Chapter 365: 365 Gundam Seed 6
We watched as people were rescued from the destroyed Mobile Armors and Mobile Suits. Since these people might commit reckless acts as soon as we left, we had to keep watching, even if it was a nuisance, until they returned to their respective formations.
While we were doing that, I saw the Aegis Gundam (piloted by Athrun) and the Blitz Gundam (piloted by Nicol) returning. Judging by the fact that only those two machines returned, it seemed that, like in the original, Dearka and Yzak had chased the Strike Gundam and ended up caught in Earth’s gravity, falling to the planet. Athrun and Nicol spotted us, assessed the situation, and returned to their mother ship without any action.
Once things settled down, the ZAFT ships began to leave, while the Earth Alliance ships remained. Judging by the situation, I could understand it to some extent. The ZAFT side still had their Gundams intact, so if ZAFT launched another surprise attack after Celestial Being left, the Earth Forces wouldn’t be able to stop them. It seemed they were waiting under our protection until ZAFT had completely withdrawn from the battlefield.
’In the original, he came across as just a friendly neighbor, but this Duane Halberton has better situational awareness than I thought.’
Duane Halberton seemed to be a capable moderate. Perhaps that’s why Rau Le Creuset was so angry that he failed to catch him.
As expected, once the ZAFT ships had completely departed, the Earth Forces, judging that the likelihood of another surprise attack was low, also began to leave. We too returned to the base on the Odyssey.
Several days after returning to the base, the battleship was nearing completion. So I decided to leave 2B and A2 at the base and go down to Earth to secure the ’N-Jammer’ and a few other technologies.
"Then, I leave the base to you. Contact me if anything happens."
"Understood, Jin."
I boarded the Double O Quanta Full Saber Gundam and descended to Earth. Having come down to Earth, I naturally wanted to meet the Archangel as well. So I was waiting between the desert and the Red Sea. Knowing their route from space reconnaissance and from the original, finding them was a piece of cake.
Currently, the Archangel was on its way back after defeating Andrew Waltfeld, ZAFT’s ace known as the ’Desert Tiger.’ Of course, they had also picked up Cagalli Yula Athha, who had been active as an anti-ZAFT resistance fighter.
’There they come.’
I piloted the Double O Quanta Full Saber Gundam, stuck my thumb up with one hand, waved the other, and sent a hitchhiking signal. The Archangel seemed very flustered, slowing down briefly before immediately sending me a transmission.
—"What kind of bizarre nonsense is this?"
"You don’t know what hitchhiking is? Captain, I didn’t expect you to be so ignorant... You’ve never traveled either?"
—"That’s not what I’m asking about!!!"
—"Captain."
—"R-right..."
Captain Murrue Ramias got angry at my words again.
"I have some business near the sea. When I came down to Earth, I spotted the Archangel nearby. I thought I’d see some old friends."
—"You do realize the situation we’re in, right!?"
"Cute Captain, don’t be so harsh. I’ve helped you escape dangerous situations many times, you know."
—"I admit that, but you’re an enemy of the Earth Alliance!"
—"Captain, this might be an opportunity for us."
—"Huh? What opportunity?"
—"If the Shinigami of the battlefield travels with us, ZAFT forces won’t be able to act recklessly. We can use that to safely escape ZAFT territory. We don’t have much breathing room, do we?"
—"Hmm... That’s a fair point."
The person who made that suggestion was none other than Executive Officer Natarle Badgiruel. She was born into a military family that had produced professional soldiers for seven generations, and she was a woman who assessed situations and gave commands with great cool-headedness.
Seeing an opportunity, I piloted the Gundam up onto the Archangel’s deck, found a spot, and sat down. Then I tapped the Archangel’s hull with my finger and said,
"Alright, alright, let’s get going."
—"You really!!!"
—"Captain..."
—"Ha... I suppose we have no choice."
The Archangel began moving again. Then the ship’s crew came out onto the deck to get a look at the Double O Quanta Full Saber Gundam.
"That’s cool. So this is the Shinigami of the battlefield."
"Without any supply ships nearby, what’s its energy source? A machine this good must use a lot of power."
"You’re right. If I get the chance, I’d love to take a look under the hood."
As expected, the mechanics seemed very interested. And there was also a female officer with short hair and sharp eyes who came outside and was taking pictures enthusiastically. She was probably Natarle Badgiruel. She seemed to be trying to gather as much data as possible on the Double O Quanta Full Saber Gundam while she had the chance. A soldier to the bone.
But all her efforts were in vain. The important equipment was all inside, and since vibranium absorbed all wavelengths, there was no way to tell what was inside.
After taking photos diligently, she went back inside the ship. Only then did Captain Murrue Ramias, Mobile Armor pilot Mwu La Flaga, Kira and his friends, and Cagalli come out. It seemed permission had been granted.
So I also climbed down from the cockpit using the cable. I gave them a warning first.
"Let me be clear up front: it’s best not to try anything funny. If something happens to me, this Gundam will self-destruct immediately. The Archangel won’t be safe either."
Of course, that was a lie. There was no way my machine had such a function. It was a bluff to make sure they didn’t try anything.
—"So you didn’t come out unarmed after all."
But they had no way of knowing that, and since I climbed down confidently, they seemed to believe me. I took off my pilot suit helmet and stared intently at Captain Murrue Ramias. She had slightly wavy brown hair that grew to her shoulders, a gentle-looking face, and was a beauty with a very good figure.
"Oh~ you really are a beauty, Captain Murrue Ramias. Well, as most of you probably know, I’m Jin of Celestial Being."
"I’m Captain Murrue Ramias. You know the others. This is Mobile Armor pilot Lieutenant Mwu La Flaga. We owe you our lives several times over. Thank you for your help."
Captain Ramias bowed her head in gratitude. This didn’t feel like a formal military greeting but rather genuine thanks.
"Well, I wonder how long that will last. So far, the Archangel has been on the defensive, so I haven’t attacked, but if you take on a military mission and become aggressive, we might end up fighting."
"I suppose so."
Captain Ramias, being a soldier herself, understood immediately.
Just then, Mwu La Flaga suddenly put his arm around Captain Ramias’s shoulder and said,
"Nice to meet you, Shinigami of the battlefield. I’m grateful to you too, in my own way. But I’d appreciate it if you’d refrain from flirting with the Captain. I’ve got my eye on her."
At those words, the people around them looked utterly shocked. Captain Ramias was no exception—she was so flustered her face turned bright red.
"Ehhhh—!!!"
"Wh-wh-wh-what are you talking about!!!"
Unlike Captain Ramias’s reaction, Kira’s friends were in an uproar.
"Wow~ that’s bold! Confessing like that in a place like this."
"I’ve been feeling it for a while now, the subtle current between those two."
"Really? I had no idea..."
"Confessing like this is kind of romantic in its own way..."
"Whoa~! To one-up Jin like that is amazing! The Jin they called the ’Lady Killer’ at school, no less."
Listening to them, I became a bit curious about what kind of school life I had actually led.
’Lady Killer...’
Flaga, perhaps embarrassed by the heated reaction, cleared his throat and said to me,
"Ahem... anyway, I said stop flirting!"
"Don’t worry, I wasn’t really trying to pick up the Captain. It’s just so much fun teasing her. I haven’t met someone with such entertaining reactions in a long time."
"Really? That’s a relief. Well, the Captain is a bit naive in that regard."
At those words, Captain Ramias got angry again.
"Ex-excuse me?!"
"Hahaha... it’s a compliment, a compliment."
"Lieutenant Flaga, I’d like a word with you."
"Yes, ma’am..."
Captain Ramias dragged Flaga into the ship. The Archangel was certainly an entertaining place.
Now Kira’s friends began bombarding me with questions.
"Jin, long time no see. You’ve been well?"
"Jin, how did you end up joining Celestial Being?"
"Jin, could you take me for a ride sometime?"
"Jin, ..."
"Whoa, whoa, calm down. One at a time."
I answered their questions vaguely. That Celestial Being had been in preparation for a long time, and I had been chosen as a pilot a while ago, so I had been hiding it while attending school.
"So, there are more people like that?"
"That’s right. But so far, only three units. As you can tell from seeing them fight, these machines aren’t easy to build."
In reality, the opposite was true: I had machines but no pilots. But I couldn’t tell them that.
"I see..."
"I wish the war would end soon."
"I’d like that too, but I don’t know if it’s possible."
"You’re right."
Having ended up on the Archangel and becoming soldiers out of nowhere, they still weren’t used to combat and seemed confused. But the situation gave them no choice; to survive in the midst of war, they had no option but to help the Archangel.
"Oh, right. Wait a moment. I have something for you."
I went back up to the cockpit for a moment, took out some drinks and snacks from my inventory, and handed them over. They were thrilled.
"Wow~ snacks! There’s a shortage of stuff like that on the Archangel, so this is great. But you carry things like this in your Mobile Suit?"
"Yeah, I go on long-range missions a lot."
"I see."
Just then, Kira, who had been quietly listening, spoke.
"You’re strong, Jin. I’ve been having a really hard time because I’ve killed people."
It seemed Kira was having a lot of difficulty because he had unintentionally killed people.
"If you’re human, that’s normal. I had a hard time at first too."
"You did too."
That was a lie. Since gaining the [Strong Spirit] ability, that had never happened to me. But he’s the protagonist, so I just gave him some encouraging words.
"That’s why I want to end the war quickly too."
"Do you really think Celestial Being can end this war?"
"I don’t know, but at least I have to try. And I think many people are alive today because Celestial Being intervened on the battlefield."
"That’s true. We received help too."
Just then, Frey spoke.
"What good is that? My father isn’t in this world anymore."
"Frey..."
"And Jin, instead of staying in that weird group called Celes-something, you should join the Earth Forces and help defeat ZAFT! You’re a Natural too!"
Frey said this to me, crying. Kira comforted her, and I just listened. Because there was a more serious issue. Frey was pregnant. It was still very early, so she wouldn’t have any symptoms yet, but after five or six weeks, symptoms would appear. She was still young and inexperienced, so it seemed she had done it without contraception.
’Was it like this in the original? No, Frey must have noticed the changes in her body... So she knew and just didn’t say anything? Or maybe she just planned to get an abortion...’
Certainly, in the Gundam SEED world, with religion’s influence weakened, abortion was very permissible. And with advanced technology, even if pregnancy symptoms appeared, it was an era where medication could sufficiently handle it.
’Should I tell him... or not...’
While I was agonizing over this, Frey’s ex-fiancé, Sai Argyle, tapped my shoulder and said,
"Frey lost her father recently. Please understand, Jin."
"R-right."
Sai, seeing me deep in thought, seemed to think I was just taken aback by Frey’s outburst.
’Sai, you poor bastard...’
I looked at poor Sai and decided not to say anything.
"Huh? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Ah... it’s nothing. More importantly, who’s the new person?"
"Ah, that’s Cagalli. She was doing resistance work in the desert. She’s been guiding us."
"I see. Nice to meet you."
Cagalli, who had been examining the Double O Quanta Full Saber Gundam with great interest because she was fascinated by Mobile Suits, finally looked up and greeted me when I spoke. She had long blonde hair, but it wasn’t well-maintained and looked rather rough. But that ruggedness seemed to suit her easy-going personality.
"Yeah, nice to meet you too, Cagalli. You’re lucky, having the power to protect what’s around you. If I had had this kind of power back then..."
Having done resistance work and witnessed the deaths of many comrades, Cagalli seemed to say such things.
Just then, Captain Ramias and Flaga returned and asked me,
"So, what are you going to do now?"
"What else? I’ll rest with you until we’re halfway through the Red Sea, then leave. I have something to look for."
"I suppose what you’re looking for is confidential?"
"You know it."
"Alright. Then we’ll stay for a day. Should we arrange a room for you?"
I shook my head at Captain Ramias’s offer and refused.
"Sorry, but that’s too much. Like you said, this is enemy territory."
"I suppose... Alright. But if you need anything, let me know. Since we’ve received help, we can’t just ignore you."
Captain Ramias was certainly a warm-hearted person.
"I have enough supplies, so don’t worry about it."
With that, everyone returned to the ship. I went back to the Gundam and rested.
Nothing much happened during that day. ZAFT, knowing I was on the Archangel, seemed reluctant to make a move. Occasionally, Kira’s friends would come by and give me fruit, but that was all.
"Captain, I’ve reached my destination. See you next time. Send my regards to the others."
"Alright, I will."
"And you’re heading to the Alaska base, right? You’re going to have a hard time when you get there. That place is full of hardliners, and Blue Cosmos runs rampant there. You’d better brace yourself."
"Where did you get that information... Anyway, understood."
As payment for letting me rest for a day, I gave them some simple information and then launched from the Archangel, beginning to leave. There was a reason I parted ways with the Archangel at sea. Near here was an ’N-Jammer’ installed by ZAFT. I could have taken an N-Jammer embedded on land, but in this era, there were many surveillance satellites and other eyes watching, so I targeted an N-Jammer in the ocean. So, after putting enough distance between myself and the Archangel, I went into the sea.
’These guys really buried it deep.’
I went to where the waves were emanating, assessed the location briefly, and used my [Telekinesis] ability to pull up the N-Jammer. It didn’t matter if it got a little damaged. I had the [Restoration] ability.
Grrrrr—!
Thanks to my powerful [Telekinesis] ability, I was able to pull up the N-Jammer without much difficulty. I immediately analyzed it using Nano and my [Naked Eye] ability, then buried the N-Jammer back in its original location. That way, no one would get suspicious.
After that, I headed toward the neutral nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, ’Orb,’ to acquire the next technology.
