Deep beneath the sea, hidden currents surged as the Starry Sky sped silently through the black water like a great whale lying in wait. The submersible thrusters on either side of its hull ran at full power, stirring faint whirlpools, while coordinates flickered across the instrument panels and the distance to Orb's offshore waters visibly shrank. On the bridge, the lighting remained a steady pale blue. Mei Hock sat upright in the captain's chair, his gaze fixed on the holographic display ahead. Alongside the Starry Sky's course, the screen showed a constant stream of intelligence from every quarter: reports of ZAFT troop movements sent by Andrew from Africa, updates on logistical support from Li Bing in the East Asian Republic, and movements of LOGOS remnants secretly gathered by Meer. Every message was another taut string pulling at their nerves.
"Commander, anomalous signals have appeared off Orb's coast. Multiple ZAFT warships are gathering. Our initial estimate is at least twenty ships, including three Ra Cailum-class warships and several mobile suit carriers." Meyrin sat at the communications console, her fingers racing over the keyboard, a trace of urgency in her voice. "We've also received a public transmission from ZAFT headquarters. They've just concluded their surprise attack on LOGOS's Heaven's Base."
Akira tapped his fingertips lightly against the armrest of the captain's chair, his gaze darkening slightly. "Give me the details of the battle at Heaven's Base. Were LOGOS's key figures eliminated, especially Djibril?"
Meyrin immediately brought up the relevant intelligence. Images of the ruined Heaven's Base flashed across the holographic screen. The once-impregnable underground fortress had been leveled by bombardment. Fierce flames still burned amid the shattered walls, black scars from beam cannon strikes covered every inch of ground, and scattered mobile suit wreckage and fragments of warships floated above the ruins.