While Felix was leisurely strolling through Victoria Spaceport, something different was happening within the Earth Alliance.
In a dimly lit conference room at the Earth Alliance headquarters, three virtual figures appeared in the darkness, looking at each other.
One of them spoke up with a question.
"Moonenidy, shouldn't you give us an explanation about this matter?"
"What explanation do you want?"
Moonenidy, President of the Atlantic Federation, wore a faint smile as he countered Eurasian Federation President Bragano who had initiated the challenge.
Seeing the smile on Moonenidy's face, Bragano's expression darkened slightly as he snorted coldly.
"Of course, we need to discuss this operation."
"I think this operation was quite successful."
Moonenidy maintained his smile, speaking calmly.
Upon hearing the word "successful," Bragano tapped his fingers on the table and chuckled.
"Where exactly was it successful?"
"This operation proved that our investments were worthwhile. These soldiers' capabilities exceed those of our ordinary troops, and they can achieve lower casualties when facing ZAFT Forces' elite units. Isn't that successful?"
Looking at Bragano, Moonenidy smiled and explained.
After speaking, Moonenidy looked at Bragano and Zhou Zhenguo, President of the East Asia Republic. Sensing Moonenidy's gaze, Zhou Zhenguo broke his silence.
"While they are indeed better than ordinary pilots, according to the data you provided, the success rate for training such a soldier is only ten to fifteen percent, and the cost per such pilot is twenty times that of an ordinary pilot. With such high costs and extremely low success rates, isn't it putting the cart before the horse just to reduce casualties slightly when facing ZAFT Forces' elite units?"
Taking a deep breath, Zhou Zhenguo continued.
"Moreover, the training cycle is not short at all. It takes one to two years to train such a pilot. With such a long cycle, what use is it in the current war situation?"
At this point, Zhou Zhenguo's gaze deepened and sharpened.
"Speaking of a one-to-two-year training cycle, this completely doesn't align with the timeline of our war with PLANT. That means you started such training before the war even began. Who were you preparing to use them against?"
"The conflicts between us and PLANT didn't just emerge in the past year. Naturally, we needed to prepare for rainy days in advance."
Facing the questioning, Moonenidy remained unperturbed, answering with a smile. His expression shifting slightly, Moonenidy countered.
"Are you saying the East Asia Republic hasn't made any preparations for unforeseen circumstances either?"
Hearing this retort, Zhou Zhenguo glanced at Moonenidy and fell silent again. After a moment of calm, he spoke.
"This operation has completely failed. Therefore, our nation will withdraw the reinforcement troops sent to the African front to strengthen the security of our country's perimeter defenses."
Without waiting for responses from Moonenidy or Bragano, he directly terminated the communication.
Watching Zhou Zhenguo's departure, Moonenidy turned his gaze to Bragano. Without a word, Bragano let out a cold snort before ending the communication.
With both participants gone, Moonenidy smiled faintly and reached out to terminate his own connection.
As Moonenidy ended the call, the dark conference hall plunged into complete blackness once more, devoid of any light.
Meanwhile, at PLANT's Ministry of Defense...
Patrick frowned slightly as he reviewed the report from Victoria Spaceport, then promptly initiated a communication.
Soon, Ezalia, Yuri, and Herman arrived at Patrick's office. "What's the matter, Zala?" Ezalia asked, speaking first as she looked at Patrick.
Patrick raised his head to meet Ezalia's gaze but remained silent, calmly handing her the report instead.
Puzzled by the offered document, Ezalia took it and began reading its contents.
A minute later, she set the report down on the table.
Her expression grave, she declared firmly, "We need to deploy additional troops to Victoria Spaceport to ensure its security."
"More troops?" Yuri frowned at the suggestion, his voice tinged with concern. Ezalia said nothing, simply passing the document to Yuri.
Taking the file, Yuri read through its contents.
Once he had finished, Ezalia pressed him with a stern tone, "Do you disagree with reinforcing the spaceport?"
"I don't oppose sending more troops," Yuri replied, shaking his head as he considered the report's details and recalled Victoria Spaceport's strategic importance.
Hearing Yuri's response, Herman picked up the document to review it himself.
Patrick watched Herman for a moment before asking, "What's your opinion on this?"
"I don't oppose reinforcing the spaceport," Herman stated decisively after setting down the file.
Yuri glanced at Herman, then turned his attention to Patrick. Smiling slightly, Patrick inquired, "Do you have any other objections, Yuri?"
"None," Yuri shook his head in response. He continued, looking at Patrick, "My question is how many additional troops we should deploy this time."
"That will require discussion before we can determine," Ezalia answered Yuri before Patrick could respond. Patrick glanced at Ezalia, then nodded at Yuri in agreement.
Several days later, at Victoria Spaceport's command center...
"There are signs that Earth Alliance Forces are reducing their numbers. It seems they may have abandoned their plan to hunt down Felix," Doug remarked with a relieved smile as he reviewed the latest intelligence.
Andrew turned to Felix, slinging an arm around his neck, and joked lightheartedly, "Felix, you're really something! To warrant such a massive mobilization by the Earth Alliance just to eliminate you—and then for them to calmly withdraw their reinforcements when it seemed impossible."
"That's not exactly a good thing," Felix retorted, pursing his lips at Andrew's teasing expression. He continued, studying the intelligence reports, "Since they failed this time, they'll undoubtedly attempt similar operations again, each one more intense than the last. The battles will only get harder."
"That's true," Andrew conceded.
Andrew put away his smile and nodded in response.
Looking at Felix, then shifting his gaze to the current map, Andrew said, "Their forces in this area have been reduced, while we've received good news about reinforcements. With this shift in balance, our offensive in Africa will proceed more smoothly and easily."
"Hmm!" Doug nodded slightly, making a sound of agreement as he studied the map. He continued, "However, this situation could very well be their deception tactic, so we mustn't let our guard down."
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