On January 22nd, Felix and his team encountered another Earth Alliance Forces interception unit at the two-thirds point of their journey toward the Kaohsiung Spaceport.
Combat erupted once again across this sea and airspace.
After an hour and a half of fighting, the conflict concluded with victory for the ZAFT Forces led by Felix.
On January 24th, three hundred nautical miles from the island containing Kaohsiung Spaceport: "Executive Officer, bearing Green Fifty-Five, Eighty-Eight, Mark Fifteen Bravo - detecting large numbers of high-speed objects approaching rapidly!"
A soldier on the Athena's bridge quickly reported the anomaly detected on the monitoring screen to Oakley.
Upon hearing this, Oakley turned to relay the information to Aric.
After receiving the report, Aric issued his command.
—
"Intercept!"
With those two words spoken.
The soldier immediately transmitted the relevant coordinates via data link to the fire control department.
Fire control personnel began weapons preparation based on the coordinates, and with the flipping of switches.
The missile launchers equipped on the Athena fired their missiles, while beam cannons opened fire toward the forward area.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!—
A series of explosions erupted in the sky.
A wall of fire rose from the peaceful atmosphere.
"Aric, lead the warship units to follow behind us!"
Watching the communication screen and listening to Felix's words, Aric nodded in response.
"Understood!"
After responding, Aric began issuing orders to open the ejection rail hatches.
One to two minutes later, as the final CGUE completed its launch, the Athena's ejection rail hatches closed once more.
In the Dawn's cockpit, Felix gazed forward and issued his command.
"Advance!"
With those two words spoken, Felix increased power output.
The Dawn's forward speed increased once again.
Seeing the Dawn's movement, the others made similar adjustments, accelerating to closely follow behind the Dawn.
Fingers squeezed triggers.
Round after round fired from gun barrels.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Fierce explosions continuously appeared ahead as missiles fired by the Earth Alliance Forces were repeatedly destroyed.
A forward path was thus cleared.
In the Kaohsiung Spaceport Defense Forces Command Center: "Commander, detecting large numbers of MS rapidly approaching our position, estimated count one hundred, current distance one-thirty."
A soldier reported while watching the situation displayed on the screen. Commander Jiang Tong, upon hearing this, calmly and coolly issued his order.
"Intercept!"
The two words left his lips.
The vanguard fighter squadron he had previously assembled no longer remained on standby, instead advancing toward the target's position.
Even before the fighter squadron advanced, missiles were already launched first.
In the Dawn's cockpit, Felix watched the missile situation displayed on his screen and squeezed the trigger.
The heavy assault machine gun fired rapidly forward.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Missiles were struck by bullets one after another, exploding violently in mid-air.
—
After shooting down these missiles, Felix's intuition flared up again. His hands moved across the controls, and the Dawn dodged to the left.
While evading, the Dawn's Heavy Assault Machine Gun fired forward.
Boom!
An explosion erupted.
Watching the fiery blast, Felix warned over the comms, "Everyone, be careful. The Earth Alliance Forces' fighter squadron is almost here."
No sooner had the warning left his lips than the Vanguard Fighters appeared on the screen.
Missiles mounted on the fighters launched the moment their pilots pulled the triggers.
Seeing the incoming missiles, Felix controlled the Dawn to evade while simultaneously opening fire.
Boom!
The missile was destroyed.
The muzzle of the Dawn's Heavy Assault Machine Gun shifted, and another round was fired.
The high-speed bullet raced toward a Vanguard Fighter ahead.
"What?!!"
The fighter pilot exclaimed in shock upon seeing the bullet, but it was already too late to evade.
Just as he tried to activate the ejection escape device, the bullet struck the fighter, triggering a violent explosion in an instant.
The blast swallowed him whole.
"Doulens, one fighter, yellow, triangular formation!"
While dealing with the enemy in front of him, Felix spotted Doulens' situation and alerted him over the comms.
Following the prompt, Doulens maneuvered accordingly.
The CGUE evaded the missiles fired by the fighter, and Doulens pulled the trigger.
A single shot destroyed the fighter.
Observing the Dawn's situation on the screen, Doulens was about to issue a warning when he saw the Dawn complete a series of evasive and firing maneuvers.
The fighter attempting to attack the Dawn was instantly blown apart.
"The Captain truly is the Captain."
Watching the scene unfold, Doulens murmured in admiration.
As he spoke, Doulens continued piloting the CGUE into action.
Meanwhile, the Mobile Suit Unit lurking in the ocean suddenly emerged from beneath the waves, raising their arms to fire at the fighters overhead.
Small missiles shot skyward.
Over a dozen fighters were eliminated in the assault.
After this wave of attacks, the underwater MS retreated beneath the surface, leaving the Vanguard Fighters no opportunity to counterattack.
Submerging once more, the underwater MS charged toward a submarine.
"Captain, ZAFT underwater MS are closing in on us rapidly!"
The sonar operator detected the threat and reported to the Captain.
Upon hearing this, the Captain acknowledged and picked up the communicator to contact the torpedo room.
"Load torpedoes targeting the enemy!"
"Aye!"
"Captain, torpedoes loaded and ready!"
"Aye!"
Responding to the crew, the Captain issued the order.
"Fire!"
"Aye!"
The crewmember confirmed and pressed the launch button.
The loaded torpedoes were launched into the sea.
"Trying to hit me? No chance!"
The ZAFT underwater Mobile Suit Pilot sneered, monitoring the sonar system and screen feedback.
With swift maneuvers, the MS dodged the torpedo underwater. His finger pressed the trigger, launching a small torpedo toward the submarine.
A muffled explosion resonated beneath the waves.
The submarine was struck by the small torpedo.
Following the first dull blast, another muffled explosion echoed.
After several muffled explosions, the submarine could no longer hold on and sank into the depths.
Having dealt with the submarine, the underwater Mobile Suit Pilot maneuvered the MS back to the surface, firing at the sky.
After unleashing a volley, the MS submerged once again.
High above, Felix observed the situation and contacted the Athena.
"Captain!"
Aric's voice came through the communication channel.
After taking down an enemy fighter, Felix spoke.
"Begin!"
"Understood!"
Hearing this, Aric immediately understood and responded. After ending the call with his captain, he contacted the ZAFT Forces in near-Earth orbit.
"This is the near-Earth orbit unit, go ahead!"
"Commence the operation!"