After responding, Damon stood up and walked out of the bridge. Before leaving, he turned back to issue instructions.
"Jarvis, you will temporarily command the combined fleet!"
"Yes, Commander!"
Jarvis turned and saluted, responding in a booming voice.
Under his gaze, Damon exited the bridge.
As the bridge door closed, Jarvis lowered his arm, turned with his hands behind his back, and looked forward to issue orders.
"Resupply missiles for the returning Mobius units!"
"Yes!"
The Communications Officer responded.
He opened communications to notify the hangar.
...
In Damon's quarters aboard the flagship
Damon, having returned here, communicated with his superior, General Richard.
"Is something the matter, Damon?"
As the communication connected, Richard's face appeared on the screen, his voice coming through.
Looking at Richard, Damon saluted as a sign of respect, then lowered his arm to explain the situation while making a request.
"Commander, our harassment tactics using missiles haven't been very effective against the ZAFT Forces. I request permission to launch a formal attack against ZAFT to drive them completely off the Moon!"
"Denied!"
Upon hearing the request, Richard firmly rejected Damon's idea. The outright refusal stunned Damon. As he was about to ask his superior for reasons, Richard's voice sounded again.
"Lead the combined fleet back!"
"Commander!"
Hearing the retreat order, Damon was shocked, his words urgent and exclaimed. Before he could finish his sentence, Richard's voice came through once more.
"Just follow orders!"
These five short words were spoken with utmost firmness by Richard.
After speaking, without waiting for Damon to say anything more, Richard directly ended the communication. Staring at the terminated call, the shock on Damon's face faded, replaced by visible frustration and anger.
Bang!
He clenched his fists tightly and slammed them hard on the table.
His eyes, fixed straight ahead, reddened with anger as he spoke with deep resentment.
"This is unacceptable!"
After this cry of bitter frustration, Damon's emotions cooled. He sat down in his chair, looking somewhat defeated.
Gazing at the communication device, he called the bridge.
"Commander!"
As the call connected, Jarvis's voice came through.
Looking at Jarvis, Damon issued the order.
"Retreat!"
"Retreat?"
Upon hearing this, Jarvis was shocked and incredulous, muttering a questioning sound. Seeing his reaction, Damon's words carried some of his own pent-up frustration.
"If we don't retreat, should we stay here and fight ZAFT to the death, suffering heavy losses? Don't you understand the situation we're facing now?
If we wear ourselves out here, will you use your head to defend Ptolemy when the time comes?"
"I'm sorry, I was wrong!"
Faced with Damon's heavily charged questioning, Jarvis quickly bowed deeply to express his apology.
As for rebutting?
How would he dare!
When the boss vents, you take it whether you want to or not, otherwise you'll be in for trouble.
"Execute the orders!"
After venting his emotions, Damon's tone softened considerably. Having said his piece, he ended the communication with Jarvis. He sat in the chair in his room, leaned back, and let his mind go blank.
On the bridge
Seeing the communication end, Jarvis breathed a slight sigh of relief before immediately giving the order.
"Retreat!"
...
Above Lorentz Crater
"Captain, the Earth Alliance Forces fleet is showing signs of withdrawal!"
Inside the Dawn's cockpit, Aric reported the situation ahead to Felix through the comms. Hearing Aric's report, Felix calmly replied.
"Continue observing!"
"Yes!"
Aric acknowledged, and the communication ended.
Time passed minute by minute. After confirming the Earth Alliance Forces were truly withdrawing, Felix issued orders through the comms.
"Mobile Suit Units from the northern and southern sectors, stow your weapons, land on the surface, and assist with unloading and constructing the Lorentz military base.
Mobile Suit Units from the eastern sector return to your respective carriers for resupply and maintenance. Western sector Mobile Suit Units are responsible for patrol and alert duties over Lorentz Crater."
After giving these orders, Felix checked the time and added.
"Standby units undergoing maintenance and resupply will rotate in after one hour."
"Yes!"
Responses echoed through the comms following the command. Amid these replies, Felix led the current western sector units to begin patrol and alert duties.
Meanwhile, Mobile Suits from the northern and southern sectors descended toward the surface, starting unloading and base construction work.
One hour later,
On the bridge of the Alighieri.
"Captain!"
Seeing Felix enter, Aric stood up, saluted, and spoke respectfully.
Felix nodded slightly at him, signaling for him to sit back down. Following Felix's gesture, Aric returned to his seat.
"Captain, this mission was much easier than previous ones."
"Indeed it was, but that's largely thanks to the Neutron Jammer. If it hadn't locked down fission nuclear energy on Earth and reduced the Earth Alliance's industrial capacity, they wouldn't have allowed us to build this military base here so freely."
As he spoke, Felix noticed a subordinate standing beside him holding a special water cup out of the corner of his eye. He paused mid-sentence, turned, and took the cup from him.
"Thank you!"
"Captain, you're too kind. It's my duty," the subordinate promptly replied.
Felix didn't say more, simply smiling slightly and waving his hand to indicate the subordinate should return to his tasks.
After the subordinate left, Felix took a sip of water and continued speaking to Aric.
"With their production capacity severely reduced, to protect their existing interests from damage, they need to preserve their current strength. That means they'll try to avoid large-scale battles with us as much as possible."
Here, Felix smiled slightly and added.
"After all, compared to us in PLANT, the Earth Alliance has many more locations and interests to defend. More territories and interests mean they have to weigh their options carefully, especially now with limited production capacity."
"Captain, hearing you say that makes everything instantly clear. I completely understand now."
After Felix finished speaking, Aric immediately followed with a stream of praise. Listening to his compliments, Felix waved his hand modestly.
"No need to praise me like that! Even if I hadn't explained these things here, you would have already figured most of it out yourself. After all, there's nothing particularly profound about it - just a little thought would make everything clear."
"Even so, 'mostly figured out' isn't the same as completely understanding everything. So your explanation was still very helpful."
Aric looked at Felix with a faint smile on his face, replying in a humble tone.