Annihilate the Enemy, the Battle Ends

"Felix, we're going to rescue the escape pods!"

Heine's voice rang out over the comms.

Upon hearing this, Felix replied in a deep voice.

"If we both go, our strength against the enemy will be weakened. I'll stay here to keep engaging them; you go rescue the escape pods, Heine."

"Fine! I'm with you."

Heine understood Felix's reasoning and said no more. He acknowledged the order and piloted his Ginn toward Junius Ten.

Seeing Heine's movement, a Moebius prepared to intercept him.

At that moment, Felix piloted his Ginn, using long-range fire to clear a safe path for Heine.

Once Heine had piloted his Ginn away, Felix focused his full attention on dealing with the remaining Moebius units. He gripped the control stick, maneuvering his Ginn through the vacuum of space.

He dodged the incoming barrage of bullets.

Raising his weapon, he fired, the rounds spitting from the muzzle.

One Moebius, in the middle of a maneuver, drifted right into the path of Felix's predicted shot. The bullets tore through the Moebius's propulsion system.

Its thrust plummeted!

"Damn it!"

The pilot cursed, his face twisted in rage.

Before the sound had even faded, Felix had already launched a second attack, the bullets striking the cockpit with surgical precision.

The Moebius exploded instantly!

Having dealt with that unit, Felix turned to face the other enemies.

PLANT

Aprilia City, District One

Ministry of Defense

Chairman's Office

Staring at the wreckage of the destroyed Junius Ten, Patrick clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was twisted with fury.

"What the hell were those people we assigned even doing?"

An angry demand echoed through the office.

As the outburst subsided, the office door opened. Patrick looked up to see Eileen standing in the doorway.

"Something the matter?"

He calmed his emotions, forcing his voice to remain as level as possible as he asked her. Eileen nodded, walked into the office, and held up a report.

She approached Patrick and set the report down before him.

"We've received the corresponding report—a preliminary briefing regarding the bombing of Junius Ten," Eileen said, looking at Patrick.

Patrick reached out and picked up the report to read it.

Eileen continued.

"Although we made the necessary preparations, the combination of the defensive battles and the sheer number of PLANT colonies—nearly ninety in total—coupled with our current ZAFT troop levels, meant that while our preparations were theoretically sound, there were clear discrepancies in actual execution.

Those discrepancies led to the tragedy at Junius Ten!

The full, detailed report will take some time to compile before it can be submitted."

Having said this, Eileen took a deep breath and continued.

"However, fortunately, our emergency protocols within the colonies did not deviate significantly and were executed successfully!"

"Even if the emergency protocols didn't fail, our previous projections and calculations indicated that the best-case scenario would only limit casualties to within thirty-five percent.

And as you said, reality is never the ideal scenario; the death toll will exceed thirty-five percent."

As he spoke, Patrick gritted his teeth. The rage on his face surged, finally culminating in him slamming his fist onto the desk.

"Damn those Naturals!"

He growled in fury.

Patrick slammed the report down onto the desk as well.

Eileen watched Patrick's display of anger in silence, but her own bloodshot eyes—filled with grief and rage—and the fists clenched at her sides spoke volumes of her own state of mind.

February 14th, 16:35

After a prolonged battle, the Earth Alliance Forces attacking PLANT were completely annihilated.

In the battlefield sector where Junius City was located, Felix watched the now-silent expanse of space and maneuvered his Ginn toward the mothership.

Inside the warship's Hangar, Felix's Ginn came to a steady halt. Once the automated mechanical systems finished securing the unit, the cockpit hatch opened, and Felix stepped out.

By now, the Hangar bay doors had already been sealed.

Surveying the scene within the Hangar, Felix eventually fixed his gaze upon the Maintenance Crew chief.

The Maintenance Crew chief noticed Felix's stare, his voice calm yet heavy with sorrow as he spoke.

"Aside from you, Heine is the only one left on this ship who hasn't been killed in action."

"What about Captain Hawkins?"

Upon hearing this, Felix froze, looking at him and asking urgently. The Maintenance Crew chief pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.

"Captain Hawkins was killed in action while intercepting a missile barrage from the direction of Junius Seven!"

Felix heard this and opened his mouth, but just as he was about to say something, he clamped it shut again. With his brows lowered, he turned and left the area in silence.

Watching Felix's state, the Maintenance Crew chief said nothing, instead leading the Maintenance Crew members to begin servicing the Ginn that Felix had just piloted.

Two hours later, after the Ginn had been serviced, Felix deployed once more to join the rescue operations.

As his Ginn maneuvered near Junius Ten, Felix looked at the shattered remains of the colony. He gripped the control stick tightly, gritting his teeth to bury his emotions deep within.

"Felix, why didn't you rest a little longer?"

Heine's voice crackled over the comms.

The sound pulled Felix out of his turbulent thoughts, and he replied to Heine over the channel.

"I've already rested for two hours; I'm in good shape and don't need any more downtime. You, on the other hand, should get some proper rest, and your MS needs maintenance too. So, leave things here to me and go get your MS serviced!"

"I can still keep going!"

No sooner had the words of insistence left his mouth than his Ginn's energy alarm began to blare. Seeing the low-power warning, Heine stopped trying to be a hero.

"I'll leave this sector to you for now."

With that, he piloted his Ginn away.

Aprilia City, District One.

Inside the Council Chamber, the members of the PLANT Supreme Council were gathered. Every person seated wore a face etched with a mixture of rage and grief.

A heavy silence spread throughout the Council Chamber.

After this atmosphere had persisted for a minute or two, a report sounded over the comms.

"Chairman, the tallying task is complete!"

The voice pulled everyone out of their silence, and Siegel was the first to speak.

"What is the situation?"

"The death toll for Junius Ten is 175,500. Of those, 74,800 died due to insufficient escape facilities, 75,000 died because they could not reach the shelters in time, and 25,700 died due to the destruction of their escape pods. The number of personnel rescued via escape pods is 124,500."

The report echoed through the comms. The person delivering the update choked up several times due to grief, but their professional training allowed them to hold it together and finish the report.