Return to PLANT, Rare Leisure

"Hmm!"

Patrick Zala gave a soft grunt over the comms, and the connection cut off the next moment. Looking at the terminated call, Felix rose to leave the room, intending to inform Andrew and Doug that he was about to be transferred.

He wanted to give them both a heads-up and, while he was at it, begin the handover of his current responsibilities.

April 12th

"The base in the Oceania Union has started construction."

Andrew sat in his chair, muttering the words.

Doug turned his head to look at him and asked.

"How is the situation?"

"Everything is going smoothly so far. The Pacific Fleet of the Earth Alliance Forces, which tried to block the construction, was soundly defeated and forced to retreat."

Taking a sip of coffee, Andrew replied.

Doug nodded upon hearing this.

Felix spoke up at this moment.

"According to the latest intelligence, the Earth Alliance Forces troops surrounding the Victoria Spaceport are being gradually withdrawn."

"They're just pulling out like that?"

Doug sounded slightly surprised.

Felix looked up at him and smiled faintly.

"The East Asian Republic and the Atlantic Federation both have their own spaceports that need protection. Now that the Neutron Jammer has spread, they feel a great sense of crisis; naturally, they can't afford to keep banging their heads against the wall at Victoria Spaceport alongside the Eurasian Federation forces."

"That's true!"

Doug nodded in realization.

Felix set down his water glass and said to the two of them.

"Since the armies of the East Asian Republic and the Atlantic Federation have already pulled out, there aren't many Eurasian Federation troops left guarding this area.

I'll be returning to PLANT in a few days, so I'll be leaving the defense of this sector to you both."

"Thinking about our parting, I'm actually quite reluctant."

Hearing Felix speak of their separation, Andrew felt a measure of sadness rising in his heart, and his words carried a hint of that reluctance.

Felix reached out and patted Andrew on the shoulder.

"It's alright, there will be plenty of opportunities to work together in the future."

"Mm! We'll have the chance to work together again."

Nodding slightly, Andrew replied.

April 15th

Once everything at Victoria Spaceport had stabilized and the handover was complete, Felix led the Griffith Squad—which had already undergone a major personnel overhaul—through the spaceport's mass driver to head into space.

Under the acceleration of the mass driver, the transport pod quickly reached the first cosmic velocity. With such speed, the pod shot straight into the clouds and soon vanished from everyone's sight.

Earth's Low Orbit

Upon arriving, the transport pod deployed the MS piloted by Felix and his team.

Felix piloted his MS toward the Griffith Squad warships waiting on standby, while the transport pod orbited the planet, waiting for the right moment to descend and return to the spaceport.

On the bridge of the Sebastian

"Captain, welcome back!"

Yalik stood up and saluted Felix, welcoming him warmly. Felix nodded slightly at Yalik and, looking out at the vastness of space, asked.

"You haven't been under too much pressure here in low orbit during this time, have you?"

"The pressure on our end hasn't been too great!"

Yalik stood beside Felix and replied, then proceeded to explain.

"The Earth Alliance Forces' strength in space has been pinned down by the diversionary tactics formulated by the Ministry of Defense, so they haven't been able to mobilize large-scale forces here; consequently, we haven't faced many enemies." Having said this, Yalik shifted his tone slightly. "However, the orbital strike missiles launched by the Earth Alliance Forces from the ground have certainly caused us a lot of trouble and brought us no small amount of pressure."

After listening, Felix nodded slightly and issued an order.

"Return to PLANT!"

"Yes!"

Yalik saluted, then sat back in his chair to give the order to set sail.

Under the command, the three Griffith Squad warships anchored there set sail once more, changing course to head toward the PLANT homeland.

PLANT Homeland

Dissenbell City, District One

ZAFT base.

In Felix's apartment here.

"Finally, I can get some peaceful sleep."

Lying on the soft, large bed, a look of unprecedented relaxation appeared on Felix's face as he murmured with a hint of joy.

Ding-dong!

Ding-dong!

A series of doorbell chimes rang out at this moment.

Hearing the doorbell, Felix frowned, grumbling inwardly.

Who is it? Disturbing someone's rest.

While complaining internally, he got up and walked toward the door.

He opened the door to find Heine standing there.

"Something up, Heine?"

"Captain, Lacus Clyne is here for a morale-boosting performance today. Shall we go watch together?"

Heine held up his phone, showing the content on the screen to Felix. Looking at the digital poster on the phone, Felix instinctively shook his head in refusal.

"I'll pass."

"Captain, are you really not going?"

Looking at Felix, Heine asked again, sounding uncertain. Felix shook his head at him.

"I've decided not to go. I think it's better to get some proper rest during this time. As for everything else, we'll talk once I've rested up."

"Alright then! I won't force you, Captain."

Having received a firm answer from Felix, Heine stopped pressing him. He raised his hand in a salute, then turned and left.

Watching Heine depart, Felix said nothing. After seeing him out of sight, he closed the door and returned to his room to rest.

The next day.

After a full day and night of rest, Felix felt refreshed and in top condition. He got up, made a simple breakfast, finished it in the dining area, and then went to the living room to turn on the TV, intending to play some games.

As soon as the TV turned on, the first channel displayed a video of Lacus Clyne's morale-boosting performance. Watching Lacus singing her heart out on stage, Felix stared at her for a moment.

"Truly wonderful!"

After praising Lacus's song and voice, he switched the TV to the game console input and picked up the controller to select his game.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

Near noon, the doorbell rang again. Hearing the sound, Felix set down his controller, got up, and walked to the door.

He opened the door to find Heine standing there.

"Something up?"

"Captain, shall we go out for lunch together?"

Heine asked with a gentle smile.

Felix glanced at his wristwatch. Seeing that it was nearly noon, he accepted Heine's invitation.

"I'm going to change my clothes. Wait in the living room for a bit."

Inviting Heine inside, Felix spoke to him.

Heine nodded and sat on the sofa to wait.

Felix headed to the bedroom to change.

Sitting there, Heine had nothing to do, so he looked around the apartment. Seeing the decor and the space, a touch of envy rose in his heart.

As expected of the Captain's apartment, it's much bigger than where we live!