Chapter 99: SEED – The Desert's End 1
The Desert Dawn resistance organization also received news that ZAFT's Desert Tiger was gathering his forces, preparing to attack the Archangel and this base.
The members of Desert Dawn immediately began evacuating and relocating the civilians and their own families from the city that had previously been burned down.
All members entered full combat readiness, transferring large amounts of weapons, ammunition, and supplies to safe locations.
Cagalli Yula Athha also met the mother of her young companion who had been sent away. That mother handed Cagalli an unpolished emerald.
She said it was a gem her child had cherished deeply. He had originally wanted to have it polished and crafted so he could give it to Cagalli himself, but now that was no longer possible.
After receiving the gem, Cagalli's companion's mother fell to her knees and wept bitterly.
Cagalli also shed painful tears, filled with regret—regret that her own impulsiveness had cost her young companion's life…
Inside the Archangel's hangar, although the modifications of the high-performance Ginn's aquatic thrusters and the Zero-type Moebius pack had not yet been fully successful, they had already installed the Aegis Gundam's right arm, the assault shield system, and the claw anchor hook. Two mechanical arms had also been added to its back.
These two mechanical arms could mount the assault shield system as well as carry other weapons. Tolle chose to equip them with a heavy machine gun and a large sword.
With Kira Yamato's adjustments to its OS, the high-performance Ginn now had enough power to fight even in the desert.
Once all preparations were complete, the Archangel made ready to head out first, to take the initiative, and to lead the battle away from this land as much as possible.
Members of Desert Dawn, driving vehicles, quickly guided the Archangel toward the old Albatia factory in the northwest.
From there, they planned to break through ZAFT's heavy encirclement in the desert, head for the ocean, and make straight for the Alaska military base.
Inside the Archangel's cafeteria, Kira Yamato sat listlessly, eating his lunch without appetite.
Mu La Flaga, noticing Kira's state, was puzzled—just this morning he had seemed fine, so why was he now so lifeless, eating only a little?
Mu stepped forward with concern and asked:
"What's wrong, Ensign Yamato? Not feeling well? You're eating awfully slowly—come on, eat up."
He then placed a portion of Turkish kebab onto Kira's tray. After taking a bite himself, he continued:
"You're eating way too little. Eat more. Have this too." Then after another bite, he said, "Mmm, as expected, Earth food really is the best."
Kira watched Mu quickly finish a piece of Turkish kebab and asked:
"Commander La Flaga, do you want more?"
"Of course! We're about to head into battle—if you don't eat your fill, where are you going to find the strength to fight?"
Tolle suddenly chimed in with boredom: "But what if you eat too much, and then in the middle of battle you suddenly need to… you know, go number one—or number two?"
A vein bulged on Mu's forehead, and with clenched fist he rapped Tolle on the head.
"Do you have to bring that up while we're eating? Totally ruins the appetite."
Then, sighing, he explained:
"Alright, fine, I haven't explained this to you before.
In a Gundam cockpit, the seat does indeed have a toilet built underneath, so you can relieve yourself.
But… MAs and Ginns don't have that. In those, you'd just have to go in your suit.
Though spacesuits do have a drying function to reduce the discomfort. Now you understand?"
Tolle nodded, finally having an answer to a question that had long puzzled him.
So the Gundam's cockpit toilet was similar to the ones in G Gundam's restoration movement—truly a practical design.
Too bad Ginns didn't have it. He really ought to file a complaint with ZAFT, so they'd add such a very useful feature in future models.
Seeing Tolle lost in thought, Mu helplessly turned back to Kira and continued:
"Here, come on, add some of this delicious yogurt sauce."
The mention of yogurt sauce suddenly reminded Kira of his encounter with the Desert Tiger, Andrew Waltfeld.
Looking down at the Turkish kebab on his tray, Kira said softly:
"The Tiger said something similar too. He also said yogurt sauce tastes great."
Mu put down the kebab in his hand and, with a gentle expression, tried to advise Kira:
"Then he must be someone with taste. But as for the enemy, it's better not to know too much. Forget about it quickly.
When facing an opponent you'll soon be fighting to the death, knowing more will only make it harder to strike."
Kira lowered his head, thinking over his words. It was true—just like how, knowing that Athrun Zala, his good friend, was inside the Aegis Gundam, he could never bring himself to attack.
At that moment, an explosion outside shook the Archangel. Mu said tensely:
"What? An explosion? Has the attack begun?"
The people in the cafeteria immediately scrambled back to their posts. Mu brought Kira and Tolle with him back to the hangar to prepare for battle.
On the Archangel's bridge, Natarle reported: "The explosion was at the resistance's minefield! All the mines we planted have gone off."
In the distance, two ZAFT land battleships under the Desert Tiger's command were charging toward the Archangel, releasing combat helicopters to encircle it.
ZAFT's land-combat MS, the BuCUEs, were also on standby on the ships' decks, ready to launch their attack at any moment.
Inside the hangar changing room, while putting on his flight suit, Mu opened the comms to the maintenance crew and ordered:
"Skygrasper Unit 1, equip with the artillery loadout. Unit 2, equip with the heavy sword loadout."
In the hangar, Murdoch asked in puzzlement: "Why do both Skygraspers need re-equipping?"
Mu shouted back angrily:
"Why? Because swapping out a Skygrasper still takes longer than me just switching into another one myself, that's why!"
He cut the comm connection and muttered to Kira and Tolle:
"Sounds rude, I know, but to be honest, the resistance's combat power is basically useless.
You two need to give it your all. Though lately, Kira, you don't really need anyone worrying about you.
It's Tolle that worries me. You never stick to one machine—you're always switching around."
Tolle pouted unhappily.
"It's not like I want to. At the start I had nothing, so I had to scavenge whatever I could. Of course if I found something better, I switched.
Besides, Ginns have poor defense. If it's damaged, I've got no choice but to swap for another. If I had a Gundam, I wouldn't have to go through all this hassle!"
Mu just shook his head. Just as he was about to leave the changing room, Kira asked nervously:
"Commander La Flaga… do you know what a Berserker is? Do you?"
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