Editing KSGU:Volume 4 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 6===

The elevator door just opened, and Liam entered the bridge at a speed she would never lose to. Otto used his hand to stop Ensign Mihiro who was about to get up, and spoke, “Whose ship is that?”

“Yes. The identification code classified it as a launch from the “Alaska”, but…”

Mihiro put her hand on the headset, and turned her face that grasped this vague situation to the communication console. The monitor was full of noise, and it was impossible to see the person’s face. As Otto frowned, a familiar voice rang through the voice box, (Can you hear me, Ensign Mihiro?), causing the air sucked into his nostrils.

(We don’t have enough thruster fuel here. Please hurry up and allow us to land. Is Uncle Raccoon there!?)

Raccon. This word itself caused everyone on the bridge to look at Otto. Of course, no Captain would be able to remember the voices of more than 200 crew member, but Otto heard this voice before. He coughed to clear the abnormal air here, and said, “Who are you? Are you a crew member of ours?” ignoring Liam as he picked up the microphone on the console.

(To the launch approaching here, this is the Uncle Raccoon of the “Nahel Argama”. Specify the passengers’ ranks and names.)

After an awkward pause for about 2, 3 seconds, (Yes, I’m Ensign Riddhe Marcenas of the Nahel Argama mobile suit squad!) a voice came from the speakers. The face of the “prince” he faced several days ago clearly appeared in his mind, making him speechless. “Ensign Riddhe…?” Liam mused as both of them looked at each other, and Otto turned his unfocused stare to the communication monitor that was full of noise.

(I’m approaching the Nahel Argama with 2 civilians here. Please allow me to board.)

“What’s going on? What happened with the “Alaska”?”

(I didn’t receive any instructions from the “Alaska”, but came to the Nahel Argama on my own.)

The atmosphere inside the bridge suddenly tensed up. Otto quickly held onto the microphone and asked Mihiro, “Can we contact the “Alaska”?”.  Mihiro answered, “We can’t. It’s impossible if we don’t leave the shoal space region.” and Otto stared at the launch’s current position on the navigation monitor.

If they believed the information the Senate Council sent over, there would be less than 20,000km direct distance to the area the enemy patrols would be at.  Otto stared at the monitor that caught sight of the launch, and made the conclusion that it did so despite knowing the consequences, and spoke into the microphone, “Why did you come back?”

(I’m a pilot of the Nahel Argama. I came back because I want to live and die together with the ship.)

“You should understand that this is against military orders, right?”

(I realized it already. Regarding the two civilians, I considered that it might be dangerous to hand them over to the Senate Council like this, so I brought them along.)

“He said they will be in danger…” Mihiro muttered and stared at Otto. These civilian had already known about classified military secrets, and the Senate Council would not just let them head back home so freely. Otto himself did think of this possibility before, but could not answer for certain, causing him to look away awkwardly. Otto exchanged understanding looks to Liam, and in place of doubtful answer, he simply told her to “Allow them to land.” and handed the microphone over to Mihiro.

Otto deliberately avoided looking at Mihiro’s doubtful look as she took the microphone. “To the approaching launch, our ship will allow you to land. Please match our relative velocity and abide by the deck manager’s instructions to enter from the back.” Mihiro said this, and Otto had his back turned on her as he again looked up at the visual on the sensor screen. ''No matter whether the “Nahel Argama” survives or not, Ensign Riddhe’s military career will be at an end. He did such a reckless thing…well, I can say that, but no half-baked determination is going to allow him to use such a small launch to shake off the “Alaska”s detection, pass through the shoal space region full of debris and catch up with us. What prompted him to do this?'' Such a doubt started to appear in Otto’s mind.

''If they just wanted to ensure the safety of two civilians, it would be a weird thing to think of escaping to the “Nahel Argama” preparing for battle. From Riddhe’s words of wanting to live and die together with the ship, it’s clear that he knew how dangerous the battle that was about to start was. It was logical of him to contact them when communications were sealed off, and obviously, this was not something thought of at the spur of a moment—'' The indecisive thoughts started creeping up in him, and as the navigation operator asked, “Is this really alright?” Otto was at a loss of words. Liam stepped forward in place of Otto, and said,

“There’s still less than six hours before the battle. We can’t send them back now anyway. Tell the guards to carry out a thorough check on the launch.”

“Captain.” Liam added on for confirmation, and the navigation operator gave a believing look as he looked back at the console. ''Just ask the person himself.'' Otto nodded at Liam, who gave this expression, and looked at the watch.

''9.07am. It’s definitely less than 6 hours before the first phase of battle at 15.00. Should we view this as a lucky omen, or…''