Inside the Morgenroete Inc. factory, Mikazuki and Akihiro walked side-by-side along the asphalt road. Akihiro was the first to speak.
"That Kira Yamato seems to be in a pretty serious predicament. Is he going to be alright?"
"Even if there is a problem, it has nothing to do with us," Mikazuki replied flatly. "That's his own business. Whatever happens next is for him to decide. By the way, the equipment has already been delivered to the Archangel. Uncle Kojiro has started helping me equip it onto Barbatos."
Mikazuki steered the conversation away from Kira, and Akihiro nodded.
That equipment had been manufactured by Uzumi according to Akihiro's specific requests. The condition for providing supplies to the Gusion was that if the Orb Union ever faced a crisis, Akihiro would pilot the Gusion to help them. When Akihiro had asked Uzumi to provide equipment for the Gundam Barbatos as well, the man had agreed with surprising ease.
Uzumi, known as the Lion of Orb, had ruled for twenty years and was as shrewd as they came. The relationship between Mikazuki and Akihiro was best described as family. If one family member needed help, would Mikazuki just stand by and watch? The answer was obviously no.
That was why Uzumi had agreed so readily to equip the Barbatos. The logic was clear to everyone.
On the Archangel, Murrue Ramius understood this; Akihiro and Mikazuki understood it even better. They simply chose not to voice it aloud.
"That's good, then. Once the Archangel leaves Orb, it'll likely be attacked immediately. Be careful," Akihiro warned.
"I know. You too—be careful while you're looking for our comrades."
The two looked at each other and shared a rare smile.
"We... really haven't changed at all, have we?"
"Yeah..."
Half a month passed. Repairs on the Archangel were complete, and today was the day it would depart from Orb to continue its journey toward the Alaska Base.
The student soldiers said their goodbyes to their parents. At the very last moment before the ship set sail, Kira managed to see his mother and father one last time.
Mikazuki and Akihiro stood facing each other at the port. Akihiro smiled as he spoke.
"I hope we can meet again before my Orga leaves this world. By then, Lafter, Aston, and Masahiro should be by your side."
"Yeah, of course. Mikazuki and Orga won't be far behind, either."
"Good." The two shared a smile and bumped fists.
Watching this scene from the bridge of the Archangel, Murrue felt the weight finally lift from her heart. Mikazuki wasn't leaving the Archangel after all... thank goodness.
With that, Mikazuki turned without hesitation and stepped back onto the Archangel. Akihiro did the same, turning toward his own path. For those of Tekkadan, there was no such thing as turning back; there was only the road ahead.
Akihiro made his way to the port's control tower, where Uzumi and Kira's parents were gathered. Uzumi looked at him.
"Aren't you going with him, Akihiro?"
Akihiro smiled faintly. "There's no need. Even if we're moving in different directions, our goal is the same. That's enough."
Uzumi returned the smile. "I see. And when do you plan to leave?"
"Now."
"Understood. The transport plane is already at the airfield. Just tell the pilot your destination."
Akihiro bowed deeply to the elder. "Thank you very much, Mr. Uzumi."
"Don't mention it. In the future... if Orb should ever fall into ruin... I'll be counting on you."
"I understand."
As Uzumi spoke, his gaze drifted to Cagalli, who was standing at the harbor waving goodbye to the Archangel, his eyes filled with paternal affection.
The Archangel pulled away from the port, escorted by a perimeter of Orb naval warships until they reached the territorial limit.
"Communication from the Orb warships: We have reached the territorial limit. The fleet is returning to base. They wish our ship a safe voyage."
"Good. Reply: Our thanks for the escort. Once we break formation, leave the surface. Maximum speed!"
Mikazuki didn't head to the bridge. Instead, he went straight to the hangar. Kojiro Murdoch, who was busy reviewing an equipment catalog, looked up and pulled a strange face when he saw Mikazuki.
"What is with you MS pilots? No orders have been given, yet you're all showing up one after another."
Mikazuki blinked. "Kira came here too?"
Kojiro shook his head, looking like he had a headache. "Yeah, he did. That kid was muttering about how the Archangel would be attacked as soon as it left Orb. Talk about bad luck... And another thing,
what is with this gear Orb gave you? These specs are absolutely ridiculous. A 300mm Smoothbore Gun? Do you know how big the 320mm "Agni" Hyper Impulse Beam Cannon on the Strike's launcher pack is? It's 320mm!
"This physical cannon actually rivals the specs of an MS's strongest beam cannon! I have no idea if Orb even considered the recoil when they built this thing. Even the Strike couldn't fire this; the recoil would probably shake the frame to pieces! And they gave you plenty of ammo, too two hundred rounds.
"Then there's those absurdly large pliers... that weapon is just bizarre. At least the two 120mm Mortars on the forearms are somewhat normal. Out of all this, those are the only things that make sense!"
Kojiro grumbled incessantly as he looked over the Barbatos's inventory. In the world of a maintenance chief like Kojiro, these weapons were unheard of terrifying, even.
Mikazuki, however, was quite satisfied with the brand-new equipment for the Barbatos. He finally had weapons that felt right in his hands.
"Hey, kid, is this really okay? Can you even use weapons with specs this high?" Kojiro asked, eyeing the lethal armaments on the Barbatos with extreme skepticism.
"Don't worry," Mikazuki said. "The weapons for the Gusion and the Barbatos are basically built to the same specs. If the Gusion can use them, the Barbatos can too."
"The Gusion... what the hell is that?"
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