Kira looked up from the floor of the corridor he was floating along when he heard his name called. Up ahead, he saw familiar faces, but below them were... Alliance uniforms?
"Tolle? All of you?" he exclaimed.
"Hi, Kira," Tolle greeted him as the little group drifted to a halt in front of the surprised teenager. The other students were at the front: Tolle, Sai and Kuzzey wearing two-tone blue jackets and white trousers, while Mirialla wore a violet and white jacket with a surprisingly short skirt.
"What's the deal with those outfits?" Kira asked.
"We've decided to help out with tasks aboard this ship," Sai told him. "They're understaffed, after all."
"They require us to wear military uniforms if we're going to be on the bridge," Kuzzey added.
"ZAFT's military uniforms are cooler, aren't they? With no badge of rank, these look kind of silly."
"Don't be a wise guy," snorted one of the Archangel's crew from behind them, obviously having just kitted them out. Beside him, Thomas grinned toothily. He was wearing the same blue and white as the boys, but his jacket was unfastened and the sleeves rolled up past his elbows.
"We can't have just you fighting all the time," Tolle told Kira, looking serious all of a sudden.
"Given the situation we're in, we'll help," Mirialla chipped in. "However we can."
Kira looked down. What had he gotten his friends into?
"Move on, youngsters," the crewman ordered, giving them a little push. In a flurry of farewells, they coasted off down the corridor towards their new duty stations.
"Oh," the crewman called, turning to look at Kira. "And if you're taking off again, make sure you wear a pilot suit this time!"
"That's good advice," Thomas told the boy as he hung in the low gravity like a poster-boy for broken uniform regulations. Kira started, he hadn't realised that the man hadn't left with the others. "After all, it would only take one bitty little hole in your cockpit and you'll be out of air and out of luck."
"Yes," Kira agreed softly, studying the floor again.
"So," Thomas said in a leading tone. "How are you doing? Feeling stressed? Aggravated? Guilty." From Kira's flinch, the last word was probably closest. "Ah. Well, it's been a rough day or so, hasn't it? What's bothering you? Your friends? They are old enough to make their own choices, you know?"
"But if I hadn't gotten them involved..."
"Then what? They'd have been squashed when that ZAFT robot tangled with your robot back in the colony, or blown up along with this ship... What ifs aren't going to help you really," Thomas counselled. "Things have happened this way, and they want a bit of control over it. So they put on the pretty costumes and fight for their own survival, as well as your own."
"You're wearing one too."
"Yeah, but I was wearing all the clothes I had, and now they're getting washed." Thomas looked at Kira. "It's not just that though, is it? The Aegis... I was watching you fight it back inside of Heliopolis - you weren't really trying to fight it, were you?"
"No," Kira admitted, still looking at the floor. It was really much better than trying to look that knowing gaze in the eye.
The man sighed and leant against the wall, facing the boy. "And the ZAFT pilot wasn't exactly reeking of killer intent. You're presumably both smart kids, from what I've heard about Coordinators, so I guess you have good reason..."
"Athrun..." Kira began, haltingly, looking up. Thomas's eyes were weary, maybe a little sad. For a moment, the masks were down. "Athrun was... He is my best friend. I can't kill him. I don't want to fight with him!"
Thomas nodded understandingly. "And I guess he feels the same way about you. You're not his enemy, but this ship is and he has his duty?"
"I... I think so."
"Well, that's difficult," Thomas agreed, stating the obvious being one of his many skills. He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "There's an old saying that the best way to win a fight is to defeat your opponent without harming him. Tell me... about these mobile suits of yours... the cockpit's inside the chest, right?"
"Yes?" Kira replied hesitantly, wondering what Thomas had in mind.
"Well, I realise this is easier said than done, but you aren't exactly fighting this Athrun himself, are you? You're fighting his suit. So isn't there somewhere that you could hit the suit to, I don't know, disable it? Without hitting the cockpit? There's probably information on the Aegis aboard - it was built to operate off the Archangel right?"
Kira's eyes went wide. "And if the suit's disabled, I don't have to kill Athrun!"
"Don't get too confident," Thomas warned. "I respect your not wanting to harm your friend, but accidents still happen. And it will be much harder to target just a part of his suit rather than taking whatever shots you can."
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
"Tolle? All of you?" he exclaimed.
"Hi, Kira," Tolle greeted him as the little group drifted to a halt in front of the surprised teenager. The other students were at the front: Tolle, Sai and Kuzzey wearing two-tone blue jackets and white trousers, while Mirialla wore a violet and white jacket with a surprisingly short skirt.
"What's the deal with those outfits?" Kira asked.
"We've decided to help out with tasks aboard this ship," Sai told him. "They're understaffed, after all."
"They require us to wear military uniforms if we're going to be on the bridge," Kuzzey added.
"ZAFT's military uniforms are cooler, aren't they? With no badge of rank, these look kind of silly."
"Don't be a wise guy," snorted one of the Archangel's crew from behind them, obviously having just kitted them out. Beside him, Thomas grinned toothily. He was wearing the same blue and white as the boys, but his jacket was unfastened and the sleeves rolled up past his elbows.
"We can't have just you fighting all the time," Tolle told Kira, looking serious all of a sudden.
"Given the situation we're in, we'll help," Mirialla chipped in. "However we can."
Kira looked down. What had he gotten his friends into?
"Move on, youngsters," the crewman ordered, giving them a little push. In a flurry of farewells, they coasted off down the corridor towards their new duty stations.
"Oh," the crewman called, turning to look at Kira. "And if you're taking off again, make sure you wear a pilot suit this time!"
"That's good advice," Thomas told the boy as he hung in the low gravity like a poster-boy for broken uniform regulations. Kira started, he hadn't realised that the man hadn't left with the others. "After all, it would only take one bitty little hole in your cockpit and you'll be out of air and out of luck."
"Yes," Kira agreed softly, studying the floor again.
"So," Thomas said in a leading tone. "How are you doing? Feeling stressed? Aggravated? Guilty." From Kira's flinch, the last word was probably closest. "Ah. Well, it's been a rough day or so, hasn't it? What's bothering you? Your friends? They are old enough to make their own choices, you know?"
"But if I hadn't gotten them involved..."
"Then what? They'd have been squashed when that ZAFT robot tangled with your robot back in the colony, or blown up along with this ship... What ifs aren't going to help you really," Thomas counselled. "Things have happened this way, and they want a bit of control over it. So they put on the pretty costumes and fight for their own survival, as well as your own."
"You're wearing one too."
"Yeah, but I was wearing all the clothes I had, and now they're getting washed." Thomas looked at Kira. "It's not just that though, is it? The Aegis... I was watching you fight it back inside of Heliopolis - you weren't really trying to fight it, were you?"
"No," Kira admitted, still looking at the floor. It was really much better than trying to look that knowing gaze in the eye.
The man sighed and leant against the wall, facing the boy. "And the ZAFT pilot wasn't exactly reeking of killer intent. You're presumably both smart kids, from what I've heard about Coordinators, so I guess you have good reason..."
"Athrun..." Kira began, haltingly, looking up. Thomas's eyes were weary, maybe a little sad. For a moment, the masks were down. "Athrun was... He is my best friend. I can't kill him. I don't want to fight with him!"
Thomas nodded understandingly. "And I guess he feels the same way about you. You're not his enemy, but this ship is and he has his duty?"
"I... I think so."
"Well, that's difficult," Thomas agreed, stating the obvious being one of his many skills. He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "There's an old saying that the best way to win a fight is to defeat your opponent without harming him. Tell me... about these mobile suits of yours... the cockpit's inside the chest, right?"
"Yes?" Kira replied hesitantly, wondering what Thomas had in mind.
"Well, I realise this is easier said than done, but you aren't exactly fighting this Athrun himself, are you? You're fighting his suit. So isn't there somewhere that you could hit the suit to, I don't know, disable it? Without hitting the cockpit? There's probably information on the Aegis aboard - it was built to operate off the Archangel right?"
Kira's eyes went wide. "And if the suit's disabled, I don't have to kill Athrun!"
"Don't get too confident," Thomas warned. "I respect your not wanting to harm your friend, but accidents still happen. And it will be much harder to target just a part of his suit rather than taking whatever shots you can."
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.