"ZAFT? Aren't they still assembling their forces?"
Lu Tianming was momentarily puzzled upon hearing this... though he could somewhat guess the situation.
If they were to wait obediently and methodically for the full army to assemble before attacking, it would likely lead to some strange conflict with the Alliance.
Launching a preemptive strike to catch them off guard was understandable.
"Not sure... According to the intelligence shared by ORB, ZAFT's fleet has split into two groups, probably leaving some forces to ambush the Alliance."
Miriallia speculated uncertainly. Just as she was about to continue, her tone suddenly changed.
"Wait... There seems to be another group! A ZAFT submersible carrier has appeared near an uninhabited island close to ORB, approaching ORB territory and beginning to deploy MS!"
"Signal analysis confirms the deployed MS are... the four G Series mobile suits!"
Hearing this, Lu Tianming's heart sank... A two-pronged attack would indeed be difficult for ORB to handle.
If they were only dealing with mass-produced models it might be manageable, but ORB's current defenses relying on traditional firepower and a handful of experimental MS could at best handle the wave of mass-produced units.
The four G Series mobile suits... were clearly forcing him to provide single-unit support and engage them in decisive battle.
"Hey, Tianming, do you have any equipment I can use over there?"
Just as Miriallia finished speaking, Ro's communication suddenly came through. Lu Tianming looked at the monitor - Ro had also activated the Red Astray and emerged from the storage rack, looking eager to join the battle.
After all, he owed ORB many favors, and his mothership was docked at ORB... Regardless, he needed to help now.
Lu Tianming lowered his head in thought, briefly replying "Follow me later" before switching back to Miriallia:
"Tell Captain Murrue that I'll handle the G Series units. The Archangel should focus entirely on countering the mass-produced models' assault."
"Also patch me through to the maintenance room. Have them prepare all equipment except the wire-guided cannons. Integrate the sword and cannon onto the Aile Pack - I'll dock with it using the Freedom I'm currently piloting."Install adapters for the Astray on the Striker Pack and bundle it with the Manta Ray pedal." The Junk Guild's Red Astray Gundam will retrieve them later."
"O... okay!"
Miriallia hastily responded to Lu Tianming's string of commands.
After closing all communications, Lu Tianming took a deep breath and turned to look at Xia Chuan, whom he had placed nearby - he had modified the Freedom's cockpit to include a special Haro connection seat, where Xia Chuan was now mounted.
"How's the data reading? Getting used to the new body...?"
Compared to his rapid-fire tone when arranging tactics earlier, Lu Tianming's voice softened considerably when asking about Xia Chuan.
After all, he was somewhat concerned... whether rashly transferring Xia Chuan from his "original body" would have any effects on him.
"The operation went smoothly, no different from the Strike Suit transfer!"
Xia Chuan confidently smiled. Now that he was reconnected to a new body... the adaptation level hadn't changed at all.
In fact, since Freedom was a nuclear powered machine, he even felt an illusion of being filled with power—though Freedom wasn't activated yet.
Hearing that the most important person Xia Chuan was fine, Lu Tianming finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good... This time, let them witness the oppressive force of Freedom as a nuclear powered machine!"
——————————————
Aboard the Earth Alliance's Spengler-class Battleship Powell, a blond man named Muruta Azrael sat leisurely on the bridge, watching the battle erupting in the waters near ORB.
"Sir, ZAFT has already launched an attack on ORB. Should we mobilize immediately—"
An adjutant beside him, seeing the unfavorable situation on the screen, frowned slightly and leaned closer to Azrael to whisper his suggestion.
Hearing his adjutant's words, Azrael first let out a long sigh, as if exasperated by the adjutant's foolishness, then clicked his tongue and shook his finger:
"No rush. ZAFT hasn't come completely unprepared... They've still deployed some forces to monitor us."
"Acting rashly would only draw attention from their remaining troops. We might have to fight before even entering ORB's territorial waters."
Although they currently held numerical superiority, they lacked advantage in combat quality... If they acted recklessly, the likelihood of suffering damage might actually be greater.
"Then... are we just going to sit back and watch ZAFT attack?"
His adjutant asked puzzledly, rather like a straight man in a comedy act.
"Of course not. Look carefully—because ZAFT needs to split forces to watch us, they don't have many troops in the main battlefield either."
"They've sent their elite units to another front, plus ORB's own military strength isn't weak. It won't be easy for them to take ORB."
"In my opinion, when they realize we won't make a move, they'll likely deploy their reserved forces to break the deadlock."
Azrael spoke confidently, as if he had already seen through ZAFT's simple strategic layout, wearing a triumphant smile that suggested he held all the cards in the world.
"So you mean—"
"Wait for the right moment."
Before the straight-man adjutant could say more, Azrael quickly responded, seemingly worried his "foolish" adjutant wouldn't understand, and specifically continued to explain.
"When they lower their guard against us and become fully immersed in the conflict with ORB, that's when we'll strike—even if we can't capture ORB, we can certainly deal heavy damage to ZAFT."
"As for the other front..."
At this point, Azrael couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth slightly, as if already seeing the vision of their future victory, his smile spreading uncontrollably.
"I believe their struggle will likely end with one side achieving a pyrrhic victory. But regardless of who wins or loses then, they probably won't have the strength to continue another battle."
"And on our side... haven't we been nurturing three individuals? Wouldn't this be the perfect time to deploy them and wipe out those guys in one fell swoop?"
The three individuals he mentioned were the three enhanced human pilots known in the original work as the 'Earth Trio' - the pilots of the Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider Gundams.
That's right - their side was also equipped with Gundams.
"Let's give them a taste of... what they call 'the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind'!"