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(Three chapters today to make up for yesterday's missed update. You enjoy reading, I enjoy writing—everyone's happy...)
The signal flares launched from the Menelaus tugged at countless hearts. Especially after everyone understood what the combination of those flares meant, neither ZAFT nor the Earth Force dared fully believe what they were seeing. Yet the completely unresponsive Menelaus seemed to have explained everything.
The chaotic battlefield suddenly fell silent. Both sides stopped attacking in unspoken agreement, while the MS and MAs quickly separated, regrouped, and kept watch on each other. The Blitz Gundam and Aegis Gundam, which had already withdrawn from the battle, also rushed toward the Archangel at once.
Aboard the Menelaus, Harborton and his men knew they could not stop the attacks of those four "traitors," so they took the initiative to completely lock the bridge's outer access doors and destroy them from within. They ripped out the switches, power supplies, and everything else controlling the doors. That way, those outside could not get in, and those inside could not get out. It was indeed a good method for Harborton, who had already resolved to die, but for the three Participants outside, it was an enormous headache.
Even if they considered themselves a superior race, there was nothing they could do against a massive iron door dozens of centimeters thick. They had clearly come to protect Harborton's life, yet that idiot kept sending himself toward death again and again. Especially with the silver-haired Barnes periodically reporting the situation, the hatred and frustration in the hearts of the three Participants standing outside the bridge door, unable to enter, were easy to imagine.
Fortunately, among the four Participants, the silver-haired Barnes was an electronics expert. More accurately, most people from Barnes's world were experts in that field. They had extremely advanced biochips implanted in them from birth, giving them a natural advantage with computers. Barnes's awakened ability was related to that as well.
Although Barnes had no way of dealing with the bridge doors after their lines had been severed, he could take control of every other piece of equipment aboard the warship that was controlled by quantum computers. At once, he cut off the bridge's control over the ship and severed all external communications.
They currently had no way to take Harborton away from the bridge, but having accepted the mission, they could not accept the punishment and consequences of failure. Thus, whether for their own lives or for the mission involving Harborton, the eldest sister among the four decisively ordered Barnes to control the warship and issue a surrender order.
They could not bear the pursuit of both factions if the mission failed, so it was better to make the mission succeed and then completely defect to the other side—a seemingly stronger faction. That was Eshe's thinking, and it was also a helpless choice.
"How did they manage that?" Mu heavily slapped the armrest beside him and said in an incredulous yet relieved tone, "A few people actually took control of a fully staffed warship!"
"I get the feeling you're relieved that ZAFT stopped attacking the Menelaus and the Eighth Fleet." Xiao Ran turned to glance at Mu, shook his head, and frowned. The Menelaus was completely taken over that quickly? These aliens' abilities really can't be underestimated. Luckily, they didn't board the Archangel, so I don't have to come into contact with them. But since the Eighth Fleet wasn't wiped out here, will that affect what comes next?
No, probably not. The most crucial thing is still where the Archangel lands. Once Harborton is captured by ZAFT, it means the end of his political career. Regardless of the reason, a general who surrendered before the enemy and was captured would have no voice in the Earth Force even if he were released. Even if he could regain his position, that would be impossible for the foreseeable future. At the very least, ZAFT would not release Harborton before the war ended.
"Descent procedures officially initiated. All personnel, immediately secure yourselves in safe locations according to descent regulations and take all necessary safety measures."
"Damn it, the kid still hasn't returned." The moment Mu finished speaking, the Archangel began to shake violently. This sustained tremor was far more unnerving and irritating than the intermittent shaking during combat.
As the vibrations within the ship grew increasingly violent, their moods rose and fell along with them. Xiao Ran in particular had never experienced anything like this before. He could clearly feel gravity beginning to take hold beneath his feet. The feeling of being bound by gravity as they descended made his heart leap into his throat. His body was restrained by all kinds of forces, beyond his control, making him swallow repeatedly as he gripped both sides of his seat even tighter. The flashing red alarms in the waiting room only added to the oppressive atmosphere, nearly making Xiao Ran open his mouth and scream.
Every minute and second was unbearable torment for Xiao Ran. His perception of time had become distorted; every second felt as agonizing as a minute. He could only bury his head hard like an ostrich, hoping this descent would end in the blink of an eye. The feeling of having no control was simply terrible.
After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Ran suddenly felt himself pulled and thrown. A metallic grinding and squealing sounded throughout the Archangel's interior, reaching his ears as though the ship were about to fall apart. Only after a soft thump did the squealing abruptly stop, finally allowing Xiao Ran's heart to settle back down from his throat. A few minutes later, the feeling of his body being pulled disappeared as well, and everything seemed to return to normal—aside from his body growing heavier and heavier.
Clenching his fists and feeling control return to his body, Xiao Ran felt as if the air around him had suddenly become easier to breathe. After taking two deep breaths, he raised his head and relaxed against the back of his chair.
"Not used to it?" Seeing Xiao Ran drenched in sweat, Mu smiled. "You must not have gone through this kind of thing often."
Xiao Ran paused, then nodded and replied vaguely, "Not often. I really don't like the feeling of being unable to control myself. The interaction between inertia and gravity is very unpleasant."
Mu smiled, released his safety restraints, and stood up, stretching his body. "You'll get used to it. Looks like we've already broken into the atmosphere. I wonder where we ended up. Hopefully it's not entirely within ZAFT territory."
Xiao Ran did not immediately understand. "Huh? How do you know?"
Mu replied, "The Archangel must have deviated from its original trajectory during the descent. Coming down from space, even a tiny angle can drastically change our landing site. They must have changed the descent angle for that kid just now. Let's go to the bridge and see what happened. We also need to know where we are."
"Yeah." Xiao Ran felt a little dazed, though he did not know whether it was caused by the change in environment from space to Earth. After nodding, he released his safety belt, stood up, and followed Mu out of the waiting room.
Neither Xiao Ran nor Mu spoke as they headed for the bridge. They did not appear to have anything wrong with them, but both had many things on their minds. Xiao Ran was deeply worried about their current landing location, and he was also concerned about the Eighth Fleet, which had not been annihilated. His worry differed from everyone else's—he feared that the Eighth Fleet would eventually become a major foreshadowing that caused the plot to change. He only hoped the Eighth Fleet would remain as he expected, not appearing again until after this war ended.
But Xiao Ran had completely overlooked one issue. Ever since these Participants had arrived in this world, they had more or less caused significant changes to its original course. Those changes might be large or small, but once accumulated, they would someday become too great to ignore. The current Xiao Ran simply did not have the strength to face such changes.
Mu's concern that the Archangel had landed within enemy territory was perfectly normal. He was also worried whether Kira had truly been caught by the Archangel, and he was equally concerned about the future of the Eighth Fleet and Harborton. But as a man, like Xiao Ran, he did not show any of it on his face. Instead, he tried hard to relax so he could maintain a positive atmosphere aboard the Archangel.
The moment they entered the bridge, they heard Miriallia constantly calling Kira's name, but she received no response no matter how long she called.
"What happened?" Mu walked over to Miriallia and asked.
Miriallia shook her head, her face full of worry. "I don't know what happened to Kira. I've been calling him for ages, but he hasn't responded."
"Has the Strike Gundam definitely boarded?" Xiao Ran rubbed his head, trying to force himself awake.
Mwu lightly twirled her hair and answered Xiao Ran's question with a gloomy expression. "The Archangel's signal overlaps with the Strike Gundam's. We can confirm that the Strike Gundam is currently above the Archangel."
"Maybe he collapsed from the intense fighting. We can't send anyone to check under these circumstances, either. How long until we reach the ground?" Xiao Ran slowly adjusted his breathing. Having never descended from space to Earth before, he found it difficult to adapt as easily as the others, including students like Miriallia.
"A few minutes," Helm Officer Arnold answered loudly.
Xiao Ran nodded and quietly asked the question that worried him most. "Can we determine where we'll land from this descent angle?"
After calculating, Intelligence Control officer Dalida answered with an ugly expression, "We can confirm that it is within ZAFT-controlled territory in North Africa."
"This is troublesome." Mu shook his head helplessly.
"It really is a damn hassle." Xiao Ran nodded, then suddenly sighed. "Let's start praying now."
Mwu looked startled. "Praying?"
Mu spread his hands with a smile. "Praying that we can escape this place?"
Everyone else on the bridge turned to look at Xiao Ran, including Arnold at the helm.
"Not just that. Besides praying that the Archangel can safely escape ZAFT territory, we may also need to pray that General Harborton didn't send the Strike Gundam's data to the moon as insurance during the battle." Xiao Ran shook his head as he finished speaking, then turned to leave the bridge.
His words left everyone on the bridge stunned. Those who did not understand were completely confused, while the expressions of those who did understand immediately turned ugly.
Mwu abruptly stood up and hurriedly called to Xiao Ran as he was about to leave. "Where are you going? Aren't you going to explain why you said that?"
"We'll reach the ground in a few minutes. I'm going to check on Kira. Besides, if he really has passed out, someone will need to pilot the Strike Gundam back into the hangar, right?" Xiao Ran stopped and turned to look at Mwu. Seeing the sorrow and pain in her eyes, he could not help saying, "I'll be back soon. I'm just bringing Kira in. Don't make that expression either. Looking at you now, I really don't have the confidence to upset you all further."
"Who said you upset us!" Mwu immediately turned her head away and sat back down. "Go already."
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