But according to his current intelligence, the target had indeed disappeared, especially considering yesterday's sudden explosion.
Athha had reason to suspect the other party was either dead or had gone into hiding.
After all, it was quite evident they didn't like Blue Cosmos.
If possible, he would have liked to gather more intelligence.
Unfortunately, both the Atlantic Federation and PLANT were currently focused on that area. Any rash moves on his part might raise suspicions.
In any case, he needed to continue quietly building up strength.
Just as these thoughts settled in Athha's mind, the door to his study was abruptly pushed open with force.
"Dad! Have Fred come over!"
Cagalli, with her golden hair and large eyes, looked intently at Athha.
"Fred won't be coming."
"Why? ORB is so powerful!"
Cagalli's tone carried both a child's naivety and strong pride.
ORB was the leading neutral nation, so Copernicus should naturally defer to them. Combined with what Fred had said yesterday...
Thinking about it this way, wasn't Fred one of their people? Why wouldn't he come? She still wanted Fred to demonstrate the Pushing Drake-class for her.
"No particular reason."
Out of personal considerations, Athha didn't correct Cagalli's statement about ORB, maintaining his calm tone in response.
"Go focus on your studies."
Cagalli was intelligent and possessed loyalty.
Once she committed to something, she wouldn't easily change her mind - such as her belief in ORB's principles.
With so many advisors around, whether Cagalli was clever or not didn't matter much. What mattered was that she could shoulder the responsibility of being the spiritual symbol for the nation, the sun in the sky.
Not to mention this sun had a superhuman by her side.
It was just too bad they couldn't have gained another superhuman.
"Hmph!"
Facing her rigid father, Cagalli let out a dissatisfied snort and stormed out of the room without looking back.
Athha simply withdrew his gaze and returned his attention to the documents before him.
...
Meanwhile, aboard the transport ship that was gradually leaving the Copernicus Sphere...
Despite more than half a day of travel, they had only covered half the distance - absurdly slow by any measure.
But Fred wasn't particularly surprised.
If their engines were that fast, they would have reached Mars long ago, instead of fighting back and forth between the Lagrange points between Earth and Moon.
In other words, all their conflicts hadn't even taken them beyond the Earth Sphere formed by the Earth-Moon distance.
Wherever they were, they could still turn around and see that azure glass bead and the small round moon before them.
"If only we could travel through space..."
For a young man who had grown up reading science fiction, exploring alien worlds was the ultimate fantasy.
As a child, countless nights lying in bed were spent imagining himself aboard a starship...
This desire, along with his wish to become stronger, was what drove him to study engines.
Well, he was getting off track.
In his room, Fred pulled his attention away from the engine schematic before him.
[Astronautical Engineering +0.01]
[Astronautical Engineering (Proficient) 0.03/100]
Indeed, as his concentration waned, his efficiency decreased accordingly.
From initially gaining 0.01 points in just one or two hours, it now took three to four hours.
"Let's take another look at agriculture."
After confirming his conjecture and thoroughly studying the engine, Fred didn't waste any more time.
After all, Patrick had brought him here specifically to resolve agricultural production issues.
Although the analysis of Crop Number Seventeen had been completed and protective measures were sufficient, costs couldn't be reduced enough to achieve mass production yet.
At current costs, even PLANT would likely go bankrupt.
[Space Agriculture +0.03]
[Space Agriculture (Beginner) 67.625/100]
Reaching 100 should bring another reward.
At the current pace, it would take about two years.
It would be great if he could increase the growth rate.
While the progress was slow, the advantage was that there were no bottlenecks - he could steadily learn as long as he focused.
There were still six years until the main characters grew up, and nine years until he turned twenty-four.
In nine years - or even just six - he might reach world-class levels or even become a global leader.
The same applied to all other fields. By then, while others were just leaving the beginner village, he would have his Six Divine Items. The thought alone made him happy.
Retirement and space travel would be within easy reach.
Just as Fred was about to focus on reading again, the entire room suddenly shook violently, followed by a sharp metallic screech.
The sound of tearing metal, accompanied by vibrations, reached the young man's room.
What followed was a deathly silence.
The engine sound had disappeared.
It felt as if they had suddenly collectively transported to hell.
"What happened?"
Fred quickly floated to the communicator and asked directly, without any pleasantries.
"Engine failure."
As Andrew spoke, crew members could be faintly heard in the background making damage reports from the Bridge.
"Engine One output down 60%, structural integrity decreased by 10%! Structural tearing!"
"Not an attack?" Fred asked.
Structural tearing wasn't hard to understand - it meant the hull wasn't strong enough.
When it occurred near the engine, it was probably due to the hull unable to withstand the engine's power, causing metal fatigue or similar issues.
But generally, this shouldn't happen.
It was like airplanes flying in the sky - their engines were designed to perfectly match the aircraft body.
While not impossible in modern times, cases of sudden structural tearing during flight were rare.
Unless maintenance and ground crews turned a blind eye...
If this had happened when he first boarded the ship, Fred might have been confused.
Even the best cook can't make a meal without ingredients - he knew how to repair transport ships, but this vessel was different.
Even Amuro needed a manual to operate the Gundam.
But now it happened to be perfect timing - he had just finished reading the manual.
So, after some quick thinking and ruling out human damage, Fred quickly identified the most likely cause.
It wasn't a ground crew issue, but rather this ship's uniqueness.
"This engine was operating beyond its limits for an extended period for the first time when we came to Copernicus, right?"
Listening to the background noise of everyone conducting fault checks, Fred asked.
"Yes."
Andrew nodded, his face unusually tense.
After all, this was an engine problem directly connected to the nuclear reactor - the most critical issue.
If something went wrong and the reactor exploded, they would all die.
Though the probability is low.
But this ship is rather special after all.
Safety tests for the new engine were certainly conducted, but with Council Nation military overseeing from outside, most of their testing could only be completed through computer simulations.
To expedite the departure timeline, the ship wasn't even equipped with engineers.
"Do you have any ideas? The tearing has been contained for now, but there's still danger," Andrew asked.