As the ReZEL lowered the containers, the crew began hauling the supplies, and the uninhabited island where the Nahel Argama lay anchored gradually grew lively.
Barbecue grills were set up one by one. The young men and women changed into the beachwear they had just purchased and crowded around the grills.
Activities that had never before existed in their lives brought a sense of novelty. The feeling of truly "being alive" filled their scarred hearts; even their souls, warped by past torment, could taste the sweetness of this happiness.
Although they couldn't swim freely due to the weight of their bodies and the lack of leg thrusters, simply walking and running along the shoreline, letting the seawater wash over their feet, was enough to bring them immense satisfaction.
"By the way, was it really okay to just blow up that speedboat like that?"
Murrue Ramius stood beside Roz, watching the jubilant crew members.
"Some nanomachines had already attached themselves to it, so blowing it up didn't matter," Christina said, handing a bag to Murrue. "Big Haro already had a brief skirmish with the controller of those nanomachines before we boarded."
"According to Big Haro, the controller of those nanomachines is a 'VEDA' from a group calling themselves Celestial Being. It's an AI with decent strength."
Christina recalled what Big Haro had told her earlier.
"Blowing up that boat not only signals that we are aware of their nanomachines but also prepares the ground for potential future negotiations," Roz added.
Roz hadn't changed into his summer-exclusive beach trunks yet; he still wore his pilot jacket and cargo pants as he stood beside Murrue and Christina.
"To find us, they'll first have to expand their search outward from the explosion site. During that time, Celestial Being's operations likely won't stop, giving them plenty of chances to demonstrate their strength. That should alleviate some of the pressure the Penelope put on them."
"What we need are allies with the capability and the resolve to help us drive those Agents out."
After researching vast amounts of data in the Courtyard, Roz understood the general mindset of those known as Agents.
As a group that transcended worlds, they viewed these realities as their "playgrounds," with the only difference being the difficulty level. To them, the direction of the world and the lives within it were no different from NPCs in a game.
In their eyes, completing the Lord God's missions and obtaining rewards was the only thing that mattered—like playing a realistic and thrilling RPG.
But for the original inhabitants of these worlds, these Agents were a catastrophe. Whether they were plundering key items or throwing events into total chaos, they were constantly driving the world down a slope toward a "worse" outcome.
Regardless of what plans Roz and the others had, at least for these next two days—before the meeting with Celestial Being—it was a long-overdue day off.
"I'm going to call Natarle down."
Roz reached out, pulling Murrue and Christina close to give them each a kiss.
"Rest well when it's time to rest, and fight hard when it's time to fight."
Before leaving, Roz picked up a set of purchased swimwear from Christina's hand.
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"A bonfire party... held on an uninhabited island, large number of personnel, location matches the search radius, and it aligns with the supplies they purchased."
Currently, aboard the Ptolemaios, Sumeragi was analyzing stacks of data as they came in.
Although they had made a slight attempt at concealment, to a certain degree, it wasn't much of a disguise for VEDA. Looking at the photos marked "Top Secret" and the content within them, even Sumeragi fell into a pensive silence.
Sunlight, beaches, barbecue... unfortunately, no beer.
If these vacation scenes were released to the public, they would probably look like high-end commercial travel advertisements and would likely receive rave reviews.
However, these very photos were now VEDA's top-secret documents. Only because Sumeragi had been assigned the task of meeting and communicating with them was she granted partial access to view them.
For now, VEDA was helping to cover up the group's whereabouts—though from the looks of it, the other party didn't seem to care much either way.
"Must be nice... I want to go on vacation too."
Christina's expression slumped instinctively as she saw the data.
"However, the Raven's battleship does not appear in the images... not even the structural distortion caused by conventional optical camouflage is visible."
Feldt Grace didn't pay much attention to the scenery; instead, she focused on analyzing the presence of the Nahel Argama. "It's like a ghost ship, completely vanished."
"They're likely using some new or unknown stealth technology. The fact that they could launch a carrier rocket under the AEU's nose and submerge at their landing point without alerting the AEU or the HRL is proof enough of that."
At this point, Sumeragi scratched her head.
"Besides, if VEDA's nanomachines were to drift over there to take clear images, it would take at least a week. By then, they'll probably have already left."
"So, should we contact Miss Wang Liu Mei now to arrange a meeting?"
Feldt turned her head toward Sumeragi.
"No, we should accelerate our intervention operations first."
Sumeragi shook her head, rejecting Feldt's proposal. "We've all seen the Raven's power. But precisely because of that, for the sake of the communication VEDA requested, we must demonstrate our own strength before them."
"If we want an equal dialogue, our strength must also be equal—or at least, we must show our resolve."
Truth be told, Sumeragi didn't have much confidence in whether her four Gundams could defeat the Penelope. In her calculations, the win rate was extremely low.
But even if you're outmatched, you don't back down. Even if they couldn't win, they had to show they had the bite to take a chunk out of the opponent.
"Next... is the armed intervention on Ceylon. All four Gundams will sortie for that."
Having made up her mind, Sumeragi opened the pre-prepared plan and looked at the various routes. She needed to find a new path that ensured the four Gundams could successfully extract while also allowing them to arrive at the meeting point to maintain their "face."
Furthermore, given the unexpected firepower that appeared during the raid on the AEU's new mobile suit demonstration, she had to prepare contingencies...
"Everything is piling up at once..."
Estimating the workload, Sumeragi let out a helpless sigh. "I just hope this meeting goes smoothly, otherwise all this overtime will be for nothing."
...................