"Mr. Freed!"
In the lounge outside the special care ward on the highest floor of the medical center's inpatient area, a mint-haired youth who looked about the same age as Athrun stood up to greet Fred.
Despite his expressionless face, a hint of tension could still be discerned from his body language.
This kind of treatment was something he wouldn't have dared to dream of.
Regarding his mother's illness, he had read a great deal of material. He naturally understood that the man before him had given his mother access to the top-tier medical resources within PLANT.
It was hard to imagine that a masked man he had never heard of in the news could wield such influence.
It was also hard to imagine what the man's true motives might be.
Perhaps his identity had been exposed?
But regardless, the man had saved his mother.
So beyond the nervousness, the youth's gratitude was still plain to see.
"No need to be so formal. Have a seat."
Fred responded to the youth's deference and restraint with a simple, warm smile.
"I'll get straight to the point. We want you to go to Heliopolis for us—just to gather some information. As long as you follow the rules, there won't be any danger."
"You know my background."
Ken stated it as a certainty.
"Yes, the illegitimate son of the Susei family head."
Fred's words caused a flicker of pain to surface in the depths of Ken's eyes, quickly fading as his face resumed its usual resolve.
"I understand."
"Not going to ask anything?"
Fred's smile remained warm.
"You said there wouldn't be any danger."
"Mm, then I give you my word."
The two exchanged few words. After confirming that the specific details would be sent to his email, Fred took his leave.
"That was quick?"
Although Lacus had listened to their entire conversation from start to finish, she was still quite surprised from her seat in the car. She had thought it would take much longer.
"He agreed. He'll do it."
Fred nodded.
"But you only just met him today?"
Lacus blinked curiously.
Though they did have intelligence on Ken, people were never something you could fully understand from what was written on paper alone.
As for Ken, it was understandable—Fred had saved his mother, so he would trust Fred unconditionally. Lacus was relieved about that.
But on Fred's side, he had also trusted the other without a second thought.
Lacus asked herself: if she were Ken, she would probably be moved too.
But the question was, how could Fred be so sure of what kind of person Ken was?
"Intuition. Maybe it's from spending too much time with Lacus."
"..."
Hearing that, Lacus shot the youth a glare that was far from angry—rather, it carried a soft, coquettish charm.
"Lying again."
Lacus put her hands on her hips.
And as Fred shrugged, the self-driving car fell into silence once more.
"I heard you're going to Yggdrasil?"
Lacus asked, her smile already fading.
"Mm, just observing from the outside."
He was going as a substitute's substitute.
As long as nothing unexpected happened, he likely wouldn't need to take the field himself—just collect data.
But if something did happen, then his participation would be necessary.
At the very least, Yggdrasil had to be taken.
Otherwise, he couldn't possibly feel at ease about going after Blue Cosmos.
"Come see my concert when you get back."
Lacus said seriously.
"Yeah, I've got it."
"And bring Flay along too."
"She doesn't need me to bring her either."
Fred shook his head.
"That's true."
Thinking back to how lively that girl had been before the previous concerts, Lacus covered her cherry lips with a light chuckle.
"Anyway, you have to come back!"
"Yeah, there's still a lot to do, so I'll definitely be back."
"Is that all?"
Meeting Lacus's counter-question, Fred was taken aback for a moment.
But she didn't give him time to react—the girl slowly approached Fred's direction.
The young man could clearly feel Lacus's faint fragrance lingering around the tip of his nose, stirring a flutter in his heart.
On the swiftly moving vehicle, the girl's cherry lips finally landed on the young man's cheek.
Yet, there was no sensation at all.
That was only natural.
After all, he was wearing a mask.
"Making you wear that mask."
Lacus winked at him playfully.
Her eyes were full of lively spirit.
Clearly intentional.
But this kind of slyness only made her seem all the more adorable in moments like this.
Even Fred was no exception.
His heart seemed to skip a beat beyond his control.
Then he awkwardly averted his gaze.
"I'll come back."
"Mhm, I'll be waiting for you."
Fred didn't press about what had just happened, and Lacus had no intention of explaining either. With only that exchange, silence fell over the two of them in the car once more.
...
Outside the Yggdrasil Space Station's space sector.
This place carried even more historical weight than Copernicus's lunar city.
It stood as the stepping stone for humanity's first step into space after the Recombinant War.
Though the facilities had grown old, as a near-Earth orbit installation capable of deploying military forces, its outer armor had undergone numerous refinements and upgrades—it was undoubtedly a strategic stronghold in Earth's wars.
For ZAFT, this was a must-take location for their assault on the Atlantic Federation.
And for the Atlantic Federation, it was the fortress blocking ZAFT's advance on Earth.
A battle between the two sides was inevitable.
After all, traveling from the lunar base to Earth took time.
The same time it took to reach Earth from L5, where PLANT was located.
After all, Lagrange Points were calculated based on the standard Earth-Moon distance.
The distances were the same for all parties.
Even if the Atlantic Federation had a base on the Moon, it wasn't as if they could rush reinforcements over from the Moon the moment they were needed.
The Earth-Moon distance was still vast for humanity at present.
Reinforcements would take at least a day to arrive.
But near-Earth orbit was clearly different.
That was why ZAFT needed to destroy Yggdrasil—it was the Atlantic Federation's forward outpost.
"ZAFT really does seem to be planning to attack Yggdrasil."
Chen was among the assembled fleet outside the Yggdrasil Space Station, gazing from the Bridge out into the vast, pitch-black space where only cosmic debris drifted.
"Yes."
"They say they're going to drive Blue Cosmos out of Yggdrasil, and they need to enter the station to screen for suspicious terrorists."
"Did the Eurasian Federation finish their squabbling?"
Chen asked.
"Not yet. Some want to withdraw, others think we can't just let ZAFT do as they please."
As the Adjutant's words fell, the screen before them lit up.
"Commander Chen, orders have come down."
"Temporarily retreat into Yggdrasil. As long as they don't fire the first shot at us, we cannot attack."
On the other end of the communication channel—
"What about the people inside Yggdrasil?"
"They'll enter the shelters and come out after the battle is over."
"If they truly enter Yggdrasil, we still retain partial jurisdiction over it. As for the Atlantic Federation's authority there, let them fight for it themselves."
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