Chapter 2000: First Target
Since the Apocalypse had set out, it was not going to wander aimlessly through space, rushing wherever trouble appeared. Before departure, Xiao Ran had already decided on the Apocalypse's first target: an important Earth Force facility, though not an important military stronghold. For pilots like Athrun, it would be difficult to get much training from this target. After all, the Earth Force currently had no MS in the true conventional sense, and the location was on Earth.
Seen that way, choosing such a target did not hold much meaning. Once they landed on Earth, returning to space would also be troublesome, so this choice was simply asking for trouble.
But even if he did not have Athrun and the others actually descend to Earth, Xiao Ran would still make the trip himself. For that reason, he had brought the Flying Eagle aboard the Apocalypse. As for the Giant Whale, it remained in PLANT for now, taking no part in the war between ZAFT and the Earth Force. It stayed there only to protect the Colony Satellites where countless lives resided.
Because within the target he had chosen, there might be people he cared about deeply. Even if the people of this world were not truly from SEED World, and even if identical people existed, they would still be entirely different from those in another world. Yet just as he had treated Orb and PLANT, Xiao Ran could not stand by and watch those people endure suffering.
Stella, Sting, and Auel—the three little ones who had always revered him as a father—if they truly existed in this world, then they had to be at the Rodnia Research Institute on Earth. How could Xiao Ran tolerate their counterparts continuing to suffer there as if they were disposable commodities?