Himuro sat in his chair aboard the bridge of the Heaven's Thunder. The battle at JOSH-A was quite the success, all things considered. However, something kept him on edge.

"Was it just me, or did it feel like we were hardly even needed in that fight?" Himuro questioned his crew, drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair, "I mean, we fired off a little bit of artillery and other than that, we got forced to tackle with the air. Seems like a few more mobile suits would have been better suited for the job than us,"

"Sir, think of it in this way: We could have been swarmed by enemy forces unable to fend off them off by ourselves!"

Himuro looked at the crewman who reported from the radar station, "I guess you are right. Even still, I feel we need to put in more effort for the Empire. Thank you for the opinion though," he finished, giving off a smile, "Alright, let's move out! Let's leave this episode behind and seek out better opportunities! Head toward's the rising sun. We're sure to find excellence in the direction of our great home!"

-

Later on, Himuro left the bridge and headed towards the mess hall. There he met up with Kunisada, who was already sitting down at a table, enjoying a meal.

"Cap'n Foxy~" Kunisada said with a sly grin, "Come to enjoy some eats with your good pal?"

Himuro nodded as he leaned his elbows on the table, taking his hat off in the process, "What's your opinion on the attack on JOSH-A?"

With a mouthful, "Oh, that? Well... It was a battle, that's for sure. You could see it all around us!"

"No, no, not the battle itself. I was kind of implying more about our involvement in the battle,"

Kunisada swallowed his food, reaching over and petting Himuro, "Not something I was used to, that's for sure. I was expecting to be closer to the fight. You know me! At least we didn't get a hole punched through us, though,"

Sighing, Himuro shook his head, "Yeah, seems like that is everyone's mindset at the moment. Well, considering most of us are from the old unit, I feel we need to see something more to improve morale. We haven't done much of anything. I want to be useful to our country, I don't want us to have this job to just sit around!"

Kunisada took a few seconds to observe his captain before he set down his utensils, "I know where you're coming from bud, but don't let it get to you that much. We don't want to walk into something we can't handle, right?"

Himuro looked up to Kunisada with a serious face, "We were trained for combat, so we need to see combat. Why join the military and not protect your country and further it's cause?"

Wide-eyed and almost speechless from his friend's expression, "Well... Yeah, but..." he stumbled, sighing, "Alright. I understand. I won't let anything like that happen to us!" a big grin came across his face, "Let's see the Heaven's Thunder try to keep up with Streaker! We'll have a contest to see who does better in the next engagement. Of course, it won't just be a kill count, cause I'd murder you all in that scoring!"

They both began to laugh, the chatter from the other crewmen in the mess, accompanied by the chimes of utensils, made a suitable ambiance. Kunisada stood up and leaned across the table, placing his forehead on Himuro's as he patted fairly hard on his captain's shoulder. With that, Kunisada gathered up his tray and left the company of Himuro.

There, the young captain stared at the tabletop, contemplating everything so far. Emotions, opinions, obligations. Acting without thinking would end in heartbreak, but playing it too safe would end in morale taking a turn for the worse. Both were bad in their own rights, but a solution lay in the bed of questions that were surfacing. He knew what he must do, understanding the gamble he was about to take. Putting not only his own feelings on the line, he was looking out for those who looked to him for guidance aboard this battleship. Would his kindness, accompanied by pride in his work, put his short-lived career to rest?