"In the recent Yggdrasil Campaign, Felix Leo Griffith fought valiantly, downing 37 Mobile Armors and eight warships. In recognition of his remarkable combat achievements, he is hereby awarded the Nebula Medal."
After the brief introduction, Patrick and Siegel repeated the actions they had just performed for Creuset, as well as the same words of commendation.
Creuset then turned and returned to his original position, standing side-by-side with him once more.
Patrick turned to face the two of them and pointed to the two empty seats below. The two men instantly understood his intention, strode down from the stage, and sat in the chairs to wait for the rest of the commendation ceremony to conclude.
The ceremony ended an hour later.
As Felix was leaving the conference hall where the ceremony was held, he prepared to depart from Aprilius City. Just as he was about to walk away, a voice called out to him.
"Felix!"
The call made Felix stop in his tracks and turn around. Seeing a figure not far away walking toward him, Felix offered a polite and respectful greeting.
"Mrs. Zala, hello."
After the greeting, Felix asked Lenore, "Mrs. Zala, is there something you need?"
"Felix, there's something I'd like to ask you," Lenore said, stopping two steps in front of Felix and looking at him.
Felix nodded slightly, indicating for her to speak.
Lenore then asked, "You look a lot like a child I know."
The short sentence reached his ears, and Felix understood instantly. He knew who Lenore was talking about; after all, he was well aware from looking in the mirror that he bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to Kira Yamato.
He had idly wondered about their possible connection when he was younger, but as he grew up under the care of his current parents, he no longer dwelled on such things.
He knew there was little point in figuring it out, so he didn't waste time thinking about it.
"Mrs. Zala, I'm my parents' only son. I don't have any siblings. So this is probably just a coincidence."
Looking at Lenore, Felix feigned complete ignorance. He first showed a hint of surprise before calmly replying to her.
Lenore said nothing more upon hearing his words, her gaze fixed on Felix with a certain intensity. After looking at him for a good while, Lenore retracted her gaze, a faint, apologetic smile on her face.
"I'm sorry! Perhaps I was overthinking things. I've disturbed you."
"Mrs. Zala, you don't need to apologize. It's no trouble at all."
Felix smiled slightly, his words forgiving.
After speaking, he glanced at the time and excused himself.
"I'm sorry, I have other matters to attend to, so I can't stay and chat."
"Go on, then. I'm sorry for disturbing you just now."
Lenore nodded, her voice gentle.
After bidding Lenore farewell, Felix continued toward the elevator.
He took the elevator to the spaceport and boarded a Shuttle bound for Junius City. Upon arriving at Junius City, he piloted a personal shuttle to the Sebastian.
Onboard the Sebastian
"Congratulations, Captain!"
Walking down a corridor on the Sebastian, Felix was met with congratulations from his subordinates whenever he encountered them. Looking at this particular subordinate, Felix smiled slightly and nodded politely.
"Thank you!"
With a brief reply, Felix continued on his way.
Back in his room
He opened a drawer and placed the box containing the Nebula Medal inside. After putting it away, Felix got up and went to lie down on his bed to rest.
Five days later.
"Felix, as formulated by the Ministry of Defense and approved by the Supreme Council, a decision has been made to conduct an airborne operation against the Victoria Spaceport, which is controlled by the Earth Alliance.
The Felix Team, which you lead, will be integrated into the assault force for this operation. Your mission is to capture the Victoria Spaceport."
During the communication, Patrick explained the new combat mission to Felix.
After hearing the mission details, Felix thought for a moment and said to Patrick, "Chairman, the MS we currently use are all designed for space combat. Their design and thrust are completely inadequate for the demands of aerial combat on Earth. This will put our operation at a great disadvantage.
"Moreover, we currently have no ground forces to utilize on Earth. Even if we capture Victoria Spaceport, we might not be able to hold it."
"Are you suggesting we abandon this operation?"
Patrick naturally understood the meaning behind Felix's words. He thought for a moment before interrupting Felix with a question.
His words cut off, Felix didn't continue with what he was about to say. He simply nodded in response to Patrick's question.
"Not abandon it, exactly. My thought is to temporarily postpone this somewhat premature operation. We should wait until we have established military bases on Earth and can deploy forces to the planet before proceeding with the operation to capture Victoria Spaceport."
"Your considerations are indeed comprehensive. However, rest assured, our ground forces will also be part of this airborne operation. After you clear out Victoria Spaceport's anti-air and defensive forces, the ground troops will descend to Earth to complete the capture of the entire spaceport."
Patrick affirmed Felix's thinking while also offering an explanation. Even as the explanation reached his ears, Felix still felt the operation was very risky.
Just as he was about to speak, Patrick continued.
"Felix, if we at PLANT want to conduct long-term operations on Earth, we must control a spaceport. Only then can we ensure the smooth transit of our troops and the transport of corresponding supplies. Relying solely on drop-landings and other transport methods cannot meet our needs.
"Therefore, the capture of Victoria Spaceport has been planned to facilitate further operations on Earth. Although it carries a high degree of risk, it is necessary at this moment."
Patrick paused slightly before continuing, "The main point is to capture Victoria Spaceport and use it as a foundation for military deployment, expanding it into a military base. This is much faster than building a military base from scratch and will help us establish a firm foothold on Earth more effectively.
"Meanwhile, plans for other military bases are also in preparation. The capture of Victoria Spaceport will not cause us to abandon the planning for the construction of other bases."
"I apologize, Chairman! My words just now were somewhat abrupt and immature."
Reflecting on Patrick's words, Felix also felt that his own remarks had been rather immature and too dogmatic, influenced by his knowledge of the plot. For this, he looked at Patrick and apologized.
Smiling, Patrick's expression was kind and gentle. "No need to apologize. Your concerns are very reasonable. After all, this mission is quite risky, so such considerations are understandable."
With that, Patrick looked at Felix and asked, "Are you confident about this mission?"
"Please rest assured, Chairman. I will do my utmost to complete the mission," Felix said, raising his hand in a salute, his tone solemn and serious.
"Good. I have high hopes for you."
Patrick smiled slightly, his voice filled with praise.
After the communication ended, Felix received the detailed operational plan for the airborne assault on Victoria Spaceport.
He opened the file, sat down in his chair, and began to study its contents in extreme detail, not missing a single piece of information.