At the Earth Alliance Moon Base, inside the factory harbor of the facility...
A black warship, an identical twin to the Archangel, sat moored in the docks. As for who its captain was... that would be revealed soon enough.
Onboard this vessel was Muruta. At that moment, he had just received intelligence sent from PLANT: the Archangel had been spotted within the L4 Colony Cluster.
"Freedom and Justice, is it? ZAFT has dispatched three Nazca-class high-speed battleships to L4. As I thought, those two machines..."
The thought of the Neutron Jammer Cancelers equipped on the Freedom and Justice Gundams made his heart race with greed. He had long coveted that technology.
He had originally assumed both mobile suits were still in Orb. He hadn't expected them to have ascended into space just as he had. It was a golden opportunity.
"Wait... if they are there, then that monster must be with them too. What should I do..."
Muruta couldn't help but shiver at the mere memory of the Barbatos. Ultimately, however, his lust for the Neutron Jammer Cancelers overrode his fear. He patched a communication through to the bridge.
"Is the captain there?"
...Several days later...
In the L4 Colony Cluster, the resupply operation for the four warships was nearing its conclusion. The supplies and equipment from an entire colony were incredibly comprehensive; it was more than enough to restock four vessels.
Mikazuki's Barbatos remained on the Eternal, as his Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III and various other armaments were stationed there. Furthermore, all the weapons and equipment Orb had manufactured for the Barbatos had been transferred to the Eternal as well.
At the same time, Kira and Athrun's machines had also been assigned to the Eternal. After all, the ship was the dedicated carrier for those two units, and keeping them there was simply more efficient.
This distribution allowed the various Mobile Suits to launch immediately, ensuring they wouldn't miss a single window of opportunity in battle.
The Kusanagi and the Kshatriya went without sayingthey were packed to the brim with M1 Astrays. The Archangel also carried its fair share of units: the Strike Gundam, the Buster Gundam, and several M1 Astrays.
By that count, Lacus's Eternal carried the fewest number of machines, but every single one of them was a high-end unit.
Mikazuki was currently in the pilot's rest area of the Eternal, floating in the zero-gravity space with his eyes closed, seemingly asleep.
"Mika."
"Hm?" Mikazuki's earpiece crackled, and he opened his eyes. "Murrue? What is it?"
The person contacting him was indeed Murrue, currently aboard the Archangel. The supplies for the Eternal, the Kshatriya, and the Archangel had all been stowed. Now, the rest of the crew were outside piloting Mobile Suits to help move crates and weapons onto the Kusanagi.
"Nothing much... I just wanted to ask if you've gotten used to life on the Eternal yet."
In truth, Murrue simply missed him. He had been on the Archangel for so long that even though this distribution was perfectly logical and correct from a tactical standpoint, she still felt a lingering sense of worry.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't know the layout very well. I keep getting lost," Mikazuki admitted, a look of slight frustration crossing his face.
"Hehe, is that so?"
Murrue let out a soft giggle at his words. She sat in the comfortable chair of the captain's quarters, propping her chin on one hand.
"It is a ship built by ZAFT, after all. The internal structure is quite different from the Archangel or the Kusanagi. Though, I suppose it's somewhat similar to Orga's Kshatriya."
"I'm not that familiar with the Kshatriya either," Mikazuki said as he drifted toward his locker. He pulled a few Mars Dates from the pocket of his olive-green jacket. "I only know the route from the bridge to the hangar and the cafeteria."
He popped a date into his mouth and sat down on a cushioned bench to continue the conversation.
"That girl is pretty amazing, though. To escape while commanding ZAFT's newest ship like that."
"She is. Lacus is very capable," Murrue agreed.
"Cagalli said the same thing."
"Oh? Cagalli said Lacus is amazing?" Murrue sounded slightly surprised.
"Yeah. A few days ago, after the meeting on the Kusanagi, we were chatting in the hallway. That's what she told me."
A faint smile played on Murrue's lips. "She's unexpectedly straightforward, isn't she?"
"She is."
"Hey, Mika..."
"Yeah?"
"When the war is over, what do you plan to do?"
"Hm... I'll probably go back to our world. Tekkadan... they still need me."
"I see."
"Yeah."
"Mika"
Beep! Beep! Beep!
An alarm suddenly wailed. Murrue immediately snatched up the receiver on her desk.
"What's happening?"
"Large heat signatures detected approaching! Confirmed as warship-class objects!"
Murrue's voice turned sharp and authoritative. "Archangel, move to Battle Stations Level 1!"
"Understood! Archangel moving to Battle Stations Level 1!"
Murrue cut the internal comms and turned back to the channel with Mikazuki. "Mika, please. We're counting on you."
"I know."
The connection went dead. Murrue rushed out of her office toward the bridge.
Mikazuki zipped up his flight suit, grabbed his helmet, and left the lounge for the hangar.
The maintenance crew of the Eternal was composed of members from the original Waltfeld Team. Their technical skills were every bit as good as the Archangel's crew. The maintenance chief saw Mikazuki floating toward them and opened a wireless channel.
"Mikazuki, the gear you asked for has been loaded into the Long Distance Transport Booster Kutan Type-III. You can sortie with the Barbatos at any time."
"Okay. Thanks."
"Don't mention it. We're all in the same boat now, aren't we? Hahaha!"
The Coordinator was a jovial older man. Mikazuki gave a small smile, grabbed a nearby railing, and used the momentum to launch himself accurately into the cockpit of the Barbatos.
The moment he connected to the Alaya-Vijnana System, a flood of new information surged into his mind.
"This is... the data and controls for the booster pack. Huh. This is actually pretty convenient."
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