The Proposal to Disperse Neutron Jammers Was Approved

Herman looked at Eileen and replied in a calm tone. After finishing his answer, he looked straight at her and asked a question in return.

"Eileen, aside from the Neutron Jammer, which is currently the best solution, do you have any way to limit the Earth Alliance's production capacity and prevent them from using nuclear weapons?"

After Herman's question, Patrick, Eileen, and the other members of the Hardline Faction turned their eyes to Eileen, quietly waiting for her answer.

Beneath her calm exterior, Eileen thought for a long time. In the end, she lowered her head somewhat dejectedly. She had no answer to the question, and she couldn't think of any device that could be more effective than the Neutron Jammer.

Even so, Eileen didn't give up right away. She shifted her line of thought and spoke to Patrick, the Chairman of the National Defense Committee.

"Zala, have you thought about how to deal with the situation your allies will face when the Neutron Jammers are dispersed?"

"Of course we have! And we won't act without warning. We'll inform our allies before taking action and help them deal with the effects of the Neutron Jammers, doing everything we can to help them achieve a soft landing from the crisis.

"We'll also notify neutral countries so they can make the necessary preparations, cope with the coming crisis, and achieve a soft landing. We'll offer them some assistance as well!"

At that, Patrick paused briefly. His expression grew colder, and his voice hardened.

"As for the Earth Alliance member states hostile to us, before we begin our operation, we'll issue a notification over the public channels to their civilians, telling them to make some preparations."

He paused and looked at Eileen. A moment later, he continued in an even firmer tone that brooked no refusal.

"We've already done everything we can. The rest isn't our responsibility."

After speaking, Patrick turned his eyes to Siegel. He said nothing, but his look signaled that Siegel ought to do something.

Understanding Patrick's look, Siegel broke his silence and addressed the council members.

"We'll proceed to a vote!"

After speaking, Siegel made his selection first on the screen in front of him. The others quickly followed suit. Soon, the results appeared on the central screen.

After the abstentions were deducted, the Hardline Faction had more votes than the Moderate Faction. Seeing the result, Patrick's lips curled into a smug smile.

Siegel could only announce the result.

"I hereby announce that the proposal to disperse the Neutron Jammers has passed."

After announcing the result, Siegel turned to Patrick and continued.

"Zala, have the Ministry of Defense promptly compile the relevant dispersion plan and the points you just raised in the meeting into a report and submit it.

"We need to review the contents of the plan."

"No problem. We'll submit the plan tomorrow."

Patrick nodded as he spoke.

At Victoria Spaceport

After ending his communication with Patrick, Felix left the room and headed for the Temporary Command Post.

He entered the command post and asked Andrew, "How are things?"

"Not too bad. The Earth Alliance Forces launched a salvo of missiles in our direction, but our MS units on aerial patrol and our ground forces shot them down."

Andrew looked up at Felix and answered, then asked in return, "How did your communication with the chairman go?"

"We've finished talking. The first batch of our follow-up supplies will be sent ahead, and the MS units leaving early tomorrow will reach low orbit. The first batch of supplies will arrive in a day or two."

Felix sat down and replied to Andrew.

Andrew looked at Felix, pulled out a chair, and sat down too. Looking at the electronic map before them, he said, "With reinforcements on the way, we can hold out with greater confidence."

"Yeah! With reinforcements, our chances of holding out will keep improving. When the follow-up supplies arrive in about fifteen days, we'll be able to make Victoria Spaceport even more secure.

"It'll also be easier for us to deal with the Earth Alliance Forces."

Felix nodded as he replied.

Just as he finished speaking, someone called out from the doorway.

The two turned to look toward the entrance and asked the soldier, "What is it?"

"Squad Leader Griffith, your MS may be out of action for the next day or two."

The soldier raised a hand in salute and delivered his report.

Felix frowned when he heard that and asked, "What happened?"

The soldier pursed his lips. His eyes filled with respect as he explained the report.

"Squad Leader Griffith, according to the Maintenance Crew's inspection, your MS has been subjected to too much strain during combat because of your piloting skills. As a result, many of its parts have worn down far beyond their originally designed service life.

"So, to make sure your MS is in peak condition, it needs a major overhaul. The process will take a day or two."

"All right, I understand."

After hearing the result, Felix asked no further questions. He replied, then looked at the soldier and asked, "Anything else?"

"No, Squad Leader."

The soldier shook his head, replied, and left.

After he was gone, Andrew moved up beside Felix and draped an arm around his shoulders, teasing him.

"Not bad! You could be the first person to nearly wreck an MS just by piloting it."

"You can't blame me for that! With the limiter that protects the parts from exceeding their service life switched on, there are a lot of maneuvers I can't pull off. To improve my combat ability, I had no choice but to disable it.

"That's what happened!"

Felix shrugged and gave Andrew an innocent look as he spoke. Andrew studied him carefully, then said admiringly, "You really aren't afraid of dying, are you? If something went wrong in combat, you might lose your life."

"You don't need to worry about that. I know what I'm doing. I know the limits of these parts, so I just push them right up to those limits."

Felix smiled slightly and replied with confidence.

Then he turned to Andrew and teased him with a smile.

"You could try turning it off too. The MS's mobility improves by quite a bit when you do, and it feels much smoother in combat."

Andrew waved both hands repeatedly and refused.

"No! No! No!"

After refusing, he continued, "I don't have the fine control to push everything to its limits like you do, and I'm not as damn clever as you. I can't pull off those stunts while riding the edge.

"What you're doing is walking a tightrope. One little mistake and the wire snaps—you could lose your life just like that."

"It's fine! You can practice more until you get the hang of it."

Felix smiled and teased him again.