"How far have you gotten with it?"
Hearing this, Andrew glanced at Felix and inquired.
Observing the scenery, Felix smiled faintly.
"Still on the journey."
"It seems I need to travel a bit further with you then."
Andrew chuckled in response.
Felix turned to look at Andrew, teasing him with a grin.
"You better take care of yourself. I don't want to have to send you off halfway through."
As he spoke, Felix leaned close to Andrew's ear and whispered a reminder.
"If that escaping warship falls into your assigned combat zone, don't risk your life to intercept it. Just put on a show for appearances."
"Why?"
Andrew's face showed confusion as he asked.
Felix smiled slightly and continued whispering in Andrew's ear.
"You'll understand when the time comes. Just remember to stay alive—don't get off the ride early."
"We'll see when it happens."
Seeing how mysterious Felix was being, Andrew didn't directly agree. Noticing this, Felix didn't press further. He knew time would make Andrew understand, especially after seeing Kira's face.
"When are you planning to return to space?"
Andrew changed the subject, asking as if chatting with a friend.
"In a day or two," Felix replied.
"This separation might mean it'll be a long time before we meet again." Gazing at the scenery outside, Andrew sighed.
"Indeed!"
Nodding slightly with a faint smile, Felix responded.
After speaking, he continued standing there, admiring the view outside.
As they both watched the scenery, Andrew shared amusing anecdotes from his side.
Listening to Andrew's stories, Felix occasionally broke into smiles.
While the two were enjoying such leisure, the crew of the Archangel, who had escaped from Heliopolis, were far from as relaxed as Felix and Andrew.
On the bridge of the Archangel, Mu leaned against the railing, turned to Murrue and Badgiruel, and remarked with relief, "Luckily, it wasn't one of ZAFT's elite units that infiltrated Heliopolis. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been so fortunate to escape."
Murrue and Badgiruel nodded in agreement.
After nodding, Murrue recalled events from Heliopolis. Seeing her lost in thought, Mu couldn't resist asking curiously, "What are you reminiscing about?"
"Nothing much, just thinking about some past events."
Snapping out of it, Murrue replied to Mu.
Hearing her answer, Mu smiled and asked, "Thinking about what happened at Heliopolis?"
"Yes." Murrue nodded slightly, gazing out the viewport as she reminisced. "If Kira hadn't been in the cockpit back then, with my piloting skills and abilities, I wouldn't have been able to handle ZAFT's MS at all. The Strike might have been stolen by them."
After saying this, Murrue saw the Strike Gundam returning while carrying an escape pod. Staring at the pod, she fell silent and opened a communication channel to the Strike Gundam.
"Kira, what's going on?"
"Captain Murrue, this is an escape pod I discovered near Junius Ten."
Kira's gentle reply came through the comms.
Before Murrue could speak, Badgiruel was the first to respond.
"Kira Yamato, this is a military warship, not a rescue vessel. Moreover, we're currently in a dangerous situation. Keeping civilians aboard poses risks to them as well. Leave the escape pod here and let specialized rescue ships handle it."
"What if they don't survive until rescue arrives?"
Facing Badgiruel's demand, Kira responded firmly, showing no intention of abandoning the escape pod.
Seeing this, Badgiruel's expression turned stern. Just as she was about to speak, Murrue interjected.
"Bring it inside!"
With that, Murrue cut off the communication.
Hearing this, Badgiruel looked sternly at Murrue and was about to protest when Mu spoke up in a teasing tone to mediate.
"Don't be so rigid and by-the-book! If you anger the kid and he refuses to pilot the Strike Gundam, we're done for. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
"I will report this incident truthfully in my log."
Still stern, Badgiruel made this declaration to Mu before turning to leave. Watching her go, Mu comforted Murrue.
"Murrue, don't be upset with Badgiruel. That's just how she is."
"I know, and I wouldn't get angry over something like this." Murrue smiled slightly at Mu.
Relieved, Mu patted Murrue's shoulder.
"Shall we go see who the kid picked up in that escape pod this time?"
"Alright."
Crowds gathered in the Archangel's hangar as the escape pod unlocked and its hatch opened.
A beautiful figure appeared before everyone.
Mu instantly recognized who it was. Standing beside Murrue, he glanced at her and remarked.
"He's brought back someone quite extraordinary!"
Lacus, floating out of the escape pod, looked around at everyone before her gaze settled on Kira. Observing his features, she thought to herself:
"He looks quite like Felix."
Snapping out of her thoughts, Lacus smiled at the others.
"This doesn't appear to be ZAFT."
"Sorry to disappoint you, miss. We're with the Earth Alliance Forces," Mu said to Lacus with an amused chuckle.
After Mu spoke, Badgiruel ordered:
"Take this girl into temporary custody!"
Hearing this, Kira turned toward Badgiruel, about to say something. But Mu approached Kira, patted his shoulder, and whispered:
"After all, this is an Earth Alliance Forces vessel. It wouldn't be appropriate to let a PLANT resident roam freely."
Hearing Mu's words, Kira swallowed the questions he meant to ask.
Lacus smiled gently at the two soldiers assigned to escort her.
"Thank you for your trouble."
Her words left the soldiers momentarily stunned, unsure how to respond.
Watching Lacus, a soldier spoke.
"Please come with us!"
"Thank you for your trouble."
Holding Haro, Lacus maintained her gentle, tolerant smile as she politely replied.
The soldier said nothing more, simply leading the way calmly. Lacus followed behind the soldier, turned to look at the others, and expressed her gratitude.
"Thank you for lending me your aid."
After speaking, she turned back and continued following the soldier.
Mu watched as Lacus was led away, glanced at Murrue and Badgiruel, then said with a lighthearted smile, "Quite a polite young lady."
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