Chapter 358 - 359: Seriously, Why Put the Bridge in the Most Obvious Target Spot?

Chapter 358: Chapter 359: Seriously, Why Put the Bridge in the Most Obvious Target Spot?

[The expert is cracked]

[666]

[Badass!]

[Overanalysis. Japanese writers aren’t that good]

[Come to think of it, it is weird. Gundam SEED’s staff credits are completely hidden. I heard it was outsourced to China?]

[There’s also a theory that it was generated using GBN 2.0’s AI technology]

[My uncle is over in Japan. He says no company there is making SEED. There’s a good chance it wasn’t made in Japan at all]

[Rumor has it the screenwriter is Chinese]

[I thought that sounded ridiculous at first, but Gundam SEED itself has such a huge world and such big themes. I could believe Japan thirty years ago could make something like this, but now? You might as well believe I’m Qin Shi Huang]

[I hereby dub you Qin "Seize-History" Huang]

[I think it’s possible. Japan can’t pull off this kind of narrative]

[I’m more curious about what’s going on with Kira. Why did the expert say her side has just as much weight? To me, the protagonist side feels more like an ordinary person’s point of view]

[Lmao, an ordinary person with AI]

[Feels more like an alien’s point of view]

[Aliens in a Gundam world would be like a deus ex machina. Any writer with a little sense wouldn’t add alien elements]

[Hard to say. This world has already discovered extraterrestrial life. Maybe there really are aliens]

[I don’t think so. Aliens are still way too lame]

[Could she be an artificial human?]

[Possible, but that doesn’t seem quite right either]

[Let’s wait for the expert’s next analysis video]

The audience was still making all kinds of wild guesses.

But from Inori’s perspective, very few of them had actually "hit the nail on the head."

They were all still just a tiny bit short.

"Yo, there you are, Songstress-san."

Mu walked over while greeting her.

"Hello, Mu-san." Inori looked over at Mu.

"As for Kira... well, that girl isn’t our prisoner anyway. She also counts as a refugee you people brought back."

After the Strike returned, it set out again. One reason was to bring back the Astrays and their parts, but the other purpose was probably Lacus.

After what happened with Blue Cosmos this time, Kira probably would not let Lacus continue staying aboard the Archangel either.

"The Archangel’s bridge is destroyed now. Do you have any way to deal with that?" Mu asked.

"If you need immediate repairs, I need a large maintenance facility and enough armor plating and other components."

"Uh, and what if we don’t have any of that?"

If they had anything that convenient, Mu would not be here asking Inori in the first place.

"I need a natural asteroid that can serve as a harbor, or a sufficiently large piece of satellite wreckage. Then I need to produce and deploy Fyu-Neru units first. After obtaining sufficient authorization, I can completely repair the Archangel within seven days."

"Seven days..."

Seven days? By then, it would already be far too late!

But at that moment, Inori suddenly continued, "If you only need to restore command functionality, that is very simple."

"Ohhh, then what’s the fastest method?" Mu asked.

"Authorize me."

Things like controlling a warship or piloting a Gundam were temporarily beyond what Inori could do, but if the Archangel granted her authorization, she would be able to do them.

"Mm... what about another method?"

"I can set up a secondary bridge in the space in front of the officers’ quarters," Inori said. "If you are willing, I can have Fyu-Neru serve as external cameras."

"That toaster-looking thing really can do anything, huh?" Mu rubbed his chin.

"Different Fyu-Neru units have different functions. Their base design is an insect-type robot, and their interiors can be modified to various degrees. Patents have already been registered in Earth Alliance countries, PLANT, Orb, and elsewhere," Inori explained.

Inori had purchased the Fyu-Neru blueprints from the system’s Popularity Points store. The design itself was not especially valuable. But because she possessed Lacia’s Heritage, making a few modifications was absurdly easy for Inori.

"Then let’s do that." Mu said, "Are are, I really wonder whether we’re actually going to make it to the Moon at this rate."

Once they decided, they got to work immediately.

Getting the Archangel operational again was simple.

Fyu-Neru units moved outside the Archangel and "welded" themselves onto the hull, forming a camera array that could project the outside view into the interior space.

"Ohhh!"

The shared lounge in the officers’ quarters was converted into a secondary bridge. As the external projection appeared around them, everyone finally regained a complete view of the environment surrounding the Archangel.

"This is even better than the actual bridge!" As the helmsman, Neumann naturally realized just how convenient and intuitive this kind of "panoramic" view was.

"I feel like I’ve become the Archangel itself!" Neumann could not get enough of it.

If only they did not have to operate everything through a laptop keyboard here, it would feel even better.

"Thank you very much, Inori-san. Without you, the Archangel would probably have become dust in space long ago."

Murrue came over to Inori.

"I recommend upgrading the Archangel’s interior and moving the bridge inside the hull. The original bridge location can be converted into a radar array."

Seriously, the bridge was obviously so fragile, so why design it in the most conspicuous place possible?

It was practically inviting the enemy to attack the bridge.

Even in the "original," several of the Archangel’s crises had come from the bridge nearly getting blown away in a single shot...

"We’ve received a transmission from the Strike. The Astrays and the Strike are about to return."

The new setup had only just been installed when Natarle in the CIC on the other side received Kira’s transmission.

Once the Strike and the Astrays returned, everyone finally relaxed.

The Archangel had finally regained its combat capability.

"Then we should move on to the more important question."

After solving the problem of "survival," the next issue was what the Archangel should do from here.

Mu was always remarkably reliable at critical moments.

"We have two directions we can take now. One is to continue toward the Moon. The other is to descend to Earth."

Mu said.

"Descend to Earth? But our orders are to go to the Moon, aren’t they?" Murrue did not understand why Mu would suggest heading to Earth.

"When I was aboard the Doolittle, Ensign Badgiruel and I were both nearly reassigned," Mu began explaining. "If ZAFT hadn’t attacked, we probably would’ve already left the Archangel by now. And I happened to hear a little something—the higher-ups are preparing to send the Archangel to Alaska Headquarters."

Mu continued, "Besides, Admiral Halberton has already returned to Earth. Going to the Moon now really would be putting the cart before the horse."

Blue Cosmos’s blatant actions earlier had already served as a warning to Murrue and the others.

Going to the Moon might not protect the Archangel. If they wanted to keep the Archangel safe, the best option was to get to Admiral Halberton’s side. Sutherland was dead anyway, so they could pin the blame on him and say they had descended on his orders without much trouble.

The final blow to Murrue’s hesitation came from Mu’s next words. "More importantly, even though no one died earlier, some of the wounded probably won’t be able to hold out until we reach the Moon..."