"What a fool."
Watching the continuous takeover requests appearing before him, Fred shrugged.
His attention quickly returned to the completely charred life support system wiring node that had been scraped by meteorite debris. Two mechanical arms skillfully performed precise cutting and splicing inside the thick cables.
He had completely taken on the appearance of an experienced electrician.
Although he hadn't been practicing with the Mobile Armor very frequently, he could clearly feel his control becoming increasingly refined lately.
However, without any reference point, he had no idea what his current capability level actually was.
Still, it was fortunate he had remained vigilant - with so many high-pressure gas tanks around, who knew what consequences might occur if that madman managed to gain control.
"I still need to go to PLANT to confirm my specific abilities."
Near Fred, who was multitasking while repairing the node, Miha - who had been maintaining his guard - was completely baffled.
If Fred hadn't discovered the tampering, the Mobile Suit shouldn't still be under control.
But if he had discovered it, Fred was acting as if nothing had happened.
"I need to report this..."
If Fred was actually aware but hiding it, Miha didn't believe Fred would simply tolerate it quietly - he must be waiting for the right moment to act.
The implications were vastly different.
If this were true, it would mean the young man possessed considerable mental fortitude. Should the higher-ups be alarmed or reassured by this?
"Whatever, it's not my concern..."
Miha curled his lips and focused on his own work instead.
Just as Miha relaxed his guard, sudden chaos erupted in the public communication channel.
"Rescue! Quickly!" a man shouted urgently.
"The umbilical cord? That rookie didn't install the umbilical cord?!" another man from what was clearly the same team panicked.
Hearing this, Fred looked up and saw a Mistral spinning uncontrollably above Copernicus not far away, near another maintenance team. The uncontrolled movement of its power outlet was causing the Mobile Suit to become increasingly unstable.
It was a vicious cycle - panic leading to loss of control, and loss of control fueling more panic.
Similar to flying an aircraft - without reference points above the clouds, it's easy to lose direction, let alone in space.
"What a rookie."
Watching this scene, Miha - who had just become alert again - commented dismissively.
No need to guess - this was clearly the work of a Natural.
"Hmm."
Fred responded briefly, his mechanical arm already pressed against the emergency interface beside him. Next to the interface was a roughly five-meter disc-shaped protrusion.
It resembled a rocket launcher, though it didn't appear particularly menacing.
After Fred connected to the launcher and briefly aimed, the disc-shaped projectile shot out.
Propelled by rockets, it flew toward the Mistral that was drifting further away.
Like a gold miner's hook, the magnetic suction cup accurately attached to the base of the out-of-control Mistral, then forcibly shut down its engines - all in one smooth motion.
There were many such devices located throughout Copernicus's outer shell. Besides emergency rescue purposes, they were also used to secure temporary large structures like solar panels.
Of course, this was mainly because construction materials and cargo had been piled up around Copernicus back then to save costs. Even now, these areas rarely saw any activity.
"Holy crap! Thanks, Fred~!"
The man's relieved voice came through the comms.
Losing a rookie would have been disastrous.
While the rookie would only suffer a bit and learn a lesson, he would be the one getting his pay docked.
"No problem, old timer. You should be more careful too."
"Got it. It's all because of you, kid. Not everyone learns as fast as you do, haha."
"Um... thank you..."
Listening to their conversation, the boy in the rescued Mistral stammered out his gratitude.
As for their remarks, he had no intention of arguing. Just as the old timer said, he had seen how young Fred could pilot the Mobile Suit with such ease and had earned so many credits, making it seem simple.
Only after trying it himself did he realize he'd stepped into a trap.
This was anything but easy.
He had nearly thrown up from all the spinning earlier.
These credits weren't worth the trouble—better to just forget about it.
"Don't mention it. Stay safe."
Fred's voice remained as steady as ever.
Meanwhile, Miha kept going on the comms.
"Captain, it's because of you that we have to babysit newbies every day now."
It was true. Fred's exceptional skills had led many to underestimate the difficulty of controlling the Mistral, which ended up causing trouble for plenty of kids who had just turned ten.
As for why ten-year-olds could operate the Mistral...
Let's just say this world was rather unrestrained, and it was only for fixed maintenance tasks anyway.
With the umbilical cord connected and automatic braking in place, there wasn't much danger unless it came loose.
Using free labor saved a lot on expenses.
"It was just an isolated incident. Let's keep going."
Fred didn't know what to say about this suspected spy.
For a spy, he was certainly drawing a lot of attention.
But whether he was a spy or not didn't really matter—as long as he didn't cause trouble for Fred.
The minor incident didn't slow down progress in the slightest.
In the quiet of space, countless Mistrals moved like little snails, working methodically.
The occasional welding flashes at the connection points formed tiny stars around Copernicus.
...
"That's pretty much what happened."
That evening, after briefly telling his mother about the day's events in their kitchen, Fred pulled out a USB drive.
"Also, cameras at monitoring points 503, 502, and 496 should have captured him."
Fred added.
Given that guy's habits, he definitely wouldn't delegate the task—he'd probably come himself.
And there was only one observation room that had a view of his work station. After over a year on the job, Fred had memorized Copernicus's entire maintenance network and camera numbering system.
He didn't need to check any blueprints or documents.
"Alright, I'll submit this."
"He won't be showing up again."
Heather's eyes narrowed to slits, her expression turning sinister upon learning that someone who bullied kids had dared target her own child.
"Mom..."
Fred helplessly tried to stop her from indulging in her cringey chuunibyou behavior.
But he wasn't particularly concerned about how his mother would handle the situation.
However she dealt with him, he deserved it.
Nor did Fred feel any need to witness the guy's misfortune firsthand.
He's not a pervert—he'd rather spend that time reading more books and researching how to grow vegetables in space.
"I'm home~"
Just as the two were chatting, the sound of the door opening followed by Flay's lively voice came from the entrance.
But unlike usual, this time a somewhat timid boy's voice trailed after Flay's energetic greeting.
"Excuse me..."
Who else could it be but Kira.
"Mom! Flay is still young!"
In the kitchen, hidden from the view of the two outside, Fred quickly spoke up as he saw his mother raising a kitchen knife.
Just kidding—with Kira's abilities, he was afraid his mom would end up getting beaten up by Kira instead.
"Just joking."
Heather put down the knife and gave Fred a helpless glance.
"You think Kira is good too? Why are you so quick to defend him? Did you really find yourself a sister-in-law?"
"..."
He wasn't, he didn't, he was just afraid his mom would get countered!
But it was truly rare for his little sister to bring a boy home.