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Hilda stepped forward with the two of them, her face etched with difficulty. "But the car's out of fuel."
"It's fine, Barbatos can tow you," Mikazuki said, turning towards Barbatos. Lacus was about to speak but said nothing.
But just as Mikazuki turned, he suddenly stopped, drew the gun from the small of his back, and fired a shot back at Lacus.
Lacus and her three bodyguards couldn't react in time. After the gunshot, Hilda's three bodyguards finally reacted. The Glasses Man and the Stern Man drew their guns and pointed them at Mikazuki. Hilda, meanwhile, rushed in front of Lacus, found that Lacus showed no signs of being hit, and then inadvertently glanced behind her, her pupils constricting.
"Idiots, they're behind us!"
As she spoke, she quickly drew her gun and pulled the trigger.
Bang, bang, bang!
Thump, thump.
The two who had been wary of Mikazuki turned around to see several camouflaged figures collapsed in pools of blood behind them. They quickly opened fire, simultaneously realizing that the enemies weren't Mikazuki, but ZAFT special operations forces behind them. Mikazuki had been protecting them just now; otherwise, they would have been riddled with holes.
It wasn't until all the hidden special forces soldiers were dealt with that Hilda and the two bodyguards finally relaxed. Lacus's eyes, in particular, sparkled with renewed brilliance.
"Thank..."
Before they could even utter their thanks, Mikazuki spoke first.
"Get in the car. Leave here quickly."
With that, he turned and jumped onto Barbatos, stowing his Mace behind him. Lacus and her three bodyguards also got into the car. Barbatos lifted the several-meter-long military vehicle, its rear thrusters engaging, and swiftly pulled them away from the area.
Thirty kilometers from Gidaon Canyon, at a secret ZAFT military base, the base commander's face was grim. He roared, "What's going on?! Why have all the MS squad's signals vanished? And the mission? Was the target dealt with or not?!"
"Report! All eleven signals from the assassination squad... have also vanished!"
The commander gasped.
"What?! What on earth happened?! Could it be that the target has a Red Coat ace beside them?! But even with a Red Coat, we sent out four Red Coats and an elite special forces unit. Besides, Chairman Zala would definitely know if there were any Red Coat deployments domestically..."
The commander's heart was bleeding. He knew who the target of this operation was and how important the mission was, so he had dispatched the most elite forces from this base. But now, all his elites were unreachable, their fates unknown. However, the probability of something going wrong was very high, and most crucially, the target's death couldn't be confirmed. If the target wasn't dead, then it truly would be a case of losing the battle and the soldiers, a colossal loss. His base now had no surplus combat strength beyond its most basic defenses. If the nearby Earth Alliance Forces found out, his base would truly be finished.
Now, he could only pray that his elites were still alive and well. Otherwise, even if there wasn't an absolute catastrophe, his career would effectively be over.
"Quick! Send out two vehicles to the location where the MS signals disappeared! We need to see them alive or see their corpses! Find out what happened?!"
"Yes!"
On the endless wasteland, a long trail of dust rapidly stretched towards a certain direction. Mikazuki spoke into his comms from within Barbatos.
"How much further?"
Mikazuki's question came through the walkie-talkie Lacus was holding in the car. Lacus looked at Hilda beside her, and Hilda glanced at the map on her computer.
"It's about ninety kilometers to the neutral city of Gidaon. We have people waiting to meet us there. What's wrong? Is the mobile suit running low on fuel?"
"No, fuel is sufficient. In fact, it's still at full capacity..."
Mikazuki looked at the energy display on his left, a little surprised. Is this display broken? It's been operating for so long, yet the energy has only dropped slightly. However, remembering what Orga had said about the differences, he relaxed. After all, Barbatos's current performance was five times its original, so a change in the energy system should be normal.
Hilda frowned. "Then..."
"A mobile suit can't just casually appear in that city, right? Where should I stop?"
Mikazuki's words hit the mark. Hilda immediately understood Mikazuki's meaning.
"Ah, wait, let me see..."
She tapped the keyboard a couple of times, and the screen stopped at a location.
"There's a suitable place to hide the mobile suit in the southwest. It's not far, about fifteen kilometers from the city. Miss, perhaps we should stop there? I'll have someone drive there to pick us up."
Hilda looked up at Lacus, seeking her opinion. Lacus nodded, picked up the walkie-talkie, and said softly, "Mikazuki-kun, did you hear that? Please head in the direction Hilda mentioned."
"Alright."
After a single word came through the walkie-talkie, silence fell. Lacus couldn't help but speak up. "Mikazuki-kun, can I call you Mikazuki?"
The walkie-talkie was silent for a moment before Mikazuki's reply came. "You can."
Lacus's heart swelled with joy, and she continued, "Then Mikazuki, you can call me Lacus. Mikazuki, how old are you this year?"
Mikazuki on Barbatos paused. How old? He couldn't quite figure that out himself now. His body seemed to have reverted to its fifteen-year-old state, but in reality, he was eighteen.
"...Fifteen."
"Fifteen, huh? I'm a year older than you. It's truly incredible. You operate a mobile suit even better than our ZAFT elite pilots."
"Is that so?"