"Little Inori!" Kira walked over to Inori's side. "Um... Murrue-san, did you need something?"
"Actually, there is something I wanted to ask you, Kira," Murrue said. "Right now, the Archangel has almost no combat strength. The only unit we can deploy is the Strike..."
"Hey, you're going to make Kira board that war machine again?!"
Ever since Cagalli had decided Kira was her "little sister," a strange protective, mother-hen instinct had kicked in.
"Cagalli-san, without the Strike, without Kira, we won't be able to hold out against ZAFT's next assault." Murrue had no other choice.
"This is just emotional blackmail!" Cagalli was indignant. "And this is Heliopolis—Orb territory! Would ZAFT really dare pull something like that here?!"
"Don't be naïve, Cagalli-san," Murrue said. "We're long past the point where we can pin our hopes on an enemy's mercy, or on their concern for 'international opinion' and public scrutiny."
Cagalli's eyes went wide. "...?"
"This is war. The Le Creuset Team has already done what they've done—the enemy has staked everything they have. If we don't throw in everything we've got, we'll simply be devoured," Murrue said. "I am blackmailing you, yes. But at this point, this is all I'm able to do. You can't leave the Archangel for now, but until you can, I at least want to protect you as best I can."
"You..."
Cagalli deflated in an instant.
"...Power." Kira's voice came.
The slight girl kept her head slightly lowered, but her eyes were full of resolve.
Her words drew both Murrue's and Cagalli's gazes to her.
"Without power, nothing can be done. I hate war. But I hate the powerless me who can't protect the people around me even more." Kira lifted her head. "So I'll pilot the Strike."
"Kira..." Murrue gave her a look brimming with emotion.
Her gaze was complicated.
"Power... without power, my words... carry no weight..."
Cagalli, on the other hand, hung her head.
She'd finally realized just how powerless she was right now.
Her words couldn't change a thing.
Inori suddenly spoke up, cutting off the topic: "ZAFT forces have deployed. Enemy strength... four GINNs carrying D-Type Heavy Assault Equipment. On top of that, the four stolen G-Weapons are sortieing again. Radio jamming is incoming—watch for electromagnetic interference."
"What?!"
Murrue looked out the viewport. Outside, everything was still calm.
But Murrue believed what Inori said.
Because she really could monitor the entire situation across Heliopolis.
Murrue immediately opened comms. "Captain La Flaga, Ensign Badgiruel, ZAFT forces are about to launch an assault!"
"There's nothing out there, is there?" Mu asked, puzzled, then chose to set it aside for the moment. "Captain Ramius, hurry to the bridge—you're the captain!"
"Me?" Murrue was startled.
"I made rank earlier than you, sure, but I'm not familiar with this ship. You hold the highest rank here now, so of course it's you!"
"Right! Kira, the Strike is in your hands!" Murrue wasted no words, relaying the order over comms before hurrying off toward the bridge.
Meanwhile, Kira rushed to the Strike.
That left Cagalli standing alone.
She looked left and right, her eyes blank.
"And me?"
"Is there... nothing I can do?"
When Kira reached the hangar, the mechanics—already warned by Murrue—had the Strike prepped, and she climbed straight into its cockpit.
"Kira."
Just as Kira was about to seal the hatch, Inori appeared in the doorway.
Then the goldfish costume on Inori's body began to change, transforming into a battle suit that matched Kira's.
Only Kira's was black and Inori's was white—and Inori's seemed faintly sheer. You couldn't see anything critical, but it was still the kind of image Ciweimao would never publish.
(Guess it had to come to this…)
[Inori battle-suit mode!]
[Wuwaaahhh!]
[Aba aba aba (descending into gibberish)]
[A-Wei is dead!]
[Right here!]
[Right now, right here—my little bro says he's ready!]
[Wuaahwa!]
Inori turned around and sat down on top of Kira.
"The Strike's control platform can't draw out your power. Let me help," Inori said.
"But it's not safe here," Kira said.
"No. Right beside Kira is the safest place there is." Inori clasped Kira's hands and pressed in close.
[The balloon's about to pop]
[You can even play it like THIS]
[Hooah! Hooah!]
[Wakaka!]
[Official fanservice]
[No joke—the official platform already said they might put out new figures]
[Buy, buy, buy!]
[Say no more, just buy it!]
[I've entered berserk mode]
Sadly, the audience didn't get to see the two of them pressed together—because at that moment a helmet formed over both their heads. It was transparent, barely covering their faces, but it blocked the audience's view of their heads pressed together.
Then a VR visor appeared before Kira's eyes.
The view switched to Kira's perspective.
She sat where she was, but the space around her was no longer the cockpit interior—it was a fully enclosed, 360-degree virtual space instead.
"As I thought—far more usable than the Strike's own control platform..."
The Inori OS was leagues more usable than the Strike OS.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!"
And now the view cut back to Murrue.
Just as Murrue entered the bridge, the alarms finally blared to life.
ZAFT had begun its assault.
Mu's Mobile Armor was out of commission, so at this point he was manning the CIC—the Combat Information Center—on the bridge.
"Impressive that you knew ahead of time," Mu said.
"Mm. Thanks to that songstress," Murrue said. "ZAFT is coming! They're using heavy assault equipment—whatever happens, we have to avoid damaging the colony as much as possible."
The Archangel's mechanics began fitting the Strike with the Sword Striker Pack. That loadout would naturally minimize the risk of wide-area attacks damaging the colony.
But at that moment Kira contacted Murdoch. "Mr. Murdoch, can you swap it for the Aile Striker Pack instead?"
"The Aile?"
Murdoch scratched his head.
"Yes. More than firepower or defense, what I need right now is mobility! I need to increase the weapons payload."
"Ah, I get it!"
Murdoch caught on at once.
The Aile Striker Pack was meant for short flights within Earth's atmosphere, but it could also be used to boost mobility on a space battlefield.
Except what Kira needed wasn't the mobility itself—it was a way to offset the added load from carrying more ammunition.
With Inori backing her up, offense was the way to go!
"BOOM—!"
The colony's outer shell was blown open, and ZAFT's GINNs and the four G-Weapons came pouring in from outside.
ZAFT's assault had begun.