"From observing the details... one can see something, right? After all, Mr. Lu, your attitude toward the Strike Suit... doesn't seem like fetishistic worship, nor is it like the simple companionship between me and Haro."
"You treat it more like a friend - neither revering nor belittling, but treating it equally and respecting its 'personality'."
"With you acting like that... it would be slow of me not to notice."
Lacus said this while lightly covering her mouth with a laugh, then slightly raised her eyes, blinking with a hint of reproach.
"Ah? R-really?"
Lu Tianming scratched his head somewhat awkwardly. So being seen through was actually his own fault? This was rather embarrassing...
"But Mr. Lu truly values it greatly. If I'm not mistaken, that external factor compelling you to want to change the world is the Strike Suit, right?"
Lacus nodded, then sat back down on her bed, returning to her previous calm conversational state as she continued.
Lu Tianming nodded helplessly. He felt that in front of Lacus, he couldn't seem to keep any secrets...
Did this woman really not have telepathic abilities?
"Anyway, please rest assured, Mr. Lu. Let's treat this matter as our secret - I won't tell anyone."
Lacus emphasized this again, even deliberately walking up to Lu Tianming and extending her pinky finger:
"Otherwise, shall we make a promise? If I reveal the secret without permission, you can deal with me as you see fit?"
Lu Tianming was momentarily stunned. Seeing her rather adorable way of making promises, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Alright, but it wouldn't be fair if only you face restrictions... Then I'll promise too - if I can't keep you here, you can deal with me as you see fit as well."
As he spoke, he also extended his pinky finger to link with Lacus's. Then the two tacitly brought their hands together, finally pressing their thumbs together - as if stamping their fingerprints on an invisible contract.
"So with this, the promise is established?"
"Yes, the promise is established."
——————————————
Inside the ZAFT vessel, Athrun sat quietly in the Aegis, his mind swirling with thoughts.
He didn't understand... when his mission for this trip was supposed to be simple search and rescue, why had it become entangled with war again.
After the previous council meeting ended, the mission he received from his father wasn't to continue combat operations, but to search for the missing Lacus Clyne.
He had known Lacus Clyne since childhood, and they had been engaged since they were young.
Even though genuine romantic feelings hadn't developed between them, Athrun still considered her an important friend.
So when he heard his friend was missing, he couldn't help feeling worried and didn't pay much attention to other matters at the time.
...But now, thinking back calmly, it seemed that his father who issued the mission and Captain Creuset who accepted it had reached some kind of mutual understanding between them.
Now recalling how Captain Creuset had unhesitatingly abandoned the search mission after encountering the Earth Alliance fleet, Athrun seemed to understand something.
Lacus's life or death had never mattered from the beginning... Rather, from the moment she went missing, her existence had been discarded by his father and the Patrick Faction.
In their hearts, Lacus herself no longer existed—or perhaps had never truly existed at all. What remained was always the political symbol and banner named "Lacus Clyne."
A flicker of hesitation crossed his mind... His father had repeatedly spoken of revenge, of fighting to secure the rights Coordinators deserved.
But... was this how rights were won?
Dragging uninvolved people into the conflict, using them as fuel to feed the flames of war—was this the so-called war for rights?
What could such a war bring, besides more and more deaths?
"Athrun, are you ready to sortie? I heard your Aegis's battery pack and overall framework were optimized after you returned?"
"I envy you, Athrun... but it doesn't matter who pilots it anyway. Let's show those damned Naturals our power together!"
His teammate's eager voice, full of anticipation for battle, rang in his ears, making Athrun feel even colder inside.
Whether it was them or the technicians who had maintained his Aegis... they all sincerely believed in the excuses fabricated by his father and the idealized vision of a "world free from Naturals' oppression."
They were passionate, unafraid of death, convinced that everything they did—even sacrificing their lives—would become building blocks for that ideal world.
But in Athrun's eyes... they were merely pitiful souls deceived into leaping into the fire.
Apart from intensifying the flames of war, they served no purpose.
No, not just them... even he himself was no different.
Athrun sighed deeply, wanting to say something but knowing his thoughts could never be shared with his comrades.
So he forced the muscles at the corners of his mouth into a smile, feigning the same enthusiasm as he replied:
"Yeah, let's... fight together."
——————————
"Combat heat signatures detected ahead!"It is speculated to be the advance team!"
In the Archangel's bridge, the communications officer's report jolted everyone awake from their hopeful anticipation of rendezvous.
Badgiruel was the first to react, turning to inquire about the specifics:
"Confirm if it's the advance fleet! What's the enemy composition?!"
"A Nazca-class battleship, three GINNs, and... X303-Aegis!"
The radar readings were broadcast almost instantly. Three GINNs and one Aegis—this configuration sent a chill through everyone's hearts.
While they had encountered such setups before, for other Earth Alliance fleets with virtually no anti-MS capabilities, this lineup was particularly troublesome.
Especially the Aegis... Without the Strike Suit to counter it, Federation Army battleships were little more than sitting ducks in its presence.
"The Montgomery from the advance team has issued us a retreat order, hoping we can find an alternate route to rendezvous with the main Eighth Fleet before being detected by ZAFT's battleships, and not proceed with the rescue mission."
"That's unacceptable! It's just three GINNs and one Aegis. We've already repelled three G Series units before—what does a single Aegis and three insignificant GINNs matter?"
Tolle, who was serving as a volunteer on the bridge, immediately stood up in disagreement upon hearing this.
In his eyes, the Archangel had defeated numerous MS units—why fear a mere configuration of one leading three?
Others, perhaps influenced by Tolle's momentum, grew equally agitated:
"He's right! If it's a Nazca-class... that must be the same ship that was pursuing us before? They're coming for us—we can't let the advance fleet take the blow for us."
"Tolle is correct. We've repelled three G Series units before; what's one more to worry about?"
As the chorus of agreement grew lou
der, Mu was about to say something to calm everyone down and defer to the captain's judgment when Lu Tianming's voice unexpectedly cut through:
"I disagree with providing support."