Determining Stance, Heading Towards the Target ~ Heliopolis

"What did you say!?"

On the bridge, Yzak's voice ripped through the sky.

"I know you have a loud voice, you don't need to shout so loud!" In the hotel room in Heliopolis, Noer rubbed his ears with a headache, clearly stimulated quite a bit by Yzak's voice just now.

"I told you to confirm the intelligence, and this is how you confirmed it?"

As Yzak spoke, he picked up a crude blueprint that had been transmitted synchronously. "With just one shoddy sketch, you're telling me where Earth Alliance warships and five new-type MS are located in Heliopolis?"

It wasn't Yzak's fault for being so agitated, as the intelligence report Noer provided was too unreliable.

A blurry photo with red and white colors, five clumsy sketches, and some data files.

The data files were fine, but the two pictures and sketches were the problem...

Even Athrun and the others, who had been speaking up for Noer, didn't know what to say at this point. The confirmation of this intelligence was... frankly, too unsightly.

"Come on, you don't know how strict the security is in that damned place, I couldn't get in to take pictures!" Noer defended himself.

In reality, he hadn't gone to look for the Archangel at all; it was beyond his capabilities.

He had gone to the Academy of Engineering, but after just a glance from the outside, he abandoned those unrealistic fantasies.

The area outside the academy was covered in surveillance, with plenty of visible and hidden guards. The moment he took out his camera, he felt at least ten pairs of eyes looking at him.

Let alone going inside the academy to take pictures, it was a question of whether he could even get close.

So, this was the result. Since it was confirmed that the Archangel and MS were here, why should he risk it?

"But your confirmation is also..."

"Noel Cassia, do you know the consequences of this intelligence?" Captain Cruze interrupted Yzak, who was about to say something.

The only reply to Cruze was silence.

Noel of course knew what this intelligence would bring: the fall of Heliopolis.

Actually, at first, Noel had hesitated whether to release the intelligence to Cruze, or rather, whether to warn the residents of Heliopolis.

However, after a night of deep thought, Noel ultimately chose to abandon the idea and let Heliopolis meet its deserved fate.

And at this moment, he truly chose to join PLANT.

The reason was actually very simple: no matter how you looked at it, PLANT was Noel's best choice.

Not to mention how many benefits he had already received from PLANT.

Let's talk about who was more in the right, the Earth Alliance or PLANT.

PLANT had been the victim from beginning to end. People were living well, and even if there were frictions, PLANT hadn't initiated any action. They had even continued to supply resources to Earth.

The result? The Earth Alliance struck first. Never mind the instigation from that hidden force; if the Earth Alliance didn't want to fight, no amount of instigation would matter.

So the situation was clear.

Both emotionally and logically, Noel had to help PLANT.

As for the innocent people who died, honestly, let's not be so naive. If you enjoy the peace and happiness brought by your country, then you must also bear the pain and chaos it brings.

Before anything happened, everyone was happy, but when something happened—Oh, I'm innocent... You want all the good things? Is that possible?

War is not child's play.

Of course, Noel wasn't so insane as to attack ordinary people; he could only say he would do his best...

"Noel Cassia, answer my question." Captain Cruze stood on the bridge and continued to ask.

"I am willing to take responsibility for everything I have said!" Noel replied after taking a deep breath.

"I feel your resolve."

After speaking, Cruze turned with a serious expression and said to Athrun and the others, "Change course, target—the Heliopolis colony satellite belonging to Orb!"

"Yes!"

The next day, on the morning of January 25th, C.E. 71.

Noel packed his luggage, checked out of the room, and left the hotel with his bag.

Given Cruze's personality, they should be on their way by now, so... running away was the best course of action!

He didn't want to stay in this damned place for another minute.

Because if he remembered correctly, Heliopolis was ultimately destroyed.

Ten minutes later—

"What did you say? Shipping services are suspended today?"

At the Heliopolis airport, Noel looked at the ticket seller for the shipping services in a daze.

"Yes, sir. All routes are temporarily blocked today due to special circumstances, so we have also suspended our shuttle services."

The clerk responsible for shuttle registration and ticketing did not sound impatient because of Noer's voice; instead, he answered him carefully.

"Then when will the shuttle services resume? Is it really not possible today?" Noel asked, unwilling to give up.

"I'm sorry, sir, we haven't received any notifications yet, but it should be open by the day after tomorrow at the latest," the salesperson said with a smile, shaking their head.

"The… the day after tomorrow?" Noer was speechless. The day after tomorrow.

Given Cruze's personality and the speed of Z.A.F.T.'s space warships, Cruze could reach this place by tomorrow at the latest.

"Yes, sir. Would you like to make a reservation?" the ticket agent continued to ask.

"No, thank you!"

Noer turned and quietly left the counter under the salesperson's strange gaze.

A reservation? Heliopolis is about to be destroyed, and I'm supposed to make a reservation here? Do they really think I have too much money to spend?

Noer left the airport and walked aimlessly down the street.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Noer, and he noticed the problem with the salesperson's words.

Blockading the airspace. Under what circumstances would a colonial satellite choose to blockade its airspace?

And combining that with the information about the Archangel being here… if you put the two together…

"Captain Cruze and his team aren't planning to attack Heliopolis today, are they!"

"Heliopolis" was a traditional cylindrical colonial satellite.

Outside the 32-kilometer-long, 3-kilometer-diameter cylinder, three solar panels unfurled like petals around the outer layer.

This massive cylinder used the centrifugal force generated by its rotation to create gravity on the inner wall of the satellite.

The characteristic feature of "Heliopolis" was the asteroid attached to it for resource exploration.

When approaching the colonial satellite from a distance, it looked strange, as if it had suddenly emerged from a giant rock.

At this moment, the Z.A.F.T. Nazca-class battleship "Vesalius," which Noer was 'thinking about,' had arrived behind the planetary fragments not far from Heliopolis.

After receiving the detailed intelligence 'provided by Noer.'

Athrun Zala's team of five led their squad, using the intelligence to approach the rock belonging to Heliopolis.

Soon, at Athrun's signal, dozens of figures in green airtight suits behind him climbed one by one into the exhaust port leading to the satellite's interior.

Athrun and the others in red airtight suits also clung to the rock.

"Hoo—"

Athrun lowered his head and glanced at his wrist-mounted watch.

Because of the airtight suits, their breathing sounded exceptionally clear at this moment.

Time ticked by—

Soon, about ten minutes later—

The wrist-mounted watch indicated the scheduled time, and the exhaust port's surveillance device was deactivated.

Seeing this, everyone slid into Heliopolis's exhaust port in an orderly fashion.

Exhaust ports were inherently the least defended areas of colonial satellites like Heliopolis. Furthermore, as a neutral nation, Orb had never participated in wars, and the soldiers were deeply convinced that neither the PLANTs nor the Earth Alliance would attack them.

Therefore…

Ten minutes later—

Without alerting anyone, Athrun and the others infiltrated the satellite's interior in batches.

They then spread out neatly in all directions, without any orders, and without even a hint of hesitation in exploring the unfamiliar environment.

They meticulously followed the established plan, focusing on the main areas of the factory district, and installed small black boxes one by one.

"Beep beep—"

The boxes were installed, and the countdown suddenly lit up.