“Um, Assistant Vance.”
While Murrue Ramius and Mechanical Cat Bao Bao were taking Kira’s friends to find the Archangel, Kira had finally finished reorganizing the Strike Gundam’s OS System using the USB drive Leon Vance had given him.
“I’ve finished reorganizing the OS System.”
Kira poked his head out of the Strike Gundam’s cockpit, looked around, and spotted Leon Vance sitting at the hatch of the Sky Raider Gundam’s cockpit.
He called out loudly.
“Mhm, Kira, there’s still some time.
Could you try to get the Strike Gundam’s OS System running?”
Leon Vance reached out and tossed a bottle of drinking water to Kira.
The latter caught it precisely, looking somewhat puzzled.
“Assistant Vance, this is military equipment, right?
Am I allowed to pilot it?”
Leon Vance smiled and pointed to where Kira was currently sitting.
“Weren’t you just working on it?
You were the one reorganizing the Strike Gundam’s OS System.
What?
Haven’t you realized it yet?”
Kira was taken aback, then fell silent.
In fact, while following Leon Vance’s instructions to reorganize the Strike Gundam’s OS System, Kira had noticed that the OS System used by the Strike Gundam was almost identical to the assignments Professor Kato had given him, or the programs he’d been asked to help write.
Comparing the two, the only difference was that the system on the Strike Gundam side had many traces of being deliberately pieced together, making it seem particularly messy.
Kira placed the water bottle beside him, gradually becoming somewhat dejected.
“Assistant Vance, are you saying I’ve been involved in a secret military project from the very beginning?”
“No!
You’re just an unwitting person dragged into this by an incompetent Professor Kato.
Don’t worry about it.”
Leon Vance waved his hand dismissively, then reached out and patted the cockpit hatch beneath him.
“See, thanks to the original program you provided, this guy was able to repel ZAFT, wasn’t it?”
Hearing this, Kira nodded silently.
Then, he gradually understood Leon Vance’s meaning.
“Assistant Vance, you want me to pilot this X-105 Strike into combat?”
“No.
You just need to get it moving.
Even if it’s just running around with the Phase Shift Armor activated, that’s fine.”
According to his plan, Kira and the Strike Gundam only needed to play the role of a highly conspicuous presence, wandering around the periphery of the battlefield.
“Just get it moving?
To draw away ZAFT’s forces?”
Kira was very smart and immediately grasped Leon Vance’s intent.
“Yes.
As long as you can draw away part of ZAFT’s forces, the rest can be handled by the Sky Raider Gundam’s Leaf-Wheel Blades.”
Leon Vance raised his hand and pointed to the two rows of special armaments on the back of the Sky Raider Gundam.
Leaf-Wheel Blades.
This was a special armament Leon Vance had specifically developed after learning he could obtain the special ability of spatial and mental perception through the system’s calculations.
Although this special armament differed from the Funnels in Leon Vance’s memory, it possessed more bizarre and deceptive offensive methods.
The reason it had managed to destroy that GINN in one go earlier was thanks to the powerful advantage brought by the Leaf-Wheel Blades’ unpredictable attack trajectories.
Perhaps some people still had questions.
But just mentioning one name might make it clear.
The prototype for the Leaf-Wheel Blades that Leon Vance mentioned came from the basic armament of the protagonist unit in Super Robot Wars 30—the Leaping Slash Blades.
After confirming that he would gain the special abilities of spatial and psychic perception, Leon Vance did indeed consider the Funnel as an option at first.
However, after calming down, he ultimately chose to use the Leaping Slash Blades from the Super Robot Wars 30 protagonist unit as the prototype to design a new weapon for his own Mobile Suit.
Thus, the Leaf-Wheel Blades were born.
“Leaf-Wheel Blades?”
During the previous battle, Kira had also noticed the existence of the Leaf-Wheel Blades.
However, like Miguel and Athrun, he was deceived by the appearance of the Leaf-Wheel Blades and instinctively mistook them for boomerangs.
Little did he expect that this seemingly boomerang-like special weapon possessed the eerie ability to move and attack autonomously.
After pondering for a moment, a light gradually shone in Kira’s eyes.
He seemed to understand why Leon Vance had asked him to pilot the Strike Gundam and keep moving.
The reason likely lay with the Leaf-Wheel Blades.
“Assistant Instructor Vance, I’ll do my best to cover you.”
“Mm, I’m counting on you.”
Leon Vance nodded in thanks and said nothing more.
Kira was a smart person.
With the right hints, he would always figure out the correct answer.
However, it was unclear just how many forces Rau Le Creuset would deploy.
Judging from the original timeline’s development, Rau Le Creuset should have led a Mobile Suit squad to attack.
But based on the brief skirmish earlier, Rau Le Creuset likely wouldn’t be so careless as to launch an attack with just a single Mobile Suit squad.
“Have we contacted everyone?”
Rau Le Creuset crossed his arms, gazing at the photo of Heliopolis on the tactical platform, and casually asked his adjutant, Adess.
After concluding the meeting with the young pilots, he had instructed Adess to contact as many nearby allied forces as possible to seek assistance.
The nearest teams, the Anas Squad and the Silent Giant Squad, have responded and will arrive here within a few hours to support us.”
Adess replied loudly.
“Good!
Although it’s frustrating to share the credit with them, during that brief skirmish earlier, I could sense the terrifying power contained within that Mobile Suit.
Especially that bizarre weapon…”
Rau Le Creuset’s eyes, hidden behind his mask, gradually narrowed.
“If we allow it to return to Earth, the consequences could be unimaginable.”
Hearing Rau Le Creuset say this, Adess asked in surprise.
“Captain Le Creuset, is it really that serious?
Can a single Mobile Suit match the combat power of three fleets?”
Rau Le Creuset saw Adess’s incredulous expression and sneered.
“Hard to believe, isn’t it, Adess?
Think back!
Before our ZAFT GINNs were deployed, did anyone ever imagine that the weak PLANT would possess the power to resist the Earth Alliance?”
“This…”
Adess was momentarily speechless.
“Indeed.
I admit it’s a difficult thing to believe.
You must understand that it was the revolutionary Mobile Suit, the GINN, that allowed us to break the longstanding deadlock, successfully turn the tide, and force the Earth Alliance to take PLANT’s voice seriously.”
Rau Le Creuset’s voice was piercing, making Adess’s head buzz.
“If we, who were weak back then, could accomplish this, why can’t the Earth Alliance—far more powerful, with greater territory, resources, and population than our PLANT—do the same?”
Rau Le Creuset extended a finger, pointing toward Heliopolis, his voice gradually turning cold.
“No!
They have already done it!
That Mobile Suit is the key to the Earth Alliance defeating us, ZAFT!
Therefore, we must keep it here!!
Even if it means destroying Heliopolis, we will not hesitate!”
[Alert!
Rau Le Creuset is assembling a fleet with the intent to destroy Heliopolis, aiming to completely eliminate the Archangel, the Strike Gundam, and the Sky Raider Gundam!
Please respond promptly!
This alert is an emergency event, and corresponding rewards will be granted based on the final outcome!
Trailblazer, act cautiously and preserve yourself as much as possible!!]