Ironically, the collapse of Heliopolis became the pause in the battle. The Strike Gundam and the Aegis Gundam, which had been locked in a standoff, were pulled into space by the powerful currents generated by the collapse. The Archangel, like a cruise ship caught in a storm, endured unimaginable tremors.
As the storm subsided and the shaking eased, everyone breathed a sigh of relief after checking the Archangel's systems.
Immediately, Murrue Ramius urgently called out to the Strike Gundam, as it was the sole result of the G Project and the key to the Archangel's ability to safely escape the pursuit of the ZAFT Forces.
"X105 Strike, please respond... X105 Strike, can you hear me? Please respond! X105 Strike, please respond..."
No matter how desperately Murrue called out, Kira remained unresponsive. His mind was blank as he stared at the ruins before him, unable to believe that this was his home, and even more unable to accept that Heliopolis had been destroyed by his own hands.
"Heliopolis... has disintegrated! How could this..."
Not only Kira, but everyone aboard the Archangel stared blankly at the scene before them, struggling to accept it.
"So easily... it was so fragile..." Mu muttered to himself.
The intensity of the battles between the Earth Forces and ZAFT surely far exceeded this, and it wasn't as if Colonies hadn't been destroyed in the war before. But the situation with Heliopolis was entirely different, and... this was the first time everyone present had witnessed the collapse of a Colony with their own eyes.
"X105 Strike, X105 Strike, Kira Yamato! If you can hear me... if you're alright, respond!"
Murrue's iron will didn't allow her to dwell on the collapse of Heliopolis, and she persistently called out to the Strike Gundam and Kira.
"Bzzz... This is X105 Strike... bzzz... It's Kira."
"Phew~" Hearing the response, Murrue finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you alright?"
"Yes."
"Can you locate our position?"
"Yes."
"Then return. Can you make it back?"
"Yes."
The communication cut off. Kira looked at the ruins of Heliopolis, worried about his parents for a moment, and then began his return to the Archangel. However, on his way back, he received an emergency distress signal.
"That's... an escape pod from Heliopolis."
...
Having confirmed Kira's safety, the bridge crew began discussing their next steps.
"So, what should we do now?" Mu asked.
"Our ship is still in combat. Can we track the movements of the ZAFT ships?" Murrue asked the radar operator.
"No, there are too many heat sources in the debris. Neither radar nor thermal detection can..."
"..." Murrue fell silent. They were now blind and deaf, completely unable to grasp the situation around them.
"But the enemy should be in the same situation. Do you think there will be pursuers?" Mu asked Murrue.
"Whether there are or not, we should be prepared... However, if we are attacked now, we will undoubtedly lose..."
"That's true," Mu had to admit helplessly to Murrue's conclusion, as their current situation was indeed dire. "All we have left now is that precious Strike and my battered Zero. With the crew we have on board, it's unlikely we can engage in battle."
"Hmm..."
"Can we outrun them at maximum speed? Isn't this ship quite fast?" Mu asked.
"The enemy's Naska-class ships are also high-speed vessels. We can't guarantee we'll be able to shake them off..."
"Then should we just surrender?"
"Huh?"
"That could be an option..."
"How is that possible?"
"Just kidding..."
Mu had no intention of surrendering. His history with Creuset was complicated, and for some reason, Mu could sense that Creuset harbored some kind of obsession and hatred toward him. If they surrendered... he might be the first to die.
Mu just felt that the atmosphere on the bridge was too heavy, and Murrue's indecisiveness was preventing her from making a decision. He wanted to lighten the mood with a joke, but before he could even start, Badgiruel interrupted him.
"What did you say? Wait a minute! Who authorized you to do that?"
"Lieutenant Junior Grade Badgiruel, what's going on?" Murrue quickly asked. The situation was critical, and she couldn't afford to miss any details.
"The Strike has returned, but it's also brought back an escape pod," Badgiruel reported.
"Huh?"
"What's going on?" Yang Hui proactively asked. Although he knew what had happened, the people in the escape pod were citizens of Orb. He had to show concern. Moreover, Kira would definitely bring the escape pod back to the Archangel. Rather than letting Kira be disliked for acting on his own, Yang Hui decided to act as the intermediary to make everything seem more natural.
"Kira reported that the escape pod's thrusters were damaged and it was drifting aimlessly, so he picked it up. But the Archangel is in the middle of a battle. Taking in refugees or something..."
"Then, on behalf of Orb, I formally request that the ship temporarily take in the refugees, Captain Ramius," Yang Hui said seriously to Murrue.
"This is too reckless! A rescue ship will be here soon..."
"I approve it."
Murrue cut off Badgiruel's argument and directly approved Yang Hui's request.
"Captain?"
"We don't know when the rescue ship will arrive. If we abandon them, they might drift to a place where the rescue ship can't find them. And I don't want to waste time arguing about this. Let's hurry and take them in," Murrue explained to Badgiruel.
This could also be seen as a form of atonement, after all, Heliopolis collapsed because of them.
"Understood, Captain."
After resolving the issue with the Strike Gundam and the escape pod, everyone continued to discuss their next steps.
"I know the situation is dire, but I have no intention of surrendering, and I will never surrender," Murrue said solemnly to everyone. "I will never hand over this ship and the Strike Gundam to ZAFT. No matter what, we must safely return it to the Atlantic Federation headquarters."
Badgiruel strongly agreed with Murrue's decision and proposed her own idea: "Captain, I suggest we head to Artemis."
"Artemis? That's the Eurasian Federation's military fortress, right?"
"Is it the Umbrella of Artemis?"
"Yes," Lieutenant Junior Grade Badgiruel nodded, explaining the reason for this choice to everyone. "Based on our current position, it is the allied fortress located on the optimal route."
"But... the G Weapon and this warship currently don't even have allied identification signals. In that case, the Eurasian Federation..." Murrue expressed her concern.
"The Archangel and the Strike are top-secret projects of the Atlantic Federation, and I fully understand that. However, if we head directly to the Moon, it's impossible to avoid battles entirely along the way. We departed in haste without completing our supplies and need to replenish them as soon as possible."
"I understand all that..."
"Then let's find another place to resupply," Yang Hui interjected at the right moment.
"What?" Everyone was taken aback, and Badgiruel was the first to object. "On the optimal route to the Moon, Artemis is the closest to us. Going to any other allied base would definitely deviate from our course, and in that case..."
"I'm not talking about an Earth Federation base, but... here!" As he spoke, Yang Hui marked a location on the map. On the Earth Federation's internal operational map, this place was blank.
"Here? What's there?" Murrue frowned slightly, asking Yang Hui.
"This is the space headquarters of the Junk Guild. I have connections with the Junk Guild, and we can definitely get sufficient supplies there..."
"Impossible! The Archangel and the Strike Gundam are top-secret projects. How could we let the Junk Guild know about them..."
"Then do you think it's fine if the Eurasian Federation knows?" Facing Badgiruel's outburst, Yang Hui remained calm, merely glancing at her and speaking indifferently.
"This... the Eurasian Federation is also part of Earth, so surely..."
"Lieutenant Junior Grade Badgiruel, I've heard you come from a military family, but I didn't expect you to be so naive." Yang Hui sneered and shook his head, dismissing Badgiruel's argument.
"What did you say!?"
"Do I need to elaborate on what the Earth Alliance is really like? The Atlantic Federation and the Eurasian Federation, as the first and second largest powers within the Earth Alliance, are locked in intense internal struggles. Are you really unaware of this? Oh, perhaps you truly don't know, given that you're... just a lieutenant junior grade."
"You!"
"Hey, hey, that's a bit too much, isn't it?"
Badgiruel was completely enraged, and even Murrue and Mu felt Yang Hui had gone too far. They were aware of the internal conflicts within the Earth Federation, but they didn't realize it was this severe, so they thought Yang Hui's words were excessive.
"Whether it's too much or not, I know better than you," Yang Hui calmly scanned the room. Among those present, the highest rank was only a lieutenant, and one was a technician while the other was a green soldier—none of them had access to the core, so they naturally didn't know how intense the conflicts were.
To put it bluntly, even without the threat of PLANT and ZAFT, the war wouldn't stop; it would just shift to a conflict between the Atlantic Federation and the Eurasian Federation.
The Eurasian Federation has long been dissatisfied with its position as the perpetual second fiddle, which is why, in the original storyline, they directly seized the Archangel and the Strike Gundam.
Seeing Yang Hui's current attitude, the others grew even more furious. However, Mu and Murrue, the two highest-ranking officers present, calmed down and believed Yang Hui's words. Mu simply considered Yang Hui's identity—he was a core member of Orb, so he must have seen and experienced far more than they had.
Murrue, on the other hand, knew even more than Mu. The [G Project] had only been able to proceed due to the internal conflicts within the Atlantic Federation and the single-minded determination of Brigadier General Duan Halbaton. If even the Atlantic Federation was like this, what about the entire Earth Alliance?
"Yang Hui, are you confident?" Murrue asked.
"Captain!?" Lieutenant Junior Grade Badgiruel looked at Murrue in disbelief, hoping for an explanation. However, Murrue temporarily ignored her and waited for Yang Hui's response.
"Absolutely confident," Yang Hui replied. "I have cooperative relationships with the higher-ups of the Junk Guild. As long as you have the money, they can provide whatever you need. It's a completely transactional relationship. And..."
At this point, Yang Hui turned to Badgiruel and spoke earnestly, "Don't think that just because you're a soldier, you can look down on others, Lieutenant Junior Grade Badgiruel. In my eyes, the junk dealers struggling to survive in space are more respectable than some soldiers. They're not fools—they know what they should and shouldn't do. The Junk Guild has covert transactional relationships with all factions. Do you think they could survive in the cracks between major powers without some intelligence?"
"..."
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