Ino's Startled Realization

Bridge of the Archangel.

The crew returned to the bridge after placing Eno Kamal under house arrest as a prisoner of war.

Although he had requested a private conversation, the current situation left them with little spare time.

"What do you plan to do next?"

Inside the bridge, Mu floated in mid-air and asked Captain Murrue.

At these words, Murrue instinctively looked at the crew members around the bridge.

Suddenly thrust into the role of captain and pushed into this position, with ZAFT pursuers still out there, the pressure and confusion made her want to find a place to scream and vent—especially given her lack of real combat experience.

Yet, she could not do so, as most of the crew were in the same boat as her.

This only made her feel that their future was even more bleak.

What gave her an even worse headache was that the crew members were not familiar with one another.

Not to mention Mu La Flaga, even Badgiruel was someone she knew, but they had never served in the same unit before.

She harbored deep doubts about whether she could actually manage them, especially this man who seemed so incredibly unserious.

"Are you choosing to surrender?"

Mu asked with a chuckle, "I think ZAFT would be very happy to accept us. Plus, with that prisoner named Eno Kamal, we might even receive preferential treatment, who knows?"

Murrue rolled her eyes at Mu and said, as if venting, "That's a great idea you've got there. Why don't you help me contact them?"

"Uh..."

Mu, not expecting such a response, was momentarily stunned.

Seeing his bewildered expression, Murrue felt a sense of petty revenge, though she was only speaking in jest.

After a moment of contemplation, Murrue faced reality, took a deep breath, and said firmly, "This ship will never surrender. This vessel and the final Strike must never fall into the hands of ZAFT. No matter what, they must be delivered to the Atlantic Federation command."

"But we can't even establish contact with the lunar headquarters right now..."

Hearing Murrue's resolute answer, Mu stopped teasing and said with a bitter face, "I admire your determination, but relying on that alone..."

"As far as our current position is concerned, the easiest choice is to head toward our allies."

While the two were struggling with their frustration, Ensign Badgiruel offered a suggestion: "The Umbrella of Artemis is very close to our current position. If we can reach it, we should be able to establish contact with the Atlantic Federation."

Hearing Badgiruel's proposal, the two couldn't help but look surprised, though they quickly began to consider its feasibility.

The Umbrella of Artemis was a military satellite belonging to the Eurasian Federation, located to the port side of the Archangel.

The Eurasian Federation and the Atlantic Federation, to which the Archangel belonged, were part of a military alliance.

"But the G-Series and this ship were never publicly announced; we don't even have the identification codes for our allies. If we go there like this..."

Captain Murrue was uneasy; after all, while the Eurasian Federation was an ally of the Atlantic Federation, they were only allies.

"But even if we continue toward the moon, is it possible to make it there without any combat?"

Ensign Natarle Badgiruel raised the most critical issue for the warship: "Furthermore, the ship didn't fully stock its supplies before departure. With our current resources, we cannot make it to the moon."

The moon was currently on the opposite side of Earth's orbit, making the journey far too long.

Even if they didn't encounter combat, the ship's supplies would run out halfway.

Ensign Natarle Badgiruel added, "In truth, we have no other choice."

Hearing Natarle Badgiruel's words, Captain Murrue instinctively pursed her lips.

"But as for Artemis..."

Mu muttered with skepticism, "Will they cooperate with our intentions..."

"But this is truly the only path we have left."

Though uneasy and hesitant, Murrue made her decision: "Prepare the decoys! Launch the decoys while firing the main engines, adjust our heading to correct our course toward Artemis, then switch to inertial navigation. All hands to second battle stations! Complete the course correction in the shortest time possible."

Having accepted the proposal, the bridge of the Archangel quickly became a hive of activity.

"Silent running to Artemis... it should take about two hours."

In the detention room.

"Is this... a course correction?"

Eno watched the debris outside the window gradually changing direction and roughly guessed the situation: "So the next target is... the Umbrella of Artemis."

Eno's knowledge of the original work wasn't extensive; he only knew the general plot.

But in his current situation, the general plot was enough.

From the memories of his predecessor, he knew the Umbrella of Artemis was a military satellite belonging to the Eurasian Federation.

The Archangel encountered some unpleasant events upon arriving at Artemis.

However, the Blitz Gundam later helped resolve the trouble—

"Forget it, none of this has anything to do with me. My primary problem right now is how to leave this battlefield."

Eno sat on the edge of the bed and began to think.

He did indeed possess his own internal identification code, but the question was, could Artemis possibly know it?

Furthermore, with his handler completely off the grid, how was he supposed to prove he hadn't been turned by ZAFT?

How could he possibly gain their trust—

The answer was—there was no way to prove it.

Under normal circumstances, no one would believe another person's one-sided testimony, let alone when both sides were locked in a full-scale war.

After all, according to his background, he had entered the upper echelons of ZAFT with top marks from the Command Academy—

"Come to think of it, how could the Earth Alliance be willing to send a 'genius' like me to act as a spy? What were their countermeasures?"

Ino suddenly wondered how the Earth Alliance had ensured he wouldn't defect.

If he could just think this through clearly, could he perhaps deduce the nature of his own loyalty?

But—what exactly were their countermeasures?

Why didn't he have even the slightest impression of them?

"No, this isn't right—"

Ino suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Why hadn't he thought of this question until now?

He hadn't considered it carefully before, but now that he thought about it, the behavior of the Earth Alliance seemed incredibly bizarre.

On what grounds did they believe he, or rather his predecessor, wouldn't defect?

In his past life, he had seen a joke.

It was about the police sending an undercover agent to infiltrate a gang.

But the police never moved to make arrests, and the agent suffered through the ordeal every day, so he called his superior and asked, "Sir, when are we moving in? I've already gathered all their intel."

The superior said, "Wait a little longer."

A year later, the agent couldn't wait any longer and called again: "Sir, when are we moving in? I've already reached the core of the gang."

The superior said, "Keep waiting."

Another year passed, and the agent called again: "Sir, I've become the second-in-command of the gang, when are we moving in?"

The superior said, "Keep waiting."

Another year later, the superior decided it was time to move in, but by then, the agent had successfully climbed the ranks to become the boss.

When the superior called him to say it was time to move in, the agent replied: "Sir, are you joking? We're a legitimate company now."

This wasn't just a joke; it was a very real possibility.

The people in the Earth Alliance weren't idiots; they couldn't have failed to consider such a scenario.

So, what were their countermeasures?

Weren't they afraid he would become a double agent, using the transmission of false intelligence to the Earth Alliance to elevate his status within ZAFT?

Look at his predecessor's situation: top of the Command Academy.

With those grades, entering a core department was a certainty; under normal circumstances, earning a Purple Uniform wouldn't even be a problem.

If you added the element of being a double agent, if played correctly, he might even have become a member of the Council.

Don't talk to him about threats to his family or emotional ties.

The training his predecessor underwent was life-or-death; nearly a thousand students started training together from a young age, and in the end, only a few survived.

It was a system where one person died for every one eliminated.

That kind of... wait.

"Why can't I remember the specific details of the training?"