"I can't completely give up on Mobile Armors yet."
At this moment, Fred reaffirmed his thoughts.
Mobile Armors are more common machines than Mobile Suits, and being proficient in piloting them certainly has its benefits.
Moreover, maintaining and modifying Mobile Armors can also improve his structural engineering skills, so it's not a complete waste of time.
Learning this still has its cost-effectiveness.
Additionally, learning about Mobile Armors should also accelerate his progress with Mobile Suits, as the two share common ground.
While Fred was deep in thought, in a dimly lit room within the Maintenance Port where only screens emitted light—a room unnoticed by Fred and the others—Lacus and Siegel, surrounded by several bodyguards, were curiously observing the surveillance screens before them.
At that moment, both their gazes were focused on Fred, who appeared on one of the screens.
"Father, did we come too early?"
Lacus said in a sweet, clear voice.
They had originally come to find Fred but hadn't expected to arrive early.
Of course, they weren't intentionally here to monitor Fred—if they had wanted to do that, they wouldn't have needed to come themselves.
It was simply a matter of arriving too early.
"Yes, but let's watch for a while."
Siegel raised his hand to check the time, looking somewhat weary.
He had just finalized the details of the marriage regulations before rushing over.
He could have gone out to talk to Fred immediately.
However, after the recent days of turmoil, he now had a rare moment of free time and wasn't in a hurry to do anything. He decided to treat this as a break.
Fred would be out for maintenance for at most an hour.
Sitting here briefly wouldn't be a problem.
Besides, he had some things he was curious about.
"I've heard Fred's Mobile Suit piloting skills are becoming increasingly proficient."
Siegel remarked with a hint of emotion in his tone.
Fred had recently been handling the handover of Mobile Suit matters, but he hadn't neglected his training. On the contrary, it seemed Fred had been focusing more on his training lately.
Of course, having just completed such a major research project and with follow-up researchers not yet in place, they hadn't pressured him about it.
Taking advantage of this rare break, Siegel slowly relaxed his tense back.
Watching the young man on the screen, a sense of envy arose in his heart.
He had been constantly busy—dealing with spies from the Atlantic Federation and the Eurasian Federation who were inciting the public, calming the masses, and negotiating with the city representatives above.
In contrast, Fred seemed to be at ease, continuing with his tasks as usual.
Compared to the endless difficulties on his end, Fred's situation appeared to be steadily improving.
No troubles, only goals.
"He is indeed becoming more and more proficient."
Lacus nodded in agreement with her father's words.
Her gaze returned to Fred, who was preparing to head out for maintenance.
...
On the other side, unaware that he was being watched, Fred set off as usual, skillfully piloting the Mobile Armor.
As expected, after a period of effort, Fred looked at the improved piloting skills displayed before him and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
[MA Operation +0.05]
[MA Operation (Beginner) 70.15/100]
"Not bad."
The young man murmured to himself.
The speed today was pretty good.
What he was doing now was like the daily check-in tasks in a game. Once completed, he could naturally move on to other things.
His time was packed tight, yet fulfilling.
However, when he could see his own progress with every step, this kind of effort didn't feel like much.
On the other end, while Fred was feeling satisfied, Siegel, who was still resting, was somewhat taken aback seeing the smile on Fred's face.
He had read the files, but he hadn't seen Fred during training. So, upon seeing Fred's smile, Siegel was surprised.
This should be work.
And work that had been going on for a long time.
If it were just starting out, he could understand. After all, he had seen many young people on their first day, full of talk about loving the job, working hard, and getting along with colleagues. But after a while, they'd just muddle through.
But Fred? He had been repairing here for so long, and he was still putting his heart into this work?
Of course, this work was something Fred had added for himself, but it still surprised him.
The other's temperament was quite good.
A good mindset is often the key factor determining many things.
When in a good mood, even work efficiency increases significantly.
People, after all, aren't purely rational creatures.
With Fred's mindset, no wonder he could achieve so many miracles.
In his eyes, every bit of progress was probably sweet as honey.
However, Siegel wasn't unfamiliar with such geniuses, but he had never seen one as remarkable as Fred.
On the other side, Fred had no idea that his simple smile had been interpreted in so many ways by this Chairman.
Fred quickly released the work arm connected to the solar panel, which he had just finished debugging. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly turned and saw a tiny point of light slowly gliding between the distant Junius One and Two Districts.
The light point was very small, like a firefly, blending perfectly with the surrounding stars.
The reason Fred noticed something was off was mainly because this 'star' was moving rapidly in front of the two Junius space colonies.
Not only was it moving so fast, but it was also positioned in front of the colonies.
An ordinary person might think their eyes were playing tricks or they had misseen it. But when Fred focused his gaze, he saw a durability bar displayed above it.
Yes, a durability bar, reading [Work Pod (85/100)].
Of course, this in itself wasn't strange; he wasn't the only one maintaining the space colonies.
However, Fred had deliberately chosen to come out during off-hours to avoid overlapping with other maintenance teams.
Moreover, he had memorized the maintenance schedules of the other colonies. At this time, there shouldn't be anyone performing external maintenance on Junius One and Two Districts.
Not to mention, that light point seemed to be at some distance from both colonies.
Thinking this, Fred also slightly furrowed his brow as he connected to Alec's communication channel.
"Alec, is there anything unusual happening over at Junius One District?"
"Special circumstances?"
On the other end, Alec, who was still in the control room watching Fred complete the repairs and preparing to greet the other party, was momentarily stunned upon hearing this. He quickly lowered his head to look at the log on the screen.
After a brief silence, he soon replied.
"No, there isn't."
"Did something happen on your end?"
"Do you need me to come out?"
A hint of tension crept into Alec's voice.
As a bodyguard, he still maintained the necessary vigilance.