Chapter 169: Trap II
Another OZ aerial transport unit, while en route to refuel at the Siberian relay base, encountered a transport plane carrying the Heavyarms Gundam.
The OZ unit immediately deployed a large number of airborne-type Mobile Suits—Aries—from their combat carriers to attack.
As soon as the Aries took to the air, they began their relentless assault on Duo's transport plane.
Forced to respond, Duo had no choice but to lower the transport's altitude. He then boarded the Heavyarms Gundam, climbed out from the top of the plane, and blasted off with a burst from his thrusters.
Opening the shoulder missile pods, chest Gatling guns, and wielding his handheld Gatling gun, Duo unleashed a fierce barrage on the surrounding Aries.
After his initial attack, the Heavyarms Gundam landed safely on the base's airfield. But before he could take a breath, countless Leos suddenly emerged from the ground, launching continuous attacks against him.
At that moment, the Wing Gundam also arrived, ready to help eliminate OZ's aerial transport unit.
Unfortunately, OZ had already anticipated this. Zechs, piloting the remodeled Tallgeese, charged directly toward the Wing Gundam.
He fired several rounds from his Dober Gun, striking the Wing Gundam in its Mobile Armor form and knocking it to the ground.
Luckily, Heero's experience with crash landings was extensive—he managed to transform back into Mobile Suit mode while sliding across the ground.
Even so, under the fierce assault of the Leo units, Heero was forced into a defensive stance. He looked for an opening, took aim with his Buster Rifle, and fired a powerful shot that wiped out a cluster of Leos.
But his reprieve didn't last long. The Tallgeese quickly closed in, firing Dober Gun shells in rapid succession to completely pin down Heero's movements.
Zechs then discarded the Dober Gun and drew his beam saber, challenging Heero to a duel. Heero accepted without hesitation, raising his own beam saber and charging at the Tallgeese.
The two Mobile Suits clashed repeatedly, sabers flashing as they dodged and countered each other's strikes. Yet as time passed, faced with the Tallgeese's overwhelming offensive power, the Wing Gundam was gradually forced back. Eventually, Heero was left with no choice but to fire his thrusters at full power and leap away.
Just as Lady Une's plan predicted, OZ had already analyzed the Gundams' performance. One by one, the Gundams fell into OZ's traps and found themselves surrounded.
Even so, the Gundam pilots continued to resist fiercely, inflicting heavy losses on OZ's Mobile Suits.
At that moment, Lady Une opened a communication channel and broadcasted her final message to the Gundam pilots.
"Gundam pilots from the Colonies, listen carefully.
We are now fully prepared to launch missile attacks on the Colonies.
All Alliance missile-control satellites are now under our command.
The fate of the Colonies is in our hands.
This is no bluff—it's the truth.
Surrender immediately and hand over your Gundams."
The Gundam pilots couldn't believe what they were hearing, but they were forced to stop fighting and await further confirmation.
Seeing that the Gundams had ceased their attacks but showed no sign of surrender, Lady Une ordered her soldiers to aim all missiles at the Colonies. To demonstrate she wasn't bluffing, she randomly selected a target and launched several missiles as a warning strike.
Zechs, hearing Lady Une's intention to attack the Colonies, immediately opened a channel to stop her.
"Colonel Une, don't do something foolish."
"Who are you calling foolish?"
"Your actions directly contradict Lord Treize's wishes."
"Hmph! Everything I'm doing is for Lord Treize's ideals. What do you understand of them?"
"Colonel Une, you completely misunderstand Lord Treize's vision."
Irritated by Zechs' repeated insistence that she didn't understand Treize, Lady Une angrily cut the communication and muttered to herself:
"Zechs, it's you who doesn't understand Lord Treize. How naïve you are."
Standing nearby, Noin, who had witnessed Lady Une humiliating Zechs, spoke up with visible displeasure.
"No, Colonel Lady Une, it's you who are mistaken. Our mission is to eliminate the rebels—not to involve innocent civilians. Doing so goes against Lord Treize's wishes."
Lady Une, clearly annoyed, slapped Noin across the face and shouted in anger.
"Do you think a mere strike will destroy a Colony? Those pitiful little worlds where weak people live—they're nothing to me. What's so terrifying about rebellion? Those worthless rebels will soon be completely wiped out by me!"
Then she turned to her soldiers and barked,
"Fire the missiles immediately!"
Just as the soldiers were about to launch, Dr. J hacked into OZ's communications system and spoke directly to Lady Une.
"Listen up, OZ. Even in my wildest dreams, I never imagined you'd turn out to be such a collection of brain-dead fools.
The space Colonies never wanted war with you OZ people. This conflict was my own doing—I was the one who provoked you."
Seeing her communication system hijacked, Lady Une cursed furiously.
"Damn rebels—you've finally shown yourselves!"
Her communications officer quickly traced the signal source and reported: "The enemy is transmitting via standard space channel. The signal originates from Colony C1013."
Dr. J continued speaking through the channel:
"Since you're willing to stoop so low as to attack the Colonies themselves in the name of victory, there's nothing more I can do.
Therefore, I hereby declare our surrender."
Lady Une responded coldly: "Very well. I accept your surrender. Now order all Gundams to surrender immediately."
Heero immediately complied with Dr. J's declaration, stepping out of the Wing Gundam's cockpit and revealing his identity.
Zechs was shocked to see that the pilot of the Wing Gundam was just a boy—a teenager. He couldn't believe that his formidable opponent was still a child.
Then Heero raised his voice toward Zechs:
"I surrender to you. But the Gundam will never be yours.
I'll say it again—
I surrender to you. But the Gundam will never be yours."
He muttered to himself, "This mission—I understand now."
Then, before anyone could react, he pressed the self-destruct switch.
The Wing Gundam was completely obliterated in a massive explosion. The shockwave hurled Heero far away, his body crashing into the ground and lying motionless in a pool of blood…
Lady Une stared in disbelief, utterly stunned.
"Gundam Unit 01… actually self-destructed."