"By the way, is it really okay for that guy Kira to have enlisted directly?"
Dearka's voice interrupted Fred's thoughts.
"It's fine."
"And you all know about his abilities, right?"
"...Yeah."
Hearing this, Dearka awkwardly rubbed his nose.
After all, in the previous mock battles, all of them had been shot down by Kira.
If Athrun hadn't salvaged some pride for them, they would have been utterly skewered by that guy Kira.
Which was pretty terrifying—they were a professionally trained team.
Yet they'd been beaten by a near-complete amateur.
"We had the advantage at first. If only Flay hadn't..."
Dearka muttered, trying to save face.
"A loss is a loss. Just train harder."
Fred chuckled and threw an arm around Dearka's neck, his free hand ruffling the other's blond head.
Still, Dearka had a point.
At the start, Kira had only completed basic training and was really no match for them.
But once Flay, who was watching, started cheering him on, things began to turn into a one-sided rout.
And because of that, Kira had earned himself the nickname "God of Devoted Love."
"Mm... got it."
Though the two people involved, Kira and Flay, seemed rather embarrassed by the title.
And so, chatting away, the two of them soon returned from the neutral zone at the center of Yggdrasil to their own territory.
Dearka went off to practice, and as if by prior arrangement, Kira—the God of Devoted Love who had just been in a mock battle—drifted on over.
"Kira, what's up?" Fred asked.
The young man before him was a little different from a month ago.
Dressed in a Red Uniform, he seemed somewhat more mature, and carried himself with more confidence.
"N-nothing..."
Kira answered a bit nervously.
"You don't look like it's nothing."
Fred said with a smile, "Come on, what is it?"
"Well, it's just..."
Fred's voice gave the boy courage. Kira took a deep breath. "Is it really okay for me not to sortie?"
"Kira isn't regular military, so there's no problem."
Fred shook his head.
"You don't like war anyway, do you?"
"Besides, you have a more important task—protecting Flay. That's enough."
Fred said with a smile.
There was no way Kira would start charging into battle for PLANT after just a month.
The reason he'd come was that, upon hearing Flay was coming too, he had gone and learned MS piloting just to follow her.
So to bring out Kira's greatest potential, the natural choice was to make him Flay's guard.
"Is that really okay?"
"Of course. With you protecting Flay, I'm completely at ease."
With Creuset gone, as long as Kira was determined to protect Flay, she would essentially be safe.
Of course, Kira was only his backup plan—after all, he wasn't dead himself.
"After we leave, don't go out unless it's a matter of life and death."
Fred added, "Understand?"
"Okay... safe travels!"
Kira hesitated a moment before agreeing.
"Mm, Kira, you've been a great help."
"With you all providing support at Yggdrasil, I can rest easy."
"Hardly..."
Facing Fred's gentle smile, no different from the one in his memories, Kira couldn't help but show a smile of his own as well.
"Yes!"
...
The remaining three days of preparation passed quickly.
During this time, although the group stationed here suffered occasional harassment from the Atlantic Federation, with the garrison present, there was no need for them to act.
They simply focused on resting and building up their strength, and soon the day of departure arrived.
"According to plan, this cargo ship will reach low Earth orbit in one hour."
Fred's voice echoed through the meeting room inside the cargo ship.
"After we descend, the Neutron Jammers will provide cover, so they won't notice anything unusual for a while."
"However, we didn't deploy many Neutron Jammers here, so they're expected to return to normal within five hours."
After all, that area wasn't a primary war zone, so they couldn't have dropped Neutron Jammers there without reason. On the surface, the Neutron Jammers present there had all come from ZAFT battleships that had fallen due to accidents, carrying their own—not buried underground.
So they would be easy to rule out.
This kind of situation was commonplace during wartime.
"The operation must be completed within five hours—wipe out all of their ground forces."
Without ground forces, given their current strength in space and the Moon's distant position, even an airborne assault couldn't touch them.
"Understood."
Everyone responded in unison, in perfect tacit agreement.
"Once we're inside, first take over the systems to prevent a self-destruct. Orphee and Athrun, take two squads and hold off any possible reinforcements outside."
After all, this wasn't the SD-era storyline anymore.
According to satellite intelligence, there should be quite a few garrison troops around that Enhanced Person base now.
However, no MS had appeared yet, so even if there were Enhanced Person units, they would most likely be captured GINNs, CGUEs, or aircraft like the Skygrasper.
Whereas what they piloted were new-model Mobile Suits.
Add to that Athrun, whose combat skills were among the best in the world, plus Fred himself and numerous Aces.
If they still failed after all this, Fred could only chalk it up to bad luck.
"Yes, sir."
The two men, along with the members of their respective squads, acknowledged the orders.
...
Soon, after the operational meeting, the time for the operation arrived.
Fred sat in the Freedom, calmly watching the countdown before him.
Inside the sealed cockpit, it was so quiet he could hear his own heartbeat.
"Five... four... three... two..."
As a massive explosion suddenly rang out, Fred powered on the Mobile Suit.
The screens before him lit up one by one, flickering with various lights.
Beyond the monitors was a scene of violent tremors and scattered flames.
Just as planned, the transport ship was about to break apart in low Earth orbit.
"Infiltration begins—watch each other's backs."
"Yes, sir."
Everyone acknowledged. Aside from the few Mobile Suits capable of descending to Earth independently, they all steered their MS to cling to the floor of the hangar.
Before them was a dazzling red glow and violent shaking.
Even inside the cockpit, it felt several degrees more stifling than usual.
Although the Pilot Suit kept the heat out, it still left one feeling somewhat uneasy.
However, they were all Aces, and clearly no one would say anything at a time like this.
All of them waited with sharp gazes.
This situation lasted only a short while. Soon, the view before them suddenly opened up.
The bright red faded away. Although they were still inside the half-ruined hangar, unable to see the scenery outside, gravity had already acted on everyone's bodies and Mobile Suits faster than the scenery could.
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