Miriallia Haw tapped at her keyboard, her eyes widening. "I've got an identification signal! It's a Nazca-class high-speed destroyer... and it's breaking through the atmosphere!"
Murrue was taken aback. "A Nazca-class? Isn't that a ship designed exclusively for space travel?"
Mikazuki's voice crackled over the comms at that moment. "Murrue, Orga is the one piloting that ship. Don't shoot at it."
"Orga? Wait, what on earth have you all been up to?" Murrue asked, her voice failing her. "Did you actually steal a ZAFT battleship?"
Miriallia and the others on the bridge began whispering among themselves. "Who's Orga?"
"I don't know, but the Captain seems to recognize the name..."
"I told you, we'll talk about this later," Mikazuki muttered. He pulled Gundam Barbatos into a sudden, violent spin. The mortars on his wrists barked, the shells instantly vaporizing two GINNs with an absurd display of power.
Yzak Joule, piloting the Duel Gundam, came charging straight for Mikazuki. "Wolf!"
"You're in the way," Mikazuki replied coldly.
With a single swing of his Sword Mace, he sent the Duel flying. The force of the impact was so immense that the Duel's cockpit deformed under the pressure. Shards of glass from the shattered monitors narrowly missed Yzak's body.
Yzak stared at the ruined screens, then at the retreating machine in the distance. "It wasn't just the appearance that changed... Tsk, damn it!"
Yzak was forced to retreat, guided back by a GINN. Meanwhile, inside a ZAFT command submarine:
"We've detected a Nazca-class breaking the atmosphere."
The Captain's expression was one of pure shock. "A Nazca-class? What is this? Why would a space-combat vessel descend into the atmosphere? Which ship is it? Who gave the order?"
"It's... the Sastry," an officer shouted.
"The Sastry? Wasn't that ship supposed to have returned to the homeland? Why is it appearing here?"
"Reporting, Captain! We just received word from the homeland. The Sastry was hijacked by an unknown force. It is to be designated as an enemy and destroyed on sight!"
The entire command center fell into a stunned silence.
"Hijacked in our own territory? Are you joking?"
"This order was personally issued by Chairman Zala. The directive continues: if the newest model, Freedom Gundam, is sighted, it must be destroyed at all costs. Nothing must be left behind."
"Freedom? What the hell is that?"
"Truly, this whole situation is a mess," the Captain barked, waving a hand. "Notify all ships and Mobile Suits that Nazca-class is the enemy! Open fire!"
"The Sastry's main cannons are aiming at us!"
"Evasive maneuvers!"
Boom!
The main cannons on both sides of the Sastry, under Orga's control, roared to life. The shells tore through two carriers that were blocking the Archangel's path, obliterating them instantly.
On the bridge of the Archangel, Miriallia reported, "We are receiving a transmission from the Nazca-class. Shall we accept?"
"Put it through!" Murrue ordered.
A red Tekkadan symbol appeared on one of the Archangel's screens.
"Looks like we made it in time, Captain Murrue," a voice said.
Murrue watched as the Nazca-class ship descended in front of the Archangel. She had a feeling she was about to witness something unprecedented. "Orga Itsuka? Where in the world have you been?"
"Ah, we just took a little trip. But... Mikazuki, you idiot! You just broke the atmosphere and jumped straight out? What if the newly repaired Barbatos broke?"
"I'm fine, aren't I? Don't worry, Barbatos isn't that fragile."
"You..."
Mikazuki unceremoniously cut off Orga's impending lecture. "Enough. Save the scolding for later. How much longer can you hold out over there?"
"Hmm... the friction from the descent caused significant damage to the bottom of the hull. It can probably hold for another two or three hundred nautical miles."
"And the weapons?"
Orga did a quick systems check. "Everything except the bottom arrays is functional. Main cannons, anti-air missiles all green. What's the plan? You want to go direct, like Eugene?"
"Yeah. This ship isn't that great anyway."
"That's true. Compared to the Isaribi, this ship is trash. You even chased it down once, haha... Alright, everything is OK. Freedom is ready for launch at any time."
The entire bridge crew of the Archangel listened to the conversation between Orga and Mikazuki in stunned silence. They felt as if they were watching a storm gather.
"Did you hear that, Archangel?" Mikazuki's voice returned. "Orga and I will clear the way. You guys charge out at maximum speed."
"Wait, by 'clear the way,' do you mean...?"
"Just stay close."
Murrue tried to ask for clarification, but Mikazuki cut her off immediately. She could only nod to the helmsman. "Follow the Nazca-class."
"Understood!" Arnold Neumann held his breath, his hands gripping the helm tightly.
"Let's go."
Mikazuki gripped his control sticks as Orga pushed the ZAFT space battleship's thrusters to their limit. The ship's speed exploded forward.
The machine and the ship surged ahead in a straight line. Barbatos stood firmly on the deck of the Sastry, slamming its Sword Mace into the hull to anchor itself. The backpack opened, and two massive large-caliber cannons deployed over its shoulders, while the mortars on its wrists aimed forward.
Boom!
Every available weapon on the Sastry fired simultaneously with the Barbatos' long-range arsenal. A spectacular series of explosions erupted ahead.
The ZAFT carrier captains watched in horror as the Sastry charged toward them across the water. "Is that ship planning to ram us? Are you kidding me? Is the Captain of that ship a madman?"
It wasn't just ZAFT that was terrified; the crew of the Archangel was just as shocked.
"Mr. Orga, you're even more reckless than Mikazuki!"
"Do it!"
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