Andrew smiled slightly as he responded.
Felix chuckled upon hearing this, inputting intelligence about the Earth Alliance Forces' movements into the electronic map. Based on simulated ground battle tank speeds, he derived corresponding data.
Reviewing the data, Felix issued orders.
"In thirty-five minutes, the Mobile Suit Unit will deploy. The initial sortie will consist of two hundred MS, intercepting enemy forces from five directions.
Simultaneously, fifty MS will remain on rotating shifts for aerial surveillance and defense of the spaceport. The remaining one hundred MS will serve as a rotational reserve, ready to relieve frontline units at any time."
Not long after the orders were given,
the sound of explosions in the sky reached the command center. Though muffled by distance, all three men recognized it as missile attacks from the Earth Alliance Forces.
"The Earth Alliance's missile strike is here."
Andrew said grimly, his tone heavy.
Felix didn't respond, instead turning to Andrew and saying,
"Captain Barthfeld, I'm placing the Victoria Spaceport forces under your command."
"You can count on me."
Andrew nodded in assurance.
Nodding in turn, Felix looked toward Doug and continued,
"Doug, you'll take coordinated command of the forces in the southeast, east, and south directions. The squad leaders in these sectors will report to you."
"No problem."
Doug acknowledged with a nod.
Studying the electronic map after Doug's response, Felix murmured with a stern expression,
"What comes next will be a tough battle. If we win, we can continue holding Victoria Spaceport. If we lose... everything ends here."
"I believe we won't lose. Our ZAFT Forces are undefeatable."
Doug declared with full confidence.
Seeing his assured demeanor, Felix remained silent. In his heart, he didn't share such unwavering confidence. The upcoming battle would be hard, brutal, and would determine the survival of everyone stationed here.
"Report!"
Another announcement echoed from outside the room.
Felix turned to look and asked,
"Has the Earth Alliance's offensive changed?"
"No, Captain Griffith."
The soldier shook his head in denial before continuing,
"It's a new document from the Ministry of Defense."
Felix took the document from the soldier. Holding it in his hands, he carefully read the contents. After finishing, he quietly placed the document on the table, his face darkening without a word.
Seeing Felix's expression, Andrew and Doug couldn't contain their curiosity.
"Griffith, what does the document say?"
Turning to face them, Felix replied with a weighted tone,
"The Supreme Council has approved the proposal to deploy Neutron Jammers. The deployment operation will officially commence ten days after April Fool's Day."
"Deploy Neutron Jammers?!"
Andrew's face showed disbelief and shock, his words spilling out involuntarily. Doug, after a moment of thought, spoke up.
"What about our allies on Earth? And the neutral nations?"
"The Ministry of Defense has formulated a detailed plan. During the period before the official deployment, we've been assisting our allies with the construction of non-nuclear fission energy facilities and delivering high energy battery packs. Additionally, we've developed and implemented corresponding soft-landing measures to ensure our allies remain unaffected.
As for non-allied neutral nations, we've provided advance covert notifications, gifted soft-landing plans, and compensated them with high-energy battery energy storage units.
For enemy nations, there will be no compensation—only advance warnings to civilians to prepare for the impending disaster."
Felix looked at Doug and relayed the contents of the document to him. After hearing this, Doug turned to the shocked Andrew and calmly stated,
"Attacking enemy energy facilities during wartime is a standard military operation. Moreover, we've already gone above and beyond in this action. There's no need for self-reproach."
"It's not so much self-reproach, but rather a lament that war brings suffering to innocent civilians," Andrew replied, shaking his head.
Doug responded decisively,
"No civilian in Earth Alliance nations is innocent. By not opposing the war and tacitly accepting their nations' aggressive actions, they have become participants in the conflict. The collateral consequences falling upon them are the price they must pay."
"I was referring to civilians in non-Earth Alliance nations," Andrew corrected, looking at Doug.
Doug pressed his lips together, his voice tinged with resignation as he said,
"It's an unavoidable necessity! To secure victory in this war, we must dismantle enemy energy facilities and block their nuclear weapon production. I won't deny the sin of deploying neutron jammers, and I will acknowledge it—but I have no regrets and will not stop this course of action."
"Enough! Both of you, stop arguing," Felix interjected, cutting off their dispute. Hearing this, the two fell silent. Once calm was restored, Felix spoke with a tone of detachment,
"What you're pondering isn't something we need to concern ourselves with right now. Our own survival isn't even guaranteed! Why worry about others?"
After Felix's words, the two set aside their previous thoughts, no longer dwelling on them. They calmly followed Felix, making minor adjustments for the upcoming operation.
...
Thirty-five minutes passed in the blink of an eye. As the second hand completed its final sweep, Felix gave the order.
"Commence operation!"
The four words were spoken.
Doug and Andrew saluted, turned, and rushed out of the command center. The command was simultaneously relayed to the awaiting units via communications.
The long-prepared forces swiftly sprang into action.
The Mobile Suit Unit rapidly ascended into the sky!
In just over ten minutes, all deployed Mobile Suit Units had taken off and were rushing toward their designated directions.
Hangar
Inside the cockpit of the GINN piloted by Felix, he waited quietly in his Combat Suit for the frontline results.
A few minutes later,
Felix received a report from the command center.
"Captain, our units have engaged in combat with the Earth Alliance Forces."
"Which direction has the largest concentration of Vanguard Fighters?"
Upon learning that combat had begun, Felix asked aloud.
The voice from the comms responded.
"Captain, according to current data, there is no frontline with an exceptionally high number of Vanguard Fighters."
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