The Archangel belonged to the Eighth Fleet. It belonged to Admiral Halberton.
In Murrue's eyes, this was clearly Blue Cosmos trying to "rob" the Eighth Fleet of its property.
But the other side had orders from above, so the Archangel could not openly resist.
That meant the other side had to make the first mistake…
Meanwhile, after the review ended, Sutherland went to meet Inori elsewhere.
"Well, well. I never expected the esteemed Songstress-san of Orb to be aboard the Archangel. It is truly my honor to meet you."
Sutherland smiled as he entered the room.
This was a reception room, obviously much nicer than the others.
"Hello."
Inori ignored the hand he extended.
"I've listened to all your songs. Your voice is heavenly. I heard you once denied in public that you were a Coordinator? Your hair and your voice… were those natural too?" Sutherland asked.
"Mm. I'm not a Coordinator. I was born in space. My hair and voice are both natural. Do you want to run tests?" Inori replied.
"Oh, no, of course not!" Sutherland's smile grew even brighter.
That was what he said, but in reality they would definitely test her.
Still, Inori's cooperative attitude made Sutherland think she was probably telling the truth.
If she had been born in space, then even if she was not a Coordinator, perhaps some mutations were not impossible.
Sutherland had been reading an e-book about Natural superiority earlier. It said that the so-called superior traits of Coordinators could also appear among Naturals.
Those traits were not the result of artificial adjustment at all, but the mighty power of nature itself. That proved Naturals could grow to such heights too!
[Grass (a type of exclamation), his attitude is completely different]
[She really isn't a Coordinator. She's an AI]
[Inori: Bet you didn't see that coming—I'm an artificial human]
[Wouldn't an artificial human count as a Coordinator too?]
[If she doesn't even have genes, I don't think she counts as a Coordinator]
[I'm dying laughing either way]
[I just want to see his face when he learns the truth]
[It'll definitely be fun]
[Right now I just want Inori to gun all of them down]
[What does this guy want with Inori? Don't tell me he wants some casting-couch nonsense]
[Obviously he wants to use the songstress's influence. Didn't you see how much sway Lacus and Inori had before? Winning people over is obviously useful]
[Inori definitely has the "assets" to win people over]
[Wait, how does he know Inori is a "Natural"?]
[Right, right. Before this, everyone seemed to assume Inori was a Coordinator. Kuzzey and Miriallia were shocked when they found out too]
Of course she had the "assets" to win people over.
Although Inori had reincarnated here, she was not truly human, but a carbon-based machine. So giving herself slightly more impressive "assets" was entirely possible.
Making them a little bigger would not be a problem either.
But if they got too big, her proportions would look off. Inori was supposed to have a slender, petite build, and going too far would actually look worse.
Sutherland's reason for seeking Inori out was obvious.
Heliopolis, where Inori had lived, had been destroyed by ZAFT.
As the perfect victim, Inori was practically the ideal propaganda material.
And if they also revealed that she was a Natural, telling Naturals that they were not necessarily inferior to those filthy artificially modified Coordinators, it would be even better.
But after Sutherland delivered a long speech, Inori merely blinked.
"I'm sorry, Colonel Sutherland." Inori blinked. "For matters involving publicity, please speak with my manager and my lawyer. I only sing."
"Your manager…"
Sutherland fell silent.
But just then, another officer appeared in front of him.
"…Oh?!"
After hearing the news, Sutherland's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Well, well, my apologies. Regarding the publicity matter, I hope you can understand the difficult position of the Earth Alliance. I have something else to handle now. We'll speak again later."
He did not let Inori leave, instead having her remain in the reception room.
"Is she really Allster's daughter?"
The moment Sutherland stepped out, he asked.
"Yes. Flay Allster, daughter of the Vice Foreign Minister."
George Allster was a supporter of Blue Cosmos.
In a sense, he counted as a minor financial backer.
Of course, he could not compare with the true big shots, but he did possess a certain level of status.
Compared with this difficult songstress, Flay was one of their own, so it would be better to go see her first.
Besides, she had spent so long aboard the Archangel that she might know some hidden information.
"Mm?"
Sutherland was about to leave when a doubt suddenly occurred to him.
—Had he ever told that songstress his identity?
Forget it. This was not the time to think about that. All he had to do was find some excuses, convict everyone from the Archangel, and take them away.
[Grass (a type of exclamation), the landmine is about to go off]
[We're doomed]
[This situation looks really bad]
[Sure enough, our own people are scarier than the enemy]
[How about we make a deal and have the Archangel join ZAFT instead?]
[When it comes to being inhuman, the Earth Alliance is seriously inhuman]
[Are you idiots? ZAFT isn't any better. Didn't you see Athrun researching things until he started having an existential crisis?]
[A war between scumbags]
[Just destroy everything already. I'm tired]
[Still okay. I think there's at least more hope than in the Universal Century]
[Then why not bring up the Demon of Mars and the Witch from Mercury too?]
Because both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT behaved like scumbags, the viewers had fallen into confusion.
Both sides were equally scummy, to the point that nobody knew which one should be wiped out first.
At that moment, the scene had already returned to Kira, the protagonist.
Unlike Inori's "VIP" treatment, once Kira arrived, she was fitted with electronic shackles and locked in a cell.
"She's pretty cute."
"It's all artificial. You're into that?"
"Doesn't that make her a great doll?"
"Just behave and be a tool for us Naturals. That's where Coordinators belong!"
Everyone aboard the Archangel had been gentle.
When they first learned Kira was a Coordinator, they had been startled too, but that was only because of long-standing stereotypes, not personal prejudice against Kira.
So later on, everyone had basically been able to get along with her just fine.
But the Doolittle was completely different.
The people here had been openly hostile from the very beginning.
The moment they learned Kira was a Coordinator, they locked her up without giving her a chance to explain.
No review, no interrogation. They simply restrained her first and would decide the rest later…