After his anger subsided, Felix quickly calmed down.
His gaze swept across multiple directions before him, momentarily torn about which path to pursue. Yet the more difficult the decision became, the more Felix knew he needed to act swiftly, lest the pursuit grow even more challenging.
In less than a second of hesitation, Felix selected one direction from the options before him.
The Genesis Gundam swiftly advanced under Felix's control!
"Phelps, arrange for a team to recover the remains of the reconnaissance squad members later. Do everything possible to locate their bodies among the wreckage!"
As he piloted the Genesis Gundam forward, Felix issued the order to Phelps through the comms.
Phelps' response came immediately.
"Yes!"
At Lorentz Military Base
After acknowledging the order, Phelps saw the communication had been terminated. Just as he was about to make arrangements, another call came through.
Seeing the caller ID, Phelps answered without hesitation.
Saluting Patrick on the screen, Phelps greeted, "Good day, Chairman!"
Patrick gave a slight nod and asked, "What's the current situation?"
"The Providence Gundam, piloted by Creuset, has escaped from Lorentz Military Base along with Creuset's team," Phelps reported solemnly.
Hearing the news of the escape, Patrick's expression darkened instantly. Bracing for reprimand under Patrick's grim visage, Phelps was surprised when, after a moment, no scolding came—the communication was simply cut off unilaterally.
Relieved, Phelps turned to the task Felix had assigned.
"Yzak Joule, lead your unit to the coordinates I've provided and carry out the recovery of our comrades' remains!"
Issuing the order to the white-haired Yzak on the screen, Phelps received a crisp response.
"Yes!"
Saluting as he spoke, Yzak saw the communication end as he lowered his arm.
Setting aside the comms, Yzak reviewed the received files and sprang into action according to their contents.
Richard tapped his fingers lightly on the desk as he reviewed the intel from the reconnaissance squad.
After a moment, he reached a decision.
Pressing a button on his communicator, he sent a call to Thurman.
Two beeps later, the call connected.
Thurman's figure appeared on the screen, his voice emanating from the speaker.
"Commander!"
"Thurman, I order you to immediately launch an attack on the ZAFT Forces!" Richard commanded firmly.
Hearing the attack order, Thurman contemplated briefly before replying, "Yes!"
With that acknowledgment, Richard ended the communication.
No sooner had he terminated the call than Richard received another from his adjutant, Paramount.
Looking at Adjutant Paramount, Richard spoke calmly.
"Is there something?"
"Commander, our reconnaissance team in the field received a rather unusual communication."
Paramount reported while looking at Richard.
The word "unusual" piqued Richard's curiosity. After a moment of internal deliberation, he asked Paramount, "What makes the communication unusual?"
"It's from ZAFT! To be precise, it's from a ZAFT defector unit!"
Richard showed no surprise or change in expression upon hearing the first part, but his expression shifted noticeably upon hearing the latter half, with astonishment appearing on his face.
Looking at Paramount, Richard inquired, "What did they say?"
Hearing the question, Paramount immediately reported, "They are willing to defect to our Earth Alliance Forces and are prepared to hand over the stolen MS to the Earth Alliance for research!"
Richard lightly tapped his fingers on the table, mulling over Paramount's words. After a long while, he simply said, "Understood," and ended the communication.
Richard pressed the communication button, and soon a new transmission was sent to the Earth Alliance Forces' central command headquarters.
...
"Have you accomplished everything I assigned you?"
Creuset asked his subordinate while piloting the Providence Gundam.
A reply quickly came through the communication channel: "Captain, we have completed the tasks you assigned. We are currently awaiting a response from the Earth Alliance."
"Inform me as soon as there is any news!"
With that reply, Creuset ceased his inquiries.
Felix, observing the current distance traveled and the elapsed time, suddenly felt that he might have chosen the wrong direction to pursue.
"Should I change course?"
He muttered in frustration after this thought.
Following this, the idea of switching directions to continue the pursuit began to persistently spread in his mind.
As this thought took hold, Felix felt a clear wavering in his resolve.
However, the hesitation did not last long. Felix quickly dismissed the doubt and firmly decided to continue the pursuit!
As he pursued, Felix silently prayed, 'Don't let this be a mistake! Don't let this be a mistake!'
Muttering these words internally, Felix pressed the accelerator pedal deeper.
The Genesis Gundam's speed increased further!
In the Chairman's office
"Zala, why have you called me here?"
Yuri stood before Patrick, asking with a composed expression. Patrick looked up at Yuri, gestured to a chair, and after Yuri sat down, he spoke.
"I assume you are aware of the situation with the Providence?"
"Yes."
Yuri nodded seriously, uttering an affirmative.
Seeing this, Patrick continued, looking at Yuri, "Now that the Providence has been stolen, the replacement unit for Genesis no longer exists. We need to arrange for a new Nuclear Powered Machine to be sent to the front lines."
Yuri nodded in agreement upon hearing this and then suggested, "Zala, I think instead of us delivering it to the front lines, it would be better to have Felix pilot the Genesis back himself.
This way, we can both conduct a major overhaul of the Genesis and more safely hand over the replacement unit to Felix."
The words drifted through his mind. Patrick agreed with Yuri's idea, yet ultimately still refused.
"The frontline situation changes daily now, especially after this incident. If we recall Felix to replace his MS, the round trip would cause significant delays.
This would pose serious dangers on the battlefield."
"Mm." Yuri nodded gently and continued, "Zala, your consideration is correct. I did overlook this aspect somewhat."
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