Commendation Ends, New Combat Mission

"For his heroic conduct during the campaign to assault the World Tree, Rau Le Creuset has downed a total of 37 MA and eight warships. In recognition of his outstanding achievements, he is hereby awarded the Nebula Medal."

Following this brief introduction, Patrick and Siegel each repeated the same ceremonial gestures toward Rau Le Creuset.

The same words were spoken to Rau Le Creuset once more.

Rau Le Creuset then turned and retreated to his original position, standing side-by-side with him once again.

Patrick turned to face the two men and gestured toward the two empty seats below. Understanding his intent immediately, they stepped forward, walked down from the stage, and took their seats to await the conclusion of the ceremony.

An hour had passed by the time the assembly ended.

Stepping out of the conference hall where the ceremony was held, Felix prepared to depart from Aprilia City. Just as he set off, a voice called out to stop him.

"Felix!"

The call made Felix halt his steps and turn around. Seeing the figure standing not far away walking toward him, Felix offered a polite and respectful greeting.

"Lady Zala, greetings."

After the greeting, Felix asked Lenore, "Lady Zala, is there something you need?"

"Felix, there is something I would like to ask you." Lenore stood two paces away from Felix, looking at him as she spoke.

Felix gave a slight nod to signal that she should proceed.

Lenore then asked, "You look very much like a child I once knew."

The brief words reached his ears, and Felix understood instantly. He knew exactly which child Lenore was referring to; after all, he had seen for himself in the mirror that he shared a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to Kira Yamato.

He had idly wondered about the nature of that connection when he was younger, but as the years passed and he grew up surrounded by his parents, he had stopped thinking about it.

After all, he knew there was little point in dwelling on it, so he had stopped wasting time on such thoughts.

"Lady Zala, I am my parents' only child; I have no siblings. So, this must be a coincidence!"

Looking at Lenore, Felix feigned complete ignorance, showing a hint of surprise before answering her with a calm expression.

Lenore said nothing more, her gaze fixed on Felix with a burning intensity. After a long moment, she withdrew her eyes, a faint, apologetic smile appearing on her face.

"My apologies! I may have been overthinking things. Sorry to bother you."

"Lady Zala, there is no need to apologize. I am fine."

With a slight smile, Felix replied with a tolerant tone.

Having said that, he checked the time and offered his excuses. "Forgive me, I have matters to attend to, so I cannot chat with you any longer."

"Go ahead and attend to your business! Sorry for the interruption."

Lenore nodded, her voice gentle.

After bidding farewell to Lenore, Felix continued toward the elevators.

He took the elevator to the spaceport and boarded a shuttle bound for Junius City. Upon arriving at Junius City, he piloted a single-seat shuttle to the Sebastian.

On the Sebastian:

"Captain, congratulations!"

Walking through the corridors of the Sebastian, he heard congratulations from his subordinates as he passed them. Felix smiled slightly and nodded politely at the man.

"Thank you!"

With that reply, Felix continued walking forward.

Back in his quarters:

He opened a drawer and placed the box containing the Nebula Medal inside. Once it was stowed away, Felix stood up and lay down on his bed to rest.

Five days later:

"Felix, as determined by the Ministry of Defense and approved by the Council, it has been decided to launch an airborne assault on the Victoria Spaceport, currently held by the Earth Alliance.

The Felix Squad under your command will be integrated into the strike force. Your mission is to seize the Victoria Spaceport."

Over the comms:

Patrick explained the new combat mission to Felix.

After hearing the mission details, Felix pondered for a moment before speaking to Patrick.

"Chairman, the MS we are currently using were all designed for space combat. Their design and thrust are completely incapable of meeting the requirements for aerial combat on Earth.

This would put us at a severe disadvantage in the operation.

Furthermore, we currently have no ground forces available on Earth; even if we were to capture the Victoria Spaceport, we might find ourselves unable to hold it."

"Are you suggesting we abandon this operation?"

Hearing this, Patrick naturally understood the implication of Felix's words, and after a moment of thought, he interrupted to ask a counter-question.

The words were cut short, and what followed remained unsaid; Felix nodded in response to Patrick Zala's inquiry.

"It's not about giving up! My thought was to temporarily abandon this somewhat immature operation and wait until we have finished establishing our military bases on Earth, so that we can deploy forces to the surface before attempting to seize Victoria Spaceport."

"Your considerations are indeed comprehensive, but rest assured, our ground forces will be participating in the airborne operation alongside you. Once you have cleared the anti-air and defensive forces at Victoria Spaceport, the ground troops will drop to the surface to complete the occupation of the entire facility."

Patrick Zala affirmed Felix's line of thought while offering an explanation. Even as these words reached his ears, Felix still felt that such an operation was highly risky.

Just as he was about to speak, Patrick Zala continued.

"Felix, if we in PLANT wish to conduct long-term operations on Earth, we must secure a spaceport. Only then can we ensure the flow of our troops and the transport of necessary supplies; relying solely on airborne drops and other transport methods cannot meet our requirements. Therefore, the occupation of Victoria Spaceport is a plan formulated to further expand our operations on Earth. Although it carries significant risk, it is something that must be done at this moment."

Pausing briefly, Patrick Zala continued.

"The primary objective is to occupy Victoria Spaceport and use it as a foundation for military deployment and expansion into a military base. It is much faster than building a base from scratch and will be more conducive to us gaining a firm foothold on Earth. Other military bases are also in the planning stages, and we will not abandon those preparations simply because we are occupying Victoria Spaceport."

"My apologies, Chairman! My words just now were somewhat abrupt and immature."

Reflecting on Patrick Zala's words, Felix realized that his previous remarks had been immature and overly dogmatic due to his knowledge of the plot. He looked at Patrick Zala and offered his apology.

Smiling slightly, Patrick Zala's expression turned gentle and soft.

"No need to apologize! Your considerations are quite reasonable. After all, this mission is somewhat risky, so it is understandable that you would think that way."

Having said that, Patrick Zala looked at Felix and asked.

"Do you have confidence in this mission?"

"Please rest assured, Chairman, I will do my utmost to complete the mission." Raising his hand in a salute, Felix spoke with solemn and serious assurance.

"Good! I have high expectations for you!"

Patrick Zala smiled slightly and offered a word of praise.

After the communication ended, Felix received the detailed mission parameters for the airborne drop on Victoria Spaceport.

Opening the file while seated in his chair, Felix began to study the contents in extreme detail, letting nothing escape his notice.