Murrue and Halberton Make Contact

After watching Colonel Gerard Garcia depart, Major Bidaluf took the initiative to confirm matters with Murrue before she could even ask.

"Captain, aside from communication requirements, does your ship need to dock further with the facility to facilitate energy and communication needs? Furthermore, is your ship lacking supplies, and do the Type Zero and Strike Gundam piloted by Captain La Flaga require parts or spares for repairs?"

Faced with the supplies and support that the Archangel was in dire need of—offered proactively by Major Bidaluf—Murrue could not refuse, despite the lingering doubts in her heart.

"Lieutenant Badgiruel, I leave the further docking procedures to you. Captain La Flaga, could I trouble you to oversee the resupply operations?"

"Yes!" & "Leave it to me."

As Badgiruel and Mu responded, staff members behind Major Bidaluf stepped forward to coordinate with them. Meanwhile, Major Bidaluf turned to Murrue, preparing to personally guide her to the communication equipment.

"Then, Captain, please follow me."

Under the guidance and assistance of Major Bidaluf, Murrue was able to successfully initiate a private communication session in a room near the Archangel within the dock area.

Although she had mentioned contacting headquarters and the 8th Fleet, for Murrue, the first priority was naturally to contact Admiral Halberton of the 8th Fleet.

Unexpectedly, after submitting the request, Murrue was connected to Admiral Halberton almost immediately—judging by the screen, the Admiral had paused a meeting to prioritize her call.

"Lieutenant Ramius, it is a relief to see you are safe. Have you arrived at Artemis Fortress?"

"Yes, Admiral Halberton. The Archangel and the Strike Gundam have just docked at Artemis Fortress. I am deeply sorry to report that the Duel, Aegis, Blitz, and Buster were all seized by the Creuset Team."

Just as it seemed the Admiral had already been aware of Murrue's situation, he did not appear surprised that everything except the Strike Gundam had been captured by the Creuset Team.

Not letting Murrue wonder for long, Admiral Halberton took the initiative to clarify things for her.

"It seems you truly did enter a state of stealth navigation. Lieutenant Ramius, I need to wrap up my meeting here; please watch this video first, and I will contact you again shortly."

"Yes, Admiral Halberton."

Following the Admiral's casual salute and the termination of the call, Murrue soon received a video file titled 'Celestial Being Formation Declaration' sent by him. Before Murrue could recover from the shock and impact of the video, a new communication request from the Admiral rang out.

Pausing the video, Murrue accepted the call, and Admiral Halberton had already returned to his office.

"Admiral Halberton, we..."

Admiral Halberton waved his hand, signaling for Murrue to listen first.

"As the one who dispatched you, I am well aware of the situation. I even suspect that 'Celestial Being' is not entirely ignorant of it either; they are simply using you as a means to demonstrate force, seize the moral high ground, and strike at Logos and Creuset. Furthermore, Logos has demanded the data and ownership of the G and the Archangel, and I have already agreed."

Seeing that Murrue said nothing and listened quietly, Admiral Halberton nodded with satisfaction and continued to clear up her confusion.

"Although 'Celestial Being' has made quite a scene, the most important thing right now is to mass-produce the Earth Alliance's own mobile suits as quickly as possible to resist ZAFT's offensive and avoid losing this war entirely. After all, ending the war is the job of politicians; what we soldiers must do is find a way to win the war at hand and minimize casualties as much as possible. Of course, this does not mean compromising with Logos or 'Blue Cosmos'. As long as I, Halberton, have a breath left, the Earth Alliance will never be at their beck and call!"

"Admiral Halberton! Yes, I, Murrue Ramius, will certainly fight to the end for this."

Having unified their thoughts with the 'frontline officer,' Admiral Halberton began to explain the specific arrangements.

"I have already ordered Colonel Koopman to organize an advance team with the Montgomery as its core. The lunar headquarters has also decided to mass-produce our mobile suits as soon as possible and is preparing to dispatch a fleet to meet you. You are to replenish supplies and personnel at Artemis, then, depending on the situation, return to Earth with the Strike Gundam as soon as you can. To commend your achievements, all personnel are to be promoted by one rank; please submit the personnel list to me as soon as possible. I entrust the Archangel and the Strike Gundam to you, Major Murrue Ramius!"

"Yes, Admiral Halberton. Even if we have to risk our lives, we will fulfill your commission."

Admiral Halberton waved his hand, signaling that such formalities were unnecessary, and prepared to end the call. Murrue quickly stopped him to explain the situation regarding Kira and his friends.

"I see. So that is why the Strike Gundam survived and demonstrated such combat capability. Good grief, it seems that in the end, mobile suits still rely on Coordinators to achieve combat effectiveness."

Murrue was speechless at the Admiral's words and finally added weakly in response.

"That organization calling itself 'Celestial Being' also possesses mobile suits, but they shouldn't be Coordinators, right?"

"Newtypes, perhaps... In any case, we still know very little about 'Celestial Being.' While we have 'listened to their words,' we must still 'observe their actions.' As for those youths, I will take responsibility for coordinating and finding a way; I will definitely handle it by the time you return. Tell them that. I am here, waiting for your safe return!"

"Yes, Admiral Halberton."

After ending the communication with the Admiral, Murrue did not intend to contact headquarters further, so she returned to the Archangel with Major Bidaluf.

By the time Murrue returned to the Archangel, the ship had become much livelier.

Not only were supply vehicles moving in and out of the Hangar, but the bridge was also crowded with additional coordination personnel from Artemis Fortress.

Compared to her previous anxiety, Murrue was able to understand Colonel Gerard Garcia's intentions after communicating with Admiral Halberton; however, given the Archangel's genuine shortage of manpower, there was nothing they could do to counter the colonel's open scheme, so for the time being, they had no choice but to let them be.

In any case, since the actions of Celestial Being had turned their classified project into a public priority, leaking a little information to their allies in the Eurasian Federation was no longer a major issue.

The current priority was instead to complete the Archangel's resupply operations, then return to the 8th Fleet's base as quickly as possible before heading to Earth.

On this point, the Archangel and Artemis Fortress were in complete agreement.