After replying with a laugh, Felix pressed his lips together and looked at Lacus, his voice growing somewhat heavy as he spoke.
"I'm leaving."
Hearing this, Lacus was momentarily stunned before concealing the worry in her heart and nodding to Felix with a smile.
"Mm."
Upon hearing her response, Felix pressed the disconnect button, ending the communication. Once the call was cut off, Felix felt as if all strength had been drained from his body, slumping into his seat.
He remained silent for a long time without giving any orders.
Sensing the captain's current state, Aric didn't disturb Felix. He sat in his seat and began working autonomously. After confirming that all personnel had returned to Athena, he gave Josh the order.
"Set sail. Destination: Lorentz Military Base."
Josh immediately responded.
"Yes!"
Hearing Josh's reply, Aric turned his gaze to Felix. Feeling Aric's eyes on him and remembering his responsibilities, Felix quickly composed himself.
"No need to look at me like that. I'm fine."
"Captain, I understand what you're feeling right now. I felt the same way when parting from my wife."
Aric looked at Felix, memories of his own farewell surfacing as he spoke. Hearing Aric's words, Felix turned to glance at him.
Aric continued on his own.
"It's a kind of fear - the fear that you might not return."
Suddenly pausing, Aric turned to face Felix, his expression comforting as he continued.
"But this fear can transform into strength - the strength that supports your determination to survive and return. So Captain, don't think about not coming back. Think about definitely returning.
If you focus on coming back, you can transform this fear into strength.
That way you can eliminate the fear in your heart."
Listening to the comfort, Felix smiled gratefully at Aric.
"Thanks for the reassurance."
Aric smiled slightly and shook his head.
"Captain, you're too polite."
With that, Aric withdrew his gaze and looked forward, directing Athena's steady progress.
Meanwhile
On Eternal
Aisha glanced at her loved one before standing up and approaching Lacus, sensing her emotional state. She reached out and patted Lacus's shoulder.
Feeling Aisha's gesture, Lacus looked up at her. At that moment, Aisha spoke to Lacus.
"Lacus, don't scare yourself. You need to believe in Felix. Otherwise, you might collapse before he even returns."
"That's right!" Andrew chimed in upon hearing this. "Felix is incredibly capable. He'll definitely be fine, so you can rest assured."
Looking at both of them, Lacus nodded lightly and made a soft sound of acknowledgment.
"Mm."
Though the worry on Lacus's face diminished somewhat after this response, one could still sense the concern in her heart.
Seeing Lacus like this, Aisha didn't know how to offer further comfort, so she could only pat Lacus's shoulder again, using this small gesture to console her.
"How is the current debugging progress of the Eternal?"
Lacus suddenly spoke up to ask at this moment.
Andrew was momentarily taken aback by the abrupt question, but quickly responded to Lacus after gathering his thoughts.
"The debugging work is currently underway and may require several more days to complete."
Hearing this, Lacus looked out at the cosmos and gave a direct order.
"Once the debugging is complete, set sail for the Moon."
Listening to this command, Andrew understood what Lacus intended to do. This was something he also wanted to pursue, so he replied without any hesitation.
"Understood!"
Upon hearing his response, Lacus recalled Felix's earlier inquiries. Thinking about these questions, she turned to Andrew and asked.
"Felix asked if Kira is available for something?"
"I'm not sure about that either." Shaking his head, Andrew thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps we could ask Kira directly."
"Would he know?"
Lacus spoke uncertainly after hearing this.
Andrew shook his head in response.
"Not sure."
Seeing this, Lacus stopped questioning Andrew and pressed a few buttons on her communicator. Soon, the call went through to Kira's room.
In the room
Sitting at his computer desk and working on something, Kira heard the communicator ring and moved his fingers from the keyboard to the answer button.
Pressing the button, the call connected.
"Is something the matter?"
"Kira, there's something I need to ask you."
On the Bridge
Hearing Kira's voice through the communicator, Lacus spoke to him. In response, Kira nodded gently and said softly.
"Go ahead and ask, Lacus."
"Earlier, Felix asked me if you're available. What do you think he might want from you?"
As the question reached his ears, a look of confusion appeared on Kira's face. He thought and thought but couldn't figure out what his older brother might need from him.
In the end, he could only shake his head apologetically.
"I'm sorry, I don't know either."
"Alright then."
Seeing this, Lacus didn't press further and ended the call at that moment.
Kira stared at the disconnected communicator, sitting in his chair and looking at the content on his computer, but found himself unable to continue. His mind was now filled with what Lacus had said.
After thinking for a while, Kira leaned back in his chair somewhat dejectedly.
"What could he possibly want from me?"
Just as Kira muttered this, the room door opened from the outside. Flay, who had entered, caught the tail end of his words and asked curiously.
"Kira, what were you saying?"
Hearing Flay's voice, Kira turned to look at her and recounted what had just happened. Upon hearing this, Flay was even more puzzled.
Sitting on the bed, she looked at Kira and said.
"Why not just ask your brother directly?"
"Lacus didn't ask him directly, so there must be a reason she couldn't. Otherwise, she wouldn't have asked me just now."
Shaking his head gently, Kira spoke softly to Flay.
Flay thought it made sense and then shook her head at Kira.
"I'm sorry, I can't figure it out either."
"It's alright."
Kira smiled faintly and replied gently.
After saying this, Kira stood up and walked to the bedside, sitting down beside Flay. Feeling Kira beside her, Flay leaned her body against his.
Feeling Flay's movements, Kira reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, tilting his head slightly to rest against the top of her head. His voice carried an apologetic tone as he said,
"Flay, I'm sorry."
Hearing this, Flay shook her head gently and replied softly,
"It's not your fault. These were decisions I made myself."
As she spoke, a trace of sorrow flickered in her eyes.
Kira felt even more guilty upon hearing her words. He pressed his lips together and held Flay tighter.
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