Inside the Archangel, a group of soldiers with guns stood at the entrances to every passageway.
The people who had effectively been placed under house arrest whispered among themselves uneasily.
"...What the hell is going on?"
"Why won't anyone explain anything to us...?"
The refugees, who had no idea what was happening, murmured among themselves, but as they listened to their questions, the Archangel's soldiers were just as bewildered.
"Hey, aren't you allied with the Eurasian Federation? Don't tell me they don't get along with the Atlantic Federation?"
Sai asked Jackie.
"That's not the problem!"
Jackie snapped back fiercely.
Pal, standing beside them, sighed as if he understood. "It's because we don't have Eurasian Federation military identification codes..."
"Is not having identification codes really that serious?"
Sai looked at the stern-faced Eurasian Federation soldiers holding firearms and could not help feeling stunned.
"This is already a relatively mild way of handling it."
The short, stout Pal sighed.
"...I think the real problem probably isn't that."
Listening to their conversation, Murdoch looked thoughtful.
Not having military identification codes was indeed serious, and the other side's actions were indeed reasonable.
But if they let their thoughts branch out a little, this matter was not nearly so reassuring.
Neumann also nodded, his expression strained.
The Earth Alliance Army—that was what they called it.
But they were not exactly a united group.
The Earth Alliance Army had been established in C.E. 70 under the leadership of the Atlantic Federation, with the shared goal of opposing "ZAFT."
But the Earth Alliance was not, in the end, a single unified entity. Its political blocs and military forces were all divided.
The Eurasian Federation was a federation of interests spanning from the northern Eurasian continent to the west, including some Nordic countries.
The Atlantic Federation, meanwhile, was