"Yes! Captain, hold on! Have you located the Captain's position!?"
"Located! The nearest friendly units are Duel, Buster, and Blitz!"
"Order them to retrieve the Captain and Athrun Zala immediately, hurry! What's our fleet's status?"
"All ships intact! Lacny Team [GINN] has 3 units remaining, Balt Team [GINN] has 1 unit left... Our main team has 0..."
"Fleet, form a tight formation! Lacny Team, deploy to the left flank! Balt Team, protect the right flank! MS units, block the Earth Forces' pursuit! Retreat immediately after retrieving the Captain and Athrun Zala!"
"Understood!"
With the orders given, the chaotic forces quickly regained discipline. The warships swiftly adjusted their course, moving closer to the Vesalius. The MS units no longer fled in panic, instead forming a defensive line ahead of the fleet. Meanwhile, Duel, Buster, and Blitz—having received their own orders—rushed to the designated coordinates. Without hesitation, they grabbed the heavily damaged Aegis and [CGUE] and made a hasty retreat.
At first, the three pilots were puzzled as to why
When the hatch opened, everyone was startled, with the gentlest Nicol even covering his mouth in shock.
The condition of Athrun and Creuset was too dreadful—their flight suits were tattered, the visor glass shattered, and each had at least four or five shards embedded in their skin, with crimson blood floating inside the cockpit.
Fortunately, the cockpit hadn't ruptured, or else Athrun and Creuset would already be dead.
"Quick! Get them to the infirmary!"
Carefully, the group helped Athrun and Creuset out of the cockpit, administered emergency first aid to stop the bleeding, and rushed them to the infirmary.
...
Shifting focus to the Eighth Fleet, Duan Halbaton was the first to snap back to reality, immediately barking orders at everyone: "What are you all doing? We're still in the middle of combat!"
Hearing his shout, the crew regained their composure and quickly contacted all allied forces.
"Commander, the ZAFT fleet is retreating!"
"Good! Order the entire force not to pursue. Deploy the left flank to prevent the enemy from doubling back. Everyone else, begin battlefield cleanup and rescue survivors immediately!"
"Understood!" came the collective response.
Orders were swiftly relayed. Despite Yang Hui and his team's assistance, the Eighth Fleet had suffered considerable losses—one-third of its escort ships destroyed, and the Mobile Armor units reduced to less than a tenth of their original strength.
And this was with Yang Hui and the others helping the Eighth Fleet hold off four Gundams and Creuset, an ace pilot.
It was a stark reminder of just how weak the Earth Forces were in this war, further proving that Duan Halberton's proposal had been absolutely correct!
Only MS units could counter MS units!
"Commander..."
At this moment, the Adjutant approached Duan Halberton, calling to him in a low voice and gesturing toward the Dawn Gundam and other units outside the ship.
"What are you trying to say?" Duan Halberton glared at him with clear displeasure.
"You've seen this power for yourself. If we could harness it..."
"No! Celestial Being is a mercenary organization, not part of the Earth Forces. They just helped us repel a formidable enemy, and now you want to attack our allies? If word got out, what would become of the Earth Forces' reputation? The Atlantic Federation's? The Eighth Fleet's?!" Duan Halberton reprimanded harshly, mentally sentencing this man to "execution."
What on earth was he thinking? Openly turning on their benefactors in front of everyone—was he trying to trample the Earth Forces' pride into the dirt? Did he not realize how many factions would lose all faith in the Earth Forces if they did this? Some might even defect to PLANT outright!
And attacking Yang Hui? Did he not realize that Orb would immediately ally with ZAFT the moment they found out, turning against the Earth Forces? Yang Hui was someone every member nation of the Earth Alliance was trying to win over. Pushing Orb into the enemy's camp—had he even considered how the Alliance's higher-ups would punish them for that?
And besides...
"Right now, it's just our people here. If we enforce strict silence, couldn't we just—"
"What about the ZAFT Forces? Are they far enough away yet?"
"Well..."
"Can you guarantee that what just happened to the ZAFT Forces won't happen to us next?"
"..."
The Adjutant fell silent. He truly couldn't guarantee it. His reckless suggestion was riddled with holes.
Especially the last point filled the Adjutant with deep dread. While it was highly unlikely that the Dawn Gundam could replicate the "Miracle" just witnessed, they couldn't be certain.
And uncertainty meant hesitation—just as ZAFT still had sufficient forces to engage the Eighth Fleet again, yet they dared not gamble.
Neither side was willing to take that risk. Anyone who had witnessed the "Miracle" firsthand would never wish for the "Divine Judgment" to descend upon them.
There was one more thing Duan Halbaton left unsaid: the four Gundams—Dawn, Cherudim, and Virtue—were positioned directly in front of the Menelaus, their gun barrels still trained in their direction. If they tried anything underhanded, a single shot from the enemy would obliterate them.
"What about the Archangel?" Duan Halbaton inquired. The Archangel was the key—failure was not an option.
"It has successfully entered the atmosphere! But calculations indicate a deviation in the landing coordinates!"
"How could that be…? Projected landing zone?"
"North Africa… ZAFT-occupied territory!"
"Damn it! After all this, we still…" Duan Halbaton clenched his fists in frustration. Despite everything, the Archangel had failed to reach Earth Forces territory safely and would remain adrift.
"At least the data from both the Archangel and Strike have been recorded. As long as it's transmitted to Lunar HQ or Alaska—"
"So they're expendable now?" Duan Halbaton glared coldly at the Adjutant.
"N-No, but—"
"Enough! This is pointless. Prioritize rescuing survivors, then return to the lunar base for regrouping."
"Yes, sir…"
"Let's get some rest. Age must be catching up to me—even a battle of this scale leaves me exhausted."
"But the rescue operations—"
"Leave it to the younger ones. Hey, Clint!"
"Sir!"
"You're in charge. Report directly to me if anything comes up."
"Yes, sir!"
Without waiting for the Adjutant's response, Halbaton unceremoniously shoved him out of the Menelaus' bridge.
Normally, as the fleet commander, he would delegate duties to his Adjutant while resting. But now, he wanted this Adjutant gone from his fleet entirely—there was no way he'd grant him any authority.
Escorting the Adjutant back to his quarters under the pretense of "mandatory rest," Halbaton locked the door, changed the access code using his commander privileges, and even stationed two trusted guards outside for good measure.
Only then did Duan Halbaton return to his own quarters, satisfied.
But he didn't rest. Instead, he immediately opened a secure channel to contact Celestial Being—first to express gratitude and promise certain rewards (after all, they were mercenaries now), and second… to propose a new contract.
"We have other matters to attend to and cannot accept further contracts."
As expected, his request was denied. Regardless of their current status, the four unknown and formidable mobile suits had been exposed. Both factions would now deploy significant resources to track them down—the combat prowess displayed by the Dawn Gundam was too terrifying. Such power could only be either seized or destroyed; leaving it uncontrolled was not an option.
So they must have a lot to deal with.
But every cloud has a silver lining. Although Celestial Being didn't accept Duan Halbaton's commission, they gave him a good suggestion.
"Try contacting Serpent Tail. Here's their contact: XXXXXXXX. Just say we recommended you."
"Great!"
Receiving this suggestion instantly lifted Duan Halberton's despairing mood. Serpent Tail was famously renowned - though he'd only heard of them before. Getting their recommendation and approval would surely help him.
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