On the outskirts of the battlefield where the Battle of Berlin had just ended, smoke and dust mingled into a gray curtain across the sky. Scarred by battle, the Archangel raced toward the sea at full speed, planning to sail back to Orb from there. Dents of varying depths and black scorch marks covered the armor on both sides of her hull, wounds left by beam cannons and projectile fire during the battle. Metal fragments slid from the edges of the ship, while the Freedom Gundam's silver silhouette remained at her side like a faithful guardian. Kira Yamato piloted the Freedom Gundam, firing precise bursts from its Beam Rifle at the ZAFT reconnaissance Mobile Suits pursuing them. Its flight path cut through the sky like a meteor piercing the moon, keeping every approaching threat at bay. On the bridge, Murrue Ramius gripped the control stick, her brow furrowed and her voice grave. "Increase engine output to eighty percent. Avoid ZAFT's radar scans and accelerate toward the sea. Submerge as soon as we arrive. Destination-Orb!"
No one noticed that the Supreme PLANT Council chamber in April City, PLANT's capital, was already filled with countless holographic projections. Chairman Durandal stood before the podium in a crisp ZAFT uniform. Through meticulous planning and covert manipulation, his originally scheduled "peace initiative" speech had taken on an entirely different character. His voice traveled through quantum communications to every Space Colony in PLANT and every ZAFT warship, even reaching some of the Earth Alliance's secret channels. Impassioned and accusatory, his words cut like knives, aimed squarely at LOGOS. "My fellow Coordinators! We yearn for peace, yet time and again, LOGOS's conspiracies have brought slaughter upon us! The tragedy of Junius Seven, the flames of war at Jachin Due, the unjust persecution of Coordinators on Earth—all were