"What the hell!"
Just as Kira was lost in thought, Tolle's booming voice snapped him out of it.
"What's wrong?"
Kira turned to look at Tolle, who was staring at the screen in shock, and asked curiously.
"ZAFT has officially declared war on Blue Cosmos! Just now, in the national news address half an hour ago!"
As he spoke, Tolle turned his device around to face the young man.
On the bright screen, the first image was of Siegel Clyne giving a speech in his capacity as Chairman.
The headline boldly read: ZAFT Declares War on Blue Cosmos.
It wasn't unprecedented for a nation to declare war on a terrorist organization.
Not to mention that after a string of vicious incidents, Blue Cosmos's reputation had long since been ruined.
But along with Blue Cosmos's infamy, they also knew about the close relationship between Blue Cosmos and the Atlantic Federation.
Declaring war on Blue Cosmos was essentially declaring war on the Atlantic Federation and part of the Eurasian Federation as well.
And how would they fight?
The report made it clear—all of Blue Cosmos's main bases were on Earth.
Chairman Clyne's statement meant they were going to invade Earth, or at the very least, conduct orbital bombardment.
This event was so shocking that even Kira didn't know what to say for a moment.
And just like their shock, the news spread step by step beyond PLANT's national broadcast.
Meanwhile, having just finished listening to Siegel's impassioned declaration of war, he returned to his own office.
The office lights were as bright as ever. No sooner had he sat down than the computer screen in front of him lit up.
"There isn't much time left before the attack begins."
Fred looked at the plan on the screen before him and pondered for a moment.
"Chairman, I believe we should deploy the Neutron Jammers first."
"Since the Moderate Faction has already given us the intelligence on their facilities, combined with our own intel, we should be able to reduce the Atlantic Federation's military production capacity by 75% in a short period of time."
Energy was the top priority.
Especially given that the Atlantic Federation was still heavily reliant on nuclear power.
Even if the Atlantic Federation tried to obtain energy from other countries in the short term, it would come at a much greater cost—not to mention that they had long been prepared for such a move.
Any country that traded with the Atlantic Federation could be accused of supporting Blue Cosmos, and then hit with sanctions and Neutron Jammers as a package deal.
At that point, both sides would be fighting in the mud.
Their reputation wasn't great, but as long as they didn't affect other Naturals, at least they wouldn't incur universal outrage.
"Yeah."
Siegel nodded from the other side of the screen.
But his brow remained furrowed.
"But if we don't deal with the Yggdrasil Space Station, we won't be able to complete the descent operation."
"Yggdrasil Space Station..."
That was the largest space station in the world, and it had already been destroyed before the main storyline even began.
After all, expecting a space station with minimal defensive capabilities to withstand that many beam attacks was far too ambitious.
"Yggdrasil Space Station isn't operated solely by the Atlantic Federation."
"Perhaps we could use a feint to draw out their forces at Yggdrasil."
Yggdrasil was too massive—according to the original storyline, it was a mutually destructive battle.
In fact, without the Neutron Jammers, ZAFT might have been wiped out in that single engagement alone.
A frontal assault was certainly possible, but since Yggdrasil was jointly built by the three Council Nations, there might be a way to circumvent it.
"That's my thinking as well."
Siegel nodded with satisfaction upon hearing this.
Seeing that Fred hadn't been blinded by temporary victory, he felt quite pleased.
"The military has already been assembled. Now we'll see how Yggdrasil responds."
"During this time, if you have no other operations, the CGUE development still needs your input."
"Understood."
The two ended the communication shortly after.
And Fred, as usual, returned to reviewing his research materials.
Just as in previous instances, Fred's contributions had been kept hidden.
Of course, that was exactly what Fred wanted.
The Atlantic Federation would definitely make moves next.
Especially around Junius City.
He needed to prepare as soon as possible.
He also needed to have the team begin simulating the infiltration operation on Heliopolis.
The Strike Suit...
Thinking of those imposing MS units, Fred felt a surge of excitement.
All of his skills had already reached near-perfection. In another year, aside from needing to improve his MS piloting, all of his abilities should reach world-class levels.
By then, his confidence in eliminating the Blue Cosmos threat would be even greater.
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An individual's power has its limits—relying solely on oneself to fight would be foolish.
So, the opportunity lies in the future.
As for now, he needed to grow stronger in order to seize those opportunities.
With that thought, Fred quickly cast aside all the stray thoughts in his mind and refocused his attention on the documents before him.
Time quietly passed in this manner for a week. ZAFT continued sweeping through Blue Cosmos' strongholds across space, while the Atlantic Federation, growing increasingly anxious, hurriedly dispatched large forces to their military base on the Moon.
In small-scale skirmishes, they were also putting up a decent fight against ZAFT.
However, this kind of fighting was clearly unfavorable for the Atlantic Federation in terms of public opinion.
No matter how much information the Atlantic Federation fabricated to prove that ZAFT's targets were not Blue Cosmos but merely ordinary cargo ships and civilian space stations, few believed them given their track record.
Or rather, those who were already staunch Atlantic supporters would believe anything they were told, but for those standing in the middle, the Atlantic Federation's credibility was being consumed at a rapid pace.
For PLANT, this was absolutely advantageous.
Having experienced a series of recent victories and extensive propaganda, PLANT had become more united as a whole. Combined with the resolution of the food crisis, the entire PLANT no longer had any worries behind them.
For them, this was still a war to defend their homeland—a just war—so the more they fought, the higher their morale soared.
It was against this backdrop that Fred once again led his two Laurasia-class ships from April City to the outskirts of Jachin Due, which was gradually being transformed from a resource satellite into a military fortress, to begin training exercises.
At this moment, the group was adjusting their Mobile Suits in space while casually chatting.
"Speaking of which, I heard that the food development wasn't led solely by Director Lenore."
Mickey muttered in a low voice, as if sharing a secret.
"We're all on the communication channel. Why are you whispering so quietly?"
Someone retorted in exasperation.
"But is the information reliable?"
"It's reliable! I heard that there was a truly brilliant researcher, and thanks to him, our research progress was accelerated by a lot!"
Mickey patted his chest in assurance.
.