An advanced guide for experienced modelers, from building blocks to hand-building Gundams

"Everyone, please applaud our hero who single-handedly destroyed two ZAFT warships."

Obviously, the discussion just now was too tense, and now that the result was out, Mu took this opportunity to ease the atmosphere.

Listening to the sudden applause around him and the people looking at him, especially Mariu and Bakilulu who were staring at him, Ross felt as if his toes were about to dig out a three-bedroom apartment in the steel floor of the bridge.

The sudden change in the atmosphere at the scene seemed as if this group of people were about to start talking about "Oh my God" in the next second.

Just as Ross was considering whether to politely step back and leave the bridge, an arm that was obviously trained suddenly grabbed Ross's shoulders and forcibly dragged Ross into the bridge.

"After hearing that you were unconscious just now, we were quite worried about you."

Mu said as he led Ross to the captain's seat, a strange smile on his face.

"After all, when you shouted 'Kneel before me, God!', that powerful voice gave us great encouragement."

Hearing Mu's words, Ross suddenly froze.

Then, as if he was breaking open a tightly assembled model, Rhodes slowly turned his head and stared at Mu intently.

"You mean... I forgot to turn off the communication?"

Mu's answer made Ross feel as if his heart was about to stop beating. If this were the set of some comedy show, Ross would have turned gray and shattered into pieces on the ground.

"Hey, everyone on the bridge heard it. They were all inspired by your momentum."

Mu raised his free left hand towards Ross and gave him a thumbs-up. His smile, which he couldn't hold back at all, even revealed a row of neat white teeth.

"By the way, Kira seemed to cheer up a bit after hearing your voice."

Rhodes, sink (hit the core area)!

Obviously, the image of a "reliable man" that Ross had been creating in front of this group of people was gently shattered.

"Pfft..."

Seeing Ross's current state, Malu, who was originally worried about Ross's condition, couldn't help but laugh.

Then, laughter could be heard from all over the bridge.

There is the joy of surviving a disaster, the indulgence after repression, and more importantly, the gratitude towards the young man in front of him.

To be honest, everyone was prepared to be besieged by two ZAFT warships and die in the line of duty. After all, the combat effectiveness of one warship and two mobile suits was still too little.

But no one expected that everyone survived and even drove away ZAFT.

"Roz, don't do that next time."

When the laughter died down, Malu spoke.

"You suddenly rushed out and everyone was worried about you."

"You are too far away from us, the Archangel cannot provide you with support."

Bakilulu was originally thinking of saying that Ross had acted on his own, but when she thought about repelling the two ZAFT warships and the fact that the Archangel and Ross were only in a mercenary relationship, she changed her words.

"There's no other way. My position is closest to them, and it was the best opportunity at that time."

Ross finally came to his senses and expressed his thoughts.

"It just so happened that I brought two magazines of anti-ship rockets when I attacked. This opportunity cannot be missed."

"Anyway... please don't take such risks next time. Even if you don't consider yourself, please think of Miss Christina."

Malu thought for a moment and explained the current situation.

"While you were unconscious, we discussed that we would first go to the nearby Artemis Fortress, which belongs to the Eurasian Federation, to resupply, and then head to Earth."

"We will then drop off the civilians Kira brought back. If you want to separate from us there..."

"...We'll talk about this kind of thing later."

Rhodes scratched his head and muddled through the matter.

"Anyway...you can keep your communicator with you. Maybe I'll contact you out of the blue to tell you I'm getting off the ship."

Maru seemed to want to say something, but nodded.

"……I see."

……

Ross naturally had no intention of getting off the ship at Artemis Fortress. Whether it was his vague memories or the slight tingling sensation in his brain, they all expressed the danger of that place without exception.

However, Malu had already made a decision, and the Archangel did need some supplies, so Ross still planned to go on an adventure with them.

When they arrived at the hangar, although ZAFT had been driven away temporarily, the maintenance team was still very busy.

Oh, no, they are not in Heliopos now, they are in space now, so of course their feet will not touch the ground.

Ross floated in front of his Jegan while thinking about something else.

Jegan was firmly fixed in the hangar, and the armor on it had not yet been repaired. The large number of charred marks caused by the light beam passing through it were very conspicuous on the dark blue body.

It’s a pity that there aren’t more bullet holes, otherwise it would have the battle-damaged look that model makers dream of.

"Hey, Ross, you're awake."

Just as Ross was staring at Jiegang in a daze, Madoc, who was helping Kira prepare the Strike Gundam, floated over.

"Sorry, your machine's interface protocol is different from ours, so we can't help you with the repairs right now."

Madoc looked at Jigang in front of him and shook his head.

"Now, whether it's ZAFT or the Earth Army, they all use the same interface protocol. It's surprising that there are organisms that use other interface protocols."

"These are not big problems. By the way, Uncle Madoc, where are the materials I brought back?"

Ross came to his senses and picked up an unused toolbox beside him.

"That pile of scrap you picked up over there is really taking up too much space. What do you want to do?"

Madoc pointed to the corner of the hangar, where there was a pile of scrap that Ross had picked up before Heliopos disintegrated. It could be vaguely seen that they were parts taken from the destroyed King.

"Don't you want to know where this machine came from?"

Rhodes pushed with his hand, picked up a welding gun from the side, and slowly flew towards the corner where the waste was piled up.

"...Mr. Rhodes?"

Kira, who had just finished adjusting the Strike Gundam, had a troubled expression on his face, but after seeing Ross jumping around, he finally relaxed a little.

"Hey, Kira, it looks like you're getting used to piloting this machine?"

Rhodes nimbly stopped in front of the scrap pile, turned his head to look at the empty hangar and the cable connector, and then began to pick and choose among the scraps.

"I'm sorry... Although I can pilot a mobile suit, I still don't want to participate in the battle."

Kira floated to Ross's side and watched Ross picking something out of the scrap pile.

"You have no reason to apologize to me, Kira."

Rhodes finally found some suitable scrap, took out a wrench from the toolbox next to him, and began to disassemble the scrap.

"I said, no matter what your feelings are, you and I are both in mobile suits to protect something."

"But...I...I can't do it."

Kira seemed to want to say something else.

Ross stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Kira.

"I can't bring myself to do it... I see. Zaftri has a friend of yours, right?"

Just thinking about the identity of the Kira Adjuster makes it easy to deduce the reason.

"Besides, your friend is sitting in that Gundam called 'Sacred Shield'. I saw you two confronting each other before Heliopos disintegrated, but you never fought."

"...Yes, my good friend is sitting in that machine."

Kira lowered his head, his heart was tangled and his thoughts were in a mess.

"This is war, Kira."

Ross looked up at the iron-gray exterior of the Strike Gundam before its PS armor was activated.

"The hatred between Earth and Plant is almost tangled into a deadly knot, and those who are neutral will sooner or later be faced with the dilemma of having to turn against one group of friends in order to protect another."

"War...can't it be stopped?"

Kira asked this question out of nowhere.

"In theory, yes, but in reality, it is very difficult to implement."

Ross turned to look at his Jegan, or rather, the icon on Jegan's left shoulder.

"...But everything depends on human effort. Who knows what the future holds? If we don't act, nothing will change. We can only watch helplessly as this world hurtles towards destruction."

"That's why I got on that machine and went to fight."

Rhodes turned around, raised the wrench in his hand and continued to tighten the screws.

"You're upset now, Kira. Go get some sleep first. Maybe you'll feel better."

"I, I understand."

Kira gritted his teeth and prepared to leave the hangar.

"Right, Kira."

Ross suddenly called out to Kira, but didn't turn around.

"Even though it's already a fait accompli, if you're still not ready to kill..."

"Then strive to become stronger until you can disable enemy mobile suits without damaging their cockpits or reactors."

Kira opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but finally, as if he had made up his mind, he left the hangar without looking back.

"Oh my... young people these days, I thought I was going to give Kira some more counseling."

When Kira left the hangar, a cynical voice sounded behind Ross, and a hand handed over a welding gun.

"You're not on the bridge, so you're hanging out here?"

Without looking back, Ross took the welding gun and began to cut the waste in front of him.

"Besides, your Mobius Zero doesn't have any repair parts yet."

"It's not urgent yet. The radar hasn't detected any other ZAFT warships, so I thought I'd come and give Kira some psychological counseling. I didn't expect you to be one step ahead of me."

Mu stood by and watched with interest as Ross dismantled the scrap.

"What are you doing now? Planning to dismantle this scrap and sell it?"

"Clang."

Although Rhodes was chatting with Mu, his hands never stopped moving, and he quickly cut off some of the waste.

"Want to know? Then just watch from the side."

……

In the bridge of the Archangel.

Malu rubbed his temples.

Up to now, although I have already gotten the hang of the affairs of the Archangel, it is inevitable that I will feel a little flustered when there are too many things to do.

Whether it is Kira who has psychological problems that can be seen by normal people, or the Archangel not having the Earth Army's identification sequence, these are problems that must be solved.

"Are you tired? You can go and rest for a while, Captain Ramias."

Bakilulu, who was standing aside, looked at the tired Mariu in front of her and spoke.

"And I remember your gunshot wound was only treated urgently. There's a doctor on board now, so leave the bridge to me."

"Huh... Then I'll leave it to you, Natal."

Malu stood up from the captain's seat, but for some reason, he inexplicably picked up a communication headset and put it in his pocket.

At this moment, Mu walked into the bridge with a look of doubt on his face.

"Captain Mu? Your expression is..."

Malu saw Mu's expression and was a little confused.

"You might not believe what I saw."

Mu sat at the helm, covering his head, feeling that his worldview had been reshaped.