Hunter gave a slight nod before turning to leave the office. Watching him go, Ezalia stood up, tidied the items on her desk, and exited the office.
Aboard the Athena
Felix's Quarters
During their discussion, Felix proposed to Patrick, "Chairman, I believe we could treat the lunar conflict as the decisive battle between us and the Earth Alliance Forces."
Patrick pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "No. The Moon is too far from PLANT's homeland. Deploying forces for a decisive battle there would inevitably leave our defenses vulnerable. This would compromise homeland security."
Felix nodded slightly and did not press further. Seeing Felix fall silent, Patrick continued, "Felix, be honest with me—can Ptolemy Military Base still be captured?"
"Yes," Felix affirmed without hesitation, then added, "but it won't be easy. I'll need more troops, weapons, and ammunition to counter the Earth Alliance's reinforcements."
After a brief consideration, Patrick replied, "Understood. I'll take note." With that curt response, he ended the communication.
Felix leaned back in his chair, staring at the terminated call, and murmured to himself, "Patrick asking like that... he must be considering halting the offensive."
The thought led him to recall the original timeline's GENESIS, and his expression instantly turned grave. "GENESIS..." he whispered inwardly. Shaking off the thoughts for the moment, he glanced down at a photograph on his desk, reached out, and picked up the frame. The stern look on his face melted away, replaced by a warm smile.
Aprilius City District 1
PLANT Supreme Government Office Building
Chairman's Office
Disturbed from his thoughts by a knock, Patrick called out, "Enter!"
The office door swung open. Ezalia stepped in with documents, placed them on the desk, and reported, "Clyne's efforts are not going well at all."
Raising an eyebrow, Patrick asked curiously, "How badly?"
Seating herself, Ezalia replied with a serious expression, "The Earth Alliance is completely refusing any form of communication or dialogue."
Instead of showing schadenfreude, Patrick's face grew more solemn. Leaning back in his chair, he tapped the desk lightly, his thoughts deepening and clarifying. After a long silence, he finally spoke, "Ezalia, should we withdraw our forces from the Moon?"
Looking slightly surprised, Ezalia questioned, "Withdraw from the Moon? Is Felix unable to lead the forces to victory?"
Shaking his head, Patrick responded, "No, Felix can capture it." He then shifted the tone of his words.
"Although we hold the upper hand in the lunar conflict and Felix is capable of leading the forces to victory, a swift takeover remains impossible. Consequently, the Earth Alliance will inevitably continue to deploy reinforcements there.
Under these circumstances, we have no choice but to continuously dispatch additional troops to counter them."
At this point, Patrick took a deep breath before continuing.
"Doing so, however, will prevent us from effectively strengthening our homeland's defenses, which is not favorable for safeguarding PLANT's security."
After listening to this analysis, Ezalia pondered carefully. After a long while, she looked at Patrick and nodded.
"I support your perspective!"
Hearing this, Patrick felt much more at ease and calmly said to Ezalia.
"In that case, let's convene the Supreme Council shortly!"
"Agreed!"
Aboard the Athena
After setting down the photo frame, Felix contacted Lacus via communication to briefly confirm the time and location.
Once these details were settled, Felix stood up and headed out of the room.
Bridge
"Aric, I'll be taking the Genesis Gundam out for reconnaissance shortly. You'll temporarily take command of the unit."
Hearing this, Aric voiced his confusion.
"Captain, you're going out for reconnaissance?"
Noting the doubt on his face, Felix gave a slight nod.
"Correct."
As he looked at Felix, Aric suddenly felt there was something odd about this reconnaissance mission, though he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.
Setting aside his thoughts, Aric saluted Felix and replied.
"Yes, sir!"
...
"Felix Leo Griffith, Genesis, launching!"
...
Several hours later,
Aboard the Athena
"Where has your captain gone?"
Unable to spot Felix, Patrick sternly inquired of Aric.
Aric saluted Patrick and responded.
"Chairman, the captain has taken an MS out to conduct reconnaissance."
"Reconnaissance?" Patrick muttered, then asked with a stern and slightly displeased tone. "Doesn't the entire unit have reconnaissance capabilities? Is it necessary for him to personally pilot an MS for that?"
Hearing this, Aric smiled wryly inwardly but maintained a calm demeanor as he replied.
"Chairman, the captain may have taken the MS to conduct deeper reconnaissance into the Earth Alliance Forces' situation. Those areas are difficult for standard reconnaissance units to penetrate."
"Deeper reconnaissance?" Patrick frowned in confusion before his expression returned to calm after a moment. "Very well, have him report to me upon his return."
"Yes, Chairman." Aric saluted respectfully.
As soon as he finished speaking, Aric saw the communication end.
Turning to the communications officer Jacques, he asked.
"Attempt to establish communication with the captain."
"Captain, the captain has gone silent; we cannot initiate contact with him."
Jacques looked at Aric and replied.
Aric nodded slightly, turned back, and murmured while gazing ahead.
"It seems we can only wait for the captain to return."
Aboard the Eternal
Lacus sat in the captain's chair, a sweet smile on her face, looking ahead with eager anticipation.
Seeing this demeanor noticed by Aisha and Andrew, the two exchanged a glance before Aisha turned to Lacus and spoke.
"Miss Clyne, what is our next course of action after we arrive at the designated location?"
"Remain there silently."
Hearing the inquiry, Lacus lowered her gaze to Aisha and replied with a smile.
Aisha then smiled and asked, "Miss Clyne, may I ask you something unrelated to work?"
Without giving it much thought, Lacus nodded directly and said, "Of course."
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