Unexpected

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After spending half the day idling around, Xiao Ran returned to the standby room to find Mu wearing a bitter smile. He grabbed a rapidly spinning water bottle, gulped down more than half of it, then wiped his mouth and asked Mu, "What's with that expression?"

"No one would look too happy after running into something like this." Mu floated in midair with his limbs spread out, speaking in a lazy tone. "I asked Lieutenant Bargyll what happened just now. She told me a lot, including many things you said. Heh, I never thought we'd be fighting for our lives on the front lines while the people behind us weren't thinking about how to help us survive with better odds. Instead, they were busy scheming and doing all sorts of nonsense. And those Enhanced Humans... I really can't understand why things turned out this way."

"If those Enhanced Humans are so powerful, why don't those old men who only know how to give orders from the rear become Enhanced Humans themselves? Why don't they let the Enhanced Humans pilot MAs or MSs into battle? Why do ordinary people like us still have to fight on the front lines? We don't even understand what happened with the mutiny aboard the Menelaus. It's hard to imagine what we'd do if those Enhanced Humans came to the Archangel and pulled something like this."

"The Menelaus is finished. It has to fend off ZAFT forces from the outside while serving as our shield against enemy attacks, and inside it has to deal with those four freakish Enhanced Humans. Forgive me for using the word 'freakish,' but I honestly don't know how else to describe them. Just four people took down all the Gendarmerie and Landing Force aboard the Menelaus. What is that supposed to be? Four people can stand against an entire army, so what do they need people like us for?"

"I'm feeling lost now. What kind of mindset did I have when I started fighting all the way until now? This is an army where even allies scheme against one another. Is there really any meaning in staying here?"

Xiao Ran remained silent. He did not know what to say, nor did he know how to comfort Mu, who had already become so lost. Should I tell him that he started questioning everything this early because of my framing and setup? Should I tell Mu that those four so-called 'Enhanced Humans' were not Enhanced Humans at all, and that their apparent 'mutiny' was actually to carry out the mission of protecting Harborton?

Xiao Ran could not say any of it. He could not reveal a single word and could only let Mu vent his feelings.

After talking for quite a while, Mu suddenly realized that he seemed to have lost control of his emotions and said too much. He braced a hand against the ceiling of the standby room and landed back on the floor. Spreading his hands at Xiao Ran, he gave a lazy smile. "Seems like I said too much unnecessary stuff. After all, you only just joined this pretty lousy army."

"Heh." Xiao Ran shook his head with a smile and looked at Mu. "It's different. We joined for different reasons, and at different times. I have no sense of belonging or honor toward the Earth Force. I'm only here to protect my students, and I'll leave sooner or later. So I won't mind whatever you say."

"That's true. You've always said you don't like the Earth Force. Now I think I understand your way of thinking a little." Mu paused, then smiled. "Of course, I don't like ZAFT either."

"Neither do I. They've been chasing us for so long, after all. Hahaha." Xiao Ran played along with Mu's joke.

As they talked, it became time for the Archangel to officially begin its descent procedure. Only when the alarm sounded did the two realize it. But just as they did, Mu suddenly froze and rushed to the Communication Screen in the standby room. "Bridge, why hasn't the kid come back yet?"

"He's been tied down by the Duel Gundam and Buster Gundam and can't return," Miriallia said from the Communication Screen, her face filled with anxiety.

Xiao Ran stepped up beside Mu. "Can I still sortie now? I'll go help."

Before Miriallia could answer, another voice came through. "No. Your Ginn can't fight in this environment at all. The Archangel has already begun preparing for descent. If you go out, you may not be able to return. I think you understand the consequences of being unable to return."

Seeing Bargyll suddenly appear beside Miriallia, Xiao Ran did not argue further. He only said, "Tell Kira to do his best to disengage. If he really can't, then have him head straight for Earth. With a Gundam's performance, descending to Earth alone shouldn't be a problem."

Bargyll frowned. "But all of that is only theoretical. No one can guarantee it can actually be done."

Xiao Ran shook his head. He exchanged a glance with Mu and said nothing more. After the communication ended, before either of them could speak, they saw a Shuttlecraft being launched from the Archangel's second hangar at the very last moment before the ship descended to Earth. Only then did Xiao Ran remember that there was still a Shuttlecraft aboard meant to take the Industrial Academy students away.

Xiao Ran abruptly turned his head. "Mu, did all the Industrial Academy students board that shuttle?"

Mu thought for a moment. "You mean those maintenance kids? I think one or two of them got on. Because the battle started, most of them stayed behind and planned to leave after reaching Earth. Why?"

Xiao Ran shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just worried. This is too close to the battlefield, especially the battlefield of the Strike Gundam, Duel Gundam, and Buster Gundam."

After saying that, Xiao Ran thought, I never expected that even though I avoided having those civilians killed by the enraged Yzak after boarding the Shuttlecraft, the Archangel would still land in the desert without my interference, just as I expected. But I didn't expect the Shuttlecraft to still appear here. Those students who boarded it can't escape this disaster after all. Are they simply fated to die?

Shaking his head and no longer thinking about it, he watched Mu switch the screen feeds to the Strike Gundam and the Menelaus. Then he sat in one of the standby room's chairs and secured himself in place.

From the screen, they could see the Strike Gundam repeatedly trying to break away and return to the Archangel. Yet each time, it was either held back by the Duel Gundam or had its retreat route blocked by fire from the distant Buster Gundam. Every time it happened, Xiao Ran and Mu's hearts jolted.

Mu's heart jumped because the Strike Gundam could not escape the battle. Xiao Ran's jumped because the Strike Gundam showed signs of escaping it. Hoping that the plot had not changed, Xiao Ran naturally wanted the Strike Gundam to descend to Earth like this and ultimately land in the desert. As long as that step was reached, he would dare to take action in certain future missions. Even if he made small changes to the plot, they would not affect what came later.

He also hoped to get acquainted with Cagalli, so that when the Archangel reached Orb, Xiao Ran could propose joining Orb. By then, with his friendship with Cagalli, it should not be a problem.

But if the Archangel did not land in the desert and instead ended up somewhere else, then Xiao Ran's plans would lose their meaning. At that moment, he kept praying that the plot would not change in any way, so that all his earlier restraint and inability to fight at full strength would not have been for nothing.

"The Menelaus has been breached? Damn it!" Mu's suppressed, furious voice snapped Xiao Ran back to his senses. When he looked up at the screen, the Menelaus, which had still been firing back moments ago, had stopped moving completely. Even its thrusters had gone dark, without a trace of flame.

Just then, a streak of light crossed from afar and appeared before the Menelaus. The four Beam Swords on its arms and legs were fully extended.

"The Aegis Gundam! Damn it, is it actually attacking a warship that can't fight back?!" Mu watched helplessly as the Aegis Gundam began transforming, spreading its limbs to reveal the Siren Array Energy Cannon in its abdomen. It had already begun to flicker with the glow of gathering energy.

Xiao Ran had never watched the Aegis Gundam transform from MS to MA form so closely before. Seeing that it was even faster than the Strike Gundam equipped with the Flight Pack, he muttered, "The Aegis Gundam...?"

Everyone aboard who saw this could not bear to keep watching. They lowered their heads and closed their eyes for the sinking of the Menelaus and Harborton's death. But at that very moment, six beams of different colors suddenly lit up aboard the Menelaus. Xiao Ran, who had been staring wide-eyed, recognized the meaning of one combination of three colors. Though he did not know what the other three-color combination meant, it did not stop him from understanding what the Menelaus was doing—especially when the Siren Array Energy Cannon of the Aegis Gundam began to power down.

Xiao Ran's mouth fell open and his eyes widened as he cried out in disbelief, "It can do that!?"

Hearing Xiao Ran's voice, Mu raised his head as well. When he saw the image on the screen, he was equally stunned. "Surrender!?"