Chapter 187: The Machines That Surpasses Gundam (Part 3)
Lady suddenly grabbed Nichol's hand, stopping him from attacking Trowa Being pulled by her like that, Nichol's face instantly filled with bliss. He backed down obediently, saying, "I understand, Colonel."
Tolle, watching this pathetic display, couldn't help but roll his eyes and interjected,
"Alright, enough arguing. Let's just install a remote-controlled self-destruct device and the MD system on the other test machine. That way, it won't attack OZ's facilities.
If that Gundam pilot refuses to cooperate, we can lock the machine so it won't move—or even blow it up if necessary. Problem solved.
And if that's still not enough, we can also plant some remote bombs on the Gundam pilot himself—set so that if anyone tries to tamper with them, they'll automatically detonate. That should be foolproof."
Lady was quite pleased with Tolle's suggestion. Smiling, she said to Trowa, "Trowa Barton, the mission to destroy that Tallgeese is yours. I authorize you to bring that Gundam pilot out and let him pilot the other test machine."
With permission granted, Trowa immediately headed to the cell where Heero was being held and brought him out.
In the hangar, Doctor J looked at Lady, who was admiring the two mobile suits, and asked, "Well? What do you think of the Vayeate and the Mercurius?"
Colonel Lady praised him without hesitation. "They're incredible—as expected from the man who once designed and built the Gundams."
Dr. J adjusted his mechanical glasses with his robotic arm and replied proudly, "It's nothing. For us, this is child's play."
Nichol, looking worried, interjected, "But it's too dangerous—letting that Gundam pilot handle the Mercurius so recklessly…"
From inside the cockpit, Trowa spoke up to defend the plan. "That's exactly why it's fine. OZ should know better than anyone what he's capable of as a pilot."
Colonel Lady was quite satisfied with Trowa's words. She turned to Dr. J and asked, "The Mercurius's self-destruct system—it can be controlled by Trowa's Vayeate, right?"
"Yes, it's been configured as requested."
Lady turned back to Trowa and said, "Trowa, if he shows even the slightest suspicious movement, you'll detonate the Mercurius immediately."
Trowa, speaking with a pointed tone, replied, "It doesn't matter. Back at the Siberia base, he fought Zechs. Now he just wants to settle things once and for all. This time, there won't be any colonies used as shields to interrupt the battle."
Hearing that, Lady frowned, beginning to doubt how he could know about that incident. She asked sharply, "How do you know about that?"
Trowa calmly replied, "Things like that are easy to find out if you're an OZ soldier. Luckily for me, that guy self-destructed back then. Otherwise, I might not be alive right now, up here in the colonies."
Saint Lady's influence over Colonel Lady had been growing stronger, and under her sway, the colonel was easily taken in by Trowa's words. Smiling gratefully, she said, "In that case, I should be thankful to him. Without that, I wouldn't have gained such an excellent subordinate as you."
Standing nearby, Tolle curled his lip and muttered inwardly, Lady, you already have Treize, and now you're keeping Trowa as some kind of lapdog? I misjudged you—you're that kind of woman after all.
(Colonel Lady: It's all Saint Lady's fault. None of this has anything to do with me.)
After Heero launched in the Mercurius, he began testing its performance freely in space. He fired a few test shots with the beam gun, then swung the beam sabers built into the planet-defensor shield in a series of rapid, fluid motions.
From the Vayeate, Trowa asked, "How's it feel?"
"Not bad. It handles about the same as a Gundam."
"Of course it does."
Trowa glanced at a nearby Taurus mobile doll and deliberately hinted, "So, Gundam pilot—how would you go about fighting against MD units?"
Heero immediately lunged toward a nearby Taurus and sliced it cleanly in half with his beam saber, then replied flatly, "First, I'd infiltrate the enemy formation to avoid becoming a target of the MDs' automated attacks."
Then he swung again, destroying another Taurus in a single strike.
Watching Heero's movements, Trowa raised the Vayeate's beam cannon and aimed it at the Mercurius, pretending he was ready to fire. "Don't do anything reckless," he warned. "Otherwise, I'll blow you up right now."
Heero continued expressionlessly, "The MD's weakness is that its performance is standardized—exactly the same as a manned suit in mobility and response time.
So it comes down to whether the human pilot can outperform the machine. For me, a swarm of space mines is more troublesome than a single MD."
Then he raised his beam gun and blasted another Taurus out of existence.
"I don't need MDs. I'll take care of that white suit myself."
Just then, Trowa checked his radar and detected a signal—it was Zechs, piloting the Tallgeese. He said to Heero, "Target acquired. Let the MDs engage first."
Following his command, the remaining dozen or so Taurus mobile dolls charged toward the Tallgeese.
Trowa asked, "What's he doing out here in space?"
Expressionless as ever, Heero replied indifferently, "No idea."
Then he accelerated, piloting the Mercurius straight toward the Tallgeese, with Trowa's Vayeate following close behind.
The Taurus units opened fire first, unleashing a barrage of beam shots at the Tallgeese.
Zechs easily dodged the beams, discarded the auxiliary thrusters from his suit, and weaved through the crossfire while returning fire with his Dober Gun.
But the Taurus units were agile as well, skillfully avoiding his shots. After several exchanges, Zechs realized his reactions were just a little slower than theirs.
He quickly adjusted, darting around to match the MDs' response speed.
After a few maneuvers, he finally adapted to their movements and, closing the distance, destroyed three MD units in rapid succession.
Just as Zechs finished off the last Taurus and was catching his breath, Heero's Mercurius came slashing toward him with a beam saber.
Zechs immediately pulled back, trying to gain distance, and was just about to counterattack with his Dober Gun when a sudden yellow beam cannon blast streaked past him.
Luckily, Trowa hadn't aimed directly at him—Zechs easily evaded it. However, the three Taurus units behind him were completely obliterated by that shot.