Athrun and Cruze

To better train MS pilots, nearly a hundred practice MS units had been placed here.

As a result, the MS training grounds were enormous, occupying roughly seventy percent of the Z.A.F.T Military Academy's total area.

At that moment, the Mecha Maintenance Class students had yet to notice Cruze and the others behind them.

They were simply focused on listening to the instructor's explanation ahead.

"The ZGMT-01 GINN Trainer is a training MS primarily designed for practice in military facilities within PLANT. Although it is only an ordinary training MS, its structural principles are nearly identical to those of other MS units."

"This section is equipped with..."

Several Mecha Maintenance Class students, including Noer, sat on the ground and took notes as they followed the instructor's explanation.

Their expressions were focused, not the least bit careless.

Not far from them, other MS pilots were practicing with their MS units.

After all, Mecha Maintenance Class students did not always have the opportunity to observe MS units up close.

The military academy primarily trained MS pilots, so the MS training grounds were usually reserved for MS classes.

Therefore, several Mecha Maintenance Classes had to share the grounds when visiting the MS units. Such opportunities were rare, and every Mecha Maintenance Class student treasured them dearly.

Of course, that was not the most important part. The most important part was the upcoming hands-on test.

Every mecha maintenance student would have the chance to go up and experience it for five minutes.

"Huh? Is that... a White uniform over there?"

"Why would a White uniform be here?"

"Isn't that Athrun?"

"Yzak and the others are here too."

"What happened over there? Why are there so many people?"

However, the atmosphere on the training grounds gradually became somewhat strange.

Quite a few students who had been listening attentively turned their gazes toward where the crowd was gathering.

"Captain, isn't this a little inappropriate? Aren't you supposed to meet Mr. Gilbert later?"

One of Cruze's attendants stepped forward. Seeing the crowd gradually gathering around them and the distant stares, he could not help reminding him.

Holding a black case, Cruze raised his arm to check the time. After glancing around, he looked at Noer among the Mecha Maintenance Class students ahead and said, "There's still time. Wait a little longer."

"Yes!" Although the attendant was puzzled, since the captain had said so, he naturally could not say anything more.

Listening to their conversation, Yzak could not help looking confused. Just as he was about to ask, Athrun and the others called out from behind him.

"Yzak."

"Athrun? What are you doing here?"

Yzak turned around and saw Athrun leading Nicol and the others through the crowd toward him.

"Shouldn't we be asking you that? Why did you come here instead of training properly?" Diakka asked first.

"Which of your eyes saw me not training?" Yzak retorted.

"Both of them."

"You little..."

"Athrun Sarra?"

Cruze also noticed Athrun and the others. As he spoke, he turned around to look at them.

"MS Training Class Three, Athrun Sarra!" Seeing Cruze look over, Athrun immediately raised his hand in salute.

"MS Training Class Three, Nicol Amarfie!"

"MS Training Class One, Diakka Elsman!"

"MS Training Class One, Yzak Joule!"

"MS Training Class One, Rusty!"

The others followed Athrun's lead and saluted as well.

This was a military academy. They had to salute their superiors.

"Rau Le Creuset!" Seeing this, Cruze could only raise his hand and return the salute.

"Cruze? The Nebula Medal?" Diakka immediately reacted. Video footage of Cruze's previous battle had already been included among Z.A.F.T Military Academy's instructional materials.

In three hours, he had single-handedly destroyed dozens of enemy units. This was currently Z.A.F.T's highest record for a single unit.

"You only figured that out now?" Nicol could not help teasing him. He had thought Diakka already knew.

"Uh..." Diakka could only sigh helplessly. He had never been particularly interested in that sort of thing.

Rarely, Yzak did not insult anyone. He merely turned to look at Cruze, or rather, at the black briefcase in his hand bearing the symbol of genetic research.

Due to his family background, Yzak's mother happened to be responsible for the genetic research division, so he was quite familiar with the Genetic Research Institute's emblem.

If he remembered correctly, this Genetic Research Institute insignia was Level One, meaning classified.

A White uniform carrying a briefcase representing classified information from PLANT's Genetic Research Institute had appeared at the school. The implications of that...

"I didn't expect you all to gather together." Looking at the people before him, Cruze could not help forming a rough idea in his mind.

"Well, they've known each other since they were children. It's not strange for them to gather together," Latis replied from the side.

"Hehe, I've heard about your grades. The future will depend on you." Cruze chuckled at that.

The family backgrounds and personal abilities of these people before him all placed them among PLANT's upper ranks. If nothing unexpected happened, they would most likely hold considerable influence within PLANT in the future.

Of course, that was assuming nothing unexpected happened.

"You're too kind. We're still very inexperienced, and we'll need Captain Cruze's guidance in the future." Athrun was fairly familiar with Cruze.

Of course, that did not mean he personally knew Cruze.

It was because of his father, Defense Committee Chairman Patrick Zala.

He often heard Patrick Zala speak of Cruze and Andrew Waltfeld.

"Hehe, there will be opportunities." Cruze chuckled, his thoughts now basically confirmed.

"That concludes the basic explanation of MS units. Next, each of you may board and pilot one for five minutes according to your assigned number. Make sure you cherish this opportunity."

In the distance, the instructor responsible for explaining MS principles put away his textbook and pointed at the two training MS units behind him. "Of course, you don't need to be too nervous. Just treat this as an ordinary practical exercise. At this stage, you only need to understand its general operating principles."

The reason the students were given only five minutes of piloting time was not because time was tight.

Time was certainly a factor, but the greater concern was the students' physical condition.

Piloting a mecha was not as simple as it appeared. Besides all the calculations involved, the bigger issue was the students' physical fitness.

It was like being a pilot. If your body was not up to standard, it did not matter if you could get the aircraft into the air.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Cruze turned around and looked over. His gaze passed through the crowd and settled on Noer, who had quietly retreated to the back.

"Noer, aren't you excited?"

Beside Noer, a fellow Mecha Maintenance Class student grabbed Noer, who was preparing to step back, and pointed at the towering mechanical giant ahead.

"Pretty excited." A strange smile appeared on Noer's face. His eyes held excitement and longing, but also disappointment and helplessness.

Only he knew the tangled bitterness in his heart.

Mecha were every man's romance. What man did not want a mecha of his own? Noer was no exception.

But when he thought of his body, a trace of desolation could not help appearing on Noer's face.

At present, he still could not pilot a mecha. Or rather, he could not operate one normally. Not to mention that his consciousness, reaction speed, and calculation ability could not keep up.

As for his body, after this period of recovery, he could indeed live normally like an ordinary person with the help of medication.

But that was all.

Do not think piloting a mecha was easy. Besides requiring sufficient mental processing power and reflexes, one's body also had to withstand the various stresses imposed by the machine.

Even Coordinators could not completely resist such strain. Of course, if it was merely ordinary movement rather than combat or intense maneuvers,

as long as they were healthy, both Coordinators and Naturals could endure it.

This felt a little padded.