Gundam Seed: Kira Reloaded Chapter 15

The pair of coordinators were in the mess hall, getting their share of food.

Kira noticed the rations were not the best.

"Did we get any supplies from the 8th Fleet?" The Strike's pilot asked the chief.

*Sigh*

"We got around 3-4 days of food from them. Combined with the supplies we had before, we have around a couple of weeks tops." The man explained the current situation.

"I see. Thanks for sharing."

The teen nodded while Lacus listened patiently. She was watching how he reacted to this information.

After taking his tray, the pair walked to take their seats.

"Now that we are on Earth, it's not as bad as we were in space." He opened up the moment they took their seats.

"We could buy food from locals, I wouldn't mind some African cuisines."

"...isn't the whole of the African continent under ZAFT control?" She asked softly, as she realised that.

"Correct, half of the continent surrendered to ZAFT, and then the other side was conquered by ZAFT. We have landed in the Sahara Desert. By all means our best path is going to the Red Sea and then entering the Indian Ocean and eventually entering the Pacific Ocean."

Kira explained simply to her.

"...You already got the idea how Archangel is going to travel?" Lacus looked impressed. He didn't even talk with the captain!

"It's the most obvious course. Going closer to Gibraltar is quite suicidal for us. Or if we go south, we will end up closer to the Victoria base as well. So going as fast as possible to the Red Sea is the best course."

As Kira explained, someone wrapped their hands around his neck.

"Kid, are you sure you are not a captain in disguise?" Lieutenant Mu La Flaga pulled Strike's pilot for a second.

"Lieutenant!?" The pinkette looked with disbelief for a bit.

With a grin, the blonde man released Kira, who massaged his neck for a bit.

"That's me! Anyway, Kira, you will be joining the meeting. Oh, and congratulations! You got promoted!"

"...hmm?"

"That's right! After your monstrous performance, Admiral Halberton sent a message before we landed in the desert. He has promoted you to Ensign!"

Kira blinked for a second. The lieutenant ended up sitting on the teen's other side.

"...Wait, does this mean I can wear that white uniform now?"

"Pfff! Hahaha."

The blonde started laughing upon hearing that.

"Kid! You can wear white anytime you want. The only difference is that you get a new stripe now. Instead of a white one, you get a yellow one now."

Kira hummed when he heard that.

'That reminds me, I need to check some of the laws and regulations. That is once we reach Orb. I do hope we reach Orb…

Orb is vital for some of my upgrade plans…'

"Sounds cool. White and yellow. I don't mind those."

Both Lieutenant and even Lacus had a twitchy lip.

"Kira, you do know it's military, not some fashion show," Lacus said from his other side.

"Yes. But the military has to look nice. I like ZAFT uniforms to some extent. ORB has some nice ones as well. White and soft blue."

Once again, the Lieutenant grabbed the teen with one arm.

"Are you saying Earth Alliance has bad taste!?"

"H-Hey! I didn't say anything! Since I can wear that white-grey-ish uniform, we are cool!"

"That's more like it!" The blonde officer joked as he saw that Kira was faking his 'panic'.

~~~

After breakfast, the crew gathered on the bridge to discuss their route.

It was exactly how Kira said it would be. They will be rushing east, into the Red Sea and then through the Indian Ocean towards the Pacific and Alaska.

Once the meeting was over, Mu La Flaga remained with the rest of the officers.

"You know… this was exactly what Kira said we would do."

"Are you certain?" Captain Ramius had a look of disbelief.

"He explained all of this while having breakfast with his Pink Princess.

Hell, I doubt he had time to ponder on this. He just said how it will be.

His tactical mind is utterly… horrifying. Imagine someone with his mind and talent commanding a fleet?"

As the blonde said for a second he had a flashback when he faced that masked freak. In a way, Kira reminded him of that freak.

Thankfully for Archangel, they have a freak of their own. So it balances it out in a way, in a good way for the lieutenant.

"I see. It's a good thing to know. Kira Yamato already proved more than enough that he is one of the best when it comes to piloting. So it's an even bigger bonus that he can strategize as well."

Ensign Badgiruel said as she had a thoughtful look. One can see that she was thinking how a military person should be. The woman was already planning to add this to her report.

Having a coordinator, especially one such as Kira, is a massive bonus for Earth Alliance!

However, she has no idea that Earth Alliance is long corrupted by Blue Cosmos and the rich people behind them.

"...You don't say…I am still wondering what is going on in that kid's head."

The Lieutenant was still pondering what ticks the pilot of Strike. To have such drive, he must have an end goal.

But what is it? Build a super Mobile Suit? Or something else?

'Well, as long as he has his Pink Princess, he shouldn't go insane.'

"It's not our business. But, yes, mental state is important. That's why we should allow him certain leeways." Captain Ramius said with a knowing look.

Ensign Badgiruel stiffly nodded.

"As long as it doesn't break core rules, I can look past them." the always-stiff officer caved in on this one. In her eyes, Kira deserves some space. After all, he is the reason that they are still alive.

"...My thanks, Ensign." Captain was quite shocked and pleased to hear that. She might be captain, but they will be giving reports once they are in Alaska.

~~~

Lacus looked at Strike in front of her. All of the mechanics were working on it.

It didn't take long for Kira to restart working on the machine. They were on Earth where strong gravity exists. This means they have to adjust many things. To fine-tune the OS, check the joints and other things which Kira is planning for his mobile suit.

"No rest for the kid. More like he is the one who is leading the 'assault'." The blonde Lieutenant's voice distracted the pinkette who was lost in thoughts.

"Yes. Kira went to work on it the moment he left the bridge. We are in the middle of ZAFT-occupied land. According to Kira, this place is controlled by the Desert Tiger, Commander Andrew Waltfeld."

"...Correct. He has debriefed you?"

"...No. Not in a military way, if you are wondering. It's more like I know the commander. My father has spoken highly of him. You can say he is on my father's side."

"I see."

"I wouldn't want Kira to fight someone like him." Lacus pointed out what was eating her.

"Hmm, you could give yourself to ZAFT and then allow us to leave Africa." He pointed out with a smirk, but Lacus knew better.

"...I know, it's a short-term solution as once I leave, Kira will do his thing, and it will be a bloodbath."

Mu La Flaga slowly nodded. He remembered that Kira was the one who organised the downfall of Artemis' base. He went solo and caused it to blow up. The blonde just knew that Kira let ZAFT in.

Though Kira never said anything, the Lieutenant knew it was Strike's pilot. The kid is ruthless when someone tries to touch his machine.

"...You are right on that. So what are you going to do? You could leave anytime you want. This is Earth and not Space."

To his question, the Songstress simply didn't say anything.

"...I will be more useful here than back in PLANT's."

Mu La Flaga was quite baffled to hear that.

"You do know that Alaska will be a different place? Some people truly don't like Coordinators in that place.

I have no idea how they are going to react to Kira, and especially you."

Lacus slowly nodded but didn't look too worried.

"Then I will find a way to leave before arriving in Alaska."

"...I guess." The lieutenant could only nod at her choice.

The blonde was shocked by the girl's willpower to be in a warzone. Especially being on the enemy side of all things! He was out of words.

But then again, he told her that she could leave anytime she wanted. So he did his part. Still, he would prefer if she stayed here. Helping to keep their Ace in good health is vital.

~~~

Kira checked the data from the last battle. He was running a diagnosis on the needle thrower and how it performed. He is already working on upgrades on the weapon and the improvements for Strike to run on the ground.

For one, his mech can't fly. All it can do is short bursts and glide. The Aile package doesn't have enough thrust.

This means that he needs to adjust to what he has, and that is what he calls 'land prowling'. Since he is in a desert, the surface is flat with minimal obstacles. He needed to spread out the weight and allow his mech to slide or like skating.

The Coordinator instantly thought about the BuCUE. ZAFT's land-based unit. The hound-like mobile suit. It has several thrusters and caterpillar threads.

He could salvage those and give more manoeuvrability for his machine. Extra thrusters never hurt a mobile suit.

'I guess I am going back to salvaging.'

A small smile appeared on his face as he remembered that BuCUE had missile pods.

'Oh, that's just fantastic… I can develop a multi-lock prototype. With Legion's help, that system is a piece of cake.'

'Though I am wondering where Desert Tiger is?'

Once again, Strike Pilot was feeling unease. This unease is always something he is feeling before a battle.

Well, all he could do was prepare as much as he could.

Eventually, it was getting late, and a certain pinkette poked her head inside Strike's cockpit.

"Kira, it's getting late. You should come and join me for dinner."

"Sure. One second."

With a few more clicks, he closed the software editing tools and removed the keyboard.

"I am wondering why we haven't moved yet?"

"It should be obvious they didn't want to move because your machine was going through inspection, and the lieutenant was on standby duty."

The girl explained with an amused look. Lacus realised that Kira could be short-sighted on certain things as well!

"...I see…though Strike was always ready for combat."

"...I guess? But you said it needed check-ups because of gravity so the captain took it very seriously."

Kira nodded after hearing that, and the pair proceeded to enter the mess hall.

The pair spotted Kira's friends. The group was eating their dinner.

"Oh, Kira! Come join us! We barely see you. Mister busybody!"

"Sure. Been busy with adjustments. Don't want to end up drowning in sand. You know that Strike weighs A LOT…" Strike Pilot pointed out.

"No doubt, it's a lot of metal."

A snort escaped from the coordinator's mouth. Regardless, the pair went over and proceeded to get their food.

Once they had it, they went to take their seats next to Kira's old classmates.

Lacus decided to use this moment to find out more about Kira before he was shoved into the war.

It's the perfect opportunity for her to gather some 'funny' or interesting stories about him.

Though…

What she learned was quite the opposite of what a regular 'college' student should be.

He was always a seriously obsessed guy. He was into robotics all of his life.

As well as programming and other things.

'At least I know it's not war which changed him.'

Still, she will pick up a couple of things!