While comforting Lacus in a gentle tone, the communication chime rang in the room.
Hearing this, Felix turned to look at Lacus.
Understanding his intention, Lacus lifted her head from Felix's shoulder, her expression shifting as she revealed a tender smile to him.
"I'll be right back."
Felix released Lacus, speaking with a warm smile before rising and heading toward the desk.
At the desk, Felix checked the communication status and pressed the answer button.
The screen lit up, revealing Aric's face.
"Is something the matter?"
Looking at Aric, Felix asked calmly.
As soon as he finished speaking, Aric's voice came through the speaker.
"Captain, the Earth Alliance Forces are making a move!"
Hearing the response, Felix nodded with a serious expression.
"I understand."
After ending the communication, Felix turned to Lacus, a hint of apology in his eyes.
"Lacus, I have some matters to attend to and won't be able to stay with you for now."
Lacus nodded with a gentle smile, understandingly saying, "Go ahead with your work."
Smiling back at Lacus, Felix stood and walked out of the room.
On the Bridge of the Athena
Seated in his chair, Felix asked Aric, "What's going on?"
Aric turned to Felix, saluting as he replied, "Captain, the previously calm Earth Alliance Forces fleet is suddenly advancing toward us. It looks like they intend to engage us in battle."
Leaning back in his chair, Felix pondered carefully, murmuring aloud, "Engage us in battle?"
Meanwhile
On the Flagship of the Earth Alliance Forces' Frontline Fleet
"Thurman, are you clear on your mission this time?"
"Commander, you can rest assured."
Thurman nodded, responding to Richard with a serious expression.
Hearing Thurman's reply, Richard's expression softened slightly as he added, "Thurman, your mission is to pin down this ZAFT unit here, preventing them from returning to the PLANT homeland defense line. So make sure this mission is executed flawlessly."
Taking in the instruction, Thurman nodded to Richard. "You have my word, Commander."
After giving his assurance, Thurman's expression turned grave as he continued, "Commander, holding this ZAFT Forces unit here is feasible, but the duration we can keep them pinned may not be very long."
Sensing the concern in Thurman's words, Richard spoke firmly and decisively, "Don't worry about that. Just carry out your orders."
Hearing this, Thurman said no more.
Seeing this, Richard asked no further questions.
The communication between the two ended.
At Ptolemy Military Base
After concluding his communication with Thurman, Richard contacted the General Headquarters.
After two beeps, the call connected.
Seeing Williams on the screen, Richard saluted. "Commander, greetings!"
Williams nodded lightly and asked, "Richard, do you have something to report?"
In response to the inquiry, Richard began to explain.
"Commander, the ZAFT Forces on the moon intend to retreat. I have already ordered our troops to engage and prevent them from withdrawing to the PLANT homeland defense line."
Upon hearing this, Williams remained silent for a long moment before speaking.
"You made an excellent decision with that order."
Ignoring the praise, Richard looked at Williams with a serious expression and said,
"Commander, whatever the General Headquarters plans to do next, it must act quickly. If we take too long, they might escape."
Williams looked at Richard and gave a slight nod.
"We will discuss the next steps and have a decision for you within two to three hours."
Richard calmly nodded upon hearing this.
Just before the communication was about to end, Richard made a request to Williams.
"Commander, could you transfer the Council member away from our Ptolemy Military Base?"
Hearing this request, Williams replied with a slight headache,
"I will relay this matter to the higher-ups."
With that, without waiting for Richard to say anything more, Williams ended the communication.
After hanging up, Williams summoned the other members of the General Staff.
In the conference room
Williams looked at the assembled staff officers and relayed the content of Richard's report to everyone.
"What are your thoughts on the upcoming operation?"
"Commander, I believe we should take this opportunity to launch an operation against the PLANT homeland."
One staff officer looked at Williams and voiced his idea.
As soon as this idea was proposed, another staff officer immediately rejected it.
"No, our current forces in space are insufficient to launch another attack on the PLANT homeland defense line. Therefore, I think we should continue reinforcing the Ptolemy Military Base and use our overwhelming numerical advantage to eliminate this ZAFT unit."
"I think we should let them leave for now, continue building up our strength, and then deliver a decisive blow to PLANT with our superior forces when the time is right!"
A voice expressing a different opinion then spoke up.
Williams listened to the three differing opinions and turned his gaze to the others.
"Does anyone else have any ideas?"
"I support the idea of continuously reinforcing the moon and eliminating this ZAFT unit."
"I support letting them go and building up our strength!"
"I support taking this opportunity to attack the PLANT homeland defense line!"
...
One voice after another echoed in the conference room.
The staff officers who had remained silent earlier now voiced their support for various ideas, and soon, arguments broke out among them.
Listening to the voices of support and debate, Williams gently tapped the table. Though the sound was soft, it reached everyone's ears.
Upon hearing it, everyone fell silent.
All eyes turned to Williams.
Williams looked at the group, cleared his throat lightly, and said,
"Raise your hand if you support launching another attack on the PLANT homeland defense line now."
As soon as he finished speaking, hands went up one after another.
After carefully counting, Williams spoke again.
"Raise your hand if you support continuously reinforcing the Ptolemy Military Base and eliminating this ZAFT Forces unit!"
With that, more hands were raised in the conference room.
Observing the show of hands this time, Williams asked once more,
"Raise your hand if you support letting them leave and building up our strength!"
After speaking, Williams glanced around, confirming all those who had raised their hands before nodding to the group.
Those who had raised their hands lowered their arms, calmly watching Williams make his decision alongside the others.
Feeling the weight of their gazes, Williams spoke calmly.
"Through the just-concluded vote, the idea of reinforcing the Ptolemy Military Base and then eliminating this ZAFT Force received the most support.
Therefore, we will prioritize preparations based on this idea."
Having confirmed this, Williams then shifted his tone.
"However, the other two ideas will not be abandoned outright. Preparations for them will also be made accordingly."