"We're all in the same boat now, and ZAFT probably won't be kind enough to let us go. Let's start by exchanging names."
Over on Kira's side, one thing after another had happened, but with the evacuation shelters already launched, there was no way for them to escape now.
"I'm Murrue Ramius, an officer of the Earth Alliance."
Murrue introduced herself first.
"Sai Argyle." Sai stepped forward.
"Kuzzey Buskirk." Kuzzey, standing beside Sai, gave his name as well.
"Tolle Koenig."
"Miriallia Haw."
"Kira Yamato."
"Yuzuriha Inori."
"…Cagalli."
[Kujo Jotaro]
[Da Vinci]
[Amuro Ray]
[No clue about the others, but the second I saw Amuro Ray, I burst out laughing]
[My bar for comedy is low. One look at that first comment and I lost it]
[What does the first comment even mean?]
[The protagonist of JoJo Part 3, the invincible man himself, Kujo Jotaro]
[Can you all be serious for once? I just want to watch the show properly]
[Dying lmao. Anyone who seriously wanted to watch turned the comments off ages ago, okay? 233]
Once the introductions were over, Murrue continued, "As you can see, this place contains Earth Alliance military secrets, and outside, there's ZAFT, who couldn't care less whether civilians live or die."
"ZAFT…"
Sai and the others looked grim.
During the evacuation, ZAFT had practically become a source of collective trauma for them.
"I'm sorry, but for now, you'll have no choice but to come with me."
[Conscription?]
[Not like they have any other choice. There's no way out, and who knows when this place might be destroyed]
[Besides, Murrue has clearly realized that Inori and Kira are probably the same two people from a year ago]
[The other side seems to have vaguely caught on too]
[Everyone's brains are online here. This is exactly why I watch Gundam]
[Excuse me, are you looking for Iron-Blooded Orphans?]
[Grass (a type of exclamation), way to ruin the mood, huh?]
By then, the view had already switched back to the Archangel.
Not many of the Archangel's crew were still alive. Badgiruel had reached the bridge and was taking stock of the current situation.
"The only people unharmed are the handful who happened to be aboard the ship when the explosion occurred, and nearly all of them are engineering personnel."
Neumann was reporting to Badgiruel.
"What's our status? What is ZAFT doing?" Badgiruel asked.
"We don't know. Just figuring out the Archangel's internal condition has taken everything we have." Neumann spread his hands.
Badgiruel brought the bridge systems online and checked the Archangel's condition.
Fortunately, ZAFT's explosion had done little damage to the Archangel itself. The protective capabilities of a cutting-edge warship really were top-notch.
"The signal jamming is still active… Wait. Was the attack here only a feint?!" Badgiruel suddenly realized. "Was Morgenroete the real target?!"
The screen was filled with static, showing nothing at all.
"Damn it! What's happening outside?! What condition are the G units in?!"
Badgiruel's thoughts were in complete disarray.
"This is Captain Murrue Ramius, assigned to the Fifth Special Division of the Second Space Sector. Archangel, respond if you receive this. Repeat, respond if you receive this."
"Captain Ramius!"
Murrue's figure appeared on the screen.
Badgiruel breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she noticed something strange.
With all the electromagnetic interference, why was Murrue's image so clear?
"Ensign Badgiruel! Thank goodness. It looks like the Archangel is safe." Murrue let out a relieved breath. "We're currently communicating through a special method. Four of the G-series units—the Buster, Blitz, Duel, and Aegis—have been captured by ZAFT. Only the GAT-X105 Strike remains under our control. Archangel, we need support here."
"The G units were captured?!" Badgiruel exclaimed in shock.
"The Archangel was attacked as well. We're still assessing the damage, but we'll complete our preparations as quickly as possible!"
"…Thank goodness."
Murrue ended the exchange with the Archangel for the moment.
She then turned to look at the "rice cooker" in front of her.
"This thing can actually penetrate electromagnetic jamming? What exactly is it?"
Murrue found it deeply strange.
What kind of bizarre communication device was this?
"As you can see, I am the Songstress of Orb." Inori picked up the Funnel Rice Cooker. "Therefore, this is—a stage prop."
[A stage prop my ass]
[Giraffe: Wakarimashita]
[I, Reproduction]
[Don't panic! It's just a stage prop!]
[Dying, so we're doing Revue Starlight now?]
[Aijo Karen, Reproduction, right?]
Murrue clearly did not believe her.
Her gaze shifted toward the Strike beside them.
Several rice-cooker robots were on top of it, welding and carrying out other repair work.
—You call THAT a stage prop?
"The Strike's optical systems aren't badly damaged. Once the system wiring has been recalibrated, they'll be usable again," Inori said.
"The Songstress of Orb understands this kind of thing too?"
Murrue found the situation genuinely baffling.
What exactly was going on with this girl?
"It's just a stage prop."
Inori was not lying.
To her, the Strike really was a stage prop.
From Murrue's perspective, however, that clearly did not count as an answer.
Although she had serious doubts about the girl's identity, Murrue had no better options at the moment.
"Then can you at least tell me how you and Kira managed to pilot the Strike together?"
Murrue was a military officer, but she was more specifically a technical officer—the research-and-development type.
That was why she was extremely curious about what method Inori had used to control the Strike.
[I want to know too]
[We strongly demand that GBN develop an Inori OS]
[Me too!]
[Couldn't agree more]
[Take my money!]
[Come on, official! Just release it already!]
[Client Offer Received]
Inori: "I refuse!"
A client offer, seriously?
This client really had nothing but money on the brain. The instant it saw an opportunity to make some, it threw all its principles straight out the window.
"It's a trade secret," Inori said.
"Never mind."
Murrue sighed.
If Inori had been able to infiltrate Morgenroete whenever she pleased a year ago, pilot an MS at will, and then erase every last trace of her presence, then the Earth Alliance's information was effectively an open book to her while it knew almost nothing about her.
Murrue even suspected that she might have leaked the information to ZAFT.
On second thought, however, that seemed unlikely. Murrue herself had been the one who dragged Kira aboard the Strike, and Inori had also gone all-out against the ZAFT forces on the other side.
"Is this really okay?"
While the two of them were talking, Kira hesitantly approached from the side, fidgeting all the way.
She had already changed into the combat suit Inori had prepared for her.
It was an improved version of Inori's old combat suit: a black two-piece outfit, with armor on the outside and a latex bodysuit underneath. Inori had produced it using the Black Monolith.
It was not exactly a stage costume, but its visual impact was off the charts.
Inori silently gave Kira a thumbs-up.
"Saikou!"
(Kira in her pilot suit)