After the three squads, a dozen or so people, defected to him, Xiao Ran arranged for them to rest first and, incidentally, find and seek out the other participants involved in this mission. Other than that, there was nothing for those dozen participants to do for the time being, though Xiao Ran had already made plans for their future arrangements.
Xiao Ran left the representatives sent by both the Federation and Zeon hanging for several more days. During that time, Char led New Zeon's forces—ragtag remnants by the standards of the current situation—in a surprise attack against the Federal Army, capturing another important Federation fortress in space. After declaring war, they officially began their war against the Federation.
Moon Base had ignored the orders of the Federal High-level, and now another crucial stronghold placed in space to monitor and suppress the space colonies had suddenly been captured. It was impossible for them not to be caught off guard. But with the war now officially underway and the Federation's space forces greatly weakened, no matter how sluggish the Federation was, it had to immediately enter a state of war. Otherwise, once it lost control of space, the consequences of the war would become even more severe.
In the lunar city of Von Braun, just as the Federation decided to fight back and began making arrangements, Xiao Ran gathered together all the dignitaries, faction representatives, and other attendees who had come for the ceremony.
They included the controllers of many conglomerates and corporations, or their direct relatives; numerous Federation councilors and officials; representatives from the major space colonies; the independent delegation sent by the Federal High-level; people from Zeon; and more.
Many of them had willingly stayed behind to wait for a meeting with Xiao Ran, but some had wanted to leave