Like a sudden clap of thunder on a spring day.
All humans across the Earth Sphere were turning their attention to the events of recent days.
Everyone was left reeling by the new tidal wave stirred up by the Coordinators.
The ruling powers within various political spheres were so busy they barely had time to touch the ground.
Countless meetings were convened, with strategies more brilliant than the last being discussed, yet none could remedy or salvage the current situation.
After all, what lay before the citizens and rulers of nations across the Earth Sphere was a seemingly unsolvable dilemma.
Who could have imagined that after suffering a major defeat, the Coordinators would simultaneously launch surprise attacks on both the East Asian Alliance and the Atlantic Federation's Panama Spaceport.
And relying on newly developed weapons, they emerged victorious in battle.
What was even more critical than the victory itself was the slowly rising mushroom cloud over the Atlantic Federation's Panama Spaceport.
This was the fear that made countless people unable to sit still!
Aboard the Archangel in the waters off Orb, the crew had been closely monitoring world developments over the past few days amid the tense atmosphere.
No sooner had Wang Hu returned from a meeting on the flagship than he was surrounded by Kira and the others the moment he appeared.
"Brother Wang Hu!" Kira was the first to rush forward and ask. "Is it true?"
What he meant by "true" was whether the Coordinators had indeed used the Light of Peace.
Originally, Azrael had intended to use the Duel Gundam's self-destruction to temporarily stabilize the Coordinators.
Making the enemy believe the Federation forces couldn't leverage capturing the Duel Gundam to regain control of the Light of Peace.
But later, someone pointed out that such external propaganda wouldn't be characteristic of the Atlantic Federation.
Simultaneously, to demonstrate that the Atlantic Federation Army remained formidable in combat.
It would be better to publicly claim that the ZAFT Forces Coordinators, after failing to defeat the Federation Army, destroyed the Panama Spaceport to secure victory.
The ZAFT Forces Coordinators brazenly used the Light of Peace, dealing a fatal blow to the Federation forces who had lost nuclear capabilities.
This would serve to stabilize the Coordinators, preventing them from acting desperately for the time being.
It would also indirectly prove that the Federation forces with Mobile Suit units still held an edge over the East Asian Army.
See? It's not that we can't fight the Coordinators - we forced them to reveal such a major trump card.
Our Atlantic Federation may have lost, but we did so with honor!
"Basically true."
Seeing their eyes urgently seeking answers, Wang Hu nodded, giving them the answer they least wanted to hear.
"According to field investigations by our military observation team, although there were some discrepancies in the explosion's characteristics."
"There were indeed signs of the Light of Peace detonation at the scene."
"Based on analysis from your Freedom Gundam, Kira, combined with intelligence provided by the Atlantic Federation."
"There's no doubt that ZAFT Forces modified the Duel Gundam, Buster Gundam, and Blitz Gundam with nuclear power sources."
"And the Duel Gundam's pilot Yzak likely initiated self-destruction during his escape attempt."
"Trying to prevent the Atlantic Federation Army from obtaining the Anti-Neutron Jammer."
"How could this be!"
Hearing this answer, everyone including Kira felt their vision darken.
"Then..."
While the others were still reeling from this devastating news, Mu asked with an extremely grave expression, "What is the East Asian Alliance's response?"
Though the rest of the world might not be clear about the situation, Mu and his companions understood perfectly. Wang Hu's East Asian Alliance had possessed the Anti-Neutron Jammer long before Kira arrived piloting the Freedom Gundam! Now that the Coordinators were deploying nuclear-powered mobile suits on a large scale and were highly likely producing the Light of Peace as well, the East Asian Alliance's stance became critically important. After all, one wrong move could mean everyone's doom!
"It's not about our response, but about how the Coordinators on PLANT will react," Wang Hu frowned in response to the question. "I don't know whether the Coordinators are aware that Kira's Freedom Gundam is in our possession. It would be best if they don't know, but if they do, what would their attitude be? Personally, I believe it's more likely they know the Freedom Gundam is with us. That's why the masters from the Foreign Affairs Institute have urgently departed for PLANT through third-party channels."
"Peace negotiations?" Natarle Badgiruel's eyes lit up. As a disciplined soldier, she admitted to herself that her strategic thinking was laughable compared to the threat of the Light of Peace. However reluctant she might be, conditional mutual deterrence seemed preferable to mutually firing the Light of Peace at each other. Even peace balanced on a tightrope was worth considering.
"That's one possibility, but whether it's peace negotiations or something else," Wang Hu said sternly, staring at the group, "we must go to space as soon as possible. At the very least, we need to secure our airspace and can't remain so passive anymore. If we can't even protect our airspace, then just as the Atlantic Federation says, every military personnel in the entire Earth Sphere would bear historical responsibility."
"Is that so?" Kira felt utterly dejected. The worst-case scenario for Orb had materialized. Indeed, it stood to reason. If space remained the Coordinators' backyard and the ZAFT Forces decided to tear off all pretenses, threatening to drop the Light of Peace from space into the Earth Sphere... Even the East Asian Army, the world's most rational last hope, would never accept the Coordinators' arbitrary demands. To counter their blackmail, the scale of war would inevitably expand, and a future where both sides exchanged Light of Peace strikes might well become reality!
"Orb... Cagalli..." Watching Wang Hu's retreating figure as Li Chengzhi hurriedly called him to another meeting, Kira sank into deep contemplation. He desperately hoped that at this historical turning point, his former homeland—where his parents now resided—Orb, would make the right choice!
Meanwhile, at the ZAFT Forces headquarters on PLANT in space, Patrick addressed all the officers present. The Atlantic Federation's maneuvers had reminded him of an issue he'd neglected due to the exhaustion caused by Clyne's sudden betrayal. Now this problem resurfaced in Patrick's mind.
"First question," Patrick began. Given the barely satisfactory outcome of the new offensive against the East Asian Alliance and Atlantic Federation, the long-stern Patrick rarely revealed a slight smile, though his question and tone remained as icy as ever.
"How is the investigation into the whereabouts of the Freedom Gundam progressing?"
"This?" The officers below exchanged glances before one stepped forward to answer.
"According to Military Intelligence's assessment, the last known location of our stolen Freedom Gundam was the Alaska battlefield."
"Considering the East Asian Army emerged victorious in that battle, it is highly probable the Freedom Gundam ultimately fell into their hands!"
Upon hearing this answer, Patrick immediately wiped the remaining trace of a smile from his face, his hawk-like eyes filled with nothing but killing intent.
"Can we retrieve the Freedom Gundam? Or could the East Asian Army decipher the Anti-Neutron Jammer equipped on it?"
"Extremely difficult." The officer in charge of underground operations had no way to avoid the question under the collective gaze of his colleagues.
He stepped forward and said, "Our operations face great challenges within the East Asian Army's territory, even though there are many Coordinator compatriots within their ranks."
"But their attitude toward us..."
He couldn't finish the remaining words. How could he tell Patrick that the Coordinators in the East Asian Army view us as enemies?
"Damn East Asian Alliance, actually turning our own compatriots against us like this."
After uttering these harsh words, Patrick shifted his gaze to the head of the technical department present.
The technical department head needed only to see the other's expression to understand what he wanted to know.
"We've implemented information encryption and irreversible preventive measures on the Anti-Neutron Jammer equipped on the Freedom Gundam."
"Theoretically, it should be impossible for the East Asian Army to decipher it, but... but..."
At this point, the technical department head kept wiping sweat from his brow. They were dealing with the East Asian Alliance - who knew how many advanced technologies they might possess?
There was even a saying about them from the old century:
The Eagle makes science fiction, the Rabbit turns science fiction into reality.
What if, just what if, the East Asian Alliance actually had the capability to decipher the Anti-Neutron Jammer?
"Hah." Patrick let out several deep breaths. He could guess with his toes what the stammering technical department head meant by "but."
Even before convening this meeting, he had considered various possibilities.
If the Anti-Neutron Jammer had to fall into someone's hands, the East Asian Alliance was preferable to the Atlantic Federation.
No matter how much he despised Naturals, there was one thing Patrick had to admit:
Thousands of years of history had proven that no one in the world loved peace more than the Rabbit.
"Treat the master from the East Asian Discipline Academy with utmost respect, not the slightest neglect, understand?"
"If any problems occur, what awaits you won't be as simple as bowing and apologizing."
After giving these instructions to his subordinates, Patrick showed he could be pragmatic in certain aspects.
Regarding the East Asian representative who came through special channels, he wanted to stabilize the situation by showing goodwill.
At the very least, they needed to wait until their own ultimate weapon was fully prepared before considering confrontation.
And the remaining biggest problem was...
"What about Yzak's situation?His sharp gaze fell upon Yzak's mother, that eternal political tumbler doll in PLANT's power structure.
Patrick hoped she could provide him with reassuring good news.
Ezalia - Yzak's mother, the silver-haired beauty who remained alive and well even through the Third Crisis - stepped forward.
Before coming, she had spoken with her precious son over the phone and coordinated their statements after learning the truth.
In reality, during that tense and hurried situation, Yzak wasn't certain whether he had actually pressed the self-destruct button.
"Before emergency evacuation, Yzak unequivocally activated the self-destruct program."
"Since the Duel Gundam's self-destruction would affect a relatively wide area, the timer was set slightly longer."
"This was also to ensure the safety of our primary combat assets still in our possession - the Buster Gundam and the Blitz Gundam."
While Yzak himself was uncertain, Ezalia chose to stand by her son from a mother's perspective here.
"Correlating with the announcement from the Atlantic Federation, the timing matches perfectly."
The world works in subtle ways - the final loophole in the Atlantic Federation Army's account was patched here.
"Hmm." Patrick's gaze lingered on Ezalia for a long time, but he found nothing amiss.
Ezalia, the political survivor, lived up to her reputation and wasn't intimidated by Patrick's scrutiny.
After a while, Patrick nodded, finally setting aside his hidden concerns.
It seemed destiny still favored the Coordinators!
"Issue a statement to the public declaring that ZAFT Forces will provide security guarantees for Orb!"
"Any attempts to pressure Orb, or even attack Orb, will be considered hostile acts against ZAFT Forces."
"We reserve all necessary countermeasures - underline this part emphatically!"
Subsequently, to buy time for PLANT's homeland and slow the Allied Forces' advance into space,
Patrick added fuel to the already tense situation in Orb.
Though he held little hope, what if...
What if that nation of Orb...
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