Editing KSGU:Volume 6 Chapter 3 (section)

===06:20===

The 3 main thrusters installed at the tail of the ship took the momentum released by the fusion hybrid engines and let out a rumbling sound. The hot air that was whipped up caused the sand and dust to rise, covering the body of the 112m ship that stood vertically, and the “Garencieres” finally started to move.

The ship was merely ascending slowly at first, and after several seconds, the unique triangular prism broke free from the exhaust and the dust storms and rose into the skies. The ship entered the blue sky vertically like a rocket that was launched a long time ago, creating a slightly tilted pillar of cloud in the Sahara Desert.

The “Garencieres” was not equipped with a Minovsky Craft, and could not move freely under gravity and rise in the air. Like an ordinary spacecraft, it could only lift itself through its streamlined body and fly without losing its speed. The “Garencieres” blew by the clouds and drew a long arch as it entered the stratosphere, tilting horizontally in a gradual manner as it continued its flight. The G-force that struck the ship gradually lost its momentum, and the bodies that were pressed down on the chairs were finally regaining their sense of up and down. Zimmerman heaved a sigh and relaxed his hands as he moved them away from the handles of the captain’s seat. Sitting at the navigation seat and steering seat were Flaste and Alec, and they too relaxed their shoulders as they turned back to their respective consoles.

“Current altitude is 9,800m. Fusion cores are in good condition.”

“All hands, remove acceleration guard. We’ll be flying horizontally. Estimated time of arrival in Dakar is 0800. Mobile suits related crew, standby. Deck crew, start inspecting the ship and check all parts and tools under gravity conditions carefully.”

Alec continued off from Flaste and used the microphone to pass the message through the ship in a stiff tone. This man’s steering skills were the real deal, but he continued to show a tense expression, probably because he could not accept the fact that he was taking over for Gilboa. ''Don’t be nervous.'' Zimmerman wanted to speak up, but he immediately kept quiet after noticing that his mouth was dry. He took a sip of drinking water, and muttered in his heart, ''I really have no right to tell other people off here. If I’m not tense, I won’t even think of crashing into the capital of the Earth Federation—'' 

“A little more than an hour before we reach Dakar…it’ll be easy if we’re just going there.”

Flaste probably sensed Zimmerman’s feelings as he let out these words. It had been two days since they got back from Dakar, and as the ship was busy with the preparations and resupply, he did not have time to talk, but there was no doubts that he had suspicions regarding this operation. “Looks like you have something to say?” Flaste, who was looking at the water, glanced behind from the navigation seat, shrugged and said, “I have nothing to argue about this.”

“But it’s a big thing to attack Dakar. Once the compromise with the Federation is broken, we might have a 3rd Neo Zeon war if it’s not dealt with properly. Instead of saying that it doesn’t feel realistic, I really can’t guess what Frontal’s thinking as I look at this situation …”
“The lead in this operation is Madhi Garvey. We just have to drop the “Unicorn” above Dakar and let it land safely on the parliament hall. What we can do after that is to wait for the Laplace Program to unravel its seal.”

''Of course, we can’t just remained relaxed like this. Flaste avoided the sharp stare from Zimmerman, “I understand here.” and continued.

“We can understand that they deliberately chose to take action during Congress recess so that the Senators supporting Zeon would not be affected. However, didn’t Lord Madhi say that he wanted to destroy all the power on Dakar? Even if that guy’s titled the “Descendant of Dubai”, he’s a big shot who hasn’t tasted military food before. Who knows whether we can believe in what he plans to do…”

“That’s why we need to assign escorts for the “Unicorn” and give it weapons to launch. If things go bad, we can drop the machine and retreat immediately—”

“Nope, if Madhi’s daring to say that, it means that he has a powerful ace up his sleeve. We might end up being controlled if we let an outsider handle that.”

''Just like how the “Unicorn” ended up controlling Banagher.'' Flaste threw these unexpected words, causing Zimmerman to be caught off guard, worrying him inside. Flaste sensed his silent expression and sighed before turning back to the console, “And Frontal never met with Madhi directly, right?”

“We also have to consider the intentions of those hiding behind the back of the Republic, right? To what extent are those guys willing to help Neo Zeon? I don’t think that the Republic has the power to withstand the Federation’s counterattack before it gets broken up…is the value of the “Laplace Box” really worth using the entire Neo Zeon for exchange?”

He expressed his doubts too directly, and even Alec beside him turned an uneasy stare over. At this point—no, it was because it was at this point that they had to check whether they were on stable footing or not, and everyone had this kind of thought. Up till this point, both sides had been detouring around to avoid a certain predicament, as everything would end if they met up directly. At this moment, the situation was right in front of their eyes. Zimmerman looked at his chest that was hiding its indecisiveness and bit his lips tights to prevent himself from saying what he really thought. He then answered with the callousness of a commander, “I can say that what happened before already showed the value of the “Box”.”

“The Federation and the Vist Foundation are having bloodshot eyes while chasing after it. No matter what’s inside, it’s worth exchanging for one or two capitals. However, what we have to take note of is—”

“Banagher’s side, right?”

Flaste answered first, showing his unhappiness over this superficial answer in his eyes. “…That’s right.” Zimmerman answered as he looked away awkwardly.

“He’s willing to listen to the instructions now, but it’s going to be hard to tell what will happen when he witnesses Dakar being attacked. If he’s really intending to fight, our forces alone won’t be enough to stop him.”

Zimmerman said this and went silent with a concerned feeling. He brought Banagher along to the desert and treated him like a crew member just to prevent this aforementioned situation; Flaste knew about this, and the main crew members were notified as well. There was no such thing as unpaid kindness in this world. The “Unicorn” would move according to the heart, the pilot’s mental state and open a way to the “Box”. Thus, it was all the more reasonable to try and pull him over to their side…''but am I really doing all that for this?''

He could not tell. Zimmerman never had pure intentions in the first place, and he admitted his own hypocrisy as he darted his stare out of the window to look at the dull-looking blue sky. He would be in for a long time if he expressed his own doubts about this operation, but he did not have the thought of objecting to this in his heart. Banagher was not the only one being fooled; all the crew members on this “Garencieres” were the same. He fooled the grudging flesh and souls, and even though it had nothing to do with the revival of Zeon, the first person he fooled when he chose to enter the battlefield and run away was himself, not anyone else.

Whether it was Zimmerman or Madhi or even possibly Frontal, that lie was starting to break due to the series of incidents surrounding the “Box”, and that was why everyone was starting to panic. It did not matter whether the “Box” truly existed or not, they just needed to create an opportunity. It was just like what Madhi said, they waited too long. ''We’re tired of waiting, we have to take action before we forget, even if we will have to meet with the ugly battles they kept avoiding, even if that path of blood repaid upon blood will only lead to destruction—''

“Well, I don’t think we have to worry about that guy.”

Flaste suddenly raised a relaxed voice. Zimmerman recovered from his  deep thoughts and looked up.

“That guy has completely believed in you, captain.”

Flaste’s eyes had a hidden honest light that reached the soul, completely different from his casual tone. ''We believe in you too, captain.'' Zimmerman could not stand his expression that was saying this as he looked away. The white sun that just rose looked overly dazzling to his eyes that were deprived of sleep.''