Andrew smiled faintly and answered.
Felix smiled when he heard that. Looking at the electronic map, he entered the intelligence on the Earth Alliance Forces' operation, then used the simulated speed of their ground vehicles to calculate the corresponding data.
Looking over the data, Felix issued an order.
"Thirty-five minutes from now, the MS forces will officially deploy. Two hundred MS units will sortie in the first wave and intercept the enemy from five directions.
"Another fifty MS units will remain behind, rotating through air patrol and defense duties over the spaceport. The remaining one hundred will form a reserve force, ready to rotate with the frontline units at any time."
The order had barely been issued when—
The sound of an explosion in the sky reached the command center. Though it was much quieter by then, the three of them knew it was an Earth Alliance Forces missile attack.
"The Earth Alliance Forces are launching a missile strike."
Andrew's expression turned grim as he spoke in a heavy voice.
Felix did not answer. He turned to Andrew and said, "Captain Waltfeld, I'll leave the forces here at Victoria Spaceport under your command."
"Leave it to me."
Andrew nodded and assured him.
Felix nodded, then turned to Doug. "Doug, I'll leave the forces to the southeast, east, and south under your overall command. You'll be in charge of the squad leaders in those three directions."
"No problem."
Doug nodded in reply.
Felix looked at the electronic map. After hearing Doug's response, he wore a grave expression and murmured, "We're in for a tough fight. If we win, we can keep holding Victoria Spaceport. If we lose, everything will be over."
"I believe we won't lose. The ZAFT Forces are invincible."
Doug spoke with complete confidence.
Seeing how confident he was, Felix said nothing. He didn't share Doug's conviction. The coming battle would be brutal and difficult, and it would determine whether everyone stationed here lived or died.
"Report!"
A shout rang out from outside the room.
Felix turned to look and asked, "Has something changed in the Earth Alliance Forces' attack?"
"No, Captain Griffith."
The soldier shook his head and continued, "This is the latest document from the Ministry of Defense."
Felix looked at the soldier and took the document from him. Holding it in his hands, he read the contents carefully. When he finished, he silently placed it on the table, his expression dark, without saying a word.
Seeing Felix's expression, Andrew and Doug couldn't help asking, "Griffith, what does the document say?"
Felix turned to them, his voice heavy. "The Supreme Council has approved the proposal to deploy Neutron Jammers. The deployment will officially begin ten days after April Fools' Day."
"Deploy Neutron Jammers?!"
Andrew's face filled with disbelief and shock, and the words burst from his mouth. Doug thought for a moment, then asked, "What about our allies on Earth? And the neutral countries?"
"The Ministry of Defense has drawn up a very detailed plan. During the time before deployment officially begins, they'll continue helping our allies build some non-nuclear fission energy facilities and deliver high-capacity battery packs. They'll also draw up and implement corresponding soft-landing plans to ensure our allies aren't affected.
"As for the neutral countries that aren't our allies, they've been secretly notified in advance. They'll be given soft-landing plans and compensated with high-capacity energy storage devices.
"As for our enemies, there will be no compensation. Their civilians will simply be notified in advance, before the operation begins, so they can prepare for the disaster ahead."
Looking at Doug, Felix recited the contents of the document. After hearing him, Doug glanced at the shocked Andrew and said calmly, "Attacking an enemy's energy facilities during wartime is a perfectly normal military operation. Besides, we've already done more than enough to show mercy in this operation. There's no reason to feel guilty."
"I don't feel particularly guilty. I just can't help thinking that war brings misery to all those innocent civilians."
Andrew shook his head as he replied.
Doug answered bluntly. "Not one civilian in the Earth Alliance's countries is innocent. They didn't oppose the war. By tacitly accepting their countries' decision to wage it, they became part of the war.
"They deserve to pay the price when the war's consequences fall on them."
"I'm talking about civilians in countries outside the Earth Alliance."
Andrew looked at Doug and corrected him.
Doug pursed his lips when he heard that. At last, he spoke with a hint of resignation. "There's no other choice! If we want to win this war, we have to cripple the enemy's energy facilities and prevent them from making nuclear weapons.
"I won't deny the sins caused by deploying Neutron Jammers. I'll acknowledge them, too. But I won't regret what we're doing, and I won't try to stop it."
"All right! You two, stop arguing."
Hearing them quarrel, Felix cut them off. They fell silent. Once they had calmed down, Felix spoke in a somewhat cold voice. "What you're worrying about isn't what we need to think about right now. We haven't even guaranteed our own survival!
"Why worry about everyone else?"
After hearing Felix's words, the two put their earlier thoughts out of mind and stopped dwelling on them.
They calmly followed Felix as he made minor adjustments to the battle plans.
Thirty-five minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Felix watched the second hand tick off its final second, then gave the order.
"Begin the operation!"
He spoke four short words.
Doug and Andrew raised their hands in salute, then turned and ran out of the command center. The order was relayed over communications to the forces standing by.
The forces that had been preparing for some time sprang into action as soon as they received the order.
The MS forces launched into the air!
In just over ten minutes, every MS unit assigned to sortie had taken off and was speeding toward its designated direction.
Hangar
Inside the cockpit of the Ginn Felix was piloting, he sat quietly in his flight suit, waiting for news from the front.
A few minutes later,
Felix received a report from the command center.
"Captain, our forces have engaged the Earth Alliance Forces."
"Which direction has the largest number of Vanguard Fighters?"
After learning that the forces had engaged, Felix asked.
The voice over the comms replied, "Captain, according to the information we have so far, there isn't any front with a particularly large number of Vanguard Fighters."
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