"How about it, Captain Rau? Do you agree to my terms?" Xiao Ran asked with a smile as he held up his communicator and looked at Cruze on the screen. "Or are you willing to give up Lacus Clyne?"
Cruze snorted coldly. Looking at Lacus's faintly innocent smile in the communications feed, he slammed his hand heavily onto the mecha's control panel. "All forces, cease the attack and withdraw from the combat zone."
"Thank you for your cooperation, Captain Rau." Xiao Ran smiled in gratitude and seemed to let out a sigh of relief. "Once your side has withdrawn, we will contact you again."
"Hmph." Cruze snorted before cutting off the transmission. Looking at the darkened main screen, Xiao Ran also exhaled weakly, then turned to Mwu. "Forgive me for acting on my own. I'm sure you don't want to see the entire advance fleet wiped out here either. Hurry and contact the remaining two Drake-class battleships. Have them send rescue teams to see if there's anyone left who can be saved."
Mwu glanced at Xiao Ran and stood up. "Bargyll, I'll leave this place to you. Lieutenant Xiao Ran, please come with me."
Bargyll stood and replied, "Yes!"
Inside the Captain's Room, Xiao Ran sat in a chair across a table from Mwu. She rested her chin on her loosely clasped fists. Several times, she looked like she wanted to question him, but in the end, seeing Xiao Ran's somewhat pale face, she merely sighed helplessly. "Are you all right?"
Xiao Ran had expected her to question why he had done that. When he suddenly heard Mwu expressing concern for him instead, he froze for a moment and stared straight at her. It was not until Mwu's face reddened slightly under his gaze and she gave an unhappy snort that Xiao Ran came back to his senses and hurriedly said,
"I'm fine. I just used up too much energy, so my head feels a little empty."
"That's good." Mwu nodded lightly after glancing at Xiao Ran. "Why did you do that? We shouldn't have used civilians to threaten them, much less taken it upon yourself to hand Lacus Clyne over to them."
Xiao Ran shook his head. "Even if I hadn't done that, if we had just watched the last two Drake-class battleships get sunk, I believe Ensign Bargyll, who sees the Archangel as immensely important, would have done the same. And could the Archangel really withstand three battleships and five MS units? If we delayed any longer, that other Loorasia-class battleship following behind us might show up at any moment. Then we'd be facing at least eight MS units and four battleships, four of those MS units being Gundams. What do you think would happen to the Archangel?"
Mwu shook her head. She also knew that if the Archangel fought alone, it would be no match for three battleships and five MS units. Once battle began, the Strike Gundam would be tied down by the Aegis Gundam, Mu's MA would be tied down by the GOUF, and the Archangel, facing three battleships and three Ginns alone, would have more than an eighty percent chance of being sunk.
Xiao Ran looked at Mwu seriously. "And Mwu... do you really want Lacus to be taken to the Moon Base?"
"I'm a soldier now. Lacus can secure many favorable conditions for us." Mwu sighed and continued helplessly, "But from my personal standpoint, I don't want that. Lacus's identity is far too special, and I don't want to see her subjected to any special treatment. It's just that this method..."
Xiao Ran interrupted Mwu. "Isn't that perfect, then? I also don't want Lacus to fall into Earth Force hands, and right now, only Lacus can help us escape this dangerous situation. The means may not be ideal, but Lacus herself doesn't object to it. I don't think there's anything wrong with it."
"Besides, we can use this opportunity to return Lacus to them. A war shouldn't force a child like her to bear responsibility or turn her into a bargaining chip for victory and defeat. At the same time, we can hand the civilians aboard over to ZAFT and have them send those civilians back to Orb, or even let them settle in PLANT. That's far better than having them follow us around in danger, and we might even draw away a ZAFT battleship."
"We preserve our own combat strength, buy ourselves time to catch our breath, return Lacus to them, and reduce their fighting strength. The best of both worlds, wouldn't you say?"
"But why did you ask for their captain to come along as well?" Mwu asked in confusion. "What if he doesn't come?"
"As long as that man named Cruze dares to follow the Shuttlecraft to the Archangel, then while the Shuttlecraft is returning, we'll be completely safe. We can use that time to get far away. As for him not coming, I don't think that's likely. Lacus's identity is too special. He wouldn't dare not come."
A faintly bitter smile appeared on Mwu's face as she looked at Xiao Ran and spoke softly. "Although we haven't seriously talked many times, I can never outargue you. You always persuade me so easily that I have nothing left to say."
"Don't forget my profession." Xiao Ran spread his hands. He and Mwu looked at each other, then laughed together.
After leaving the Captain's Room, Xiao Ran and Mwu went their separate ways. One headed for the bridge, while the other went to the hangar.
The moment Xiao Ran arrived at the hangar, Sergeant Maddox gave him a heavy pat. "Kid, I didn't expect you to take down two MS units on your first sortie. Nice work."
Xiao Ran smiled. "Not really. I just caught them off guard with the machine's speed. It was everyone's effort."
"Haha." Sergeant Maddox smiled proudly. "Our technical work is definitely beyond question. But kid, I checked the machine's records just now. I never expected someone who looked as frail as you to withstand that kind of pressure. Luckily, ZAFT's machines are fairly sturdy. Otherwise, if you'd pulled off that maneuver, the mecha would've snapped apart on the spot."
Naturally, Xiao Ran knew which maneuver Sergeant Maddox meant. Escaping the encirclement of three Ginns had been an extraordinary performance, and it had also let him grasp a few methods for using Mental Power. The consumption, however, had truly been quite severe.
Sergeant Maddox turned to look at the Ginn that was undergoing repairs. Every joint in its lower body had developed problems because of Xiao Ran's operation, and some places even showed signs of cracking. It was entirely due to Xiao Ran's sudden high-speed turn.
Shaking his head, Sergeant Maddox said, "I watched your battle. It was right not to charge head-on into the battlefield and get tangled up in close combat. But perhaps the machine limited your performance. If you were in a Gundam, you'd absolutely have the ability to enter the battlefield and fight head-on instead of repeatedly weaving and circling around. I'll see if I can reinforce the machine's frame."
If I were in a Gundam, it wouldn't be the machine limiting me. I'd be limiting the machine. Xiao Ran rolled his eyes. An eighty-percent-performance Gundam—aside from being tougher, how would it be any different from a Ginn?
When he heard Sergeant Maddox say he intended to reinforce the Ginn's frame, Xiao Ran hurriedly shook his head in refusal. "Sergeant Maddox, don't. I think this is fine as it is. At most, just stabilize the machine's lower body a little. Please don't reinforce the frame."
Maddock could not help but freeze upon hearing Xiao Ran's words. Everyone wanted their machine to be as strong as possible, but Xiao Ran would rather risk the frame breaking than have it reinforced. Maddock simply could not understand it.
Are you kidding me? The Ginn is already D+ Class. If you modify it and it breaks through to C-Class, how am I supposed to pilot it? An eighty-percent-performance Ginn would be asking for death on the battlefield!
But seeing Sergeant Maddox's stunned and puzzled expression, Xiao Ran had no choice but to force a smile and explain, "Modifying the machine would take a lot of time too. What if we run into another situation like today, where the battle begins before the work is finished? Besides, to be honest, my Piloting Skill is nothing compared to Kira's and Mu's. I don't have the ability to fight head-on at all. I think this is fine, really."
Sergeant Maddox looked at Xiao Ran's serious expression and saw that he was not joking. Thinking back to how the battle had already begun before the machine could be deployed, he nodded despite still finding it strange that Xiao Ran did not want his machine to become stronger. "Then we'll do as you say. We won't touch it. Once it's repaired, we'll just reinforce the four joints in its legs."
"Then I'll leave it to you." Xiao Ran let out a sigh of relief inwardly and said to Sergeant Maddox, "I'll head back first. That battle wore me out."
"Go on, go on. I'll keep watch here." Sergeant Maddox patted Xiao Ran, then pushed him toward the exit, sending him floating out of the hangar.
Once Xiao Ran returned to his room, he activated the simulated gravity. During non-combat periods, simulated gravity could be activated inside the rooms. Xiao Ran was unaccustomed to floating in midair, so he turned it on. The top-heavy sensation had also made him extremely uncomfortable. Feeling his feet on solid ground made him feel a little better. After moving around for a moment, he flopped onto the soft bed.
Raising his hand, Xiao Ran looked at the wristwatch on his arm. "Status."
Accuracy 7 (11): Affects shooting ability and precision Agility 6 (10): Affects melee ability and strength Reflexes 6 (10): Affects reaction speed and dexterity Mental Power 2 (10): Affects skill consumption and perception Constitution 6 (10): Affects physical fitness and endurance (The values in parentheses represent normal values, while the values outside the parentheses represent current physical values.) Endurance 65 (100) Skills: D-Class General Mecha Piloting Skill: Can normally operate D-Class mecha. Proficiency 67/100. (Upgradeable) Space Combat Proficiency: LV1, D-Class skill. Allows slightly proficient combat in space and grants a basic sense of spatial awareness. Proficiency 45/100. (Upgradeable)
Seeing that his Mental Power was only at 2, Xiao Ran finally understood where the top-heavy sensation had come from. The level of Mental Power even affected his Accuracy, Agility, and Reflexes. No wonder his shooting became less accurate and his movements less precise as the battle went on.
Leaving aside that inexplicable state in which the consumption of Mental Power made Xiao Ran's actions agile and fast, his actual Mental Power consumption had not been that great. After all, most of the time, Xiao Ran had merely played a supporting role. His physical exertion had not been too severe either, with only 35 points lost. During battle, it had probably dropped at a rate of one point per minute. Since he had been piloting at high speed throughout the battle, such a rate of decline was understandable.
What truly delighted him was the increase in the proficiency of his Piloting Skill and Space Combat Proficiency. One had already passed halfway, while the other was close to doing so. They had increased that quickly merely because Xiao Ran had participated in a single battle. If he fought a few more battles...
Xiao Ran grinned. Maybe my Piloting Skill proficiency will reach 100. When that happens, I'll have the ability to pilot the Gundams of this world.
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