Debris Belt: Archangel Selection

Looking at the diagram on the dining table, Murrue nodded in thanks once more, then pointed first to the butter dish in front of her, and then to the space between Mu and herself, specifically the butter dish near Mu's left hand.

"The butter dish in front of me represents L3, which is Heliopolis, Artemis Fortress, the Celestial Being fleet, and the area we are currently in.

And over there is L4, which once held Nova and Mendel, but after the Battle of Nova last July, following our army's defeat and ZAFT's voluntary withdrawal post-battle, it should be completely abandoned by now."

Following Murrue's explanation, Badgiruel took the opportunity to voice her own opinion.

"In that case, the safest route would be to pass through the Fourth Space Domain where L4 is located. After advancing rapidly along the lunar orbit, it would be easy to either continue along the lunar orbit to the headquarters on the moon's surface or cut inward to reach the 8th Fleet's station first."

Murrue nodded slightly at Badgiruel's suggestion;

However, Mu let out a bitter laugh at this moment, causing both of them to turn their gazes toward him.

"Lieutenant Badgiruel's words would normally be correct, but I have a small question here.

The base of Celestial Being does not seem to be at L3 in the Fifth Space Domain, and it is obviously impossible for it to be on Earth, the Moon, or Plant.

So, this is now a trivia round: with a support fleet arriving so quickly, where do you two ladies think the 'lair' of Celestial Being, or at least its forward base, is most likely to be?"

Although Mu used a question, excluding the beans representing the 8th Fleet, there were actually only five markers on the table, and Mu had already eliminated four of them in one breath; the truth was naturally singular.

"In other words, if we take the route through L4, we are very likely to run head-on into the Celestial Being forces that have been entrenched in L4 since some point after the Battle of Nova?"

Likewise, although Murrue used a question, she had basically accepted Mu's judgment;

And Mu answered with a joke that was not funny at all.

"Who knows, we might even have the Celestial Being fleet following right behind us, waiting to head home, and we'll end up receiving a 'warm' welcome."

Amidst Murrue's expression of being unable to laugh or cry, Badgiruel also took the opportunity to rule out another route.

"If that's the case, the most convenient and rapid lunar orbit route is completely out of the question. After all, L5 on the other side, which houses Plant, is an even more dangerous choice.

Archangel can only take the direction of the First Space Domain; the only choices left are how close to the Debris Belt we go, and whether we pass on the L4 side or the L5 side."

Mu and Murrue had no objections to Badgiruel's analysis.

After all, Archangel was left with only the Strike Gundam, which had lost its Aile Pack, and the Moebius Type Zero, which was still undergoing major repairs. In the short term, they would likely struggle to deal with even a single ZAFT ship-scale squad, let alone the Creuset Team or the Celestial Being fleet.

"In that case, we have no choice but to hug the Debris Belt, right?

At the very least, in the worst-case scenario, we can rely on the debris for concealment and to stall for time."

After a brief moment of thought, both Murrue and Badgiruel nodded in agreement with Mu's statement. Now, regarding the route selection, only one question remained:

Should they follow the Earth's rotation toward the L5 side near Plant, or go against the Earth's rotation toward the L4 side, where the suspected Celestial Being base was located?

Faced with this dilemma, Murrue thought for a moment before sharing her thoughts with the still-hesitant Mu and Badgiruel.

"Since both routes carry similar risks, let's choose the closer and faster L5 direction!"

Faced with Murrue's determination and reasoning, Mu and Badgiruel, having no objections to raise, both nodded.

Subsequently, since the most urgent matter of the flight path had been settled, the three took back their respective sugar bowls and butter dishes to hurry and replenish their energy.

Once all three had largely finished their meal, it was time to discuss another important issue:

How to handle the 'insubordination' of 'Second Lieutenant' Kira Yamato;

Or, how to request that 'Prince of Orb' Mr. Kira Yamato continue to assist the Earth Alliance's Archangel;

And, accompanying that, how to deal with the 'volunteers' or 'Orb civilians' who boarded the ship at Heliopolis.

After all, they had previously assumed it was a short-term relationship that would end upon reaching Artemis Fortress, so everything had been a matter of making do;

But now, not only was the road ahead difficult and long, but Kira Yamato, having had his 'hidden identity' exposed, was no longer someone a few majors could push around.

When it came to this topic, even Mu, who had the leisure to tell cold jokes while discussing the critical flight path earlier, could not help but press hard on his temples.

"First, let me clarify something, setting aside the issue of the boy Yamato for a moment.

Compared to the previous short-haul voyage from Heliopolis to Artemis Fortress, which was just circling within L3;

Right now, without the assistance of those boys and girls, can this ship complete a long-haul voyage from one end of the Earth-Moon system to the other?

There are some people from Artemis Fortress who didn't disembark, aren't there?"

Faced with this question, Murrue turned her gaze to Badgiruel;

And under the scrutiny of her two colleagues, Badgiruel hesitated for a long time before answering reluctantly.

"If we could take the simpler lunar orbit route, we could barely manage a two-shift rotation with just our own personnel and those from the Eurasian Federation;

But since we have to take an intercepting route while hugging the Debris Belt, just to deal with gravitational changes and correct the course in time, there will likely be situations along the way that require extra hands;

Without those boys and girls, theoretically, we would have to rely on partial shifts or even no shifts at all to ensure we can make necessary responses at critical moments.

But this would not only lead to severe fatigue issues, but we also might not be able to respond properly when encountering unknown risks, let alone if a battle were to occur."

Although Badgiruel made it sound like it was barely possible, it effectively meant it was impossible;

And since even Badgiruel, who was the most opposed to civilian involvement, said as much, the reality of the situation was clear;

Faced with this, as a third party who theoretically did not participate in bridge shifts and was relatively uninvolved, Mu bluntly tore through the final layer of pretense.

"In other words, without the participation of those young people, even if we don't encounter any battles, we will likely be unable to safely sail Archangel back.

Then the matter is actually simple."

Since we have chosen not to surrender to Celestial Being, then in order to achieve our goal, we must be willing to kneel and beg if necessary to get 'His Highness Prince' Kira Yamato and his little friends to provide us with their assistance.

Isn't that exactly how it is, Lieutenant Natarle Badgiruel, and Major Murrue Ramius?"

Faced with the bloody truth Mu had laid bare, Natarle clenched her fists, yet she found herself unable to offer any rebuttal.

Murrue, however, after a moment of silence, suddenly broke into a smile.

"Mm, that is exactly how it is.

So let us go together and entreat those young men for their assistance, Major Mu La Flaga."

Seeing the look on Mu's face as his own words came back to haunt him, Murrue and Natarle both shared a bitter, weary laugh.

With the plan decided, the three of them each picked up their meal boxes and headed toward the mess hall where the young ones were likely to be.