Side Mission

After having a "friendly" discussion with Mwu, Xiao Ran prepared to speak with Kira and the others. This conversation was crucial. It concerned not only the future development of events, but Xiao Ran himself as well. Whether Kira would join the Archangel later also determined whether Xiao Ran could safely leave the Heliopolis Colony Satellite and complete Main Mission One.

And when Mwu discovered there were no bullets in her pistol and stared fixedly at Xiao Ran, a prompt that seemed to come from his soul forced him to negotiate with Mwu in all seriousness, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.

"Ding. Forced Side Mission triggered: Help Mwu Lamias resist the enemy's next wave of attacks, and ensure the safety of Kira Yamato, Tolle Gurney, Miriallia Haw, Sai Argyle, and Kazui Baskerk. Reward unknown."

"Failure penalty: None."

"Follow-up missions will be triggered upon completion."

Xiao Ran had actually been somewhat astonished when he received the mission. After all, even without his appearance, the normal course of events would have had Kira pilot the Strike Gundam and repel the enemy. But now that Xiao Ran had intervened—and, out of meddlesomeness, removed all the bullets from Mwu's weapon—Kira and the others were no longer under threat, leaving them with no reason to help Mwu.

Xiao Ran did not believe there was truly no penalty for failure. If he could not change Kira's poor impression of Mwu now, then without the threat hanging over him, Kira might not necessarily climb into the Strike Gundam again. Once the Gundam was taken, the entire plot would be thoroughly thrown into chaos. Not only would he lose the benefits of knowing what was to come, but if any consequences arose, he could not guarantee that he would be able to bear them. That was the greatest punishment of all.

Mwu left. She had taken the initiative to leave after seeing that the Strike Gundam had no energy. Knowing what she intended to do, Xiao Ran asked the most sensible Sai to follow her.

"Teacher, why did you agree to help her?" Miriallia watched Mwu and Sai leave, then looked at Xiao Ran in confusion.

Tolle and Kazui looked equally indignant. "Teacher, why should we care about her? We tried to help her out of kindness, and she pointed a gun at us."

"If we don't help her, we won't be able to avoid getting dragged into this either." Xiao Ran shook his head at them and looked at Kira. "Kira, do you understand why?"

"Yes." Kira nodded lightly and said in a subdued voice, "Because this involves military secrets belonging to both the Earth Force and Orb."

Tolle looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"An Earth Force MS in neutral Orb, and one that came out of Morgenroete at that. Does that really need much explanation?" Xiao Ran helplessly patted Tolle's shoulder, sincerely anxious over his intelligence. "An Earth Force MS is here in Heliopolis. Who would believe it had nothing to do with Orb? ZAFT's attack today was entirely because of these MS. I even suspect Orb may have been developing its own MS during this time."

"And then?" Tolle and Kazui were completely bewildered.

"What does Orb developing MS represent? Secrets. What does the Earth Force's MS represent? More secrets. Although the other units were taken, there is still this final one. This Gundam is practically the Earth Force's last lifeline. It represents the possibility of mass-produced MS. If it gets taken too, where do you think the Earth Force will vent its fury?"

"Us?" Tolle pointed at himself in astonishment.

"Who else?" Xiao Ran asked. Seeing the astonishment and shock on their faces, he continued, "We know both Orb's and the Earth Force's military secrets. Even if we don't help Miss Lamias, does that mean it truly has nothing to do with us? The Earth Force might not even need to make a request. Some people in Orb may capture us first to ensure this secret remains hidden."

"The most important person is still Kira. He piloted the Gundam just now, and he probably modified the entire unit's OS. He alone was able to alter the OS enough for combat, and he destroyed a ZAFT unit with nothing but a knife. What does that mean? Don't forget, before piloting this thing, Kira had never even touched an MS. So it won't just be Orb and the Earth Force paying attention to him. Even ZAFT will. Someone with the potential to become an Ace Pilot—I doubt any side would give up on him easily."

When Kira heard Xiao Ran shift the topic to him and understood what he meant, he immediately looked at Xiao Ran with astonished eyes. "Teacher... th-that can't be possible, can it?"

"It isn't impossible. Besides, there are those terrorists. We could also pin this entire matter on that Earth Force lady." Xiao Ran shook his head and looked seriously at Kira. "So right now, all we can do is trust Miss Lamias. Trust that after we help her, she will choose to forget what happened today."

Kira fell silent. He was merely young and innocent now, not stupid. His genius mind rapidly considered all kinds of possibilities. Xiao Ran's serious words had already made him somewhat believe it, but such a thing was still too difficult for him to accept.

Seeing Kira's silence, Xiao Ran felt a little reluctant to press him. He unconsciously said, "A blessing in disguise. The future may not be as bad as you think."

Kira paused slightly after hearing Xiao Ran's words. He had no idea what Xiao Ran was talking about, but he was willing to trust this teacher who seemed to have helped them so much and had comforted him as well. "Teacher, what do you want me to do?"

"My opinion?" Xiao Ran was stunned as well. When he saw Kira nod firmly, he sighed softly. "Before I say it, I hope that no matter what happens in the future, none of you will hate me."

Miriallia tugged at Xiao Ran's hand. "Go on, Teacher. I believe Kira isn't that kind of person."

"Heh." Xiao Ran laughed bitterly to himself, shaking his head. "Miss Lamias must be looking for the Gundam's weapons and energy right now, preparing for ZAFT's next attack. The satellite is already at Level Eight alert. Even if we want to avoid this trouble, it will be difficult. Since that's the case, why don't we take the initiative into our own hands?"

"Kira, I want you to pilot this Gundam. Pilot it to protect us and protect this satellite until this incident is over. If I had a choice, I wouldn't want it to be you. But among us, only you have this ability!" Xiao Ran placed both hands heavily on Kira's shoulders. "And I will do everything I can to make sure you have no worries afterward, even if it costs me my life. Do you believe me?"

The innocent Kira was moved to tears by Xiao Ran's words. Thinking of how Xiao Ran had risked himself earlier, he nodded hard. "Teacher, I believe you."

"Mm." Xiao Ran nodded with a smile, but seeing Kira so fired up made his scalp tingle as well. Something felt wrong. No, perhaps plenty of things had already gone wrong. Looking at Kira, who had already gone berserk once, Xiao Ran silently prayed for Athrun's group of four.

Before long, everyone chose to believe what Xiao Ran had said and decided to help Lamias protect the Gundam until the incident was over. It was not only Kira who was fired up. For their home and their future freedom, Tolle, Miriallia, and Kazui were filled with determination as well.

Not long afterward, Mwu and Sai drove a large truck carrying the Gatling Gun Equipment up beside the Gundam. When they saw the excited expressions on Kira and the others' faces, they were somewhat confused. But after Xiao Ran asked Mwu one final question, they both understood.

"You guarantee that after this matter is settled, you can choose to forget what happened today, correct?"

"I guarantee it." Mwu stared deeply at Xiao Ran. In the end, she nodded and slowly said, "Thank you."

"No need." Xiao Ran smiled. "We each get what we need."

After saying that, Xiao Ran added in his heart, What I need is nothing like what you think.

Although everyone no longer resisted, making the following work drag on somewhat, once Kira piloted the Strike Gundam with the Gatling Gun Equipment installed, events still developed to that point. Captain Rau's Captain Unit GOUF and Mu La Flaga's Moebius Zero fought as they rushed into the Space Colony.

The two sides were fighting, but anyone with eyes could see that the Moebius Zero was no match for the GOUF. It could not even keep it occupied. They could only watch as the GOUF rapidly charged toward the Strike Gundam and Xiao Ran's group.

"Quick!" Everyone knew the equipment could only be installed so fast, but when they saw that the Moebius Zero could not even stop it, they could only watch helplessly as the GOUF drew closer and raised its Shield Cannon in their direction. Fear surged uncontrollably from the depths of their hearts.

Other than Kira, who was seated inside the Gundam, Xiao Ran was the calmest among those hiding behind the Gundam's massive feet. He watched as the Gatling Gun Equipment gradually fitted against the Gundam. Finally, with a click, he instantly reached out and shoved the two people closest to him down onto the ground. Mwu made the same move.

"Rat-a-tat! Rat-a-tat!" The Shield Cannon erupted with muzzle flashes the instant it locked onto the Gundam. Kira Yamato roared as he pressed the button to activate the PS Barrier and controlled the Strike Gundam to block Xiao Ran and the others.

Several thunderous impacts erupted from the Gundam's body, and even the ground trembled several times. Xiao Ran only felt himself violently jolted twice. His ears rang as black smoke rose before him, blotting everything out.

Cruze heard the massive impact and saw the thick smoke, thinking his attack had worked. But at that moment, a red beam tore through the smoke and shot into the sky. In the blink of an eye, it became a red line linking the colony's sky and ground, leaving two bursts of flame in its path.

"This power!" Cruze stared at the Gundam standing on the ground in utter shock. He did not even notice the red lights and alarms flashing inside his cockpit. Looking at the image on the display before him, he drew in a sharp breath. "It pierced the outer wall with one shot? Just who is piloting that thing?"

"Boom!" Another massive explosion erupted from one of the satellite's mountain walls, sending flames and black smoke billowing into the air.

"Tch, they actually have reinforcements!" Cruze gritted his teeth lightly, stomped on the pedal, and pulled back the control stick. The GOUF, which had lost its right arm and right leg, shot through the hole Kira had made amid a shower of sparks and fled Heliopolis. "That last unit must not be allowed to escape!"

Kira was still shocked by the huge hole he had created, but when a brand-new spacecraft appeared before his eyes, all that remained was astonishment. How had a battleship flown into the satellite's interior?

But even more astonished was Xiao Ran, who had just risen from the ground, his face filled with disbelief. "This... this is completely wrong..."