"Fred, the Captain informed us you'll be piloting Unit Four."
As Fred flew over, Alec, acting as Captain, immediately spoke up.
The two crew members behind Alec also turned to look at Fred and gave him a military salute.
"Fred, pleased to meet you."
"We were both at the Drake-class site before. Glad to be working with you again!"
They spoke in turn.
Though there were no smiles due to the urgent situation, their enthusiasm was evident in their eyes.
Fred—the hero who saved all of Copernicus.
Even though he was a Natural.
His abilities were in no way inferior to any Coordinator.
Not to mention that conversation about understanding and choice, which made them genuinely respect him.
This wasn't six years later, when PLANT had completely broken free from the Council Nations' control and even entered into war.
At a time when the Atlantic Federation was clearly putting high pressure on PLANT, and PLANT was at a complete disadvantage in terms of military power,
Fred had actually refuted Blue Cosmos' views in a worldwide broadcast, earning their deep respect, even though he was just a thirteen-year-old boy.
"I'm glad to be working with you too."
Fred smiled calmly at the three of them.
"The three of us only have basic repair experience. Please let us know if you need anything."
"And we'll also be your escorts."
Alec didn't engage in much small talk either. Although he would have liked to chat more with Fred, now was clearly not the time.
"Alright, let's go out and assess the situation first."
Fred didn't refuse.
But he also knew the three were being modest.
With such an important ship and only three people here, it was obvious they were the elite of the elite.
What did elite mean? Even if they weren't all-rounders, they were basically versatile fighters.
To repair this kind of structural tearing damage, poor fine control or insufficient theoretical knowledge of engines wouldn't cut it—ordinary people really couldn't handle it.
...
Soon, Fred, accompanied by Alec and the others, arrived in space.
In the silent cosmos, against the backdrop of the distant Moon and Earth, one of the transport ship's massive propulsion units could be clearly seen, sputtering with electrical sparks like a dying giant.
Explosions in space aren't particularly large, and flames don't last long, especially since the ship itself had automatic fire suppression systems.
Even so, there were still electrical flashes at the tail fuel delivery pipe, and on the metal shell where the engine connected to the ship's body, there was a crack nearly two meters long.
Fortunately, the ship's frame was relatively sturdy, and it used a multi-rivet design with multiple crack-arrestor belts, forming barriers like dams. Otherwise, that earlier impact might have torn the entire ship in half.
Of course, these were all part of the transport ship's built-in redundancy.
Though this type of ship might not look impressive, it was like passenger planes of the past.
Their structures were improved through lessons paid for in blood.
Carrying a kind of industrial beauty.
But now wasn't the time to think about that.
Fred narrowed his eyes, his hands moving rapidly between various camera feeds and the ship's damage reports.
He was making final repair calculations.
And while Fred was analyzing, even these three elites found themselves momentarily overwhelmed.
The extent of the damage meant the engine was essentially beyond repair.
While Engine One could be shut down, the flickering electrical sparks could cause a nuclear leak at any moment.
This was a nuclear engine, and the propulsion unit was a temporarily modified high-power thruster. One wrong move, and they'd all be blown to smithereens.
"Well..." Alec's hesitant voice had just emerged when Fred followed up.
"Currently detecting two points of damage: one is a 2.3-meter structural breach that can be temporarily reinforced using metals from the cargo hold."
"As for the other issue of pipeline leakage, we need to temporarily shut down the entire ship's energy system. I'll reconfigure the energy distribution method, completely sever the current pipeline, and integrate Engine One's power supply system into Engine Two."
"..."
The other three listened in stunned silence.
The first solution was manageable - they all knew how to handle that.
Fortunately, the cargo ship still had some high-strength alloys left over from previous trades. These alloys, made from the same material as the hull and originally intended for Copernicus's protective repairs, were perfectly suited for the task.
But the second solution...
Was that even possible?
While they had basic maintenance skills, what Fred described clearly required specialized engine repair expertise.
This was beyond their knowledge.
After all, special forces units never encountered situations like this.
Shutting down all energy meant the ship would have to rely on auxiliary power for minimal alert levels.
If they were attacked during this period, it would be disastrous.
And what if problems occurred during restart?
Normal operational errors were one thing, but if it exploded...
This would be equivalent to entrusting their lives entirely to Fred.
"How long will it take?"
Andrew asked without hesitation, immediately following up.
"Ten minutes."
"Do it. Give me five minutes to prepare."
"And make it quick."
Andrew's voice was serious.
He didn't even ask Fred if he was confident.
After all, they truly had no time to spare.
Though uncertain whether Fred could actually pull it off, this was their only option.
"Captain Alec, you can handle the external repairs, right?"
Fred asked promptly.
"No problem... but..."
Alec hesitated, leaving his sentence unfinished.
Compared to their task, Fred's was the real challenge.
After all, that maintenance method was something he'd never even heard of.
They had originally come to assist.
But now it appeared they knew nothing about what Fred was proposing.
"Do you need our help?"
As Fred began drifting toward the engine area, Alec still asked.
"No, I can handle it myself."
This wasn't a case where more hands made lighter work, so Fred declined outright.
On the other end, Alec and the other two fell silent upon hearing this.
They couldn't fathom where Fred's confidence came from.
Surely Copernicus's maintenance couldn't have included training for this?
How could that be?
This was engine maintenance - where would Copernicus have an engine on its exterior?
"Captain, can Fred really do this?"
Even the young man who had been quite enthusiastic about Fred earlier couldn't help but ask.
After all, this matter could have minor or catastrophic consequences.
"Do you have any other methods?"
Under Alec's counterquestion, the two fell into silence.
Did they have any alternatives?
Truthfully, they had none.
If there were pirates, they could still fight.
But changing course wasn't much better than being completely in the dark.
"You go to the cargo bay to get supplies. I'll stand guard here. We'll have to trust Fred for now."