Flying at low altitude and using the mountains for cover, Archangel finally reached the edge of the African continent.
After bypassing a peak, in front of Archangel stretched the sea, shifting from light green to deep blue.
"We're about to enter the Indian Ocean. Everyone, stay alert."
Looking at the vast ocean, Murrue became even more serious.
"We have no cover at sea."
"Murdoch, is the sonar ready?"
"The sonar… Mr. Roz and the kid are still doing the final adjustments."
In a room, Murdoch looked at the sonar, now completely transformed, and felt a shiver run down his spine.
"If something goes wrong with this, we'll have to rely on Mr. Roz to fix it."
The guerrillas had bought ZAFT military-grade sonar equipment from the black market. After Roz tapped, knocked, and adjusted it with a wrench, multiple units combined into a single green-themed system.
To ensure operator safety, Roz had ground down sharp edges with an angle grinder and used rounded corners where people might bump into it. He also dismantled several steel frames from the rocket storage to firmly secure the device.
"Kira, I'm done here. How long until you finish?"
Roz glanced at the program displayed on the screen, stood up from the instrument, and stretched.
He had been hunched over wiring for so long his body felt stiff.
"Almost… I'll double-check."
Kira rechecked the program on the computer. After all, this was life-or-death equipment—it couldn't be treated like a university homework assignment.
"All right, once Kira finishes, you'll be able to use the sonar."
Roz tightened the screws on the panel and looked at Murdoch.
"I boosted the machine's performance a bit, and changed the operation logic and panel layout to Earth Federation specs. You should be able to use it quickly."
"Shouldn't be a problem to handle… but is this really safe?"
Murdoch looked at the drastically changed device and clicked his tongue. "Honestly, I was worried your charging setup and adapters in the hangar would suddenly explode. Plus, your logic… I wouldn't know how to fix it myself."
Roz picked up a tablet. Haro, still perched on Roz's head, extended its mechanical arm and transferred a document into it.
"Here, usage instructions and maintenance manual."
Roz handed the tablet to Murdoch.
"Follow the instructions exactly. No issues."
"Oh, so this is how it's fixed…"
Murdoch flipped through the tablet and suddenly understood. But soon, a strange confusion arose.
"Wait, why does it say here that if a fault occurs and no cause is found after inspection, we should prepare an incense burner, pray to the machine, and say: 'Hail the Omnissiah! He is the God in the Machine, the Source of All Knowledge'?"
Murdoch looked at Roz, squinting, thinking he was joking.
"Never heard of Gray Electric Balance?"
Roz, seeing everyone's confused faces, walked up to Murdoch and patted his shoulder.
"Some things are just worth believing in. What if there really is a machine soul inside?"
-----------------------------------
On the top deck of the linear cannon, a few figures wandered about.
Roz leaned against the railing, watching Kira's friends shouting excitedly at the deep blue ocean.
"So this is the sea everyone talks about online?"
Christina held onto the railing, her eyes constantly adjusting focus.
"Yes."
Roz turned his head to look at the side of Archangel.
From time to time, dolphins or flying fish leapt from the sea, then splashed back down.
"Even though the war was so intense, this place hasn't suffered much damage."
Christina snapped a few photos of the jumping dolphins, marveling.
"The Indian Ocean wasn't really a hotspot for heavy conflict anyway, and N-Jammer doesn't affect living creatures much."
Roz lifted his head and looked at Archangel's bridge.
"Maybe when all humans are gone and the war ends, animals and plants will reclaim the places humans once lived, and the cycle will continue until new intelligent life emerges."
"Nature is truly amazing."
After staring at the sea for a while, Roz suddenly sighed.
"Ah… Archangel moves too fast. There's no way to do any sea fishing."
"Sea fishing… that means fishing, right? I don't think Archangel has fishing rods?"
For some reason, Tolle, looking worried, turned to Roz.
"Tolle… oh, I heard you were born in Heliopolis, right?"
Roz gave Tolle a thumbs-up.
"I'm a genius mechanic; making a fishing rod is no problem at all."
"Maybe there are sea monsters out there. I'll catch one and show you."
"Give it up, Roz…"
Christina turned to Roz with a complicated expression.
"The last time you talked about fishing in Heliopolis, you ended up buying two fish from the market that night."
"What! That was the result of my whole day!"
Roz was furious. As a rookie fisherman, he absolutely refused to accept that his catch record was zero.
"You mean the central lake in Heliopolis has softshell turtles?"
Christina didn't indulge Roz, instead stating a painful truth.
"Maybe someone released them there!"
Roz gestured with his hands. "Even in the space age, you can't deny that some superstitious people release animals to gain merit."
"Stop it, Roz."
Christina shook her head. "The lake you fish in is municipally managed, and only has ornamental fish."
"Besides, the tags from the market on the turtles you brought back weren't even removed."
Roz fell silent.
"…Enough resting. I'll go check the bridge."
After a long pause, Roz found an excuse to leave the deck, leaving everyone else laughing and chatting on top.
-----------------------------------
When Roz arrived on the bridge, Murrue and the "Rambo" figure were discussing the next course.
Nearby, the crew member who had switched roles to sonar observer was constantly adjusting the newly connected sonar system.
"ZAFT has no expansion plans here; the ocean is their weakest point."
"Rambo" pointed at the map on the screen. "But given Archangel's condition, it's still best to avoid combat whenever possible."
"Combat is unavoidable. Archangel is far too obvious on the open sea."
Roz walked over to Murrue and patted her shoulder.
"With no escort fleet and few countermeasures against underwater attacks, Archangel's only advantage is its speed."
"Once we reach Orb, this neutral territory, no matter which direction we leave from, we can maneuver against ZAFT."
Roz smiled at Murrue. "ZAFT simply doesn't have enough forces to completely blockade Orb, and the ocean is Earth's military domain."
"Accurately speaking, soon the sky will be too."
"Rambo" then looked at Roz. "For some reason, the Earth Forces have deployed an unknown intelligent unmanned combat system. It has now resisted ZAFT's advance and even reclaimed some air superiority."
"Is that so… that's good…"
Hearing this, Roz paused for a moment but maintained his smile.
"Roz…"
Murrue was standing in the hangar at that time, and watched Roz dismantle that "intelligent unmanned system." She looked at him with concern, holding his hand that rested on her shoulder.
Nearby, Natarle also looked at Roz with slight worry. Apart from Kira's friends, who were a bit bewildered, the rest of Archangel's crew fell silent.
"No, it's nothing."
Roz glanced at Murrue and returned a reassuring smile.
"Speaking of which, we'll have to separate once we reach Orb, right?"
"Yes, that was agreed upon."
Murrue hesitated for a moment, then smiled. Her tone was calm, but Roz could still hear the emotion of reluctance.
"At that time, Sai, you'll disembark too, right?"
"Not sure. I haven't decided yet."
Sai scratched his head. "I don't know why, but I've gotten used to this life a bit."
"No matter what, this is the final stretch."
Roz gave Murrue a thumbs-up.
"Let's push straight to the finish line."
"Roz, once we get back to Orb, what do you plan to do?"
Murrue suddenly asked.
"Will we see each other again?"
Roz thought for a moment before stating his plan. "Probably find a way back to space and return to being a junk collector."
"If you're in the space fleet in the future, maybe we'll meet again."
"Then, can our space junk collector gentleman stand the final watch for us?"
Murrue sighed, as if confirming the result, and released Roz's hand.
Though reluctant, life is always about partings and reunions, and as long as he goes into space, there's a chance to meet again. Faced with Roz's departure, Murrue could only comfort herself this way.
"As you command, Captain."
Roz straightened up, gave Murrue an awkward salute, and left the bridge.
"…You really like him?"
The "Rambo" figure, who had watched everything, made his observation.
"You clearly didn't want him to leave just now."
"Ugh… Please don't make assumptions about this."
Murrue was startled and instinctively denied it.
"But you kept asking about his decision, to confirm your thoughts and convince yourself to let go."
"Rambo" crossed his arms and looked out at the sea.
"However, I don't think he'll just return to space as a junk collector as he said."
"There's a fire burning in his eyes, aimed at something."
"Rambo" remained silent for a long time. "He still plans to do something on Earth."
-----------------------------------
It seemed too smooth once Archangel entered the Indian Ocean — two red blips appeared on the jammed radar.
"Something is approaching from air… speed's high, not a civilian craft."
Tolle, familiar with reading the radar, reported what he saw.
"…ZAFT's atmosphere MS, DINN!"
The scan-matching result came in; Sai reported the machine data.
"Battle configuration one for the whole ship!"
Murrue issued orders immediately.
"…Murrue, I'm ready to sortie."
Only minutes after the combat order, Roz's voice came over the comm.
"Mm… sortie authorized."
Hearing Roz, Murrue unconsciously breathed easier.
"Roz Links, High-Mobility Jesta, sortie!"
Inside Jesta's cockpit, Roz stomped the pedal.
As Jesta was catapulted out, the two rapidly closing DINNs opened up with their onboard cannons, firing repeatedly at Jesta.
The mechanical-arm‑controlled shield blocked the cannon fire, but Roz had a persistent feeling that something was off.
Like a blade pressed against his back, the source of the hostility was…
"Murrue, pull Archangel up! There's something in the water!"
Roz's words left Murrue momentarily stunned, but the sonar operator at her side snapped her back to reality.
"Sonar detects thruster noise… and an abnormal sound signature! MS and torpedoes!"
"Full thrust—get Archangel out of the water!"
At Murrue's command the helmsman moved the rudder; Archangel's engine plumes flared and the hull rose, leaving the surface.
"Sea units? Starfish or squid?"
Roz glanced down at the sea. Two streamlined MS were marked on the omni‑cockpit; clearly, these were ZAFT's aquatic units.
"They're GOOhN! ZAFT's underwater MS!"
"Call it GOOhN or sea‑dragon, any fish I can't catch I'll just blow up!"
For some reason Roz remembered the scene on deck a moment ago and trembled with indignation.
The mechanical arm aimed the shield at the water beneath Archangel and eight cluster missiles were launched toward the sea.
Haro's precisely set fuzes triggered; the cluster warhead broke into a number of small high‑explosive rockets, covering the waters beneath Archangel — the area where the two diving aquatic MS were operating.
"No good! GOOhN squad, evade!"
The burly, bearded DINN pilot, seeing the cluster missile coverage, instantly understood Jesta's intent.
"No… can't get away, I'm hit… ah…"
His voice came over the comm as the aquatic MS was struck by a high‑explosive rocket.
Among the huge sprays of water from the detonation came the sound of a GOOhN exploding.
"You bastard!"
The bearded pilot, clearly enraged, kept the DINN's machine gun firing and charged at Jesta.
"Bring it on!"
Roz watched the charging DINN and squeezed off a three‑round burst from the beam carbine.
"Ugh… not over yet!"
Although the DINN dodged two beams, the third hit the DINN's mounted cannon precisely.
The pilot tossed aside the smoking cannon, drew the longsword at his hip and shouted,
"Cub—watch me cut you down with this blade!"
The bearded pilot drove the DINN in for a thrust at Jesta.
....................