Just as Siegel's attention was drawn to Ogsha being attacked...
"CIC suddenly shouted: "Enemy main cannon locked on!"
Siegel snapped back to reality: "Evasive maneuvers!"
At an extremely close distance just kilometers from Siegel's shuttle, blue electricity crackled around the 200mm electromagnetic cannon mounted atop the black warship.
In the next second, the cannon's muzzle flashed.
A solid metal projectile streaked forth at invisible speed, trailing electric sparks.
A straight, brilliant line of light bisected the dark cosmos vertically.
In the blink of an eye—BOOM—the shuttle was struck on its flank.
Its reinforced armor crumpled and shattered, peeling away from the hull as a massive breach appeared on the side.
Simultaneously, nine fighter craft detached one by one from beneath the black warship's belly, rapidly closing in on the shuttle.
Inside the shuttle, personnel and objects were thrown into weightlessness, floating chaotically through the air.
On the bridge, even those strapped in were violently shaken from side to side.
Piercing alarms wailed immediately after.
The equipment monitor steadied himself and shouted at his display: "Direct hit on port side! Hull breach in Section E! Bulkheads have sealed the area!"
Siegel's expression turned grave as he issued calm, clear orders: "Deploy the MA Squad immediately! We can't let them fire that main cannon again!"
Suddenly, the radar operator yelled: "Enemy MAs approaching rapidly! Unknown models, nine units!"
"What?!" Siegel was baffled. "How so fast?! Scramble the MA Squad now!"
"The enemy ship's hangar shows no activity—the MAs appeared suddenly from beneath the warship."
Siegel slammed his fist on the armrest. "No wonder MAs attacked Ogsha out of nowhere. They must've pre-deployed them to hide under the ship. Our opponent's a veteran."
The black warship's main cannon began recharging as its thrusters flared with massive plasma plumes, accelerating its relentless approach.
The nine fighters closed the distance to the shuttle in mere seconds, launching a total of eighteen armor-piercing missiles from their wing-mounted racks in rapid succession.
The shuttle's thrusters flared as it accelerated away, its concealed automatic cannons unfolding to intercept the incoming missiles.
BOOM—
Seven missiles detonated instantly, their explosions triggering five more nearby. But six missiles survived the firestorm, streaking through the explosions.
The shuttle banked sharply, narrowly avoiding one missile that grazed its outer armor.
As the vessel maneuvered, sweeping cannon fire destroyed three more missiles—but their proximity meant the blast fragments still scarred the hull.
The remaining two missiles struck the shuttle instantly, piercing its outer armor and triggering explosions. Flames snaked through the gaps in the armor, tearing the hull apart.
Inside the shuttle, terrified screams erupted.
On the bridge, Siegel steadied himself. "Get the MAs out of the ship immediately. Engage Overdrive and don't stay in one place."
"Send a message to Ogsha. Cancel the rendezvous and tell her to leave now."
The rear hangar doors of the shuttle opened, and three Mistral Mobile Armors launched out.
But the next second, three fighters streaked past the shuttle's hull, arcing around before turning back to unleash a barrage of fire at the hangar.
Countless Automatic Cannon rounds flew toward them. The three Mistrals, having just exited the hangar, had nowhere to hide and were caught in a deadly crossfire at the doorway.
In an instant, the lead Mistral, riddled with bullet holes, exploded.
Debris and flames engulfed the two behind it, even rebounding into the hangar and triggering further explosions.
The shuttle's thrusters were caught in the blast, causing its speed to drop abruptly.
More fighters seized the opportunity, banking around in arcs before turning to charge in.
The three fighters directly facing the hangar fired missiles at close range before pulling up and splitting to either side.
Just then, the sound of Automatic Cannon fire rang out from the flames engulfing the hangar, intercepting and detonating the incoming missiles.
The following barrage of bullets struck the fighters mid-turn, their vulnerable undersides exposed.
Three fighters were instantly riddled with holes and exploded.
Two Mistrals burst through the flames, their surfaces scarred and damaged but still operational.
Inside the shuttle, the crew fought desperately to activate emergency systems, rapidly sealing the hangar.
The two Mistrals now engaged the remaining six fighters in a dogfight.
Despite being outdated models, the Mistrals, piloted by the two Coordinator bodyguards, far outperformed the enemy fighters.
Though the Mistrals couldn't match the fighters in straight-line speed, their agility allowed them to pivot on the spot, a maneuver the fighters couldn't replicate without banking in wide arcs—often exposing their vulnerable undersides.
While the skirmish raged on, the black warship continued closing in relentlessly.
...
Elsewhere, Zhou Tianming and Ogsha, under attack by a single fighter, found themselves in dire straits.
The fighter banked sharply, turning to open fire.
Ogsha slammed the throttle, maxing out the thrusters, and the Mistral narrowly evaded the bullets.
Zhou Tianming swung the Mistral around, spraying the fighter with cannon fire.
But as a duo, their coordination was far from perfect.
Sometimes they overshot, their shots going wide, or turned too sharply, sending Zhou Tianming flying out of his seat and crashing into the screen as Ogsha failed to hold onto him.
This left them constantly on the defensive, unable to mount an effective counterattack.
Yet their erratic, unpredictable movements also made them hard targets, causing the fighter's attacks to miss repeatedly.
After a prolonged exchange, neither side had landed a decisive hit.
Zhou Tianming and Ogsha noticed the shuttle under heavy assault, bursts of light flaring as two Mistrals tangled with a swarm of fighters.
Suddenly, a transmission came through—the image flickering, but the voice crystal clear: "Lady Ogsha, rendezvous canceled. Get out of there now!"
Ogsha bit her lower lip hard, brows furrowed, eyes reddening, but she remained silent.
Zhou Tianming frowned as well—the situation was critical.
A small warship and six fighters versus a lightly armed, heavily armored shuttle and two Mistrals.
Here, it was one-on-one: professionals against amateurs.
The disparity in combat power was too great. Siegel's shuttle could be shot down at any moment.
Escape or stay?
Zhou Tianming's mind raced.
He recalled the original plot—with such an imbalance, the battle never occurred in the original timeline. Siegel had left Mendel safely and returned to PLANT.
The turning point was Ogsha's survival. Siegel had turned back to rescue her, only to collide with the enemy warship pursuing him.
What would happen if Siegel and Lacus died?
To others, it would merely be the loss of a good leader. The world would keep turning, and someone else would inevitably take his place.
But to Zhou Tianming, the implications were far more complex.
This was a battle that could alter the course of history.
In those fleeting moments, Zhou Tianming weighed countless considerations.
Should he intervene?
Did he even have the capability to?
...
After connecting the dots with his knowledge of the original plot, Zhou Tianming made his decision.
Siegel had to be saved. He was one of the rare leaders who was both competent and humane, a man of reason.
Just look at the kind of chairmen PLANT produced without his moderating influence.
Patrick—a man bold enough to annihilate Earth.
Some random nobody—who achieved nothing after taking office post-war and was swiftly ousted.
Durandal—a silver-tongued devil who led the world astray.
With these monsters at PLANT's helm, Zhou Tianming genuinely feared waking up one day to find they'd invented some god-defying technology that wiped out humanity.
He sighed. For the next few decades, he really just wanted to live peacefully.
The more he knew, the more he had to consider.
Had he been ignorant of the original plot, he could have fled without a second thought.
But now...
Then let the battle begin!
Ultimate Coordinator + Mental Command.
It wasn't entirely hopeless... right?