The twenty-three trainees—or rather, from the moment they stepped aboard the Apocalypse today and changed into black uniforms, they were no longer merely trainees of ZAFT or the Orb Army. They had become soldiers, special soldiers who would not be acknowledged by either ZAFT or Orb.
At this moment, they entered the Apocalypse along with the instructor group from the academy, numbering more than fifty in total. They emerged from a passageway and entered the enormous central hangar of the Apocalypse. There were no machines in the hangar, and even the usual logistical maintenance equipment was scarce, making the vast, empty hangar look more like a special-purpose plaza.
Just then, a silver-haired middle-aged man approached the fifty or so people who had just entered the hangar. After looking them over, he compared them against the tablet in his hand, then nodded to the ZAFT officer in black who led the instructor group and served as Xiao Ran's deputy among the trainees.
"Instructor Mobius, I am Todaka, First Officer of the Apocalypse. Have all instructors and trainees arrived?"
Hearing the silver-haired middle-aged man's words, the man called Mobius—the black-uniformed man from before—quickly saluted First Officer Todaka. Every member of the instructor group behind him, along with all the trainees, followed Mobius's lead and performed the same gesture.
"Reporting to the First Officer, everyone is present!"
Todaka promptly returned the salute and said, "Very good. First, I will explain the instructor group's responsibilities. A new batch of trainees has joined this ship, so for the coming period, you will train them according to the previous methods. You will serve as leader of the independent department's training group."
"You can see the emblem on your shoulder. The book emblem on your left shoulder signifies that you belong to the training group. For ease