"Welcome aboard the Thoroughbred, Captain Bright!"
Major Kirsten Lombard of the Thoroughbred was actually the first to salute Bright.
However, the other man was clearly aware that Bright was only a lieutenant, so he deliberately addressed him by his position.
And when Bright saw the insignia on the old man's shoulders clearly, he jolted and returned the salute as well.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Captain Kirsten!"
Bright was fairly quick on the uptake too, and likewise addressed him by his position.
Bright was only nineteen, while Kirsten was already sixty-two, a captain the Federation had just rehired after retirement.
Judging by appearance alone, anyone would have thought Kirsten was the one with the greater military achievements.
"All right, that's enough courtesy. I should also thank you for shooting down the Black Tri-Stars and avenging my son."
Kirsten said this with his hands clasped behind his back as he guided Bright and the others along.
"Your son?"
"He died in the Battle of Loum, aboard a Salamis."
Kirsten said it very plainly, as if he were describing something that had happened in everyday life.
Faced with those words, Bright could only fall silent.
He felt he understood why this old man, who had already retired, had returned to the ranks of the military.
Bright wanted to break the awkward atmosphere, so he looked around and saw Amuro walking slowly, his head tilted up as he looked at the two Gundams deployed on the Thoroughbred.
Those two units were Gundam Unit 4 and Gundam Unit 5. They were sibling machines in the truest sense, designed from the very beginning to coordinate with each other in battle and compensate for each other's shortcomings.
(Blue 4, red 5)
That design concept made Amuro a little envious, but once he thought of how he