Chapter 9

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"I'm sorry."

Xiaoran's apology was filled with sincerity, even though he was well aware that even without his existence, Kira and the others would have inevitably boarded the Archangel, leading to the series of events that ultimately brought them to this point. The key reason was that Kira followed Kagari, blocking Aslan and others from seizing the Strike Gundam, and after obtaining the Gundam, the battle with the ZAFT forces led to the escape routes of Miriallia and the others being sealed off. This led to a series of events.

Xiaoran was not unaware of these facts, but he still took all the blame, even for the mistakes that no one had noticed, with the aim of further increasing the goodwill of the others, especially Kira's. As Kira matured through the war or grew increasingly weary of it, he would recall what happened today. Once he sorted out the events, he would be even more grateful to Xiaoran, grateful for Xiaoran's sincere protection of their growth.

In front of Murrue, Xiaoran wanted to present himself as responsible and wise, which would give him more influence and also bring him closer to the highest commander of the Archangel. As for any special feelings or events, Xiaoran only thought about them in his heart and had no intention of pursuing them.

After hearing Xiaoran's apology and analysis, everyone present was stunned, their faces showing shock, but they still had a thought: ZAFT would never do such a thing.

Indeed, if it were any other ZAFT commander, they would never set the battlefield in a fragile neutral nation's colony. However, Creuset was different. His goal was to expand the war, to let the flames of war engulf the world, and to die with them. For such a madman, was a neutral nation even a problem?

Murrue shook her head. "This is a neutral nation's colony, ZAFT would never do such a thing..."

"Neutral nation?" Xiaoran laughed and asked, "Then may I ask you, why is this warship and the MS called Gundam, which clearly belongs to the Earth Forces, here?"

Xiaoran's words made everyone fall silent, and all their hopes were thoroughly shattered.

Burgundy, feeling the dejection of everyone around her, gritted her teeth and suddenly said loudly, "Captain Ramius! No matter what, the Strike Gundam and the Archangel must not fall into ZAFT's hands! Since we know the enemy will attack again, we don't have time to wallow in self-pity."

"Right." Murrue lifted her head, and her originally dim eyes regained a bit of their luster. "Right, as long as we leave, moving the battlefield outside the colony will prevent damage to the colony. Lieutenant Burgundy, what is the current status of the ship? Can we leave the colony?"

"Captain Ramius, apart from energy... the rest..." Burgundy pursed her lips, looked at Murrue, and shook her head lightly, but then said loudly, "If we supply with our current manpower, it will take about an hour to reach standard configuration."

"One hour." Murrue glanced at the time, and at the same time, Xiaoran looked at his wristwatch. The remaining time was less than fifty minutes, meaning that ZAFT would start attacking in about thirty minutes. After about twenty minutes, the colony would collapse, and the plot would officially begin.

"It's already almost eight hours without us noticing." Xiaoran silently thought to himself. Although he knew ZAFT would soon start attacking, he kept this information to himself, as he had his own purposes.

Taking a deep breath, Murrue loudly ordered, "Everyone, immediately begin supplying the ship. The maintenance crew, prepare the Strike Gundam and repair the MB-01 as quickly as possible."

"Aye!" All the Archangel crew members saluted and quickly turned to leave.

"Kira, please move the Gundam inside." After Murrue said this to Kira and saw him nod, she turned to Xiaoran, "There is no doctor on the ship, but someone can re-bandage your wounds. After you finish, settle them and come to the bridge. We need your help."

"Okay." Xiaoran nodded in agreement.

Murrue hurriedly left, needing to discuss the next action plan with others. Xiaoran and his group followed Kira, who was piloting the Strike Gundam, to the hangar. After Kira stopped the Gundam, someone quickly led them to the Archangel's living quarters and arranged for a soldier to treat Xiaoran's wounds.

While the pain from the wounds was not as terrible as Xiaoran had imagined, the two bloody holes on his shoulder were showing signs of healing. Although they still looked bloody, Xiaoran knew his injuries were not as severe as they appeared. His originally depleted stamina, which had been down to twelve points, had somehow recovered to fourteen points, though it still affected his movements.

After the battle, Kira was both physically and mentally exhausted. He fell asleep shortly after getting into bed. Xiaoran, who had changed into a new Earth Forces shirt and jacket, looked at Kira and gave a few instructions to Sai before leaving. By this time, twenty minutes had already passed.

From the living quarters to the bridge, he hardly saw anyone. Almost everyone was focused on the supply tasks, which also revealed how understaffed the Archangel was. When he reached the destination, the metallic feel of the bridge made even the well-prepared Xiaoran feel a bit excited, but he quickly adjusted his mindset, though the interested smile on his face couldn't be hidden.

Xiaoran's sudden appearance interrupted the argument between Murrue and Burgundy. Mu, who was quite relaxed, smiled at Xiaoran in a friendly manner. Murrue, upon seeing Xiaoran, sighed to Burgundy and then said to Xiaoran, "That's it. We may need to rely on their strength when necessary. Mr. Xiao, you're here."

"Right." Xiaoran nodded and said, "Tell me if there's anything I can help with, but I'd like to familiarize myself first."

"No, not that." Murrue stood up and walked to Xiaoran, looking into his deep, penetrating eyes, feeling a bit hesitant, "Mr. Xiao, we hope you can persuade that child to pilot the Strike Gundam again. The Strike Gundam is our only combat power on this ship, but..."

"No one can pilot it, right?" Xiaoran smiled slightly and then shook his head, "Miss Ramius, I said before that I don't want my student to be in danger."

Murrue looked straight at Xiaoran, "But your current situation is very dangerous, whether on the Archangel or leaving here. As you said, the colony could collapse at any time, right?"

"Ha ha." Xiaoran was speechless and could only laugh, "You're right. I'll help you, but whether Kira pilots or not is his own choice. I won't force him to do anything."

Murrue said, "Helping us is also helping yourselves."

"Right, helping you is helping ourselves." Xiaoran smiled, turned to leave, and stopped at the bridge door, "If there's anything else you need my help with, just let me know."

"Ding, ding, ding!"

Suddenly, the alarm sounded on the bridge, making everyone change their expressions. Burgundy ran to the communications officer's position, opened it, and saw the image transmitted by the external satellite cameras, which was as clear as HD quality.

When Murrue saw the image clearly, she exclaimed, "Five GINNs, all equipped with fortress gear, this is... the Saint Shield! And the Duel! Has ZAFT's technology reached this level? They are already in battle so quickly."

Murrue gritted her teeth, "Burgundy, how long until we are within firing range?"

"Ten minutes." Burgundy replied.

"Tch, all combat power except for the Blitz and Storm. Mr. Xiao, our lives depend on your persuasion skills." Mu jumped up from the pilot's seat, ran to the fire control room while talking to Xiaoran.

Murrue also sat down in the captain's seat with a frown, "All personnel, first combat configuration. All supply work is paused. The Strike Gundam, prepare for launch."

"There's no time to waste, I'll go down first." Xiaoran's expression changed. He remembered that in the anime, only two or three GINNs appeared in this battle, and the presence of Aslan made the battle less intense. Now, not only were there more GINNs, but the Duel Gundam piloted by Yzak had also appeared. If they didn't take it seriously, no one could guarantee what would happen.

At this moment, Xiaoran's life and future were tied to the Archangel. With such a change in the plot, even the usually calm Xiaoran felt nervous.

Running out of the bridge in just two minutes, Xiaoran could already feel the Archangel lifting off. Kira, awakened by the ship's alarm, was now watching the situation outside with Sai and others through the corridor monitors.

Seeing Xiaoran rush over, Miriallia asked worriedly, "Teacher, is ZAFT attacking again?"

Xiaoran nodded, his expression heavy, "The situation is very bad. ZAFT has deployed seven MS units, all equipped with strong attack gear, and even the two stolen units. If it's just the Archangel... we'll be sitting ducks."

"No..." Miriallia covered her mouth, looking at Xiaoran in fear, "Teacher, will we die?"

"I'll go to the bridge to help operate the weapons, but..." Xiaoran turned to Kira and sighed, "Kira, they asked me to ask you to pilot the Strike Gundam. Of course, the decision is yours."

"Damn, just because I'm the only one who can pilot on this ship." Kira clenched his fists, suppressing his anger, "If I say no, will I be... damn."

Kira was about to turn and leave, but Xiaoran held his shoulder, looking straight into Kira's eyes, "Kira, whatever your choice, remember that we are with you, and we will always be with you through thick and thin. I will support you on this ship, and our lives... are in your hands."

"Teacher..." (My novel "Infinite Gundam" will have more fresh content on the official WeChat platform, along with 100% chance to win a prize! Open WeChat now, click the "+" in the top right corner, search for the public account "qdread" and follow it. Hurry up!)

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