However, Andrew's smile did not last long. Soon, his expression turned serious as he replied.
"I believe war can no longer be prevented, but once it begins, the more chaotic it becomes, the harder it is to turn back."
"I don't know where the future lies either."
Andrew shook his head helplessly.
He knew war was inevitable, but he had no idea how to end it.
Many ZAFT Elites were troubled by this very question.
How to end it? Where does it end?
How many people must be killed? What must be destroyed?
These were not decisions they could make.
"Yeah..."
Fred nodded along with his words.
If he were just an ordinary person here, he might share the same confusion as Andrew.
Of course, if he didn't have the Golden Finger or knowledge of the plot, he likely wouldn't have any influence on the world's situation either.
In the end, he would only be able to watch his sister die...
Thinking of this, Fred took a deep breath and continued.
"Blue Cosmos is the enemy."
"Many young officers among the hawks within the Coordinators want to make achievements and build careers."
"On the other hand, there are many grudges against Blue Cosmos."
"If it were up to me, I would direct the target toward the higher-ups of Blue Cosmos."
Seeing Fred's expression, which didn't seem like a joke, Andrew fell silent for a moment before sighing.
"It's not that easy. Those guys are like centipedes—they cling to life dearly."
"Well, we'll think about it when the time comes."
Fred didn't press the matter.
After all, he was just trying to gauge the other's thoughts.
As soon as Fred finished speaking, the train slowly came to a stop.
As a direct train, it had clearly reached its destination.
"Thank you, Andrew, for clearing things up for me."
Fred stood up as he spoke.
Andrew's attitude was roughly in line with his earlier analysis.
He wasn't absolutely aligned with Patrick, nor could he be considered Patrick's man.
Having this understanding was enough. Persuading Andrew later would be Lacus's task.
After all, from a serious standpoint, he himself wasn't truly a member of the Clyne Faction either.
Nor did he intend to stay with the Clyne Faction forever.
He would have to retire someday.
Moreover, his charisma was clearly far inferior to Lacus's.
Everyone had their own areas of expertise.
Recruitment and being a spiritual leader were clearly more suitable for Lacus.
With this thought, Fred suppressed the complex ideas in his mind and said to Andrew with a hint of urgency.
"We've talked enough. Let's hurry up and spar."
As he spoke, Fred was already the first to float out toward the empty Spaceport outside the door.
Andrew, meanwhile, wore his usual faint, somewhat cynical smile again.
"You're saying that, but you're even more impatient than I am."
...
The two floated through the familiar, empty passageway without delay, quickly making their way to the secret warehouse.
Unlike before, when there was only a single lonely Training GINN, now two GINNs stood facing each other in the warehouse, looking imposing... well, not exactly.
After all, these training GINNs were just bald-headed machines with crude propulsion units on their backs.
Combined with their fluorescent green color.
In terms of presence alone, they fell far short of the regular GINNs that had already begun mass production.
They looked more like toys, lacking any sense of grandeur.
"They must know about the existence of MS by now."
Andrew looked at the two machines in front of him and asked.
"Yeah, they know, but they don't really care."
Fred replied.
Mass-producing such large machines—how could such a big commotion be kept secret?
It's just that those on Earth think MS are useless.
After all, it's still the era of battleships and cannons. If it weren't for Halberton pushing the G Project, they wouldn't even have the Strike Suit.
But this isn't hard to understand. Without the Neutron Jammer, PLANT would have been destroyed countless times by those powerful and countless missiles.
There wouldn't even be any talk of MS.
Of course, later on, that's another story.
With the power of the Glory Defender, MS basically dominated everything.
And that was only in 75, just eight years from now.
The bizarre speed of technological evolution.
Fred inwardly grumbled.
Meanwhile, Aisha, the warehouse manager stationed here, floated excitedly toward Andrew in her usual provocative bodysuit.
"Andrew."
Her voice echoed in the slightly empty secret port.
Her deep blue hair flowed freely behind her. Perhaps nourished by love, she looked even more radiant and beautiful than when they first met.
But she still wasn't as cute as Lacus. Recently, as Lacus grew up, she had become a proper idol-level beauty.
Fred's neck stiffened almost imperceptibly as this thought flashed through his mind, and he quickly averted his gaze.
At the moment, the two were immersed in the joy of their reunion and didn't notice Fred's odd behavior.
After exchanging a few intimate words, they snapped back to reality at the sound of Fred's light cough.
"Ahem... can we start now?"
Fred looked at them with a hint of helplessness.
"Kids are always in such a hurry~"
Aisha gave Fred a small, teasing glare.
By now, the two of them were quite familiar with each other, to the point where they could be considered friends.
"Not really."
Fred didn't mind being called a kid and just shrugged with a smile.
Since Fred had spoken up, the two couldn't continue being overly affectionate and quickly separated. Andrew entered the Mobile Suit, while Aisha floated over to the status monitoring equipment.
"The adjustments for both units are complete."
"Let me see."
Fred wasn't in a hurry to enter the cockpit. After speaking, he walked over to Aisha's side.
"Alright."
Aisha responded and stepped aside to make room.
She already knew Fred was one of the researchers.
If she had been speechless with surprise at first, she was now used to it.
She still didn't know what this person's true identity really was.
But after spending time together, Aisha had come to understand that he was a kind-hearted person at his core. Coupled with the internal confidentiality agreement, she no longer felt the need to investigate his identity further.
However, perhaps this young man could achieve fame and success through the future wars.
Watching the young man whose fingers danced ceaselessly across the keyboard before her, Aisha couldn't help but think with a sigh.
At the very least, Andrew had high hopes for this young man.
He often said things like "the future belongs to him" and "we're already old," and so on.
She didn't know where Andrew got the idea that he was old.
Chapter 219: Significant Progress
But it was true that Fred was young—full of vitality and quick to learn.
In the future, could he really lead them forward as Andrew had said?
Just as Aisha was filled with curiosity and confusion, Fred, who was beside her, had already completed some fine-tuning.
"All done," Fred said, clapping his hands.
"I input some of your previous piloting data into the Mobile Suit's computer. It should now be more responsive to your operations."
Fred's words were transmitted through the microphone into the Cockpit where Andrew was seated.
Responding to the young man's words, Andrew, who had already entered the GINN's Cockpit and started the Mobile Suit's preheating, replied curiously. At the same time, his fingers moved deftly on the control stick.
With his hand movements, the GINN raised its hand like a real person and made a fist.
"It does feel smoother. Impressive," Andrew remarked in surprise.
As an Ace, even with just this one action, Andrew could sense the difference in this Mobile Suit compared to before.
Although the improvement wasn't significant, this was something meant for the battlefield. Even a slight enhancement in performance could be life-saving in combat.
"But we're about to spar, and you're boosting my capabilities?" Andrew quickly snapped out of his surprise and teased.
"It wouldn't be meaningful if you weren't strong," Fred shrugged, switching the settings screen to his own Mobile Suit.
"Just don't complain later if you lose, saying I've been studying ways to counter you."
Fred had input all of Andrew's training data into the computer and was even using it to train an Artificial Intelligence.
Although there were no results yet, by progressing step by step, he might eventually be able to Mass Production Tigers or even others in the future.
Of course, he wasn't entirely sure how much of the original pilot's skill the Artificial Intelligence would retain.
"Sounds good," Andrew on the other end didn't overthink Fred's words and simply laughed heartily.
Although Fred was a Natural, Andrew couldn't foresee a future where the two of them would be pitted against each other in a life-or-death struggle.
Given that, there was no need for him to hold back.
After all, Fred was not an unreasonable person and was also someone with integrity.
However, with Fred's understanding of him and analysis of his data, combined with his own constantly improving abilities, Andrew feared that one day in the future, he might no longer be a match for him.
He had high hopes for Fred's future.
Though he didn't know what kind of future Fred truly wanted.
Of course, before Fred fully matures, now is the time to enjoy the thrill of battle.
As the two spoke, Fred had already finished debugging his Mobile Suit and settled into the Cockpit.
Familiar with this steel-filled Cockpit, the young man quickly flipped various switches on the Mobile Suit while speaking.
"Hand-to-hand combat only, and remember to hit armored areas. Also, keep the Propulsion Unit output at 30%, or repairs will be a hassle."
"Got it. Start when you're ready. You attack first."
Upon hearing this, Patrick set aside his somewhat carefree and relaxed expression, his demeanor growing more tense.
This was their first time piloting MS in combat, so caution was warranted.
"Alright."
Without hesitation, Fred initiated the GINN after completing the self-check.
The pink mono-eye quickly locked onto the Mobile Suit in front of it, and the massive robot swung its fist toward the opponent's chest without holding back.
In the Zero-Gravity State, this movement, combined with the boost from the Propulsion Unit, significantly increased the threat of the punch.
"Quite a few openings."
Watching Fred's move, Andrew grinned, sidestepping while grabbing the arm Fred had extended, clearly intending to throw Fred over his shoulder.
"It's over."
As Andrew spoke, Fred reacted swiftly.
Before Andrew could complete his move, the Mobile Suit piloted by the young man raised its legs, pressed against Andrew's Mobile Suit at the waist, and with a forceful kick and reverse thrust from the Attitude Control Thrusters, deftly pulled free.
For an ordinary human, such a maneuver would be nearly impossible.
But for an MS equipped with Attitude Control Thrusters in a Zero-Gravity State, it was no great challenge.
"Oh? Impressive."
Surprised by the young man's quick reaction, Andrew widened his eyes slightly.
"Not bad."
Fred replied, feeling a surge of excitement inside.
After all, his Spider Sense had truly kicked in earlier. Sensing the danger in advance and combining it with his analysis of Andrew's movements, he had managed to execute a timely counter.
Watching this scene, the two observers outside were equally astonished.
"When did your boss become so skilled?"
Aisha asked Alec.
She had genuinely thought Fred was about to be taken down instantly.
Not only had he recovered, but he had done so with such finesse.
"Well..."
Faced with Aisha's question, Alec blinked with a simple, honest expression.
He had no idea when Fred had become this capable.
During Fred's solo training sessions, he hadn't displayed such extraordinary skills.
Why had he improved so much during paired training?
Amid their astonishment, Fred and Andrew on the screen soon clashed again in their Mobile Suits.
...
A battle far more intense than anyone had anticipated ended with Fred's defeat.
However, none of the three present underestimated Fred.
After all, Fred's ability to hold his own against Andrew for so long had already far exceeded their expectations.
Meanwhile, Fred was quite satisfied as he looked at his skill panel.
[Powered Armor Control +0.02]
[Powered Armor Control (Beginner): 55.01/100]
[MS Control +0.05]
[MS Control (Beginner): 47.28/100]
His progress was by no means slow either—just 50 points more and he would be able to step into the realm of the Red Uniform Elite.
Of course, he had so many other skills. Even without entering the so-called Red Uniform Elite domain, with just his current skills, he estimated that by the time he reached around level 60, he could already go head-to-head with an average Red Uniform Elite.
After all, it had been proven that his Spider Sense was useful. Combined with Cat Food, he could barely manage a few exchanges even against an Ace like Andrew.
Overall, he had already gained the basic ability to protect himself.
Not to mention, he wouldn't go head-to-head with any Red Uniform Elite unless absolutely necessary.
Playing dirty was naturally better.
Moreover, he was still growing stronger, and he had the MS he had created with the technology he had mastered.
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