Editing KSGU:Volume 6 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 9===

One could see the fishing port beside the medina area as he moves along the coast of the plateau to the north. The scenery of the fishing port itself had never changed, but to the Spacenoids who only knew about the artificial coasts in the colony, it was a mesmerizing scene that had an Earth-like flair. There was a saying that stated that both fish and water were both dependent on each other. The fishing port relied on the visitors that arrived everyday for a living, and naturally, there were cafes and restaurants linked here. The selling point of such shops was that they could cut up the fish that was just reeled in and send them to the kitchen while fresh. It was said that enterprises and government agencies would bring people to this place for reception. 

The flight Loni let Banagher and Zinnerman ride on would only take off in the night. They had refused the invitation for a meal, and left the hotel Mahdi booked a long time ago. At this point, they were at the open-aired café at the medina area. The sun was gradually setting west, and the reddish sunset was approaching the horizon constantly. The sun that dyed the sea golden at evening showed a different kind of beauty from the scenery seen in the desert. Though Banagher was not used to the sound of the sea breeze at first, it felt soothing to him at this point, and the rustling of the trees felt delightful. He could not stand the fishy stench, but it was natural to smell the stench of death when consuming other lives for food. In the colonies, where there were handling plants from farming to processing, fish were a source of protein that were killed off first.

He could see a mobile suit flying over on a hovercraft from beyond the fishing boat masts located on the port. The large machine, a Federation machine called the “GM III” that was built with a streamlined straight frame had an assisting booster equipped to its backpack, and looked like it was stationed to protect the capital. From Banagher’s position, the way it laid itself out on the hovercraft did make it look like it was windsurfing. ''I’ll have to fight it if I attack Dakar, right?'' Banagher could not sense any sense of realism as he muttered in his heart. He then looked over at Zinnerman, who was seated opposite him. Zinnerman had gulped down the first mug of beer that was served almost instantaneously, and the second mug was almost empty. His facial expression that lost all sharpness was looking at the other end of the horizon. His eyes showed no signs of being tipsy, but it seemed like he was a dampening shadow in this bustling café.

“…Well, I’m sorry for what happened just now?”

Banagher never talked to the other man right in the eyes after they walked out of the hotel. Mahdi hit the weak spot, and he was worried about whether he would be able to keep his calm as a captain. Unable to get rid of his doubts, he spoke up a few minutes later, and Zinnerman then turned his eyes sharply at him.

“I talked too much in front of Mr Mahdi because I got too ahead of myself…”

“No. What you felt was correct.”

Zinnerman again turned to look at the horizon, and he sounded unexpectedly calm. Banagher held his breath as he looked back.

“When we entered the atmosphere…the “Unicorn” approached the “Garencieres” on its own like a living person. You should have already lost consciousness by then. It did not move like a machine. I guess it responded to your heart.”

''Heart.'' Zinnerman showed a slightly troubled expression as he mentioned this term, and continued,

“That’s a sub-consciousness deep within you that even you can’t reach…I guess. Even though you sealed your heart, that machine still detected it. It knew that you wanted to live, that you still have strength to live on. The “Unicorn” is driven by such a will. There has to be some form mechanical logic within it like how the Psycommu started controlling it on its own.”

Zinnerman gulped down the beer in large mouthfuls, and played with the empty mugs, “In fact, the guy inside is someone who can’t die no matter how many times you try to kill him.” and added on with a bitter smile. ''The captain’s still the same as usual.'' Banagher felt relieved as he asked, still feeling a little shocked inside, “So you brought me to the desert to confirm this?” Zinnerman however merely gives a thin smile, not saying anything at all.

“…Will you assist in Mr Mahdi’s operation?”

After a moment, Banagher raised the question he was most concerned about. The smile disappeared from Zinnerman’s mouth.

“Mr Mahdi said that he wants to suppress Dakar. That means he’ll attack this city, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Don’t do that. Since we know where Miss Marida is, why don’t we go save her? If it’s Audrey…Princess Mineva, she’ll—”

“We can’t just go after we say so. That’s how it is in the military.”

Zinnerman interrupted with an anxious tone as he put the beer mug back onto the table. Banagher saw that he looked as serious as a professional soldier, and could only keep quiet.

“…Hey, Banagher, do you want to come over to our side?”

Zinnerman stared at the empty mugs as he mumbled this time. At this moment, Banagher heard his heart beat loudly.

“You want me to join Neo Zeon?”

The response was silent. Banagher felt that his throat was suddenly stuck, and he felt unable to breathe as he lowered his face that could not answer. “You don’t want to?” Zinnerman asked silently.

“It can’t be helped, I guess. We’re the terrorists who wrecked the colony you lived in.”

“…That’s not it. I too killed Mr Gilboa and other pilots. I’m not going to assume things on one side’s values, but I’m going to try and understand it a little.”

''Something inside my heart was changing when I talked with Mahdi—no, even earlier than before.'' Banagher said as he faced this kind of emotion, while Zinnerman showed him a deliberate sharp stare.

“Right now, I can’t just stay in the safety zone and critique. I’m part of the situation, and I have to take responsibility. But this isn’t something I can accomplish by joining one side…”

Banagher could not form his thoughts into words as he clenched his hands that were on his knees. Daguza and Captain Otto did talk about the term “responsibility” before, and this troublesome term would bind him up, making him unable to respond and even force him to become evil. However, if he could not bear its weight, he would not be able to do anything in this world. If he did not want to become a helpless bystander, he had to prepare himself to take the role of a protagonist and take up the responsibility that came with it. On this premise, even if it showed only a little effectiveness, he would find a possibility to improve the current situation and bear the weight of the world—that was definitely what Cardeas wanted to express. What he wanted to teach was that if one wanted to do something, he has to find out what that something was he could do, and then try to get as much ability to approach that target as possible. 

“I’m still not too sure of what I should be doing…but someone once told me to think about how to use the “Box” for a good outcome. Maybe that’s something I should—”

Zinnerman suddenly raised his hand and called the waitress beside him. “Another beer please. For him.” He said with a nonchalant look on his face as he pointed at Banagher, wanting him to continue talking. “I’m still underaged, you know!?” Banagher then gave a shocked expression right back as his momentum was worn out.

“Just drink. Today’s a special day.”

“What’s special…”

“You’ve become an adult. There’s no punishment for celebrating a little anyway.”

A warm smile Banagher had never seen before caused him to feel some warmth in his stomach. He felt embarrassed, and thought that he could not look back anymore as he turned his stare to the sea surface that was dyed sunset.

''Audrey’s definitely looking for something she can do to stop this meaningless war on the other end of the horizon.'' Anxiety and excitement raced in his heart as he suddenly thought, ''What about Ensign Riddhe? I hope he can proceed smoothly there, but—''