When the violent shaking caused by the Archangel's change in course was felt, Kira Yamato was anxiously chatting with his friends.
"Where exactly is this ship heading…"
In response to the question raised by Kuzzey Buskirk, Sai Argyle—who had always been the leader of their small group and a 'social butterfly'—replied.
"That shaking just now was a course change, right? I wonder if ZAFT is still pursuing us…"
"Their targets are this ship and the mobile suit Kira pilots, aren't they? Then they must still be chasing us."
Tolle Koenig agreed with Sai's reasoning, and his girlfriend, Miriallia Haw, chimed in as well.
"That's true. Looking at it this way, we're probably still in danger.
But Kira, thanks to you—otherwise, those of us who couldn't evacuate in time would likely have become corpses in the ruins of Heliopolis."
"It's nothing…"
Kira responded absentmindedly to Miriallia's gratitude, still lost in Athrun's words and the reality of Heliopolis's destruction.
Miriallia wanted to show concern, but at that moment, Kuzzey brought up a more pressing topic.
"Is the old man and the others okay?"
"An evacuation order was issued across the entire area. Aside from the factory district, everyone should have been able to evacuate safely and in time, right?"
Sai's analysis made sense. As Miriallia hugged her boyfriend Tolle's arm, she felt somewhat relieved. But just as she was about to say something, an unfamiliar voice reached her ears.
"Kira Yamato."
"Yes?"
For Mu, figuring out how to 'ask' Kira and these young boys and girls for help was a difficult topic to broach, so he chose to start with a 'joke.'
"Sergeant Murdock is furious, you know. 'With such a shortage of personnel, how can the pilot not be at the maintenance site!'"
"Pilot… are you talking about me?"
Faced with Mu's attempt to establish a 'fait accompli,' Kira was clearly confused. Mu, however, tried to seize the opportunity and settle the matter.
"That's exactly it. After all, only you can handle that Strike Gundam, so of course, the pilot has to be you."
Naturally, Kira, whose mindset hadn't yet shifted, wouldn't accept this.
"Wait a minute! While that may be true, I'm not a soldier, and I have no intention of participating in this war!"
Mu shook his head, looked at Kira, then at Kira's friends, and asked a rather serious question in return.
"So, when the enemy attacks again, are you planning to tell them that and hope that you and your friends will all be safe?"
Mu's words immediately drew the attention of everyone present. Seeing their hesitation, Mu pressed his advantage.
"Right now, on this ship, the few of us here need to work together.
And the ones who can protect this ship, Kira, are only you and me.
Unfortunately, it's likely the enemy will attack again, and we have no intention of surrendering."
"So since you have this power, you should use it to the fullest. After all, time and the enemy won't wait for us to be ready."
Feeling he had said enough for now, Mu prepared to leave.
Before he could go, Sai, acting as the group's representative, stopped him.
"Excuse me, where is this ship heading now?"
Mu didn't hide anything, not even the potential problems they might face.
"We are heading for the Eurasian Federation's military fortress, Artemis. We expect to be on a radio-silent inertial course for one to two days.
However, not only is there a chance the enemy could catch up during this time, but it's also uncertain whether we'll be able to dock smoothly and resupply with materials and personnel."
With that, Mu left the living quarters, intending to return to the bridge.
After Mu departed, the group all turned their gazes toward Kira. Once again, Sai spoke for everyone.
"Kira, what are you going to do?"
Facing his familiar friends, Kira saw no reason to hide his thoughts.
"Even though that guy said all that, just because I have the ability to pilot a mobile suit doesn't mean I have to go to the battlefield."
His friends naturally nodded in agreement, though Kuzzey couldn't help adding another comment.
"But if the enemy attacks, we can't exactly surrender individually, can we?
In that case, wouldn't we at least need Kira to pilot a mobile suit to establish contact with them?"
"Kuzzey!"
Under Miriallia's 'scolding tone', Kuzzey hunched his shoulders, making a hand gesture to Kira that said 'sorry'.
As Kira forced a smile and waved to indicate it was fine, Tolle, as Miriallia's boyfriend, took on the role of lightening the mood.
"Anyway, I'm hungry. You guys haven't eaten lunch either, right? You must be starving too."
Prompted by Tolle, everyone suddenly became aware of their hunger. Sai, being the 'socially adept extrovert', thought of something more.
"The cafeteria should have some pre-made meals we can eat.
But besides needing permission, the people on the bridge and in the hangar bay probably haven't had time to eat either.
How about this?
We go to the cafeteria and prepare lunch. Then, Miriallia and Tolle can take food to the bridge, Kira and Kuzzey can take some to the hangar bay, and I'll stay in the cafeteria. If any of you run short, contact me and I'll bring more supplies."
The friends looked at each other, all agreeing it was a good idea, and finally turned their eyes back to Kira.
Feeling his friends' concern, Kira felt a bit more at ease. Recalling Mu's words, while he still had no intention of going to the battlefield, he felt he should do what he could to assist Sergeant Murdock and the others with their maintenance work.
With the plan settled, they all headed together toward the cafeteria in the living quarters.
The vast interior of the Archangel was empty. Though brightly lit, there was no one else around.
Only upon reaching the cafeteria did they find a single crew member, looking utterly overwhelmed.
"You're here to eat, right? Sorry, I'm completely swamped by myself. Please wait a little longer."
"If that's the case, we can help."
Though the situation was slightly different from what they'd imagined, Sai, taking the lead, responded naturally.
"Really? That would be a huge help!
Does anyone here know how to operate a forklift? We need to move some drinking water from the cold storage."
"Two more people to help move the prepared meals. Let's just eat whatever's available today, okay?"
"Is anyone good with electrical work? Some of the machines still need their power sources checked."
Clearly, this crew member temporarily acting as warehouse manager was genuinely overwhelmed. The tasks being assigned weren't really suitable for students to handle.
Fortunately, the reason Kira and his friends had gotten caught up in the attack in the first place was that their studies actually covered the civilian aspects of these corresponding jobs. In fact, after Professor Kato had desensitized them, they had even participated in some work that appeared civilian on the surface but was actually military in nature.
Therefore, the group quickly reorganized their division of labor and helped the crew member prepare the belated lunch for the entire ship, including themselves. Afterwards, having participated in the meal distribution as originally planned, they somehow ended up 'volunteering' to become members of the Archangel.
Although no combat occurred after that, as the two days of silent sailing neared their end and Artemis became visible to the naked eye, not only did Kira voluntarily stand by for combat readiness in the Strike Gundam alongside Mu in the Zero, but the others had also grown quite accustomed to their roles. They were now on the bridge of the Archangel, acting like proper crew members, each manning their respective stations with practiced ease.