The Hypocritical Apology

"I'm sorry."

Xiao Ran's apology was full of sincerity. Even though he knew perfectly well that, even without his presence, Kira and the others would inevitably have boarded the Archangel, the key reason they had ended up here step by step was because Kira had gone after Cagalli, stopping Athrun and the others from seizing the Strike Gundam. Then, after obtaining the Gundam, his battle with the Ginn had blocked Miriallia and the others' escape route, leading to this entire chain of events.

Xiao Ran was not unaware of this, yet he still took all the blame upon himself—blame that no one else had even noticed. His purpose was to further raise their favorability toward him, especially Kira's. As Kira gradually matured through the war, or grew increasingly weary of it, he would remember what had happened today. Once he sorted out the events one by one, he would become even more grateful to Xiao Ran, grateful that Xiao Ran had always protected their growth like the most sincere guardian.

Before Mwu, what Xiao Ran wanted was to establish himself as someone responsible and wise. That way, he would gain more influence in front of Mwu and also grow closer to Captain Lamias, the Archangel's highest-ranking officer. As for whether anything special or emotional might truly happen between them, Xiao Ran only thought about it privately. He had no intention of actually doing anything.

After hearing Xiao Ran's apology and analysis, everyone present was stunned. Their faces showed shock, yet one thought still lingered in their hearts: ZAFT would never do something like this.

Indeed, if it had been any other ZAFT commander, they would not have turned a battlefield into a fragile Colony Satellite belonging to the Neutral Countries. But Cruze was different. Cruze's goal was to expand the war, to let the flames of battle sweep across the world, and then to drag everyone into death with him. To a madman like that, were the Neutral Countries really a concern?

Mwu Shook Her Head. "This is a Colony Satellite of a neutral nation after all. ZAFT wouldn't do something like this..."

"A neutral nation?" Xiao Ran laughed and asked, "Then May I Ask you this: this warship and the MS called Gundam clearly belong to the Earth Force, so why are they here?"

Xiao Ran's words silenced everyone. The last trace of luck in their hearts was utterly extinguished.

Feeling everyone around her sink into despair, Bargyll gritted her teeth and suddenly shouted, "Captain Lamias! Whether It's what happens, the Strike Gundam and the Archangel must never fall into ZAFT's hands! Since we already know the enemy will attack again, we don't have time to sit here wallowing in self-pity."

"Yes." Mwu raised her head, and a hint of light returned to her previously dim eyes. "Yes. As long as we leave and move the battle outside the satellite, it won't harm the satellite. Ensign Bargyll, what is the ship's current condition? Can we leave the satellite?"

"Captain Mwu, aside from energy... the rest..." Bargyll pursed her lips, Looked Towards Mwu, and gently Shook Her Head. Then she raised her voice again. "With our current manpower, if we resupply, we'll need about one hour to reach standard operational readiness."

"One hour." Mwu glanced at the time. At the same time, Xiao Ran also Looked Towards the watch on his wrist. Less than fifty minutes remained on it. In other words, ZAFT would begin its attack in roughly thirty minutes. Around twenty minutes after that, fifty minutes from now, the Colony Satellite would collapse, and the plot would officially begin.

Nearly eight hours have passed without me realizing it. Xiao Ran silently muttered to himself. Although he knew ZAFT would begin attacking soon, he kept that information hidden. After all, he had his own purpose.

Taking a deep breath, Mwu gave a loud command. "Everyone, immediately begin resupplying this ship. Maintenance crew, service the Strike Gundam. Repair the Moebius Zero as quickly as possible."

"Yes!" All the Archangel crew present snapped to attention, saluted, then quickly turned and left.

"Kira, please move the Gundam inside." After speaking to Kira and seeing him nod, Mwu Turned Her Head to Xiao Ran. "There's no doctor aboard, but someone should be able to redress your wounds. Once you've dealt with your injuries and settled them down, come to the bridge. We need your help."

"Mm." Xiao Ran nodded in agreement.

Mwu hurried away. She needed to discuss the next course of action with the others. Xiao Ran and the group followed the Strike Gundam, piloted by Kira, into the hangar. After Kira parked the Gundam, someone quickly led them to the Archangel's Living Zone and arranged for a soldier to treat Xiao Ran's wounds.

While his wounds were being treated, the pain was not as terrible as Xiao Ran had imagined. The two bloody holes in his shoulder showed signs of healing. Although they still Appeared gruesome, Xiao Ran knew his injuries were nowhere near as serious as they looked. His endurance, which had fallen to only twelve points, had somehow recovered to fourteen. It still affected his movements, but that was all.

After the battle, Kira was utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally. Not long after lying down, he fell asleep. Having changed into an Earth Force shirt and jacket, Xiao Ran glanced at Kira, gave Sai a few instructions, and left. Twenty minutes had passed by then.

On the way from the Living Zone to the bridge, he hardly saw anyone. Almost everyone had been assigned to resupply work, which made it easy to imagine just how severely understaffed the Archangel was. When he reached his destination and saw the metallic bridge, even Xiao Ran, who had already prepared himself mentally, could not help feeling a flicker of excitement. He quickly composed himself, but the interested smile on his face could not be concealed.

Xiao Ran's arrival interrupted the argument between Mwu and Bargyll. Mu, on the other hand, had the leisure to give Xiao Ran a friendly smile. When Mwu saw Xiao Ran, she first sighed at Bargyll before saying, "Let's leave it at that. If necessary, we'll need to borrow their strength. Mr. Xiao, you're here."

"Mm." Xiao Ran nodded. "Tell me if there's anything I can help with. But I think it would be best to let me familiarize myself with things first."

"No, that's not it." Mwu stood and walked over to Xiao Ran. Looking into his deep eyes, which seemed able to see through everything, she could not help feeling troubled. "Mr. Xiao, we hope you can persuade that child to pilot the Strike Gundam again. Right now, the Strike Gundam is this warship's only combat strength, but..."

"No one else can pilot it, right?" Xiao Ran smiled faintly, then gently Shook His Head. "Miss Lamias, I told you earlier. I don't want my student to be put in danger."

Mwu stared directly at Xiao Ran. "But your situation is already extremely dangerous. Whether It's aboard the Archangel or leaving this place, as you said, the satellite could collapse at any time, couldn't it?"

"Heh heh." Xiao Ran was left speechless and could only laugh awkwardly. "You're right. I'll help you, but whether Kira pilots it is his own choice. I won't force him to do anything."

Mwu said, "Helping us is also helping yourselves."

"That's right, helping you is helping ourselves." Xiao Ran smiled, then Turned His Head and left. Only when he reached the bridge doors did he turn back. "If there's anything else you need my help with, let me know."

"Beep, beep, beep!"

An alarm suddenly Sounded on the bridge, making everyone there change expression at once. Bargyll ran two steps to the communications officer's station and activated the display. The image came from an external satellite monitor, so clear it rivaled the HD quality Xiao Ran knew.

When Mwu clearly saw the image, she cried out in shock. "Five Ginn units, all carrying fortress assault equipment. That's... the Aegis Gundam! And the Duel Gundam! ZAFT's technology Has Already reached this level? They've deployed them in battle So Fast?"

Mwu gritted her teeth. "Bargyll, how long until they enter combat range?"

"Ten minutes," Bargyll said.

"Tch, so it's all their combat strength except the Blitz Gundam and Buster Gundam." Mu sprang up from the pilot's station. "Mr. Xiao, our lives depend on your persuasive skills." As he spoke, he ran into the fire-control room.

Mwu also sat in the captain's seat with a frown. "All hands, first battle stations. Suspend all resupply operations. Prepare the Strike Gundam for launch."

"There's no time to waste. I'll head down first." Xiao Ran's expression changed as well. He seemed to remember that only two or three Ginn units had appeared in this battle in the anime. With Athrun playing peacemaker in the middle, the battle had not seemed too intense. But now, not only were there more Ginn units, even Yzak's Duel Gundam had appeared. No one could guarantee what might happen if they did not take this seriously.

At this moment, Xiao Ran's life and future were tied to the Archangel. With such a change in the plot, even Xiao Ran, who usually felt little tension, began to grow nervous.

Less than two minutes after running out of the bridge, Xiao Ran could already feel that the Archangel had taken off again. Kira had also awakened because of the alarms aboard the ship and was now watching the situation outside through a corridor display with Sai and the others.

Seeing Xiao Ran hurry over, Miriallia asked worriedly, "Teacher, has ZAFT attacked again?"

Xiao Ran nodded, his expression extremely grim. "The situation is very bad. ZAFT has deployed seven MS units, all carrying assault equipment meant for attacking fortresses. They even have the two stolen machines. If the Archangel has to face them alone... it can only serve as a live target."

"No..." Miriallia covered her mouth and stared at Xiao Ran in terror. "Teacher, are we going to die?"

"I'll go to the bridge later to help operate the weapons, but..." Xiao Ran Turned His Head to Kira and sighed softly. "Kira, they asked me to beg you to pilot the Strike Gundam. Of course, whether you do so is entirely up to you."

"Damn it, just because I'm the only one on this ship who can pilot it?" Kira clenched his fists, suppressing his anger. "If I say no, will we be destroyed together with this ship... Damn it."

After saying that, Kira prepared to turn and leave. But in the next moment, Xiao Ran pressed a hand onto Kira's shoulder and stared him straight in the eyes. "Kira, no matter what you choose, remember this: we'll always be with you. We'll live and die alongside you. I'll support you from this warship, and our lives... are in your hands."

"Teacher..."