The Archangel arrived at the Artemis Fortress without a hitch. Although this was as originally planned by Murrue and the others, it was too smooth, so smooth that it felt eerie. Logically, the Creuset Squadron shouldn't have given up their pursuit, but now...
Regardless, they had arrived at Artemis. Even if the ZAFT forces pursued them, they could only circle outside and wouldn't be able to enter. This was because Artemis Fortress possessed a Wave Defense Belt, a defense system also known as the Artemis Umbrella,
which was a light-layer defense net that even high-energy anti-ship lasers couldn't penetrate. Of course, the prerequisite was that the defense net's external deployment device wasn't destroyed. Once the umbrella was destroyed, Artemis would be finished, as the fortress only existed because of it.
However, as soon as the Archangel entered port, it was surrounded by the Mobile Armors from the port, their muzzles aimed at the bridge.
On the bridge, Murrue's expression changed, and she turned to look at Bidarfu, the inspection officer belonging to Artemis who had just entered. Trailing behind him were several armed Earth Alliance soldiers. These soldiers quickly spread out on the bridge, taking control of it.
Natarle asked with a grim expression, "Major Bidarfu, what is the meaning of this? Please explain."
Bidarfu waved his hand. "Don't be nervous. These are safety measures, just a lockdown on ship control and weapon regulation."
"Lockdown? Why a lockdown?"
Natarle was somewhat agitated. An armed Earth Alliance soldier behind her took a step forward, making Natarle hesitant to act rashly, though her expression revealed much.
Bidarfu slowly said, "This warship is not registered with the Alliance, nor does it have our military's identification signal. Considering the specific circumstances, although we permitted your entry into port, unfortunately, you have not yet been confirmed as friendly forces. We need to confirm clearly before lifting the lockdown."
Murrue and Natarle's expressions both sank. It was probably not that simple, although they had anticipated this. Although they and the Artemis Fortress both belonged to the Earth Alliance, they were not on the same side.
Murrue's group belonged to the Atlantic Federation of the Earth Alliance, while this was the Eurasian Federation. Although both were part of the Earth Alliance, these two factions had always been outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds, with frequent covert maneuvers between them.
The five Gundams were a top-secret project known only to high-ranking officials and participants within the Atlantic Federation. The Eurasian Federation had only caught a whiff of it but couldn't dig deeper.
But now that the Archangel and the Gundams had delivered themselves to their doorstep, they naturally wanted to do everything possible to obtain all information about the Gundams. This was why Murrue had shown hesitation when Natarle initially suggested going to Artemis for resupply.
"Alright, two officers, please come with me. After all, we need to confirm your identities."
Murrue and Natarle had no choice but to follow.
Meanwhile, in Mikazuki's officer's lounge, five Artemis Earth Alliance soldiers lay beneath his feet. From the blood flowing on the ground and the gun in Mikazuki's hand, it was clear whether these five were alive or dead.
Mikazuki sat on the five stacked corpses, nonchalantly chewing on a date he had thrown into his mouth, talking to Orga.
"So, they want the Archangel here, right?"
"To be precise, they want the Gundam data. Good thing you activated Barbatos's camouflage the moment you entered port. Although it startled that maintenance crew uncle, the Earth Alliance soldiers here didn't discover it at all, heh, they all just walked right past it."
Orga had seen everything outside through the eyes of the cloaked Barbatos. Due to Barbatos's improved Sword Striker Pack, it was separated from the Hangar where the Strike Gundam was located. Strike was on the right, in Hangar No. 2, which was on the Archangel's left leg.
"Those guys should have already taken control of the bridge now, let me see..."
Orga infiltrated the Archangel's internal monitoring system, gaining control of the entire warship.
"The crew members on the bridge have all been taken to the lounge, heavily guarded. Also, the captain and the combat commander have been taken away."
Mikazuki frowned. "Murrue?"
"Yes, I forgot to mention, and that man named Mwu La Fllaga. The three highest-ranking individuals on this warship have been taken. So? Are you going to save them?"
Mikazuki nodded slightly and said into his earpiece, "Yes, they're our comrades, aren't they?"
The Iron Flower flickered twice, and Orga said helplessly, "Suit yourself. You're the leader now anyway. But first, go rescue Kira and the others from the lounge before going for the captain. That way, when you return, the Archangel will be ready to launch at any time."
"Indeed."
With that, Mikazuki picked up the two assault rifles from the ground and slung them over his shoulders. He put their spare magazines into his pockets, and two handguns into his lower back holster, where he already had one.
"I'll guide you, taking the shortest shortcut to the lounge."
Following Orga's directions, Mikazuki swaggered through the Archangel's corridors, eliminating every Artemis soldier he encountered.
You might ask why kill them instead of just knocking them out? For Mikazuki, there was only the difference between killing and being killed. If you don't destroy your enemies, they will destroy you. It's that simple.
Artemis was an enemy to him.
"Next, turn left. Two enemies. No problem, just go in and take them out."
Mikazuki turned left expressionlessly, raised his rifle, and fired two shots. The two Earth Alliance soldiers in front of him lay on the ground, bleeding profusely.
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