Having just barely grabbed his own out-of-control "wild dog," Siegfried held back the urge to kick it in front of so many people. He tossed Haro to Cagalli and signaled her to keep a tight hold and not let go again. When he turned back, he saw Lacus Klein resting her cheek on one hand, making a series of unclear sounds, along with that overly innocent question.
In Regret's eyes, the warship Archangel looked like it carried some strange aura as it fled. It had brought down Orb's satellite, then lost Artemis, which was also under the Earth Alliance. Now it suddenly called him out after days in confinement, saying he needed to identify someone, and the face that appeared before him was the most familiar one in all of PLANT, Lacus Klein.
"So the identity is confirmed. Take him back to the confinement room." After Regret finished confirming it, he lost what little use he had as a prisoner. Badgiruel's mercy would never be shown to a suspected ZAFT Coordinator. Just as Regret was about to be escorted away again, Lacus tilted her head and looked at him for a while, as if she finally remembered something.
"Ah, are you Mr. Regret? Regret from the Roland Team. It really has been a long time. You have changed so much, so I had to look a bit longer."
Her gentle and friendly tone made even Regret, now a wanted man, admit that he could not bring himself to be angry at her. He gave a helpless smile before answering.
"That would be me, Miss Klein. I am honored you still remember me, but in a situation like this, it might be better to pretend we do not know each other. After all, our positions are very different now."
"If people have to lie even about their memories, that would be too sad, wouldn't it? Besides, you once served as my guard. Even though you have left PLANT, I think a simple greeting should be fine. The soldiers of Earth do not look like rough people."
Faced with that innocent smile, Regret could only smile wryly. He then turned serious and spoke to Murrue.
"Everyone from the Alliance Forces, I know I am only a prisoner of war right now, but I swear on my life that this young lady is the only daughter of the current Siegel Clyne, Lacus Klein. She is just an ordinary PLANT civilian, completely different from someone like me who has fought, so I ask you to consider this carefully."
"No, Regret, please do not make things difficult for the soldiers of Earth. They must have their own troubles, so we should not make unreasonable requests."
While Regret was trying his best to secure civilian treatment for Lacus, he did not expect the person at the center of the topic to reject his proposal. From her expression, she was completely serious.
Murrue looked at Mu and then, as if asking for help, at Badgiruel. Mu covered his face, lost in thought, while Badgiruel simply ordered that Regret be taken away and then fell silent as well.
"What should we do now?"
No matter how much the three senior officers of Archangel worried, the news that the supplies had been collected and they were finally leaving Junius Seven made everyone aboard breathe easier. The memorial had eased some guilt, but everyone agreed that leaving even one day earlier was better. With that, the material control order was lifted.
After pushing Siegfried out of the room, Cagalli planned to take a long, satisfying shower. Left with no choice, the boy locked Haro inside the room and decided to go to the cafeteria to fill his stomach first.
As for Lacus coming aboard, if he had to state an opinion, having no opinion was Siegfried's only stance. He did not want to get involved in that messy three person relationship. If anyone had to escort her later, it would be Kira, and if he himself flew a GINN to return her, there was no way Athrun would believe him.
Siegfried preferred to avoid complicated thoughts whenever possible. After Cagalli's so called comfort, he still felt a lot of pressure, but he believed his state was better than before.
Just as he finally relaxed a bit, he ran into a thoughtful looking Kira on the way. Siegfried slapped a hand on his shoulder, startling Kira into a high pitched yelp.
"Sai, do not scare people from behind like that!"
"Oh? Kira, why do you sound so timid? I think I even saw you blushing just now. Don't tell me you…"
"N no. When we were recovering the escape pod, there was also a strange GINN. I did not want to shoot, but he noticed us, so…"
"Did he fire first?"
"Yes. But…"
"If you had not fired, we would be preparing a space funeral right now. By the way, Kira, do you know what a space funeral is?" Siegfried threw an arm around his shoulder and explained with the enthusiasm of a salesman.
"First, this warship does not have cremation facilities. If we are lucky enough to recover the body, it is placed in a vacuum container and launched after everyone observes a moment of silence. If there is no body, then even the container is skipped. People say a few words over the belongings and then throw them into space."
"How can it be like that…"
"This is a warship. Did you think it was some kind of living support cruise ship? So if you do not want scenario one or two to happen, then you have to shoot. There is no other choice."
After saying that, Siegfried waved his hand. He was still hungry and had no time to keep talking. Besides, with that little princess aboard, he still felt it would be easier for Kira to just go talk to Lacus directly.
"Why must we fight? Why can't we understand each other? Athrun is clearly…"
"Even NEW TYPEs cannot fully understand each other, so forget it in our world. See you later."
"New what?"
"Do not worry about it. It is just a saying from my hometown. Time to eat."
That Kira knew people on the ZAFT side was already a half open secret aboard Archangel. Assault had connected to the Aegis channel several times, and the CIC on the bridge heard everything clearly.
The current relationship between Kira and the people of Archangel was less cooperation and more like a couple forced together. They understood each other's difficulties, hurt each other in the process, yet could not leave, so they endured it together.
Leaving Kira to think on his own, Siegfried found the cafeteria no calmer. Miri and the others were gathered around Flay, trying to persuade her of something. When Siegfried entered, Flay's already irritated expression grew even worse.
"Why should I be the one to bring her food? I am not going. Who knows what strange abilities those Coordinator have. I am not going."