Chapter 245: Tekkadan 3
At that moment, Biscuit recognized Dexter and quickly spoke up to stop him. "I remember you — you're the company accountant, right? Mr. Dexter Culastor. I'd like you to stay with us a while longer, if that's alright?"
Dexter was stunned. He'd been told they could freely choose whether to stay or leave, yet now the very first one who spoke up was being denied. His face went pale as he shouted, terrified, "Huh? Wait—what?! You've got to be kidding me!"
Still, apart from him, the rest of the First Unit members who chose to leave were permitted to go. A few, however, decided to stay on — for the sake of having work and stability — and continued serving under Orga's command.
Meanwhile, on the Gjallarhorn satellite base, the inspectors McGillis and Gaelio Bauduin arrived a full day ahead of schedule, leaving Commander Carta's subordinate, Coral, completely flustered.
Before their arrival, he had issued Crank one final ultimatum — Kudelia and everyone at CGS must be wiped out.
Crank, unwilling to slaughter the child soldiers, used the excuse that their machines needed repair to buy time, hoping those kids would evacuate the CGS base before it was too late.
But the butterfly's wings had already stirred the air — this time, Ein wasn't as badly injured as before…
Early the next morning, Eugene burst into the CGS office, slamming the door open with a furious expression. "Hey, Orga! I heard you gave those First Unit guys who quit retirement pay! What the hell were you thinking? Why give them—"
He froze mid-sentence when he saw Biscuit, Dexter, and several young crew members inside, all in the middle of a meeting.
Then, misunderstanding the situation completely, Eugene grabbed one of the boys by the collar and shouted, "Hey, hey! Don't tell me you guys are planning to quit too?!"
"Enough, Eugene," Orga ordered firmly.
"But—"
Orga sighed, spreading his hands. "Work deserves fair pay. They did their part — they earned it."
Eugene scowled. "And what about those First Unit bastards?"
Orga explained patiently, "Once they quit, who knows what they'll try to pull. If we don't settle things properly, it could hurt the company's reputation. We're running a legitimate business now — we can't afford to act like thugs."
"Reputation? Legitimate business? Don't give me that crap! After everything that's happened, you're still talking about—"
Before he could finish, Todo stepped forward, wearing his usual sly grin, and patted Eugene on the shoulder. "Now, now, no need to fight. Everyone's entitled to their opinions, right? But in the end, we're all in this together.
Anyway, I'll be staying too — hope that's alright. Looking forward to working with you, comrades."
Biscuit didn't even know what to say. Todo was a sly old fox, but at least he, like Dexter, had never mistreated the child soldiers.
Orga stayed silent, which was as good as permission for Todo to remain.
Out in the CGS courtyard, Takaki approached old man Nadi, who was smoking leisurely. "Old man, you've got to stay! We can't manage without you."
Nadi exhaled a puff of smoke and smiled lazily. "Yeah, yeah… I'm getting on in years anyway. Playing caretaker for you brats isn't a bad way to spend my time."
At that, one of the young mechanics, Yamagi Gilmerton, chimed in teasingly, "Besides, old man, you don't really have any friends outside. At your age, it'd be hard to make a living out there. Better to stay here and retire in peace — we'll look after you."
Nadi snorted, amused. "Hah, you kids sure know me too well. Can't believe you saw right through me."
Nearby, Kudelia, still feeling useless, noticed a nut lying on the ground. Thinking of Mikazuki's grease-stained hands, she picked it up without caring about the dirt and held it tightly in her palm.
Just then, Orga arrived in a vehicle and called out to Nadi and the others, "Hey, is Mikazuki around? Anyone seen him?"
Nadi replied lazily, "Huh? Nah, he's not here."
"I see… no luck then. We've searched the whole base, and he's nowhere to be found. Guess I'll have to check somewhere else."
As Orga looked around in frustration, he noticed Kudelia standing behind him. "Hey, what are you doing out here?"
"Nothing much," Kudelia replied softly, tilting her head up toward Barbatos. "Mikazuki… he's really amazing, isn't he?
To control such a huge machine as if it were his own body — he must've trained for a long time, right?"
Orga also looked up at Barbatos and answered calmly, "No. That fight was actually his first time piloting it."
"What—? His first time? But he managed to take on three mobile suits all by himself?"
"Yeah. I heard the Alaya-Vijnana system was originally designed specifically for MS use. Makes it easier to control by instinct than a regular mobile worker.
Anyway, forget that — what about you? What are you planning to do now?"
Kudelia lowered her head, thinking for a moment before answering, "For now… I don't want to return to my father."
"Then what?"
"I… don't really know. I used to think I was capable of doing something meaningful, but now…"
"You used to?"
Kudelia shook her head and tried to encourage herself. "No… I still believe I can. It's just—"
She paused, staring at her darkened hands and the greasy nut she held. Her voice weakened. "To achieve my goal… I might have to sacrifice innocent lives."
Orga looked at her, indifferent. "You mean to say my comrades died because of you?"
Kudelia froze. After being scolded by Mikazuki earlier, Orga's blunt words hit her again like a blow. She lowered her head in shame. "I… I just feel so frustrated. Frustrated that I'm this powerless…"
Orga sighed. There was nothing more he could say to this sheltered noble girl. "Don't think too much about it. Even without you, my men would still risk their lives on dangerous jobs. It's just a matter of time. Don't carry that burden alone."
With that, Orga left her there in the courtyard and returned to the office.
Inside, Biscuit and the others had already forced open the company's safe — the one Maruba hadn't managed to unlock before he fled.