The Archangel Steps Forward

Even for Badgiruel, who was the least receptive to the idea of "Celestial Being," she had to admit that Mu's argument held a certain degree of logic.

However, just as everyone was about to expand on this topic, an Archangel crew member in charge of the mess hall called out to them.

"Captain! The bridge is asking when you can return! Also, Major La Flaga, Chief Petty Officer Murdoch in the Hangar requests your presence, and Mr. Kira Yamato as well!"

"Thank you for the message. Please tell the bridge we are on our way back."

"Same here. Tell Murdoch I'll bring the boy over right away."

As Murrue and Mu responded one after another, the conversation, which had been growing more harmonious, could only come to an end.

"Then, Natarle and I will return to the bridge first. If you all are willing, please come to the bridge to take over shifts after you've rested, so that the current crew members have a chance to eat."

To Captain Murrue's gentle yet persuasive words, the friends—who had also just finished their meal—naturally nodded in agreement, led by Sai.

Immediately after, Mu patted Kira on the shoulder and stood up.

"Well then, kid, let's pick up the pace. After all, you and I are the only ones who can protect this ship right now. If it were 'Celestial Being' coming, that would be one thing, but if it's the Creuset Team or some unknown ZAFT soldiers, we can only consider surrender if we have the strength to ensure the crew's safety first."

With Mu being so blunt, Kira felt it was indeed the truth; furthermore, now that he clearly understood some of his perceptions stemmed from his "Newtype" abilities, Kira—who could sense that Mu, Murrue, and Badgiruel held no malice—was more willing to provide appropriate assistance.

As the two groups departed one after another, the table that had been full just moments ago was left with only Kira's friends sitting on one side.

Taking advantage of the fact that everyone else had left, Miriallia finally had the chance to show concern for Sai. After all, even though the situation had changed drastically, Sai had still fulfilled his duties as the leader of their small group; yet, in truth, Sai had suffered quite a blow, especially regarding the subtle and new information about Flay.

"Sai, are you okay regarding Flay?"

"Thank you for your concern, Miriallia, I'm fine. After all, Flay's father is the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Atlantic Federation; I'm sure 'Celestial Being' will treat them with courtesy."

Although he knew this wasn't what Miriallia wanted to ask, Sai decided to respond this way regardless. On this issue, it wasn't that Sai lacked feelings for Flay; in fact, he had been quite satisfied with this "political marriage." Judging by Flay's behavior—at least while they were on Heliopolis—she hadn't been opposed to it either, and the two could be called a perfect match. It was just that the situation had changed violently, to the point where Heliopolis no longer existed. During the nights over the past few days, Sai, left to his own thoughts, had pondered much; while he still hoped to continue forward with Flay, he no longer felt certain they could make it to the end.

After silently repeating Flay's name in his heart, Sai forced a smile, looked up, and braced himself to take charge. "Alright, let's get moving too. Chief Petty Officer Neumann and the others must be waiting impatiently."

Miriallia wanted to say something more, but Tolle tugged at her and shook his head slightly; Kuzzey, on the other hand, seemed full of energy now that he was fed.

"Great, let's go! We can't let all the responsibility fall on Kira alone!"

With that, the group nodded and headed toward the bridge.

Moving through the interior of the Archangel, which they were gradually becoming familiar with, it didn't take long to reach the bridge.

"Report! We're here to take over the shift."

"You've come at just the right time. Please take your stations."

As Captain, Murrue responded to them warmly. After seeing everyone skillfully take their positions while greeting the familiar crew members, the Archangel finally had enough personnel to perform some major maneuvers.

"Communications officer, transmit to the 8th Fleet at maximum power. 'The Archangel has safely departed Artemis Fortress and will proceed via inertial silent navigation to the debris belt on the L5 side!' After transmitting three times, the ship will enter electromagnetic silence! Chief Petty Officer Neumann, set course for the L5 debris belt. Once we turn, switch to inertial navigation. For the second half of the journey, we will adjust our course again once we reach the cover of the debris belt. All departments, monitor the ship's data, especially the impact from this morning's battle! I know everyone is exhausted, but once the turn is complete, you can rotate shifts and rest."

"Yes!"

--In the Hangar--

As he felt the drift caused by the Archangel's turn, Kira was helping Chief Petty Officer Murdoch study how to use the wreckage of the Funnels left behind by Haman to repair and modify Mu's Moebius Type Zero.

"Oh, looks like they've got things sorted on the bridge. How about it, kid? Can you handle this?"

"Major La Flaga, you can just call me Kira; that's what my friends call me."

"While I wouldn't say it's completely unusable, it's basically impossible to fully analyze it in a short amount of time."

"After all, while the underlying technology is indeed no different, the principles used to achieve control are completely distinct."

"Furthermore, we don't just have salvaged wreckage here, we only have the receiving-end equipment, so the reverse engineering we can perform is limited."

Although he had been mentally prepared, Mu scratched his head in disappointment upon hearing Kira's response.

"If even you say so, then it really must be impossible. And you should just call me Mu as well."

"After all, we are comrades-in-arms fighting side by side now, and since we're the only two pilots on this ship, there's no need to be so concerned with rank."

Kira gave a simple nod to Mu's words and continued tapping away at the keyboard, while Sergeant Murdoch, standing beside them, scratched his head to express his helplessness regarding the current situation.

"This is a real mess, though. The Aile Pack for the Strike Gundam is a total write-off, and with the spare parts we have on hand, it's impossible to repair."

"Major La Flaga's Type Zero is even worse. Although Artemis Fortress supplied some Moebius parts, what are we supposed to do about the parts unique to the Type Zero?"

Faced with the situation described by Murdoch, Mu felt quite helpless as well; after all, both the Strike Gundam and the Moebius Type Zero were custom units, and maintenance issues were certainly not something the Archangel could resolve on its own while constantly on the run.

"If there's really no other choice, let's try to downgrade it toward a standard Moebius configuration. We can't rely solely on Kira to sortie and handle everything."

Just as Sergeant Murdoch was about to agree, Kira responded while still typing at his keyboard.

"It shouldn't come to that yet. Although it might further increase the difficulty of operation, perhaps we can still find a way by combining these wrecks and parts. Please, give me a little more time."

At Kira's words, Mu and Murdoch were naturally overjoyed, and the three of them remained busy until Kira's friends arrived with dinner, by which point they had finally mapped out a feasible, heavily modified plan for the Moebius Type Zero.

When Kira lay alone in his bed that night after a busy day, his body was exhausted, yet he could not fall asleep for a long time.

Father, Mother, Cagalli, and Athrun... what is everyone doing right now?