The Boaz Fortress, originally the Nova Colony of the East Asian Republic, had now been transformed into Earth Alliance's "Hulao Pass" on the path to PLANT.
For this punitive expedition against PLANT, the Earth Alliance was once again led primarily by the Atlantic Federation, with the East Asian Republic and Eurasian Federation playing supporting roles.
In reality, the forces of the three major powers each had independent command structures, with no authority over one another—at most, they coordinated on broad strategic directions.
Thus, when the Atlantic Federation wanted the nominal position of commander-in-chief, the East Asian Republic handed it over without much hesitation. The Eurasian Federation, however, was reluctant, but given the size of their fleet, they had no real standing to object. Like the East Asian Republic, their commander was given the hollow title of deputy commander.
Of course, once the Atlantic Federation secured this position, they still had to put on a show.
For instance, the vanguard of the fleet consisted of Atlantic Federation forces, with the Archangel serving as the flagship of this unit.
As in the original timeline, Muruta Azrael personally arrived aboard the Archangel to oversee the battle, while Bargiruel, as the frontline commander, was listening to reports from her subordinates.
"Captain, reconnaissance reports indicate that the Boaz Fortress currently has what appear to be Solar Reflector Systems on both flanks. At least half of ZAFT's space forces are deployed around the fortress. Additionally, several high-output beam cannons seem to have been installed on the fortress itself."
Bargiruel felt a headache coming on as she examined the footage from the front lines. The Boaz Fortress was now encircled like an iron barrel, with two Solar Ray Systems providing cover on either side. Charging straight in would be suicide.
She turned to the CIC and ordered,
"Calculate the sun's position over the next 24 hours and its effect on both Solar Reflector Systems. Determine their attackable ranges and blind spots. Also, estimate how long it will take for Earth to completely block the sun's angle of illumination in this space zone."
The CIC operator swiftly ran the calculations on the computer before projecting the coverage zones of both Solar Reflector Systems onto the electronic sandtable.
"Report, Captain. According to calculations, Earth will fully block sunlight in this space zone in seven hours. However, due to the characteristics of the Lagrange points (most Colony Satellites in the CE Earth sphere are built near the Earth-Moon Lagrange points), the duration of complete darkness in this zone will be less than five minutes."
Bargiruel frowned. Less than five minutes—there was absolutely no way they could launch a surprise attack to destroy the Solar Reflector Systems in that time. As for attacking from the blind spots, most of those angles faced toward PLANT's home territory, leaving only very narrow firing lines.
ZAFT's space forces were numerous. With such limited attack angles, their numerical advantage would be nullified, turning the battle into a futile war of attrition.
Muruta Azrael, who harbored a "deep-seated hatred" for Coordinators, quickly lost patience as he watched Bargiruel ponder over the electronic sandtable for so long.
"Captain Bargiruel," he urged, "have you finalized an attack strategy yet? If not, may I offer a suggestion?"
Bargiruel doubted Azrael had any brilliant ideas, but she couldn't deny him the right to speak.
"What insight does Director Azrael have to share?"
Azrael immediately strode over to the electronic sandtable and pointed at the narrow attack routes marked on it.
"My suggestion is, don't overthink it. Send elite troops to clear the path, escort the Peacemaker Corps into firing range, and let the nuclear warheads handle the rest of the battle. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Bargiruel immediately objected:
"Absolutely not. The dual Solar Ray Systems provide mutual protection, making the attack route too narrow and elongated. Our numerical advantage would be nullified, and the battle would turn into a stalemate. Even if we could break through the defensive line to escort the nuclear strike team, the casualties would be devastating. This would jeopardize our subsequent operations against PLANT's homeland."
When Muruta Azrael heard Bargiruel's objection was based on excessive casualties, he couldn't help but scoff, shrugging and spreading his hands as he said:
"Pfft— Hah, oh, sorry, I couldn't hold it in. I just didn't expect you, Captain, to be worried about that."
Bargiruel clenched her fists at his words, glaring at Muruta Azrael as she waited for his explanation.
Noticing her reaction, Azrael's expression turned serious as he spoke earnestly:
"Ridiculous. If you're afraid of death, why fight at all? Troop casualties? These are necessary sacrifices for the ultimate goal of a blue and pure world.
Even the East Asian Republic, which has always opposed military solutions, is now committing its entire national strength to eliminate the Coordinators. I really don't understand what you're worried about, Captain Bargiruel. If too many soldiers die here, we'll just deploy more from Earth and the Moon. What's there to fear? With over ten billion people on Earth, can't we outlast these mere sixty million Coordinators?"
His words left everyone on the Archangel's bridge seething—were soldiers' lives not worth anything?
Unfortunately, Muruta Azrael remained completely oblivious to the outrage he had provoked. He even waved dismissively at Bargiruel:
"Go ahead, contact the East Asian Republic and the Eurasian Federation. Have them send reinforcements. We'll just bulldoze through with nuclear warheads. As for the request, I'll help you submit it to the Commander."
Azrael was subtly reminding Bargiruel that he had the backing of the Earth Alliance Forces' Commander—she'd better fall in line.
Seeing that Azrael was using the Commander to pressure her, Bargiruel had no choice but to reluctantly return to her captain's seat and order:
"Contact the East Asian Republic and Eurasian Federation forces. Request troop and fire support. Inform them we've decided to probe the defenses of Boaz Fortress and attempt an attack from the Solar Ray System's blind spot."
Muruta Azrael nodded in satisfaction at this and opened a comm link to the pilots' lounge, announcing:
"Canard Pars, Emilio Broderick, Olga Sabnak—you three better perform well when you sortie. I've upgraded all your Mobile Suits to nuclear-powered systems. Don't disappoint me."
The moment he finished speaking, Canard Pars fired back without hesitation:
"Azrael, let's get one thing straight. The only reason I'm helping you is because you promised to help me track down Kira Yamato again. Don't forget that."
Truth be told, Muruta Azrael despised Canard Pars—not only did the man constantly talk back, but he was also a Coordinator.
If not for Canard's combat prowess and usefulness as a pawn, Azrael would have gladly had him "humanely eliminated" long ago.
Thinking that Canard Pars still had his uses, Muruta Azrael suppressed his urge to kill and retorted:
"Hey! That's not fair. Didn't I already help you find Kira Yamato? You're the one who lost the fight and let him escape.
And before that, I gave you intel about Kira Yamato appearing in the L4 Colony Satellite cluster, even granting you special permission to sortie alone to search for him.
Yet you ended up fighting some irrelevant junk dealers in the L4 Colony Satellite cluster and still couldn't find him. How is that my fault?
Canard Pars, focus on completing your mission first. As long as Kira Yamato is still alive, I'll find him eventually."
Canard Pars was left speechless, as everything Muruta Azrael said was true. Irritated, he replied:
"Fine, fine. Covering those little planes to break through ZAFT's defenses, right? I'll get it done in no time!"
With that, Canard Pars abruptly ended the communication.
Muruta Azrael could count on one hand the number of times someone had dared to hang up on him—and now the entire bridge crew had witnessed it. The embarrassment was unbearable.
His face instantly paled with fury, and he nearly stormed off to confront Canard Pars right then.
Bargiruel secretly smirked at Muruta Azrael's humiliation, but outwardly, she stepped in to save face for him.
Noticing the arrival of reinforcements from the East Asian Republic and the Eurasian Federation, she immediately issued orders:
"All hands, assume first combat readiness. Advance the fleet to the maximum effective range of enemy beam weapons. All Drake-class fire support ships, load cluster missiles into all launchers. When our Mobile Suits deploy, the fleet will execute three consecutive barrages against ZAFT's forces. After completion, all Drake-class vessels will withdraw, and Nelson-class ships will move forward to provide fire support for the subsequent Mobile Suit assault."
With Bargiruel's commands in motion, the Archangel's bridge sprang into action, swiftly diverting attention from Muruta Azrael's awkward moment.
Satisfied, Muruta Azrael returned to his seat, ready to watch Bargiruel's performance.
As the flagship of the vanguard, the Archangel's orders set the Atlantic Federation's fleet into motion.
ZAFT's Boaz Fortress defenders naturally detected the movement immediately.
Both sides were well aware of the Solar Reflector System's blind spots, so ZAFT's space forces had heavily fortified those areas—charging head-on into the system's firing arc would be suicidal.
As long as the sun burned, no amount of forces could withstand the system's devastating power—a lesson ZAFT's space forces, the first to experience its might, knew all too well.
Seeing the Earth Alliance openly advancing from the Solar Reflector System's blind spot as expected, Boaz Fortress's commander scoffed and ordered his troops to proceed as planned.
Thus, Bargiruel's strategy encountered an unexpected complication from the outset.
As the fleet advanced, a massive Mobile Suit suddenly emerged from behind a nearby asteroid.
The ZGMF-X11A Reborn Gundam. Although the Three Ships Alliance had obtained data from Genesis Alpha, they neither destroyed nor captured the Reborn Gundam and Covenant Gundam stationed there (the latter was not the quantum virus version but an early model equipped with the Strike Pack System—essentially a nuclear-powered, larger-scale Strike). Instead, they were merely held at bay by the Freedom Gundam and Justice Gundam.
Thus, after the exposure of Genesis Alpha's information, both the Reborn Gundam and Covenant Gundam were recalled to the homeland.
Naturally, Ash Gray remained the pilot of the Reborn Gundam, while the Covenant Gundam was handed over to the "Twilight Phantom," Miguel Aiman.
At this moment, the Reborn Gundam, deployed with the Boaz Fortress defense forces, struck first.
Equipped with the Mirage Colloid System, the Reborn Gundam activated its stealth mode as soon as the Earth Alliance fleet appeared, relocating behind a large asteroid in the blind spot of the Solar Ray System's targeting range.
The Atlantic Federation's reconnaissance units failed to detect this Reaper lurking nearby.
Once the Atlantic Federation fleet drew closer, the Boaz Fortress issued the attack signal. The Reborn Gundam instantly transformed into MA Mode and charged straight into the Atlantic Federation fleet.
The Reborn Gundam's MA Mode was astonishingly fast. By the time the Atlantic Federation fleet noticed its approach—still in the midst of reorganizing—the outermost Drake-class ships had already been sliced apart by its massive Beam Saber as it reverted to MS Mode.
Subsequently, all Strike Daggers attempting to intercept the Reborn Gundam were swiftly shot down by the numerous small Beam Cannons mounted on its limbs. After clearing the escort Mobile Suits, the Reborn Gundam raised its colossal Beam Rifle and began sweeping fire inward, slaughtering its way through the fleet.
Meanwhile, the ZAFT fleet, previously in a defensive stance, launched an aggressive assault led by the mass-produced GuAIZ units, aiming to wipe out this Earth Alliance vanguard fleet in one decisive strike.
Fortunately for the Earth Alliance, despite being caught off guard by the Reborn Gundam, their substantial reserves allowed them to absorb the loss of a few warships.
Moreover, the Reborn Gundam was now temporarily stalled by elite Earth Alliance reinforcements.
Those capable of holding back the Reborn Gundam were no ordinary pilots. Two 105 Wired Guided Daggers, piloted by the "Hawk of Endymion" Mu La Flaga and the "Mad Dog of the Moonlight" Morgan Chevalier, engaged it.
Additionally, the Wired Pods on these 105 Wired Guided Daggers were now armed with small Beam Cannons instead of the original GAU-758S railguns, posing a significant threat to the Reborn Gundam.
Of course, given the Saber's fragile frame, the actual frontline distraction was handled by others. Canard Pars, the first to sortie from the Archangel, set his sights on the Reborn Gundam, finding it far more entertaining to fight than ZAFT's standard Mobile Suits, and thus charged headlong into battle.
First-time opponents of the Hyperion Gundam often found themselves endlessly frustrated by its cheat-like Monophasic Lightwave Shielding System [Scutum Lumiere].
Ash Gray, piloting the Reborn Gundam, was no exception. Moreover, since the Hyperion Gundam was now also a nuclear-powered unit, its Mono-Phase Lightwave Shield System no longer had a time limit, making the Hyperion Gundam even more troublesome to deal with.
After several exchanges, the humanoid "main body" of the Reborn Gundam was crippled by the combined efforts of Mu and Morgan Chevalier, and even its massive Beam Rifle was destroyed by the Hyperion Gundam's Beam Submachine Gun.
Fortunately, the true core of the Reborn Gundam was its backpack. Exploiting this knowledge gap, Ash Gray seized an opportunity to detach the humanoid frame as a decoy, detonating it to draw enemy fire while he maneuvered the backpack to escape unscathed.
Meanwhile, the attacking ZAFT space forces had already engaged the Earth Alliance troops. Without numerical superiority in Mobile Suits, the Calamity and Raider couldn't break through immediately, leaving ZAFT in control of the battlefield.
Thus, Ash Gray was able to retreat through the battlefield in the Reborn Gundam's backpack, returning to Boaz Fortress to swap bodies. He wouldn't need eighteen years—just eighteen minutes—to return to full strength and rejoin the fight.
-Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!