Chapter 186: The Machines That Surpasses Gundam (Part 2)
Standing behind Lady Une, Trowa, wanting to make his presence felt, said coolly, "These two Mobile Suits seem to be built even better than a Gundam. That's something to look forward to."
Lady Une glanced at Trowa, looking pleased, and asked, "How are things progressing?"
Dr. J replied, "Mercurius is about eighty percent complete. Vayeate is roughly fifty percent finished."
Lady Une looked at the two machines—completely different in color and design—and asked curiously, "Why develop two different models?"
Dr. J answered proudly, "These two MS were designed to explore what would happen if we pushed the two basic aspects of Mobile Suit combat—attack and defense—to their absolute limits. That was the concept behind their creation."
Dr. G continued, "Vayeate was built to carry the largest beam cannon possible while still maintaining normal mobility.
Mercurius, on the other hand, possesses a defensive shield capable of withstanding that same beam cannon's attack."
Lady Une asked, "If these two MS were to fight each other, who would win?"
"That, of course, depends on the skill of the pilot," Dr. J replied. "The one with the superior pilot will win."
Trowa, eager to speak again, said seriously, "Competing over Mobile Suit performance is meaningless. You mean its value is determined by the ability of its pilot, right?"
"As expected from an OZ-recommended pilot," Dr. J said approvingly. "You're sharp—exactly right."
Nichol, standing nearby, was annoyed that Trowa had spoken up before he had a chance to say anything himself. Watching Trowa show off in front of Lady Une first made him jealous. He snapped, "Trowa, shut your mouth. This isn't—"
Lady Une cut him off calmly, "It's fine. He's going to be piloting one of these soon. I'll allow his questions."
Nichol could only obey and stay silent. Dr. S deliberately changed the subject, asking Dr. J, "So what kind of test are we running today?"
Dr. J replied, "We're testing Mercurius's defensive system—a newly developed electromagnetic barrier that disperses incoming beam attacks."
Trowa asked, "And what about Vayeate?"
"As for Vayeate… it's not finished yet, and its power system hasn't been charged."
At that moment, Vayeate's upper body suddenly powered on; its main monitor lit up, and the machine trembled slightly. Dr. J looked at it in confusion and asked, "What's going on? Vayeate's moving?"
Heero, who had been hiding inside Vayeate all along, activated the generator in its back and aimed the beam cannon at the five doctors and the OZ soldiers.
Dr. J immediately ordered the other scientists to move Mercurius in front of them and activate its electromagnetic barrier.
Vayeate's beam cannon finished charging and fired a massive beam straight at Mercurius.
But Mercurius's electromagnetic shield wasn't just for show—once deployed, it perfectly blocked the beam cannon's attack.
The recoil from its own blast, however, caused Vayeate to crash hard onto the ground, unable to continue fighting.
Heero quickly climbed out of the disabled Vayeate, intending to flee.
But Trowa—true to his circus roots—made a dramatic move, performing a high-speed spin and leap that cut off Heero's escape route. Landing gracefully, he aimed his pistol at Heero.
Seeing that his pursuer was an old acquaintance, Heero expressionlessly dropped his gun and surrendered.
Dr. G helped the fallen Dr. J to his feet, saying, "You okay? Pull yourself together."
"Ugh, that hurts," Dr. J groaned, clutching his side. Then, despite the pain, he looked at Heero with satisfaction and joked to Dr. G, "Well? My weapon turned out excellent, didn't it?"
Dr. G smirked. "Yeah, it even turned around and tried to kill us. Truly your finest work."
Meanwhile, the most unfortunate of them all, Quatre, after drifting through space for days, was finally picked up near a resource-gathering satellite. The half-destroyed space-type Leo he had been piloting was spotted by satellite personnel, who rescued him.
With the help of the doctor who saved him—his sister, Instructor Iria Winner—Quatre was able to return to the colony.
Elsewhere, inside the Barge Fortress, radar detected a fast-moving unidentified target. The base immediately launched Leo units to pursue, but the target easily outpaced them and vanished.
The radar operator reported, "Target is still heading toward the port area. No change in course."
Lady Une frowned, displeased. "So our space-type Leos still can't handle it?"
The soldier beside her replied, "Based on the confirmed reports, it may be the Tallgeese."
"Listen carefully," Lady Une said coldly. "I will not allow any outside force to bring armed Mobile Suits near the colonies."
Standing to the side with his eyes closed, Trowa suggested, "If we deploy the Mobile Dolls, the situation will be resolved immediately. Also, the technicians have reported that the new Mobile Suits are complete. I'd like to test the performance of Vayeate and Mercurius."
Nichol, irritated by Trowa's arrogant tone, snapped, "How dare you! You've only just joined us—how can you immediately take part in real combat?"
Lady Une intervened again. "All right. Then what about the other pilot? What should we do?"
Nichol quickly volunteered, "Then allow me to go, Colonel Lady Une!"
But Lady Une turned to look at Tolle, who was lounging in his chair with his legs crossed, and asked, "Lieutenant Colonel Darks Shaw, would you like to go test the new Mobile Suits?"
Tolle looked at her, shook his head lazily, and replied, "No. Maybe I'd consider an actual battle, but a test run? No thanks. I'll just watch."
This was going to be a showdown between Heero and Trowa—he had no reason to get involved. Besides, they already had the electromagnetic shield data; watching from the sidelines was enough.
Seeing that Tolle wasn't interested suited Trowa just fine. He continued, "To gather complete data, unless the pilot has considerable experience, they'll only get in the way. That captured Gundam pilot would've been ideal, but unfortunately…"
It was obvious Trowa meant that Nichol wasn't qualified. The sycophantic officer's face twisted with anger, and he looked ready to punch him. "What did you say, you—!"