Bullying My Logistics Department?

"Is this Mobile Suit going out for combat?"

"Do me a favor, it doesn't need to be complicated, just make it functional."

"Are you kidding me? No way, absolutely not. We don't have any parts compatible with this Mobile Suit here. You're asking for the impossible."

"Modify it, just modify it a bit. I trust your skills; I'm sure modifications won't be a problem for you."

"You make it sound so easy. This thing is basically half-wrecked, and we don't have the corresponding airframe parts. What do you want me to do? DIY it by hand?"

"That works, DIY sounds great."

"DIY your head! This is space, not land. If this thing goes out, it won't be able to maneuver freely. What if there's an accident and it can't come back?"

"It's fine. I remember the deck in front of the Archangel Bridge was designed to allow Mobile Suits to act as stationary turrets for long-range support."

"No, if you want to die, why not just jump out yourself? Why torture us in logistics?"

"It's not like we have a choice, and you've already started repairs. I believe in you."

"I appreciate your trust, but sorry, no."

"······"

When Kira arrived at the Archangel hangar, he heard the Earth Alliance officer named Mu La Flaga arguing with the head of hangar logistics from afar.

It sounded like it was about that ZAFT Mobile Suit.

"Yo, kid, you're here."

Mu spotted Kira drifting over from a distance and couldn't help but greet him with a smile.

"Lieutenant Flaga, Sergeant Kojiro Murdoch, are you planning to fix that Mobile Suit?"

Kira drifted to their side and looked at the Mobile Suit resting on the maintenance platform nearby.

"Yeah, we're the only two in this warship who can go out and fight right now. Our combat power is still too weak."

Mu La Flaga knew the strength of the Le Creuset Team all too well.

Compared to the Le Creuset Team, the current combat power of the Archangel was far too pathetic.

Moreover, the Archangel's crew lacked combat experience. Under these circumstances, he had to do everything in his power to bolster the Archangel's fighting strength.

Kira's eyes narrowed slightly at these words.

"But this isn't the way to increase our strength. This Mobile Suit is too severely damaged. We don't have the corresponding airframe parts, so it's impossible to fully repair it in such a short time."

Kojiro Murdoch, who was in charge of Mobile Suit repairs and maintenance, spoke up.

Yes, he could indeed make this Mobile Suit move, and he was currently working on it.

But the problem was that the machine was missing half a shoulder; it would easily run into trouble once it went out.

As the head of logistics and maintenance for the department developing new Mobile Suits, Kojiro Murdoch understood the design philosophy of the Ginn perfectly.

But precisely because he understood it, he knew just how severe the damage to this Mobile Suit was.

The giant plume-like sensor array on the head of the machine was totaled, which meant the unit could not communicate remotely.

Beyond that.

The Ginn had three engines in total: one main thruster located in the center of the back, and two wing-shaped thrusters located on the shoulders.

Because the left shoulder had been sheared off, the wing-shaped thruster on the left was completely destroyed and could not be repaired in the short term without the corresponding parts.

Although the main thruster in the center of the back remained, the damage to the internal circuitry meant that even if repaired, it could not provide the original high-efficiency power support.

This meant the machine could not achieve sufficient agility when flying in space, making it essentially a sitting duck in combat.

Furthermore, because the machine had suffered from electrical fires, he couldn't guarantee the safety of the cockpit's protection in the short term.

Yet, despite all these flaws, Mu La Flaga still intended to send it out for combat. Wasn't this just sending someone to their death?

Kira looked at the Mobile Suit Kojiro Murdoch was talking about.

It did look quite miserable.

"That's why I said to use this machine as a long-range turret. Don't we have parts for a Long-range Beam Rifle in the hangar? We can just fix this Mobile Suit to the deck and use it for cover and support."

Mu La Flaga also knew this machine had many problems.

But there was no choice; the Archangel had too little usable combat power.

"People will die!"

"When does war not involve death?"

Mu La Flaga shut him down with a single sentence.

"But you can't do it like this. This Mobile Suit has basically no defensive capabilities. If it encounters danger out there, it won't even be able to run."

"Let's just do this. Do your best, and equip this machine with a Long-range Beam Sniper Rifle when the time comes."

Mu La Flaga said, "Besides, we don't have any other options, do we?"

"But······"

"I believe in you, and it's not like we're guaranteed to run into danger, right?"

Mu La Flaga patted Kojiro Murdoch on the shoulder and laughed.

"I... alright, I'll do my best to get it moving, but I can't guarantee to what extent."

Kojiro Murdoch scratched his head and said with a deflated expression.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Captain Mu La Flaga smiled and squeezed the man's shoulder upon hearing this.

"It's nothing. After all, if you pilots aren't afraid, what do I have to fear as a maintenance crewman?"

Kojiro Murdoch waved his hand and said, "Still, you need to be as careful as possible when piloting this MS, because—"

"Wait, I'm not piloting this MS."

"What?"

Kojiro Murdoch's eyes widened, and he asked in disbelief, "You're not piloting this MS?"

"Yeah, I have my Moebius Zero, why would I pilot this Ginn?"

Mu La Flaga countered.

"No, are you fucking kidding me because you think I'm too idle?"

Kojiro Murdoch cursed in anger, "If no one is piloting this MS, what the hell am I supposed to be fixing!?"

He was furious, his fists clenched!

If not for the fact that Flaga was a captain, Kojiro Murdoch would have wanted to punch him.

He had made his men work themselves to the bone just because this guy insisted on piloting this MS, and now he was being told that even if it were fixed, no one would fly it.

Wasn't this treating his Logistics Department like fools?

"Who told you no one is flying it?"

Flaga asked with a smile.

"Is there any other pilot on this entire warship besides you and this kid?"

Kojiro Murdoch retorted.

"There is. Don't worry, as long as you fix it, someone will definitely pilot it," Flaga replied cheerfully.

"There really is?"

Kojiro Murdoch felt his brain struggling to keep up.

He didn't recall there being any other MS pilots on the Archangel.

Could it be one of the refugees who just came aboard?

Subconsciously, Kojiro Murdoch looked at Kira Yamato. There were indeed many Coordinators on the colony; could there be another person like this boy?

But that would be too unethical.

Sending someone else out to risk their life in a machine like this—that was treating human life like grass.

"...I should still be piloting the Strike Gundam, right?"

Kira Yamato felt uneasy under Kojiro Murdoch's gaze and asked with some uncertainty.

Actually, the unspoken part of his sentence was: if that's the case, then I'm not going out there.

He never wanted to fight in the first place, and his combat ability wasn't even that great. If they were going to make him pilot a machine in this condition—he might as well just stay on the warship and wait for death.

"Don't worry, there's another pilot. Sergeant Murdoch, you just focus on the repairs, and someone will naturally come by when the time comes."

After saying this, Mu La Flaga turned and patted Kira on the shoulder, saying, "Go ahead and calibrate your machine. I have something to attend to on the Bridge."

Although he already had an idea, he still needed to communicate with Captain Murrue and the others.

Watching Mu's retreating back.

Kira and Murdoch exchanged a subconscious glance, both seeing the confusion in the other's eyes.

Was there really another pilot on this warship?

"Could it be him?"

Suddenly, Kira thought of the boy who had remained relaxed even when surrounded by gun barrels.

However, he quickly cast that thought aside.

What was he thinking? That guy was a ZAFT soldier. If he let that person pilot the machine, the guy would probably fire a shot at the Archangel first.