Back at the PLANTs, three distinct mobile suits were being transported onto the Minerva.
"Three new units again... and a newcomer?"
Lunamaria stood in the hangar, watching the three machines being brought inside.
"That's right... According to Chairman Durandal's wishes, Agnes here will also be joining our squad for combat operations."
Rey walked up to Lunamaria's side, introducing the pink-haired girl with twin-tails who was currently scouting out the Minerva.
"Eh? A new teammate?"
Hearing Rey's introduction, Lunamaria blinked and looked toward Agnes.
"Lunamaria, former artillery specialist, has a significant number of confirmed kills," Rey noted, nodding toward Agnes as he introduced her. "She is currently the pilot of the Impulse."
"And this is Agnes, she is—"
"I knew her back at the military academy, no need for introductions."
After matching Agnes in her memory, Lunamaria narrowed her eyes, her expression turning somber. "What a persistent pest..."
"I could say the same to you, Luna," Agnes's curious expression vanished, replaced by a smirk of mockery. "Coming from a loser who had her boyfriend stolen by me..."
In a daze, Rey felt as if the two of them had deployed some kind of aura, with fierce sparks of electricity flickering between them. He skillfully took two steps back, withdrawing from the confrontational atmosphere between Lunamaria and Agnes.
Anyone with eyes could see that there was some serious bad blood between the two.
"By the way... where did that guy Shinn go?"
After a long silence, seeing the atmosphere grow increasingly stiff, Lunamaria was forced to take a step back and change the subject.
"Chairman Durandal has matters to discuss with Shinn."
Ignoring Agnes's "victor-like" expression, Rey recalled the time when Durandal and Shinn had left earlier and told Lunamaria, "As of now, he should be in the Chairman's office."
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There was nothing particularly special about Durandal's office; it lacked any lavish decorations. If anything, Shinn felt the style of the office was more reminiscent of a chemistry lab. The only noteworthy feature was perhaps the exceptionally good lighting.
"Have a seat, Shinn."
Durandal sat casually in the chair behind his desk, flipping through a file.
"Chairman Durandal... is there something you needed me for?"
Shinn sat in the chair in front of the desk, feeling a bit stiff and formal. After all, his previous act of sending Stellar away could be considered treason against the PLANTs, yet Durandal had insisted on protecting him and had smoothed things over during the subsequent investigation. This caused Shinn's presence to naturally diminish in front of Durandal.
"There's no need to be so formal. It's just... there are some things I want to say to you."
After thinking for a moment, Durandal looked at Shinn. "I have a premonition that the great war to end all of this is fast approaching. It makes me a bit worried; if I don't say this now, I might not have the chance later."
"Do you remember what I told you all back in the Kingdom of Foundation regarding Blue Cosmos and Logos?"
"I remember. Please, go ahead."
Shinn nodded, watching Durandal.
"Clearly, in this war provoked by them, it isn't just us—Orb, where the Unicorn is located, is also searching for a way to end the conflict."
Durandal looked at a photo in the files showing the Unicorn pinning down several mobile suits and sighed. "But obviously, because we occupy different positions, our plans and objectives are also different."
"Shinn, I value you so highly for precisely this reason."
At this point, Durandal looked at Shinn, his expression turning serious. "You have the drive of a young man, and a courage that is different from ours."
"My Destiny Plan, which seeks to change the structure of society to guide humanity toward a peaceful future, versus what Lacus speaks of—a turbulent peace enforced by powerful military intervention..."
Durandal sighed and pulled a hard drive from his drawer. "Regardless of who ultimately succeeds, I think it will be a good thing for humanity, who are currently exhausted by this atmosphere of fanaticism."
"But as for which is superior, let future generations be the judge."
With that, Durandal handed the hard drive to Shinn.
"In the coming days, if I win, then nothing changes."
Durandal fell silent for a moment, looking at Shinn. "Inside this is information regarding Blue Cosmos and Logos that I collected through Kingdom of Foundation channels. If I lose, give this data to Orb."
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After Shinn was left dazed by Durandal's "everything is for the future of all humanity" attitude—nearly to the point of being bamboozled into dedicating his life to that goal—Durandal pressed the hard drive into his hands. Along with the data on Blue Cosmos and Logos, it contained a brief summary of his own plan and Lacus's ideals. With that, he let Shinn leave.
"...You didn't tell him everything, did you?"
Less than ten seconds after Shinn left Durandal's office, Talia walked in. Placing her cap casually on the desk, Talia looked at the man before her.
"You're the type of person who believes in his own plan without a shadow of a doubt. I don't believe you'd be this pessimistic about it."
"I have always been a pessimist; this is merely making preparations in advance."
Durandal shook his head at Talia. "Besides, what I said was the truth. I simply left a few things out."
Durandal was indeed a pessimist, feeling a sense of helplessness not just toward humanity, but toward the current systems of the world. Rather than letting the world enter the future Lacus spoke of—one which, in his eyes, had no way out—he would rather pour everything into ensuring his own plan was implemented. The earlier move to have the Kingdom of Foundation launch an attack on Orb was also based on this objective.
As for Shinn... he believed that after seeing the summaries of the two different plans, the boy would make the best choice.
"...As expected, I still can't see through you."
Talia sighed and moved to stand beside Durandal.
"No one remains unchanged; everyone's thoughts and perspectives are constantly evolving."
Looking at Talia standing beside him, Durandal skillfully pressed a button. The curtains in the office dropped, the door auto-locked, and the room suddenly went dark.
Afterward, no one knew what happened inside Durandal's office.
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Earth, Kaohsiung.
Two Earth Alliance standard transport ships, now repainted with the insignia of the Kingdom of Foundation, sat quietly on the mass driver, awaiting launch.
"I truly didn't expect you to possess such Mobile Suits..."
Atop the control tower, an officer flipped through the documents in his hand and nodded to the official from the Kingdom of Foundation standing beside him. "But the Earth Alliance welcomes any dedicated souls willing to fight ZAFT. Well then, I wish you a successful hunt."
As the mass driver hummed to life, the two transport ships were catapulted into the sky at incredible speeds, hurtling toward outer space.
Not far from the mass driver, Orphee and Shura stood quietly, watching the two vessels ascend into the cosmos.
"Your machine isn't ready yet; it's not time for your debut."
Sensing Shura's mounting agitation beside him, Orphee spoke calmly. "Durandal sent over the data from that destroyed Freedom. That data will allow us to make some adjustments and enhancements to our own machines."
"...I don't care whose data we use."
Shura grit his teeth, wishing he were the one flying into space with those warships. "I only want to defeat the Unicorn."
"If I don't defeat him... I won't be myself anymore."
"...We must at least wait until the rest of our units have finished their adjustments, and until our allies deliver the warships they promised us."
Orphee sighed.
"Until then, focus on studying the Unicorn's combat records."
The Requiem on the Moon had already completed construction, and the development of the Kingdom of Foundation's unique MS, the Black Knight, was reaching its final stages. The performance of the FT Armor had proven to be quite stable.
Now, all they lacked was a fleet in outer space.
However, during their recent investigations into Blue Cosmos, it seemed the organization had discovered something; their scrutiny of various nations had intensified significantly.
Orphee had a premonition that soon the Kingdom of Foundation—or at least its high-ranking leadership—would have to undergo its own version of the "Orb Great Evacuation."
.......