In the Lesseps-class Infirmary
The moment Andrew opened his eyes, an indescribable soreness spread throughout his body.
He glanced around his surroundings... the familiar ship interior, the familiar room layout. It seemed he was in the infirmary of a Lesseps-class vessel.
However, before he could gather his thoughts, a voice reached his ears.
"Sir, you're awake?!"
Andrew turned toward the sound and saw his adjutant named Dagosta looking at him with a pleasantly surprised expression, accompanied by several medical personnel reporting on injury conditions.
"Mmm... no need to worry, I'm fine. How is Aisha's condition?"
Enduring the pain throughout his body, Andrew propped himself up against the headboard and asked.
From what he could remember... his injuries shouldn't be particularly severe.
When the Strike Suit launched its final attack, it hadn't directly hit the LaGowe's cockpit but had struck other parts of the mobile suit's body - his injuries were likely just from the subsequent explosion.
"Miss Aisha's injuries are even lighter than yours. She woke up several hours ago."
"Additionally, the other BuCUE pilots are also not in life-threatening condition. Like you, they only sustained some injuries from the subsequent explosion."
Dagosta reported truthfully... To be honest, this outcome somewhat surprised him.
If only one or two had survived, it could have been explained as the Strike Suit missing its target. But with everyone surviving... that seemed somewhat frightening.
Didn't that mean the Strike Suit had been fighting with the intention of sparing their lives from the very beginning?
Noticing the gradually emerging look of astonishment on Dagosta's face, Andrew nodded:
"It seems you've realized it too... That Strike Suit pilot never intended to take our lives from the start."
"Otherwise, if he had used that move that split battleships in space, how many of us do you think would have survived?"
Andrew said with a laugh, having realized early on that the Strike Suit was holding back.
That golden, shining trump card mode - he hadn't used it from beginning to end, even though activating it would have easily finished them off.
"But... why would the Strike Suit pilot do that?"
Dagosta spread his hands in confusion, not understanding. What benefit was there in doing this... aside from increasing his own combat difficulty?
"To leave me a way out."
Andrew shrugged and smiled.
"Is it... about what he mentioned before, wanting to recruit you as an ally?"
"Exactly."
Andrew nodded and continued.
"Earlier I said... that until I've fulfilled my duty as a soldier, I wouldn't join their side."
"That guy challenging me to a decisive battle probably noticed this statement - wanting to use this battle to give me an opportunity to 'fulfill my duty.'"
"'ZAFT's Desert Tiger has died in the duel. What remains alive now is merely Andrew Waltfeld as a free man.'... Is that what he meant?"
Dagosta seemed to have an epiphany, pinching his chin and nodding thoughtfully, as if he understood Lu Tianming's meaning.
Having already "died" once for ZAFT, shouldn't the shackles named "duty" be loosened by now?—That was probably what he had in mind.
"But... did he never consider that gaining freedom and joining them aren't necessarily equivalent? What if you obtain freedom but don't wish to join them?"
After careful thought, he still felt there were flaws in this plan and asked in confusion.
"Then he's probably gambling... betting that I'm not someone who would ignore a 'life-saving favor'."
Andrew speculated. This was indeed the riskiest part of the plan... If he were truly shameless or cold-blooded, Lu Tianming's previous efforts would be as useless as winking at a blind person.
Unfortunately... he, Andrew, was no blind man.
"But speaking of which... if I wanted to defect, what would you do? Send me back to ZAFT as a traitor?"
He changed the subject, half-jokingly looking at his ever-loyal adjutant beside him with a smile.
"What are you talking about, sir?"
Faced with such a question, Dagosta showed no tension at all.
"No matter which side you stand on, we will always be your subordinates and will never betray you."
"Even if you declare defection from ZAFT and break with headquarters—we wouldn't hesitate in the slightest."
"Ah, that won't be necessary."
While nodding with satisfaction, Andrew waved his hand.
He seemed to recall something, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth as he continued.
"After all... according to that guy's plan, staying in ZAFT's military actually allows me to play a more significant role now."
————————————————
Compared to Andrew who was eagerly contemplating how to shine within ZAFT's forces, Lu Tianming's situation was utterly leisurely.
Several days had passed since he accepted Cagalli's invitation and set sail with her toward ORB.
Initially, Lu Tianming had been somewhat worried—concerned that the ZAFT Forces from the original storyline who attacked the Archangel with submarines might appear. Right after departure, he prepared numerous countermeasures against potential air-sea coordinated assaults.
But... after waiting anxiously for a long time, Lu Tianming instead found the current situation far more peaceful than he had anticipated.
Not to mention submarines, there weren't even any large fish around.
As for how he discovered this—it was because, egged on by Xia Chuan, Lu Tianming actually went fishing.
The result, whether due to the Archangel moving too fast or some other reason, was a continuous streak of empty catches.
"How strange, has ZAFT really run out of available troops?"
Still wearing sunglasses, Lu Tianming stood on the Archangel's deck, muttering to himself in confusion.
"We're almost at ORB now, why is there still no movement from them?"
"I have no idea."
Xia Chuan's brain-empty voice came through the sunglasses—he lived up to expectations by not pondering anything at all.
But perhaps feeling that answering like this every time was too useless, Xia Chuan made an effort to think this time and ventured a guess.
"Could it really be because of the impact from the Alaska battle..."
"...That might actually be possible."
After pondering for a while, Lu Tianming felt this possibility couldn't be ruled out.
A significant portion of ZAFT's Earth forces were wiped out by the Cyclops System... If they want to attack ORB now, they'd likely have to mobilize troops from elsewhere, which might explain why they've been left undisturbed along the way—this possibility isn't out of the question.
Just as Lu Tianming was about to continue his random musings, a long-unheard alarm suddenly blared, followed by Miriallia's voice broadcasting from the ship's intercom.
"Radar has detected ZAFT vessels approaching our position, with MS units deployed alongside them."
"The MS models are... those four Mobile Suits from the G Series!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Tianming immediately perked up, feeling tense yet unavoidably nostalgic.
...Are we finally going to face off against these guys again after all this time?