Night Raid

The final conversation ended on an unhappy note, but Xiao Ran's words gave Mwu and the other two even more to think about and doubt. It wasn't as though they hadn't found it strange that Xiao Ran repeatedly stirred up their dissatisfaction with Earth Force, and they had doubted his motives. But Xiao Ran had consistently shown that he held no goodwill toward Earth Force, ever since before he joined them and even when he first boarded the Archangel. Seen in that light, his actions were not so strange. More importantly, nothing Xiao Ran said was baseless fabrication. He merely inferred a possibility from various signs, one they had no way to refute.

Even when he could not provide evidence at the time, events would always unfold just as Xiao Ran said, leaving them helpless.

Everyone had already been deeply worried about the Archangel's current situation. After hearing Xiao Ran's words, Mwu and the other two became even more concerned about the Archangel's future. In the end, the conversation between the four ended unhappily. There was nothing to be happy about, after all. Mwu made the final decision: they would proceed to Alaska according to the original plan. Even if they really were treated as disposable pawns, they would have to fulfill the role of pawns to the end. They would consider it their final service to Earth Force and make sure General Harborton's efforts had not been wasted.

If things did not turn out as Xiao Ran said and they were not made into disposable pawns, then once the Archangel returned to Earth Force's Alaska base, it would surely be treated as a meritorious force and hailed as heroes. Being entrusted with important duties would be inevitable, and they could continue to contribute what they had left. Then there would be no doubts or problems at all.

In any case, even if Mwu had truly decided not to go to Alaska, Xiao Ran would have come up with plenty of reasons to persuade them otherwise. His only goal was to plant a seed of dissatisfaction with Earth Force in their hearts, especially in Nataru Bargyll's. After all, Xiao Ran had spent quite some time with Bargyll. Naturally, he did not want her to follow the original storyline's path of becoming the Archangel's enemy and dying.

Now that they had decided to depart, everyone aboard the Archangel got busy. Of course, they did not blindly start the engines and charge off recklessly. Not only did they have to wait for Kira, whose fever had yet to subside, to regain consciousness, they also had to use the Archangel's internal data to determine their exact location. Otherwise, if they had to land due to some emergency, they might cause underground abandoned mines to collapse, trigger natural gas explosions, and create all sorts of other problems.

Moreover, in the Archangel's current condition, it was not suitable for wandering around the desert. At the very least, some equipment and programs needed to be reset for ground operations, which would also take time.

And so, the Archangel's crew worked from the middle of the first night until the evening of the next day before finally finishing everything. Naturally, Xiao Ran, the idler, was not among them. Apart from checking on Kira while he was unconscious and taking him back to his room after his fever broke, Xiao Ran merely shook his head at Flay's bustling about and left.

One could imagine what would happen after Kira woke up. Faced with this amorous fortune practically delivered to his door, Xiao Ran did not know whether he should mourn for Kira or be happy for him.

Not long after landing on Earth, Xiao Ran received the notification that the mission had been completed. As expected, the C-class mecha data was the construction data for the Strike Gundam. The sheer breadth of what this data covered made Xiao Ran shake his head repeatedly. Perhaps because he had not truly participated in the mission, the completion rate was too low. This data was not all that comprehensive.

A complete Strike Gundam construction system should have included the frame, Outer Armor, weapons, backpack, PS Armor, battery pack, Quantum Computer, various performance parameters, and more. Only with complete data that could be assembled together would it be possible to construct a Strike Gundam according to the plans.

Yet in the data Xiao Ran received, there was no backpack system, weapons system, Quantum Computer, battery pack, performance parameters, or anything else of the sort. There were only the most basic and fundamental construction parameters for the Strike Gundam. It could be said that if the Strike Gundam were built according to this incomplete data, the final result would only be a huge, imposing-looking, life-sized Gundam model that could not be used at all.

Fortunately, perhaps because of the crucial words "C-class," the PS Armor data was still included despite the absence of the other critical information. This also made Xiao Ran understand one thing: in terms of PS Armor alone, it was enough to raise a D+-class mecha to the level of a C--class mecha.

If the data Xiao Ran had received was the same as what the four participants who may or may not have already joined ZAFT had obtained, then it might not be as useful to them as it was to Xiao Ran. ZAFT had already acquired PS Armor data when it obtained the data for those four Gundams. It was also impossible for them to specially manufacture C-class Gundams for the four because of this information. Without even considering whether the four might defect again, it would already be quite good if they were given Ginns to pilot, much less the most advanced Gundam-type MS.

Xiao Ran, however, was different. He could use this information to make a deal with Orb. The M1 Astrays produced by Orb had been imitations made by stealing Gundam technical data. They lacked PS Armor, and due to technical limitations in their frames, they could not equip overly thick Outer Armor. This had forced the M1 Astrays to be lightweight in every aspect. There was nothing wrong with being lightweight, but without matching PS Armor, that became a major issue. Their defensive capabilities were practically fragile beyond belief. Xiao Ran's data happened to contain the Gundam frame technology, PS Armor technology, and other things Orb urgently needed. One could easily imagine the kind of Special Treatment Xiao Ran would receive with such technology in hand.

By midnight, the Archangel was unusually quiet. For the crew, who had been busy for nearly an entire day, this was a rare chance to rest. Everyone cherished this hard-won time. But aside from those who had no choice but to stand watch, there were still several people aboard the Archangel who could not sleep through the night. Some were worried, two were fired up, and one was waiting.

At around four in the morning, a piercing alarm suddenly rang out, causing those who had only just managed to close their eyes to snap them open again. Their first reaction was to get dressed and rush toward various parts of the Archangel.

Xiao Ran delayed for several minutes before leaving his room. He had originally intended to head to the hangar, but after passing Kira's door, he unconsciously stopped. Hearing the faint screams and crying from within, he frowned toward the door, as though he could see through the thick steel walls and into the room—see the girl who, powerless in the end, could only use everything she had to take revenge. He let out a sorrowful sigh.

"Although your father was fated to die, I could have warned you earlier and helped you save him. I was selfish, and I made no choice." Xiao Ran shook his head and started walking again. "I hope you can come to your senses sooner. If I have the ability, I will do my best to change your fate too."

By the time Xiao Ran arrived at the hangar, the battle had already begun. Apart from hearing explosions and feeling the vibrations, there was no way to know what was happening outside. The Strike Gundam had already appeared in the launch bay, while Mu and Maddock stood beside a Skygrasper, discussing something.

Xiao Ran walked over in a few strides and asked, "What's the situation now?"

"You're here." Mu glanced at Xiao Ran and shook her head. "The interference is too severe. We can't detect the enemy's situation in detail. So far, we've confirmed three BuCUEs and an aerial squadron. I want to sortie in the Skygrasper."

"That won't do. The Skygrasper hasn't been equipped with ammunition or weapons at all. Even if we rush to outfit it now, there won't be enough time." Maddock shook his head beside her. "You can't sortie in a Skygrasper that has nothing on it."

Mu looked puzzled. "Isn't the Skygrasper a ground-support craft for the Strike Gundam? Can't it equip the Strike Gundam's spare weapons?"

Maddock explained, "Some parameter settings haven't been completed, so we can't use the weapon equipment system in the launch bay at all. Everything has to be installed manually."

"Damn it." Mu clenched her fist and slammed it against the Skygrasper beside her. "Just load it with some ammunition, anything. I need to be able to sortie as soon as possible."

"We'll do our best," Maddock said.