Chapter 382: A Turbulent World (5)
On the other side, inside the Victoria Spaceport Base on Earth, Azrael looked at the completely intact Mass Driver and said with an excited expression:
"This was really beautifully done. As expected of Colonel Sazalan—capturing ZAFT's Victoria Spaceport so quickly and seizing the Mass Driver intact."
Colonel Sazalan said with a smug look on his face, "You're welcome. The main reason is that the mass-produced Strike Daggers performed far too well on the battlefield, completely overwhelming the ZAFT forces.
However, I heard that over at Orb, several uninvited guests actually forced you, Lord Azrael, into a hard fight. That's simply unbelievable."
Azrael spread his hands helplessly and replied, "Yes, we still have many problems that need to be solved. I truly didn't expect that even after deploying the Forbidden, Calamity, and Raider Gundams, we would still encounter that level of resistance—and in the end, even lose the machines themselves.
Orb is truly an astonishing nation. Their strength is on par with ZAFT's forces. But what exactly were they thinking? In the end, they actually self-destructed Morgenröte and the Mass Driver."
"They just wanted to cleverly put themselves in the middle and reap some benefits along the way. What a despicable nation," Sazalan said coldly.
"I've looked over the battle reports. Their MS seem to have used PLANT technology to a considerable extent. No… it's even possible that those three machines were originally ZAFT's to begin with."
"Yes. No matter what, we must find a way to deal with them!" Azrael recalled Tolle's words—I'll snatch it every time I see it—and ground his teeth in fury. Then he turned to Colonel Sazalan and asked, "Do you have any channels on your side to obtain the technical data of those three machines?"
Sazalan shook his head. "There's absolutely no way. Only by capturing the machines themselves can we obtain their technical data."
Azrael crossed his legs, propped his chin with his right hand, and said, "It seems I'll have to take matters into my own hands."
"So you're going to personally go into space?"
"Yes. I want those three machines." To stir up Sazalan's enthusiasm, Azrael continued with a leering smile, "Perhaps those machines might even be nuclear-powered."
Sazalan asked in shock, "What? Nuclear-powered?"
"Although there's no conclusive evidence, power of that level and combat endurance like that simply couldn't be achieved by previous technology."
"That's true. Neutron jammers were created by the Coordinators in the first place—it's entirely possible they developed something to nullify them.
But let's hope that isn't the case. If it is, the situation will become extremely serious."
Hearing Sazalan's faint skepticism, Azrael said displeased, "Are you questioning the judgment of a Defense Industry Council member like me?"
Sazalan immediately apologized. "No, absolutely not. I don't doubt your assessment."
"Because we are all weak creatures. If we don't lock up or bind those who possess sharp fangs, it becomes extremely dangerous."
"Yes. Letting them roam freely in space back then without taking action is precisely why we've ended up with today's outcome."
After the meeting ended, Azrael sat aboard the shuttle, gazing at the sky beside him.
He recalled how, as a child, he once led a large group of Naturals to gang up on a Coordinator of the same age—only to be beaten so badly his face was planted in the dirt. He remembered how no matter how hard he studied, his grades never caught up, and he was still scolded by his parents.
With a ferocious expression, he muttered to himself, "I will do my utmost to eliminate them—until every last one of those monsters is wiped out."
…
Meanwhile, at the lunar base, Natarle also arrived at headquarters to report in.
The moment Natarle entered, she saluted and said, "Seventh Mobile Fleet, Ensign Natarle Badgiruel, reporting for duty!"
The commanding officer stood up, nodded, and replied, "Ensign Badgiruel, I hereby appoint you as the captain of the Archangel-class second battleship, the Dominical."
"Understood, sir."
Immediately afterward, Natarle rushed to the Dominical to assume her post.
…
Back on the Kusanagi, all operations were proceeding in an orderly fashion. The M1 Astrays whose propulsion backpacks had been removed were also fully reinstalled.
In addition to Cagalli, Asagi, Juri, and Mayura each switched to the Forbidden, Calamity, and Raider Gundams respectively, and continued nonstop training aboard the Izumo.
At the same time, the Kusanagi completed its final adjustment work.
After finishing his tasks, Kira piloted the Freedom Gundam back to the Kusanagi and found the idle Athrun. He said, "Athrun, things have stabilized here. Let's go back to the Archangel together.
It doesn't really matter where we stay, but this place is already packed full of M1s."
Seeing Athrun looking gloomy and silent, Kira stepped forward worriedly and asked, "Athrun, are you okay?"
Athrun gathered his courage and replied, "Kira, after we return to the Archangel, can you lend me a shuttle?"
"Athrun?"
"I want to return to PLANT! I… I still want to have a proper talk with my father."
Kira said with concern, "Athrun, but—"
"I know!" Athrun cut him off, his face full of pain. "But… he's my father."
Kira nodded in understanding. "I understand. I'll go talk to Captain Murrue and the others. It won't be a problem."
"Thanks, Kira."
After that, the two piloted their respective machines back to the Archangel.
Before departing, Athrun found Dearka and said seriously, "Dearka, I'm returning to PLANT now. If I… don't come back, then the Justice Gundam is yours."
"I don't want it. That kind of thing should be piloted by you," Dearka rejected with a look of disgust. Then he asked worriedly, "But leaving this thing here while you return to PLANT alone in a shuttle—are you sure that's okay? Nothing bad will happen, right?"
"But I have to go back at least once. I really can't continue fighting like this without understanding anything."
Beside them, Kira gently patted Athrun on the shoulder and said to Dearka, "I'll pilot the Freedom Gundam and escort Athrun's shuttle back. There's no need to worry."
Dearka shrugged. "Alright then. I'll wait for you to come back. Anyway, I'll keep an eye on that thing and save it for you to pilot when you return."
"Thank you, Dearka."
After that, Athrun boarded the shuttle, flew out of the Archangel's hangar, and headed toward the L5 region of the Third Sphere—toward PLANT.
Kira, piloting the Freedom Gundam, followed closely behind.