Cruze led his fleet toward Earth. Such a large-scale movement naturally drew the attention of many, especially at a time that should have been cause for celebration for both Earth and Satellite Integration.
The rebel forces acted with great secrecy, but they could not escape the notice of those who were paying attention. Quite a few Earth Defense Force bases openly revolted, while fighting broke out within others. There were even Space Fleet units bearing the Earth Defense Force banner that approached White Star and the Moon without any orders. Their fully armed, aggressive appearance made it obvious at a glance that something had gone wrong.
But the most conspicuous incident was still what happened at Federation headquarters. Without receiving any orders, the Federation defense forces marched straight into Paris. Having prepared in advance, they sealed off the city, seized control of all of Paris by force, and used the entire city as a hostage to keep the nearby Revil Fleet from advancing rashly. The two sides remained locked in a standoff outside the city.
Cruze's departure was, just as he had said, meant to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys. He chose an Earth Defense Force garrison base in Africa that had failed to restore order after the command was issued. However, Cruze still left part of his fleet behind to work with Mwu in ensuring the defense of the Satellite Integration Army.
At the Far East Base, Cruze's orders had yet to arrive when countless enemies appeared at the base commanded by Bargyll and assigned exclusively to the Steel Dragon Squad. A glance at the leading mechas was enough to tell that they were not products of Earth. Their style was completely different from Earth's manufactured mechas, and even the many Mook Units differed in numerous ways