For a moment, words elude Garma. All these years of escaping his truth, and now Char, the man who betrayed him for being born a Zabi, thinks his life is valuable?
It was as if the past fourteen years lifted their burden from his shoulders, and he was a young man of twenty again, determined and renewed.
You mean more to me than you know, my friend, he wanted to say. But the words caught in his throat, and he remembered their current dilemma. War took all precedence.
That alone was all Char needed to hear. With a nod of his own, the Red Comet’s resolve was steeled for whatever the outcome of their decision would be…All he could do was hope that Neo Zeon’s benefactors, as well as the captains of the Musaka fleet, would at least be receptive of both Garma’s plan and the reasoning behind his sudden decision to call off the Axis drop.
Finally though, Nanai returned to the two with a nod as she confirmed that Char had a transmission set up. The moment of truth had arrived…And, as he moved forward and noted that he did, indeed, have the floor, Char motioned for Garma to come forward and join him.
“Soldiers of Neo Zeon, I beg your apologies for this sudden transmission. And, I likewise beg the pardons of those benefactors of our force that have heeded my request for an audience so suddenly. I have two things I wish to discuss, both of which are of dire import. First, I have a piece of good news to share. The “late” Garma Zabi is not so “late” as we believed. I am pleased to announce that Garma stands here with me, as I speak, and that he will be joining our forces as a Mobile Suit pilot henceforth. I ask that you welcome him with open arms, everybody.
Second, it seems time may be shorter than we believed. After speaking with Garma, I’ve come to the conclusion and realization that my speech at Sweetwater may have goaded the Federation into acting well before we’d anticipated. In fact, they may well be preparing to launch an attack as we speak…So, I’m afraid we must postpone the plan to drop Axis. While my feelings on this have not changed, and we will not be abandoning the plan entirely, Garma has suggested that he may have a better alternative. As his friend, I want to ask all of you to lend him your ears as he takes the floor, and to keep your minds open.
Additionally, I want all Mobile Suit teams to be on standby, and all Musaka-class cruisers to be on high alert for any sign of confirmed Federation aggression. If they launch an attack, we will defend ourselves, but we cannot afford a drawn-out battle. If it comes to it, we will retreat to another sector to the time being while we discuss Garma’s suggestion.”
As Char finished his speech, he moved to the side and motioned for Garma to move forward with a nod and a smile. Now, the floor belonged to his friend…And with it, the chance for a brighter future. All Char could do now was hope that Garma could win over his supporters and benefactors. As unfortunate as it was, all Char could say was…
“…The floor is yours, Garma. You can do this.”
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