On the outskirts of the L4 Colony cluster, the Dominion had withdrawn and hidden within an asteroid field after the battle. Murrue(Carbon) found herself in a heated argument with Muruta Azrael.
"This is impossible, Chairman Azrael! At this point, we should either request reinforcements and wait for support or temporarily retreat to regroup before reengaging. But you—"
Though Murrue(Carbon) and Badgiruel(Carbon) were artificially created Carbon Humans designed to obey orders, they weren't mere mindless machines. Inheriting the memories of their original counterparts, they retained portions of their abilities and combat experience.
The current situation was highly unfavorable for the Dominion. Having lost three new model MS units, only six of the remaining machines could be restored to full combat capability after minor repairs. Twelve new model MS had already failed to overcome the Archangel and Yang Hui's forces—how could they possibly stand a chance now with only six functional units?
But Muruta Azrael didn't care about such considerations. He was obsessed with quick results, believing every wasted second to be an unforgivable delay. As for sacrifices—what did they matter to him? They were just tools, including the Murrue(Carbon) and Badgiruel(Carbon) standing before him.
"Tch, you're being stubborn. If we drag this out, we'll just squander the opportunity ZAFT has handed us," Azrael snapped at Murrue(Carbon). He had witnessed the battle between ZAFT, the White Tiger, and the Eternal. In his eyes, this was the perfect moment to strike. Having fought consecutive battles against both ZAFT and the Archangel's forces, the enemy must be exhausted and weakened. Why wait for them to recover when they could strike now?
"...I understand your reasoning, Chairman Azrael. But according to our observations, the Archangel's forces have suffered minimal losses. Their new warship has also demonstrated terrifying combat capabilities. I don't believe our current effective strength is enough to secure victory against them," Murrue(Carbon) argued. Inheriting Murrue's memories meant she also carried her love and trust for Yang Hui. In her eyes, while ZAFT's pursuit fleet was formidable—enough to force even the Dominion to retreat despite its elite MS pilots—Yang Hui was different.
Murrue(Carbon) truly believed Yang Hui alone could repel the massive pursuit fleet. Yes, alone. And that wasn't even accounting for the powerful warship at his side or the elite pilots like Setsuna and Kira. ZAFT's forces posed no real threat to them.
Seeing Murrue(Carbon) still refusing to comply, Azrael grew furious and prepared to berate her into submission. But before he could, Badgiruel(Carbon) arrived, cutting their argument short.
"Captain, I've transmitted all records to the lunar base. Command has ordered us to retreat at our discretion," Badgiruel(Carbon) reported.
"What did you say!? Retreat?" Both Muruta Badgiruel and Murrue(Carbon) were shocked, while Muruta Azrael was outright furious. Retreat meant failure—another failure he couldn't tolerate.
Enraged, Muruta Azrael stormed forward and grabbed Badgiruel(Carbon) by the collar, roaring in her face.
"Director Azrael! What are you doing!?"
"This is the Commander's order, Director. Do you intend to disobey?"
Seeing Muruta Azrael lay hands on Badgiruel(Carbon), Murrue(Carbon) didn't dare draw her weapon but still angrily demanded he let go. Though their superiors had instructed them to follow Azrael's lead, he was ultimately just a businessman—an outsider to the military chain of command with no authority to issue orders.
Before, they had no choice. But now that a higher command had been given, they no longer had to obey Muruta Azrael.
"You—!" Azrael choked on his words. The Commander of the lunar crater base was not someone he could ignore. Though he had influence within the Atlantic Federation to pressure the man, this was wartime, and the Commander held higher authority. There was no room for defiance.
"Hmph!"
Shoving Badgiruel(Carbon) aside, Muruta Azrael stormed off the bridge, muttering curses under his breath—"useless trash." The insult might have been aimed at Murrue(Carbon) and Badgiruel(Carbon), the Mobile Suit pilots he brought, or even the Atlantic Federation's high-ranking officers. Or perhaps all of them.
"Cough, cough."
"Are you alright, Natarle?" Murrue(Carbon) asked with concern.
"I'm fine." Badgiruel(Carbon) shook her head.
"Tch. Damn clown," Murrue(Carbon) muttered under her breath. The bridge had fallen silent after the confrontation, making her words audible to everyone.
Yet no one contradicted her. Instead, they all wore expressions of agreement—Muruta Azrael truly was a clown.
He knew nothing yet acted like an expert, constantly interfering in military affairs. Most of the time, Murrue(Carbon)'s orders and Badgiruel(Carbon)'s suggestions were the correct choices, but he always insisted on overriding them with his own ideas.
He never treated anyone but himself as human—to him, everyone else was just a tool to secure his own achievements.
And then there were his ridiculous proclamations—"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," or "For a merchant, failure is as good as death."
Aren't you on this ship too? If we all die, you're going down with us.
Not to mention, your supposedly elite MS units lost three Mobile Suits in their first sortie, and the rest suffered varying degrees of damage—some so severe they need factory repairs. Where does your delusional confidence even come from!?
"Let it go, Captain," Badgiruel(Carbon) said—not to defend Azrael, as she shared Murrue(Carbon)'s opinion of him. She simply didn't want Murrue(Carbon) to face retaliation if her complaints reached his ears.
"..." Murrue(Carbon) understood Badgiruel(Carbon)'s meaning and sighed before issuing orders to the others. "Did you all hear that? Dominion is returning. Adjust course—destination, Moon's Crater Base."
"Understood!" xN
Everyone accepted the order enthusiastically since no one wanted to die.
...
Meanwhile, the reconnaissance unit spotted Dominion heading toward the Moon and also breathed a sigh of relief. Previous reports indicated that Dominion's MS units had been severely damaged, but they still retained some combat capability. With the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty's pursuit fleet still in pursuit, the situation was dire—caught between a rock and a hard place.
"Dominion is retreating?" Sumeragi and the others were initially surprised by the report, but within seconds, her expression turned grave.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Lacus asked Sumeragi via video call, with Murrue also on the line.
"I don't think they'd retreat so easily," Sumeragi analyzed. She had noticed the odd behavior of Murrue(Carbon) and Badgiruel(Carbon) and knew Muruta Azrael was aboard Dominion. After Yang Hui's warning, she had factored human nature into her analysis. "Muruta Azrael isn't the type to know when to retreat. Continuous failures must have infuriated him. Even without a military rank, his status within the Atlantic Federation rivals that of the Commander-in-Chief. If he doesn't permit retreat, who would dare?"
"You mean... they're faking a retreat, hiding somewhere to ambush us?" Murrue asked worriedly.
"That's one possibility. Another is that the Moon Base Commander ordered it, forcing him to comply," Sumeragi offered.
"If that's the case... the situation might already be very serious," Lacus said.
"What do you mean?" Murrue asked. Even as a captain, she had been thrust into the role and only grew through continuous battles. Originally a technician, she lacked experience in macro-level strategic analysis.
"If the Moon Base Commander ordered Dominion to retreat, then..." Sumeragi explained to Murrue, "...the Atlantic Federation's lunar fleet must be preparing for a major operation. Dominion is the second ship of the Archangel-class—undoubtedly the newest and most powerful warship, equipped with elite MS units. If they're being called back, the upcoming operation must be critical!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Sumeragi glanced at Wang Liu Mei in the CIC seat. Catching the look, Wang Liu Mei immediately pulled out a specialized communicator, dialed a series of coded numbers, and sent a message.
Logically, as a diplomatic and intelligence officer, Wang Liu Mei didn't need to be aboard White Tiger. Staying in a secure location like Ame No Minashira, monitoring Orb's remaining territories while covertly managing the intelligence network, would have been more effective.
But Wang Liu Mei insisted on boarding White Tiger.
"I firmly believe we won't lose, so I'm safe here on White Tiger. And... if White Tiger does fail and something happens to all of you, there'd be no meaning in me surviving alone."
This was Wang Liu Mei's reason, and her resolve—no one could refute it.
"Now we wait for news. How long has it been since Yang Hui entered the Colony?" Sumeragi asked.
"Half an hour!"
"Another half hour to go. What's the status of each ship?"
"No issues here. The Archangel is ready to depart at any time."
"The Eternal is also prepared. Resupply is complete."
"Good, we'll wait a little longer—"
"Detecting signals from Dawn, Strike, Rebirth, and Covenant! They're back!"
"Begin immediate retrieval! All ships prepare to depart once recovery is complete! Destination S28!"
"Understood... Wait, incoming message from the Commander. Major Flaga is injured—have the medical team stand by for reception!"
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