Chapter 213: Dawn Society II
At this moment, Erica really didn't want any unpleasantness to happen here that might delay the development of the auxiliary operating system, OS.
She quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
"Alright, you two, stop bullying that silly kid already. Let's go see how the M1 Astray performs in actual operation."
Tolle knew she was going to run into Orb's three poster girls—the ones who died in the SEED final battle.
What a waste, she thought. They really died too soon.
How about I recruit them into my corps instead?
Erica brought Tolle, Kira, and Cagalli to the MS observation room. She turned toward the training area, where three M1 Astray units were standing by, and said,
"Asagi, Juri, Mayura—prepare."
"Yes!" ×3
But instead of moving, the three M1 Astrays remained still as voices began coming through the communicator.
"Ah, it's Miss Cagalli."
"It really is!"
"What? She's back?"
Kira felt awkward hearing the three female pilots chatting like that, while Cagalli, clearly displeased, replied with a frown, "What, am I not allowed to come back?"
Erica interrupted their chatter with a serious tone.
"Alright, Asagi, Juri, Mayura—begin."
"Yes~." ×3
The three M1 Astrays started to move, taking slow, clumsy steps—like infants just learning to walk.
Then they began a series of sluggish combat maneuvers, looking even weaker than old men practicing Tai Chi in the park.
Cagalli, already used to this, sighed. "Still the same as ever, huh."
"But this is already nearly twice as fast as before," Erica pointed out.
Kira looked genuinely surprised, but Cagalli remained calm. "Even so, on a battlefield, they'd be wiped out in an instant."
"Cagalli, that's not quite fair," Erica said gently. "They've been working hard to improve their piloting skills."
"But it's still useless. At this rate, they'd just be target practice."
Hearing that, the blonde-haired Asagi Caldwell frowned inside her cockpit.
"That's going too far!" she shot back.
Cagalli's expression didn't change. "But it's the truth."
The brown-haired Mayura Labatt protested angrily. "Can't you at least acknowledge how hard we've been training? We've worked at this for a long time!"
"The enemy won't care how hard you trained," Cagalli replied coolly.
The blue-haired, glasses-wearing Juri Wu Nien looked near tears. "Then why don't you try piloting one yourself? Let's see how you do!"
"You said it," Cagalli replied flatly. "I'll pilot it then."
Before things could escalate further, Erica stepped forward. "Alright, that's enough arguing."
But this little exchange had served her purpose—it allowed Kira to clearly see the current situation, so he could better develop an auxiliary OS tailored for ordinary pilots.
"Still, what Cagalli said isn't wrong—it's all true," Erica added.
"That's why we want to make the system stronger."
She turned to Kira with a smile.
"At the very least, we want it to move as smoothly as your Strike Gundam. So we'd like your help with the OS's development and research."
Kira was silent for a moment, then sighed and shrugged helplessly.
"Alright, I'll do it. I'm already here, and I've seen the situation. What else can I do but help?"
"I'll help too," Tolle said, throwing an arm around Kira's shoulder. "I may not know how to code, but I can pilot. I'll serve as a test pilot—no problem."
Then she added with a grin, "By the way, can we try it now? That way Kira can better experience the M1 Astray's performance before working on the OS."
"Of course! That's exactly what I was hoping for." Erica turned back toward the three M1 Astrays.
"Asagi, Juri, Mayura—come back. Let Kira and Tolle test the M1's performance."
"Yes!" ×3
Erica led Kira and Tolle to the pilot lounge, where they saw Asagi, Juri, and Mayura in person for the first time.
Even in the anime, the three of them had less than a minute of screen time—and poor Mayura didn't even get a proper face shot. Totally unfair.
They were actually quite attractive—honestly prettier than Cagalli—but unfortunately, fate hadn't been kind to them. They all died early.
Asagi eyed the newcomers. "Huh, so these two are the ones who'll pilot the M1 Astrays? Are they even capable?"
Juri nodded. "Yeah, even after all our training, we still can't handle it properly. The OS just isn't good enough."
Mayura added, "Hey, I heard from Lowe that the Strike Gundam's pilot is amazing. He's taken down a lot of ZAFT's GINNs. Lowe said he even scavenged a bunch of parts from their wrecks afterward."
"You mean that junk dealer you met in space—Lowe Guele? The one who pilots the red Astray?"
"Mayura, are you into him or something? You bring him up all the time," Asagi teased.
"I am not!" Mayura blushed. "Don't say weird things. He just saved me once, that's all—and besides, he already has Miss Yamabuki Kisato."
…
Three women, one conversation—inevitably turning into a lively scene.
Still, from their chatter, Tolle could confirm that Lowe Guele existed in this world.
Now she wondered if that Library Guild organization existed too.
If it did, she'd need to be careful. When the time came to fake her death, she could seek them out—brainwash all those clones and make them her subordinates instead of letting them cause trouble everywhere.
Before the three women could chat any longer, Erica interrupted and had Kira and Tolle climb into the M1 Astrays.
Tolle, already a B-class pilot, moved the M1 Astray's limbs experimentally and quickly grasped the control style.
The auxiliary OS felt similar to what Coordinators used, and she adapted almost instantly.
She then made the M1 Astray perform precise Jeet Kune Do movements—fast punches, flying side kicks, and other combat actions.
Next came a high-speed sprint; just a meter before hitting the wall, she leapt upward, one foot touching the surface like a dragonfly skimming water, then spun gracefully and landed safely in a fluid roll.
Meanwhile, Kira was moving just as smoothly—executing sharp accelerations, sudden stops, and other high-level maneuvers.
Asagi, Juri, and Mayura watched with wide eyes, stars practically sparkling in them.