Chapter 122: SEED – Territorial Waters
Nicol hadn't expected that once the Strike Gundam got in close, it wouldn't use its beam saber to attack. Instead, it delivered a sudden accelerating knee strike, sending the Blitz Gundam flying, and in the same motion slashed through and destroyed its aerial unit.
As the Blitz fell into the sea, Nicol finally felt a sense of relief—at last, he wouldn't have to force himself to attack the Archangel anymore.
Tolle, however, sighed. "Kira, you're way too wasteful. Wouldn't it be better to pick up a spare flyer like I did? Makes battles a lot easier."
Kira then turned his assault toward Athrun's Aegis Gundam. The two clashed fiercely, exchanging blow after blow with their beam sabers.
Kira and Athrun continued to tangle with each other, neither gaining the upper hand.
Tolle piloted the G-weapons closer, lending support to the Strike Gundam by laying down suppressive fire against the Aegis.
The two of them joined forces, launching one relentless attack after another against the Aegis.
Caught between enemies front and back, the Aegis didn't last many rounds before the Strike blasted its flyer apart with a single beam rifle shot.
But Athrun wasn't so easily dealt with. The moment his flyer was destroyed, he leapt back, transformed into MA mode, and immediately fired its multi-phase energy cannon at the Archangel.
The blast tore open a massive gap in the Archangel's portside hangar passageway, triggering a chain of internal explosions.
Seeing this, Tolle couldn't help but lament. "This wasn't supposed to happen at all… With me here, the Archangel's actually taken even more damage."
The biggest problem, however, remained the Buster Gundam, which kept hammering them from long range. Its attack coverage was simply too wide.
Mu, tasked with keeping the Buster in check, wasn't making much headway either. Meanwhile, one of the Archangel's booster thruster nozzles was blown out by its fire.
The Archangel was on the verge of collapse, and to make things worse, the Duel Gundam—once sunk—had already resurfaced, now firing at the Archangel from the sea's surface.
The Aegis continued switching between forms to prolong its airtime, firing bursts from its beam rifle at the Archangel whenever possible.
Aboard the Archangel, Cagalli was racing through the violently shaking passageways toward the bridge.
Halfway there, her bodyguard intercepted her with a stern question.
"Cagalli, wait—what are you trying to do?"
Cagalli shoved his arm aside, her face lit with passion.
"Let me go! At this rate the Archangel's going to be sunk. We're already so close to Orb—I can't just stand by and watch the Archangel go under!"
On the Archangel's bridge, the radar operator suddenly reported Orb's fleet approaching their position.
"Large numbers of Orb vessels detected along the territorial defense line."
Some on the bridge were overjoyed, thinking Orb had come to their rescue, while others still wore heavy looks.
Murrue spoke with concern. "Have we gotten too close to Orb's territorial waters?"
Then she gave her order: "Port rudder fifteen degrees—immediately exit Orb waters."
At the helm, Arnold hesitated. "But—"
Murrue cut him off, explaining firmly, "If we don't pull back, if we keep going closer, they'll open fire.
Orb is not our ally. Under normal circumstances, maybe—but right now…"
At that moment, Cagalli burst onto the bridge, shouting at Murrue.
"Forget that—just push into their waters! Leave Orb to me, I'll handle it. Hurry!"
Murrue looked at her regretfully, questioning, "Miss Cagalli…"
Before she could say more, the communications officer interrupted with news.
"Captain, incoming from the Orb fleet. It's an all-channels transmission, patched through to the main screen."
The voice of Orb's fleet commander came through as the main display lit up.
"Attention approaching Earth Alliance and ZAFT vessels. You are nearing the territorial waters of the Orb Union. Immediately alter course.
Our nation will not permit any armed warships, aircraft, or mobile suits to intrude into our borders without authorization.
Turn back at once. Repeat—turn back at once.
This is your final warning! If we confirm you have not altered course, this fleet reserves the right to open fire."
Beside them, Kuzzey held his head nervously. "Open fire? They'll shoot at us too?"
The comms officer muttered resentfully, "And this is supposed to be neutrality? The Archangel was even built in Orb…"
Cagalli jumped forward again, shouting.
"It's fine! Just push into their waters!"
Then she snatched the comm device from Kuzzey, shouting at Orb's fleet commander.
"Seeing this situation, how can you still say that? The Archangel is entering Orb's territorial waters now—so you're not allowed to fire!"
Such an unreasonable demand infuriated the Orb commander.
"What? Who the hell do you think you are!"
But Cagalli roared back like a lion, arguing with him fiercely.
"And who do you think you are! If you can't make the call, then patch me through to the government.
Bring out my father… Uzumi Nara Athha!
I am… I am Cagalli Yula Athha!"
Her voice trembled with near tears as she spoke, leaving everyone on the bridge stunned.
Sai whispered to Miriallia, "That Athha… could it be…?"
Miriallia whispered back, "Don't tell me… the head representative of Orb?"
The Orb commander froze upon hearing Cagalli's declaration. After a few seconds, he forced himself to respond calmly.
"Don't spout nonsense. How could our princess possibly be there?"
Cagalli, hearing him refuse to acknowledge her identity, flared up again. The tears in her eyes vanished as she roared even louder.
"What did you say!…"
But the Orb commander cut her off, continuing sternly.
"Even if that were true, we cannot act on your words without verification."
"You bastard!…"
Before Cagalli could say more, the Orb commander terminated the transmission first.
The Archangel shook once more—Buster Gundam had resumed its attack, closing in steadily.
Dearka was determined to sink the Archangel before it could enter Orb's waters. Fortunately, Athrun, mindful of Orb's fleet, had ceased his attacks.
Otherwise, under the combined assault of both, the Archangel might not have held out at all.
From a distance, the Skygrasper fired two high-energy pulse shots at the Buster, but both were dodged.
Meanwhile, Tolle was still tied up engaging the Duel Gundam in the sea and had no chance to return and help.
But Kira, piloting the Strike, broke away from his fight with the Aegis and returned to the Archangel's deck.
With the Skygrasper's support, he seized the moment and blasted the Buster's flyer with a single beam rifle shot.
Yet just as its flyer exploded, Dearka, like Athrun before him, used the chance to unleash one last desperate strike at the Archangel.
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