Gundam, the Gundam journey of a certain glue guy and his mecha girl.

Raven persisted in asking.

"No one in this world truly likes war. Everyone uses war as a means to gain status, wealth, fame, or other things, except for those who are used as tools without even realizing it."

Halbarton's knuckles tapped a series of sounds on his desk.

"So, Dr. Ray, what exactly do you want me to do?"

“I want you to become a banner. I know you are ostracized by the high command of the coalition, but you are not the only one ostracized in the military. If you want to change the current coalition controlled by Blue Cosmos, you should take action and bring those soldiers like you under your banner.”

Halbarton simply chuckled and shook his head at Raven's suggestion.

“Dr. Lei, I admire your talent and integrity, but this kind of thing is different from doing research; it's not that simple…”

"Your Excellency, what if I told you I have the leverage to make you do these things?"

Raven took a portable hard drive out of his pocket.

"It contains a natural human operating system developed based on combat data from the Dagger and Assault, as well as a MS design scheme suitable for mass production."

Raven turned on the computer on his desk and showed Halbarton the data on the external hard drive.

"I named this mass production solution 'Shortsword L'. This solution further simplifies the design of the Shortsword and greatly reduces the time required for production. Although the performance inevitably decreases, the Shortsword L retains the ability to be equipped with an assault pack. The assault pack can be switched according to the battle situation to make up for the lost performance. Combined with this highly automated Natural Human OS, even a novice pilot can at least fight on equal footing with ZAFT."

Raven stood by his desk and caught a glimpse of Halbarton's grave expression.

"This is an incredible gift!"

Halbarton, known as a "wise strategist," could certainly see the significance behind these data. If the short sword L equipped with Natural Man OS could be mass-produced, the Allied Forces could reverse their current predicament. The space fleet would no longer have to be confined to various outposts and could take the initiative to attack and compete with ZAFT for control of space. If they could seize control of Earth's orbit, they could also trap a large number of ZAFT troops on the surface and change the course of the entire war.

But if we look at this data from a perspective outside of military affairs...

Not only could Halbarton use this data as a stepping stone to develop a new system, but if he could go further and take over the task of organizing the mass production of MS, he could also use this as an opportunity to organize a new faction that excludes capital related to blue cosmos on Earth and connects the military, political, and business worlds, thereby seeking to reform the Atlantic Federation, which has been poisoned by blue cosmos ideology for many years.

Halbarton sank back into the sofa, stroking his beard with one hand, his eyes flashing with the unique glint of a "strategist".

“Dr. Ray, you’ve really given me a tough challenge, but…” Halbarton took a deep breath, “it seems I can’t just give up like this.”

Seeing Halbarton's attitude, Raven knew he had achieved his goal.

"It's great to see you cheer up."

Raven relaxed, and following Maru and the others' example, saluted Halbarton before leaving the cabin.

-----------------

Kira wandered aimlessly inside the Archangel.

He saw the refugees registering with great joy; they would later board the shuttle provided by the Eighth Fleet to return to their home planet Orb on Earth.

I also saw the soldiers with relaxed faces. After fighting all the way from Heliopolis, these soldiers finally felt a long-lost sense of security.

Kira also noticed the Maru captain and his entourage, who were in a hurry and looked very serious. Although they had successfully rejoined the main force, they showed no sign of happiness.

'Did the captain and the others discover something bad? But those things are probably none of my business anymore.'

Kira felt a sense of loss at the thought of leaving the Archangel soon.

Is it really okay to leave like this?

If I were to leave the Archangel now, I could certainly return to the peaceful and stable life I had before, but what difference would that make from burying my head in the sand?

The collapse of Heliopolis, the tragedy of Junius VII, the pink-haired girl affected by the war, and the best friend who had to draw his gun on her.

These memories are deeply etched into Kira's memory, and he can never forget them.

Before he knew it, Kira had returned to the hangar of the Archangel and was back in front of the familiar Strike Gundam.

'If I had the power to change those tragedies…'

Kira raised one hand and reached towards the steel giant in front of him, as if trying to grab something.

"Kira? What are you doing here? Go find Basiluru and get your discharge certificate, then you can leave."

Hearing someone calling him, Kira looked in the direction of the voice, and Raven's figure grew larger and larger in his field of vision until he finally stood in front of him.

Chapter 29 Kira's Resolve

After saying goodbye to Halbarton, Raven headed straight for the hangar without a second thought.

The reason is self-evident: Raven, as the designer who personally drew the blueprints for the IWSP backpack and the Lightning backpack, must have a good time... cough, testing these two new pieces of equipment.

[Raven, don't forget my humanoid form.]

El, who had been lying on Raven's shoulder without making a sound for a long time, was also filled with anticipation in his voice.

Elburn wanted a human-shaped body and even designed his own appearance for it, but due to the lack of supplies on the Archangel, Raven could only use readily available parts to create a soldier ant.

But this time was different. The Eighth Fleet dumped a lot of supplies on the Archangel, and now the humanoid body that El wanted finally had a solution.

However, when Raven stepped into the hangar, he was surprised to see Kira standing alone in front of the Strike Gundam, his face etched with a melancholy expression.

"Kira? What are you doing here? Go find Basiluru and get your discharge certificate, then you can leave."

"Teacher? I..."

Kira opened his mouth, but swallowed his thoughts for the time being and asked instead.

"Teacher, you're not a soldier, are you? Aren't you getting off the ship?"

Upon hearing this, Raven sighed dramatically, crossed his arms, turned around, and looked at Assault with Kira.

"I seem to have been promoted to captain by the military high command, and I probably won't have a chance to leave the ship before the war ends."

"How could this be... Is the Allied Forces such an unreasonable army?"

Kira was genuinely angry for Raven, but Raven himself wasn't too dissatisfied.

“The military is inherently an instrument of violence. An army in a state of war simply doesn’t have the luxury of sitting down and reasoning with you. And…” Raven paused, his tone becoming a little more relaxed, “I’m not entirely opposed to this arrangement.”

Kira paused slightly, a look of confusion appearing on his face.

"Why? Teacher, do you like war?"

Raven chuckled softly.

"How could that be? I just think that if we want to truly end this war and find real peace, we must see the true nature of this war. We can't do that by just staying in the laboratory and watching from the sidelines, at least I can't."

"True peace..."

Kira looked thoughtfully at the attack in front of him, and the horrific scenes of Heliopolis and Junius 7 flashed before his eyes once again.

'In order to prevent that from happening again...'

Kira's expression changed, as if he had made up his mind.

"Teacher, I don't want to leave the Archangel like this."

Raven turned his head, frowning as he scrutinized Kira.

"Have you thought this through? The Archangel will be landing on Earth soon, and it will have to continue fighting alone all the way. This is no joke. If your reason for staying with me is such a thoughtless one, I won't agree."

Kira did not avoid his gaze and answered with a firm expression.

"Although I haven't figured out what to do yet, teacher, I also want to find a way to peace."

"you……"

Raven looked at Kira, who was staring at him with straightforward eyes, with some surprise, realizing that the boy had grown a lot without him even noticing.

After a brief silence, a faint smile appeared on Raven's lips.

“Then we are comrades on the same path, Kira.”

"Yes, teacher, I hope you will continue to guide me in the future."

Kira's melancholy vanished, replaced by an endless determination deep within his eyes.

-----------------

"What? Kira, are you sure you want to stay on the Archangel?"

Maru stared wide-eyed at the torn-up discharge certificate.

Kira wasn't the only one surprised; Tohru and Miriam, who had met Kira along the way, were also taken aback.

“I heard from the teacher that the Archangel is going to be involved in a very dangerous operation, right? Then I can’t leave at this time.”

"Teacher? Mr. Raven really is..."

Maru suddenly felt a terrible headache and complained in her heart that Raven's mouth was too loose.

"Kira, calm down and listen to me..."

But before Maru could finish persuading Kira, the colonel who served as Halbarton's adjutant interrupted without any politeness.

"Captain Maru, isn't this a good thing? Now that this young man has volunteered to join the army, you don't need to worry about the Archangel's lack of crew."

Maru immediately wanted to loudly refute the colonel, but she swallowed it back. Although she was a student at Halbarton, she was ultimately just a minor major, so she had no choice but to accept Kira's request.

But Maru's sense of guilt about forcing young people onto the battlefield deepened at this moment.

"In that case, I'll stay on the Archangel!"

"Me...me too!"

Thor and Miria looked at each other, finding the same courage in each other's eyes, and together with Kira, tore up their discharge certificates.

"Wait a minute, this is no joke!"

Maru's expression changed, but it was too late to stop them.

"The Archangel doesn't have many replacement personnel. If we leave too, won't the bridge be overwhelmed? Besides, if something happens to the Archangel after we disembark, we'll feel really bad."

Looking at Tohru's smiling face, Maru couldn't help but feel a deep sense of powerlessness.

To throw oneself into war for such a reckless reason is suicidal.

Maru immediately tried to persuade them to think twice, but the colonel interrupted her once again.

"What a touching friendship! Captain Maru, I think we should let them stay. It would perfectly solve the Archangel's manpower shortage problem, wouldn't it? It's a win-win situation!"

Maru used all her strength to barely suppress the urge to smear the documents in her hand on the colonel's face. She could only grit her teeth, turn around without saying a word, and re-process the enlistment procedures for the boys.

Soon, the last shuttle departed from the Archangel, and the once bustling warship suddenly became empty. Frey and Sey did not stay behind; they seemed to have been half-dragged, half-pulled onto the shuttle by Vice Minister George. Katz was unaware of this, and by the time he realized what had happened, the shuttle had already left the Archangel and entered the dark universe.

"I never expected it to turn out like this..."

Maru muttered to herself in the captain's seat on the bridge.

"There's nothing we can do; it's the children's choice. As adults, all we can do is try our best to protect them."

Since there were no machines available to operate at the moment, Mu returned to the bridge as a gunner.

"Moreover, the Archangel is about to begin its entry into the atmosphere, and ZAFT certainly won't just let us pass by. Captain, you'd better be on your guard."

Maru looked up at the man beside her, who was always carefree but could always make people feel at ease in crucial moments.

“You’re right, Major Flagg, I need to pull myself together.”

Maru's expression turned serious as she looked into the deep void in the distance.

Chapter 30 The Low Earth Rail Campaign (Part 1)

Just as Mu had predicted, ZAFT's fleet launched an attack on the Allied forces as preparations for the Archangel's entry into the atmosphere were nearing completion.

With the coalition fleet now on the defensive, the Eighth Fleet, having been freed from fortress protection and whose combat strength is inferior to other units, has become easy prey for the ZAFT forces.

The current Eighth Fleet consists of seven Drake-class frigates, five Nelson-class cruisers, and the flagship Agamemnon-class mothership USS Menelaus, totaling 13 ships, including the partially crippled USS Montgomery.

The ZAFT forces consisted of four Nazca-class and two Lauracia-class ships. At first glance, the ZAFT forces seemed far smaller than the Eighth Fleet, but these six ships carried a total of 36 mobile suits, including three Gundams from the Cruze fleet.

The Mobius that the Eighth Fleet could use to intercept them was no match for the ZAFT mobile suit units.

Halbarton was well aware of this, so the moment the battle began, the Eighth Fleet quickly followed his tactical plan, engaging the enemy in a dense formation, attempting to resist the ZAFT MS attack through coordinated anti-aircraft fire between ships and the cover of MA units.

But no matter how ingenious the tactics are, they need people to execute them. Halbarton's tactics at this time were the optimal solution under the existing conditions, but the Eighth Fleet was full of new recruits who had just joined the army, from the operators to the pilots.

Whether it's the coordination of anti-aircraft fire between warships or the linkage between warships and mobile warfare units, both require highly skilled personnel to execute. Given the current quality of the Eighth Fleet's personnel, let alone achieving sophisticated coordination, it would be fortunate if the warships' anti-aircraft fire didn't shoot down their own mobile warfare units.

"Seleucus, heavily damaged! Retreating from the battlefield!"

"Cassandro, lost contact!"

"Antigone and Ptolemy, sink!"

As the communications officer shouted one piece of bad news after another, Halbarton sat in the commander's seat on the bridge of the Menelaus, his brow furrowed and his fingers constantly rubbing the armrest of the seat.

Although Halbarton had anticipated that his side would be at a disadvantage, only five minutes into the battle, the situation had already become one-sided. The fleet, which was fighting in a dense formation, was unable to stop the ZAFT offensive. The three stolen Gundams demonstrated excellent combat capabilities, tearing a hole in the Eighth Fleet's air defense network with their superior performance. Then, King, who was following them, annihilated the Möbius forces that came to meet them with terrifying speed.