Operation: Airborne Assault on Victoria Spaceport (1)

After reviewing the mission file, Felix contacted Miles and Phipps via comms.

"Captain!"

The two men saluted Felix on the screen as they greeted him. Felix returned the salute, lowered his hand, and spoke to them.

"I have received a new combat mission from the Ministry of Defense."

"Are we going into battle again?"

Miles, one of the two, sounded somewhat excited as he confirmed.

Seeing Miles's excitement, Felix nodded slightly and replied.

"That's right! We are heading back into battle."

With that, he sent a copy of the file regarding the drop on Victoria Spaceport to each of them. Upon receiving the documents, the two began to read the contents carefully.

A few minutes later, Phipps spoke up first.

"Captain, this is our first time conducting a drop operation of this nature. Furthermore, with ground forces directly splitting the defensive power of Victoria Spaceport, can we really succeed in capturing it?"

"It is indeed quite difficult! But as it stands, the operational plan laid out in the file is the optimal solution. If we were to drop the ground forces first and get discovered by the enemy, not only would those ground units be threatened, but it would also likely cause our entire mission to fail!

Therefore, the pressure on us is immense. Holding firm under that pressure is the key to victory; failing to do so means the failure of this mission."

Looking at Phipps, Felix replied with a serious expression. After hearing this, Phipps said nothing more and quietly studied the file in his hands.

Seeing that he had no more to say, Felix asked.

"Do either of you have any other questions?"

"No, sir."

The two shook their heads in unison.

Seeing this, Felix issued his order.

"All MS pilots in Griffith Squad are to begin adjusting their MS parameters for Earth's environment starting today, ensuring that no accidents occur during our drop and subsequent combat on Earth."

"Understood!"

The two saluted and replied.

Ending the transmission, Felix relayed the orders he had just given to Heine and the others aboard the Sebastian.

A few minutes later, In the Hangar, Inside the cockpit of the White Ginn, Felix arrived and sat down, using the adjustment keyboard to calibrate the various parameters of his MS.

The primary focus was adjusting the output of the MS's attitude control thrusters.

In space, there is no air resistance, so the attitude control thrusters can maneuver the MS with relatively low thrust, but things are different on Earth.

Air density varies at different altitudes, and the air resistance brought about by these different densities varies as well. To ensure that not a single unit of energy is wasted, one must make the optimal adjustments for these varying altitudes.

The sound of fingers tapping on the keyboard echoed through the cockpit as Felix completed parameter after parameter.

Once the final adjustment was finished, Felix began to calibrate the MS's Automatic Ballistic Correction Program.

By inputting basic information about Earth into the system, the program could utilize the added content in the database to perform ballistic corrections based on the data transmitted back by the sensors.

March 8th

The ZAFT assault force, composed of twenty squads, arrived in the space orbit above Earth's equator.

Of the twenty squads that reached low Earth orbit, ten were tasked with defensive duties near the orbit, escorting the transport ships carrying ground troops to ensure they could successfully carry out the drop mission. The MS units from the remaining ten squads began their descent via Drop Pods.

Aboard the Sebastian, Felix and the others donned their flight suits and took their seats in their MS cockpits.

"We will be spending the next little while inside the Drop Pods. Although it won't be long, I want everyone to use this time to adjust your state of mind and get yourselves into peak condition."

Felix instructed the others over the comms.

After giving these orders, Felix was the first to pilot his White Ginn out of the Hangar, flying out of the warship to the vicinity of the Drop Pods, where he and two of his squad members entered their respective pods.

07:30 AM

Upon reaching the drop time, all Drop Pods began their deployment from low Earth orbit.

The Drop Pods experienced intense friction with the atmosphere, but the terrifying heat was insulated by the Heat Shield Tiles used on the pods, keeping the interior temperature comfortable.

The Drop Pods continued their descent, drawing closer and closer to the ground.

Descending rapidly ahead of the pods carrying the MS were the pods carrying the Neutron Jammer. The Neutron Jammer would land first at a designated altitude, where it would activate to jam the radar and other equipment at the Victoria Spaceport on the ground.

This was to prevent the airborne troops from being ambushed by Anti-Air Missile fire.

African Continent

Near the Victoria Spaceport, in the vicinity of Lake Victoria

The radar vehicles deployed in the vicinity detected objects descending rapidly from high altitude; the radar operators quickly gathered the data and transmitted it to headquarters upon completion.

Inside the Victoria Spaceport defense command center:

"Commander, we have received intelligence from the radar unit!"

"Read it!"

"A large number of objects are descending at high speed over Victoria Spaceport. Current analysis suggests they are likely ZAFT airborne troops."

The soldier reported to the commander based on the contents of the file.

Upon hearing this possibility, the commander's expression turned grave, and he issued a steady order.

"Fire the Anti-Air Missile!"

The order was given!

It was quickly relayed by the communications officer to the missile crew.

Upon receiving the order, the missile crew quickly used their radar to lock onto the aerial targets! With the lock confirmed and the launch buttons pressed, the Anti-Air Missile units stationed on the launchers ignited one after another.

Propelled by the energy generated by their rocket engines, the missiles' speed climbed steadily, breaking the sound barrier and rushing toward the high altitude at hypersonic speeds.

Above Victoria Spaceport:

The Drop Pods carrying the Neutron Jammer disintegrated, releasing the devices inside. The Neutron Jammer activated successfully, interfering with neutron activity while simultaneously disrupting radar and communications.

The missiles rushing toward the high altitude suddenly lost their front-mounted tracking and locking radar due to the influence of the Neutron Jammer. Without the assistance of radar, the missiles had no idea where to strike.

Just then, in accordance with the operational plan, the first batch of MS detached from the Drop Pods.

The moment the Drop Pods disintegrated, the MS housed within activated and began to act according to the mission plan.

Among them was the Griffith Squad led by Felix.

Under Felix's control, the White Ginn raised its Heavy Assault Machine Gun, aiming the muzzle forward. Through the images transmitted back by the optical sensors, he pulled the trigger.

The Heavy Assault Machine Gun opened fire!

Muzzle flashes erupted as rounds tore through the sky, heading straight for the missiles.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A series of extremely violent explosions rang out in the sky.

The missiles, having lost their targets, were continuously struck and disintegrated in mid-air.