Episode 10 continued...
The White Phoenix Gundam swings around to confront its enemy and antithesis, the Omega Gundam.
Even with Christian and the Draco Gundam momentarily occupied and taken off Jolie by her SNRI comrades-at-arms, Jolie finds Jo-M and the Omega Gundam more than challenging enough an adversary.
For Jolie, the experience is reminiscent of her duel against the Phobos Zeon ace Kyoko Yamaguchi five years earlier, but Kyoko…in terms of her person and more importantly, her fighting technique, was only similar to Jolie…not identical. There was still plenty of room for them to surprise each other, which Jolie did to narrowly defeat Kyoko in their duel-for-the-ages, but fighting Jo-M is, for Jolie, precisely like fighting a mirror image of herself. Every move she makes, Jo-M seems to anticipate; Jolie can only be thankful that the inverse is no less true.
And then, there's the discrepancy of their war machines: Jolie never thought she would see the day when the White Phoenix Gundam would be outclassed: the OG has five times the WPG's raw power, a more variegated and sophisticated array of weaponry, far heavier armor, an I-Field, and, most importantly, that Biosensor…far superior to the one deployed on the WPG, which had been cutting edge as recently as five years ago.
As Camille frequently reminds Jolie, in the realm of mobile suit technology, the progress made in five years might as well be five lifetimes. The WPG had been long overdue for an upgrade to its Biosensor, but, as Jolie now realizes, General Blackhead had been diverting most of the Federal Forces' (and especially SNRI's) to building his new Titans Corps. Camille never had the resources to upgrade the WPG's Biosensor the way he wanted to – those resources were allocated almost entirely to the Omega Gundam.
All this, in practical terms, results in Jolie and the WPG's being batted around quite soundly by the Omega Gundam. Jolie gets her shots in, but as a consequence of the OG's thick armor and I-Field, isn't doing as much damage as she wishes she could.
The WPG narrowly avoids a volley of powerful beam blasts that come very close to nailing it; Jolie's superior combat experience and training are keeping her in the fight, and Jolie believes that if she can drag the battle out long enough, she can make use of that experience and training to overcome the OG's superiority…but Jolie doesn't know if she has that time. Ahead of her, Jolie can see the Shambala Defense Guard taking heavy casualties at the hands of the United Forces. She might have only minutes before the colonies of Shambala are within range of the United Forces' WMD.
Jolie opens fire with a devastating volley of beam and missile fire, which the Omega Gundam, belying its enormous bulk, dodges with an unexpected litheness and speed.
Damn! Jolie curses, she's as fast as I am!
The White Phoenix Gundam and the Omega Gundam exchange dozens of volleys, shifting position faster than the human eye can follow. Feints, dodges, parries, vicious power attacks…all come into play as the advantage shifts microsecond by microsecond, millimeter by millimeter.
Jolie is momentarily distracted by a distant explosion, caused by Christian's Draco Gundam destroying two SNRI mobile suits. Her thoughts turn to her friends, Eric and Chieming, and her fallen subordinate 2Lt. Rayann Zhang…
The moment's distraction is enough for the Omega Gundam's attacks to penetrate Jolie's defenses, resulting in a hit to a critical avionics relay that sends the White Phoenix Gundam spinning out of control.
Jo-M's voice, a chilling duplicate of her own, comes through Jolie's helmet audio monitor, "I am Jolie Minh; this world doesn't need you anymore…Oldtype."
Jo-M gathers her PSI-energy, projecting it through the Omega Gundam's Biosensor…
A white phoenix of PSI-energy projects forth from the Omega Gundam.
Jolie's forehead sparks…a second white phoenix of PSI-energy emanating from the White Phoenix Gundam.
The two energy streams meet in the cosmos, obliterating any objects, be they mobile suits or space debris, which approach too close. This is no longer a battle of mecha: it is a struggle between humanity's newly tapped cosmic potential…of a force within humanity that it has barely begun to comprehend or control…
For a long minute, there is stalemate…nothing unexpected, considering that Jolie and Jo-M are genetically identical.
Jolie begins feeling the pressure…the strain…as the Biosensor boost given to Jo-M begins overwhelming her.
Jo-M says as she presses her advantage, "Christian loved you, Jolie, but you didn't love him back. That's why this is how it will end for you. Christian and I are one; if you're going to destroy him, then I have no choice but destroy you first."
It dawns on Jolie that Jo-M might be right; she feels her consciousness dimming, as if the entire cosmos is closing in on her. She is the White Phoenix…but she cannot spread her wings.
Jolie once again draws upon her experience…not a specific combat maneuver as understood in conventional terms, but the experiences of her life. Jo-M spoke of her oneness of Christian, and Jolie is reminded of the darkest moment of her life…
Jonah…
He seems to appear before her, smiling that reassuring, gentle smile that had warmed her heart so many times in days long gone.
I'm here, Jolie…
Their essences merge…as they had in the past…
Jolie's eyes flash and she snarls at Jo-M, "You dare to lecture me about love…about being one with another! Jo-M, you don't know anything about it!"
The White Phoenix PSI-energy, having taken on a shimmering quality, surges forth, overwhelming Jo-M's PSI-energy, feeding back through the OG's Biosensor.
Jo-M finds herself engulfed in a storm of lightning, the energy burning the core of her flesh. Blood seeps forth from her nose and mouth.
Christian…the dying Jo-M casts her thoughts painfully.
************************************************** ************************************************** *************
Jo…Christian responds, distracted long enough for Major Gardner to nearly bring the Draco Gundam down.
Christian…I'm sorry…I…
Jo-M's presence fades…unreachable now.
"NO!" Christian bites out, his eyes welling with tears.
Christian disengages the Draco Gundam from the Centurion Gundam-2, throwing its arm-mounted shield like a missile at the CG2.
Eric intercepts the incoming missile-shield with a single slash of the CG-2's beam saber (a trick Amuro had taught him years earlier), but before Eric can follow through, he is startled by the sight of the Draco Gundam appearing with dazzling speed right in front of his linear seat cockpit's forward monitor, its bulk looming over and filling his field of vision.
Eric has the wind sucked out of his lungs as he feels the impact of the Draco Gundam's kick directly into the CG-2's gut, right on the cockpit hatch. Most other men would have been knocked out cold, and even the resilient Major Gardner finds himself stunned.
Christian gives Eric no respite; the youth uses the Draco Gundam's armored fists to batter the CG-2's head unit to scrap.
Satisfied that Gardner no longer poses any immediate threat to him, Christian vectors the Draco Gundam towards Jolie's White Phoenix Gundam.
"Christian," Eric groans, fighting painfully to get his breath back, "They aren't lies. Stop, before you…"
The CG-2's combat computer flashes a warning to Eric that a Crossbones Vanguard MS combat squad is approaching his team's position. Christian is on his own…
Major Gardner switches to secondary camera units located (of all places) at the joint between the CG-2's legs; his mobile suit vectors off to join with his comrades, his woman included.
************************************************** ************************************************** **********************
Jolie prepares to open fire on the smoldering, unmoving Omega Gundam with all of the WPG's weapons systems, but to her surprise, the OG converts to mobile armor configuration, and vectors away…towards Side 3, at full afterburner speed.
What th'? Jolie wonders, puzzled. Then, her eyes widen as she comes to a horrible realization, "Oh my God!"
Jolie prepares to convert the WPG to Wavediver configuration, but is forced to dodge a vicious incoming volley from Christian's Draco Gundam.
Christian's eyes burn with liquid flame, his face twisted in an enraged scowl as he snarls out, "MURDERER!"
Jolie's says nothing in response, focusing all of her attention on dodging the enraged youth's incoming strikes, drawing upon her eight years of veteran experience as a combat pilot to evade or counter Christian's furious, relentless onslaught.
Blinded by tears of rage and grief, Christian brings the Draco Gundam's entire arsenal to bear against the White Phoenix Gundam.
"Heartless b*tch!" Christian screams, "All we wanted was to live together in peace, but you! You wouldn't let us!"
So saying, Christian unleashes another torrent of firepower against the White Phoenix Gundam.
To any other MS pilot, the incoming firestorm would be unavoidable, and even Jolie is close to her breaking point…
Christian Ray's eyes flash with an infernal flame as he bites out, "Jo-M deserved to live much more than you ever did! You're just a puppet! A toy for sick, evil men! A killing machine!"
Words…or rather sentiments…that hurt much more than any weapon ever could...
Jolie feels an enormous pressure bearing down on her, and the cosmos is momentarily inverted like the negative exposure of an old photographic film…and then the image of flaming dragon as massive as the universe itself bears down viciously upon her, threatening to sweep her away.
Having just expended a great amount of her PSI-energy to defeat Jo-M and the Omega Gundam, Jolie cannot erect a defensive shield of PSI-energy against Christian's incoming psionic onslaught, but the youth's complete focus on his PSI-attack has created an instant's opening in his defense that would become manifest in…three seconds.
Jolie takes aim with the White Phoenix Gundam's beam rifle, directly where the opening will emerge…
She has time for only one thought – I'm sorry, Christian…
Without an instant's hesitation, Jolie locks onto the target…both with the WPG's targeting systems and her mind. Her eyes are cold and intensely focused…nothing in them but the target and its destruction.
A single beam rips forth from the barrel of the WPG's beam rifle, a stream of hyperaccelerated Minovsky particles rushing towards its target at a speed just under that of light.
The beam lances through the center of the Draco Gundam, instantly incinerating its cockpit.
In the instant before the beam strikes, Jolie senses Christian Ray's last thought…Jo-M…
Jolie opens the visor of her helmet, disengaging the targeting system…the fiery eyes of the hunter soften to eyes flooded with grief.
Jolie blinks away tears the tears quickly as her rage and deadly focus quickly reassert themselves.
Minerva Zabi…
Jolie transforms the WPG into Wavediver configuration and sets a vector into the Side 3 Zone.
To be continued!