"What did you say!?"
On the bridge, Yzak's voice tore through the air.
"I know you've got a loud voice, but you don't need to shout that loudly!" In a hotel room on Heliopolis, Noel rubbed his aching ears. Yzak's voice had clearly given him quite a shock.
"I sent you to confirm the intelligence, and this is how you confirmed it?"
As he spoke, Yzak picked up a crudely drawn diagram that had been transmitted over. "With nothing but a lousy sketch, you're telling me there's an Earth Alliance space battleship and five new-model MS somewhere on Heliopolis?"
Yzak could hardly be blamed for getting so worked up. The intelligence report Noel had provided was simply outrageous.
One blurry red-and-white photograph, five terrible sketches, and part of a data file.
The data file was fine, but those pictures and sketches...
Even Athrun and the others, who had always spoken up for Noel, had no idea what to say now. This intelligence confirmation was... truly hard to look at.
"Come on, you have no idea how heavily guarded that place is. There was no way I could get inside to take pictures!" Noel defended himself.
The truth was, he had never gone looking for the Archangel at all. There was no other reason—he simply lacked the ability.
He had gone to check out the engineering academy, but after taking one distant look from outside, he gave up on those unrealistic fantasies.
The academy's exterior was covered in surveillance cameras, both obvious and hidden. The instant he pulled out his camera, he sensed at least ten pairs of eyes turning toward him.
Forget entering the academy to take pictures. Whether he could even get close was questionable.
That was why things had ended up like this. In any case, it was already confirmed that the Archangel and MS were here, so why should he risk himself?
"But this of yours..."
"Noel Cassia, do you know what consequences this intelligence will bring?" Cruze raised a hand, cutting off Yzak before he could continue.
Silence answered Cruze.
Of course Noel knew what this intelligence would lead to: the fall of Heliopolis.
At first, Noel had hesitated over whether to reveal the intelligence to Cruze, or perhaps warn the residents of Heliopolis.
However, after thinking it over deeply for an entire night, Noel ultimately chose to abandon that idea and give Heliopolis the fate it was meant to have.
And at that moment, he truly chose to join PLANT.
The reason was actually very simple. No matter how one looked at it, PLANT was Noel's best choice.
Not to mention all the benefits he had received from PLANT.
There was also the question of who stood on the right side: the Earth Alliance or PLANT.
From beginning to end, PLANT had been the victim. Things had been going fine before. Even if there had been friction between the two sides, PLANT had never acted first and had even continued supplying Earth with resources.
And what happened? The Earth Alliance struck first. Forget the instigation of that hidden force—if the Earth Alliance had not wanted war, no amount of provocation would have mattered.
So the situation was obvious.
Whether by sentiment or reason, Noel had to support PLANT.
As for the innocent people who would die, honestly, don't be so naive. If you enjoyed the peace and happiness brought by the country you lived in, then you would inevitably have to bear the pain and chaos it brought as well.
Before anything happened, everyone was getting along just fine. But once something did happen—Oh no, I'm innocent... Could all the good things possibly go to you alone?
War was not a game.
Of course, Noel was not so deranged that he would deliberately target ordinary people. He could only do his best...
"Noel Cassia, answer my question." Cruze continued from the bridge.
"I am willing to take responsibility for everything I said!" Noel took a deep breath and replied.
"I can feel your resolve."
After saying that, Cruze turned and solemnly addressed Athrun and the others. "Change course. Target—Heliopolis, the Orb-affiliated colony satellite!"
"Yes!"
The next day, morning of January 25, CE 71.
Noel packed his luggage, checked out of his room, and left the hotel with a shoulder bag.
Given Cruze's personality, they should already be on their way here by now. So... getting the hell out was the right move!
He did not want to stay in this damned place for even another minute.
Because if he remembered correctly, Heliopolis would eventually be blown to ruins.
Ten minutes later—
"What do you mean, shuttle services are suspended today?"
At Heliopolis Airport, Noel stared blankly at the shuttle ticket clerk.
"Yes, sir. Due to special circumstances, all flight routes have been temporarily sealed today, so our shuttle services have also been suspended."
The clerk responsible for shuttle registration and ticketing did not grow impatient because of Noel's raised voice. Instead, she carefully explained the situation to him.
"Then when will shuttle service resume? Is there really no way to leave today?" Noel asked unwillingly.
"I'm sorry, sir. We haven't received further notice yet, but service should resume by the day after tomorrow at the latest." The clerk shook her head with a smile.
"The... day after tomorrow?" Noel was completely speechless. The day after tomorrow?
Given Cruze's personality and the travel speed of a Z.A.F.T space battleship, Cruze would arrive here by tomorrow at the latest.
"Yes, sir. Would you like to make a reservation?" the ticket clerk continued.
"No, thank you!"
After saying that, Noel quietly turned and left the counter under the clerk's puzzled gaze.
Make a reservation? Heliopolis was about to be destroyed, and I'm supposed to book a ticket with you? Do you think I have money to burn?
Leaving the airport, Noel wandered aimlessly through the streets.
Then, an idea flashed through Noel's mind. He realized there was something strange in the ticket clerk's words.
The flight routes had been sealed. Under what circumstances would a colony satellite choose to seal its routes?
Combined with the information that the Archangel was here, the two together...
"Captain Cruze and the others aren't planning to attack Heliopolis today, are they!?"
Heliopolis was a traditional cylindrical colony satellite.
Outside the massive cylinder, thirty-two kilometers long and three kilometers in diameter, three solar panels surrounded its outer surface like flower petals.
The giant cylinder generated centrifugal force through rotation, creating gravity along its inner walls.
Heliopolis was distinguished by the small asteroid attached to it for resource excavation.
When approaching the colony satellite from afar, it looked strangely like something that had suddenly emerged from a gigantic chunk of rock.
At that moment, the Z.A.F.T Nazca-class battleship Vesalius, which Noel had been so worried about, had already arrived behind a planetary fragment not far from Heliopolis.
After receiving the detailed intelligence "provided by Noel."
The team led by Athrun Zala and four others approached the rocky mass belonging to Heliopolis based on that intelligence.
Soon, at Athrun's signal, dozens of figures in green pressure suits behind him climbed one after another toward the ventilation shaft leading into the colony satellite.
Athrun and the others in red pressure suits followed, clinging to the rock.
"Huff—"
Athrun lowered his gaze to glance at his wristwatch.
Because of their pressure suits, their breathing sounded especially clear.
Time passed second by second—
Soon, roughly ten minutes later—
When the preset time appeared on their wristwatches, the ventilation shaft's monitoring devices shut down.
Seeing this, everyone immediately slid into Heliopolis's ventilation shaft in an orderly fashion.
Ventilation shafts had always been the least defended areas of colony satellites like Heliopolis. Moreover, as a neutral nation, Orb had never participated in the war, and its soldiers firmly believed that neither PLANT nor the Earth Alliance would attack them.
So...
Ten minutes later—
Without alerting anyone, Athrun and the others infiltrated the colony satellite in separate groups.
They then spread out neatly in every direction. No orders were exchanged, nor was there the slightest hesitation as they felt their way through the unfamiliar surroundings.
They meticulously followed the established plan, focusing on key locations in the factory district and installing small black boxes one after another.
Beep, beep—
Once the boxes were installed, their counters suddenly lit up.
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