I'm Glad I Made That Choice

With the help of the hangar staff, the Eternal Covenant was brought into the bay.

Yet strangely, even after the mobile suit had been secured, its cockpit remained still for a long time.

When Noer regained consciousness, he found that he had somehow already left the cockpit.

Surrounded by logistics personnel, Noer hazily looked toward the Covenant ahead of him.

"Noer!"

A call that seemed to come from somewhere far away echoed in Noer's mind.

"Lacus—"

Through his helmet, Noer looked in the direction of the voice. A pink figure filled his vision, and in his daze, he seemed to see glistening droplets scattering through the air.

Noer wanted to say something, but the waves of darkness washing over his mind left him unable to open his mouth.

"Medical team!"

"Prepare for surgery immediately!"

"Noer!"

"..."

The clamorous voices gradually faded into darkness, and Lacus's anxious face slowly vanished as well.

Inside Gibraltar Base, Durandal sat quietly before a chessboard.

Beep beep—

A communication signal sounded.

[The interception force has been wiped out by an unidentified MS. The Eternal has successfully escaped and its whereabouts are unknown.]

A brief report came through.

"An unidentified MS?"

Durandal's tone rose slightly.

[MS identification model—ZGMF-X22A. The pilot is suspected to be Noer Cassia.]

"I see. You've worked hard."

Durandal calmly finished speaking and reached out to end the communication.

He did not know what the ZGMF-X22A was, but he remembered the ZGMF-X12A vividly. While glad that his friend had survived, he could not help feeling a trace of helplessness.

"Heh, my friend really is stubbornly resilient."

There was a hint of relief in Durandal's voice, enough to surprise even himself.

"However, it will be rather troublesome now that the queen has reunited with her knight—"

Muttering to himself, Durandal picked up a