After she asked the question, the screen fell silent for two seconds. Cagalli waited nervously, but Xia Ya's expression remained as calm and unreadable as ever. Just as her disappointment rose, and she thought she would be turned away again with some vague, perfunctory answer, the stern line of Xia Ya's mouth unexpectedly curved upward in a distinctly visible smile.
"Stop sticking your nose into things. Once Princess Cagalli and Jiliang both return from this battle alive and unharmed, Jiliang will tell you the story you want to know from beginning to end someday."
"Xia Ya!"
Driven by an indescribably complicated mixture of emotions and unwillingness, Cagalli clenched her fists and shouted the blond man's name at the communications panel.
Xia Ya offered no further or more specific response to her call. He simply sat in the dim shadows, gazed into the camera, and nodded once, extremely slowly yet heavily. Then he cut the signal himself.
A burst of static crackled, and the screen went black. Xia Ya's oppressive face vanished from it completely. Cagalli remained leaning forward, staring at the panel that had displayed his face so clearly moments ago. She let out a long breath, and then the corners of her mouth pulled upward of their own accord, breaking into a broad, bold, spirited smile.
Once their forces had been reorganized, the Earth Alliance's remaining fleet began advancing toward PLANT itself once more—the desperate battle that would determine the final outcome of the war had begun.
In the pitch-black expanse of space, countless thruster lights flickered like fireflies struggling in despair. MS and MA launched one after another from the catapults of battered warships, converging into a surging torrent of steel. Naturally, Flay Allster, piloting the Goddess of Liberation Gundam, was no exception. She became a brilliant