The Chapter get Retranslated
"Wolf? Why is the Wolf at P.L.A.N.T.?"
Athrun ran to the front of the screen, staring in shock at the Barbatos displayed there.
"Just as I thought. This unit belongs to the ship that your Creuset Team was pursuing," Patrick said. "We didn't recognize it at first. It wasn't until the Freedom was stolen by it that we recalled the reports you and Creuset gave at the hearing regarding this machine... Code Name: Wolf."
"How can this be..." Athrun's eyes went blank.
No wonder... No wonder they hadn't seen the Wolf during their subsequent pursuit of the Archangel. They had found it strange at first, but because Kira was also exceptionally strong, he had stopped paying attention to the Wolf.
"But that's not the most critical part. Do you know what was installed on that stolen unit?"
Patrick tapped the keyboard, and data for the Freedom and another new model appeared on the screen.
Athrun's pupils contracted.
"A Neutron Jammer Canceller? Is the new unit nuclear-powered? Father! Why is such a thing at P.L.A.N.T.? Didn't we renounce all nuclear weapons?"
In his agitation, Athrun forgot the formality of the occasion. Patrick didn't dwell on it, simply answering in a heavy voice.
"It is an indispensable energy source for victory. Your mission is to retrieve the stolen X10A Freedom and eliminate the pilot, along with every person and facility involved in this incident."
"Go to the factory to receive the X09A Justice and execute your mission immediately. If retrieval is impossible, you are to destroy the Freedom."
"You understand what would happen if that technology fell into the hands of the Earth Alliance, don't you? You must complete the mission."
Patrick looked at his son grimly. Athrun opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he could only lower his head and reply in a low voice.
"Understood..."
"...You may go."
"Yes, sir."
Athrun offered a salute and turned to leave. Patrick stared blankly at Athrun's retreating back until the door closed. Only when silence returned to the office did he let out a faint sigh.
"Using Athrun like this... Will you forgive me, Lenore...?"
Meanwhile, the Archangel had set out once more. Beside it was a heavily damaged ZAFT Nazca-class battleship. Scavenging and recycling had always been an unchangeable law of survival for Tekkadan. Unless it was completely scrapped, they wouldn't let a ship that could still fly go to waste.
However, there was practically nothing left on the Sastry. The Freedom and all supplies had already been transferred to the Archangel. Only Orga remained within the ship's computer system, controlling the vessel's flight while conversing with everyone on the Archangel.
Orga displayed all the data he had intercepted before the Alaska Base self-destructed. Because the situation had been so urgent, he had kept the files stored in the ship's system background without looking at them closely until now.
After finishing the report, he clicked his tongue in amazement.
"I see. So that was the strategy for the Alaska Base. To think they'd use their newest ships and other Alliance members as bait... that's cold-blooded."
"Those bastards... I can't believe they came up with such a cruel battle plan," Mu growled, slamming his fist against the bridge glass. The expressions of everyone on the bridge were grim, with only one exception.
"Munch, munch."
Mikazuki sat on the console next to Murrue's captain's seat, gripping a sandwich with both hands and eating heartily. There were several more on a plate beside him.
Orga couldn't help but speak up.
"Mika, slow down. No one's going to take it from you."
"Munch, munch... Does Orga want some too?"
Mikazuki picked up a sandwich and held it toward the screen displaying the Iron Flower emblem.
Orga laughed helplessly, though the others couldn't see his smile—they only saw the flickering Iron Flower.
"Dummy, I can't eat."
"Oh, I forgot."
Mikazuki put the sandwich back down and went back to eating the one in his hand. Orga fell silent for a moment as a mischievous idea occurred to him.
"Right."
The Iron Flower suddenly vanished.
"Hmm?" Mikazuki stood up and shouted, "Hey, Orga, what are you doing? Orga!"
"Hold on, Mika. I'm fixing my image."
The Iron Flower didn't reappear, but Orga's voice echoed through the bridge.
"Huh?"
Not just Mikazuki, but Murrue and the others looked at each other in confusion, wondering what Orga meant by "fixing his image."
After a few minutes, the black screen lit up again. A massive image appeared across the display.
"Orga?"
The screen no longer showed the red Iron Flower logo. Instead, it was a human figure—someone Mikazuki was intimately familiar with. Bronze skin, silver hair, and a sharp fringe of bangs that partially covered his closed right eye.
"Heh, how is it? Mika, this look should be familiar, right?"
The person was Orga's true appearance. Mikazuki stared for a while before taking another bite of his sandwich, looking at Orga with his typical dead-fish eyes.
"Since you had the ability to do this, why didn't you turn into this sooner?"
"Shut up..."
On the screen, Orga turned his head away and tugged at his Tekkadan coat. He would never tell Mikazuki that he had only just thought of it. As the former leader, he still had to maintain his dignity.
As Orga's image appeared on the screen, everyone on the bridge remembered the photograph Mikazuki had the one of the silver-haired man gripping Mikazuki by the collar.
"Alright, even though it's not my physical body, it's close enough. Back to business."
"Captain Murrue, where are you headed next? Since Mika and I will be traveling with the Archangel, we need to know what your plans are."
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