There were many kinds of authorization.
Some were permanent, while others were one-time only.
For example, Inori couldn't pilot an MS on her own. Fatima was a "humanoid computer" meant to serve as a copilot, and in Fatima's original world, specific restrictions existed to prevent a Fatima from independently operating a mecha.
Lacia had restrictions of her own.
Things had been a little looser in Episode Zero, but now that the main story had begun, Inori had few ways to control a mecha remotely. She first had to obtain authorization.
Of course, this applied only within the SEED world. When she was crushing audience members, Inori could operate one herself.
But within a world serving as a set, until she achieved higher billing, Inori, as an AI, could only acquire authorization bit by bit.
That was why authorization to pilot an MS was so troublesome: it had to be granted separately for each use.
In other words, every time she wanted to pilot one, she needed Kira's consent.
After all, even if this was "filming," Inori had genuinely reincarnated into this world as the organic machine known as "Inori."
Through the Fate Card and the Stage's creation, Lacia's Heritage Card and Fatima had also been "stitched" into her.
But powerful cards often came with risks. As a humanoid Interface Element, doing many things felt as though she were moving in shackles.
Kira might look a little spacey sometimes, but she did think carefully before granting authorization.
So Inori couldn't take the initiative and pilot an MS herself. She could only make guest appearances.
After carrying Kira through the early stages, she would have to let Kira find a way to grow on her own.
There was no helping it.
Kira suffered from terminal laziness.
Athrun had most likely spoiled her too much when they were children.
In a sense, Inori also doted on this Kira, who had a faintly girl-obsessed streak.
But Kira was the "protagonist," after all. She couldn't escape destiny, and destiny would come chasing after her…
After they finished eating, Kira left with the trays, leaving Inori and Lacus alone together.
"Inori-san, once the war is over, let's hold a concert together." Lacus took Inori's hand.
"Mm." Inori nodded.
"Oh, right! Kira has a lovely voice too." Lacus sounded curious. "She appeared in so many MVs before, but I don't think she ever used her voice in any of them. Kira… can sing too, can't she?"
"Mm!"
[BRIL! LIANT! IDEA!]
[Form a band already!]
[Just don't recreate Ave Mujica]
[As long as they can be MyGO!!!!!]
[Hurry up and serve us the new song]
Of course, there were songs available.
The GBN world had no Guilty Crown, no Macross, and not even Ar tonelico. She could copy Kalafina's songs—the theme songs from The Garden of Sinners, Sound of the Sky, songs from Fate, and plenty more. There were even countless pop songs she could copy, copy, copy.
Hatsune Miku-sensei had prepared an entire music library for Inori.
Thank you, Miku!
The worldline of the GBN audience and the ordinary worldline of the first Naruto audience differed greatly.
The latter was closer to Inori's original world, while the former could practically serve as another set world for filming.
With three people, they could sing all kinds of interesting songs.
Sometimes, everyone dancing awkwardly together was more entertaining than one person singing alone.
Something like Ikenai Borderline…
"Um, could I call you Inori too, like Kira does?" Lacus asked a little shyly.
"Mm. You may." Inori didn't mind.
"That's wonderful!"
Lacus was delighted, a strange light sparkling in her eyes…
Meanwhile, Kira carried the trays back to the mess hall.
"Um, Kira."
Sai was there.
He had come looking for Flay, but she had already left the mess hall, and Kira happened to arrive just then.
"Sai?"
Kira turned around.
"Um… I'm sorry about what happened with Flay."
Flay didn't know Kira was a Coordinator.
So the things Flay had said to Lacus had probably hurt Kira too.
After the incident involving his girlfriend, Sai's first thought was whether Kira might have been hurt.
"I'm fine, Sai." Kira smiled.
For a moment, Sai could only stare.
After Flay adjusted Kira's hairstyle, Kira's entire presence seemed to have changed.
With the hair that normally covered her face pinned aside, her features were fully revealed, and even her former gloomy air seemed to have eased.
"Ah, Kira, there you are!"
Flay's voice rang out.
She looked haggard, but stubborn defiance burned in her red-rimmed eyes.
The moment she saw Kira, Flay walked over with a bright smile.
"Ara, Sai, you're here too!" Only after coming closer did Flay notice him.
"Flay…"
Kira lowered her head slightly.
Flay took Kira's hand.
A smile rested on her face.
She refused to lose.
Inori had once said that Flay's care for Kira existed only to satisfy her own vanity, that her care was merely an ornament for Flay's hypocrisy.
Her feelings were fabricated, her attitude was false, and her smile was insincere.
But… that wasn't true!
Absolutely not!
She would prove to Inori that her feelings for Kira… weren't just a game.
"Kira…" Sai watched Flay lead Kira away, hesitating.
But as a boy, he didn't seem to have any standing to interfere in the friendship between two girls.
[What is this? Did the fake ship just become canon?]
[It's basically reverse psychology. You say I'm insincere, so I'll insist on becoming sincere]
[Grass (a type of exclamation), isn't she afraid this'll spiral out of control?]
[She's obviously going to end up falling in for real]
[Wait, isn't Sai Flay's boyfriend?]
[But Sai seems to care about Kira too?]
[Grass (a type of exclamation), is the entire SEED plot made out of overlapping love triangles? This is ridiculous]
[It really is]
The audience was delighted by the prospect of what came next.
But the Stage shifted back to the bridge once more.
Unlike the gloomy atmosphere from before, the Archangel's bridge now seemed full of life.
"A transmission! It's a coded pulse from the Earth Alliance's Eighth Fleet!"
"What? Can you trace it?"
Mu and Murrue immediately hurried over to Petty Officer Second Class Romero Pal's console.
"No problem!"
With AI assistance, tracing a signal like this had become remarkably simple.
After the instrument panel flickered for a moment, a distinctive waveform immediately appeared.
However, the sound itself was more like static.
"I'm decoding it now!" Pal's fingers flew across the keyboard.
The AI would decode it automatically, but in a situation like this, Pal himself was too impatient to sit still.
Yet he had barely typed two characters when the sound changed from static into a voice buried beneath interference.
A moment later, even the interference vanished, leaving a clear human voice.
"This is the Montgomery, advance ship of the Eighth Fleet. Archangel, respond if you receive us…"
A cheer erupted across the bridge.
"It's Rear Admiral Halberton's force!"
"Thank goodness!"
They were finally saved.
"AI really is incredible," Murrue marveled.
If Pal had needed to trace and decode the signal himself, it would inevitably have taken some time.
With the AI's help, however, the decoding had been completed almost instantly.
"The Archangel can finally go home." Murrue exhaled deeply, jinxing herself spectacularly.