Kapitel 151: Chapter 151: Successful Retrieval
After wandering around for a while, the siblings sat down at a shop selling burritos. He Kui controlled Haro to rotate its head 360 degrees.
He wondered if the Blue Cosmos members were in position.
Cagalli's owl should be able to detect them in advance, but that round little owl wasn't originally hers. Without a dedicated connection system wristband, it could only alert by making noise.
While He Kui pondered this, a large shadow suddenly appeared, blocking the sunlight over the group.
Who else could it be but the Desert Tiger?
Perhaps to conceal his identity, the Desert Tiger didn't have the defense Haros that he used for delivery with him, nor were there any round owls in sight. It was unclear if this was a lure or if he trusted Tassil's security.
He Kui, sitting in front of the screen, leisurely sipped his coffee as the Desert Tiger glanced at He Kui's Haro before casually discussing the sauce flavors with Cagalli.
However, before they could exchange a few words, He Kui saw the Desert Tiger's wristband vibrate, followed by Cagalli's round owl letting out a "whoo" from above.
Cagalli looked up in confusion, unable to figure out what nearby could have triggered the owl's alert.
There wasn't much time to think, as a figure appeared on a rooftop not far away, launching an RPG directly at them.
The Desert Tiger, Kira, and He Kui all moved simultaneously.
The Desert Tiger flipped the table, Kira shielded Cagalli, and He Kui controlled two Haros to block in front of everyone.
Bang!
A loud explosion followed the "smoke without fire" rule, with He Kui's Haro bearing the brunt of the RPG. However, the shield's integrity was now over 70% compromised.
Given the materials, another hit would likely render it ineffective.
Just as he thought that, another figure stood up behind their cover, firing another RPG.
Sparks flew from one Haro's shield, indicating it was completely destroyed.
He Kui retracted the shield and began releasing smoke.
This attack was fiercer than anticipated, possibly due to the Desert Tiger's importance or past grudges.
"It's finally here."
He Kui sighed in relief as he detected the signal from the Screaming Hawk he quietly released from the base earlier. He began coordinated operations using the commanding Haro.
The Screaming Hawk, far more formidable than the round owls, dove towards the RPG's origin.
Before the assailant could react, its sharp beak pierced through the goggles, blinding the enemy and leaving only screams.
Hearing this, the Desert Tiger's initially surprised expression turned pensive.
He had owls and had scouted the area, but Blue Cosmos had disguised themselves as civilians and used opaque boxes to shield weapons, evading the owls' detection.
So, the first attack was a feint, and the second was deadly.
He nearly turned lure into a trap.
But the scream was intriguing.
If it were just these two's abilities, he wouldn't be so surprised.
Was there a fifth force besides ZAFT, Blue Cosmos, Desert Dawn, and the Earth Alliance?
Why didn't his owls alert him?
The Desert Tiger felt a headache coming on, considering the mess in Tassil.
With Victoria Port captured, he should quickly apply for reassignment.
As for why the round owls didn't detect anything, He Kui's hawk naturally came with interference.
Using a common system, He Kui had significantly improved since his days developing the round owls.
Creating an eagle to counter the round owl's detection system wasn't difficult.
The eagle, after striking, vanished into the sky; in the smoke, no one could see anything.
Back at the smoke-filled battlefield, Haro had a simple infrared mode, but without compatible equipment, Cagalli could only use the basic shield.
Nevertheless, under the shield's protection, the Desert Tiger swiftly defeated the assailants.
"Your robot's pretty handy."
With the enemies dealt with and the sound of executing unresisting Blue Cosmos members echoing, the Desert Tiger dismissed his suspicions about a fifth force and smiled nonchalantly.
Kira frowned at the gunshots, but He Kui felt nothing. According to the treaty, they were responsible for containment after surrender, but terrorists weren't included.
Besides, they didn't surrender. The matter with Ed hadn't been settled with Blue Cosmos.
"Thank you."
Cagalli said nervously.
She guessed the man's identity.
Realizing the famous Desert Tiger stood before her, Cagalli's pretty face tightened.
"Where'd you get it?"
"A gift."
Cagalli sensed something amiss.
The round owl carrying goods was gone after the smoke cleared.
Only two other round owls, covered in sauce, circled Cagalli.
"Your little things saved me. To repay you, come to my place and change clothes."
Without Haro blocking the last hit, they'd be ash.
"But... my robot's missing."
Cagalli said urgently.
"Really? I'll have my people look for it. Don't worry."
Ignoring Cagalli's desire to search for the robot, the Desert Tiger forcibly took the unwilling two away.
Meanwhile, He Kui controlled Haro to escape to a corner amidst the chaos. The Screaming Hawk quickly secured Haro's hands with its claws and took off.
Finally, Haro, ending its wandering life, returned to He Kui's embrace.
Easily obtaining temporary base access, He Kui successfully retrieved the long-lost Haro three hours later.
Suppressing his anxiety, Haro's data quickly transferred to He Kui's computer.
Perhaps Orb wanted to preserve the backpack data, as the Blue Frame's internal equipment for the Astray Gundam was all revealed.
Due to the compatibility between the Astray and the Strike's backpack structure, all three Strike backpacks' basic data were complete.
Though PLANT didn't have these three backpacks' data, they weren't crucial for He Kui.
The remaining IWSP (Integrated Weapons Strike Pack) seemed to combine the features of the other three backpacks.
Two railguns, plus a combined beam boomerang and Gatling gun assault shield.
Aside from its weight and power consumption, it had no major flaws.
But this wasn't the most important.
He Kui's eyes gleamed as he focused on the last item.
P204QX Lightning Strike Pack
The pack's main weapon was a 70-31 electromagnetic cannon, usually two, with average range. But when combined and corrected for magnetic and gravitational deviations, its attack range theoretically reached 10,000 kilometers or more.
Of course, with the neutron jammer, such distances were currently impossible.
The pack also featured two rangefinder modules, far more advanced than ZAFT's current ones.
Seeing this pack, the usually calm He Kui couldn't help but smile.
This blind box was worth it, even after all the trouble.
"What happened? Why so happy?"
Returning from radar adjustments, Sulei found He Kui smiling.
"Nothing, found something good."
The extended range meant safety.
With his growing communication system, and some radar tech tweaks to the rangefinder modules, long-range shooting under neutron jammer conditions wasn't impossible.
Next was figuring out how to start weapon tests.
But with a prototype, it was just a matter of time for He Kui to produce it.
After improvements, ZAFT wouldn't link it to the Lightning Pack, which he also considered.
With this in mind, He Kui couldn't help but hug Sulei.
"Radar tests are done. When do we head back?"
Sulei didn't resist, placing her hands on his waist, blinking.
"Still need to wait. The radar receiver in Tassil requires further testing."
"Are you going?"
That place was dangerous, according to He Kui.
"I'll test remotely."
Though both Gundams were adjusted for desert combat by He Kui, and the Desert Tiger seemed ready to swap with Kira.
Better safe than sorry; Kira was the protagonist, practically the world's chosen one.
The pressure was immense. With his current abilities, He Kui didn't want to plot against him.
But he could still send the Haro, now with its data backed up, to continue live streaming the situation.
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