Gundam Super G Universe

Chapter 79: Cruze's Comeback
Red has been having a headache since Lux came on board.

But Red's headache was not that Kira was still involved with Lacus. He had contact with Lacus later, but it was just a polite greeting.

After Kira knew Lacus's identity, he also realized that he had betrayed Red, so he was very honest. Not only did he take the initiative to help write the mission report, he even helped Red to further improve the Green Heretic's natural human OS.

Red had to admit that Kira was much better than him in computer code writing, to the extent that even with the system cheats and data provided by Red, he still couldn't beat him. So Red was also happy to have Kira help him, which saved him a lot of trouble.

What really troubled Red was that Lux seemed to be trying to steal his girlfriend. She became good friends with Angie at an incredible speed.

In fact, this is also Red's own fault. Considering that Lux is still a girl after all, it is not good to run to her room three times a day (to deliver food) and spend time alone with her.

Then considering that if Mirialia went, she might be "charmed" by Lacus, and if Frey went, she might "explode", so Red asked Angie to deliver food to her. Anyway, with Angie's ability, she shouldn't be easily "charmed" by Lacus.

However, what Red didn't expect was that Angel was indeed not "charmed" by Lux, but because of their interest in music, the two quickly became like-minded.

Red had forgotten that although Angie had always acted like a female man, she was a person who had received formal royal education. Her hobbies were naturally music, dance, painting and other arts. So the two princesses hit it off and happily discussed music.

Then, Lux asked to walk around because she was bored in the room, and Angie naturally would not refuse. She just asked Lux ​​not to leave her sight and only walk around in areas where ordinary refugees could move around. So, Lux was locked in the room for less than half a day before she was free.

Then Frey exploded again, this time not because she was afraid of the Adjuster, but purely because of jealousy. She was jealous that Angie and Lux ​​were so close, and wondered why this Adjuster woman could be so shameless and rely on her status to walk beside Angie, even though she was the first one to come.

So Frey's attitude towards Lux was extremely bad, and almost every word she said was provocative. And as for what Angie said to Red in private, she felt as if she had returned to Arsenal. However, she missed the intrigues between girls, and it seemed a bit fun to intrigue for herself.

Red was speechless, and suddenly realized something: Angie was originally set to be bisexual, and had a harem of women in the finale...

That's why Red thought that he would not be poached by Lux.

Red didn't really care about lesbians, but as a man, if his girlfriend was stolen away by another woman, his self-esteem would be shattered.

The most important thing is that after Lux was brought out by Angel, she still liked to hang around in front of him. Although Lux was very cute and pleasing to the eye during this period, Red always felt that she was provoking him.

Because Red's new human telepathy told him that every time Lux saw him, she would feel happy from the bottom of her heart. It was as if she was saying, "I just want to see you unable to lock me up now and feel helpless." This was obviously revenge for him for forcibly locking her up for a long time.

Red was helpless looking at the still childish La Yaoi, and he couldn't tell her clearly that he didn't want Angel and Lux ​​to have a good relationship, because Red could see that Angel was not fooled by Lux's peace theory, and now they were just good friends because they shared the same music interests.

As for Maru and Bakilulu, they didn't care because they saw that Lux didn't go to any sensitive areas. After all, in their opinion, Lux would be sent to a high-level position in the future, and her life would probably not be easy, so they should give her some freedom now.

Therefore, during the two days when the Archangel completed the water supply and left the debris belt around the earth, Red was very worried about Lacus, and Angie didn't care about the verbal confrontation between Frey and Lacus as long as they didn't use foul language or make personal attacks. Frey couldn't win the argument with Lacus at all, and later she often accidentally hurt Kira.

So Red had to educate both sides, but the culprit Lux was just looking at Red with a smile on her face, making Red want to grab her and spank her a hundred times to make her stop causing trouble.

Fortunately, apart from her love of making Red anxious, Lux is quite friendly to other people, including Frey, who really dislikes her.

After she knew that there were many refugees on this ship who had to follow the Archangel into the battlefield due to the ZAFT attack, she teamed up with Angel to hold a small concert to appease the refugees and increase their favorability, which reduced the refugees' disgust towards ZAFT.

However, this "peaceful" day was soon broken.

After leaving the debris belt around the Earth, Archangel's destination was the lunar base. However, in order to prevent being found by ZAFT troops near the Earth's orbit, Archangel flew by inertia and auxiliary thrusters throughout the journey. So the speed was not fast, and it had to bypass various defense zones, so it would take several days to complete the journey.

But halfway through the journey, the Archangel's communication station suddenly received an intermittent encrypted pulse signal sent by the Earth Federation's Eighth Fleet.

Red was soon called to the bridge, and by now Mary and BuckyLulu were used to listening to Red's opinions before formulating an action plan.

By the time Red arrived at the bridge, the encrypted pulse signal had been deciphered. It was indeed the search signal of the Eighth Fleet.

"This is... the Eighth Fleet... the advance team... Montgomery... Archangel... reply..."

When Ma Liu heard this, his eyes lit up and he said excitedly

"It's the troops under Brigadier General Halberton."

After Ma Liu confirmed this, the entire bridge was instantly filled with a joyful atmosphere. After leaving Heliopolis, even with Red's help, the Archangel was still fleeing all the way. They were even forced to fight with the dead for water. And Red was actually just hired to help, so the soldiers on the Archangel were actually under tremendous pressure.

Now, upon hearing that they could reunite with friendly forces and that they would no longer be fighting alone, everyone naturally celebrated and many of them hugged each other.

In fact, Maru and Pakilulu also wanted to hug each other, after all, this journey was not easy.

However, Reid was standing in the middle of the two of them. When both of them raised their hands to hug, they naturally pulled back when they saw Reid was in the middle. If they hugged, wouldn’t Reid take advantage of them again? Huh? Why again?
In fact, Red was also quite embarrassed now. He didn't control his new human abilities very well. He couldn't actively block out the emotions he didn't want to feel. So he could sense all of Maru and Bakirolu's five points of embarrassment, three points of shyness, and two points of unhappiness.

So Red could only change the subject immediately.
"Is this a communication from the Eighth Fleet? Maru, Bakilulu, it looks like our employment relationship is about to end."

After Red said this, Marlu and Bakilulu instantly realized that reuniting with the Eighth Fleet meant that Red had completed the contract, and he and Angel would leave the Archangel.

Therefore, Maru and Bakilulu suddenly became a little reluctant. As for Red, after all, they were both "staying overnight" in the love room. Although no one said it, there was actually a bit of ambiguity between them. At least they were good friends.

However, Maru and Bakilulu were not sentimental enough to be sad to say goodbye to a friend. Maru only sighed.

"Yeah, Red, you're almost done with the contract. It's only been a few days, but it feels like forever."

Baki Lulu nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, you have worked hard along the way, Red."

Seeing that the two of them had opened the champagne so early, Red decisively gave them a warning. After all, they still had a long way to go on this journey, and they hadn't even walked halfway.

So Reid's expression suddenly became serious, and he raised his voice a little and said

"Okay, everyone calm down after the excitement. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. We haven't officially reunited with the Eighth Fleet yet. Let's reply to the communication first and have the advance team lead the Archangel to reunite. Also, remind the advance team to scout the surrounding area more. The Eighth Fleet is searching for the Archangel, and ZAFT is also searching at the same time. If the advance team is discovered, ZAFT may find us by following the clues, so we must remind them."

After Red said this, Malu and Bakilu both realized that they were too happy too early, and they sincerely admired Red's practical experience. They said that this is what professionalism is, and it is true that an old man in the family is like a treasure. The practical value of a veteran is higher than most theoretical training. Although Red's actual age is only 25 years old, the same as Bakilu, he is one year younger than Malu.

So Malu immediately resumed his captain's posture and gave the order:
"Everyone, just like Red said, we have to serve our last shift. Everyone return to your posts. Jackie, reply to the advance team in cipher text and remember to inform them of Red's reminder."

After Malu gave the order, Red also remembered something and interrupted
"By the way, when sending the list of refugees and signs to the advance team, please make a special note that Lacus Clyne is under the protection of our New Mischi Republic and has nothing to do with the Archangel."

After Red said this, Baki Lulu stared at Red and asked seriously:
"Red, are you planning to take the daughter of the PLANT chairman away?"

Reid admitted it directly and nodded.
"Of course, I plan to take her with me to avoid being blocked by ZAFT when returning to the New Mischi Republic. Besides, she will be extradited back to PLANT after she goes to the New Mischi Republic. It's better than sending her to the Earth Union as a political sacrifice."

After Red said this, Baki Lulu also understood what Red meant. He planned to use Lacus as a talisman to ensure that he and Princess Angelique could return home safely. The reason was acceptable.

After hearing what Red said, Malu also thought that this was the best way to do it. She couldn't bear to see such an innocent child like Lux become a political victim. So she agreed.
"Okay, Jackie, send the message as Red said. This Miss Lacus was originally picked up by Red, and later on she was mainly taken care of by Princess Angelique."

The captain has made the decision, so the subordinates will naturally have no objection. Besides, everyone knows that Red has made an indelible contribution to their survival, so it is only right for them to turn a blind eye to some things.

Just as the Archangel excitedly contacted the advance team of the Earth Federation's Eighth Fleet, just like in the original novel, the Cruze team that came to search for Lacus also discovered the Nelson-class battleship Montgomery, and the Drake-class battleships Bernard and Raul as the advance team.

The only difference from the original is that after the defense in the Council of Judges, Cruze not only boasted about the performance of the Atlantic Federation's new MS, but also exaggerated the combat power of the NT-X and the Princess' special flag-like equipment.

However, the Council had already planned how to deal with the New Mislchi Republic. After learning that it was indeed Cruze who was involved, the result naturally did not meet Cruze's expectations.

What the Council discussed about the New Misluchi Republic was more about how to demonstrate the majesty of a great power while making the New Misluchi Republic feel tolerant and appease them.

Fortunately, Cruze was able to offset his demerits by successfully seizing four new MS from the Atlantic Federation and bringing back their data, so he was not severely punished.

Later, after the ship that Lacus was on disappeared, Cruze's team was sent out to search for Lacus' whereabouts.

Before leaving, Patrick met with Cruze, and outsiders had no idea what they talked about.

As a result, in addition to his flagship Vesalius, Cruze was also equipped with two Nazca-class high-speed battleships fully staffed by King. Afterwards, after joining the Kamov, which had lost the Archangel, and another Laurasia-class battleship, the five ships formed a new fleet and began to search for Lacus's whereabouts.

But Cruze never sent the fleet deep into the debris belt around the Earth, and only sent mobile suits to the Junius VII wreckage for a patent. As a result, nothing was found. After so long, the civilian ship that Lacus was originally on had drifted away, and it was definitely impossible to find it around the Junius VII wreckage.

So, Cruze began to wander in the space between the Earth's debris belt and the Earth, and successfully caught the tail of the Eighth Fleet's advance team.

When he found the advance team of the Eighth Fleet, Cruze looked at the space map and laughed. He said to Captain Frederick Ads of Vesalius:
"Let's suspend the search for Miss Lacus for now. We have found a big prey. These ships are likely to be long-legged supply ships. Seeing how frequently they send Mobius to patrol, I am 90% sure of this conclusion."

Frederick obviously wanted to say something at this time, but Cruze predicted his words and said directly

"Frederick, we are soldiers. Even if we have a search mission, it is the same. Soldiers must complete military tasks first."

After saying that, Cruze ordered again

"Hold a wartime meeting, CIC, and send the three ships' route forecasts to the space map. This is a good time for us to avenge our previous humiliation.

By the way, send out the high-speed reconnaissance Jinn. If the battleship follows directly behind, it will be easy for Mobius' patrol to discover it. We need to keep a certain distance. Don't let it be discovered in advance."

Let’s put aside Team Cruze’s wartime meeting and switch the scene back to the Archangel.

After contacting the advance team, the Archangel immediately turned around and informed the refugees on the ship that their suffering was about to end.

As for the Montgomery, although it followed Red's advice and continuously sent out Mobius to search the surrounding space, the Mobius was not designed as a reconnaissance aircraft after all. Its flight radius and detection radius were quite limited. Facing the highly mobile reconnaissance type King, which was specialized in reconnaissance, it was even more defeated.

Moreover, the Nelson-class and Drake-class warships were not high-speed warships, and the five warships of the Cruze team caught up with them without anyone noticing.

Five hours later, when the Montgomery, Bernard and Raul ships entered the radar range of the Archangel, the Archangel itself was also discovered by the Cruze team.

At this time, the Archangel saw that there were no warships following the advance team of the Eighth Fleet, and relaxed its vigilance, thinking that they had successfully avoided ZAFT's search.

However, the good times did not last long. When the Archangel's images of the Montgomery, Bernard and Raul ships were captured, the radar signal suddenly became severely interfered with, and two large heat sources instantly appeared behind the advance team of the Eighth Fleet.

The CIC of Archangel was notified immediately.

"A large heat source was found behind the Montgomery. After comparing the thermal patterns, it is the Loracia class. Number two, they are deploying MS. Number seven, after comparing the thermal patterns, it is the Duel, Storm, Thunderbolt, and four Kinn!"

The Archangel had been on Level 2 alert due to Red's warning. All the MS pilots were waiting in the pilot's lounge for the attack.

So Malu didn't panic, but just said silently

"Is it the Loracia class from the Artemis Fortress? Really, I actually tracked it all the way to this place."

In fact, Mariu hadn't said anything else. She was speechless about the three ships, Montgomery, Bernard and Raul. She reminded them that there might be ZAFT following them, but they were still followed all the way. They were simply stupid teammates.

Moreover, according to the information sent back, this advance team also brought George Alstar, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Atlantic Federation. It seems that he followed them because he heard that Red and Princess Angelique were also on the ship. (In the original work, he may have followed them after receiving the information that Frey was on the ship. It is unlikely that he happened to be on the ship when Montgomery was on a search mission.)

However, this journey also gave Malu confidence. Just two Lolaxia-class ships were just defeated enemies. Before, they had to consider the ammunition problem. Now that the Eighth Fleet is right in front of them, are they still worried about having no place to replenish ammunition?

So this time Malu didn't think of escaping, and directly ordered:
"All ships are in first combat configuration. Mobile suits are moving out. Engines are started. Positron guns are ready. Activate Goldfeldt and Baliant. After passing the three Montgomery ships, attack the enemy ships directly. Lieutenant Bakilulu, you are still in charge of the timing and angle of firing. Our goal is to destroy the enemy ships and completely eliminate the possibility of them chasing us later."

(End of this chapter)