"Ok. I'll be around when you're ready. Maybe don't tell the rest of the crew. Bright knows because it was relevant to the mission and I needed to explain were I got the gold. That was a gift from Char he wanted me to use it to run away from the war. But no one else knows."

"Oh that explains that then. Wait you mean its Char's fault Kai could afford those glasses?!?"

"I really need some time to think."

That was a bit of a disaster but much less than she was expecting.

Amuro is not going to be truly ok anytime soon, for example before the heat death of the universe, but will rebound to basically functional before the reach the planet.

The rest of the crew is still a little bit nervous about having their arch-nemesis walking about on board, but are starting to get pretty excited about the new planet. It is sinking in that they are making history, in a way that doesn't involve massive explosions for once. Also, while being cut off from "home" isn't great most of them don't actually have a home to go back to. Side 7 is toast and even the rest of the Sol system isn't looking that great after the One Year War.

During the trip towards the planet, the comm relay that the White Base left by the alien FTL relay forwards a transmission that came from a probe that came through from the other side. News from Pluto has finally arrived.

Jacinda writes that she is sure they are all still alive and that everyone on Pluto is fine, they have more than enough supplies in the Pluto base and even more that were salvaged from the blown up ships. Though most of the food that survived the ships was the boring emergency nutrient paste.

They managed to get the relay pointed away from earth but havent been able to fix the issue of it causing objects to have too much mass coming out. Jacinda also figured out the the relays have a dedicated communications system, so you dont have to shoot lasers or radio through the FTL system while it's activated to communicate, though that is still possible. The other method seems to use another unknown system that isnt the normal FTL system, that is supposedly instant if she is reading the glyphs correctly. She sends an image of a point on the relay where it picks up light, and relays the light level it is getting to the other side in real time. So just pointing laser comms at that point should work, since Job John set up a comms relay near that point to read the light flashes that got sent through. If she doesn't get a reply using the system she showed them, she will assume they can't get it to work and already has comm relays hoping to pick up comms sent via the FTL system, and to respond she will send probes through like this time.

The Pluto team has contacted the Federation and the Federation says it will be at least 10 months before supplies from the Jupiter fleet can get there, and it will take 14 months for the Federation technicians and further supplies and personnel to be organized and travel to Pluto.

The communication ends with Jacinda writing that Job says hi, and Friedrich was bummed to not be able to meet the famous Red Comet.

Fraw Bow can totally make their communications system interface with the relay's ftl one.

Everyone will say hi back to John Job. The crew is small enough that everyone at least kinda knows him.

Bright will be boring and responsible and give an update on all of the actual information they've gathered including attaching pictures and scans. He'll also forward their farming plans and ask if they can be reviewed by people with any idea how agriculture works.

He doesn't say anything about there not being a name for the planet yet because he's still working on ideas and doesn't want anyone to pre-empt him after being reminded that that is still something that needs to be worked out.

Amuro will use Sayla as a go between to strongly hint to Char that it would be really nice if he were to respond to his figurative fanmail from Friedrich.

She isn't thrilled by the prospect, but agrees with the sentiment and kinda likes having an excuse to talk to her brother while still avoiding the everything.

Char isn’t a federation soldier, and thus has no duties on board during the trip, and space travel without something to do is incomparably dull. So when he sees his sister show up his mood is brightened considerably.

He has been trying to speak alone with her this whole trip and it seemed like she was avoiding him, but surely that was just a coincidence. She must just have been busy with her duties or something surely. Artesia had always been such a good child who always wanted to follow her brother around, she wouldn't ignore him.

Ok she can do this. They'll probably end up talking about... stuff but she can ease into it.

"So Cha" she glances around to make sure they're alone, "Casval."

"Did you hear we have comms to Pluto back up? They think it will be ten months, maybe more, to get more supplies and at least 14 months to fix the relay."

"Oh and also Friedrich, one of the defectors who helped us take Pluto, said he was disappointed he didn't get a chance to meet you."

“Artesia, I’m glad we can finally talk. I haven’t been able to catch a hold of you this whole trip. Captain Bright must be keeping you very busy.

It’s a relief we will get supplies relatively soon in case the agriculture plans don’t work, and that we can call home and get information.”

He doesn’t really know how to act around her, last he really got to talk with her was when she was still a little girl, the pleas to defect during the war didn’t really count as conversations. Now she was a young woman with much more serious eyes and a force of personality he wouldn't have expected that little girl to grow up having.

”I’m glad it wasn’t just my squad on the Zeon side that saw that the destruction of the Earth isn’t something you can allow to happen. I suppose once the Pluto team is relieved by the Federation repair team they will be sending, they can rejoin us here and I’ll be glad to meet him, otherwise if he is staying there he will have to wait for the relay to be fixed.”

Ok he missed the hint but she tried and they do have a lot to talk about.

"I don't think they have craft to send people through now but it wouldn't surprise me if he comes through with the supplies. I'm not sure anyone's shown you the models yet but he was pretty good at them. You should try making one if we have any left."

"Anyway I've mostly been helping Amuro, and trying to get a feel for how the rest of the crew is reacting to you. I think they've calmed down for now.

“We are heading to an alien world, and somebody must have made those relays. Who knows what threats are out there. It would be foolish to fight amongst each other right now, and we might need every man we can get in case something goes wrong or something attacks us.

And if I get chased off, my men would leave with me, depriving you of 5 mobile suit pilots and mobile suits. The fact that my mens mobile suits have been resupplied shows your captain understands the situation.”

Char had a good deal of respect for Bright Noa, His tactics were adaptable. He survived clashes with foes (some of whom Char sent his way) that would have crushed most older and more experienced captains. That Bright seemed level headed enough to also understand It was pointless to fight right now, just cemented that respect in Char’s mind.

"Bright did a lot of the calming people down. It really helped that you killed so many of the Zabis." She allows herself a tiny smile at this. She didn't approve of the cost he was willing to pay for revenge, but she is still happy to have it. "Besides sticking together in a new world is just common sense."

"Not that I really expect 5 suits to make the difference against anything that could build an array like that and just leave it arround. But there could be other threats or things where we need the manpower for colony building."

She breaks into the first actually sisterly smile she's done in a long time, almost an actual laugh.
"After all what if we need to someone to check if we can eat the space mushrooms."

Artesia had changed a lot, but that smile he recognised. He allows himself to smile back at her.

“I am absolutely not the one who will be trying the local flora!  I made that mistake on earth and that was with plants we evolved alongside. Never again am I trusting a trooper who says any kind of wild mushroom is edible and that their grandad totally taught them which ones were safe. I was in bed for a week!” He recounts the story fondly however. Even during his revenge quest against the Zabis, he couldn't help becoming fond of the men under his command. Even when they accidentally gave him food poisoning.

He wondered if Artesia had made friends like that here on the White Base. She had always been shy as a child but she was so different now.

Thinking of the White Base crew had reminded Char of something.

”Ah... Artesia... Amuro guessed we were related when he saw my face... I should have thought of that before doing so, but he demanded to know my reasons and identifying myself seemed the easiest way to explain. He at least deserved to know who I was, after everything that happened.”

He hadn’t wanted to cause trouble for his sister, he knew she had feelings for Amuro.

”I hope this has not interfered with your relationship. I dislike the boy but I wouldn't want to interfere in your personal life like that.”

It kinda did but she doesn't want to be a dick about it.

"Well I'd been looking for an opprotunity to talk to him about my past anyway..."

She doesn't actually look happy about this.

Char has never had an actual relationship either, some one night flings, but no real relationships. So, he doesn’t have much advice to give besides vague impressions he got hearing about other peoples relationships. As the older brother however, he should seem confident when giving advice.

”If he is worthy of you he won’t hold your past against you. As far as I know you’ve been loyal to the federation since our escape from side 3. If he holds the circumstances of your birth against you, or who you happen to be related to, then you deserve better.”

Char doesn’t even like Amuro, but Artesia clearly does, so he feels like he needs to help somehow.

”Maybe get more involved in his hobbies? The boy looks at mobile suits worshipfully, the way a soldier looks up to a war hero, or the way a husband might look at his long time wife.”

He's not wrong per se. but.

"Thats actually most of how we got to know each other. I fly the G-Fighter and have been making models with him."

"Thats... Nice I suppose. I worry he might still be getting over the death of Lalah. Even without a physical relationship I could tell those two had an intense newtype connection. And those feelings are easily confused as romantic ones."

It feeling romantic was true for himself as well. He still didn't really know how he had felt about Lalah, she had feelings for him and their newtype connection was strong, so maybe he had just been reflecting the feelings he felt from her through that. He wasn't the type to fall in love but it felt like something had been there between them. But then Amuro and Lalah had connected so strongly during that fateful battle that even he could sense it, and if all it took was a strong newtype connection for Amuro to feel like that, then were his own feelings even real?

But Artesia didn't need to know about his own relationship troubles, just how things might have affected her own target of affections.

Who? Wait not she can't just admit to not knowing any of this.

"He really still isn't over the war as a whole."

"The war started much earlier for me, and It's been such a big part of my life for so long. Honestly now it's all over I didn't really know what to do with myself, nothing seemed worthwile anymore. But an alien world! that seems livable! A way to travel through the deep dark of space and explore distant stars! That is something exciting, that is something I can structure my life around again.

I think Amuro will also pick up now he has something to strive for."

Maybe he gave away too much about himself there, but it was Artesia, if there was one person he should be able to trust it would be his sister.