Following the movements of the Long-Range Recon ZINN, Lu Tianming indeed located a damaged civilian spaceship.
A massive crack tore through the cabin, rendering it nearly scrapped... According to Xia Chuan's assessment, it was clearly damage caused by the Long-Range Recon ZINN's sniper rifle.
That made sense... No matter how much the Federation Army discriminated against Coordinators, they wouldn't attack Lacus—who held both celebrity status and political influence—out of sheer anger. The only ones with motive to kill her seemed to be the hawks led by Patrick.
—Regardless of how the original timeline unfolded, in this worldline influenced by him, events appeared to be gradually heading in that direction.
"Should we rescue Lacus?"
Xia Chuan asked cautiously. Strictly speaking... bringing Lacus aboard offered no clear benefits and would only give Creuset more reason to pursue them.
Lu Tianming was surprised that Xia Chuan had unexpectedly shown some foresight today but still hesitated before saying:
"Let's observe first... Tch, it seems they don't want us to ponder this question."
Just as Lu Tianming was about to suggest assessing the situation or consulting with the Archangel, the Long-Range Recon ZINN suddenly turned and appeared to have detected them.
An alarm blared in the cockpit as the debris shielding the Strike Suit was instantly blasted apart—the enemy had directly initiated a sniper attack.
Lu Tianming had thought he was hiding far enough away, yet they were still discovered... truly worthy of a reconnaissance model.
But since they were exposed... there was no need to hold back!
"If you stay hidden, you won't die. Why can't you understand?"
Sensing Lu Tianming's intent to counterattack, Xia Chuan sprang into action. A white mobile suit flickered like a ghost through the wreckage, charging straight toward the Recon ZINN.
The Recon ZINN seemed startled by the Strike Suit's speed, hastily lowering its sniper rifle to engage—but the Strike Suit had already closed in.
A crimson blade flashed—four swift slashes in an instant severed the Recon ZINN's useless limbs from its torso, leaving only the main body.
"Even in a single move, you have to reference something... Don't destroy the rest. Let's capture this one as a hostage for interrogation."
Lu Tianming sighed lightly, exasperated by Xia Chuan's relentless dedication to showboating at every opportunity.
"...Wait, is it going to self-destruct?!"
Just as Xia Chuan confidently acknowledged Lu Tianming's request, he suddenly noticed something unusual about the mobile suit he was holding.
The engine system was clearly overloaded—the back armor plating was scalding hot!
No doubt about it, this thing was about to self-destruct!
Realizing this, Xia Chuan immediately hurled it away and swiftly followed up with a shot—before it could detonate on its own, the Beam Rifle pierced the engine, transforming it into a fleeting firework in the void of space.
"Tianming, I heard you encountered a ZAFT attack? What's the situation? Do you need backup?"
Mu's voice came through the comms channel—evidently, Kira had contacted the Archangel using the Engineering MA.
"Nothing, just a stray mobile suit. Already dealt with. However..."
Lu Tianming took the communication, speaking in his usual tone. But as he spoke, watching the rescue capsule gradually drifting closer on the screen, he let out a helpless sigh.
"...We might have new refugees to take in here."
"Huh?"
——————————————————
Due to this unexpected incident, the Archangel's mining operations were temporarily suspended.
The sudden appearance of a destroyed civilian ship and a GINN in what was supposed to be an uninhabited sector was rather startling.
To prevent this legendary exploration team that seemed to trigger events wherever they went from causing more trouble, all Engineering MAs working outside were recalled.
As the Strike Suit returned to the hangar carrying the rescue capsule, Mu was startled when he saw it.
"Why would there be a rescue capsule here... Could it be from the Junius Seven incident?"
Murrue shook her head and said:
"How could there be any rescue capsules left from that time... If Lu Tianming's report is accurate, it should be from that destroyed civilian ship."
"Speaking of which, has that civilian ship been inspected?"
Badgiruel suddenly thought of something and asked.
"It's been inspected. The identification marks belong to ZAFT, but it's definitely a civilian ship... Probably part of their Memorial Fleet."
Mu added from the side, then looked at the still unopened rescue capsule and remarked.
"Really... what kind of young lady from what family would specially come here for memorial activities?"
"...Yeah, what kind of family indeed. Hard to guess."
Listening to Mu's muttering from the Strike Suit, Lu Tianming shook his head with amusement, even somewhat looking forward to seeing Mu and the others' shocked expressions when they discovered the identity of the person inside.
"Hey, I told you you changed course to Junius Seven to find Lacus, and you still denied it! Look, now we have both witnesses and evidence!"
Xia Chuan was trembling with laughter beside him, either secretly excited about having leverage over Lu Tianming or for some other reason.
"Get lost. I think you're the one who most wants to see Lacus among all of us. What, are you planning to complete some kind of co-pilot collection?"
Lu Tianming retorted mercilessly. Ever since being reincarnated as a Gundam, this guy had developed an urge to get every woman who matched his preferences into the cockpit and have them... well, vibrate against him. Who knew if his change of body had awakened some strange new fetish.
Well, strange or not, since he'd lost his... equipment, might as well humor him.
Thinking this to himself, Lu Tianming sighed silently, then glanced at Xia Chuan with a sympathetic expression before falling silent.
Xia Chuan was baffled by this inexplicable pity, just about to open his mouth and start cursing when he suddenly heard a pressure release sound in front of him.
The rescue capsule door slowly opened, and everyone around the Archangel tensed up slightly, slowly raising their firearms, afraid that some sealed evil beast might charge out.
But what emerged wasn't some ferocious monster, but rather... a pink Haro?
Just as everyone was puzzled by this strange object, a girl with long pink hair hurriedly floated out after it, pulling the Haro that had barged out on its own back into her arms, her eyes carrying a hint of reproach for the Haro's mischief.
After retrieving the Haro, she seemed to sense the peculiar atmosphere around her.
Her natural and clear eyes swept around, passing over the nervous and flustered staff members holding up their guns, and the onlookers including Kira and others. She noticed the shocked expressions of Mu and Murrue in their military uniforms, and also caught sight of the cold, towering Strike Suit in the storage rack.
She nodded thoughtfully, as if gaining some understanding of her situation.
Yet she didn't appear tense... Instead, she smiled sweetly and broke the silence with a playful tone:
"It seems... I've boarded the wrong ship?"