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

Frey's remarks were so offensive that even Mirialia couldn't stand it anymore.

"I don't think that girl is the type to do that kind of thing..."

Kaz muttered under his breath.

"You can't tell a Coordinator's abilities just by looking at them. What if she's the type who attacks people randomly?"

“I would never do such a thing, Miss Frey.”

A soft female voice rang out, and Lacus, with a smile, slowly walked towards Frey.

"Just like Mr. Raven said, I am not a soldier. I came to Junius 7 only to mourn the dead. We are all civilians caught up in the war. Let's get along well."

Lux extended her hand to Frey with goodwill, but Frey did not reciprocate.

Frey ruthlessly shook off Lux's hand, her emotions becoming increasingly agitated.

"Don't touch me, monster! I don't want to get along with you!"

"Frei! You've gone too far!"

Raven always tries to maintain a calm demeanor when dealing with students, but Frey's attitude this time really angered him.

But Frey was not intimidated by Raven's imposing manner as he walked up to her with a livid face.

"Professor Raven, you're actually a Coordinator too, aren't you? You've been speaking well of her since the beginning, and you can even operate mobile suits. You're a ZAFT spy, aren't you! Your Natural identity was just a lie, wasn't it!"

Snapped!

After the clear sound, the entire cafeteria fell silent.

Frey covered her still-painful cheek and backed away, looking at Raven, who had just slapped her, with disbelief.

"You, you actually hit me! Even my father has never hit me!"

"I hit you to prevent you from making an irreparable mistake. Some things, once said, can never be taken back."

"Stop nagging! Don't act all grown up in front of me! Since you all like that woman so much, then you should get along well with that Coordinator woman!"

Completely out of control, Frey could no longer stand the atmosphere in the cafeteria. Taking advantage of Raven's momentary lapse in attention, she pushed him away and stormed out as if she had suffered a great injustice.

Watching Frey's departing figure, Raven regretted his actions.

He dislikes corporal punishment the most, but today, driven by his emotions, he did the very thing he dislikes most.

"I'm sorry, Kira, Miss Klein, please excuse my poor appearance."

"Please don't say that, Mr. Raven. It was probably my appearance that caused Miss Frey to lose her composure. I'm sorry, Mr. Raven, my rash actions have caused you trouble."

Lux kept her disappointment to herself and comforted Raven before turning her gaze to the somewhat awkward Kars and Miriam.

"I'm so sorry, because of me, you two had an argument with your friends."

Although her words were somewhat high-sounding, Lux's unique charisma prevented anyone present from developing a dislike for her.

However, given what happened, Raven couldn't continue having meals with Lux in the cafeteria, so he had to take the food and send Lux ​​back to her personal cabin.

"Thank you so much for today, Mr. Raven."

"It's nothing, in the end I didn't accomplish anything. If I could have controlled my emotions and used a softer approach, perhaps..."

"Haste makes waste, this is an ancient Eastern proverb that my father liked very much. I know that Mr. Raven wants to cross the high wall that has been created between Naturals and Coordinators, but this is by no means a simple matter."

"I never expected that I would be the one comforted by you, Miss Klein."

Raven smiled gratefully, but before leaving, he didn't miss the slight sense of disappointment Lux felt in her heart.

“I will find a chance to send you back, so Miss Klein, you can rest assured.”

"Huh?"

Raven's words caught Lux off guard, but before she could ask him anything, Raven had already disappeared from her sight.

She had no choice but to go back to her room and throw herself onto the bed.

Ultimately, no matter how precocious she is, she is still just a 16-year-old girl, and what happened today has left her physically and mentally exhausted.

"He's such a wonderful person, don't you think, hello?"

Lux held the small Hello in both hands and answered her own question.

Chapter 16 The Agreement

After collecting the necessary supplies from the Junius 7 wreckage, the Archangel quickly left that space region, and Raven was finally freed from that heavy feeling.

At that moment, the Archangel finally received contact from friendly forces.

Commodore Halbarton, commander of the Eighth Fleet, dispatched an advance fleet that was approaching the Archangel, a piece of news that dispelled the somber atmosphere that had prevailed on the Archangel for several days.

After all, the Archangel had been isolated and helpless since it set sail from Heliopolis. Now that it had finally received news about friendly forces, both soldiers and refugees were excited.

The most excited of all was undoubtedly Frey.

Her father, George Alstar, the Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, was on his way aboard the flagship of the advance fleet, the USS Montgomery, and was about to rendezvous with the USS Archangel.

This news made Frey so happy that when her boyfriend, Sai, advised her to apologize to Raven, she agreed without hesitation, surprising Sai with her decisiveness.

Given Frey's spoiled personality, it would take Sey a long time to coax her to apologize to someone, even if she was in the wrong.

However, while everyone on the Archangel, from the captain to the refugees, seemed to be having a great time, Raven returned to the hangar with a worried expression and began to repair the machine.

Raven remembered that in the original timeline, when the advance fleet rendezvoused with the Archangel, a major battle would ensue with ZAFT's pursuing forces.

However, Raven lacked concrete evidence to prove this, and could only offer a few words of warning that things might change. As a result, apart from Buggy Lulu, the rest of the people still seemed to take it lightly.

While Raven was in the cockpit of the Dagger adjusting the machine's OS parameters, Sai brought Frey into the hangar.

"Excuse me, Mr. Raven, may I interrupt for a moment?"

Sey, holding Frey's hand, found Raven.

"Sai and Frey? What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

Raven poked his head out of the cockpit and asked.

Sey took a step back, patted Frey on the back, and gestured for her to step forward.

"Um, Mr. Raven, I misspoke before, I'm very sorry."

Frey blushed, lowered her head, and stammered out her words.

Raven recalled the scene in the cafeteria the day before, but he never intended to stoop to Frey's level and didn't take it too seriously.

"I understand, I accept your apology. But Frey, may I ask you a few questions?"

Seeing that Frey's mood had improved considerably, Raven realized that this was an opportunity to listen to Frey's thoughts.

"A question? Hmm, okay. What would you like to ask, teacher?"

A hint of impatience flashed across Frey's face, but she ultimately held her temper and waited for Raven to ask his question.

"Frei, why do you hate Coordinators so much? I remember that Frei's father is George, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. Given your family background, you shouldn't have to compete with Coordinators for anything."

"Well, there's no particular reason. It's just that everyone's saying it, and Dad's saying it too."

Just as Raven had predicted, Frey's dislike for Coordinators mainly stemmed from the daily influence of her environment.

"Besides, I don't think what those people who advocate blue cosmos are wrong. There's nothing wrong with letting children be born naturally. Why would anyone want to tamper with their genetic information? Look, if your genetic information is altered, wouldn't the child born that way be no different from a monster?"

Frey was referring to the classic argument of the blue cosmos proponents: that the modifier should be expelled from humanity simply because genetic information has been altered. This argument might fool ordinary people who don't understand the technology, but it's completely untenable academically.

"But Frey, from a biological point of view, this argument is actually completely wrong."

"Huh? Biology?"

Frey was somewhat surprised, not understanding why Raven had brought up biology.

"To give a simple example, regardless of the generation of Coordinators, there is no reproductive isolation between them and Naturals. Moreover, compared to marriage between Coordinators, the chances of a Coordinator and a Natural having offspring are much greater. From this point of view, Coordinators are not so-called 'monsters in human skin,' but simply humans with excellent physical qualities."

"According to your logic, Teacher, the Earth Alliance and ZAFT had no reason to fight in the first place, so why did they still fight each other?"

"This involves deeper issues: the imperfections in the social system, the uneven distribution of social wealth, and other reasons have created a long-standing conflict between regulators and individuals. I cannot explain it clearly in just a few words."

"Hmm, it's so complicated. If only we could sit down and talk things out, like the meetings Dad goes to every day."

Upon hearing Frey's words, Raven couldn't help but chuckle twice.

"Yes, if both sides could resolve the issue through negotiations, perhaps this war wouldn't have broken out. But now it seems that the two sides may no longer have the opportunity to talk. The Junius 7 massacre and PLANT's subsequent deployment of neutron jammers throughout the Earth Sphere have already claimed too many innocent lives in this war. If things continue like this, this war might..."

"Maybe what?"

Sei, who had come with Frey, was also drawn in by Raven's words and quickly pressed for an answer.

"It might escalate into a situation where both sides completely destroy each other, and in the end, they go to hell hand in hand. In a way, that would be a good ending."

Raven's words caused Sai and Frey's expressions to change.

"Teacher, this joke isn't funny."

"I'm sorry, the topic has suddenly become quite serious."

Raven smiled apologetically and prepared to return to the cockpit of the Dagger to finish his work, but then the hangar alarm suddenly sounded, and in the ensuing broadcast, Raven learned the latest situation.

"The advance force of the Eighth Fleet has been attacked by ZAFT. This ship is about to be deployed to rescue friendly forces. All personnel, return to your posts and prepare for combat!"

Bakiru's voice instantly put the entire Archangel on high alert, and Sai, upon hearing the broadcast, immediately realized something.

"The advance force, isn't that..."

"Is Dad's ship being attacked by ZAFT?"

Frey's face instantly turned pale. She looked at Raven in a panic, like a drowning person suddenly seeing a straw, and reached out to grab Raven's arm tightly.

"Teacher, you'll definitely protect Dad's boat, right?"

Panic and helplessness were evident in the girl's eyes. After all, she was just a teenager.

Raven recalled Frey's fate in the original timeline. If he could save George Alstar, he might be able to avert the tragedy that was about to befall the girl.

Moreover, this could be an opportunity for her to change.

"I understand, and I will do my best to protect your father. But Frey, I hope you can grant me one request."

"Require?"

"After the battle, apologize to Kira and Miss Klein. Kira overcame his fear of death to fight ZAFT, who is also a Coordinator, for your sake. As for Miss Klein, she is a civilian caught up in the war just like you, and there is no reason for her to be blamed by you. Blue Cosmos's idea of ​​dividing people into good and evil based solely on their race is too one-sided and arbitrary. I hope you can face this fact."

"I understand, I'll apologize to them, so Dad..."

Before Raven could finish speaking, the girl quickly agreed.

"Okay, leave it to me."

Raven watched Frey leave with Sai's help, and in Raven's perception, the girl's thoughts seemed somewhat chaotic. Raven knew this was a sign that she was beginning to think.

Hopefully, everything will turn out for the better.

Raven shook his head, returned to the cockpit, and began preparations for the sortie.

Chapter 17 Kruse's Fierce Attack

Not long ago, the ZAFT warship, the Vesalius.

The Vesalius, whose propulsion system had been completely destroyed by Mu, was now brand new. After the repairs were completed, Kruze led his troops back to the front lines to continue the mission of pursuing the Archangel.

However, in addition to the previous mission, Defense Committee Chairman Patrick also assigned a new task to the Kruse team before their mission.

Search and rescue for Lacus Clyne, who went missing in Junius 7.

Aslan arrived at the bridge of the Vesalius with an expression more melancholy than usual.

Since his mother's death in the Junius 7 incident, this melancholy had never left his face, but during this operation, it became even more profound.

Not to mention the always straightforward Yzak, even the smooth-talking Diego couldn't stand Aslan's recent behavior.

However, as best friends who had been inseparable since their military academy days, they ultimately swallowed their complaints.

After all, Lux Klein was Aslan's legal fiancée.

After his mother passed away, his fiancée's fate became unknown. No one could laugh off such a situation.

"Everyone is here, so I will now issue the combat mission."

The blond officer wearing a silver mask maintained his deep and elegant demeanor as always, but Aslan, after hearing what he said, asked in surprise.

"Is this a combat mission, not a search mission?"

Kruse chuckled twice.