"What's going on?" Murrue and Lacus frowned as they observed the Earth Forces' 3rd and 4th Mobile Fleets reducing their attacks and beginning an orderly retreat.
"Order the MS units not to pursue. Maintain position and observe!" Murrue and Lacus immediately commanded. The Earth Forces' withdrawal was highly unusual. Though they were being pressured, they weren't at a disadvantage—breaking through their blockade was still possible with determined effort.
Moreover, with Artemis destroyed, the Earth Forces fleet should be rushing to destroy Genesis. Why were they retreating instead?
Just then, the communicator Murrue always carried beeped.
"This is—!"
This device had been given to her by Wang Liu Mei—a secure channel specifically for contacting Duan Halbaton. She had planned to reach out after repelling the 3rd and 4th Mobile Fleets, but unexpectedly, he had contacted her first.
All messages on this communicator were triple-encrypted, requiring a specialized decryption code to read. Wang Liu Mei had provided the decryption key to Murrue. After less than a minute of decoding, Murrue saw the contents.
"This is—!"
"Captain Ramius, what message did they send?" Lacus asked. Natarle Badgiruel and the others also waited eagerly—they all knew this communicator was exclusively for contacting Duan Halbaton.
"General Halberton is currently acting as the interim commander of the Lunar Crater Base. It was his order for the 3rd and 4th Fleets to retreat."
"What?"
"So soon?"
The group was stunned. How was this possible in such a short time? Duan Halbaton had already regained authority and taken control of the Lunar Crater Base?
"Could this be a trap?" Natarle Badgiruel questioned, suspecting the sender wasn't Duan Halbaton. If he had been exposed, the communicator might have fallen into someone else's hands.
"Possible, but not certain." Murrue and Lacus nodded in agreement but didn't dismiss the possibility that this was indeed Duan Halbaton. "There's more. The message states that General Halberton has deduced Yang Hui's plan to infiltrate enemy lines with a single ship. He will fully support Yang Hui's operation."
"What!? Then—"
"Support? Did he specify how?" Lacus pressed.
"Yes. He will lead the main force to assault Boaz Fortress, adopting a do-or-die stance to draw ZAFT's attention and prevent more ZAFT Forces from interfering with Yang Hui's team."
"What about the nuclear weapons? Did he mention his stance on them?" Lacus pressed further. If this message truly came from Duan Halbaton and his claims were genuine, cooperating with him would undoubtedly be the best course of action. But...
Two critical questions remained: How could they confirm the sender was Duan Halbaton? And what was his stance on nuclear weapons?
The latter was especially crucial. Attacking Boaz Fortress was one thing, but if nuclear weapons were to be used, any basis for cooperation would collapse. Neither nukes nor Genesis should ever be deployed—nuclear weapons must not become normalized.
"He did. He stated he has already issued orders prohibiting their use."
"...It's not very credible." Natarle Badgiruel shook her head. It wasn't that she had any prejudice against Duan Halbaton personally. At this stage of the war, both the Earth Alliance and Earth Forces were standing on the edge of a cliff—one misstep would plunge them into an endless abyss.
Nuclear weapons were their sharpest blades. Whether to avert their own crisis or to win this war, using nukes was the optimal choice. Even if Duan Halbaton wasn't part of Blue Cosmos, it was unlikely he'd ban nuclear weapons to turn the tide of battle. That was just common sense from a commander's perspective.
"Exactly. And even if this were true—if Halberton issued an order banning nukes—how many would actually comply? The Earth Forces fleet isn't a monolith," Lacus pointed out, making Murrue and Natarle pause.
She was right. Duan Halbaton had considerable prestige among the Earth Forces' rank and file, but mid-level and senior officers largely disliked him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been left isolated in semi-house arrest.
Though Duan Halbaton was now acting supreme commander, he'd only just taken the position. With most subordinate officers hostile toward him, how many would follow his orders? How many would feign compliance while secretly undermining him? How many would pretend to agree, only to stab him in the back at the critical moment?
"Captain Ramius, I suggest we temporarily withdraw, let the Earth Forces fleet pass, and follow closely behind. If they use nukes again, we'll intervene to stop them," Lacus proposed.
It was the most balanced approach. If they were the only force involved, they could afford to stall indefinitely—the longer, the better. But time was their scarcest resource now. They needed to stabilize the Earth Forces fleet quickly before finding a way to support the White Tiger. A tactical retreat to observe the fleet's movements would suffice.
The Archangel and Eternal's sole objective was preventing the Earth Forces from deploying nukes again. With that goal preliminarily achieved, there was no need for a deathmatch with the fleet.
As long as the Earth Forces refrained from nuclear strikes, they wouldn't interfere in battles between Earth Forces and the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty. The primary targets now were nukes and Genesis. Stopping nuclear weapons alone would halt over half this war.
Of course, this was the ideal scenario. To prepare for the worst, they couldn't simply leave to pursue the White Tiger. They had to remain as overseers—ready to intervene if the Earth Forces resumed nuclear attacks.
"Agreed. We'll proceed as suggested."
Murrue and Natarle nodded, accepting Lacus' proposal. After retrieving all MS units, the Archangel and Eternal turned away from the combat zone, vanishing once more.
...
Meanwhile, the White Tiger's journey was anything but smooth. Though they'd navigated past Boaz Fortress's defenses at maximum speed with minimal trajectory adjustments, they were detected just as they prepared to penetrate deeper into enemy territory.
"Damn it! How were we spotted already?!" The Gundam Cherudim raised its rifle, shooting down several GINNs and Gells before pivoting to intercept missiles streaking toward the White Tiger.
"The defenders of Boaz have expanded their defensive line and reconnaissance range... Our plan has been exposed!" Tieria stated calmly as Gundam Virtue fired both cannons simultaneously, piercing through two Laurasia-class battleships.
"It can't be a spy," Setsuna replied coolly. The crew of the White Tiger had been carefully selected—their loyalty to Orb was absolute. It couldn't be anyone from Eternal or Archangel either; they had fought side by side multiple times, forging bonds and trust.
"Old man Zala saw through us," Yang Hui remarked while maneuvering Dawn Gundam to clear the enemies ahead. "Eternal and Archangel's movements were detected. Since Zala didn't see us, he deduced our plan."
"What now? The enemies are multiplying!" Lowe shouted, nervous in his first large-scale battle. Initially, they had only encountered a small fleet—one Naska-class and two Laurasia-class ships.
Once the White Tiger realized it had been discovered, there was no need to hide anymore. It unleashed full firepower, swiftly eliminating the scouting fleet before accelerating toward Genesis at full speed.
But before they could get far, ZAFT forces intercepted them again—waves of reinforcements converging from all directions. Even if they broke through one blockade, another would encircle them.
"Sumera! Recalculate the course and divert all power to the engines! We're charging straight through!" Yang Hui made the call. Since their position was fully compromised, stealth was pointless. They would smash through ZAFT's frontlines with overwhelming force and destroy Genesis.
"...Understood!" Sumeragi knew Yang Hui was going all-in.
"All units, tighten formation! Lowe, Gai—your Mobile Suits can't match the White Tiger's speed. Secure yourselves to the left and right modules and lock onto the ship!"
"Roger!" x6
Gundam Exia, Astray Gundam Red Unit, and Astray Gundam Blue Unit, which had been skirmishing on the periphery, now regrouped. Exia, Cherudim, and Virtue formed a protective screen around the White Tiger, while Red Frame and Blue Frame anchored themselves to the ship at their designated positions.
Dawn Gundam's eyes flashed as its golden wings fully extended, unleashing a torrent of golden light dots that sprayed outward to the sides and front.
ZAFT forces knew how to counter bits, pouring firepower into the wave of starlight. But they could only slow it down—not stop or repel it.
As the golden dots advanced, ZAFT's MS and warships retreated while firing desperately to keep the bits at bay. Those too slow to withdraw were instantly engulfed, exploding violently into cosmic dust.
"Now!" Though the kill count wasn't high, Yang Hui's goal was achieved—a path forward had been cleared.
"White Tiger, engines at full! Maximum thrust!"
The main engines erupted with blinding intensity, generating even greater force than before. The massive acceleration pressed the crew painfully against their seats as the ship surged forward, darting through the opening Dawn Gundam had carved before breaking free of ZAFT's encirclement.
Gundam Exia, Gundam Cherudim, and Gundam Virtue also activated their engines at full power, closely following the White Tiger while clearing away enemy mobile suits and ships attempting to approach.
Meanwhile, the Dawn Gundam maintained maximum output from its X Generator, positioned at the forefront like the tip of an arrow, forcing back or destroying all enemy forces trying to block the White Tiger's path. It left behind a trail of countless starlight and dense wreckage in its wake.
"We can see it!"
After roughly half an hour of relentless advance, they could finally make out the silhouette of Genesis with the naked eye—but the enemy forces they now faced had also multiplied.
"Gundam Exia, Gundam Cherudim, Gundam Virtue—fan out and hunt! Shatter the enemy formation!"
"Roger!" x3
"Red Frame, Blue Frame—break away from the White Tiger. I'll clear the path. White Tiger, proceed to Genesis!"
"Roger!" x2
Freed from the burden of protecting the White Tiger, Gundam Exia, Gundam Cherudim, and Gundam Virtue instantly transformed into unleashed beasts of prey. They split into three directions like sharp blades piercing through the ZAFT Forces' formation—thrusting, slashing, cleaving—rendering their ranks fragmented within moments. Countless explosions flared brilliantly, only to vanish as quickly as they appeared.
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