A meeting was convened at the Allied Forces headquarters following the East Asian Army's victory.
Thanks to Azrael's sharp tongue and Admiral Halberton's sarcastic remarks upon returning from space, the meeting naturally ended on an unpleasant note.
After the adjournment...
"Contact the East Asian Army and inquire about the possibility of deeper cooperation."
Adjusting his blue suit, Azrael spoke to his subordinate.
Hmph, it's all because of those incompetent fools—my clothes are wrinkled from anger!
"Um..."
Faced with his boss's order, the subordinate hesitated.
"What now? Can't even handle such a simple task?"
Displeasure flashed across Azrael's face as he snapped irritably.
"I don't keep you around to hear you tell me this can't be done and that can't be done."
"I've heard enough of that nonsense from the Atlantic Federation and the Eurasian Federation!"
"Chairman..."
Terrified by the blond's harsh tone, the subordinate took two steps back and bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.
"The thing is... we have absolutely no connections within that military."
"Not only that, but their stance toward us is also very clear—they won't give us any opportunities!"
"You—!" Azrael choked on his own fury, nearly driven mad by his subordinate's stupidity.
He unleashed a torrent of scolding.
"I'm talking about cooperation, cooperation!"
"Exactly!" The subordinate performed another dramatic kneel, as if to say, "That's what I was answering!"
There was simply no fertile ground for Blue Cosmos within the East Asian Army—not just the military, but even the general populace of that nation showed no interest in their ideology.
Despite being the region in the Earth Sphere with the highest population of Coordinators, genetic modification for Coordinators had already been banned there.
Yet, contrary to expectations, there were no signs of discrimination or exclusion.
Whether during the earlier S2 incident or the later Bloody Valentine tragedy, the people of that nation neither protested nor harbored resentment—they simply rolled up their sleeves and worked together to overcome adversity.
Oh, right.
The Coordinator community living in that nation had indeed strongly criticized PLANT.
But the general public never turned against their own compatriots just because of PLANT's actions in space!
"You—!" Azrael's hands trembled as he exerted tremendous self-control to restrain himself.
Only with great effort did he stop himself from ordering someone to send this idiot to dig potatoes in the frozen wasteland!
Taking a deep breath, Azrael spoke in a sinister tone.
"When it comes to wartime cooperation, as long as the East Asian Army is willing to contribute more to victory..."
"Then many things that were previously off the table can now be negotiated. Understand?!"
By the end, he finally lost his temper and kicked the fool at his feet hard.
Then Azrael turned and stormed off—looking at such incompetence for even a second would surely shorten his lifespan.
"What the hell..."
With a deep shoe print on his face, the subordinate stood up indignantly after the blond left.
"How was I supposed to know you meant that kind of 'deeper cooperation'? Couldn't you have been clearer?"
"Wasn't it you who personally said Blue Cosmos wasn't gaining traction there before?"
"If you were dealing with the East Asian Army, would you jump off the 33rd floor?"
But complaints aside, the leader's orders had to be followed. Watching Chairman Azrael's figure disappear into the distance, the lackey shook his head helplessly and walked off in the opposite direction.
Their side wasn't exactly on good terms with the East Asian Army, and the East Asian Army's temper...
Even if you wanted to cooperate, it depended on whether they were willing!
What rotten luck!
"Hmph."
From a distance, Halberton, standing beside his colleagues, sneered as he watched the amusing monkey show unfold.
The Atlantic Federation he belonged to had already become half a puppet of Blue Cosmos.
The military was rife with their paranoid ideology.
Despite Halberton and like-minded colleagues doing their utmost, they couldn't stop the entire military from rotting away!
"But that place is different. Trying to corrupt them with sugar-coated bullets?"
"Don't they know the other side's specialty is eating the sugar and throwing the bullets back?"
Halberton, the Admiral, remarked cheerfully to his colleagues.
"Mhm." Hearing the Admiral's jest, those around nodded in agreement.
"By the way, Admiral." His aide, who had returned with him from the meeting, suddenly seemed to remember something.
"About the concluded demonstration, should we inform the East Asian side?"
"That matter." Though the aide didn't specify, Admiral Halberton already knew what he was referring to.
"We should give them a heads-up."
Nodding slightly, Admiral Halberton thought of the G Project he had proposed.
It was only with East Asia's support that the plan had finally passed smoothly.
And given the current situation, it was only right to strengthen ties with them!
"We should have had it manufactured in East Asia from the start."
Admiral Halberton grumbled with a hint of resentment.
"If we had, the critical OS System demonstration wouldn't still be unresolved."
"Even if the development was challenging, there's no excuse for a thousand people producing such a mess!"
"Well..." The aide awkwardly fell silent.
Given that Mobile Suits were something they'd never considered before, and with time so tight, much of the work had been based on Coordinators' designs.
As for the OS System...
Coordinators and Naturals simply weren't the same hardware. Rewriting tens or hundreds of terabytes of code wasn't easy.
And they weren't exactly known for overtime here—nothing like East Asia's grind culture!
Glancing at his silent aide, Admiral Halberton could guess what he was thinking.
He sighed deeply—it all came down to factionalism.
If only he were in East Asia...
While the Allied Forces here basked in the East Asian Army's victory, nearly popping champagne in celebration...
Over in PLANT, where the frontline results had finally reached...
"Patrick!"
Swinging open the door to his old friend's gloomy office with force, Clyne—the nominal leader of the Coordinators—stormed in, his expression dark.
If not for his strong mental fortitude, seeing his old friend sitting calmly at his desk, hands clasped, might have driven Clyne to punch that square-jawed face.
"The losses are too severe. Aside from the troops on various fronts, we've lost a third of our mobile forces in one fell swoop."
"Patrick, you should have listened to me from the start!"
"Clyne, why are you still saying such things at a time like this?"
Having received the battle report earlier, Patrick had already anticipated his old friend's reaction.
In truth, when he'd first seen the report...
Well, best not mention that.
As the Chairman of ZAFT Forces and the leading figure of Plant's hardline faction, he maintained an unshakable composure even when Mount Tai collapsed before him.
"It's precisely because of the East Asian Army's threat that we must fight this battle."
"What does a temporary setback signify? This minor turbulence can serve to awaken the appeasers among us!"
"I believe this campaign was worthwhile!"
"And Clyne, if we remain unaware of the East Asian Army's true strength until the day they suddenly strike..."
"That would be a true catastrophe—one that could lead to our nation's utter destruction!"
"For this reason, I've already prepared a new strategic plan!"
"You?" Clyne stared in shock and anger at his old friend whose face was shrouded in shadow, his heart filled with bitter frustration.
Wasn't forcing former allies into becoming enemies bad enough once? Must you stubbornly charge ahead and do it again?
"Rest assured, Clyne."
Yet Patrick remained utterly unaware of these concerns. With full confidence and authority, he declared:
"Leave everything to me!"
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