Chapter 338: The Beginning of the Flames of War 1
Mu spread his hands helplessly and said, "Yeah. I really didn't expect them to pull something like this. No wonder, on the way back to the Alaska base, their attitude toward the Archangel was always one of indifference and complete neglect.
Turns out they'd been using us all along to draw ZAFT's attention, while secretly manufacturing new MS behind the scenes."
"Yes, I never imagined it would turn out like this." Murrue glanced at Mu and Tolle, then said with some difficulty, "But other than us having the Gundam data, that leaves only…
It shouldn't be possible. Could it be that the data for these new MS came from General Bartholomew's side?"
Tolle knew that, at this point in the original timeline, General Bartholomew should already be sipping tea in the underworld. Yet the Earth Alliance still had the Strike Dagger, which had nothing to do with him at all.
He then shook his head and denied it. "I don't think so either. Given General Bartholomew's personality—how much he cherishes the lives of his soldiers—setting aside the Alaska base incident,
he might not even know about the Earth Alliance using the Archangel as bait to secretly manufacture MS.
After all, ever since we landed on Earth, the Atlantic Federation hasn't shown any concern at all for the Archangel's situation.
So I feel that the MS data must have been taken to the Earth Alliance before the collapse of Heliopolis, or at the moment it fell, allowing them to obtain it."
Hearing Tolle clear General Bartholomew of suspicion, Murrue felt somewhat relieved and said, "Yes… if it were General Bartholomew, he would never abandon us. Perhaps he has unspoken difficulties just like we do now."
Mu also chimed in, "That's right. After the Eighth Fleet suffered such heavy losses to cover the Archangel last time, his situation probably isn't very good either."
Murrue said with a downcast expression, "I wonder how the Eighth Fleet and General Bartholomew are doing now."
Takaaki added, "General Bartholomew of the Eighth Fleet really isn't in a great position right now. The Eighth Fleet is essentially defunct.
The remaining forces of his Eighth Fleet should have been reassigned to the lunar base to help with its defense."
Murrue said sorrowfully, "I never thought that because of the Archangel, the Eighth Fleet and General Bartholomew would end up…"
Tolle comforted her and said, "Don't worry, Sister Murrue. As long as General Bartholomew himself is still alive, that's what matters. Where there's life, there's hope.
As long as there are still people left in the Eighth Fleet, its designation won't be canceled, and there will definitely be a chance to reunite someday."
Murrue replied gratefully, "Thank you, Tolle."
Kira, standing to the side, also sighed. "There are too few people like General Bartholomew among the Earth Alliance's high command. Or maybe there are none left at all. Otherwise, this wouldn't have happened…"
At this point, Mu also said, "Yeah. General Bartholomew really is the conscience of the Earth Alliance. Maybe it's precisely because he refused to go along with them that he was pushed to the margins.
But… after this battle, will it become the opening act of a new stage of war?"
Tolle nodded and replied, "Yes. That's definitely going to happen. The war has already been spread across the entire world by them."
Kira said with a serious expression, "So how are we supposed to bring this war to an end? Are we just going to let it keep spreading like this?"
Tolle sighed. How would he know? He couldn't exactly say that he'd watched the anime and knew that, after fighting on and on, everything would get nuked flat.
But then, thinking of Lacus, her image appeared in his mind, and he replied, "At a time like this, perhaps someone with immense power, strength, and overwhelming influence is needed to stop this war.
After all, the Earth Alliance and P.L.A.N.T. have already become like fire and water. Peace negotiations are no longer possible.
Then she must be the one to beat those lunatics into submission, or simply eliminate the true culprits who started this war, and guide the world toward peace."
Mu said in disbelief, "Does someone like that really exist? How could a single person or even one faction possibly challenge two colossal nations?"
At this moment, Kira also thought of Lacus and explained, "She definitely exists. For the sake of the person who entrusted the Freedom Gundam to me, I will continue fighting."
Mu said helplessly, "Even if you're the only one left, you'll still fight?"
Kira answered with determination, "I don't want to just sit around waiting for peace to arrive. And I don't believe the war will end just like that. So I want to do what I want to do and what I can do, and contribute my own strength to the peace of this world."
To continue building favor with Kira, Tolle also put on a determined expression and said, "Don't forget—you're not fighting alone. There's me, and there's everyone on the Archangel. We'll definitely fight alongside you to the very end."
Then Tolle turned to Mu and continued, "Isn't that right, Sister Murrue, Uncle Mu?"
Mu spread his hands helplessly and said, "Alright. That's true. How could a fight like this be missing my share?"
Murrue also smiled and replied, "Yes. We can't leave Mu out. And of course, there's everyone aboard the Archangel as well."
Kira looked gratefully at Tolle, Murrue, and Mu and said, "Thank you, everyone."
Later that afternoon, Tolle used the excuse of going to report for duty and left the Archangel. Under Mina's cover, he returned alone to the vicinity of Orbital Elevator.
There, he retrieved the Huayan and then piloted it back to the internal harbor of the Orb Dawn Society factory.
Still with Mina's help, he established legitimate identities for Angie, Sophia, Zola, Coco, and Miranda within the Special Independent Unit.
Fortunately, Lynn Minmay had an identity card provided by the system, so she had no issues in that regard at all.
The moment Erica saw the Huayan, she excitedly boarded it to look around, including the ship's core space.
With an expression like a country bumpkin entering a grand mansion, Erica exclaimed, "This is simply amazing. I never imagined technology like this could exist."
Tolle nodded smugly and said, "This is a technological product of a high-dimensional alien royal family from a parallel universe. I only obtained it by sheer chance."
Erica said with mixed joy and regret, "Being able to see such epoch-making technology is a blessing, but it's a pity that the technological gap is just too large—I can't understand it at all."
Yulia, standing nearby, said with a smile, "There's plenty of time anyway. As long as you keep following darling, you can take it slow and study it bit by bit. One day, you'll be able to understand it. Right, darling?"
Tolle directly wrapped his arms around Erica and Yulia and said, "Mm, that's absolutely right. In the future, we can even experience the wonders of other worlds together and obtain all kinds of cross-era technologies."