Chapter 326: Discussing the Next Destination
Tolle hooked an arm around Kira's shoulder and said to everyone, "Alright, everyone, hurry back to the Archangel and get out of this hellhole as soon as possible.
Otherwise, whether it's the Earth Alliance or ZAFT, if they see this many of us gathered here, one missile would be enough to wipe us all out in one go."
Hearing Tolle say that was like having a bucket of cold water poured over them, and everyone immediately calmed down.
Murrue also nodded and gave an order to Murdoch. "Sergeant Murdoch, quickly arrange manpower to repair the Archangel's power engines. We need to leave here as soon as possible."
"Roger, Captain Ramius. I'll arrange the engine repairs immediately." After saying that, Murdoch quickly led the maintenance crew back to the Archangel.
After that, Tolle and Kira followed Murrue and the others to the bridge to discuss the future course for everyone and the Archangel.
As for Katz, everyone also realized that he had secretly slipped off the Archangel right when the fighting began. He had already perished at the Alaska base. Everyone observed a few minutes of silence for his misfortune.
Mu also explained to Kira that the Earth Alliance had used them as bait this time to carry out the Cyclops System self-destruction plan.
Kira shook his head as he listened. "So the destruction of this base was the Earth Alliance's battle plan, right?"
"It probably was," Tolle nodded in agreement with Kira, then glanced at Mu and continued, "Those high-ranking Earth Alliance officials are famous for selling out their allies. This isn't the first time they've done something like this, is it?
"And once they get used to this kind of operation, there'll definitely be a third time, a fourth time, and an Nth time—used without limit.
"I think it's better for the Archangel not to go back. If things go well, we'll just be used as bait again. If things go badly, we'll all be silenced by those higher-ups."
After hearing Tolle say that, Murrue said with a troubled expression, "They didn't tell us anything at all."
Mu helped explain from the side. "The fact that ZAFT's target was the Alaska base… headquarters probably knew that long ago.
"And they must have known very, very early. Otherwise, there's no way they could have installed something like the Cyclops System under the base."
"It was the same on the P.L.A.N.T side—they were deceived too. ZAFT suddenly set Alaska as the target of the operation," Kira recalled what he had heard on the P.L.A.N.T satellites, explaining it to everyone.
Everyone was shocked by this. Kira continued in a low voice, "As for the Archangel, Miss Murrue, what are you planning to do from here on?"
"Plans?" Murrue fell into confused thought, completely unsure of what to do next.
Rommel spoke up. "Because of the neutron jammer's effects, all of the Archangel's communications are down. We can't contact the outside world at all."
Neumann still wanted to return to the Earth Alliance forces, so he asked, "If the Archangel undergoes emergency repairs, could we make it safely to the Panama base relying only on ourselves?"
Although Tolle really wanted to tell everyone outright to head for Orb, asking them to defect so casually was something they definitely wouldn't be able to accept right away.
And people tend to be rebellious—the more you push, the more they resist.
They'd also suspect ulterior motives. Unless things reached absolute desperation, they would never be willing to take that step.
So he could only take it slow, like boiling a frog in warm water, and first oppose the idea instead. "Didn't I already say it? The Archangel absolutely cannot return to the Earth Alliance. Otherwise, no one will end well—there's a very high chance we'll be silenced."
Mu also agreed with Tolle and explained to everyone, "That's right. As the only ones who know the truth, do you think they'd welcome us back?"
Murrue added gloomily, "This ship also left its defensive position without orders. That would definitely be treated as desertion before battle, wouldn't it?"
Neumann also realized how serious the situation was and lowered his head. "Yeah. Even if we returned to our original unit, we'd still be sent to a military tribunal."
Chatre chimed in, "They'd probably pile a whole bunch of charges on us. Even if we didn't die, we'd be stripped to the bone."
Murrue said despondently, lowering her head, "I feel like… I'm starting to get confused. What exactly are we fighting for?"
At this moment, Kira said righteously to Murrue, "Miss Murrue, have you ever thought about this? If we want to end this war, what kind of enemy must we fight?
"We… no, I think the true enemy we must fight is the organization that instigated this war in the first place."
Tolle supported him. "That's right—like Blue Cosmos, also known as the Blue Cosmos Alliance.
"They're war profiteers, and at the same time an organization formed by extreme racists.
"They constantly use every possible means to provoke war between Naturals and Coordinators—people who won't stop until all Coordinators are wiped out.
"And then there's Blue Cosmos's backer, LOGOS. They're the same—constantly stirring up war, making money by selling weapons.
"They provoke wars by any means necessary to achieve their sinister goals. Those people are our true enemies!"
Kira nodded. "That's right. They're the ones we must fight."
Murrue and Mu also nodded in agreement, but Murrue still asked, "Then where should we go next? We can't just stay here forever."
Tolle felt that the timing was right to suggest Orb, so he said to Murrue, "How about we go to Orb?"
"Go to Orb?" Murrue looked at Tolle in surprise. She hadn't expected him to say that.
"Yes. At the very least, it's a neutral nation. The flames of war won't spread there anytime soon.
"And we don't have to worry about being sent to a military tribunal. The Archangel can also get repairs and resupply there.
"Going to Orb now would kill three birds with one stone."
Murrue said hesitantly, "But… would they really be willing to accept us?"
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