Chapter 371: The Path Forward
Next, the three of them piloted their respective units out, helping to slowly push the auxiliary boosters over to the Kusanagi so they could be assembled.
At the same time, Erica was on the Kusanagi's bridge, directing everyone through the assembly work.
Before long, Kisaka sent a notification to the Archangel. "The docking of the Kusanagi's auxiliary boosters has been completed. We can depart at any time."
Murrue asked with concern, "How is Cagalli doing? Just now…"
"She's calmed down a lot," Kisaka replied. "After everything she's been through… I really couldn't bring myself to say 'don't cry.'"
"That can't be helped. Only time can slowly heal something like that," Murrue said softly. "But what should we do next? Where should we go?"
After thinking for a moment, Kisaka answered, "To prevent our signals from being intercepted, I'd like to invite you all to the Kusanagi first. Let's discuss our next course together."
"I understand," Murrue nodded. She then took Mu and Rommel with her, boarding a small transport craft and heading for the Kusanagi.
On the other side, after boarding the Kusanagi, Tolle, Kira, and Athrun immediately headed for Cagalli's room.
"Cagalli, are you okay?" Tolle rushed in first as soon as the door opened, with Kira close behind. Athrun stayed standing at the doorway.
"Cagalli," Kira also called her name.
Cagalli looked at Tolle and Kira with tears streaming down her face, then suddenly threw herself into Kira's arms. Kira looked at Tolle in panic, clearly at a loss for what to do, his expression asking for help.
Tolle knew this was the scene where the siblings reunited, so he simply smiled at Kira and shook his head.
With no other choice, Kira gently stroked Cagalli's hair and began comforting her. Athrun, standing to the side, felt a sudden sting in his nose—his place in Kira's heart seemed to have shrunk a little more.
After Murrue and the others arrived aboard the Kusanagi, Kisaka introduced the ship to them. "The Kusanagi has long been used for liaison work with Heliopolis. From its mobile suit operating systems to its weaponry, everything is fully equipped, though overall it still can't quite compare to the Archangel…"
After the explanation, Mu sighed from the side. "Being able to divide a battleship into five sections and usually operate using just the central block—that's really efficient."
When they reached the bridge, Murrue reacted just like Kira had earlier, saying in surprise, "It looks just like the Archangel's bridge."
"Rather, it should be said that the Archangel resembles the Kusanagi," Kisaka replied with a proud smile. "After all, they were both built by the Dawn Society." He then turned to Erica beside him and asked, "Could you display a map of space for us?"
"Yes, please wait a moment," Erica replied, quickly operating the controls and bringing up a map of near-Earth space.
Seeing Erica, Mu stepped forward and struck up a conversation. "Director Erica Simmons? You're here too?"
Erica smiled. "Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Mu. If we're going to use something like this in unfamiliar space, it wouldn't do to be without me."
Once the spatial map was displayed, they began discussing their next destination.
Pointing to the circular map centered on Earth, Kisaka explained, "We are currently here. As you can see, the L1 region is the lunar city; L2 is near the Moon and is a permanent deployment area of the Earth Alliance.
"The L3 region contains the rebuilt Artemis and the former location of Heliopolis; L5 is controlled by PLANT.
"Only the L4 region—the colony satellite cluster—remains. Due to earlier conflicts, it has been abandoned and left unused for some time…"
…
Meanwhile, having regained her composure, Cagalli finished washing up and sat staring blankly at the photograph Uzumi had given her.
"Cagalli, are you okay?" Kira asked anxiously when she hadn't come out of the bathroom for a long time.
Hearing Kira's voice, Cagalli snapped back to her senses, put the photo away, and replied, "Ah, I'm coming out now."
After she came out, Cagalli grabbed onto Tolle's sleeve, leaving Kira—who had just been comforting her—at a loss once again.
Tolle could only shake his head helplessly. He couldn't very well "predict the future" and expose their sibling relationship yet.
"Alright, let's head to the bridge first," Tolle said. "Kisaka and Murrue are waiting there to discuss our future course."
Cagalli nodded at Tolle's words. "I'm fine now. Let's go together."
When they arrived at the Kusanagi's bridge, the four of them stood to the side and listened as Murrue and the others voiced their opinions.
"It seems our only option is to go to the L4 colony cluster," Murrue said helplessly, pointing at the L4 region as she shared her view.
Kisaka responded with some concern. "At present, the Kusanagi, the Huayan, and the Archangel all have sufficient supplies. But they're not inexhaustible—fresh water in particular is our most urgent need.
"The L4 colony cluster was damaged at the very start of the war. After that, it was abandoned one power after another. It should now be an uninhabited zone, but it can still be used as a source of water."
Murrue said uneasily, "It brings back some bad memories."
Tolle gently patted her on the back to comfort her. "It'll be fine, Sister Murrue."
Mu added from the side, "Yeah, it's okay. That place isn't the same as Junius Seven."
"There are several colonies in the L4 region that are still operational," Athrun spoke up at this point. Hearing his words, everyone who had been at a loss immediately perked up.
Athrun continued, "Although there are many places I've never been to, because there were intelligence reports about suspicious groups using that area as a base, ZAFT once conducted an investigation there.
"Even though it became an uninhabited zone due to the lack of residents, there should still be several colonies that can function normally."
When ZAFT was mentioned, the atmosphere turned serious again. Seeing this, Kira awkwardly tried to smooth things over. "Then it's settled. Let's head to the L4 colony cluster."
With Cagalli's smiling confirmation, the mood finally eased a little.
But then Mu stepped forward and said to Athrun, "However… are you really okay being like this right now? And I don't mean just you—there's someone else as well. I saw it during the battle at Orb, but those actions were forced by the situation at the time.
"I don't personally mind the uniforms you're wearing, but… given what lies ahead, there's a chance we may end up fighting ZAFT forces.
"It would be completely different from how things were at Orb."
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