Ino's Plans

"Ino, wait a moment. Let me finish up here, and I'll head over with you."

Dearka quickened his pace as he spoke.

If anyone else had said that, Dearka might have hesitated, but when Ino said it... he had to go.

No, that wasn't quite right; he had to go regardless of who suggested it.

"Finish up? Do you think we don't know your situation, Dearka? Ino and I will just head over ourselves."

Yzak cut Dearka off directly.

In truth, Yzak didn't have particularly deep feelings for Michel or Rusty.

But they were, after all, comrades in the same squad.

Moreover, since Ino had brought it up, he felt he had to go regardless of the circumstances.

"Wait, I'm finished too. I'll come along as well."

Nicol, who had finished his Mobile Suit calibration early, spoke up quickly.

"You guys—"

"Wait for me a second, I'm almost done too."

However, before Ino could finish, Athrun spoke up right after.

"Athrun?"

Ino looked toward Athrun.

Hearing Ino's inquiry, which carried a hint of confusion, Athrun looked up at him, pressed his lips together, and said, "Sorry, I... my thoughts were a bit scattered just now."

It was fine until Ino brought it up, but once he did, Athrun began to worry about Michel's situation as well.

In reality, Athrun believed that the Natural could never pose a threat to Michel.

That guy could barely walk straight; Michel could beat him with one hand tied behind his back.

That was why he had thought about forcing Ino to come back.

But now that he thought about it, what if?

Even if Michel couldn't penetrate the armor of that machine called a Gundam, that didn't mean the opponent couldn't threaten Michel.

"...Just hurry up. I have a bad feeling; I'm worried Michel won't be able to hold out for long."

Looking at Athrun, Ino didn't know how to scold him, nor did he know how to explain his unease, so he could only use words like "guess" to describe it.

"Sorry, I'll be ready in a second."

Athrun finished speaking, his hands flying across the keyboard.

Whether for Michel or for Kira, he couldn't let Ino and the others go over alone.

The Mobile Suit Michel was piloting was a Ginn. Once the Phase Shift Armor was deployed, the Ginn's weapons could barely inflict fatal damage on it.

But that only guaranteed the stability of the machine's exterior; the vibrations transmitted through the frame were still unavoidable.

In such a situation, if Ino and the others arrived, even if they couldn't destroy the machine, they could trap the pilot inside the cockpit with the external vibrations.

At the very least, they could drag it out until the opponent's energy ran dry.

And knowing Yzak and the others, it was highly likely that Yzak would simply execute that machine on the spot.

"What's there to worry about? Michel's strength isn't top-tier, but he's not so weak that he can't escape. You're just prone to worrying about nothing."

After hearing Ino's explanation, Dearka couldn't help but retort.

From start to finish, he didn't believe a Natural could pilot a Mobile Suit and pose a fatal threat to Michel.

This wasn't arrogance or conceit, but a belief based on the established fact that Naturals could not pilot Mobile Suits fluidly.

"I know, it's just... maybe it's just a premonition. I just feel uneasy."

Ino once again used ambiguous words to brush it off.

"Uneasy? Come to think of it, did you say something to Rusty when you left?"

Dearka suddenly remembered Ino pulling Rusty aside before they departed. "If I recall correctly, you said something similar back then."

"Yeah, I did say something to him, but..."

Ino nodded, his expression somewhat desolate.

Because he knew the situation, Ino had tried to warn Rusty not to push himself too hard and to prioritize his own safety.

"You don't have some kind of ability we don't know about, do you?"

Seeing this, Dearka couldn't help but joke, trying to change the subject.

"I actually do. So, Dearka, you'd better be careful. I've noticed lately that your forehead is looking dark—you might be in for some trouble."

Ino said this with a grave, earnest tone.

"Haha, you're joking, right?"

The smile on Dearka's face faltered.

"What do you think?"

Ino replied with a serious expression.

"Uh..."

Dearka fell silent.

His gaze began to drift; although this thing was a bit bizarre, why did he always feel like something was off?

Watching Dearka's solemn expression, Ino suddenly thought of his own affairs and hurriedly said to the hangar maintenance crewman not far away, "Right, please install a grappling hook for me."

"A grappling hook?"

The hangar maintenance crewman couldn't help but look puzzled.

"Is it not possible?"

Ino asked.

"It's not that it's impossible, but since the Ginn doesn't have a mounting point for a grappling hook, if you force the installation, you won't be able to use the shield," the hangar maintenance crewman explained.

Upon hearing this, Ino was silent for a moment before saying, "If I can't use it, then so be it. I want a high-magnetic grappling hook, please hurry."

He intended to use the existence of the Archangel to defect from ZAFT.

The grappling hook was meant for his escape; when the Archangel departed, he would simply need to latch the hook onto the ship to leave with it.

"Uh... but this will affect the mobile suit's combat effectiveness."

The maintenance crewman couldn't help but confirm again, "Are you sure you still want it?"

"Yes!"

Although Ino couldn't remember the specific details of the future, he still had some impression of the general events.

If he didn't defect from ZAFT now, he would inevitably have to clash with the Earth Alliance later.

For now, he could barely hold back using his technical skills, relying on Yzak and the others to slack off and hide his true capabilities.

But once it dragged on, facing an increasingly powerful Earth Alliance, or even entering Earth directly, he would certainly have to act to protect himself, and his strength would no longer be hidden.

Furthermore, because of the damage he would inflict on the Earth Alliance, even if he successfully defected from ZAFT, he would inevitably face pursuit or imprisonment by the Earth Alliance.

Moreover, he was currently a spy who had lost contact; in such a situation, the later he defected from ZAFT, the lower the Earth Alliance's trust in him would be.

Therefore, the sooner he defected from ZAFT, the better.

"Alright."

Seeing Ino's firm attitude, the maintenance crewman had no choice but to turn around and start arranging the equipment change for Ino.

"Ino, how did you suddenly think of installing a grappling hook?"

Yzak couldn't quite understand Ino's train of thought.

It would be understandable if he were installing something else, like a shield or other weapons, but what was the use of a grappling hook?

"Just wanted to try installing one."

Ino could only use his personal interest as an excuse.

Woo!

[Giles Arthur's mobile suit heavily damaged, fire-fighting squad proceed to Deck B immediately!]

[Orr's mobile suit is returning in an emergency, logistics personnel please prepare!]

[Emergency, Michelle Aiman's return laser signal detected!]

However, before Ino's mobile suit equipment change was even finished, he heard the voices of the bridge CIC coming one after another in the cockpit.

"Laser signal?"

Athrun, who was performing final adjustments, couldn't help but look astonished.

Yzak and Dearka looked toward Ino's direction involuntarily. Could this guy's mouth be blessed?

Facing their gazes, Ino was also somewhat bewildered at this moment. A laser signal meant the loss of a mobile suit but no threat to life, so had he changed Michelle Aiman's fate?

"It seems there is a rather annoying fly buzzing outside."

On the bridge of the Vesalius, listening to the CIC's report, Le Creuset silently floated up from his chair.

"Captain Le Creuset?"

Addis looked at Le Creuset, who was walking toward the bridge elevator, with surprise.

"I'll go out and take a look. That last mobile suit must not be abandoned."

After saying this, Le Creuset stepped into the elevator and pressed the button directly.