Luo Jule

Wandering carefree through the town had completely relaxed Xiao Ran. He no longer had to watch his words around the people aboard the Archangel, afraid that he might say something he should not. For the time being, there was no threat from pursuers or opportunities arising along the way either, so he did not need to think about what he should or should not do. Both his mood and spirit had thoroughly eased.

It was only because he had relaxed that completely that, upon seeing someone who seemingly should not have been here—and someone he knew well at that—Xiao Ran was so startled that he called out the other person's name without even thinking. Only after doing so did he suddenly realize how abrupt he had been.

Rau Le Creuset, one of the protagonists of the Gundam SEED side stories. Throughout the SEED World storyline, whether in the main story or its side stories, he was impossible to avoid. After Andrew Waltfeld, the Desert Tiger, had his machine destroyed by Kira, it was Rau Le Creuset who saved him. After Kira's battle against Athrun ended with the Aegis Gundam's self-destruction destroying his machine, it was also Rau Le Creuset who saved him. It could be said that without him, neither of those two would have survived.

Back on Heliopolis, Xiao Ran had set his sights on the Gundam Astrays, two of which had ended up in Rau Le Creuset's hands. One had been given to Murrue Ramius, the legendary mercenary known as the Strongest Coordinator, while the Red Mecha he kept for himself became his personal machine and underwent numerous modifications. Though the Red Mecha was inherently far inferior to machines like the Strike Gundam, after Rau Le Creuset repeatedly modified it and added equipment, its performance and firepower were at least no weaker than the Freedom Gundam's—not to mention all the enhancements that came later.

Rau Le Creuset had absurdly good luck. That was Xiao Ran's assessment of him. Yet Xiao Ran also had to admit that aside from luck, he was exceptionally capable—at the very least, he was the strongest known mechanic in the SEED World. No one could compare to his passion or talent for machinery. Despite being an ordinary person, he could not only pilot MS units in battle, but also modify and develop all kinds of MS weapons and machines. He seemed even more like a Coordinator than many Coordinators did.

However, Rau Le Creuset was naturally optimistic. Anyone could tell just by looking at his comically expressive face. After hearing Xiao Ran call his name, he looked left and right, then finally pointed at himself, his face full of confusion. "You know me?"

Xiao Ran gave an awkward laugh. Though he felt he had been abrupt, now that he had started a conversation, he naturally would not let this chance slip away so easily. After all, getting involved with another storyline that could be considered a main route was an extremely rare opportunity.

"You're with the Scrap Merchant Guild, right? I know you. I've seen you before, though you probably didn't notice me." Xiao Ran's mind raced as he returned to the smooth-talking state he had maintained aboard the Archangel, deliberately closing the distance between them. "A friend of mine used to work in the scrap business too. When he saw you, he told me you were one lucky guy, always picking up things they couldn't get their hands on. Thinking back on the jealous look on his face now, I find it pretty funny."

After hearing Xiao Ran's words, the naturally simple-minded Rau Le Creuset did not suspect anything. He merely scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "Wow, I had no idea I'd become so famous. I just came out to buy something to eat, and someone already recognizes me."

Xiao Ran was about to say something when his stomach suddenly growled, making him instantly rather embarrassed. Luo, however, was quite enthusiastic. Upon hearing Xiao Ran's stomach, he did not laugh at him. He simply stepped forward, bought two portions of food, and handed one to Xiao Ran. "Here. Looks like you haven't eaten in a long time."

"Thanks." Xiao Ran accepted the food somewhat embarrassedly and immediately took a bite. The fiery yet satisfying taste brought a look of contentment to his face. "I'm really sorry. It's been a long time since I left Heliopolis, and I've been on a ship the whole time, so I haven't used money in ages. When I came out, I didn't think about that at all. Good thing I ran into you, or I really wouldn't have known what to do."

Luo kept chewing his food. Hearing Xiao Ran's words, he asked in surprise through a mouthful of food, "You came from Heliopolis? How did you end up here? Wait, don't tell me you've been on that ship the whole time? Are you with the Earth Force?"

"You know the Archangel?" Xiao Ran deliberately gave Luo a surprised look, then spoke in a deeply helpless tone. "My students and I had no choice but to board that ship because of certain circumstances on Heliopolis. We've been chased by ZAFT all the way here from Heliopolis. Although we eventually became crew members of the Archangel, well, it's a long story. One thing after another kept happening. We never had any right to choose."

"The Archangel? Of course I know it." Rau Le Creuset wolfed down the rest of his food and looked at Xiao Ran expectantly. "That ship that leaves a pile of scrap behind everywhere it goes? Of course I know it. I happened to be nearby when you landed. I was planning to wait until the battle ended and salvage a few things, but I never expected the Earth Force to surrender. There wasn't anything to collect, but I thought it was pretty good that the fighting didn't have to continue. Later, we ran into a little accident and landed too. I really didn't expect us to end up in the same place. Your ship has MS units too, right? They're famous now. Could you tell me about them?"

"You're interested in MS units?" Xiao Ran asked deliberately.

Rau Le Creuset clasped his hands behind his head, his gaze wandering as he said, "Not really. It's just that I happen to have an MS too, and I want to see what the difference is between the two. If you can't tell me, just pretend I never asked."

"Heh." Xiao Ran shook his head with a smile, forcefully suppressing the urge to hand the data in his possession to Rau Le Creuset. He waved a hand lightly. "It's fine. Due to some special circumstances, I'm currently a major aboard the Archangel. I can let you see that machine for yourself. Interested?"

Luo's eyes instantly lit up. "Really?"

"Really." Xiao Ran nodded firmly, then abruptly changed the subject. "But I'm still very hungry. It'd be even better if you could buy me another serving of food."

Rau Le Creuset's eyes lit up, and he sprang to his feet. "No problem. Wait here!"

On the road, Rau Le Creuset, who had initially been excited, became somewhat worried. He looked toward Xiao Ran, who was driving, and asked, "That should be Earth Force classified information, right? Is it really okay for you to let me see it?"

"That thing can't really be considered classified anymore." Xiao Ran shook his head and deliberately said, "As far as I'm concerned, ZAFT doesn't just have that machine's specifications. Orb probably has quite a few of them too. There is no way Orb would develop someone else's machines on its own territory without developing machines of its own. I believe Orb must have stolen plenty of Earth Force development data as well. They may even have completed full machines before Heliopolis collapsed."

Rau Le Creuset stared blankly at Xiao Ran as he continued, "In my view, the Archangel is practically a target the Earth Force has put out to draw ZAFT's fire. They don't care at all what ultimately happens to the Archangel. When it landed here, the higher-ups probably wished for the Archangel to cause a bigger commotion, so they could buy time to mass-produce MS units."

"If I weren't worried about my students, and also... Heh, sorry, I've said too much." Xiao Ran smiled apologetically at Rau Le Creuset. "It's mainly because none of the people aboard the Archangel believe me when I tell them these things. After all, I'm only a temporary major. I can't understand their feelings toward the military, so I couldn't help complaining. Don't worry. I think it's fine for you to get up close to a Gundam, or even pilot one. One of my students is a Gundam pilot."

"Gundam? Student? Pilot?" Rau Le Creuset was somewhat dumbfounded. "Can you tell me about everything you've been through along the way? It sounds like it was anything but ordinary."

"Of course." Xiao Ran nodded, then slowly began recounting, bit by bit, everything that had happened to him from the moment he opened his eyes on Heliopolis until he met Rau Le Creuset. He told him one incident after another—the disturbance at the academy, the bald man on Heliopolis, boarding the Archangel, heading to Julius 7 for supplies, the battle with ZAFT, and more. He especially emphasized his speculation about Enhanced Humans—in other words, the participants—and made it clear that the Eighth Fleet's surrender had entirely been caused by the Enhanced Humans aboard the flagship rebelling.

Rau Le Creuset listened quietly, occasionally letting out a surprised gasp, then sighing in admiration or helplessness. When he heard how Kira had been forced to choose battle for the sake of his friends and teacher aboard the ship, he felt sorry for Kira as well. When he heard that Xiao Ran had also chosen to sortie in a captured MS for their sake, he sighed and patted Xiao Ran on the shoulder.

By the time Xiao Ran had more or less finished, he had driven the car to a stop before the Archangel.

"So this is the Archangel... It's really huge." Luo stood in the vehicle, gripping the windshield in front of him as he stared admiringly at the massive battleship.

"Isn't that sword you made even bigger?" Hearing Luo's praise, Xiao Ran rolled his eyes inwardly. Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly rang out beside them.

"Stop! Don't move!"