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"How can you still say such things after seeing the situation? The Archangel is about to enter Orb territorial waters. You are forbidden from attacking!"
On the bridge of the Archangel, Cagalli gripped a radio as she spoke to the flagship of the Orb fleet. Her tone was less of a dialogue and more of a command.
"What?"
The commander of the Orb fleet was taken aback by the sudden outburst. Suppressing his anger, he demanded, "Who do you think you are?"
"You're the one who should watch your mouth! Who do you think you are? If you can't make a judgment, then contact the government. Call the Representative... call Uzumi Nara Athha out here!"
As Cagalli spoke, she turned her head away, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. She shouted at the top of her lungs, "I am... I am Cagalli Yula Athha!"
"What?!"
It wasn't just the Orb fleet that was stunned; everyone on the Archangel was left speechless. Because they were on a public channel, the ZAFT forces heard every single word of the transmission as well.
Dearka piloted his mobile suit to land on their own battleship, his voice filled with shock. "Hey, hey, what's going on? Athha? Isn't that the surname of Orb's supreme leader?"
He paused, the realization hitting him. "She just mentioned her father... she couldn't be Uzumi Nara Athha's child, could she? Is the Princess of Orb on 'Long Legs'? Hey, Commander Athrun, what do we do now?"
"How should I know... dammit!"
A distracted Athrun was caught in an opening by Mikazuki. A single shot from the enemy's cannon blasted the Beam Rifle right out of Athrun's hands. Immediately after, Mikazuki fired two shots at a GINN that was hovering dazed in the sky behind them.
Athrun noticed the danger and roared into the GINN's comms, "Slanca! Run!"
"What?"
The GINN pilot didn't even have time to react before two shells slammed accurately into the unit's head and chest. A violent explosion erupted instantly.
"One down," Mikazuki muttered.
The Barbatos swung its cannon around and fired into the empty air. The Blitz Gundam, which had its Mirage Colloid system active, was blasted directly out of its stealth. Its flight unit and left leg were instantly destroyed.
"Nicol!"
"I'm fine. Requesting permission to return to base."
"Granted."
Athrun knew that without the flight unit, Nicol Amalfi couldn't continue the battle. He didn't hesitate for a second to allow Nicol's return. Nicol pulled his machine up with a grim expression. They were within the atmosphere now; it was impossible for their mobile suits to fly unassisted, unlike the weightless environment of space.
Inside Earth's atmosphere, gravity increased the consumption of the thrusters by more than double compared to space. This consumption wasn't just fuel; it drained the machine's primary energy as well. To maintain continuous combat in the atmosphere, they had to rely on support craft.
The Strike Gundam was different because of its Striker Packs. The machine's internal energy and the pack's thruster fuel were independent, allowing it to adapt to flight. Though it still consumed more energy than in space, it was in much better shape than the other four units like the Duel Gundam.
Mikazuki's thunderous momentum in taking down a GINN and driving off a Gundam created a massive gap in the tactics Athrun had devised to counter him.
The Barbatos suddenly snapped its head up, its green eyes glowing brightly as it charged straight toward the Aegis Gundam.
Cagalli's conversation with the fleet commander had ended. It seemed the Orb fleet didn't quite believe that Princess Cagalli was actually aboard the Archangel.
At that moment, the Buster Gundam managed to break free from Mu's Skygrasper. It combined its weapons into the Hyper Impulse Long-Range Sniper Rifle and fired a direct shot at the Archangel's engine.
The Archangel's hull tilted violently to the right. Two of the main thrusters at the rear were severely damaged and ceased to function. The ship began to plummet toward the Orb territorial waters.
"Mikazuki! The Archangel's engine is hit!"
On the other side of the battlefield, Mikazuki, who had been dominating the Aegis Gundam, heard Orga's warning. He turned back just in time to see the Archangel falling toward the sea.
With an annoyed huff, Mikazuki pulled the last Beam Boomerang from his right shoulder and hurled it at the Aegis, which had already lost an arm. Then, he ignited his thrusters and dove toward the Archangel.
Athrun dodged the Beam Boomerang, gasping for air as he looked down at his energy gauge. It was almost empty. The preceding struggle with the Barbatos had exhausted him mentally and physically. If the Barbatos had continued the fight, he truly might have been buried in the sea today.
After steadying his breathing, Athrun saw the Orb fleet opening fire on the Archangel and issued his own command.
"Long Legs has entered Orb territorial waters. We cannot pursue any further. Retreat!"
Mikazuki saw the Archangel being shelled and was prepared to strike at the Orb fleet, but Murrue's voice came through the Barbatos's comms.
"Mikazuki, land immediately! Orb is going to provide us with cover!"
"Cover?"
Mikazuki frowned, finally noticing that not a single one of the Orb fleet's shots had hit the Archangel. Every shell was landing in the water surrounding the ship.
"I see..."
The Strike Gundam and the Skygrasper had already returned. Mikazuki stowed the Smoothbore Gun and landed the Barbatos firmly in the center of the Archangel's deck.
The shelling continued for three full minutes until it was confirmed that the ZAFT forces had completely retreated. Only then did the flagship of the fleet open a channel to the Archangel.
"This ship will now lead your vessel to Onogoro Island. Please follow our guidance."
Mikazuki opened his cockpit and raised his seat. Standing on the Barbatos's armor, he looked at the surrounding Orb warships. Under their protection, the Archangel began to sail slowly across the surface of the sea.
"Why is Orb covering us?" Mikazuki asked.
Orga sounded somewhat exasperated. "Didn't you hear her just now? That Cagalli is the Princess of Orb."
Mikazuki blinked. "Princess?"
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