"That would simplify things."
Felix smiled in response.
Turning to Durandal, he directly rolled up his sleeve, revealing his well-proportioned, flawless arm. Seeing this, Durandal turned around to pick up the case he had brought, opening it to take out the blood collection tools.
Moments later,
several tubes of blood were drawn from Felix's body.
"Do you need this much blood for research?"
Watching Durandal carefully place the vacuum blood collection tubes containing his blood into the case as if they were treasures, Felix joked with a smile.
Hearing this, Durandal, who was closing the case, replied.
"Research isn't accomplished in one attempt. To ensure the research isn't interrupted due to insufficient samples, it's better to draw more."
Turning to look at Patrick, Durandal held the case in his hand and took his leave.
"Chairman, I have research to attend to, so I won't disturb you further here."
"Hmm."
Upon hearing this, Patrick nodded slightly and acknowledged with a hum.
Shortly after,
only Felix and Patrick remained in the office. Seeing that there seemed to be nothing else for him to do here, Felix also stood up and said to Patrick,
"Chairman, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave as well."
"Rusty Mackenzie has requested a transfer to your team."
Looking up at Felix, Patrick brought up the matter. After speaking, he inquired,
"What are your thoughts on this?"
"Rusty, has he fully recovered from his injuries?"
Felix was momentarily taken aback before asking in return.
Nodding, Patrick replied,
"He has recovered."
"Since his injuries have healed, I have no objections to such a transfer order."
Upon hearing this, Felix expressed his agreement.
Learning Felix's stance, Patrick finalized the matter.
"In that case, we'll proceed with Rusty's request and assign him to your team."
"Yes!"
Saluting, Felix accepted the transfer order.
A few minutes later,
after leaving the chairman's office, Felix directly departed from the PLANT Supreme Government Office Building.
He boarded a shuttle at the spaceport and headed for December City District 1.
In the apartment,
Felix casually tossed his jacket onto the sofa, picked up the remote control from the coffee table, and turned on the display. Putting down the remote, he picked up the game controller and sat on the sofa, passing the time playing games as usual.
While gaming, Felix glanced at the calendar on the wall and sighed inwardly.
"Only a few more days of peace left!"
...
Several days later, on April 22nd,
the PLANT Supreme Council convened again. During the meeting, Patrick, in his capacity as chairman, officially outlined the targets of the Throat-Cutting Operation:
Josh-A Military Base!
Panama Spaceport!
Two of the Earth Alliance's most critical locations appeared simultaneously in the plan.
Looking at the proposal to attack both places at once, Siegel was the first to speak.
"I oppose this!"
"Reason!"
Turning to his friend, a flicker of displeasure crossed Patrick's eyes as he responded in a somewhat detached tone.
Ignoring the indifference in her friend's voice, Siegel looked at the others and said:
"Launching simultaneous attacks on two extremely critical locations of the Earth Alliance would require severely depleting our ZAFT forces from other fronts. The resulting gaps in our defenses across currently controlled territories would pose an extreme danger."
At this point, Siegel took a deep breath, her tone growing heavier:
"In the worst-case scenario, it could lead to our complete defeat. Therefore, I oppose attacking both locations simultaneously!"
"I support Councilor Clyne's position," Eileen declared, raising her hand first in agreement.
Following Eileen, other moderate faction members raised their hands one after another to express their support.
Seeing this, Patrick turned his gaze toward Ezalia. Understanding his intent, Ezalia gave a slight nod to Patrick before addressing Siegel and the moderate faction members:
"Josh-A Military Base serves as the Earth Alliance Forces' headquarters, concentrating a massive portion of their military. Destroying it would severely cripple them. Panama Spaceport is the last spaceport under Earth Alliance control—eliminating it would block their ability to conduct large-scale deployments into space. The Earth Alliance Forces' lunar base, cut off from Earth-based supply deliveries, would face extreme hardship. We could then exploit their vulnerability to capture the lunar facility."
Ezalia paused, taking a deep breath before concluding:
"Without Josh-A Military Base, Panama Spaceport, and their lunar base, the Earth Alliance would plunge into even greater turmoil. By maintaining firm pressure, we could force them to accept our terms and end this war. Therefore, while this operation is aggressive, its potential impact is substantial and fully warrants execution!"
"Ezalia, your points are valid," Eileen interjected, "but have you considered the immense pressure we'd face from fighting on two fronts?"
Meeting Eileen's gaze, Ezalia nodded:
"I'm fully aware of the strain from dual-front operations, but ZAFT holds a trump card."
The screen content shifted rapidly, revealing Felix's face.
"Felix Leo Griffith, ZAFT's most elite ace, has demonstrated undeniable prowess. The combat effectiveness displayed by his Griffith Team is equally unquestionable."
Ezalia's lips curved slightly as she continued:
"He can lead his own unit, supplemented by additional ZAFT forces, to manage one battlefront—significantly easing our burden on the other front."
As she displayed simulation data to everyone, Ezalia elaborated:
"Even in less favorable scenarios, Felix can engage and delay substantial Earth Alliance Forces, buying crucial time for the other front to achieve its objectives. Once one front is secured, we can consolidate forces to support Felix and complete the second front's mission."
"Siegel, what are your thoughts?"
After Ezalia finished speaking, Patrick glanced at his friend with a smile and posed a question.
Siegel, upon being asked, carefully considered the matter before speaking.
"Your arrangements and deductions are indeed flawless, but your plan remains overly aggressive—many aspects are like walking a tightrope. For the sake of prudence, I still oppose it!"
"In that case, let's put it to a vote!"
Seeing this, Patrick had no desire to continue the discussion and directly called for a show of hands.
Ezalia was the first to raise her hand.
"I agree to implement this operation!"
"I agree as well!"
Herman expressed his support after Ezalia.
Yuri watched the two, remained silent for a moment, and then said,
"I abstain."
"I also abstain."
Elsman followed Yuri's lead.
...
A few minutes later,
Patrick looked at the voting results, his mood far from pleased, and announced the adjournment of the meeting to everyone.
After the council meeting concluded, Patrick returned to his office and immediately made a call.
...
A little over an hour later,
"Chairman, you asked for me?"
Felix entered the office, saluted Patrick, and spoke. Patrick gave a slight nod to Felix and then handed him the Throat-Cutting Operation plan.
"Take a look, and we'll discuss it further afterward."
Hearing this, a trace of confusion appeared on Felix's face. He lowered his head to look at the plan on the desk, reached out, and picked it up.
A few minutes later,
'Good grief! You people really don't treat me as human!'
After reading the section of the plan concerning himself, Felix exclaimed inwardly. He felt that in this plan, he was being treated like nothing more than a beast of burden.
"Chairman, isn't this plan a bit too radical?"
Setting down the plan, Felix voiced his thoughts to Patrick. Patrick looked up at Felix, remained silent for a long while, and then spoke.
"If possible, I wouldn't want to devise such a radical operation plan either."
Sighing, Patrick stood up and walked toward a painting on the side, gazing at its contents as he continued.
"The Earth Alliance has undergone over a year of energy transformation, and their production capacity has already begun to recover. If we drag this out any longer, we are bound to fail. So, we must end the war as quickly as possible. The best way to do that is to launch an unprecedented large-scale battle—one that inflicts such severe damage on the Earth Alliance Forces that they lose the ability to contend with us in the short term."
As he spoke, Patrick turned to look at Felix, his gaze eventually settling on the operation plan on the desk, and added,
"Only then can we compel them to agree to our demands and bring the war to an end."
"Chairman, I understand what you're saying, but this plan is indeed very radical. If anything goes wrong, we could face severe losses."
Looking at Patrick, Felix understood his perspective well, but he couldn't bring himself to support such a plan.
After all, he was well aware that there was still that scoundrel Creuset to consider.
With him in the picture, this plan was bound to encounter problems.
"So, you don't support this plan either?"
Patrick asked calmly upon hearing this.
Felix nodded in response.
"Yes."
He gave his answer calmly, though inwardly he muttered to himself.
'With that bastard Creuset around, problems are bound to arise, and I can't split myself in two. If something goes wrong on the other side, I won't be able to fix it!'
"Alright, I understand."
Receiving the response, Patrick rubbed his temples, replied verbally, and waved his hand to signal Felix.
Understanding the signal, Felix stood up and saluted Patrick.
"Chairman, I'll take my leave now."
"Hmm."
Patrick nodded with a hum.
After watching Felix leave, Patrick returned to his seat, picked up the communicator, and called Ezalia and others.
...
On the street outside
Felix walked along the street with his hands in his pockets, thinking about the plan, and couldn't help muttering to himself.
'Who gave Patrick such courage? Launching a two-front war directly—isn't he afraid it'll collapse entirely?'
As he grumbled, a beeping sound came from Felix's pocket. Hearing it, he pulled out his phone from his left pocket.
Seeing the message, he replied simply.
『See you soon!』
...
December City District 1
Felix's apartment
Looking at Lacus in her disguise, Felix asked her.
"What's so urgent that you needed to see me?"
"Have you heard about Uncle Zala's plan?"
Lacus looked at Felix, her expression serious as she asked.
Hearing this, Felix nodded.
"That plan that treats me like livestock—I've seen it."
Huh! ⊙∀⊙!
Lacus was taken aback by Felix's analogy, then snapped back to reality and laughed.
"That's quite an appropriate comparison."
"Enough with the small talk. Tell me what you need."
Hearing Lacus's reply, Felix didn't bother with pleasantries and asked her directly. Lacus, no longer smiling, looked at Felix and continued.
"What do you think of this plan?"
"Naturally, I disagree."
Looking at her, Felix replied bluntly.
Then, he added.
"After all, I'm not a masochist. Why would I fight under such a dangerous plan?"
"Good! That's a relief!"
Hearing this, Lacus let out a sigh of relief.
Felix looked at her and asked.
"Your father must be against this plan too, right?"
"Yes! My father strongly opposes this plan. He's been clashing with Uncle Zala in the review meeting and hasn't backed down at all."
Nodding, Lacus replied.
After a moment's thought, she asked again.
"Why do you think Uncle Zala is so insistent on pushing this plan?"
"The core of his plan relies on me—leading a small assault force to hold the line on one front. If I don't agree, his plan naturally can't proceed."
Hearing this, Felix replied calmly.
Then, looking at Lacus, he continued.
"You haven't seen the plan. If you had, you'd understand why I'm against it."
"Listening to you, I'm quite curious about what the plan actually entails."
Hearing this, Lacus smiled, her curiosity piqued, and she replied. Felix, hearing her response, glanced at her and said.
"I believe Chairman Zala will seriously consider the new proposal, rather than persisting in his own views and implementing the current radical plan."
"I think so too. After all, with you not cooperating in executing this plan, Uncle Zala naturally needs to consider alternatives instead of stubbornly sticking to his own position."
With a gentle smile gracing her face, Lacus replied softly.
Felix chuckled at her words, then his expression grew somewhat troubled as he said,
"Lacus, have you given any thought to what I discussed with you?"
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