"I'm fine, Cagalli."
A familiar, resonant voice sounded nearby, followed by a figure emerging from the sand. Qisaka shook the sand off his head, stood up, and approached Cagalli.
Seeing that Cagalli was unharmed, Qisaka felt the weight lift from his heart.
"It's good that you're okay."
Noting Qisaka's condition, Cagalli spoke with relief.
She turned to look toward the Archangel's location, her eyes sharpening as she saw the MS standing guard around the ship. Her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides.
"Let's go over there!"
With that, Cagalli strode toward the Archangel. Without a word, Qisaka followed closely behind her.
"Cagalli!"
A familiar voice called out from nearby.
Cagalli looked up to see an open-top off-road vehicle approaching.
The driver was someone she knew well.
"I'm here, Ahmed!"
Cagalli waved and called out to Ahmed.
Spotting her, Ahmed accelerated toward her.
Soon the vehicle stopped before Cagalli.
After getting in, Cagalli looked at Ahmed and patted his shoulder, her smile both happy and relieved.
"Seeing you safe puts my mind at ease."
"I feel the same way."
Ahmed smiled back.
With their worries eased, Ahmed drove toward the Archangel.
On the Archangel's bridge, Murrue and Badgiruel stood together watching the approaching vehicles on the screen.
"Are these people from a local resistance group fighting against ZAFT Forces?"
Murrue asked Badgiruel with slight confusion.
Badgiruel shook her head slightly.
"I'm not sure about that either, but their recent actions did help us."
"This is Dawn Desert, please respond!"
A mature middle-aged man's voice came through the public channel.
Hearing this, Murrue opened communications.
"This is the Earth Alliance Forces warship Archangel. I'm Captain Murrue Ramius!"
"Can we meet in person?"
The middle-aged man's voice came through again.
Murrue turned to look at Badgiruel beside her. After a moment's thought, Badgiruel nodded to Murrue.
Seeing Badgiruel's response, Murrue reached her decision.
"No problem!"
"Good, we'll talk more when we meet!"
The middle-aged man ended the communication after speaking.
After the call ended, Murrue and Badgiruel exchanged glances, then handed over the ship to others and left the bridge.
In the Strike Gundam's cockpit where Kira was resting on standby, his attention was drawn to one particular vehicle on the screen that seemed different from the others.
"Why are they stopping near me?"
While Kira was puzzled, a blonde woman in the vehicle caught his attention. Staring at this vaguely familiar face, he pondered carefully.
"Why is she here?"
Recognition dawned on Kira as he muttered in confusion.
Turning back to the screen, he saw the blonde woman gesturing at him. The gestures weren't complicated, and he quickly understood their meaning.
"Captain Murrue!"
"Kira, the Captain has already gone outside. I'll patch you through to her."
Miriallia responded to Kira's call over the comms. After speaking, she operated the communicator to transfer the call to Murrue.
"Kira, what's the matter?"
Murrue's questioning voice came through the communication.
Hearing this, Kira explained the situation to Murrue.
"What should I do now?"
"Don't open the cockpit hatch recklessly. Wait for orders!"
"Yes!"
Receiving the response, Kira replied verbally. After ending the communication, he ignored Cagalli's demands outside the Strike Gundam. Seeing her gestures completely ineffective, Cagalli stopped signaling. Shifting her gaze toward Murrue's group, she got out of the vehicle and walked over to them.
Murrue, who was speaking with Sahib, noticed Cagalli approaching and asked Sahib, "Mr. Sahib, who is this?"
"Captain Murrue, this is Cagalli, a member of our Dawn Desert group."
Sahib glanced at Cagalli as he introduced her to Murrue.
Just as Sahib was about to introduce Captain Murrue to Cagalli, Cagalli spoke first.
"Shouldn't you have the pilot of this MS come down first?"
"Cagalli!"
Sahib's voice grew stern as he scolded her for her bluntness.
Cagalli paid no attention to Sahib's severity, her resolute eyes unwavering as they remained fixed on Murrue.
Murrue looked at Cagalli, then glanced up at the Strike Gundam.
Turning back to Cagalli, she smiled gently and said, "You're right."
After speaking, she turned to Badgiruel and instructed, "Badgiruel, have Kira come down."
"Understood."
Badgiruel nodded slightly and replied.
Picking up her communicator, Badgiruel relayed the corresponding order to the Strike Gundam.
Inside the cockpit, Kira heard the command and nodded.
Pressing the button to open the hatch, he watched as the front hatch slowly slid open. Squinting at the sunlight streaming in, he bent over and stepped outside.
Exiting the cockpit, Kira descended to the ground via the lift cable.
Removing the helmet from his head, he shook his slightly damp hair and turned his gaze toward Cagalli.
The moment Cagalli saw Kira's face, she turned and strode quickly toward him.
Watching her hurried approach, Kira stood still, feeling puzzled.
"What does she want?"
As he wondered, Cagalli had already reached him. Just as Kira was about to greet her—
Slap!
A sharp sound rang out, followed by a stinging pain on his face.
"What is she doing?!"
"What's the relationship between these two?"
Murrue and Badgiruel, witnessing Cagalli slapping Kira across the face, were instantly shocked. They exchanged glances, both thinking the same thing.
Meanwhile, in the Dawn Desert, Sahib, Ahmed, and the others were thinking the same thoughts as Murrue and her group.
Under everyone's watchful eyes and speculation, Cagalli's hand once again swung toward Kira's face.
"Still hitting?"
Slap!
A relatively light sound rang out.
"I won't foolishly let you hit me a second time!"
An angry voice sounded.
Following this voice, Kira's furious eyes locked tightly onto Cagalli.
"Let go of me!"
Cagalli struggled with her hand, shouting at Kira as if giving an order. Hearing this, Kira remained unmoved, still gripping Cagalli's wrist without loosening his hold.
"Cagalli, stop making a scene!"
Sahib, having recovered from his shock, scolded Cagalli with an even sterner voice.
Murrue also spoke up at this moment.
"Kira, let her go."
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