On the other hand, not long after the Vesalius set sail, Athrun, who had been tossing and turning in bed, came to Creuset's office to report. In the previous battle, he had disobeyed orders, launched on his own, and failed to achieve any results after all his allies had perished. Naturally, he would face questioning, and possibly even punishment.
"Athrun Zala reporting!"
"Hmm, come in."
As Athrun entered the office, Creuset, who was compiling a combat report, spoke without turning his head. "The collapse of Heliopolis has kept me extremely busy, delaying our conversation."
After finishing the report, Creuset turned around, placed his hands on the table, and spoke in a calm tone, showing no sign of reprimanding Athrun.
"Yes! I deeply apologize for my actions in the recent battle!"
"I don't intend to punish you, but I want to hear your explanation. This operation was very unlike your usual style, Athrun."
Creuset wasn't sparing Athrun because he was Chairman Zala's son. Since joining the military, Athrun had always been a model soldier—talented, mature, steady, and loyal to orders. He had never used his status to demand special treatment or act arrogantly.
But this time, he had defied military orders, which was out of character. There must have been a compelling reason for his actions.
"..." Athrun remained silent, unsure how to respond.
"You were nearby when that mobile suit activated, weren't you?"
"I deeply apologize... Some unexpected circumstances shook me, and I failed to report to you." Athrun replied after some thought. He decided to report the truth but planned to conceal Yang Hui's involvement, focusing only on Kira's situation.
First, Yang Hui's identity was too sensitive. Any misstep could lead to international disputes. Although Orb had participated in the Earth Alliance's MS development project, Orb also maintained cooperative relations with PLANT and ZAFT, though few were aware of it. Therefore, this incident shouldn't push Orb into the enemy's camp.
Second, Athrun wasn't sure where Yang Hui was. What if he wasn't on the Archangel? Reporting his involvement might backfire.
Third, both Kira and Yang Hui were Athrun's good friends. However, while his bond with Kira was purely friendship, Yang Hui had done a great favor for him and the Zala family.
"Then tell me, what could have shaken you so much?"
"Yes, the pilot of that last mobile suit is named Kira Yamato. He's a Coordinator and a friend from my elementary school days on the Moon."
"Oh?"
"I never expected to reunite with him in such a situation, so I wanted to confirm it no matter what..."
"I see. War is truly ironic. It's understandable that you were shaken. You were once very close, weren't you?"
"...Yes."
"I understand. In that case, you won't be deployed in the next sortie."
"Huh?"
"You couldn't possibly point a gun at him, and I don't want to force you to do such a thing."
"No, Captain, I..."
"Even if he was once your friend, he is now our enemy, and we must eliminate him. I believe you can understand that, right?"
"Kira... Kira must have been manipulated by the Naturals! Although he is outstanding, he is always muddle-headed and too kind-hearted, so he probably hasn't realized he's being used..." Athrun's words seemed more like an attempt to convince himself than Creuset, as he couldn't accept the fact of being at odds with Kira. "That's why I want to persuade him. After all, he is also a Coordinator! I believe he will understand us."
"I understand your feelings, but what if he doesn't listen to your persuasion?"
"Well..." Hearing this, Athrun lowered his head and replied in a low voice, "If that's the case... then... I will have to kill him..."
"Since that's the case, I'll give you this opportunity."
"Yes! Thank you very much!"
"Go ahead."
Athrun left with gratitude, but Creuset fell into deep thought.
Because... the name Kira Yamato felt strangely familiar to him, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
Don't underestimate this vague sense of familiarity. Creuset is a man with strong purpose, and those he remembers are not ordinary people among the masses. The fact that he has an impression of this name already indicates its significance.
However, no matter how hard Creuset racked his brains, he couldn't recall the specifics of Kira Yamato's name at the moment.
"Let's note it down for now. Athrun might actually bring him back, and then we'll know. But..."
Putting aside the matter of Kira, Creuset refocused his energy on the operation. Logically, even if they couldn't catch up with the Archangel yet, they should have found its traces by now. But the bridge had not reported any news, which was unusual.
"Adis, have you found any traces of the enemy ship?"
"Not yet."
"What about the allied forces we contacted earlier?"
"No communication has been received from them either."
"This is very strange..."
Creuset was confident that his judgment was not wrong. To be safe, he had even contacted allied forces to set up an ambush on the route from Heliopolis directly to the lunar base. No matter which path the enemy chose, there should have been some discovery by now.
"Where could they have gone..." As he pondered, Creuset opened the star map again and reconsidered the Archangel's possible route.
This time, he discarded all previous judgments and started thinking from scratch.
First, he ruled out the original target, Artemis. Their current position was already within visible range of the Umbrella. If the Archangel was indeed where he had predicted, there should have been some trace by now.
Next, he ruled out the direct route to the lunar base, again because there were no traces, and the timing didn't add up.
Then, Creuset began to eliminate all Earth Federation bases and military fortresses far from the lunar base. Finally... Creuset looked at the empty star map and furrowed his brow deeply.
"No, after eliminating all impossibilities, there are no other options. Did I overlook something... Hmm?" Suddenly, Creuset's gaze focused on a blank area in the star map.
"This sector of space, I remember..." Creuset pondered as he overlapped the civilian space map with the military one. A blank area now bore a new mark. "The Junk Guild? Could it be...? Probably not, right?"
Creuset believed that most Naturals in the Earth Forces were individuals with mediocre abilities but inflated egos. It was unlikely they would ignore a friendly military fortress and instead seek help from a civilian organization like the Junk Guild. But...
As the saying goes, when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.
"Could there be someone else? Kira Yamato? That name... probably not. Athrun mentioned he was just an ordinary student. So then... who else?"
At this point, Creuset was almost certain that there was someone else on the Archangel, someone not from the Earth Forces, who had led him astray.
"Adis."
"Captain."
"Immediately alter our course. Adjust our target to Sector S32."
"Sector S32? There's nothing there, Captain..."
"I misjudged the enemy ship's objective. Just change the course. This time, I won't make a mistake."
"Understood."
Captain Adis was puzzled by Creuset's decision, but he still followed the order. He respected Creuset deeply, not looking down on him for not being a Coordinator. On the contrary, since Creuset became the captain, he had led them to complete countless missions and earned numerous accolades. Adis fully recognized his capabilities.
"Notify our allied forces and request them to reposition."
"Understood."
After ending the communication, Creuset looked at the space map with a faint smile, his lips curling in a dark and dangerous arc.
"Heh, interesting. An unknown opponent who managed to outwit me. I really want to know who you are... Heliopolis, Orb, wait! Could it be?"
Creuset once again considered an impossible possibility, his smile growing increasingly eerie and menacing.
"It must be you, right? I can't think of anyone else. Fascinating, truly fascinating. If it really is you... then this ship must be destroyed. I wonder which direction the world will take? Heh, hah, hahaha..."
...
Several hours of silent travel passed in the blink of an eye.
Throughout the journey, Murrue and the others were on edge, hardly daring to relax for a moment. Even when taking shifts to sleep, they did so fully clothed, ready to face a ZAFT attack at any moment.
When the Junk Guild entered the Archangel's detection range, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. No matter when ZAFT's attack would come, at least they had reached their first objective.
However, at that moment, they tensed up again as an unknown ship was rapidly approaching on the same course.
"Detecting a large heat signature, likely a warship engine. Distance 500, sector 33, 17, mark 02 C, course 0 to 0."
"On our flank? It's heading in the same direction as us!"
"Have we been spotted?"
"But the distance is still quite far."
"The target is about to overtake us. Unable to confirm target information."
"Unable to confirm? Is it a ZAFT ship?"
"This... there's no record in the database. It appears to be a civilian vessel based on its size, but it has a warship engine, and its speed... exceeds ours!"
"How is that possible!?"
Everyone was shocked. The Archangel was the Atlantic Federation's latest high-speed warship. ZAFT's Naska-class ships were designed for speed, so it wasn't surprising if they could catch up to the Archangel. But how could a civilian vessel surpass the Archangel's speed?
"Is it a ship from the junk guild?"
"Unable to confirm."
Murrue and the others didn't dare to take it lightly and immediately sounded the alarm for a level one combat alert.
"Huh? We should be arriving at the junk guild soon, right? Why are we being caught up to in this area?"
"Yang Hui..." Kira looked uneasy. Although he had decided to help Yang Hui, he was still nervous now that a battle seemed imminent.
"It's not confirmed to be an enemy yet. I'll go to the bridge to check," Yang Hui reassured him. "But let's still be prepared."
"Alright, I understand."
"Oh, and remember to wear your pilot suit."
"Got it."
Yang Hui arrived at the bridge and asked what was going on, only to find...
"Tolle? Miriallia? Sai? Katz? What are you doing here? And... why are you wearing military uniforms?"