Chapter 237: Desperate Measures?

"Hmm... where is this...?" Murrue gazed at the azure sky, her thoughts still not fully recovered.

"How are you feeling, Captain Ramius?"

"Yang Hui?"

Hearing the voice, Murrue turned her head and saw Yang Hui, the boy who had piloted the Strike Gundam earlier, and an unfamiliar girl gathered around her.

"It seems you're fine, but it's best not to move around too much. Be careful not to reopen your wound," Yang Hui reminded her.

"I'm fine..." Murrue shook her head, sat up, and took a few sips of water handed to her by Miriallia, then fixed her gaze on Kira.

As a technician herself, Murrue was well-versed in the condition of the Strike Gundam. The machine itself wasn't the main issue, but the Operating System (OS) was not something a Natural could use—no, it wasn't something any human could use. Although the OS was logically sound and not hastily thrown together, it was... too complex. She couldn't even understand it, let alone control the Strike Gundam.

Yet Kira, a child and still a student, had rewritten the OS during combat and piloted the Strike Gundam to defeat ZAFT's GINN. This was nothing short of astonishing.

"Uh... sorry, I just messed around with it."

"No, it's not..."

"This MS is amazing!"

At that moment, cheers from behind interrupted Murrue's words. Everyone turned to look, and Yang Hui's mouth twitched. He had underestimated the boys' enthusiasm for MS. He thought that after his earlier warnings, they wouldn't dare touch the Strike Gundam again, but...

"What are you doing!? Get down from there!" Murrue struggled to her feet and shouted at the Strike Gundam.

"We're just looking, what's the big deal..."

Seeing that the three of them didn't immediately leave the Strike Gundam and were even complaining while still on it, Yang Hui sensed trouble. As Murrue reached for her gun, he quickly grabbed her hand and raised it.

"Bang! Bang!"

The gunshots rang out, but fortunately, they were fired into the sky, not harming Tolle, Sai, or Katz.

"What are you doing?" Murrue glared at Yang Hui and demanded.

"I should be asking you the same thing," Yang Hui retorted, clearly annoyed. "It's already difficult for you to raise your right arm, and yet you fired shots to intimidate them. Can you guarantee you wouldn't hurt them?"

"Well..."

"I understand how you feel right now, but calm down. Being impatient won't solve anything."

"But Yang Hui, you know, the G is..."

"...Top secret, I know. I told them about it before I came. They knew that and still came here, just because they were worried about their friend," Yang Hui reasoned.

"Huh?" Kira was taken aback. He glanced at Miriallia, then looked at Tolle, Sai, and Katz as they walked over. Seeing them smile and nod at him, Kira hung his head in shame.

"What are you doing? We chose to come back on our own," Tolle said, wrapping an arm around Kira's neck to comfort him.

"Exactly, I was just curious about what Earth's MS looks like. I wasn't worried about you."

"If Tolle was coming back, of course I'd follow."

"So don't blame yourself, Kira. We're friends."

"Tolle, Sai, Miriallia, Katz..." Hearing the comforting words of his friends, Kira felt a warmth in his heart, and the panic of the emergency situation gradually dissipated.

"So... what will happen to us? Will we be imprisoned? Or executed?"

Sai and the others looked solemnly at Murrue. Although they had mentally prepared themselves, when it came to facing this moment, the emotion called fear still filled their hearts.

"That... that won't be necessary. You've seen the Earth Alliance's top-secret information, so letting you go directly is impossible. For now, you'll need to stay with me. I'll report your situation to my superiors, and they will decide how to handle you."

After speaking, Murrue turned her gaze to Yang Hui.

"And you, Yang Hui..."

"I know the military regulations. I'll stay with you for now." Yang Hui shrugged indifferently. This had been his plan all along. Moreover, he already knew about the G Weapon. He had arranged the final testing in Heliopolis, and considering Duan Halbaton's style of doing things, he was sure he wouldn't be in any trouble.

"Now then..." Murrue looked at Kira and the others standing together. "One by one, tell me your names."

"Tolle Koenig."

"Miriallia Haw."

"Sai Argyle."

"Katz Buskirk."

"...Kira Yamato."

"Kira, please use the Strike Gundam's communication equipment to contact the Earth Forces for extraction and to retrieve the Strike. Tolle, Sai, Katz, please head to the factory area immediately and bring over Container No. 5..."

"Wait, switch to Container No. 4."

Container No. 5 held the Strike Gundam's artillery pack, with the main weapon being the Flame God Hyper Impulse Cannon, which was not suitable for use inside the Colony. Container No. 4, on the other hand, contained the sword pack, which was most suitable for combat within the Colony.

Yang Hui had already made up his mind not to protect Heliopolis. Although it would be destroyed either way, who destroyed it would make a difference. If possible, he wanted to avoid Kira creating a large hole in the wall, lest someone use that as a stain against them in the future.

Moreover, by eliminating Kira's unwarranted damage to Heliopolis, Yang Hui would have more leverage in future negotiations with the Earth Alliance and PLANT.

"Container No. 4? Understood."

Tolle and the other two immediately sprang into action. They had missed the last opportunity Yang Hui had given them and were now caught in the whirlpool. Rather than thinking about escaping and becoming fugitives, it was better to follow Yang Hui's instructions for now.

Yang Hui was Kira's friend, and they trusted Kira. After spending some time together, they also believed Yang Hui to be reliable.

"Thank you, you're very considerate." Murrue thanked Yang Hui for stopping her. She had been too hasty earlier. With the situation unclear and ZAFT Forces' MS possibly attacking again at any moment, and with their allies still unable to establish contact, she had only thought about having enough firepower for a sense of security, completely overlooking the environmental issues.

The artillery pack indeed possessed sufficient firepower, but its power was too great to be used inside the Colony. If the Strike Gundam were to damage Heliopolis during the battle, it would be her fault as the commander.

"It's a minor issue. I told you, this is Heliopolis, the territory of Orb."

Murrue saw Yang Hui's calm and sunny smile and suddenly felt her heart skip a beat. Her cheeks slightly flushed. For some reason, she felt a sense of safety and reliability from this young man who was much younger than her.

...

Athrun, piloting the Aegis Gundam, returned to the Naska-class ship and was assisting the maintenance crew in reprogramming the Aegis Gundam's OS.

"This OS... Have the Earthlings gone mad? Is this something humans can use?"

"This is just a desperate move, isn't it? Even Coordinators can't use this OS, let alone Naturals."

"This is too reckless..."

As Yang Hui had predicted, the OS he had written left even ZAFT's Coordinators in awe, and they could only describe it as "monstrous."

Athrun's fingers danced rapidly across the keyboard as he quickly debugged the OS. However, unlike the maintenance crew, he didn't complain or criticize. It wasn't because he thought the OS was fine, but because his thoughts had drifted back to the past, several dozen minutes ago.

Memories from his childhood flooded his mind—the friendship between himself, Yang Hui, and Kira; the reluctant farewell when Yang Hui graduated early; the promises and blessings he and Kira exchanged when they parted; and... the debt of gratitude that was hard to repay.

"Yang Hui, Kira, why did you..."

"Ah!"

Hearing the maintenance crew's exclamation, Athrun's thoughts returned to the present.

"Sorry, I must have disturbed your work."

"It's fine. But Athrun, what do you think of the Earthlings' OS?"

"...It's not something humans can use," Athrun finally commented. However, many of the special codes in it felt very familiar to him, though he couldn't quite remember where he had seen them before.

"Of course, Naturals, heh..."

"I'm done here. How about you guys?"

"Almost there. Our own OS is much better to use."

"Right... By the way, where's Captain Creuset?" Athrun asked.

"He's sortied. Who would have thought The Hawk of Endymion would be here? To quickly eliminate the Earth Forces, the Captain had to personally take to the field."

"I see... If it's the Captain, even if the opponent is The Hawk of Endymion, he'll be defeated, right?"

"Exactly. The Captain is incredibly strong."

...

Back in Heliopolis, Tolle and the other two had already transported the fourth container back. Upon opening it, they revealed the blue greatsword, shoulder armor, and rocket anchor composite weapon inside.

"Where's the energy pack? Where's the energy pack?" Kira searched around, only seeing the weapons and not the much-needed energy, so he quickly asked.

"The weapons and energy pack are integrated. You just need to replace the equipment directly," Yang Hui explained as he assisted the Strike Gundam in equipping the greatsword pack at the container's control panel.

"Got it."

The Strike Gundam crouched in front of the container, its back turned to the armaments. Yang Hui manipulated the auxiliary supports of the container to lift the components of the giant sword backpack, attaching the shoulder armor, shield, and anti-ship sword to the Strike Gundam. Just at that moment...

"Boom~!"

A deafening roar echoed from the sky as the central axis erupted in a violent explosion. A silver-white CGUE burst through the flames and smoke, closely pursued by an orange Moebius Zero. The two machines were locked in a fierce battle, neither gaining the upper hand.

"ZAFT's MS!"

"CGUE! It's Creuset!"

Compared to Murrue, Yang Hui immediately recognized the machine that was different from the GINN, and he also identified its pilot in an instant.

Rau Le Creuset, ZAFT's absolute ace. Not only was he an exceptional pilot, but his strategic mind was also astonishing. It could be said... he was the man who had outmaneuvered the entire world.

(End of Chapter)