The word "friend" entered his ears, and Athrun's heart trembled, the look of pain spreading across his eyes once more. He clenched his fists, a bitter smile appearing on his face.
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
Seeing Athrun's profound pain, Kira began to hurt as well, his voice trembling slightly as he replied.
"Kira!"
"Athrun!"
Calls came from behind them, making them both look past each other. After that one glance, they looked at each other, then turned and walked away from the railing.
Back with his comrades, Yzak looked at Athrun's state and spoke coldly, a look of contempt on his face.
"When the time comes, if you can't bring yourself to do it, just watch."
With that, Yzak glanced at Athrun and said again, "Get in the car, let's go!"
Hearing this, Athrun looked at Yzak, then glanced back toward the railing. Unable to see Kira's figure, Athrun got into the car.
The car that had been parked there started up again.
The figures of the four soon disappeared.
In the car.
"We need to report this to Captain Creuset quickly and let him decide what to do about this matter," Yzak said, looking at the scenery outside.
Athrun looked up at Yzak, who happened to turn and look at him at the same moment, his words still merciless.
"You look pathetic."
"Yzak, don't say that."
Seeing Athrun's condition and hearing Yzak's words, Nicol stepped in to stop him from continuing. Yzak looked at Nicol, snorted coldly, and turned his head to look at the scenery on the other side.
Seeing this, Nicol patted Athrun's shoulder.
"Athrun, don't worry. There will still be a chance for your friend to see the error of his ways and come back."
"Thank you, Nicol."
Athrun looked up at the bright, warm smile on Nicol's face and said his thanks.
Smiling slightly, Nicol spoke in a gentle voice.
"You're welcome."
With that, Nicol patted Athrun's shoulder again as a gesture of comfort. After doing so, Nicol turned to look ahead, no longer speaking with Athrun.
Sitting in his seat, Athrun rested his chin on one hand and gazed at the scenery outside the car, his face tinged with a faint sorrow born of conflict, his mind pondering something.
...
"Captain, we've been searching in space for two days already. Can we still find them?" Aric asked worriedly, looking out at the cosmos with a troubled expression.
Seeing Aric's anxious look, Felix calmly replied, "Whether we can find them or not, we'll just have to keep looking and see."
He said this aloud, but in his heart, he thought helplessly, 'I can't remember exactly where they fought. Whether we can find it now is all up to fate.'
"Heat source detected ahead! Bearing three-three, five-five, mark one-five, alpha!"
The soldier in charge of the forward detection system saw the reading and immediately reported it to Vice-Captain Oakley. Oakley, in turn, relayed the information to Captain Aric.
Upon hearing the report, Aric looked down at Felix.
Felix looked at the large screen before him, stood up, and said, "I'll take the Genesis and go check out the situation first."
"Captain, isn't that too dangerous?" Aric asked with some concern, feeling that Felix's decision was a bit risky. Hearing the worry in Aric's voice, Felix smiled and joked, "If I could die out there, we'd probably all be finished anyway."
With that, Felix started walking out.
He stopped at the doorway as Aric gave an order.
"Keep a close watch on the situation ahead, and await my orders!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Aric stood up, turned around, and saluted Felix.
He watched until the captain was out of sight.
Averting his gaze, Aric sat back down in his chair and ordered a halt.
"Cease forward advance! The Athena will maintain silent running and conceal its position!"
"Yes, sir!"
In the central hangar.
Felix, now clad in his pilot suit, looked at the Genesis Gundam before him. He turned to Taiber at his side and asked, "How are the preparations?"
"Rest assured, Captain. Your MS is always maintained at peak condition, ready to launch at any time!" Taiber looked at Felix, raised his hand in a salute, and spoke in a loud, earnest voice. Hearing Taiber's words, Felix nodded slightly and smiled at him.
He sat down in the seat and entered the cockpit.
His finger pressed the ignition button. The Genesis Gundam activated, and the system began its self-check sequence. Once all checks were complete, the Genesis Gundam was officially online.
...
"ZGMF-X08A Genesis , cleared for launch!"
"Felix Leo Griffith, Genesis , launching!"
As the voice faded, the Genesis Gundam launched from the catapult. Bursting out of the battleship, the wings on the Genesis Gundam's back shifted, its connector rose, and the bottom of the Destiny Flight Pack revealed its port, linking with the connector.
Looking at the feedback on the screen, Felix pressed down hard on the pedals.
The back thrusters and the Destiny Flight Pack's thrusters simultaneously erupted with immense power. Propelled by this force, the Genesis Gundam flew forward at extreme speed.
...
On Earth.
Inside a ZAFT submersible carrier beneath the sea just off the coast of Orb.
Bang!
Yzak slammed his fist hard against the wall.
"If you keep hitting it, you're going to break the wall," Dearka said teasingly, a playful look on his face as he watched Yzak.
The target of the joke, Yzak, glared fiercely at Dearka, then lowered his arm. His face was a mask of frustration and confusion as he spoke with displeasure.
"I really don't get why we aren't taking action."
"Orb is a neutral nation. We can't make a move against a neutral nation," Dearka replied in a somewhat lazy tone, looking at the tablet in his hands.
At these words, Yzak's displeasure deepened, and he retorted angrily, "Bullshit neutral nation! They're hiding an enemy warship in their country. They've already violated the principles of neutrality. How can they still be considered a neutral nation! There's no problem at all with putting pressure on them!"
"Our evidence is insufficient. We can't provide conclusive proof that Orb has violated its neutrality," the previously silent Athrun said, looking up at Yzak to explain. He then continued, "After all, Kira's presence alone isn't enough to constitute solid proof. Not unless we can get a picture of the Archangel Battleship in Orb!"
"Yzak, Athrun is right," Nicol said, nodding in agreement with Athrun's words. He then tried to placate Yzak.
"Yzak, calm down. There will be a way to handle this. After all, Orb can't shelter that battleship forever, and that ship won't stay in Orb forever either. When they come out, we can make our move."
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "TLGod" on Patreon!"
Thanks!