"Let me put this back on for you," Murrue said as she pressed the device back onto Mikazuki's back.
Mikazuki Augus offered a quiet word of thanks. Murrue gave a small smile and shook her head, though her expression was tinged with a hint of bitterness.
Seeing the unknown object finally covered, Erica Simmons quickly spoke up. "Um, what exactly is this Alaya-Vijnana System? It gives you such incredible reactions and movements... Can Naturals have it too?"
"What? Do you want to know about the Alaya-Vijnana System?"
Orga Itsuka appeared in a corner of the large screen, staring at Erica Simmons with a void of expression.
"Yes. It might be rude to say, but if Tekkadan is willing to share this technology with Orb, Orb's Mobile Suit combat power would increase manifold. It might even make us more formidable than the Coordinators. To be honest, I want this technology."
Erica Simmons was direct about her desire for the Alaya-Vijnana System, causing Murrue's face to darken instantly.
Orga closed one eye and spoke indifferently. "Do you think everyone is like Mikazuki? Forget it. Even if others undergo the Alaya-Vijnana surgery, they could never reach his level."
"Why? Isn't Mikazuki Augus this strong precisely because of that technology?" Erica Simmons' question was exactly what everyone else in the room was thinking.
"Then why are there elite Red Coats and ordinary people among your so-called Coordinators?"
"That's..."
Orga Itsuka said with a cold expression, "Don't take the Alaya-Vijnana System for granted. This thing... was forcibly implanted into kids like us, children called 'Space Rats' and 'trash.' Do you think we wanted to undergo this kind of surgery?"
Erica Simmons opened her mouth to say something but found herself speechless. She could only stare blankly at Orga Itsuka on the screen.
Mikazuki sat down on the steps next to the Captain's seat, eating Mars Dates with a blank expression.
"Remember that black Mobile Suit that was giving Mikazuki trouble? You saw the tank inside when its armor fell off, didn't you?"
Everyone who had watched the battle against the Graze Ein recalled the man soaking in that Alaya-Vijnana life support tank within the black machine.
"That guy's consciousness was completely merged into the machine; he became a monster. Do you want your Orb Mobile Suit forces to become like that? Even Mikazuki, he..."
"Orga!" Mikazuki frowned slightly and glanced sideways at Orga Itsuka.
Hearing Orga mention Mikazuki and seeing the pilot's expression, Murrue immediately realized that the Alaya-Vijnana System might have caused him problems. She quickly asked, "What's wrong with Mika?"
Orga lowered his head and gave Murrue a perfunctory answer. "No, it's nothing. Let's put that monster aside for now. Let's just talk about the Alaya-Vijnana System on Mikazuki. Do you know the risks of this surgery? It has a seventy percent mortality rate."
"What?!" Everyone gasped. Disbelief filled Erica Simmons' eyes. "Is... is that true? Such a high mortality rate?"
"It's true. There's no point in lying about something like this. Mikazuki and I were in the same batch for the surgery. Counting the two of us, ten children underwent it. Six of them failed and were sent to the hospital.
On the way there, four of them had their brains destroyed by the nanomachines and died mid-transit. We haven't heard anything about the other two. After all, it's been nearly ten years; there's no telling if they're alive or dead. In short, the kids in Tekkadan who underwent the surgery were simply lucky enough to survive..."
A heavy, suffocating silence filled the bridge. Erica Simmons leaned against the railing, her hand over her mouth. She never expected the Alaya-Vijnana System to be something so cruel.
Cagalli asked in confusion, "Why would something so dangerous even exist?"
"It's simple. Because kids like us, who have nothing and can do nothing, need it. Where we come from, the number of children who become orphans for various reasons is beyond count.
If we wanted to survive, we had no choice but to obey the adults' orders. That was the only way to get food and stay together. Back then... whether we underwent the Alaya-Vijnana surgery wasn't our choice to make."
Orga turned to look at Mikazuki, who was silently eating Mars Dates. Everyone else's gaze followed his.
"...Mika underwent this surgery three times. All were voluntary. Once, he almost didn't make it..."
"Three times?" Cagalli walked behind Mikazuki, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him up. "Mika, you underwent such a dangerous surgery three times?"
"Ah, three times? I guess so. I forgot." Mikazuki remained as indifferent as ever, as if he weren't the subject of the conversation. Or perhaps, he simply wasn't interested in what Orga and the others were talking about.
"Why... why would you volunteer for that? Even if you were forced, once should have been enough!" Cagalli asked loudly.
Mikazuki looked at the girl's pretty face and scratched his own rough cheek.
"That... well, it's because I'm very stupid. I don't understand half of what you people talk about. The meaning of being a soldier, the ideals of Orb... I don't get any of it. I don't want to waste my brain thinking about things I can't understand.
For me, being able to protect my family is enough. But it's impossible to do that without getting stronger. Since I couldn't protect anything as I was, I had to get stronger. I have to get even strongerstrong enough to protect everyone in Tekkadan. Strong enough to... protect the place where we belong."
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