After bringing the Strike Gundam back to the hangar, Luo eagerly pulled the somewhat stunned Kira and Maddock together. He told them everything he knew and felt about the machine, laid out several ideas for it, and pointed out areas with great potential for modification. Whether his hands were simply itching or because he had rarely seen such an advanced MS, Luo even took the initiative to offer his help in modifying the Strike Gundam.
Some of Luo's suggestions made Maddock nod repeatedly in full agreement. Kira also chimed in from time to time, hoping for slight adjustments in certain areas of his machine—for example, improving its turning agility. The three of them gathered around a fixed panel in the hangar and began discussing the details of the improvements.
Xiao Ran remained by the three of them without leaving, but he did not interrupt while Luo, Kira, and Maddock talked. He merely leaned against the side in silence.
Meanwhile, Mwu, Bargyll, and Mu had gathered together as well, each sitting in a chair in the Captain's Room. Aside from Mu's thoughtful expression, the other two looked deeply worried.
Seeing that neither of them intended to speak, Bargyll suddenly stood up, gave Mwu a military salute, and said loudly, "Captain, I don't understand why you agreed to Major Xiao Ran's unreasonable request. Letting them tour the Archangel would have been one thing, but why let a junk dealer test the Strike Gundam? Doesn't he know that those people don't just buy scrap? They sell intelligence too. If information on the Strike Gundam leaks out, how are we supposed to explain ourselves to our superiors? I recommend that Major Xiao Ran and that junk dealer named Luo be arrested immediately for leaking Earth Force military secrets."
Before Mwu could speak, Mu looked at Bargyll with a faint smile. "Are you sure you want to do that? Arrest them? Do you know what the consequences would be?"
Bargyll fell silent for a moment, but still answered, "The worst outcome would be the leakage of information on the Strike Gundam and the Archangel."
"Lieutenant Bargyll, I don't think it's as simple as you say." Mu shrugged and shook his head. "I think Xiao Ran was right about one thing. ZAFT already has four units from the G Series. Any information that could leak has already leaked. What could be more thorough than directly seizing the machines for research?"
"Besides, if you arrest those two, have you considered that Xiao Ran might resist? If he gets hurt during that resistance, what would Kira think? Would he still wholeheartedly want to protect the Archangel all the way to Alaska? Haven't you realized how much weight Xiao Ran carries in Kira's heart? On this ship, if Kira refuses to obey anyone's orders, there's nothing we can do about it. Only Xiao Ran is different. Kira takes every word Xiao Ran says to heart. If Xiao Ran persuades Kira to defect to ZAFT with the last remaining machine during a sortie, can you bear the consequences?"
"What's more, even if we did send people to arrest them, Xiao Ran and that junk dealer would not be so easy to catch. As far as I know, junk dealers usually operate in teams. Do you really think that junk dealer has no companions here? Arresting them would be difficult. If they escaped or got into an MS, then it probably wouldn't be us catching them—it would be them catching us."
"But we can't just let them do whatever they want," Bargyll said through clenched teeth, unwilling to accept it.
"The situation is that even if they do whatever they want, there's nothing we can do about it." Mu spread his hands toward Bargyll. "Besides, do you really want that whole chain of problems to happen after Xiao Ran is arrested? Or perhaps nothing would happen after the arrest, but then we'd have to hand him over to the Military Court for trial? Nataru, I believe you wouldn't want to see that either. Xiao Ran has helped us so much. We should at least give him a little trust."
Bargyll fell silent. Perhaps she had not considered those things before, but after Mwu voiced them, she could only feel helpless. It was indeed as Mwu had said: they simply had no authority over members of the special operations unit. The only person who could control him was now unable to do so, having been captured by ZAFT. Unless the Archangel reached Alaska and Xiao Ran was reassigned under another superior, but the Archangel was still stranded in the desert. With Alaska so far away, that possibility might as well not exist.
Strictly speaking, if Xiao Ran truly used the authority of the special operations unit to pressure Mwu, then in certain circumstances, Mwu would really have no choice but to listen to him.
"All right, Bargyll." Resting her chin on her hands, Mwu gave her final decision. "Inform the entire ship about today's matter. Everyone is to act as though nothing happened. Due to an irreparable problem with the Strike Gundam, Major Xiao Ran worked hard to contact a friend who came specifically to inspect the Strike Gundam and the Archangel, as well as perform repairs on both. Understood?"
"Yes." Bargyll straightened up and answered loudly. Though she still felt a little unwilling, she felt even more relieved and fortunate. That feeling of finally letting out a breath suddenly made her think that this kind of violation was not actually so hard to accept.
"That will have to do." Mu nodded, then suddenly thought of something and asked Mwu, "Didn't Xiao Ran tell you why he wanted that Luo to tour the Archangel and test the Strike Gundam?"
"No, but I think Xiao Ran has been preparing something." Mwu shook her head and said softly, "Come to think of it, it isn't hard to guess. He may be preparing a way out for us. From what he said before, it was obvious that he completely distrusted the Earth Force higher-ups. And now we've landed in such an awkward and dangerous place. Just as he said, it isn't impossible that we're being treated as expendable pawns."
As expected of Mwu—and Mwu, who had already developed feelings for Xiao Ran. She had guessed almost everything Xiao Ran was thinking, except for the matter of Xiao Ran wanting Luo to prepare a machine for him. That had merely been an unexpected coincidence.
"Heh, then he'll keep preparing like this until the day we really become expendable pawns. Maybe he's already figured out where our escape route lies. Seriously, has he already thought that far ahead? Honestly, what on earth is inside that brain of his?" Mu patted his head, stood up, and laughed at himself before leaving the Captain's Room.
Watching Mu's departing back, Mwu merely shook her head before looking at Bargyll. "Lieutenant Bargyll, since you're so worried about that junk dealer, keep a closer eye on them for a while. See what exactly they're doing."
"Yes." Bargyll nodded and left as well. But after she truly understood what Luo was doing, she no longer had any desire to target him. Several days later, the almost completely renewed Strike Gundam once again displayed astonishing power under Kira's control.
In the early hours of the morning, nearly all Archangel personnel who were off duty had gone to Dawn Desert's base. They sang and danced with the people there, relaxing themselves, drinking, boasting, and almost forgetting their circumstances. It was a rare chance to unwind, and Mwu had no intention of stopping them.
But just as everyone was enjoying themselves, the Archangel's watch personnel discovered something strange. On the display screen, a red glow had appeared in a place far from here where it absolutely should not have been. When Dalida took a closer look, he was stunned to discover that the place that had once been a city was now engulfed in raging flames.
Very quickly, the news reached everyone on the Archangel and in Dawn Desert. After their initial shock and disbelief, the people of Dawn Desert immediately prepared their weapons and began heading toward the burning city. Kira and Mu also received orders to cooperate with Dawn Desert's operation, and soon set off in the Strike Gundam and Skygrasper toward that direction.
After seeing the image on the display, Luo also stood there with his mouth agape for a moment. Then he shook his head, shouted something to Xiao Ran, and left the Archangel. "How can we just stand here and watch the city burn? I'm borrowing a vehicle."
Seeing everyone leave, Xiao Ran turned toward the remaining Skygrasper. He shrugged and walked toward it, shouting as he went, "First Sergeant Maddock! I'm taking the Skygrasper out!"
Sergeant Maddox laughed heartily. "I had it ready for you already. I knew you wouldn't be able to hold back."
Before you continue