The Atlantic Federation's new model, the Idola Windam, made a stunning debut on the battlefield, with fifteen units shooting down over a hundred enemy Mobile Suits in just a few minutes of all-out firepower.
This achievement greatly pleased Rear Admiral Dres, who declared that the New Misurugi Kingdom wasn't so impressive after all. Once all their new Mobile Suits were fully deployed, he would immediately counterattack and push the frontline back to Orb.
Perhaps he could even rise from where he fell and reclaim Orb to erase the shame of two years ago.
However, Rear Admiral Dres's joy was short-lived. In just a few minutes, bad news would arrive.
Noin's order for the Rezel squad to sortie was issued, and fifty Mobile Suits immediately rose from the rear of the New Misurugi Kingdom fleet, splitting into two groups to carry out their missions.
The thirty Rezels heading to the frontlines were commanded by Salya, as there was no question about who had higher command proficiency between her and Hilda.
The Rezels that Reid had the New Misurugi Kingdom's military factory produce were actually based on the Rezel Commander Type from the Universal Century.
However, as mass-produced units, they couldn't all be commanders, so Reid simply named them Rezels.
Structurally, the New Misurugi Kingdom's military factory followed the provided blueprints exactly, using Minovsky Reactors from a century later in the Universal Century for engines. The materials remained largely unchanged as well - Gundarium Alloy γ manufactured with UC century-later techniques, though with additional anti-beam coating applied over the entire frame.
Additionally, the Mobile Suits were equipped with some special systems.
For instance, Reid installed the Electronic Camouflage System, which had been phased out after becoming known to the public.
Reid also equipped them with the miniaturized Minovsky Flight System from the F91 as special components (all special components were produced by the Star Palace City's indigenous military factory), ensuring the Mobile Suits could maintain prolonged flight in atmospheric environments while in MS form.
As for armaments, Reid made no changes and retained the swapping functionality between the A Equipment Module (equipped with High-Energy Beam Sabers of the same type as the ZZ Gundam, and six disposable Honeycomb Missile Launcher Pods mounted on the back and wings) and the B Equipment Module (featuring an additional thruster component and missile container pods, with two High-Energy MEGA Beam Launchers modified from the Zeta Gundam mounted on the back).
The rest consisted of the Rezel's standard armaments (Beam Rifle, High-Energy Beam Launcher, and a dedicated Shield with built-in small Beam Cannon), though Reid added two Decoy Balloon storage cases at the waist.
Currently, the Rezels heading to the frontlines with Salya and Hilda consisted of ten units with A Equipment Modules and twenty units with B Equipment Modules.
It could only be said that Noin had spent too much time with Reid and had learned his cunning ways.
The pilots she trained, regardless of their individual skills, all adhered to the tactical principles of preferring ambushes over direct confrontations and choosing saturation fire over close-quarters combat.
Therefore, these thirty Rezels, including the twenty that would flank from behind, activated their Electronic Camouflage Systems immediately after taking off, accompanied by a group of Union Flag Automatic Soldiers.
While muzzle flashes couldn't be concealed, and heat signatures would be exposed, this wasn't a problem on this battlefield. Unlike in space or open environments, thermal patterns weren't distinct enough here to clearly identify Mobile Suit models.
Now the battlefield was filled with flames and heat, with mobile suits tangled in chaotic combat. Even if thermal radars detected approaching mobile suit clusters, it was impossible to distinguish whether these were ordinary Union Flags or other models. As long as the numbers weren't drastically off, nobody would bother counting whether thermal signatures matched actual unit counts.
Therefore, even when spotting two custom machines mixed among the Union Flags, the fifteen Idola Windam pilots didn't pay much attention.
These pilots all agreed that mere two custom machines, even equipped with full-coverage lightwave defense systems, would have their defenses overloaded by the firepower of fifteen mobile suits.
So these fifteen pilots unleashed full firepower against the diving Gundam Eclipse and Z Plus Gundam, along with the surrounding Union Flag Automatic Soldiers.
However, just as they swung their gun barrels toward the targets, the pilots suddenly noticed discrepancies in their display readings.
Weren't there only dozens of units diving moments ago? How did it suddenly become hundreds?
This was naturally the tactic Reid had conceived upon first obtaining the decoy balloons - using decoy balloons to trick the Rainbow Cannon's targeting systems.
Though the thirty Rezels remained invisible during their dive, this didn't prevent them from deploying decoy balloons.
After releasing the balloons, the sky suddenly darkened with dense targets. While obviously fake to the naked eye, electronic systems couldn't distinguish them.
Facing this spectacle, the confused Idola Windam pilots naturally opened fire first.
The question is, with random targeting, how much firepower could hundreds of decoy balloons absorb?
The answer is all of it. For automatic targeting systems, at equal distances, systems prioritize targets without high-speed movement because hitting such targets offers higher accuracy.
Therefore, after Salya commanded her units to perform horizontal rolls to maintain distance, all firepower from the fifteen Idola Windams was directed toward the non-maneuvering decoy balloons.
Accounting for multiple locks on the same targets by different units, these hundreds of decoy balloons completely wasted one volley from the Idola Windams. Only a few extremely unlucky Union Flag Automatic Soldiers were struck by beams that penetrated the balloons, offering the fifteen Idola Windams some consolation prizes.
There was no alternative - the Idola Windam's multiple targeting capability relied entirely on the mobile suit's automatic locking system. Pilot intervention would only reduce accuracy.
But the subsequent cannon cooling period proved rather fatal.
Salya ordered all Union Flag Automatic Soldiers to engage the ordinary jet Windams surrounding the fifteen Idola Windams, while all thirty Rezels behind them decloaked.
Ten Rezels equipped with A-packs immediately opened their six honeycomb missile launcher pods, unleashing countless missiles that blanketed the Idola Windams below.
The Idola Windam pilots felt their blood run cold at the missile density. Their mobile suits only had laminated armor - while they might withstand one or two missiles, the countless subsequent ones would inevitably blast them to fragments.
Thus all fifteen Idola Windams reacted identically: textbook shield-raising, rapid retreat, and head Vulcan gun deployment to intercept and prematurely detonate the incoming missiles.
However, this wave of missile attacks was merely a diversion, never intended to actually shoot down these fifteen elite mass-produced units.
The real killing blow came from the twenty Rezels (B-packs) positioned behind the Rezels (A-packs), setting up their guns.
Each of the twenty Rezels (B-packs) carried three High-Energy MEGA Beam Launchers. Of course, there were no sharpshooting geniuses in this unit capable of simultaneously sniping with all three guns.
But everyone here could manage using the two High-Energy MEGA Beam Launchers on the backpack, controlled by the computer for suppression and guidance, while precisely sniping with the one in their hands.
So, in the eyes of these fifteen Idola Windam pilots, even before the smoke from the missile explosions had cleared, someone had already predicted their movements and fired high-energy beams through the smoke, rushing toward them.
At this point, these Idola Windam pilots could only rely on their own skills to evade.
Some Idola Windam pilots prepared to raise their shields and take the hits head-on. While the anti-beam coated spike shields could withstand one or two shots of such high-energy beams, any more would deplete the anti-beam coating on the shields.
Once the anti-beam coating was gone, a mere composite armor plate naturally couldn't withstand the High-Energy MEGA Beams, and one by one, their shields were pierced and their Mobile Suits destroyed.
Still, those using shields lasted the second longest. Those who tried to rely on maneuvering to dodge the beams died the fastest.
The twenty Rezels (B-packs) unleashed sixty deadly beams. Even if some were directed at the shield-bearing units, the remaining units still faced an average of four beams each.
To make matters worse, the ten Rezels (A-pack) pilots, having fired their missiles, weren't just standing idle. Their Mobile Suits also carried High-Energy MEGA Beam Launchers and could snipe as well.
Under such intense firepower, even the most skilled Idola Windam pilot only managed to evade three beams before being hit, transforming into a firework in the sky.
However, three particularly quick-witted Idola Windam pilots managed to survive this wave of deadly beams.
Their method was simple: while using their shields to block damage, they directly plunged from the air into the water.
Once in the sea, the High-Energy MEGA Beams would lose all their energy within less than a meter underwater.
Although the Idola Windam wasn't a dedicated underwater unit and would sink to the bottom upon entering the water, its sealing was excellent, and the water here wasn't too deep. By moving slowly along the seabed toward Hawaii Island, they could survive.
However, these three pilots seemed to have forgotten that the New Misurugi Kingdom had underwater forces.
Jane Houston had actually been piloting the Azure Giraga underwater all along, searching for an opportunity to attack.
But the shallow waters around Hawaii Island were crowded with warships, and every time her unit attempted to advance, they were forced back by countless torpedoes.
For Jane Houston, even if the Azure Giraga could withstand the torpedoes and break through to underneath the Atlantic Federation's fleet, she would likely be killed by the shockwaves by then.
Moreover, breaking through with just one unit would be pointless. The Atlantic Federation's Pacific Force command was on the island, and sinking one forward command ship would be meaningless—they could simply replace it the next second.
Instead, she would then have to face a barrage of depth charges.
So now, the underwater forces' only task was to blockade the seabed, preventing the Atlantic Federation's ships from daring to venture out of the shallow waters freely.
However, just as Jane Houston thought she would only be able to hear the battle from the sea today, three new Atlantic Federation Mobile Suits descended into the water right in front of her.
It wasn't in Jane Houston's nature to let such easy prey slip away, and the Azure Giraga instantly transformed into a shark that had caught the scent of blood.
The moment the three Idola Windams hit the water, their pilots saw a dark shadow flash before them. In the next instant, one of the Idola Windams was pierced through by a Double-Headed Beam Spear.
Then, with a swift tail-whip motion, the Azure Giraga used its tail-mounted Heat Rod to slice another Idola Windam in half at the waist.
As for the last Idola Windam, Jane Houston spared the pilot's life.
After pulling the Beam Spear out of the first unfortunate Mobile Suit, Jane Houston realized that the pilot inside would make a valuable source of intelligence—someone worth taking back for interrogation. Moreover, the new Mobile Suit could also be brought back for analysis.
So, Jane Houston maneuvered the Beam Spear to swiftly disable the Mobile Suit, rendering it a Limbless Suit, and quickly hauled it near the surface to prevent water pressure from damaging the internal components through breached armor.
As for whether the pilot would self-destruct, as a former Atlantic Federation soldier, Jane Houston confidently asserted that it would never happen.
Atlantic Federation MS Pilots were permitted to surrender to the enemy under specific circumstances, a policy that demonstrated the military's emphasis on the lives of its pilots.
However, this also meant that Atlantic Federation MS Pilots rarely fought desperately in hopeless situations.
Of course, exceptions existed—those who harbored deep-seated hatred due to Coordinators deploying Neutron Jammers and destroying their families, or soldiers thoroughly brainwashed by Blue Cosmos ideology. These individuals would fight to the death upon encountering a Coordinator.
Thus, when Jane Houston herself had been captured by Reid, she never even considered self-destruction.
Even though Jane Houston knew she was attractive and feared that poor discipline in the New Misurugi Kingdom military might lead to unpleasant experiences, she clung to the belief that any life was better than a noble death. Perhaps the New Misurugi Kingdom's military discipline was on par with that of the East Asian Republic.
Jane Houston reasoned that if she had felt this way, the pilot of this Mobile Suit wouldn't act impulsively either.
Still, aiming to reassure the pilot, Jane Houston established physical contact and said to the person inside,
"You're lucky. Stay put, and we of the New Misurugi Kingdom military will treat you well as a prisoner."
However, much to Jane Houston's surprise, as soon as she finished speaking, an astonished female voice came from the other side:
"Jane Houston? You're alive? And you've joined the New Misurugi Kingdom military!!"
Hearing this, Jane Houston immediately found the voice familiar.
There weren't many female MS Pilots in the Atlantic Federation who left an impression on her, so Jane Houston quickly realized who she had captured and replied with a bitter smile,
"Rena Imelia… The world is truly small, for us to meet like this."
Rena Imelia, a citizen of the Atlantic Federation, was an ace pilot of the Earth Alliance and also served as an MS instructor for the Alliance forces. The pilots originally designated for the five "G" series Mobile Suits—the Alliance's first MS—were her students.
Jane Houston had come to know Rena Imelia through her ex-boyfriend, Edward Harrelson.
Edward Harrelson and Rena Imelia had briefly served as comrades during the First War. It was during that time when Jane Houston came to visit Edward Harrelson that she became acquainted with Rena Imelia.
In principle, the two women were merely acquaintances rather than close friends.
Thus, Rena Imelia only learned about Jane Houston's MIA status through Edward Harrelson.
Later, when Edward Harrelson chose to fight for the revival of his homeland, the South American Union, he directly became Rena Imelia's enemy.
However, due to Reid's intervention, the original Three Young Aces didn't all perish, and the Dominion wasn't sunk. In this timeline, Rena Imelia never participated in the South American War of Independence, consequently losing all contact with Edward Harrelson. Therefore, she remained unaware that Jane Houston was not only alive but had also joined the New Misurugi Kingdom.
Still, since they were old acquaintances, Rena Imelia decided not to resist anymore—mainly because she couldn't anyway.
Rena Imelia was aware of the reasons behind the New Misurugi Kingdom's declaration of war against the Atlantic Federation. Though unwilling, being captured by the New Misurugi Kingdom didn't drive her to sacrifice her life for the foolish decisions of the Atlantic Federation's upper echelons.
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