Orb's Meeting 2

"According to the latest reports, both the Earth Alliance fleet and ZAFT forces have completely withdrawn from our territorial waters. But the problem is that this is only temporary. We cannot determine when their next attack will come, or what scale it will take."

The meeting room once again fell into brief silence, and everyone's gaze converged on Muruta without prior agreement.

No one in this room understood the Earth Alliance's intentions better than he did.

"No, they probably will not make a move against Orb again for the time being."

Muruta finally spoke. His voice was steady and confident, every word reaching the ears of everyone present clearly.

He leaned forward slightly, his hands folded atop the table. His gaze swept across every Orb leader in attendance before finally settling on the military chief who had raised the question.

A civilian official beside Uzmi adjusted his glasses and leaned forward. "Why are you so certain, Lord Azrael? The Earth Alliance's arrogance is well known. Having suffered a setback on Orb territory this time, I doubt they can simply swallow that humiliation."

"It is precisely because they suffered a setback that they need to proceed more cautiously."

Muruta's reply was flawless. "You all know that the Earth Alliance is currently preparing a large-scale military operation—the Victoria Recovery Operation. The spaceport there is the key to regaining control over the route from Earth to space. Since they were forced to withdraw from the battle at Orb and paid a price beyond their expectations, any rational commander would choose to concentrate their limited elite forces on a target of greater strategic value."

He raised one finger and lightly tapped the air, as though marking an invisible strategic map.

"A forceful assault on Orb would mean the possibility of becoming bogged down in