The Chapter get Retranslated
About five or six hours had passed. The Archangel had long since completed its resupply and had reached the orbital path on Earth's periphery along with the 8th Fleet.
A few minutes ago, they had discovered ZAFT warships tailing them from behind. There were three vessels in total: two Laurasia-class and one Nazca-class. The entire Le Creuset Team was accounted for.
No one knew exactly how ZAFT's technology had reached such heights, but the damage to the Gamow had been repaired in just a single day. A single Laurasia-class warship was more than a step above the Earth Alliance's general-purpose flagship, the Agamemnon-class.
This was precisely why the Earth Alliance had developed the new Gundam units and the Archangel to reach the stage of mass production as quickly as possible and narrow the power gap with ZAFT.
Murrue sat in the command chair, staring at the three ships on the screen with a grim expression. "At a time like this... how are the civilian shuttle preparations on the Menelaos coming along?"
"They need another fifteen minutes before they can depart," Dalida replied, watching the radar from above.
"Tell them to hurry up!"
Dalida looked down from the monitors. "The enemy has launched MS! Signals confirmed! The Aegis, Blitz, Duel, and Buster plus fifteen GINNs!"
Murrue's face, already tense, darkened further. "Tch. Are they throwing everything they've got at us?"
Murrue knew full well that even if the 8th Fleet had the advantage in numbers, those were all just MAs. They couldn't compare to GINNs piloted by Coordinators. A single GINN could wipe out ten Moebius units. Furthermore, Le Creuset's orders to his troops were to prioritize the destruction of the Archangel; everything else was just small fry to them.
Yes, nothing more than small fry.
The 8th Fleet had already engaged ZAFT's MS forces.
Inside the Barbatos, Mikazuki was ready for the sortie, but the authorization never came. Impatient, he patched through to the bridge. "Why can't I go yet? The fight's already started out there, right?"
"Mika, the 8th Fleet is out there. You should wait in the"
Mikazuki cut Murrue off bluntly. "Your so-called MAs can't handle those four. Open the deck and let me out."
"Mika... can you wait a bit longer? I promise I'll let you sortie."
Mikazuki frowned, realizing he was being a bit too hasty. "Fine. Understood."
He cut the communication. On the bridge, Murrue connected with the Menelaos to discuss having the Archangel leave the fleet to head for the atmospheric entry orbit first. Duan Halberton weighed the options and eventually agreed to the descent request. In his eyes, the Archangel was the key to the Earth Alliance's victory. Even if it cost the entire 8th Fleet, the Archangel had to be protected.
When Mikazuki heard that the Archangel intended to descend, he paused for a moment. "Descending now? Why does this feel so familiar?"
"Yeah," Orga replied. "Feels a lot like the first time we went down to Earth. You almost gave me a heart attack back then... Hey, Mika, what are you doing?"
Mikazuki was already piloting the Barbatos out of its berth, walking through the catapult deck access way. "I'm heading out. There's no way the Archangel can descend safely in this mess. Those four are definitely going to cause trouble."
"Fair enough," Orga said. "Even with the 8th Fleet protecting us... they probably can't stop them."
"Exactly."
Kojiro Murdoch, who had been on standby nearby, saw the Barbatos moving and shouted, "Hey, kid! What do you think you're doing? Sortie orders haven't been given yet!"
Mikazuki opened a public channel and said indifferently, "I don't need sortie orders. Open the gate, or I'll do it myself."
Seeing Mikazuki raise the Smoothbore Gun, Kojiro panicked. "Alright, alright! Just wait a sec, I'll open it! You crazy brat!"
On the bridge, Miriallia, one of the student volunteers, saw the notification on her display and reported instinctively, "Deck 1 has been opened!"
Murrue, who was currently confirming the reentry sequence, shouted in frustration, "What? I haven't authorized a sortie yet! Who is it?"
"It's... it's the Barbatos. Chief Kojiro says he was forced. He was threatened that if he didn't open the gate, the Barbatos would smash its way out..."
Murrue was stunned for a moment, her anger replaced by a deep sense of helplessness. "That Mika... there's just no handling him. Tell him he must return before we hit the atmosphere! Also, Kira decided to stay here, right? Then have the Strike and the Moebius Zero launch as well to assist the Menelaos."
Mikazuki saw the message from the Archangel and muttered, "Return before atmospheric entry? I should be able to make it..."
Orga couldn't help but snark, "That 'should' of yours doesn't make me feel very good, Mika."
"Shut up."
On his screen, Le Creuset saw the Barbatos emerge from the Archangel and stood up immediately. "How is the repair on my CGUE coming along?"
Captain Frederick Algreus answered, "It is complete."
"Excellent. Move the ship forward. I'm heading out too. Notify Athrun and Nicol to help me deal with 'The Wolf'. Dearka and Yzak will take care of the 'Legged Ship'... No, have them deal with that orange MA and the Strike. Leave the rest of the command to the bridge."
He had originally intended for Yzak and the others to sink the Archangel, but he changed his mind the moment the Strike appeared. If they didn't deal with those two troublesome units first, they wouldn't even be able to get close to the Archangel, let alone sink it.
"Understood!"
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