Night, at the Rocket Launch Pad on the sea.
Two heavy-lift rockets were being slowly moved into position, ready to launch into space before dawn and recover Unit-01.
"The offshore launch platform has been secured at the designated position. Wind speed and wave height are within acceptable limits."
"Resume the countdown in thirty minutes."
The announcements carried across the waters around the Hope.
Fourteen years had passed. After investing enormous amounts of time and effort, WILLE had finally finished building the two launch vehicles.
Over those long years, WILLE's combat capabilities had improved considerably, especially with all the resources poured into the Hope's equipment.
The moon was particularly full that night. The red latitude and longitude lines on its surface were clearly visible as it slowly rotated.
Huang Zhetian stood on the deck by the Hope's bridge, looking up into the night sky.
Fourteen years later, the night sky was clearer than it had been before. Individual stars could be counted, and the clouds were no longer dark.
A great deal had happened over the years. He had heard that Class Rep Hikari Horaki and Toji Suzuhara had married, and that they had recently had a child.
Misato had long since grown quiet and reserved, rarely smiling. She wore a stern expression all day, burying herself in the work of keeping every level of WILLE running.
Ritsuko Akagi had cut her hair short. Now sporting a buzz cut, she no longer drank coffee or smoked. She always carried her computer, either typing away or delivering documents.
However, the relationship between Ritsuko Akagi and Maya Ibuki had become rather delicate. Their feelings had gone beyond friendship, taking another step into forbidden love.
But that was perfectly normal under the circumstances. In an apocalyptic world, who knew how long they would live?