The Dawn Gundam slowly retreated to its initial position before the battle. The defensive bits dispersed, its unfolded wings folded back, and the Nebula Blitz Gundam had completely vanished from sight. All traces of Brain Quantum Waves had disappeared.
"Did they leave? What kind of ship was that? How could it fire positron cannons so rapidly in succession?"
Three positron cannon shots had been fired, with an unusually short interval between each. Positron cannons, as specialized artillery, packed tremendous firepower, but their immense power came with drawbacks—slow charging and long cooldown times. For a fortress, such rapid firing efficiency wouldn't be an issue, given its larger size and greater capacity to accommodate these limitations.
More importantly, neither optical cameras nor radar detection systems had managed to locate the enemy ship's position.
"Could it be the [Mirage Colloid System]?"
Yang Hui quickly dismissed the thought. If the Mirage Colloid System's flaws had truly been resolved, why hadn't the Nebula Blitz Gundam been equipped with this new, perfected version? A flawless phantom Mobile Suit would be an unstoppable ghost warrior—unless someone like Yang Hui, who could bypass the machine and directly target the pilot, intervened.
Next, he ruled out the possibility of ultra-long-range bombardment. The radar detection system's range far exceeded that of his Brain Quantum Waves. If his Brain Quantum Waves had detected the enemy, the ship had to be within the radar's detection range.
After eliminating other possibilities, Yang Hui reached a conclusion: "Some kind of specialized stealth interference technology? Absorbing radar waves? Electromagnetic signals? Or... never mind. For now, prioritizing the [Julius 7] operation comes first."
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Yang Hui contacted Natarle Badgiruel and Mina. First, to arrange for the retrieval of the six surviving prisoners, and second, to inquire about the battle situation in other defensive sectors.
"Thanks to your warning, all sectors were prepared in advance. Losses were minimal. The sectors where Exia, Cherudim, Virtue, Freedom, and Justice were deployed annihilated the enemy forces. Other sectors successfully repelled their attackers, though ZAFT's losses appear heavier."
Yang Hui understood. The defensive perimeter around [Julius 7] wasn't small, but it wasn't vast either—one could see across the wreckage of [Julius 7] with the naked eye. Judging by the scale and frequency of the explosions, ZAFT's fleet had suffered far more damage than Orb's.
"Ask Durandal if he needs reinforcements."
"Already did. He declined, but his expression was... amusing." Mina smirked.
"The enemy was from Librarian Works. I captured six of them."
"Librarian Works..."
At the mention of the name, Mina's smirk vanished, replaced by the same grim expression as Natarle's.
After the Second Battle of Jachin Due, Yang Hui had disclosed limited intelligence about Librarian Works to the core leadership. What they knew was terrifying enough—the organization possessed the Carbon Human technology and a vast repository of advanced weaponry. Enhancements and derivatives of the X Series Mobile Suits weren't something just anyone could achieve.
As for the rest—their scale, personnel, and strongholds remained unknown. Taking action against them would be no easy task.
"I remember that the brains of Carbon Humans have restrictions and prohibitions; capturing them is not very meaningful," Natarle Badgiruel said. There were quite a few Carbon Humans caught in Orb's prison, and no matter how severe the torture, even to the point of death, they had not revealed any information.
"Perhaps this time there will be a surprise? My situation is a bit special."
"Hmm? What are you hiding this time?"
Mina and Natarle Badgiruel were taken aback by his words, their expressions immediately becoming somewhat serious. Natarle Badgiruel knew that Yang Hui was hiding secrets that she and Murrue were unaware of, but as Yang Hui's woman, she and Murrue trusted him more and would not delve into his secrets. Like Lacus, they believed that when the time was right, Yang Hui would tell them.
But Mina was different; she trusted Yang Hui, but she cared more about Orb and was even prouder. As a companion and a top officer of Orb, she found the feeling of being kept in the dark quite unpleasant.
"I've told you everything you need to know," Yang Hui said to Mina.
"...I await your explanation."
It must be said that the bond between Yang Hui and Mina had not escalated to romantic feelings, but their tacit understanding was not inferior to that of Sumeragi, Wang Liu Mei, Murrue, Natarle Badgiruel, and Lacus. What seemed like distrustful words could be immediately understood by Mina, who grasped the hidden meaning.
"Alright."
After the communication ended, Yang Hui sat in the cockpit, closing his eyes to rest. The orange GN Particles from the Quasi-GN Drive still provided some assistance to the Innovators, but it was minimal and far inferior to the original green GN Particles, leaving Yang Hui feeling somewhat fatigued.
However, even while resting, he was still pondering why the Librarian Works would launch this attack. Behind them was LOGOS, and the people of LOGOS were not foolish. Did they dare to stir up trouble at such a time, not fearing that they might truly expose themselves?
Even if LOGOS held the powerful cards of the Atlantic Federation and Blue Cosmos, they wouldn't dare to go against the entire world, would they?
"Then it can only be... Gina... out of control?"
...
On the other side, in the ZAFT fleet, Durandal's expression was quite grim, not only because of the flashes of fire occasionally appearing outside the bridge window but also due to the comparison of damage between the ZAFT fleet and the Orb fleet.
"What on earth is going on? Why are there such huge losses!?" Forgetting his image, Durandal only wanted to vent his dissatisfaction and anger.
Both sides had repelled the enemy, and the number and quality of the attacking enemies were roughly similar, but the losses of the Orb fleet compared to those of ZAFT reached a ratio of 1 to 3!
It should be noted that the members of the newly formed First Fleet were all elites drawn from various units; how could they not compare to the top ace pilots? Were ordinary elite troops really inferior?
Originally, this newly formed First Fleet was reestablished by Durandal to compete with Yang Hui, aiming to let Yang Hui know that the elites of the ZAFT Forces were absolutely not inferior to those of Orb.
But reality was cruel, and it felt like a slap to his face, even shaking a certain plan that was being executed in secret.
"It... it was our carelessness," the Adjutant reported, lowering his head in shame.
"What do you mean by carelessness!? Explain clearly!"
"Yes... After receiving the Orb Military's communique, the relevant intelligence was disseminated to the lower ranks, but... some personnel failed to treat it with sufficient urgency. As a result, our forces were slow to deploy and fell victim to an enemy ambush..."
"Foolish!"
"Not just that, Chairman. Given the technical challenges and prohibitive costs of the Mirage Colloid System preventing widespread adoption, our military never conducted specialized training or tactical preparations against large-scale deployments of this system. That's why we were caught off guard."
"Meanwhile, the Orb Military immediately implemented the most effective defensive measures, detecting the enemy's position before we did..."
"So what? Is the entire General Staff incompetent!? Military training should account for every possible combat scenario—developing countermeasures and drilling them until they become second nature. What's the point of training otherwise? Where's the adaptability? Are our troops incapable of fighting in unfamiliar conditions? Should we send them into battle with textbooks in hand?"
"This... We... We deeply apologize, Chairman..."
"Apologies are worthless! Will remorse bring our fallen soldiers back to life!?" Durandal's mastery of human psychology was evident. Though already composed internally, he couldn't abruptly shift demeanor. His calculated fury now served to win hearts and minds.
Indeed, the moved expressions on the junior officers across the bridge confirmed his success.
"I'll order the General Staff to—"
"Enough. We'll address that later. Right now, fortifying our defenses takes priority. The enemy struck once—who's to say they won't return?"
"Understood..."
"One more thing. The reports indicate Joule Team performed exceptionally. Transfer command of the second defensive sector to them."
"Acknowledged..."
(End of Chapter)