Early morning, Archangel.
Emergency repairs had continued throughout the night; it wasn't until four in the morning that about eighty percent of the Archangel's performance had been restored, enough to support navigation again.
Aside from those on duty, the people who had spent the whole day worried and exhausted were still sound asleep.
"Beep-beep-beep… beep-beep-beep…"
In a dim room, an alarm clock fixed to the headboard rang.
Under the thin blanket, the two people in the bed were entangled together—or rather, one of them was simply hugging the other like a koala. Fortunately, the room's air conditioning was set to a comfortable temperature, so even with their sweat mingling, it didn't feel unbearably hot or sticky.
Perhaps awakened by the alarm, a smooth, fair arm stretched out from under the blanket, skillfully turned off the alarm, and after waiting a moment, separated from the "koala" hold.
Hearing the rustling of fabric by his ear and feeling the familiar breathing move away, Roz opened his eyes, staring expressionlessly at the ceiling.
"How did things end up like this last night…"
His head clearing slightly, Roz held his forehead and muttered.
"Roz? You're awake?"
Murrue's voice came from the bedside. She placed the towel she had been using to wipe sweat aside and casually turned on the room lights.
The once-dim room brightened instantly, making Roz squint out of reflex after having gotten used to the darkness.
He remembered… this was Murrue's room.
Last night, Murrue had said she'd send Roz back to his own quarters, but as they passed by her room, she mentioned making him a cup of coffee and brought him inside. What happened after that… Roz couldn't quite remember.
While Roz was piecing together last night's events, Murrue had already put on her shirt and was sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling on her pantyhose.
"Is everything fine today?"
"I'd say… I was fine since last night."
Roz sighed and, with some effort, shifted from lying down to sitting up. He grabbed his shirt and put it on.
"But you—are you really alright? Maybe rest a bit more."
"It's just a bit of fatigue… compared to training exhaustion, it's nothing."
Once dressed in her uniform, Murrue returned to her image as the strong female captain and stood up from the bed.
For some reason, this scene made Roz feel as if he had been taken advantage of. Even though he'd basically been hit with a straight pitch last night, wasn't he supposed to be the one already fully dressed and standing first?!
"I didn't expect you to be like that last night."
Roz got up from the bed with his pants on. "I thought you'd be the type waiting for me to throw the straight pitch."
"With the war this intense, I'm afraid that if you or I die someday… the feelings in my heart would stay locked away."
Murrue lightly adjusted her hair.
"And we're departing for Orb today. Who knows what we'll encounter."
Thinking back—how the Archangel had fought its way from Orb to the Alaska base, and now would travel from Alaska back to Orb—such dramatic turns made Murrue sigh.
"Don't worry, I'm here. It'll be fine."
Wearing his jacket, Roz walked to Murrue's side, gave her a thumbs-up, and smiled brightly.
"That's true…"
Seeing Roz like this, Murrue smiled, held his face with both hands, and kissed him directly.
Only after a long moment did they reluctantly part.
"Good morning kiss. Time to go, Roz."
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When Roz Links skillfully sat down in the Narrative Gundam's cockpit and began checking the machine's condition—
A sharp, piercing gaze made his movements pause. Following the direction of the stare, he saw Big Haro staring straight at him.
"…Was it good?"
Big Haro lifted its wings, its emerald-green eyes flickering.
"What?"
Roz froze for a moment, clearly not having shifted his mindset yet from adjusting the mobile suit.
"I said—was last night comfortable?"
"Uh… pretty good?"
Right after Roz answered, Big Haro suddenly extended its mechanical arm, holding a paper fan made from a sheet torn out of some unknown notebook, and smack—hit Roz on the head. The crisp sound echoed inside the sealed cockpit.
"How many times have I told you—throw a straight pitch, throw a straight pitch! So why were you the one being pushed back in the end?!"
Big Haro's tone carried a "hating iron for not becoming steel" feeling. "You clearly have Amuro's face—why aren't you taking the initiative like Amuro?!"
Even though the paper fan made loud slapping sounds, since it was only folded from a single sheet of paper, it didn't hurt at all. Roz didn't feel any pain.
Maybe Big Haro was just teasing him now?
"What are you thinking? I only look a bit like him. I'm not Amuro!"
Roz rubbed the spot on his head where Big Haro had hit him with the paper fan.
"Besides, I took the initiative later on!"
"But it's an undeniable fact that she pulled you in!"
Big Haro stopped its movement, as if searching for something. "Damn it—why is your emotional intelligence this low?! I need to prepare a crash course in romance training for you!"
"No way! Don't do something like that!!"
But inside the Narrative Gundam's cockpit, with no communication channel open, Roz's voice didn't reach anyone outside.
At the foot of the Narrative Gundam, Kojiro Murdoch picked up a maintenance manual with a confused expression and scratched his head.
"Isn't this my maintenance manual? Why is it here?"
Flipping through it briefly, he found that only one blank page at the back had been torn out. His handwritten annotations were still intact, and he let out a small sigh of relief.
That page must have been taken by someone to use for something trivial—just a single sheet of paper. Nothing important.
"Let's see… here it is."
Finding the information he was searching for, Murdoch exhaled in relief.
"No incense burner… guess I'll use this for now."
With that, Murdoch lit the cigarette in his hand, producing a small cloud of smoke.
Then he began chanting under his breath—even though he didn't know whether this method would work, he had already done everything he could. All that remained was to entrust things to the "machine spirits" Roz had spoken of.
"Praise the machine spirit, praise the Omnissiah of all machines… Archangel, please carry us safely to Orb…"
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When Murrue arrived at the bridge, Mu was sitting in his chair, looking at the navigation chart.
"Oh, good morning, Captain."
Seeing Murrue enter the bridge, Mu instinctively waved in greeting.
But then, the sharp gaze of Mu, who used to hang out in bars and claimed to have "seen countless women," appeared. He sensed that Captain Murrue today had a completely different aura from before.
"Did you rest well last night, Captain?"
Mu squinted, teasing, "Though it looks like you did, feels like you used some skincare products."
"Last night… I rested quite well."
Murrue recalled the events of last night. Her left hand instinctively went to her waist but quickly dropped again.
"Skincare products? I've never used such a thing."
"Of course, just joking. Maybe it's because you finally had a proper rest. After all, ZAFT hasn't occupied this sea area for now, so it's a temporary safe zone?"
Mu seemed to guess something, chuckled, and moved on from the topic.
"Captain Murrue… she must have done something, huh…"
Miriallia, sitting at her seat, whispered to Sai, "Looks like what happens to my girlfriends when they find a boyfriend…"
"Alright, you two. This is adult business; don't discuss it here privately."
Mu, at some point, had walked over to Miriallia and Sai, putting his arm around their shoulders to stop their discussion.
"Ready to set sail? Is all the work done?"
"Y-yes… everything has been checked."
Sai, startled by Mu, only just recovered enough to respond.
"Good… please give the command, Captain!"
Murrue sat in the captain's seat. Though her face was slightly flushed, her tone was as firm and resolute as ever.
"Everyone, we are no longer part of the Earth Forces. If we return rashly, we'll all be sent to a military tribunal."
Thinking this, Murrue closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. Then, as if confirming her resolve and having made a decision, she opened her eyes.
"From now on, I act as Captain with full authority! Archangel will head to Orb, continuing the fight so that everyone can survive!"
"Raise anchor, Archangel, set sail!"
Arnold, who had piloted the Archangel through various stunt flights on Earth, pushed the throttle lever. The Archangel's thrusters began to emit a blue-white glow.
The Archangel left the island, heading toward Orb.
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At Earth Forces Headquarters, Badgiruel frowned as she followed an officer down the corridor.
"…Archangel… what's going on with it…"
Thinking this, Badgiruel couldn't help but feel worried.
After learning everything about the Alaska battlefield on the evacuating submarine, as well as the Atlantic Federation's operational plans prepared in Alaska, she had maintained this state of concern.
After all, they were comrades who had fought together for so long. Even though she had always appeared tough, cold, and unapproachable in front of them, now separated from her companions, she still cared about their safety.
"We're here, Major Badgiruel."
The guiding officer stopped in front of a floor-to-ceiling glass window.
Outside the window was a huge room, essentially a replica of Archangel's bridge. At that moment, several Earth Forces officers and maintenance personnel were installing various instruments.
However, what drew Badgiruel's attention most were the metal-covered cylinders installed in the equipment.
On the exposed surfaces of the metal cylinders, several brand-new "SmartBrain" logos could be seen.
"This is where you'll be working for the foreseeable future."
The guiding officer spoke, "The Archangel-class battleship has been confirmed for deployment under the Earth Union. Its combat methods differ somewhat from the main Archangel-class we've used before."
"To quickly develop more combat capability, we've created this simulated training room, where you will temporarily serve as the captain during the simulations."
The officer paused, "At the same time, your simulation training will help improve our training materials, allowing us to gain even more combat strength."
"Do your best. Your upcoming task will be heavy."
"…Those installed in the instruments… are those… automated combat systems?"
Badgiruel paused, asking, "For piloting a battleship, I don't think such things are necessary."
"I'm afraid this is the Earth Union's next major project. Even if you don't want to use it, you'll have to adapt."
The officer shrugged, looking somewhat helpless, though their eyes, partially shadowed by the cap, narrowed slightly.
As expected, she wasn't entirely accepting of these systems, and she didn't seem inclined toward Blue Cosmos… she was a variable who could have a certain impact.
"Whether it's the Earth Forces' main mass-produced MS, the new Archangel-class battleship, or existing MAs, they will all be involved."
Though she was calculating something in her mind, the officer showed no sign of any mistake.
"In short, once the next Archangel-class is completed, you will be assigned to the new Archangel-class as captain. That's how the arrangements are described."
"…Understood."
Though reluctant to use these bio-systems, she was still part of the Earth Forces and could only carry out the orders given.
Badgiruel placed her hand on the glass, watching the bio-systems being continuously installed into the simulator below, lost in thought.
.................