East Asian Army earlier.
"Indeed, our loyal and brave Atlantic Federation Army soldiers are quite capable."
"As long as we have suitable weapons and the OS developed through the collective efforts of countless people."
"Whether it's the Coordinators or the East Asian Army, this world ultimately belongs to us!"
Azrael stood with his hands behind his back, addressing the numerous high-ranking officials of the Federation Army behind him.
Naturally, these Federation officials enthusiastically flattered him in return.
But before Azrael could fully relish the praise from those around him, the situation on the battlefield suddenly changed.
As mentioned earlier, the ZAFT Forces' invasion of the Allied Forces' Space Launch Site was a life-or-death battle.
Since they had taken action, it was only natural that they had prepared secret weapons.
Just as in history, the more perilous the situation, the more various weapons would be deployed in the war.
Right before Azrael's eyes, a section of the Federation Army's defense line was breached by Coordinator soldiers, as clearly shown on the real-time battlefield situation map.
Moreover, the breach showed signs of widening.
Through that breach, ZAFT Forces poured in relentlessly.
"What is going on?"
Furious and exasperated, Azrael's face flushed with a mix of emotions, as if a pot had boiled over.
Just moments ago, he had believed the overall situation was settled and victory in this battle was within grasp. Who would have thought the reversal would come so swiftly!
"Dearka! Don't hold back on firepower—our Mobile Suits are different now!"
Shifting the focus to the breach, it turned out that the Coordinators were able to tear through the Federation Army's defense line entirely due to the efforts of Yzak and Dearka.
Having not participated in the Alaska campaign and concluding their pursuit of the Archangel after the Strike Gundam was shot down, the team originally led by Athrun in another timeline—now Nicol's team in this world—was recalled to PLANT.
In light of the tense situation, Patrick, to enhance combat capabilities, had not only prepared the three nuclear-powered Mobile Suits—the Freedom Gundam, Justice Gundam, and Destiny Gundam—but also specially modified and strengthened the three remaining Gundams captured from the Allied Forces.
If not for the incident with the Freedom Gundam, the Duel Gundam and others would not only have undergone nuclear power modifications but would have been further enhanced in performance.
Even with just the energy system converted to nuclear power, while the Duel Gundam might not have changed much, Dearka's Buster Gundam was a different story!
With an almost limitless energy output and several Mobile Suits dedicated to carrying spare Beam Heavy Cannons for replacement, the Buster Gundam now stood out as the most dazzling presence on the battlefield.
Holding his Beam Cannon, Dearka demonstrated what it meant to be a stationary artillery turret, delivering relentless firepower.
"Watch this! Yzak, you just need to cover me."
Working in perfect sync with his old friend, Yzak piloted the Duel Gundam to block the front, intercepting all enemies attempting to threaten Dearka's Buster Gundam.
And Dearka?
He aimed at densely concentrated areas of the Allied Forces and unleashed a sustained Beam Torrent right over their heads.
Relying on the robust power of the nuclear energy system, his machine withstood the recoil while he directed several Mobile Suits to rotate the Buster Gundam, creating a fan-shaped destructive zone.
Wherever the Buster Gundam's Beam Torrent swept through, nothing was left alive—utter desolation.
It was through such tactics that Dearka and the others managed to advance smoothly in their assault!
"Well done."
Witnessing his friend's display of power, Yzak cheered aloud.
The defeat in the Alaska battle had left a burning frustration in his heart, especially since two others had received new equipment while he was left with none. This made him, who had never considered himself inferior to anyone, feel intensely unbalanced.
"Even with old equipment, I'll achieve greater merits than you!"
Shouting fervently, Yzak fought fiercely on the battlefield, channeling his frustration into motivation as he took on countless enemies single-handedly.
"Oh, are those the two machines?"
Suddenly, a young voice came through the public comms, followed by five or six Beam Cannon shots from the sky, rivaling the Buster Gundam's firepower.
"What?"
Yzak, highly focused, dodged just in time.
"Dearka!" Amid the chaos, he didn't forget his friend who was still unleashing heavy fire.
"I'm fine!"
At the critical moment, the energy cannon in Dearka's hands happened to overload.
At that instant, Dearka was taking a spare energy cannon from a nearby comrade, so he remained unharmed.
"Good."
Letting out a sigh of relief, Yzak finally had a moment to look up at the sky—the origin of the earlier Beam Cannon attacks.
There, he saw a hawk-like, reddish-brown machine carrying a pale blue machine on its back, the latter equipped with two shoulder-mounted energy cannons and a rocket launcher in hand.
"New Gundams?"
Just by looking, Yzak could tell they were formidable opponents, likely similar to the machines he and his comrades had seized—Gundams!
"But don't think just because you're Gundams, you can beat us!"
Relying on the power from the nuclear energy system, the Duel Gundam leaped high, its rear thrusters operating at full capacity, granting it short-distance gliding ability. Yzak raised his gun, aiming at the cannon-laden Gundam perched on the hawk-like machine's back.
"Orga, get down now!"
From within the hawk-like machine—the Allied Forces' Raider Gundam—Clotho executed a swift flip.
With practiced coordination, he flung down the target Yzak had chosen from his back.
Originally, Yzak had planned a feint attack on the cannon-covered Gundam, intending to target the hawk-like machine first—aiming for the carrier before the rider.
However, he hadn't expected the two opposing machines to show such a lack of cooperative awareness between partners.
The moment Yzak raised his gun, the hawk-like machine had already tossed off the cannon-laden one.
"Clotho, you bastard."
Inside the cockpit of the cannon-covered machine—the Calamity Gundam, piloted by Orga, one of the world's first enhanced humans among the three—Orga cursed at the other.
Relying on their tacit understanding and his own exceptional piloting skills, he managed the situation.
Swiftly adjusting the mobile suit's posture, the Calamity Gundam landed steadily on the ground.
"Huh?"
Yzak truly hadn't expected this to happen. While he and his teammates sometimes argued—especially with Athrun—at most he would simply refuse to cooperate with Athrun on the battlefield. He would never do something that resembled betraying a teammate.
Momentarily stunned, his original plan was disrupted, forcing him to fire a few random shots at the Raider Gundam.
"Where are you aiming?"
Inside the Raider Gundam, Clotho chuckled and extended two mechanical claws toward the descending Yzak.
"Yzak!"
Dearka on the ground provided timely rescue, having already loaded a new energy cannon.
He fired several shots directly at the Raider Gundam, which was diving toward his friend.
"Tch."
Clotho had no intention of sacrificing himself for the Allied Forces' cause, so he immediately changed direction.
He evaded the Buster Gundam's attack.
"Orga." Clotho called his companion's name from the cockpit.
"Haha, idiot."
While delighted to see his companion in trouble, Orga knew he couldn't let the rear supervisors see him wasting such a perfect opportunity, or he'd face consequences.
He raised the Beam Cannon on his shoulder and the rocket launcher in his hand, firing at the Buster Gundam whose movements had become predictable.
"How could you possibly hit me?"
Having been rigorously trained by Wang Hu during the pursuit of the Archangel, Dearka wouldn't fall for such straightforward attacks.
He even had the leisure to tell his nearby subordinate to retreat with him.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The Calamity Gundam's bombardment hit nothing but air, only destroying a large section of forest and empty ground.
"Yzak, be careful of the enemies. They give me an unusual feeling."
Though he had dodged the attack, Dearka didn't underestimate his opponents and warned his friend.
"Dearka, you're the one who needs to be careful! Dodge!"
However, just as he was warning his friend, Dearka's pupils contracted violently at his friend's counter-warning.
He saw a flash of silvery crescent moon!
(End of Chapter)