Chapter 25 – SEED: Return to the Ship
The maintenance crew members and Sergeant Murdoch were stunned when they saw the Strike Gundam carrying in the heavily modified Moebius Kai, along with the weapons from the Blitz Gundam clutched in its manipulator arm.
After Tolle Koenig retained the modifications, recovered the neo DG cells, and jumped out of the Moebius Kai, Sergeant Murdoch spoke to him.
"Kid, you've done it again—just gave us more work to do."
"Hehe, sorry about that, Uncle Murdoch.
Lucky day for me, huh? Went out once and came back with a free MA—this Moebius Kai."
Tolle Koenig then pointed to the Blitz Gundam's attack-and-shield system components.
"These are all my spoils of war. Can you fit them onto the Moebius Kai's right side for me?
Also, do we have a spare Strike Gundam shield? If we can mount it on the left side of the Moebius Kai, the symmetry would be perfect.
Oh, and I want to be the pilot of this Moebius Kai."
Murdoch rubbed his chin.
"Alright, kid, didn't think you had it in you. But first, you'll need the captain's approval, and then you'll have to go through a lot of training before you can be an MA pilot.
As for the modifications—while it might look a little odd done your way, your suggestions are worth considering.
I'll draft a blueprint later and let you have a look.
For now, head back to the bridge to report in."
"Thanks so much, Uncle Murdoch!"
Just then, Kira Yamato climbed out of the Strike Gundam's cockpit, and Mu La Flaga came into the hangar to greet him.
Kira ignored him completely and walked straight back to the lounge, where he collapsed into bed.
Mu La Flaga turned to Tolle Koenig and asked,
"Kid, was this Moebius your find? It looks different—must be a custom unit.
And you brought back the Blitz's attack-and-shield system too. Not bad piloting skills."
"The Blitz's arm was cut off by Kira. I was already struggling just to move around while sitting on top of it.
By the way, Uncle Mu, teach me how to pilot an MA. I want to use this Moebius to fight alongside Kira and protect the Archangel—and my friends."
Mu La Flaga hooked an arm around Tolle Koenig's neck.
"Alright, sounds like you've got the right mindset. But first, come with me to the bridge to report in. Once your punishment's over, I'll teach you how to pilot an MA.
I'm a professional instructor, you know—I've trained plenty of ace MA pilots."
"Thanks a lot, Uncle Mu!"
Mu La Flaga led Tolle Koenig to the Archangel's bridge.
On the bridge, Miriallia Haw saw Tolle Koenig return safely and joyfully threw herself into his arms.
"Tolle, you're okay! You scared me half to death."
Natarle Badgiruel cleared her throat, and Miriallia shyly stepped back from Tolle's embrace.
"Ahem. Tolle Koenig, for violating military regulations, you'll be confined for one day. Sentence to be carried out immediately. Lieutenant Mu, take him to the brig."
Before Tolle could leave, the radar operator reported,
"Confirmed again—no enemy vessels within a radius of five. It appears we've completely shaken off ZAFT's pursuit."
Murrue Ramius relaxed in her captain's chair.
"Looks like the explosion at Artemis Base allowed us to lose ZAFT's tail."
Mu La Flaga joked,
"In that case, we should probably thank the people at Artemis Base."
Tolle Koenig, standing off to the side, nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, really ought to thank them—they're actually pretty nice people."
Murrue's tone grew heavy.
"Escaping ZAFT's warships is good, but none of our own problems have been solved."
Natarle lowered her head in thought, then suddenly looked up to find Tolle Koenig still standing there. Her tone sharpened.
"Lieutenant Mu, why haven't you taken Tolle Koenig to the brig yet?"
Mu La Flaga laughed.
"Just got caught up talking. I'm going now."
Tolle spoke up, "Can I have an MA simulator?
I want to be an MA pilot and fight alongside Kira to protect the Archangel and everyone."
Miriallia immediately objected.
"No, Tolle—it's too dangerous!"
Tolle gazed into her eyes, his voice earnest.
"Miriallia, I know it's dangerous. But it's just as dangerous to let Kira face so many enemies alone.
That's why I want to train hard and learn to pilot an MA as soon as possible. That way, I can help share Kira's burden—and protect you too."
Natarle coughed lightly.
"Lieutenant Mu, arrange a simulator for Tolle Koenig. Let him train well. If he doesn't meet the standard, he's not allowed to pilot an MA."
"Thank you, Ensign Badgiruel."
Mu La Flaga brought Tolle to the training room for his confinement, using the time to give him some basic MA piloting instruction.
In the training room, Tolle asked Nami,
"Nami, are the collected fragments and wreckage enough to make the core section of Satellite Zea?"
"Master, the collected fragments are sufficient to construct Satellite Zea's core section, with some left over.
Unfortunately, the space is too small to build the rest of Satellite Zea for now."
"Sigh… still a long way to go. Looks like I'll have to make more jumps before we have enough storage space.
Alright, Nami—just build it up to this point for now. We'll deal with the rest once we've got more space."
"As you command, Master."
…
At lunchtime, Tolle entered the cafeteria and overheard Sai Argyle speaking to Flay Allster.
"Flay, let's go apologize to Kira later."
Flay sounded reluctant.
"Do we have to?"
Sai replied,
"Flay, you really were a bit harsh before. Given our situation, it'd be better to apologize."
Tolle stepped up to them.
"It was because of what you said that he ended up in such a difficult position."
Flay frowned. "But I was just…"
"We've already gotten used to the fact that he's a Coordinator. But it's a sensitive subject—especially now."
Sai spoke up to support her.
"Flay, just try to say something—like 'I'm sorry' or whatever.
Otherwise, it'll be awkward whenever we run into him on the ship from now on."
Flay finally gave in.
"Well… since even you think so, Sai… fine, I'll go."