Gundam: A Gundam Enthusiast's Journey with a Mecha Girl

Miria turned her gaze and secretly glanced at Frey, only to find that the other woman was not as excited as she had imagined. Instead, she picked up a glass of orange juice and walked towards Lux.

Here, your drink.

"Thank you, Miss Frey."

Lux initially looked surprised, but quickly changed to her usual smile. She reached out and took the water glass from Frey's hands.

"Hmph, I just don't want to become someone who doesn't keep their promises, don't overthink it."

Frey's face flushed slightly, and her voice suddenly softened as she whispered something in Lux's ear.

"I was wrong about what I said before, I'm sorry."

Before Lux could react, Frey walked straight to Kira's side and whispered something as well.

"Kira, I have offended you in many ways before, I'm sorry."

After saying that, she quickly walked out of the cafeteria.

"This is truly a miracle! Is that young lady really such a reasonable person?"

Mu nudged Raven's waist with his arm and turned to look at Raven's profile.

"Why don't you seem surprised at all? Did you do it?"

Mu asked in a low voice.

"Who knows?"

Raven didn't want to say it outright, he just shrugged noncommittally, but a smile still appeared on his lips.

Chapter 23 Pursuit

ZAFT Army, Vesalius.

When Kruse arrived at the bridge, it was still shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere.

The defeat last time was a huge blow to them. They mobilized their entire army, only to be overturned by the enemy with inferior strength. Not only that, the Gamov was also sunk.

However, Kruse did not give up the mission of pursuing the Archangel. Instead, he followed the Archangel at a distance, providing friendly forces with the Archangel's location while preparing to strike at any opportunity.

"Captain, you've arrived."

When Artis, who was on duty on the bridge, saw Kruze arrive, he immediately stood up and saluted.

"Artis, what is this important intelligence you mentioned?"

"That's right, according to intelligence from friendly forces..."

Artis handed a document to Kruse.

This is intelligence from friendly forces monitoring Earth forces on the lunar surface. The main force of the Eighth Fleet has left the lunar base and is approaching the Archangel. The two sides are expected to rendezvous in a few hours.

This news also unusually caused Kruse to become anxious.

Although he doesn't care about merits like ordinary soldiers, his current image as an outstanding young officer is just a disguise he puts on to gain Patrick's trust.

But the previous crushing defeat had already damaged his image. If he returned home empty-handed with no results, even if Patrick trusted him before, he would not entrust him with important tasks in the future.

'We need to achieve some results, at least to save face.'

While pondering, Kruze stroked his chin and asked Artis.

"How are the drivers doing?"

"It must be because of the impact of their last defeat that they have been training hard recently. If they are to launch an attack, their morale will not be a problem."

On paper, the Kreuzer squadron still holds the upper hand. The four G-class mobile suits and the Sigurd, which form the main fighting force, are all intact, while the enemy's combat power is limited to two mobile suits, the Strike and the Dagger, and one Mobius Zero. The Archangel is ineffective in mobile suit combat, and the half-destroyed Montgomery poses no threat at all.

Kruze pondered for a while, stroking his chin, and finally decided to launch one last surprise attack before the Archangel rendezvoused with the Eighth Fleet.

“Very good. We can’t just stand by and watch the Archangel join up with the main force of the Earth Army. Now, let them take the time to adjust their state. In two hours, I will personally lead the team to attack.”

"Yes, I will pass the word immediately."

-----------------

The bridge doors of the Archangel were suddenly opened, and the people on duty on the bridge looked at Raven with surprise as he walked in.

Since his fierce battle with Kruze, Raven's sense of malice has become increasingly acute, and the intense malice emanating from Kruze is getting closer and closer to the Archangel.

"Captain Maru, be careful, Kruze is coming."

"Kruze? They suffered such heavy losses last time, they shouldn't be attacking again anytime soon. The ship's radar isn't reacting either. We'll let you know if anything happens, so don't worry too much, Mr. Raven."

Murrue didn't take Raven's warning to heart. After all, Raven was a technician, not a professional soldier like Bakiruru. She just assumed that Raven was under too much pressure and was too stressed lately.

"No, I can feel that intense malice. It's coming, it's coming for us!"

As soon as Raven finished speaking, the radar operator next to him shouted nervously.

"Radar has detected an enemy Nazca-class destroyer, which is accelerating toward us. At this speed, it is expected to make contact with us in ten minutes!"

"what!"

Maru stood up from the captain's seat in surprise, then looked at Raven in astonishment.

How did he know?

But Maru quickly put that question aside, as there were more pressing matters at hand.

Because the Archangel was traveling alongside a partially damaged USS Montgomery, it did not sail at full speed to match the speed of the Montgomery, allowing a high-speed ship like the Nazca-class to easily catch up.

However, Murrue was well aware that the Archangel was no longer capable of the combat power it had when it rescued the Montgomery. The only ships available now were Kira's Strike, Mobius Zero, which was completely unrepairable due to a lack of spare parts, and the Dagger was also unusable because its maintenance was not yet complete.

If that Nazca-class ship really is the Kreuzer team's ship, as Raven said, then their current combat strength is simply not enough to contend with the enemy.

'Why now of all times? We only had one hour left of sailing to rendezvous with the Eighth Fleet.'

At that moment, the communications of the USS Montgomery were connected to the channel of the USS Archangel, and the face of Captain Coppman of the USS Montgomery appeared on the screen.

"Captain Maru, you should have learned of the enemy's movements by now, right? The ZAFT forces will catch up with us soon, and at this rate, we won't be able to escape."

Colonel Kopman's solemn expression made Maru understand what he was about to say.

"This ship will remain stationary and do its best to buy you time to rejoin the main force. Later, I will have Undersecretary George transfer to your side in a small boat. After that, the Archangel will retreat at full speed, making sure to bring back the data from Project G. Do you understand?"

"But, but..."

Maru wanted to say something, but Colonel Copman interrupted her forcefully.

"This is an order, Captain Ramias. Please obey."

"Wait a minute!"

Just as Colonel Copman was about to cut off the communication, Raven interrupted.

"Don't blame me for being blunt, but the half-crippled Montgomery is no fighting force at all. Even if you stay, it won't buy you much time."

Colonel Coppman fell silent, knowing that Raven was telling the truth. The previous battle was still fresh in his mind; a few Kings could easily take down 12 Möbius fighters plus two Drake-class frigates. Now, the half-crippled Montgomery might not even be able to buy them time.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

Raven smiled, knowing this was the best time to put Lux back, and shared his thoughts.

"Actually, when our ship passed through the Junius 7 wreckage area, we unexpectedly took in Siegel Klein's daughter, Lacus Klein. We can use the return of Lacus Klein as a pretext to reach a temporary ceasefire agreement with the ZAFT forces."

Colonel Copman was about to question why Lux was on the Archangel, but the urgent situation did not allow him to dwell on such trivial matters.

"What if the other party changes their mind?"

“I’ve already checked with the maintenance crew. The repairs on the Dagger will be completed in 30 minutes. We can postpone the return ceremony until 30 minutes later. If the other side turns against us, I will cover the Archangel’s evacuation with the Strike. We just need to hold them off for a little longer so we can rendezvous with the main force of the Eighth Fleet.”

Chapter 24 Return

Thirty minutes later, in the Archangel hangar.

"Check one last time, Miss Klein. Is nothing forgotten?"

Lux, dressed in a spacesuit, had her long pink hair pulled back and tied up, revealing her fair neck. She picked up the pink Hello Kitty, a bag of clothes hanging from her arm, and turned around to answer.

"That's all. I have very few personal belongings. Besides clothes, all I have is this child."

Lux paused, her gaze towards Raven unwavering.

"Um, Mr. Raven, thank you."

When Lux thanked him earnestly, Raven simply shrugged.

"After all, I promised to take you back, and I'm a person who values ​​promises. Besides, I didn't really do anything; I just proposed a solution that everyone could accept based on the situation."

Although Raven appeared calm and collected on the surface, Lux knew that returning her to PLANT was not a simple matter.

The daughter of the current president of PLANT is undoubtedly an extremely important political bargaining chip. If she were brought to the upper echelons of the Earth Federation, countless benefits could be obtained in return, but Raven did not do so.

"Oh, right."

Raven handed the item in his hand to Lux, which had a similar appearance to the one Lux had seen at the victory celebration.

"This is... Miss El?"

To be precise, it's a replica of my original body, which Raven calls a 'soldier ant'.

El, who was perched on Raven's shoulder, explained.

"Consider it a parting gift. I had a lot of leftover parts when I was making El's body, so I just made this. It includes a simplified pet AI."

Lux placed the soldier ant on the floor, and the little guy moved over on its four metal legs and rubbed against Lux's legs affectionately.

So cute~

Lux exclaimed in genuine admiration, crouched down, and gently touched the soldier ant's square head with her finger.

Seeing the girl's smile, Raven's mood improved as well.

"Also, this little guy can be used as a portable hard drive." Raven bent down, picked up the soldier ant, and pulled out its tail, which at first glance looked like a decoration. "This is the data cable; as long as you have the corresponding device, you can access the files inside."

Raven winked meaningfully at Lux, who nodded in understanding.

"I understand, I will make good use of this feature."

"Mr. Raven, Ms. Klein, the Strike Force is ready and can depart at any time."

Kira floated over from the other side of the hangar, but his face showed undisguised hesitation and inner conflict.

"Is it really alright for me to take Miss Klein away?"

"Why not? I specifically asked Aslan to pick you up so you could take this opportunity to meet your friends. Why are you backing out now?"

"Teacher, aren't you afraid that I'll just follow Aslan and go to ZAFT?"

But Raven just smiled nonchalantly and patted Kira on the shoulder.

“If you think that’s better, then it’s fine to go with him. Besides, I know you won’t do that.”

Kira could sense that Raven's words contained no hint of probing.

“Teacher…” Kira’s voice trembled slightly at Raven’s trust. “I will come back.”

After watching Kira board the Strike, Raven was about to turn around and leave, not wanting to disturb the Strike's preparations for deployment. But as soon as he turned around, he heard Lux's voice.

"Please wait a moment."

The pink-haired girl stood in front of the assault hatch and gave Raven a bright smile.

"Mr. Raven, may I call you Lux? That's what my friends call me."

Raven looked at her and responded with a smile.

"Of course, Lux, have a safe journey."

-----------------

As the assault ship gradually approached the designated space zone, Kira was able to visually locate the dark blue Vesalius on the opposite side.

Although Kira was no longer the civilian boy who had just entered the battlefield and had gradually become familiar with the atmosphere of the battlefield, he still couldn't help but feel nervous.

The meeting with Aslan was about to take place, not through the gunfire and swordplay of the battlefield, but face to face with him directly.

Is Mr. Kira nervous?

The perceptive Lux sensed Kira's chaotic thoughts and her clear voice came through the communicator built into his helmet.

Kira nodded slightly, memories of his best friend flashing before his eyes.

"After all, I used to be very good friends with Aslan."

"It's clear that Mr. Kira values ​​this relationship very much."