"Yes, yes."
Fred nodded.
"He really is there. I'll bring him back."
"There won't be much danger going to ORB this time, so don't worry."
After all this time and effort, with their help, Ken had successfully climbed to the position of first heir of his family.
Of course, this was also thanks to the corruption within his family.
They were all like that useless fool from the Seiran family. The clan elders weren't blind—they could see the hope of the family, and with their maneuvering, their attitudes easily softened.
It was precisely because of this that they finally obtained more concrete intelligence.
They learned where the Gundams were stored, where the data was kept, and obtained the architectural blueprints of the Dawn Organization.
They learned when the Atlantic Federation people would arrive, and so on.
As for the Heresy Gundam, that was hidden well.
But having this intelligence alone was basically already sufficient.
As long as they arrived a bit earlier than the launch time.
Then, with coordination from inside and out, they might even be able to capture the Archangel as well.
Once they learned the technology and new Mobile Suits appeared from Lacus's factory, that would be the beginning of his main stage.
He had been planning this for a long time, and now the time for action had finally come.
"The garrison there only has Mistrals. As long as we paralyze the internal network, they'll be leaderless."
Fred briefly explained the plan.
Having learned a great deal and now serving as Adjutant, Flay understood, but the worry in her eyes didn't diminish in the slightest.
"For internal combat, we don't have enough numbers."
Although Heliopolis was a small space colony compared to ZAFT, its internal military forces still outnumbered their two squads.
"As long as we get the new Mobile Suits, everything will fall into place."
Fred smiled.
"Besides, we'll hit and run—no lingering battles."
The garrison forces on Heliopolis were no match for them.
Not to mention those new Mobile Suits were capable of nullifying physical attacks.
At the very least, they could easily ignore the equipment of Heliopolis's internal garrison.
They just needed to finish writing the Operating System in advance and prepare to overwrite it.
Otherwise, with ORB's current half-baked Operating System, they definitely wouldn't be able to launch immediately.
"Soon, the war will be over."
Fred spoke with his usual confidence.
If anyone else said that, it might seem like they were tempting fate, but when Fred said it, there was a sharp determination that made it seem certain to succeed.
"...Mm, we must all return safely!"
In the end, Flay nodded in agreement with her brother's words.
...
Early the next morning, in the boundless universe, Fred once again arrived aboard one of his family's battleships.
Of the two battleships under Fred's command, one had already been replaced from a Laurasia-class to a newer, more powerful, and faster Nazca-class.¹
Of course, the Atlantic Federation had also introduced Nelson-class ships as reinforcements by now.
Both sides had made significant progress in firepower and technology during the war.
"Captain Freed!"
Just as Fred and Flay arrived on the battleship one after another, Orphee floated over.
"Orphee, how's Athrun doing?"
"Athrun is fine, but the others are a bit arrogant."
"Normal."
Fred nodded.
"It's normal..."
After all, they were all geniuses—having some pride was only natural, and these few were genuinely talented.
As he spoke, Orphee's face showed a hint of shame.
"The only ones we can keep in check are Dearka and Lasty. The others..."
Even facing Yzak or Nicol would be stressful for him, let alone Athrun.
Fortunately, of the three, only Yzak was particularly unruly.
"Yeah, I know."
Fred wasn't too surprised by this.
After all, they were all students he had taught himself.
"It's a problem with our abilities."
Knowing that the Captain might have to handle it personally made Orphee even more ashamed.
Flay, who was following behind Fred, blinked her eyes.
Actually, even if her brother didn't fight, those three friends of hers would most likely challenge him anyway.
Though they had already fought countless times in the past.
But it had been over a year since they'd last seen each other.
They definitely couldn't resist testing her brother's strength.
Still, it seemed her brother wanted to fight anyway—after all, he was a martial arts fanatic himself.
Thinking about seeing Fred face those three again, Flay felt a surge of excitement.
As for whether her brother might lose, Flay didn't think that was a possibility.
"It's fine."
Just as Flay had thought.
Fred did want to fight.
But only to test his own progress.
His stats had been inflating more and more recently.
But just how strong he had become—using those few from the series as a benchmark was the best way to measure.
He had waited so long, and today was finally the day.
Having a clear sense of his own strength would give him more confidence in his subsequent actions.
As the two talked, they soon arrived at the hangar of the Nazca-class ship.
The hangar was quite spacious, and within it were several GINNs, a red commander-type CGUE, and various types of equipment.
As for beneath those Mobile Suits—those were his team members.
After multiple rounds of reinforcements and retirements, his team's numbers were now about right.
The Twilight's Magic Bullet was currently standing at attention, explaining something to the few juniors in front of him.
But upon seeing Fred enter, they all uniformly stopped what they were doing.
"Captain."
"Mm."
Fred acknowledged with a single sound, his gaze passing over the crowd to look at Athrun and the others.
"You've all understood the basic situation and schedule, right?"
"Yes!"
In response to Fred's question, Athrun and the others instinctively raised their voices as well.
Seeing this, everyone around widened their eyes.
These Red Uniform rookies all had their pride.
That was evident from how they'd interacted earlier.
But their abilities were indeed outstanding, and in this place where strength reigned supreme, everyone thought it was only natural.
Yet why did they become so obedient the moment they saw their Captain?
Could it be that their Captain had mastered the legendary king's aura?
Of course, not everyone thought that way.
"Captain, Senior Mickey said we could challenge you anytime?"
Dearka's eyes looked toward Fred with eager anticipation.
Clearly, he couldn't hold back any longer.
As for Athrun and the others, they all wore expressions of someone watching a good show.
They knew Dearka well enough—he was clearly curious about their teacher.
He also felt that winning would simply be a matter of pride.
"That works."
Fred nodded with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Then, as per the usual rules, one at a time."
At Fred's words, the surrounding soldiers all began to jeer and cheer.