Chapter 16: The Tiger

Archangel, Hangar. 【1

Li Boyong conveyed the order to the maintenance crew to load live ammunition onto the Sky Grasper.

"Now?" Sergeant Madok looked puzzled. "The Sky Grasper's calibration isn't finished yet; it still needs the docking calibration for the Strike's equipment."

Li Boyong: "Put that aside for now. The priority is to ensure the machine can sortie. Otherwise, even if it can be equipped with the Strike's gear, it would be meaningless if it sorties. Don't forget we are on enemy territory. This is the Major's order; don't complain."

"I understand. Boys, get to work! Hurry up and swap the two Sky Graspers to live ammunition!"

Although he was still grumbling inwardly, Sergeant Madok began to carry out the order diligently.

While the maintenance crew was working, Li Boyong hid in the simulator again, familiarizing himself with the Sky Grasper's operation as much as possible.

Originally, he had gone to find Kira, wanting him to adjust the Strike's ground settings in advance, so that the Strike wouldn't be clumsy and get bullied by BuCUEs the moment it landed on the desert.

As it turned out, whether this guy was immersed in Flay's honey trap or what, he actually used the excuse of feeling unwell to shirk the task, saying he would get it done immediately after recovering, and then hid back in his room.

Regarding this, Li Boyong felt helpless; the young man had just gained the favor of a goddess and was likely too happy to think of home.

Not wanting to sour his relationship with Kira over a small matter, Li Boyong gave up on persuading him.

It would be good for him to suffer a little when the time comes; besides, he had a unique skill of being able to quickly change machine settings during combat.

Come to think of it, it's really annoying. Look at the protagonists of those mecha anime; usually, they are students who have never touched a gun, but after getting into a Gundam or a protagonist machine, they either flip through the manual, rewrite the settings themselves, or go berserk when near death. Either way, they pick it up on the spot and use it like pros.

A grunt like himself is different; when changing to a new machine, he still needs all kinds of training to get familiar with the various operations as quickly as possible.

Honestly, being able to survive that kind of battlefield after temporarily filling in as an MA pilot was truly a stroke of great luck.

But he couldn't guarantee that he would have this kind of luck in the upcoming battles, especially the next one.

Although the opponent was no longer a Gundam with Phase Shift Armor, Andrew Waltfeld, who held the title of Desert Tiger, and his subordinates were definitely opponents not to be underestimated. He had to do his best to ensure the battle situation remained favorable for the Archangel and avoid any unexpected situations.

Fortunately, he would be piloting the Sky Grasper next, which could be considered returning to his own professional duties, making him feel a bit more at ease.

————

That evening, the ZAFT forces' probing attack arrived as scheduled.

First came a barrage of missiles; the Archangel's Vulcan cannon batteries opened fire and shot down the incoming missiles.

Immediately after, the ZAFT armed helicopter squadron used the undulating desert terrain to begin harassing the Archangel with fire.

"Quick, launch my Strike!"

Kira, having just been pulled from his honey trap, requested to sortie in the Strike with an unprecedentedly tough attitude.

When Flay gave herself to him, he had sworn that he would definitely protect her well.

However, his request to fight was interrupted by Li Boyong: "Don't be impatient. The situation outside is unclear. Let me and the Major's Sky Grasper go out and check the situation first."

"But..." The interrupted Kira immediately wanted to retort, but Natarle agreed with Li Boyong's view.

With her high level of military professionalism, she knew that with the situation unclear, it was not the best strategy to easily deploy the Strike.

"I agree as well. Deploy the two Sky Graspers first." Captain Murrue Ramius issued the order, also agreeing with Li Boyong's point of view.

Soon, the Archangel's hangar door opened. Li Boyong's Sky Grasper took off from the catapult deck, with Mula Flaga's machine following closely behind.

"Oh? Deploying fighters for reconnaissance first?"

The Desert Tiger, observing from the shadows of a sand dune, casually remarked, "It seems the Earth Alliance commander isn't a complete idiot."

The adjutant, Daguza, asked from the side: "The Strike hasn't appeared yet. What should we do now?"

The experienced Tiger made a decision instantly: "No choice. Have the helicopter unit withdraw first. Deploy one BuCUE to deal with the fighters, then have the Lesseps shell the Archangel to apply pressure and force the Strike out. Once the Strike appears, have the remaining BuCUEs surround and attack it."

Since the Strike didn't sortie immediately, there was no need to be obsessed with the ambush on the Strike; otherwise, the helicopter unit would be wiped out by the fighters.

"Understood!" Adjutant Daguza immediately relayed the Tiger's order to his subordinates.

Under the Tiger's command, the ZAFT forces began to react.

The shelling from the main ship 20 kilometers to the rear forced the Archangel to ascend to evade, and it prepared to let the Strike sortie.

While the armed helicopter squadron withdrew, a BuCUE lurking behind the shadow of a sand dune began to attack the Sky Grasper. Fortunately, Li Boyong had been mentally prepared and easily dodged the railgun fire.

After dodging the attack, Li Boyong headed straight for the area around where the BuCUE appeared and marked all the lurking BuCUEs.

"It's actually a BuCUE!"

The Archangel naturally received this timely intelligence, preventing the deployed Strike from landing in the center of the BuCUE ambush circle.

Although the battle situation wasn't unfavorable to the ZAFT forces, the well-laid ambush failed to take effect, which made the Tiger somewhat annoyed: "Tch, it was seen through. There's no point in continuing the ambush. Have the BuCUE team launch their attack early."

The four lurking BuCUEs had to launch their attack prematurely, which prevented the Buster Strike piloted by Kira from falling into a heavy encirclement the moment it landed.

Relying on the Archangel's fire support, the Buster Strike kept the incoming BuCUEs from forming a pincer attack.

"It's a good thing we adopted Lieutenant Li's suggestion."

Captain Murrue Ramius on the bridge breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. If the Strike had been deployed directly just now, its situation would likely be very dire.

Natarle, the CIC, said: "However, the situation remains grim. It's difficult for the Strike to achieve results against the BuCUEs. If this continues, it will eventually run out of energy."

The facts were just as Natarle said; Kira kept using the Agni to attack the BuCUEs, but achieved no results.

Another attack missed, and a hint of regret welled up in Kira's heart: "Damn it, if I had known, I would have listened to Lieutenant Li and changed the machine's settings first."

Just as the situation was becoming somewhat tense, Li Boyong handed that BuCUE over to Mula Flaga and returned in the Sky Grasper to support the Strike.

"Hurry and find an opportunity to change the settings. I'll force the BuCUEs back."

"Understood!"

Kira was overjoyed and hurriedly seized an opportunity to leap backward, moving away from the BuCUEs.

Meanwhile, Li Boyong used his firepower from above to intercept any BuCUEs trying to approach the Strike.

It must be said that even without the Strike's equipment, the Sky Grasper's firepower far exceeded that of a standard fighter.

Four Vulcan cannons, two beam cannons, one large-caliber main gun, plus two missile pods—this firepower configuration was enough to pose a threat to the BuCUEs.

With Li Boyong's support, Kira quickly finished setting up the Strike's movement programs for the desert terrain.

The Tiger, who was secretly observing the battle, keenly noticed the change in the Strike at the first moment, and a sense of foreboding welled up in his heart.