"It was my duty."
"Director Freed, you should go rest now."
Albert Heinlein was extremely excited.
"Mm."
Fred responded and closed the communication, but instead of resting, he opened another interface on the computer before him.
It was the structural diagram of a Powered Suit.
Although they hadn't reached the stage of researching Mobile Suits yet, examining Powered Armor could serve as preliminary study.
Moreover...
He wondered if operating a Powered Suit would contribute to MS experience.
The thought sparked a flicker of motivation in Fred's heart, though he quickly suppressed it.
While Mobile Suits evolved from Powered Suits, the two were vastly different.
It probably wasn't that straightforward.
Still, there was no harm in trying.
With this in mind, Fred promptly located Andrew's contact information.
Meanwhile, Fred's research progress was being reported through Albert Heinlein all the way up to Patrick.
"Already nearing practical testing phase?"
Patrick looked at the report before him with a complicated expression.
Sitting across from him, Shiva also maintained a tense expression that concealed his underlying emotions.
"Yes, his progress is rapid."
"Though whether it will ultimately succeed remains unknown."
Shiva lowered his gaze with a hint of deference.
"Hmm..."
While uncertain about the outcome, given Fred's capabilities, success seemed likely.
Of course, this was largely an intuitive judgment, and Patrick had no intention of sharing it with his capable assistant.
"After this concludes, should we have him attempt to join the Mobile Suit Research team?"
After a moment of contemplation, Shiva asked.
This was an extremely important question they had debated countless times over the past months.
"Fred has proven himself."
"And with the Council Nations applying increasing pressure, we're running out of options."
PLANT only had six million people.
Though there were many Elites, the majority were ordinary citizens.
Their research manpower was somewhat insufficient.
Within the entire Mobile Suit Research team, only a handful of individuals stood out.
And power was something they needed to possess sooner rather than later.
"Agreed."
Upon hearing this, Shiva stood up without further argument.
"However, I request increased surveillance on Fred."
"Of course."
Patrick waved his hand dismissively.
At Patrick's indication, Shiva departed.
Thinking of the young man who called him uncle, Patrick sighed inwardly.
Personally, he didn't believe the other would do anything to harm PLANT.
But should the one-in-a-million chance occur, he needed to be prepared.
Amid everyone's internal conflicts,
Fred welcomed the Desert Tiger, Andrew, early the next morning.
As time passed, this Andrew increasingly embodied the future tiger's demeanor.
Time's maturation played a role, but so did recent frequent combat engagements.
Though full-scale war hadn't officially broken out, proxy wars and spatial skirmishes persisted endlessly, with even space pirates becoming more active recently.
Both sides exchanged blows, each trying to gain the upper hand.
As an Ace, Andrew had been continuously participating in battles.
With accumulating combat experience, Andrew's personal capabilities were rapidly enhancing.
"If you're busy, Andrew, you didn't have to come."
Fred greeted him with a smile.
In three months, the boy approaching fourteen had grown considerably taller, gradually surpassing the 170 cm mark.
Now standing tall and straight, he didn't lose out even when facing Tiger.
"I came because I have leave."
"Did you think I'm that free?"
Andrew didn't hold back, rolling his eyes and laughing as he retorted.
"You could have gone back to rest during your leave. You're almost thirty."
As Fred finished speaking, Andrew snorted and threw a punch in Fred's direction.
Alec watched the two of them with an unfazed expression.
Their offensive capabilities had improved significantly compared to their time in Copernicus.
Clearly, Fred wasn't the only one who had progressed.
However, Andrew's improvement was slower compared to the other youths.
Alec analyzed inwardly.
He knew very well that Andrew's potential as an Elite Coordinator was nearly exhausted.
In that regard, he himself wasn't much different.
Barring any surprises, once the growth period passed and they reached thirty, that would pretty much be the limit.
But Fred was different. His abilities kept increasing. Though only thirteen and though his rate of improvement wasn't particularly outstanding, it gave a sense of having no upper limit.
Just as Alec was thinking this, he saw Fred raise his hand slightly in the distance, his rock-hard elbow accurately blocking Andrew's iron fist.
Fist met elbow with a loud collision sound.
As if unaware of the pain from hitting something harder, Andrew immediately threw another punch.
Fred raised his other hand and blocked it again.
After exchanging blows for a while, the two finally separated, panting heavily.
"You're getting pretty good, kid."
Andrew caught his breath and laughed, punching the boy's shoulder.
"Anyone would think you're the one who's been tempered in battle."
Fred was truly remarkable. Though Andrew was the one who had been on the battlefield, Fred's progress was no less than his.
Perhaps even faster.
"Can I test drive the Powered Armor?"
Fred skipped over Andrew's topic and asked directly.
Alec, who heard this from the side, was taken aback.
He thought Fred had asked Andrew over for sparring, but it was for driving Powered Armor?
Generally, Naturals couldn't operate Powered Armor.
But if it was Fred... it might not be impossible.
Still, why would Fred want to drive Powered Armor out of the blue?
The same question quickly surfaced in Andrew's mind.
"No problem, but do you want to go to the battlefield too?"
Andrew asked curiously.
Powered Armor wasn't actually far from warfare. On the contrary, at this point in time when MS hadn't appeared yet and there were no large-scale wars,
in situations with only covert conflicts, the relatively discreet Powered Suits standing only two to three people tall were definitely the first choice for secret operations.
Since Fred didn't need to go to battle, Andrew couldn't think of any situation where Fred would need to use Powered Armor.
"No, I just want to see if I can do it."
Fred shook his head and said.
"I can understand that."
After all, Fred was just a Natural, so it was normal for him to want to give it a try.
Thinking this, Andrew casually put his arm around Fred's shoulder without standing on ceremony.
"Let's go then, I'll help you borrow a Powered Armor."
"Alright."
Hearing this, Fred nodded in agreement.
This was exactly what he had been aiming for.
Behind them, Alec naturally followed along faithfully.