But Kira's emotions weren't given much time to spiral, as a figure in a red pilot suit, helmet on and features obscured, soon floated toward them.
"Kira!"
The floating figure excitedly pulled off their helmet.
And hearing the voice, Kira floated over as well.
"Athrun?"
"Yeah, you two probably have a lot to talk about. Take your time."
Fred watched the two of them, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"But don't delay the launch. They could come after us at any moment."
"Right!"
Athrun gave Fred a grateful look.
Fred waved his hand and floated off toward the outside.
He still had a lot to do.
Not only did he need to guard against possible pursuers, he also had to hurry and finish analyzing the Archangel and the Mobile Suits.
Although the Nazca-class was a high-speed vessel, the Archangel's sheer mass was too much, so their speed was hard to raise regardless.
Still, they had so many MS, plus the Strike Suit and others.
He didn't really feel there would be much danger.
But precautions still had to be taken.
...
"Captain, that woman's awake."
Just as Fred left, he ran into Yzak in the corridor, the young man floating over with an awkward expression on his face.
He had just been away, throwing the captured woman into the detention area.
"Yeah, I'll go over."
"Thanks for your trouble."
"Not at all..."
"Don't worry, Captain! I won't say anything about Miss Lacus?!"
Faced with Yzak's increasingly strange gaze and his easily-misunderstood words, Fred's mouth twitched.
He and Lacus weren't that kind of relationship—and neither were he and Murrue!
Of course, in Yzak's eyes, Fred had only just met that woman for the first time, so there was no way he could know her exact identity. Wasn't it more likely love at first sight or something?
"Thanks... but I don't think that's necessary."
Fred was speechless for a moment, but had no intention of explaining. He just shook his head, then floated off toward the detention area himself.
...
"Who are you?!"
The moment Fred arrived outside the cell, Murrue, still dressed in her work uniform, stood up, her face full of vigilance.
She didn't know who the other person was, but judging from the layout around her, it felt like a ZAFT Nazca-class.
And the masked young man in a White Uniform before her now confirmed her suspicion.
Then... why had they captured her? Did they know she was with the Atlantic Federation?
At this thought, Murrue felt even more panicked.
The two sides were, nominally, at war.
Although there were treaties about treating prisoners well, whether or not to follow them depended mostly on conscience.
"ZAFT. But I'm sure you already knew that without me saying it."
"We came to seize the Mobile Suits, saw you were from the Atlantic Federation, and took you along while we were at it."
"..."
Faced with such frank and self-righteous words, Murrue's mouth twitched, and for a moment she had no reply.
Only after a long pause did she continue speaking.
"I don't know what you're talking about. That is a Mobile Suit developed by ORB itself. Your wanton attack on a neutral nation is a grave violation of international law."
"Is this how ZAFT does things?"
Murrue recovered herself, speaking with a measure of righteous indignation.
She couldn't admit she was with the Atlantic Federation, because doing so would violate the treaty, and it would mean the prisoner conventions no longer applied to her—a suspected spy rather than a soldier.
Moreover, they would likely make her testify, confirming the Atlantic Federation's involvement in the incident.
In that case, she would be guilty of treason, and her fate wouldn't be much better.
Even if it meant torture, even if they really did those twisted things, she would never talk!
Just as Murrue steeled her resolve, the person across from her showed not the slightest wavering at her words.
He merely nodded slightly at her response, then continued.
"We have no choice either, but the evidence of ORB's cooperation with the Atlantic Federation is ironclad."
"Still, I truly bear you no ill will."
"The Admiral would be heartbroken if he knew his prized student had died."
"I'm just inviting you to be a guest for a while. Don't worry."
Fred waved his hand.
He had a favorable impression of both Halberton and Murrue. It was simply a matter of doing them a favor—and knowing Murrue's character, she would most likely reflect on things on her own.
Besides, neither of them was part of Blue Cosmos. Later on, they might be able to replace Blue Cosmos as a rational force within the Atlantic Federation.
"Well then, I'll be off. The conditions here are mediocre, but I trust you won't mind."
"What...?"
Murrue, still stunned by how much this man knew, could only gape.
Halberton? Her teacher?
How did he know?
And knowing all that, he claimed to have no ill will? Just inviting her as a guest?
Where had he learned all this?
But her mind was in such turmoil that Murrue no longer had the courage to call out and stop him.
.....
Meanwhile, on the other side, Fred had just bid farewell to Murrue and returned to his room, where he spent a while examining the system he was gradually cracking from the Strike Suit, when Flay came in.
"Big brother! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Shouldn't you go check on Kira?"
He'd thought his little sister wouldn't be able to resist following after him.
"I just took a quick look from a distance. He and Athrun seemed to be talking happily. I'll go later."
Flay blushed a little at having her thoughts read.
"Perfect timing, then. Help me write up the report on this operation."
"Bro! Are you a devil?!"
"I came here to check on you, you know!"
Flay looked utterly resentful at suddenly being told to work overtime.
"You're my Adjutant. If you don't do it, am I supposed to?"
Facing Fred's teasing, half-smiling expression, Flay muttered something that sounded like complaints, but she still sat down beside the young man.
"Fine, I get it!"
"Good girl."
Fred reached up and patted Flay's head.
"I'm an adult!"
"You're barely a teenager. What adult?"
"So are you!"
The two bickered, but neither came out the winner.
...
"They got hijacked?! Those good-for-nothings at ORB!"
The Commander-in-Chief, who had received the same news at the lunar base, was seething with fury.
And Halberton, standing before him, looked equally grim.
After all, that was their Secret Weapon, and it had been hijacked just like that.
And hijacked completely clean.
If it had truly been an accident, he could accept that ORB had made a mistake.
What he feared most was that ORB was hedging its bets—that they had secretly colluded with ZAFT and deliberately let ZAFT's people leave.
On this point, he could not fully trust ORB.
Although ORB itself had also suffered dozens of casualties, the fact remained that they had been infiltrated under such top-secret circumstances.
Moreover, his people had been abducted with precision.
Either a spy had truly emerged from within, or their top leadership were spies themselves.
Either way, it demonstrated his strategic miscalculation regarding ORB.