At the rally point,
When Team Felix arrived, some other units had already reached the location. Seated on the bridge of the Alighieri, Felix could only wait patiently as the assembly was not yet complete.
Four hours later,
All forces participating in the lunar surface seizure operation had arrived.
Inside the Alighieri's combat briefing room,
The leaders of the fifteen teams temporarily under the joint fleet's command had gathered. Felix stood at the front podium, projecting the operational documents issued by the Defense Department onto the screen.
"According to the lunar surface seizure operation plan formulated by the Defense Department, the first phase of our mission is to establish a forward military base in the Lorenz Crater on the Moon."
Felix spoke calmly as he addressed the group.
The content on the screen continuously shifted, presenting page after page of information to everyone.
"Therefore, transport ships carrying the materials needed for base construction will be accompanying us. These transport ships have no firepower or MS configurations, so their security will be entirely our responsibility."
At this point, one of the team leaders raised his hand.
Seeing this, Felix paused and nodded for him to speak.
"Go ahead!"
"Team Leader Griffith, does this mean our mission involves not only countering attacks from the Earth Alliance Forces but also ensuring the safety of the transport ships and the construction of the base?"
After receiving permission, the team leader spoke.
Felix nodded in response.
"Exactly, as you said."
Upon hearing Felix's words, expressions of gravity appeared on everyone's faces. It was clear that this mission was more arduous than previous ones, with the risk factor significantly heightened.
Noticing the solemnity on their faces, Felix spoke again.
"What are your thoughts on the specific tactics for the first phase of the operation?"
His calm inquiry refocused everyone's attention. They began to ponder Felix's question, and he waited patiently as they deliberated.
The quiet atmosphere lasted less than a minute before someone broke the silence.
"Team Leader Griffith, we could employ a diversionary tactic by splitting our forces. The idea would be to draw the enemy's troops to another direction, ensuring the safe construction of the base in the Lorenz Crater."
"That won't work; this tactic is unrealistic!"
The proposal was immediately rejected.
The team leader who dismissed it offered an explanation.
"The Ptolemaeus Lunar Base is the Earth Alliance Forces' largest military base on the Moon, and arguably in space. Its massive scale occupies nearly the entire Ptolemaeus Crater.
The number of troops stationed there is immense!
Such numbers allow them to operate on two fronts simultaneously. If our tactic fails, the forces constructing the base in the Lorenz direction could suffer severe losses."
"If it's severe, it could lead to the failure of the entire operation's first phase. Therefore, I firmly oppose the tactic of dividing forces between feints and real attacks!"
"In that case, what are your thoughts?"
The team leader whose idea was rejected spoke with a sarcastic tone, clearly displeased.
Turning to glance at the sarcastic speaker, Felix looked away and after some thought, addressed Griffith. "Captain Griffith, my suggestion is to concentrate our forces to escort the transport ships and construction units in establishing a military base at Lorenz Crater. Only by pooling our strength can we ensure complete safety."
After hearing this, Felix pondered for a moment and nodded. "While not the optimal solution, it's a safe approach and quite acceptable."
He then turned to the others and asked, "Does anyone have a better plan than this?"
"Captain Griffith, I believe we should take the initiative and attack!"
One person spoke up after Felix's inquiry, looking directly at him. Felix turned to the speaker, his eyes showing a hint of curious confusion.
"Oh?"
"Captain Griffith, my idea is to gather most of our forces and proactively assault the Earth Alliance Forces' military base at Ptolemaeus. This would force them to engage us around Ptolemaeus Crater, leaving them no capacity to interfere with activities at Lorenz Crater."
The speaker elaborated while maintaining eye contact with Felix. After careful consideration, Felix shook his head in rejection. "This plan is even more radical than the divided forces tactic. If we commit both major components of our strength to attacking Ptolemaeus Lunar Base, our defense of the transport ships and construction units would be weakened. They could easily come under attack from other Earth Alliance Forces units. Therefore, this proposal is rejected!"
Seeing his idea dismissed, the team leader fell silent. Others, recognizing Felix's preference for cautious tactics, abandoned their more aggressive strategies and began considering safer alternatives.
After much deliberation, no better solutions emerged.
Eventually, the entire operations room fell into complete silence.
After waiting for one or two minutes without hearing any new suggestions, Felix decided not to wait any longer.
"In that case, we'll adopt the concentrated forces approach. I'll distribute the corresponding deployment directions to you all afterward."
With the plan finalized, Felix organized the materials on the podium and, after everything was in order, announced the meeting adjourned.
As the meeting concluded, the various team leaders stood up and filed out of the room. After their departure, Felix also left the operations conference room.
Inside his quarters
Felix reviewed the assembled forces' status. Noting that some teams now consisted of just a single combat vessel, he sighed softly.
"Such rapid military expansion and frequent warfare aren't necessarily good things! The original standard of three vessels per team - now only the unit I command maintains that configuration while others have downsized their naval components."
After saying this, Felix felt somewhat fortunate.
"At least the Mobile Suit Teams haven't seen significant reductions, maintaining their numbers between ten to twelve units per team."
Following this assessment, Felix proceeded to make deployment arrangements according to the current situation.
After completing everything, Felix sent the plan to all units participating in the operation. Once finished, he stood up and left the room.
Alighieri Bridge
"Captain!"
Aric stood up and saluted Felix upon his arrival. Felix gave a slight nod in response.
Gazing out at the cosmos, Felix remarked, "Due to military expansion and frequent warfare, the composition of this joint fleet is significantly different from before. The number of warships is much lower than in previous operations. We must exercise extra caution once the battle commences."
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "TLGod" on Patreon!"
Thanks!