One month later, in the highest military commander's office at Lorentz Military Base.
"Have all the trainee cadets departed safely?" Felix set down his work and asked Aric as he entered.
Aric nodded and replied, "They've all left safely."
"That's good." Felix sighed in relief upon hearing this.
Thinking about this batch of cadets, Aric asked curiously, "Captain, will any of this year's cadets be assigned to us?"
"There will definitely be some, but they'll be assigned to other teams and bases, not to Griffith Team." Felix smiled slightly as he looked at him.
Pausing for a moment, Felix changed the subject and teased, "What, feeling a bit reluctant to see them go?"
"Not at all." Aric shook his head and replied decisively.
Hearing this, a curious expression appeared on Felix's face as he continued with a smile, "Then why did you ask?"
"Just making conversation." Aric replied with a somewhat awkward smile.
Seeing his embarrassed expression, Felix chuckled and didn't press further. Raising his arm, he waved dismissively. "Go attend to your duties."
"Yes, sir!" Aric saluted, replied in a loud voice, lowered his arm, and turned to leave.
After Aric departed, Felix stretched and then lowered his head to continue with his work.
Several days later, on September 20th, Felix received a personnel supplement list from the Ministry of Defense while sitting in his office. After reviewing the names and personnel details on the list, Felix leaned back in his chair and frowned slightly.
"Not a single one from the top twenty graduates this year?"
As he spoke, Felix received a communication from the Ministry of Defense.
Reaching out to accept the call, Patrick's face appeared before him. Looking at him, Felix raised his head in salute. "Chairman, good day."
"Have you seen the supplement list we sent you?" Patrick nodded slightly in response before asking Felix.
Felix nodded toward Patrick. "I've received it."
After speaking, Felix inquired of Patrick, "Chairman, why hasn't a single one of the top ten been assigned to us?"
"Not satisfied?" Patrick raised his eyebrows in response.
Felix shook his head, not expressing dissatisfaction, though he did feel somewhat dissatisfied internally. However, his greater feeling was one of confusion.
Seeing Felix's expression of non-dissatisfaction, Patrick chuckled and pretended to be angry. "What do you have to complain about? Hasn't the Ministry of Defense been good enough to your team and Lorentz Military Base!"
Looking at Patrick's expression, Felix explained, "Chairman, I don't feel dissatisfied, I'm just confused why we didn't get even one from the top twenty."
"Your team and the Lorenz Base already have the highest concentration of elite forces within the ZAFT Forces. To enhance the combat capabilities of other war zones, the top twenty graduates from this class have been assigned to different units."
Setting aside his earlier feigned anger, Patrick calmly and earnestly explained. After this explanation, Patrick shifted to discussing other matters with Felix.
"The custom-built ship for your Griffith Team has completed its design and technical verification phases. It's currently under construction, and you'll be able to receive the new vessel soon."
"Understood, Chairman."
Felix nodded in response to Patrick's announcement.
Hearing Felix's reply, Patrick offered reassurance.
"The newly developed MS CGUE has passed all verification tests and entered full production. The first batch will be prioritized for your team."
"Thank you, Chairman."
Felix naturally accepted both the consolation and compensation from Patrick. The thought of equipping his team with Cgues immediately lifted his spirits.
Noticing Felix's visible delight, Patrick shook his head with a smile before ending the communication.
After the call disconnected, Felix remained seated in his chair, smiling happily.
====
January 2, C.E.71, PLANT
In Section Two of Martius City's shipyard, Felix followed Clint to the docking bay where warships were berthed. Lights suddenly illuminated the area!
The silently docked vessel came into Felix's view.
Recognizing the somewhat familiar silhouette of the warship, Felix made a mental connection and exclaimed inwardly - Ptolemaios II? "Captain Griffith, this is the warship we designed and constructed based on your requirements and the Ministry of Defense's specifications."
Clint stood before Felix, speaking with evident pride.
Hearing Clint's words, Felix turned to study him carefully with a scrutinizing gaze.
Shifting his attention back to the warship, Felix asked Clint beside him: "Does it meet the space transit requirements?"
"Technically, yes."
Clint turned to face Felix, wearing an awkward expression as he answered somewhat guiltily.
His demeanor made Felix suspicious.
Sensing Felix's doubtful look, Clint composed himself and explained: "It can travel to space and back, but the cost of space transit is... considerable."
"Additional boosters?"
Felix immediately thought of boosters when hearing about supplementary devices. He couldn't conceive of any other solution.
"Not boosters. It requires some rather... special methods to accomplish."
As he spoke, Clint handed a document to Felix. Regarding the materials with skepticism, Felix opened the file and examined its contents.
After reading through the documentation, Felix finally understood what these so-called "special methods" entailed.
"This principle seems to follow the 'brute force makes bricks fly' concept!" Clint explained simply to Felix after watching him finish reading the materials. "To enable the battleship to generate enough thrust in a short time to escape Earth's gravity, it needs to accumulate energy for three hours before movement.
The principle involves using the Energy Storage Compression Device equipped inside the battleship to collect and compress the energy generated over three hours. When the compression reaches a critical point, this compressed energy will be released in an extremely short time.
The released energy will produce sufficient thrust to push the battleship away from Earth, propelling it out of the planet's atmosphere."
Felix looked at Clint and said with a laugh, "Brute force makes bricks fly?"
"Exactly! In simple terms, it's the brick principle."
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