January 4th, 10:30 AM
"Captain Aric, all supplies have been completely received."
"Understood."
Looking at the logistics chief Nathan on the communication screen, Aric nodded slightly in response. His finger pressed the disconnect button, ending the transmission.
Aric lowered his gaze to where Felix was located.
"Captain, resupply is complete."
"Depart now that it's finished."
Looking straight ahead, Felix said calmly.
Hearing this, Aric withdrew his gaze, stared forward, and gave the order.
"Athena, set sail!"
"Yes!"
The main helmsman Joss responded in a resonant voice.
Gripping the steering wheel with both hands, he gave an order to the deputy helmsman Aubrey on his left.
"Thrust three!"
"Yes!"
Aubrey responded verbally while raising his hand to push the thrust lever beside him.
When the thrust lever reached position three, Aubrey stopped his movement and reported to Joss.
"Thrust three, completed!"
"Acknowledged."
Joss responded verbally while controlling the steering wheel and stepping on the pedals with his feet. Under Joss's control, the Athena began moving forward with thrust three power output.
(Note: The Athena is configured with three helmsmen: one main helmsman and two deputy helmsmen. Under normal circumstances, the two deputy helmsmen assist the main helmsman and share his workload. However, if the main helmsman is injured or absent for other reasons, they can directly assume the main helm position and take charge of warship control operations.)
In the military port of Earth's Carpentaria Base, a new advanced large warship was quietly docked - this ship was none other than the Griffith Team's Athena.
On the military port docks surrounding the Athena, ZAFT Forces stationed at Carpentaria Base had gathered here. As everyone looked at this warship, their eyes revealed expressions of astonishment and pride.
Meanwhile, in the Carpentaria Base administration building:
"Captain Griffith, your unit's newly equipped warship is truly enviable!"
"What's there to envy?" Looking up at this person, Felix replied with a laugh. Leaning back slightly in his chair against the backrest, he continued.
"You only see me getting good equipment, but you didn't see how exhausted I've been during this past period! I've been constantly rotating between space, the Moon, and Earth like a spinning top, fighting on various frontlines."
As he spoke, Felix raised his eyebrows at him and joked with a smile.
"If you want it, you can try living that kind of life - constantly rotating between battlefields on the Moon, Earth, and in space."
"Forget it, I don't have your level of capability."
Teased by Felix, this person gave an embarrassed laugh and declined Felix's suggestion. Seeing his refusal, Felix stopped joking with him.
Wiping the joking expression from his face, he cleared his throat and said.
"Regarding this combat mission, I believe everyone is already clear about it, right?"
"Yes."
The others sitting here looked at Felix and nodded slightly, making affirmative sounds.
Seeing their responses, Felix continued speaking.
"The situation at Kaohsiung Spaceport in the East Asia Republic is completely different from Victoria Spaceport. Attacking here will also be very difficult. The first thing we need to do is break through several defensive lines deployed by the East Asia Republic at sea before we can approach the island where Kaohsiung Spaceport is located."
While speaking, Felix continued operating the touchscreen, projecting relevant data onto the central display.
The content on the screen kept changing along with Felix's manipulations.
"Therefore, to avoid early contact with them, the best approach for this battle is to launch a surprise attack through deep underwater infiltration."
As he spoke, Felix projected his formulated combat plan onto the screen. The operation unfolded like a movie, gradually displaying on the screen while Felix explained.
"To prevent the deep infiltration assault team from being trapped on the island housing Kaohsiung Spaceport by East Asia Republic forces attacking from both sides, I will lead part of our troops to attack from the surface. This will draw the East Asia Republic forces' attention and prevent them from surrounding the deep infiltration assault team."
At this point, Felix paused, his gaze sweeping across everyone present as he asked, "What are your thoughts on this tactic I've devised? Are there any areas that need to be supplemented?"
Upon hearing Felix's question, Hoffman, leader of Hoffman's team, looked at Felix and inquired, "Captain Griffith, overall there are no issues with your combat plan, but when exactly should we launch the surprise attack?"
Turning his gaze to Hoffman, Felix replied, "The specific timing cannot be determined directly at this moment!"
After answering him this way, Felix looked at Hoffman with a slight smile. "Why we can't determine it directly - I believe you understand, so I won't elaborate further here."
Hoffman looked at Felix and asked no more questions.
Seeing that Hoffman had no further inquiries, Felix turned his attention to the others. "Any other thoughts?"
No sooner had the question left his lips than everyone responded by shaking their heads. "Nothing else."
"In that case, we'll proceed with this tactic for now. We can make adjustments if circumstances change."
With no other suggestions, Felix temporarily finalized the tactic. After turning off the screen, he looked at everyone again, his expression serious and earnest as he reminded them, "The East Asia Republic is the most ancient civilization among the three major council nations, with profound national heritage and extensive knowledge of various combat tactics."
"Therefore, we must be extremely careful not to let them discern our true operational intentions."
As he continued, Felix's tone shifted, becoming more severe and stern as he asked, "Is that clear to everyone?"
"Clear!" everyone responded in unison, looking at Felix.
Having received their response, Felix stood up and headed out of the conference room with his belongings.
After Felix's departure, the others began filing out of the conference room in small groups, chatting among themselves as they left.
"Captain Griffith, aren't you being a bit too cautious? Even if they see through us, those foolish Naturals are nothing to fear."
"That's right! Captain Griffith does seem overly careful. What does it matter if they notice? With our strength, we can still crush them without giving them a chance to fight back!"
"Don't forget about what happened at Endymion."
Hoffman approached the group, his low voice echoing in their ears. At his words, their expressions instantly froze.
Seeing their stunned reactions, Hoffman continued.
"As the saying goes, three cobblers with their wits combined equal Zhuge Liang. There are so many Naturals—there's bound to be one or two clever ones among them. So there's nothing wrong with being cautious."