"Still, it's finally come to this..."
In the lounge, Ino had also heard the panic in the broadcast CIC operator's voice.
That was only natural. Their chances of surviving Le Creuset's pursuit were truly slim.
If not for the protagonist's plot armor, this battleship could never have made it to the Umbrella of Artemis alive, so the panic was understandable.
But that was all hypothetical. After all, plot armor and all that was pretty—
Beep beep—
Just as Ino floated in midair, calmly waiting for it all to be over, someone opened the tightly shut door from outside.
"I've confirmed with Sergeant Murdoch that the Ginn you were piloting has been repaired as much as possible and is now capable of combat deployment."
Mu stood in the doorway and spoke to Ino with a grave expression. "I don't know if you're really a soldier from the Eurasian Federation, but at a time like this, I'm willing to take that chance."
"Huh?"
Ino was briefly baffled by Mu's sudden remark, but quickly understood. The guy still hadn't given up on getting him to pilot a Mobile Suit into battle.
"I told you I'm not going out—"
"What you do with your strength is up to you. But I hope you won't regret failing to use it when the time comes because you need it."
With that, Mu turned and left.
He wasn't entirely sure whether Ino was a Eurasian Federation spy.
But at a time like this, whether Ino was a spy wasn't that important anymore.
If they couldn't get through the crisis before them, the Archangel would become another piece of space debris. What would it matter then whether the other guy was a spy?
Kira really couldn't take on the Le Creuset Team by himself.
Watching Mu La Flaga's retreating back, Ino's gaze wavered.
Maybe it was because of Mu's attitude, but Ino suddenly felt uneasy. Could the Archangel really be done for here—
In his memories, the Archangel was supposedly an invincible battleship that would never fall, but those were just memories.
After all, in those memories, Michel had died at Kira's hands, yet Ino had still managed to save him...
"Forget it. I'd better go take a look."
After thinking it over, Ino decided that, to be safe, he'd leave the brig and head to the bridge.
His little butterfly might have only given its wings the tiniest flutter, but what if—
What if he'd accidentally knocked away the protagonist's plot armor?
His goal was to escape the battlefield, find somewhere peaceful, and wait for the war to end.
But what if the Archangel really did sink here by accident? Would the world end?
Kira appeared in the hangar wearing his pilot suit. Battle was frightening, of course, but there were things he wanted to protect—
"Seeing you dressed like that, I guess you've finally made up your mind?"
Looking at the change in Kira's expression, Mu couldn't help teasing him with a grin.
But deep down, he still felt somewhat guilty.
He was a soldier, and an adult, yet in the end he was making an unrelated civilian go to war. It was an ironic sight.
Kira scratched his head and answered awkwardly, "You said we're the only ones who can protect this ship right now... I still don't want to fight, of course, but I want to protect this ship because everyone's on it."
"Then do your best, kid."
Looking at Kira, Mu was reminded of why he'd first gone to war. For once, he spoke with a serious expression. "No one in the world likes fighting for no reason. Unfortunately, in this absurd world, we have no choice but to fight for the things we want to protect."
After listening, Kira looked at the man before him in a new light.
He'd thought soldiers were worlds apart from him, but now he saw that everyone basically felt the same way.
Perhaps sensing that the mood had grown a little heavy, Kira looked at the Mobile Suit still being worked on not far away and thought of the boy named Ino. "Um, is Ino going to sortie too?"
"You've already met him?"
Mu was a little surprised to hear Kira call him by name.
"Yeah."
Kira nodded. They'd done more than just meet. He'd almost let Ino pilot the Strike Gundam.
But Ino had said it was his Mobile Suit, so only he could pilot it.
Then Ino had even given him a lecture.
About things like the strong and the weak.
"As for him, that's up to him. I can't make that decision for him."
Mu sincerely hoped Ino would pilot a Mobile Suit and come out to support them.
He'd experienced Ino's strength firsthand and even seriously suspected Ino had been holding back when he fought Mu and Kira.
Unfortunately, Ino's attitude was hard to read.
"I see..."
Kira didn't know how to continue the conversation.
"Anyway, don't think about it too much. Just do your best."
Mu continued, "Oh, right. I haven't told you about my plan yet..."
Mu's plan was extremely simple and straightforward.
Since the enemy would catch up sooner or later, Mu would secretly take the Moebius Zero ahead and strike directly at the enemy Nazca-class ship while the enemy focused its attacks on the Archangel, which was out in the open.
They weren't far from Artemis now. If the Nazca-class battleship took damage, ZAFT would inevitably retreat.
After all, the Eurasian Federation might not necessarily send troops to support them.
But if they saw a ZAFT Nazca-class battleship they could capture, they certainly wouldn't let such an easy chance to earn a military commendation slip by.
After quickly briefing Kira and explaining the plan,
Mu and Kira each headed for the Strike Gundam and the Moebius Zero.
[Laurasia-class vessel approaching from the rear at 90!] [Captain, it's about time. I'm heading out!] [Understood. Sorry for the trouble.]
The messages from the bridge and the conversation between Mu and Murrue flowed through the communications line into the Strike Gundam's cockpit.
"—The key to this plan is getting the timing right. I'll leave the rest to you!"
"Understood... Be careful."
After ending his call with the bridge, Mu spoke to Kira as well. "I'm off, kid. Just focus on looking after the ship and yourself."
"Ah, yes, sir! You be careful too, Lieutenant!"
On the screen, Mu flashed a carefree smile, then cut the connection.
On the bridge,
"Four heat signatures approaching from the rear! Range, 57! They're Mobile Suits!"
"Prepare for Mobile Suit combat! Load dispersal warheads into missile launch tubes 13 through 24! Bring both main guns online! Input target data as quickly as possible!"
Mixed in with the regular soldiers, Tolle and the others focused intently on their consoles, their expressions grave.
All twelve large missile launch ports at the stern opened;
the Valiant MK8 linear cannons, folded away in the round, shallow-dish housings on the outer sides of the wings, extended outward.
"Oh, my. It's quite a commotion."
Ino arrived on the bridge without any trouble at all.
To be honest, the trip had gone so smoothly that even Ino found it ridiculous. These people really weren't worried that the spy might turn on them.
"How did you—"
[Mobile Suits identified: ZGMF-1017 Ginn, and... they're X Series units! The X Series X102, X103, and X207!]
Just as Captain Murrue looked at Ino in surprise, Sergeant Dalida, who was analyzing the enemy, spoke with sudden alarm.
"What...?"
The crew froze in an instant.
Only Murrue's dry voice murmured, "...They've deployed all the G units they captured to the front line!?"
"Why's there an extra Ginn... Could it be Michel?"
Ino frowned at the Mobile Suits appearing on the screen.
If he remembered correctly, all the Mobile Suits in the Le Creuset Team had been destroyed during the battle at the colony.
But now—
"Yikes. Could they really lose this?"
Ino looked at the extra Mobile Suit on the screen, suddenly unsure.
They shouldn't underestimate Michel just because he wasn't a Red Uniform. His skill was every bit as good as that of an average Red Uniform.
And with Ino's own death being another debuff... This feels like trouble, damn it.
As Ino frowned and thought,
outside,
an enemy-approaching alert rang out in the Strike Gundam's cockpit as well.
It was a bright red Mobile Suit—the X303 Aegis Gundam, Athrun's Mobile Suit, as Ino had told him.
"Athrun?"
"Kira! Is that Kira Yamato?"
Just as Kira froze, Athrun's voice suddenly came through the loudspeaker.
"Athrun? It really is you!"
Though Ino had confirmed it for him, when Kira actually heard that familiar voice, he couldn't help feeling dazed, even though he'd already prepared himself for this.
"Kira—"
With his guess confirmed, Athrun suddenly didn't know what to say next.
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