Mwu stared in disbelief at the debris that were once young Hoji. They had never been close friends, but there was always a natural respect between the two pilots. That was gone now. Instantaneously, the shock was replaced with blind rage and an animalistic determination to take down the enemy machines.

Mwu moved faster and with more precision than he thought possible for a Natural, even if he was a Newtype. With three well-placed blasts, he had disarmed the GINN blocking his way and was now headed towards the CGUE that had unintentionally killed Hoji. Everything had become a blur and Mwu seemed to be operating without conscious thoughts, because that would allow the grief to wash over him, and he couldn't lose focus now.

He finally allowed his mind free thought, when he heard the voice on the communication system. "Lieutenant La Fllaga, return to ship. The enemy vessel is retreating." Sluggishly, he obeyed, his previous stamina all but gone.

Getting out of his Mobile Armor, he noticed the GINN. Mwu briefly wondered if Azumi was still in it. He was spared further thought by the arrival of Commander Horace. Mwu willed his feet to move and met Horace halfway. It seemed he wouldn't even get the privilege to be yelled at in private. 'Not that you deserve it.' a grim little thought told Mwu.

"Lieutenant La Fllaga, what the hell were you thinking? Directly disobeying orders? I told you to take that stupid GINN out there! Was the life of that Coordinator really worth that of Hoji? Not to mention the damages to the ship!" Mwu forced himself to at least look the man in the eye. He knew it was true, but he also knew he wouldn't change what he had done, had he the chance.

"Commander, you're right, but I couldn't possibly send that girl to her death like that. If she hadn't been in the GINN, I would have followed orders. With all due respect, sir, you would have disobeyed orders by intentionally killing a prisoner, had I done what you asked of me."

Azumi listened to the conversation outside her machine intently. 'So that bastard intended to kill me. I'll bet it has something to do with that device. Wait, but that means Mwu saved me, doesn't it? And it seems it was at the expense of a teammate's life, too. I hope they don't punish him because of me… I hope he doesn't hate me…'

Outside, the yelling seemed to have stopped. Adrenaline accelerated Azumi's heartbeat as the cockpit door began to open. 'What will they do with me now?' She was pulled out by the same two crewmembers that had brought her here in the first place. She only got a brief glimpse of a worn-out, pale Mwu before she was lead out of the landing area and down a series of corridors with the same silence that had accompanied her to the GINN. With a nervous start, she realized she wasn't being taken back to her room, but somewhere entirely different.

Soon, the group reached what appeared to be the prisoners' ward. A row of dark cells constituted the two walls of a large corridor. They were all obviously empty. Once the rope binding the Coordinator's hands was removed, she was pushed into a cell and left alone to her musings.

Mwu felt the energy drain out of him. Horace had left to order the ship's new course, promising Mwu a lively report of his disobedience once they reached an EA base. Azumi would be taken to the prisoners' ward where, he hoped, she would be safe from the anger of the grieving crew over the loss of Hoji. It wasn't her fault, but they would need someone to blame. He was ready to take that blame; it did belong to him, after all.

He watched the girl cast him a furtive glance as she was lead towards her new cell. There was something in her eyes. Gratitude? Concern? He couldn't tell; she was gone too fast.

With nothing left to worry him, the last of the adrenaline Mwu had been running on since the battle was exhausted, allowing the MA pilot to collapse and be lead away to his room in order to rest. It finally dawned on him just how far he had pushed himself, as he lay down, trying to find the sleep that refused to come.

Author's note: Heh, another short chapter. Anyways, the next one should be longer and lighter. I hope you enjoyed reading the last two chapters more than I did writing them. I wanted to thank everyone for the great reviews. It's good to see people liking your stuff. Until next time, which will probably be very soon as I have absolutely nothing better to do than write.