Mecha: Return of the Pioneers

Chapter 2041 People Take Action!
In the early morning, Sergei, dressed in his military uniform, opened the door and found Andrei, Sofia, and Alexei already waiting at the door.

"Father, are we leaving?"

Andrei held Sergei's military cap in both hands and asked softly.

"Yes. After resting for so long, it's time to set off. And my companions are already waiting."

Sergei reached out and touched the head of little Alexei, who was rubbing his eyes but trying hard not to fall asleep again, and then gave him some instructions.

"Let little Alexei sleep well at this time!"

"No! I want Grandpa! I don't want to sleep!"

Little Alexei reached out and grabbed Sergei's hand, shouting.

Sergei gave an apologetic smile and said softly.

"I'm sorry, Alexei, Grandpa has to go on a mission now! I'm afraid I'll have to break my promise. How about we go to the amusement park together when Grandpa gets back?"

Little Alexei's face scrunched up; clearly, the little guy already understood that Sergei was just trying to comfort him.

However, he quickly released Sergei's hand, then took Sergei's fingers in his own hands and remained silent.

"I promise you! I will come back, little Alexei. When I do, I will ask my friends to take you on a spaceship to see the stars!"

Sergei understood his grandson's meaning and solemnly made a promise.

"Okay! I believe in Grandpa. I will wait for Grandpa."

Little Alexei raised his eyes, the golden light in them growing even brighter, even causing Sergei and Andrei's eyes to shimmer with golden light.

"It seems that Alexei's talent is even greater than ours! Andrei, you, as his father, must set a good example!"

Sergei laughed and looked at Andrei.

“I never dare to slack off, Father.”

After presenting the hat to General Andrei, he spoke from the bottom of his heart.

"Father, I hope we can reunite on the battlefield!"

"You brat! Sophia hasn't even been born yet, and you're already itching to go to the battlefield? You better take on the responsibilities of a father! I'll be there for you on the battlefield!"

After Sergei took the military cap and put it on, he patted Andrei on the shoulder heavily and then said something meaningful.

"Don't let Alexei go through what you and I went through back then. If that happens, my return will be meaningless."

After giving his instructions, Sergei looked at Sofia.

"Thank you for your hard work, Sofia."

"No! Father. I will take good care of this family and then await your triumphant return!"

"Ah."

Under the watchful eyes of Andrei and his family of three (or four), Sergei stepped out of his house, boarded the waiting military vehicle, and headed toward the headquarters of the Earth Federation Forces (Gundam 00).

Ten minutes later, a solemn-looking Sergei met his old friend Pang Hakuri, whom he hadn't seen for many years, in the office of the commander-in-chief of the space fleet.

"I thought you didn't want to come and report for duty, Sergei!"

When old friends meet, they exchange pleasantries!
“How could that be? No matter what, I am still a soldier. Hakuri, thank you for taking care of Andrei all this time.”

After embracing his old friend, Sergei expressed his heartfelt gratitude. "Haha! What's there to thank, Sergei? Andrei is such an outstanding young man, not only me, but everyone in his family praises him highly."

Pang Hakuri laughed and gestured for Sergei to sit down, then turned to pour him some hot tea.

"Hmm, how's the situation now?"

Sergei took the hot tea and casually asked.

This left Pang Hakuri somewhat helpless, but he also knew that this was Sergei's personality.

"You! You've had such a long rest, why are you in such a hurry to learn about the mission?"

"Too much rest might make my body rust. Besides, there should be some new developments on the Super-Earth side, right?"

Sergei, who had already learned everything through VEDA's intelligence channels last night, asked the question knowingly.

"Yes! Recently, our astronomical department observed a black hole crisis erupting on the super-Earth. However, after the crisis, a miracle that we cannot yet understand seems to have occurred, allowing the super-Earth that was swallowed by the black hole to return to normal."

Pang Hakuri solemnly recounted the intelligence they possessed, one by one.

"Based on the analysis conducted by various technical departments after the incident, it seems that a mysterious phenomenon, which appears to be time reversal, occurred on Super Earth after the black hole crisis broke out, erasing the black hole from the timeline."

"What about VEDA's analysis?"

Sergei continued to ask.

“They are very similar, and VEDA even confirmed the theory of time reversal.”

After Pang Hakuri acknowledged this, he took a document from the drawer and handed it to Sergei.

"According to the assessment of the Federation Headquarters and VEDA, this black hole crisis that occurred on Super Earth was likely caused by the mastermind behind the anti-Federation (Gundam 00) Innovator rebels. Furthermore, given that the enemy has temporarily withdrawn from Super Earth due to the failure of the black hole crisis, our side and another Earth may be subject to their schemes and attacks."

"Therefore, we must strike first and eliminate the rebels?"

Sergei opened the document, glanced at it, and after confirming that it was almost identical to the battle plan sent by VEDA, nodded.

"Yes. We must destroy the Innovator rebels' fighting force before they can react, to prevent the Black Hole Crisis from erupting on the Earth we inhabit."

Pang Hakuri sighed and turned to look at the sky outside the window—the giant flower that ELS had transformed into was hanging in the sky.

"Although ELS has expressed its willingness to assist us in resisting the attacks of those behind the scenes, if a black hole crisis really breaks out on our planet, ELS may not be able to escape this calamity either."

Sergei, who had worked with Elise, the offspring of ELS, for a long time, deeply agreed with this.

ELS does possess immense power, but it is quite powerless when faced with a black hole, the ultimate cosmic catastrophe.

"I understand! So, what is my unit?"

Pang Hakuri pointed to the document and chuckled.

"Just like back then, you can choose for yourself. Besides, we might even have allies."

Sergei, who already knew that the Celestials would cooperate in the operation at the right time, feigned surprise.

"A celestial being?"

"Yes! Judging from their past patterns of action, the Celestials probably won't miss this war. Regardless of whether the Celestials still adhere to the old idea of ​​eradicating conflict through war, they certainly won't stand idly by and watch the disaster of the Earth they protect being swallowed by a black hole happen."

　Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this will be the final volume of this book!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)