The channel didn't remain silent for long before Siegel followed up.
"It might be nice if we could bring the younger ones along."
"What?!"
Yuri was shocked by this, but Siegel remained calm.
"According to what you said, Fred's MA control is extremely skilled. In that case, he's more than qualified to be a teacher."
"Through teaching, we can also get a clearer view of the key factors behind his continuous improvement."
This was actually one of the purposes behind things like combat classes.
They wanted to understand the source of Fred's constant growth as a Natural.
Of course, genetics might play a role, but what if...
What if they could uncover some secret?
However, it seemed they still had no leads at the moment.
"Will Councilor Zala agree?"
After hearing the explanation, Yuri Amalfi asked helplessly.
"He will."
"I'll notify you when there's news."
"Yes."
What could Yuri say? He could only nod in agreement.
...
A week passed. After Fred completed another routine modification session and was satisfied with acquiring several new abilities, he had just submitted his work report when he was stopped by the rarely-seen Yuri.
Although Yuri was the nominal commander, he had left after finding Fred reliable and confirming through several days of observation that there were no issues.
After all, he was the representative of May City, primarily responsible for MS development, and his daily schedule was quite busy.
With remote monitoring available, there were basically no problems.
Thinking about Fred's capabilities that he had observed over the past few days, the May City representative felt mixed emotions.
How could such an exceptional person be a Natural?
Were Coordinators truly limited by a ceiling?
But most Naturals couldn't even reach their baseline level.
Fred...
He now somewhat agreed with Siegel's view - such a person was indeed better here than joining Blue Cosmos.
Moreover, during his communications with Nicol, hearing the joy in the other's voice whenever he talked about this older brother...
The lingering hostility in his heart quietly dissipated.
"We've approved the routine maintenance work."
Yuri said with complex emotions in his voice.
"Thank you!"
Fred's eyes lit up at these words.
Yuri's statement meant he could still pilot the MA even after completing his current modification work.
For him, this was a tremendous benefit.
"But you'll need to take Nicol and the others with you."
"Huh? Sure!"
After a brief moment of confusion, Fred quickly understood the other's meaning and nodded in agreement.
They just wanted him to teach his techniques.
He was familiar with that.
Besides, since their goals aligned, he wasn't worried about anything happening.
In any case, he would teach.
It benefited him, and if they wanted to surpass him, that could become one of his motivations too.
What if they actually surpassed him?
First, he would do his best. Second, he would continue striving.
So there was nothing to fear.
This applied whether it was combat or MA/MS piloting.
And it remained true regardless of whether the opponent was a Natural or a Coordinator.
When it came to comparing growth speed with the world's Ultimate Warrior, Fred believed he wouldn't lose.
Thinking this, Fred's eyes grew intense with determination.
"Good that you have no problems with it."
Watching Fred's increasingly fervent expression—which seemed less like reluctance and more like excitement—Yuri had a question mark pop up in his mind.
But since Fred had agreed, the outcome was what mattered.
Just as the two were speaking, an untimely, urgent alarm suddenly blared from the office.
[Alert, alert... Level 1 asteroid impact warning...]
A synthesized female voice broadcast the message along with the urgent alarm.
"Asteroid..."
Fred frowned upon hearing this.
An asteroid was essentially a meteoroid.
Though "meteoroid" was the term used after it had fallen.
But they were currently at Lagrange Point L5.
It was a stable point where gravitational forces were negligible on a cosmic scale.
Its physical range was extremely small compared to the vast Earth-Moon space.
For a small celestial body flying in from outside to be captured by L5's gravitational potential well, it would require extremely precise speed and direction—a probability that was inherently very low.
Moreover, the gravitational pull of the Earth-Moon system was weak, so the vast majority of meteoroids would simply pass by.
This was one of the reasons they had first built large-scale space colonies at L5 and L4.
Besides, wasn't there an asteroid warning system in place? Even if an asteroid appeared, it would be dealt with before triggering an alarm.
Now, suddenly, an asteroid was heading straight for them—it felt almost like a joke. If things were this unpredictable, space colonies could never have been built in the first place.
And this asteroid was heading directly toward them, further lowering the probability.
"Impossible."
Just as Fred had thought, Yuri abruptly stood up amid the series of urgent alarms.
"Could it be an attack? Is there any specific intel?"
Fred stepped forward and asked.
"Wait a moment..."
Seeing Fred's decisiveness, Yuri—being an ace—quickly calmed down and opened the screen in front of him.
As the commander-in-chief, he had considerable authority and soon obtained all the data on the asteroid that had suddenly appeared outside.
"This asteroid has a designation: CE65041587."
"It was observed a month ago, but the probability of impact was only 0.002%, so active tracking was abandoned."
As Yuri spoke, Fred also saw the contents on the screen. He pointed at the asteroid's trajectory and said,
"But its recent trajectory has been altered."
Although active tracking had been discontinued, passive data collection was still ongoing. Just a short while ago, the asteroid's orbit had suddenly changed, which was why they had received the alarm.
Thinking this, Fred continued,
"We have four hours until impact. We can handle it, right?"
After all, an asteroid of this mass could be dealt with using current kinetic weapons. A few missiles would alter its trajectory, or they could even install an engine on it.
"Officially, we're only permitted to have Vulcan Cannons. Any intervention with an asteroid's trajectory requires assistance from the Council Nations."
"Other methods are not permitted by the Council Nations."
Yuri, who had turned off the alarm, spoke with a grim expression.
This was part of the Council Nations' control over them, the Coordinators.
And Fred, too, grew tense at that moment.
The Atlantic Federation is the Council Nation responsible for Junius City. If they were to approach with legitimate reasons, I'm afraid the secrets here would likely be detected.
They certainly don't necessarily believe there are issues, yet they still came to probe. It must be said, this move is indeed an open scheme.
The Atlantic Federation's purpose is simple—they just came to take a look.
Moreover, the sudden appearance of this asteroid clearly caught PLANT by surprise.
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