Hands Up

"What do you plan to do next?"

Mu asked Captain Murrue, who had finally begun to relax.

Captain Murrue fell silent for a moment before saying, "This ship is still in a state of combat. Can we track the trail of the ZAFT warship?"

"No, there are too many heat sources. Neither the radar nor the thermal sensors are functional."

Jackie, who was in charge of radar detection, replied hurriedly.

Long-range detection for warships in space relies primarily on heat signatures.

However, because of the debris from the space colony, there were heat sources everywhere, making it impossible to distinguish which ones were warships or MS in the short term.

Captain Murrue turned back silently; having never truly commanded a warship before, she felt flustered and at a loss.

"Actually, this is good news."

Seeing Captain Murrue's unease, Mu couldn't help but smile. "At the very least, it's the same for ZAFT. As long as we don't move, they won't be able to track our whereabouts for the time being."

"But..."

"Do you think there will be pursuers?"

Mu continued to ask.

"Yes, we must take that possibility into account."

Captain Murrue nodded. What she worried about most was pursuers; after all, the ship currently had almost no available combat strength.

Although the Archangel was a high-speed warship, the enemy's Nazca-class was also a high-speed vessel.

Once they were locked onto, there was basically no chance of escape.

Of course, if it were just them, it might be one thing, but there were still ordinary civilians on board the ship...

"What did you say?"

Just as Murrue was deep in thought, the voice of Ensign Natarle Badgiruel, who was in charge of communications below, suddenly rose an octave.

"Hmm?"

"What happened?"

Mu and Captain Murrue both looked over at the same time.

"The Strike Gundam has returned."

Ensign Badgiruel explained to the two of them, "But he brought back a lifeboat and the wreckage of a ZAFT MS. It seems there is a pilot inside."

"Huh?"

"A ZAFT pilot?"

Captain Murrue and Mu exchanged glances upon hearing this.

Meanwhile.

Inside the hangar.

"They were drifting because their thrusters were broken."

Kira had arrived safely at the Archangel, but he was currently deadlocked at the open starboard hatch, refusing to enter.

The Strike Gundam was holding a life pod in its hands, with the wreckage of an MS trailing behind it.

The scene was as bizarre as it could possibly be.

Kira was still saying indignantly, "Are you telling me to just leave them behind? Those inside are refugees from Heliopolis."

"Setting aside the life pod, what is the situation with the machine you're dragging behind you?"

Captain Murrue asked Kira through the screen.

"His machine was severely damaged, so I just..."

"So you just picked him up? Have you considered that no matter how badly damaged his machine is, he is a member of ZAFT? ZAFT will naturally send people to conduct search and rescue operations."

Murrue felt her head spinning, and she was somewhat speechless.

She truly couldn't understand Kira's train of thought. You could say picking up a life pod was an act of kindness, but what do you call it when you pick up an enemy?

A prisoner?

But where on the Archangel was there room for prisoners?

"But... but he himself wanted me to bring him over."

"This isn't a question of whether or not to save a life... wait, what did you say?"

Murrue suddenly realized Kira's phrasing was off and quickly said, "You said he wanted you to bring him over? So he is still conscious?"

"Uh, yes."

The still-naive Kira nodded, but as if he had just remembered something, he quickly added, "However, he has already turned off his distress signal and did not expose our coordinates."

"Jackie!"

Upon hearing this, Murrue immediately looked toward Jackie, who was in charge of radar signal detection.

"Yes, there are indeed no signal frequencies or responses being transmitted," Jackie replied hurriedly upon hearing this.

Murrue couldn't help but knit her brows at the news. What kind of situation was this?

A soldier belonging to ZAFT had actually volunteered to be captured by the enemy.

While it was possible that the individual was simply worried about dying if rescue didn't arrive in time, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

"Actually, it's not a major issue. Taking prisoners isn't out of the question, and we don't have much time to waste here anyway."

Mu looked at the half-wrecked MS on the screen and reached a decision.

Although the damage to the unit made it hard to see clearly, the paint job and color scheme...

If it really was that guy, then letting him become a prisoner might not be a bad thing.

"Fine, let's take him in. Have the hangar crew stand by; we're heading over immediately."

Murrue sighed after a moment of contemplation.

Since the person had already been brought here, she couldn't just throw him back out.

Even though there was a war between Coordinators and Naturals, and she was an officer of the Earth Alliance.

She truly couldn't bring herself to leave a defenseless person here to die.

"Do you need me to come with you?"

Floating on the bridge, Mu asked, "I don't have anything else to do here anyway."

"Yes, that would be a help."

Murrue didn't refuse; in fact, having someone there to offer advice was better.

After all, this was her first time encountering a prisoner, let alone such a strange one.

The docking area for the Strike Gundam and the escape pods was a dual-purpose deck with a long, narrow catapult track.

As soon as the Strike Gundam entered the rear hangar, the massive airtight bulkhead doors slammed shut.

The MS maintenance bay was tucked inside, with a damaged MA on the other side.

After dragging the Ginn unit in, Kira opened the hatch of the Strike Gundam and floated out.

"Hey, hey, what's going on? It's just a kid. That's the brat who was piloting that thing?"

A soldier who knew some of the inside story but hadn't been certain couldn't help but voice what everyone else was thinking.

Hearing the conversation, Kira instinctively looked over, but he didn't pay it much mind for long.

Up ahead.

His friends, who had rushed over upon hearing that the Strike Gundam had docked, swarmed toward Kira as he climbed down from the cockpit.

"Thank goodness, Kira!"

"Are you okay?"

Being hugged tightly by Tolle and having his hair ruffled by Sai, Kira was caught off guard by this sudden warmth.

But feeling the comfort passed on by his companions, Kira relaxed and laughed heartily.

Just then, a voice came from the other end of the hangar.

"--Sai!"

With long red hair flying, a young girl emerged from the group of refugees who had come from the escape pods.

Her hair was like flowing, burning red silk, and her skin was as smooth and delicate as milk.

Her refined features exuded an air of nobility, and her every gesture was elegant; Flay Allster was a girl as magnificent and brilliant as a blooming rose.

Perhaps due to the battle, she seemed a bit flustered, but upon seeing a familiar face, she threw herself into the arms of the one called Sai.

"What on earth happened? What about Heliopolis? I got separated from Dicsika and the others... I was so scared!"

Sai was surprised to be held like that, but he immediately hugged Flay's shoulders happily.

Kira's eyes widened as he saw the two of them being intimate, and a shadow of bitterness crossed his face.

But at least everyone was safe and sound, a result that eased the bitterness in his heart significantly.

"Stand by!"

"Raise your hands!"

Just as the group was cheering for their survival, a harsh sound from nearby suddenly drew their attention.

They saw that, at some point, a youth in a red pilot suit had been surrounded by Earth Alliance soldiers who had been standing guard.

The youth had a clean, fair face with sharp, cold features.

His deep, dark eyes showed no sign of panic, even while deep in enemy territory. Whether it was just his imagination or not, Kira thought he saw a hint of relief, like someone finding release, on the youth's face.