The Archangel: "United in the Same Boat," but "Of Two Minds"

As for the point Kuzzey had made, the others present had probably been more aware of it than he was;

But since Kuzzey had been the one to bring it up, Sai glanced at Kira and waited for his nod of agreement before lowering his voice a little.

"From the looks of it, that really does seem likely.

That would also explain why Celestial Being only deployed mass-produced mobile suits at Artemis Fortress.

After all, whether they'd sent out a few more of those large white mobile armors, or had Celestial Being's leader—the one who could take on the Creuset Team single-handedly—come out in person, the Archangel would surely have been unable to escape. I know that sounds unfair to Kira's efforts, but it's true."

As Miriallia and Tolle nodded in agreement, Kira added something of his own.

"Actually, after fighting Haman, I could feel it.

Haman seemed more curious about me than anything else. Overall, I didn't sense the faint killing intent I'd felt before when facing Rau Le Creuset and the Ginn at Heliopolis.

The two times she attacked me particularly fiercely, the first was because I refused to sortie and spoiled her fun;

The second was because I seemed to have glimpsed her memories with Lord Luther, which upset her."

In response to Kira's addition, the others seemed more curious about something else than the specifics;

After exchanging glances, Miriallia spoke up to ask.

"Kira, is what you're describing what the 'Newtypes' mentioned in the Celestial Being Formation Declaration are?

And is there any connection or difference between them and the 'Ultimate Coordinator'?"

Faced with the attention his friends turned on him after Miriallia's question, Kira looked a little shy and hesitant. In the end, he answered like this.

"To be honest, I still don't really understand what people mean by 'Ultimate Coordinator.'

But, to put it simply, Coordinators are people whose genes have been altered by humans to improve their physical capabilities;

Whereas 'Newtypes' seem to affect only the mind. They sound more like some kind of fraudulent 'psychic';

But since Lieutenant Badgiruel asked me to retrieve the 'Newtype Weapon' Haman used, maybe Celestial Being has mastered some kind of unique military technology.

Honestly, if this ability can help people communicate with each other in space, why is it always put to use in war first?!"

"That's because if you want people to listen to you, you have to show them you're strong enough, right?

What Celestial Being's been doing since issuing the Celestial Being Formation Declaration is basically the same thing.

Ah, sorry. I was listening in, but I suddenly barged into the conversation.

There's something I'd like to ask you all. Would you mind if we sat down and talked together?"

The ones who had interrupted Kira and his friends were Mu, Murrue, and Badgiruel. They had come to find Kira and the others, and return their meal trays while they were at it.

Mu was being quite familiar, with an arm draped over Kira's shoulder. Murrue stood beside him with a gentle smile, and even Badgiruel, who usually wore a stern expression, was making an effort to smile;

After the habits they'd picked up over the last couple of days, everyone except Kira, who was being "held in place" by Mu, reflexively began to stand and salute. Murrue hurriedly waved them off, indicating that there was no need to be so formal.

Seeing this, Sai, who had reclaimed his place in the group during their earlier conversation, spoke for everyone as usual.

"Of course, Captain Ramius, Executive Officer Badgiruel, Major La Flaga."

At Sai's gesture, Kuzzey, who had been sitting beside Kira, picked up his tray and moved to the opposite side of the long table, taking the seat beside Miriallia;

Mu sat down right next to Kira, while Murrue and Badgiruel took seats on Kira's side of the table.

"Sorry to interrupt your lunch."

Although there wasn't much left on anyone's tray, Murrue still apologized once she had sat down, out of courtesy.

Seeing everyone shake their heads to show they didn't mind, Mu glanced at the food still left on Kira's tray and smoothed things over.

"We need to explain the situation on our end first anyway, so feel free to listen while you eat."

After everyone nodded in agreement, Murrue gestured for Badgiruel to brief them on the current situation and their plans.

While Badgiruel did her best to explain in a gentle tone, Kira and his friends cleaned their plates. Then Miriallia stood up and collected everyone's empty meal trays;

After Miriallia took the trays to the return counter, picked up eight drinks, handed them around, and sat back down, Badgiruel had just about finished giving them a brief overview of the situation.

Murrue took a sip of the drink Miriallia had brought and gave her a small nod before speaking gently.

"The situation is just as Natarle explained. To complete the rest of this ship's journey, we urgently need your help.

If you don't mind, would you continue to assist us and help us make it to the end of this leg of the journey?

On behalf of everyone aboard the Archangel, I'm asking you."

Faced with Murrue's extremely humble request, the others, who had been students until very recently, felt some reluctance but didn't have the heart to refuse outright.

After thinking it over, Sai, who had the most experience with the ways of the world, "swallowed his pride" and raised a key question on everyone's behalf.

"Given how bad things have gotten, and that Celestial Being has given us a fairly reasonable explanation, why not consider surrendering to them and turning yourselves in?

Unless you can give us a reasonable answer to that, it'll be hard for us to keep helping you.

After all, when we fled Heliopolis, we could say that we didn't understand the situation and had to act quickly;

But now the situation is pretty clear. We can understand why you, as soldiers, want to complete your mission, but we're just ordinary civilians."

Mu, Murrue, and Badgiruel weren't surprised that Sai had raised the question on everyone's behalf;

The three of them also knew very well that the reason Murrue had used to convince Mu earlier wouldn't work on Kira and his friends;

After a moment's hesitation, Murrue gestured to Mu, indicating that he should try his plan to persuade them;

So Mu kept up his friendly pose, with an arm around Kira's shoulders, and tried to talk everyone around.

"You've probably guessed by now that, whether or not Celestial Being really can see the future, the Archangel's current predicament is quite clearly the result of their deliberate actions.

If you think Celestial Being can be trusted, why not trust their judgment on this as well?

Besides, judging from what happened at Heliopolis, Orb is clearly trying to gain more power too;

I'm not bragging, but this ship is the Earth Alliance's newest battleship. Serving aboard it would make for some pretty good practical experience when you return to Orb, wouldn't it?

You're all students in related fields, aren't you?"