Descent

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(Three chapters today, making up for yesterday's missed update. If you enjoy reading, I enjoy writing. It's a win-win!)

The signal flares launched from the Menelaus immediately captured the attention of countless people. Especially after they deciphered the meaning conveyed by the combination of flares, both ZAFT and the Earth Force could hardly believe their eyes. However, the unresponsive Menelaus seemed to confirm everything.

The chaotic battlefield suddenly fell silent. Both sides ceased their attacks simultaneously, and the Mobile Suits and Mobile Armors quickly separated and regrouped, maintaining their guard against each other. The Blitz and Aegis Gundam, having disengaged from combat, immediately rushed towards the Archangel.

On the Menelaus, Harborton and his subordinates, knowing they couldn't withstand the assault of the four 'traitors,' proactively sealed off the bridge's access to the outside and destroyed the internal mechanisms. They severed the power supply to the door controls, preventing anyone from entering or exiting. For Harborton, who had resolved to die, this was a sound strategy. However, for the three Participants outside the door, it presented a significant headache.

Even considering themselves superior beings, they were helpless against the thick iron door, dozens of centimeters thick. While the intention was to protect Harborton's life, that fool had repeatedly pushed himself towards death. Especially from the situation reports intermittently provided by the silver-haired man, Barnes, the hatred and frustration of the three Participants standing outside the sealed bridge door were palpable.

Fortunately, among these four Participants, the silver-haired man, Barnes, was an electronics expert. In fact, most people from Barnes's world were masters in this field. They were implanted with highly advanced bio-chips from birth, giving them a natural advantage in computing. Barnes's awakened ability was also directly related to this.

Although Barnes was powerless against the bridge door with its severed circuits, he could control all other equipment on the warship managed by the quantum computer. He immediately cut off the bridge's control over the warship and severed all external communications.

They were unable to extract Harborton from the bridge, but they couldn't accept the punishment or consequences of failing the mission. Therefore, for the sake of their own lives and for the mission involving Harborton, the eldest sister among the four decisively ordered Barnes to command the warship to issue a surrender.

Failing the mission meant facing pursuit from both factions. It was better to succeed in the mission and completely defect to another faction, one that appeared more powerful. This was Eshe's thought process and an unavoidable choice.

"How did they manage it?" Mu heavily slapped the armrest beside him, his voice filled with disbelief yet relief. "A few individuals actually managed to control a fully crewed warship!"

"I have a feeling you're just relieved that ZAFT stopped attacking the Menelaus and the Eighth Fleet," Xiao Ran glanced at Mu, shaking his head and frowning. The Menelaus was controlled so quickly? The abilities of these aliens are truly not to be underestimated. Fortunately, they didn't board the Archangel, so I don't have to interact with them. But will the Eighth Fleet not being annihilated here affect the future trajectory?

"No, it shouldn't. The most crucial factor is the Archangel's landing location. After all, if Harborton is captured by ZAFT, it signifies the end of his political career. Regardless of the reason, a general who surrenders before the enemy and is captured, even if released, will have no influence within the Earth Force. Even if reinstated, it's impossible in the short term. At the very least, ZAFT won't release Harborton before the war ends."

"Descent program officially initiated. All personnel, please secure yourselves in designated safe locations according to descent protocols and take all necessary safety precautions."

"Damn it, the kid hasn't returned yet." As Mu finished speaking, the Archangel began to shake violently. This continuous vibration, unlike the intermittent tremors during combat, was more unsettling and irritating.

Feeling the increasingly intense shaking of the ship, their moods also fluctuated with the jolts. Xiao Ran, in particular, having never experienced anything like this, clearly felt the pull of gravity beneath his feet. The sensation of descending, bound by gravity, made his heart leap into his throat. Unable to control his body, which was constrained by various forces, he kept swallowing and gripped the sides even tighter. The flashing red alarm in the standby room, combined with the oppressive atmosphere, almost made Xiao Ran cry out.

Every passing second felt like an eternity for Xiao Ran. Time seemed to warp in his perception, each second dragging on like a minute. He could only bury his head like an ostrich, desperately hoping this descent would end in the blink of an eye. This feeling of being out of control was simply terrible.

After an unknown period, Xiao Ran suddenly felt a pull and a lurch. The sound of groaning metal echoed from within the Archangel, creaking sounds reaching his ears, as if the Archangel were about to fall apart. Only when he heard a soft "bang" did the creaking abruptly stop, finally allowing Xiao Ran's heart, which had been in his throat, to settle. A few minutes later, the pulling sensation on his body completely disappeared, and everything seemed to return to normal, except for the increasingly heavy feeling of his body.

Clenching his fist and feeling his body regain control, Xiao Ran felt the air around him lighten. He took a deep breath and raised his head, leaning back against the chair with a sigh of relief.

"Not used to it?" Mu saw Xiao Ran's sweat-soaked face and chuckled. "You must not have experienced this often."

Xiao Ran blinked, then nodded, replying ambiguously, "Not much. I really dislike this feeling of losing control. The interaction between inertia and gravity is quite unpleasant."

Mu smiled, released his safety restraints, and stood up, stretching his body. "You'll get used to it. It seems we've broken through into the atmosphere. I wonder where we've landed. Hopefully, it's not just within ZAFT's territory."

Xiao Ran looked a bit lost. "Huh? How do you know?"

Mu replied, "When the Archangel descended, it must have deviated from its original path. A slight angle change from space can drastically alter our landing location. It must have been to accommodate the kid that they altered the descent angle. Let's head to the bridge to see what's going on and figure out where we are."

"Okay." Xiao Ran felt a bit dizzy, unsure if it was due to the environmental change from space to Earth. He nodded and unbuckled his seatbelt, standing up and following Mu out of the standby room.

As they made their way to the bridge, neither Xiao Ran nor Mu spoke. Although they appeared outwardly calm, their minds were filled with concerns. Xiao Ran harbored deep worries about their current landing location and the Eighth Fleet's survival. His concern was different from others'; Xiao Ran feared the Eighth Fleet would become a significant factor causing a deviation in the plot. He could only hope the Eighth Fleet would reappear only after the war, as he anticipated.

However, Xiao Ran had completely overlooked one issue: since the Participants arrived in this world until now, they had all, to varying degrees, altered the world's original course. These changes, whether minor or major, if accumulated, would eventually become too significant to ignore. And currently, Xiao Ran lacked the strength to face such changes.

Mu's concern about the Archangel landing within enemy territory was perfectly normal. He was also worried if Kira had indeed been rescued 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 didn't show these worries on his face, instead trying to lighten the mood to foster a positive atmosphere on the Archangel.

As soon as they entered the bridge, they heard Miriallia repeatedly calling Kira's name, but she received no response after calling for a long time.

"What happened?" Mu walked over to Miriallia and asked.

Miriallia shook her head, her face filled with worry. "I don't know what happened to Kira. I've been calling him for a long time, and he hasn't responded."

"Has the Strike Gundam been confirmed to be on board?" Xiao Ran rubbed his head, trying to clear his mind.

Mwu gently twirled her hair, replying to Xiao Ran's question with a somber expression, "The signals of the Archangel and the Strike Gundam have overlapped. It's confirmed that the Strike Gundam is currently above the Archangel."

"Perhaps he's exhausted from the high-intensity combat. In this situation, we can't send anyone to check. How much longer until we reach the ground?" Xiao Ran slowly adjusted his breathing rhythm. Xiao Ran, with no prior experience of descending to Earth from space, found it difficult to adapt as easily as others, including students like Miriallia.

"A few minutes," the helmsman, Arnold, replied loudly.

Xiao Ran nodded and calmly asked the question that worried him the most: "Can you determine the final landing location from this descent angle?"

After calculating, the information officer, Dalida, replied with a grim expression, "It's confirmed that we will land within ZAFT's territory in North Africa."

"This is troublesome," Mu said, shaking his head helplessly.

"It's indeed a big problem," Xiao Ran nodded, then sighed. "Let's start praying now."

Mwu looked surprised. "Praying?"

Mu spread his hands and smiled. "Praying to escape this place?"

The others in the bridge turned to look at Xiao Ran, even Arnold, who was at the helm.

"It's not just that. Besides praying that the Archangel can safely escape ZAFT's territory, we also have to pray that General Harborton didn't send the Strike Gundam's data to the moon as a failsafe during the battle," Xiao Ran said, shaking his head, and then turned to leave the bridge.

His words stunned everyone in the bridge. Those who didn't understand were completely bewildered, while those who did understood looked visibly dismayed.

Mwu immediately stood up and quickly called out to Xiao Ran, who was about to leave, "Where are you going? Aren't you going to explain why you said that?"

"We're only a few minutes from landing. I'm going to check on Kira's condition. Besides, if he really fainted, someone needs to pilot the Strike Gundam back to the hangar, right?" Xiao Ran stopped and glanced back at Mwu. Seeing the sadness and distress in Mwu's eyes, Xiao Ran couldn't help but say, "I'll be back soon, just to pick up Kira. Don't look like that. Seeing you like this, I really don't have the confidence to discourage you anymore."

"Who are you discouraging!" Mwu heard Xiao Ran's words and turned her head away, sitting back in her seat. "Hurry up and go."

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