Not knowing the whereabouts of such a force left Richard feeling unsettled. Leaning back in his chair, he tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest before speaking after a long moment of contemplation.
"Seramon, where do you think these forces might be hiding?"
"I believe the Grimaldi Crater is the most likely hiding place."
After considering the question, Seramon voiced his speculation.
Richard muttered and pondered this possibility internally, thinking for a long while before saying.
"That is indeed the most likely scenario, but I dare not gamble on them being hidden in the Grimaldi Crater."
Hearing the Commander's response, Seramon remained silent, standing quietly while awaiting further orders or instructions.
Richard continued speaking to Seramon.
"Order the First Fleet to proceed with their original mission. Simultaneously, dispatch appropriate reconnaissance teams to locate this ZAFT Forces unit.
We must confirm their position!"
"Yes, Commander!"
Seramon raised his hand in salute and responded.
Lowering his arm, he transmitted Richard's orders to the personnel below.
...
Inside Grimaldi Crater
Bridge of the Alighieri
"How much time has passed?"
Felix looked ahead as he asked Aric.
Aric checked the time and reported.
"Answering Captain, it has been approximately forty minutes since we arrived here."
"Any updates from Bell's team?"
Felix nodded slightly and continued his inquiry.
Aric responded to Felix.
"Answering Captain, no new reports have been received so far."
"Hmm."
With this acknowledgment, Felix fell silent.
He sat in his chair, quietly waiting as time passed.
One hour later,
"Captain, we've received a report from Bell."
Aric's voice sounded beside him.
Felix turned to look at Aric and said softly.
"Go ahead."
"They have officially engaged the Earth Alliance Forces at a location two hundred kilometers from the Grimaldi Crater."
Aric reported to Felix.
Upon hearing this, Felix smiled slightly and asked.
"What's the situation with the Earth Alliance Forces?"
"According to available intelligence, the forces engaging them appear to be the Earth Alliance's First Mobile Fleet in space."
Looking at the report's contents, Aric continued explaining to Felix. After hearing this, Felix turned to Aric and instructed.
"Send a message to the Lorentz base. Have the transport fleet and escort units commence operations."
"Yes!"
Aric responded in a resolute voice.
Aric transmitted this command to the Lorentz base via communication.
The transmitted command, relayed through the laser communication relay devices deployed along their route, quickly reached the Lorentz Military Base.
Under this command, the transport fleet initiated launch procedures under their commander's leadership. The escort units - Smith's team, Cooper's team, Hill's team, Taylor's team, and Miller's team - followed closely behind, ascending into space and assuming their pre-arranged formation positions according to the deployment plan.
Bridge of the Smith Team's Battleship
"Captain, an Earth Alliance Unmanned Optical Reconnaissance MA has been detected."
"Shoot it down!"
Upon hearing this, Smith immediately gave the order.
The Captain quickly commanded to open fire.
Under the command, the battleship's Beam Cannons targeted the Unmanned Optical Reconnaissance MA flying at high altitude over the lunar surface. A flash erupted from the cannon muzzle, but the shot missed slightly due to an angle deviation, allowing the unmanned reconnaissance MA to evade.
The soldier operating the weapon systems had no choice but to continue controlling the weapons.
This time, an additional Beam Cannon fired simultaneously.
Two Beam Cannons fired at once.
They launched two Ion beams from different angles and trajectories.
One Ion beam, like the previous one, failed to hit its target, while the other struck the Unmanned Optical Reconnaissance MA along its flight path.
"Captain, target successfully hit."
The Captain reported the situation to Smith.
Smith nodded slightly and said.
"Continue forward!"
"Yes."
The Captain acknowledged and continued directing the battleship forward.
...
Ptolemaeus Lunar Base
Richard sat in his chair, watching some footage on the screen in front of him, and asked Seramon beside him.
"How is the battle progressing on the front lines?"
"Still in an exchange of fire at the moment."
Seramon turned to Richard and replied.
Upon hearing this, Richard asked no further.
He sat in his chair, quietly waiting as time passed.
A few minutes later,
A communication came through.
Richard extended a finger and accepted the communication.
"What is it?"
He asked the person on the other end of the communication.
As soon as he finished speaking, a reply came through.
"Commander, a large fleet has emerged on the Moon. Based on our observations, these are ZAFT warships."
"ZAFT's?"
Muttering to himself, Richard quickly understood.
A faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he murmured.
"They're covering the transport fleet's withdrawal from the Moon!"
"Commander, what should we do? Should we dispatch a fleet to intercept this ZAFT force?"
Seramon looked at Richard and asked.
Richard turned to Seramon, remaining silent without an immediate reply. After thinking for a while, he asked Seramon.
"Has there been any trace of that missing ZAFT force?"
"Commander, there are no precise results yet."
Seramon shook his head as he replied.
Receiving this answer, Richard's expression turned grave, his brow furrowed, making it difficult to decide.
'Sigh! If only it were like the situation a week ago.'
After much thought, Richard recalled the circumstances four days earlier when they still had five fleets stationed. Back then, they had ample mobile forces to handle such situations with ease.
There was no need to worry about insufficient mobile forces.
But now, it was entirely different. Three of the five fleets had been redeployed, leaving only two mobile fleets stationed, resulting in a severe shortage of mobile forces.
Just as Richard was reminiscing about the past and lamenting the current lack of mobile forces, Seramon's voice sounded beside him.
"If we still had all five fleets like four days ago, we wouldn't be in such a dilemma."
Hearing his voice, Richard turned to glance at Seramon. Sensing the Commander's gaze, Seramon immediately lowered his head and apologized.
"Sorry, Commander, I spoke out of turn."
"No need to apologize."
Waving his hand, Richard replied briefly. After speaking, he continued while looking ahead.
"You're right. If it were the situation four days ago, we wouldn't be so conflicted."
"Commander, what should we do next?"
Seramon inquired, turning toward Richard.
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