Thanks to the efforts of two Hashmals, Kauai was captured by the New Misurugi Kingdom that very night.
Due to the short distances between the islands, with two Hashmals leading the way, within just two days after Kauai fell, Niihau, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and Kahoolawe had all been captured.
The Atlantic Federation never expected that in the Hawaiian Islands—a location clearly suited only for naval battles—they would end up fighting a land war.
The nickname "Hasmonean Devil," originally shouted in despair by deserters, was now fully adopted by the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Command.
After all, Admiral Dres had no idea what kind of monster this Mobile Armor was: it survived missile barrages, crawled out of the rubble unscathed, remained completely immune to beam attacks, and even collected metal to reproduce.
In truth, Admiral Dres still believed that the reason they couldn't breach the Mobile Armor's defenses was likely due to insufficient firepower.
This wasn't entirely wrong—any man-made material has its limits or weaknesses; otherwise, how could it have been manufactured in the first place?
However, during the last war, beam weapons had shone brightly, and with the emergence of Phase Shift Armor, all nations had shifted their focus to researching beam weapons and countermeasures.
In the naval battles of the Second War, solid ammunition was mostly used for cover or anti-aircraft purposes. No one would sacrifice a flight Mobile Suit's precious payload capacity to carry large-yield aerial bombs.
So, when Admiral Dres scoured the base, the most powerful solid ammunition he could find was large anti-ship missiles.
To be honest, these could damage the Hashmal, but the Hashmal was simply too agile. The accuracy of large anti-ship missiles was worryingly low, and the Hashmal recognized such weapons—prioritizing attacks on any Mobile Suit carrying them. Even if it couldn't dodge in time, a Pluman would willingly jump in to block the missile.
Moreover, the New Misurugi Kingdom's air force was far from wiped out. In aerial combat, without support from ground and coastal firepower, the Atlantic Federation forces—already severely depleted—stood no chance against the combination of Air Combat Phantom Jegans and Rezels.
It's worth noting that over the past two weeks of fighting, the New Misurugi Kingdom's main losses were the nearly obsolete Union Flag Automatic Soldiers. Other Mobile Suits suffered minimal damage.
Noin felt no regret over the loss of the Union Flag Automatic Soldiers.
Erika Simmons had persuaded Une to license all the technology for Orb's next-generation Mobile Suit, the Murasame, at a very low price. However, the New Misurugi Kingdom needed to mass-produce the Murasame as their next-generation aerial combat automatic soldier.
In effect, the New Misurugi Kingdom was helping Dawn Company advertise, as a weapon's marketability depends on its battlefield performance.
The Murasame's performance was indeed excellent, its production cost low, and the technology complete—saving significant research and development expenses. Thus, Une agreed.
Now, the first batch of new automatic soldiers had arrived. With this, the Jet Windam's only easy target—the Union Flag Automatic Soldier—was nearly gone. The Murasame's performance was no weaker than the Jet Windam's, and it offered even greater mobility in aerial combat.
Furthermore, the New Misurugi Kingdom had five ace pilots leading the charge: Salya, Hilda, Neil, Mu, and Shinn.
Unable to match in the skies, defeated on the ground, and with naval support impossible due to the loss of land positions, the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Command had no choice but to transform Hawaii into an iron fortress, concentrating all forces for an island defense campaign against the New Misurugi Kingdom.
In truth, if General Dres had allowed his Mobile Suits to test weapons like the Vibration Knife, he would have been pleasantly surprised to discover that Hashmal's armor wasn't so invincible after all.
Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" on the battlefield. The continued failure to find an effective means of attacking Hashmal led to Hawaii - home to the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Command - being surrounded on three sides just two days after the fall of Kauai.
Under Noin's arrangement, the New Misurugi Kingdom forces deliberately left the eastern route from Hawaii to the Atlantic Federation mainland unblocked. Instead of launching a direct assault on Hawaii, they deployed Hashmal and the Archangel, supported by subsequent Constellation-class Battleships, to bombard northern Hawaii from offshore while forcing all surface vessels in the northern area to retreat to the other three directions.
This served two purposes: First, it gave the besieged Atlantic Federation troops on Hawaii hope of escape, preventing them from resorting to desperate self-destruction plans when faced with no way out and certain defeat, which would only increase casualties.
Second, Noin could now besiege the enemy to strike at their reinforcements, as the Atlantic Federation's main Pacific forces were all trapped on Hawaii.
The Atlantic Federation couldn't transfer its Atlantic Fleet either - South America was ZAFT territory. Although the Panama Base remained under Atlantic Federation control, would ZAFT dare gamble on whether the Atlantic Fleet's main force was heading to support Hawaii or attack them? ZAFT wouldn't take that risk.
With the Atlantic Fleet unable to cross, reinforcements from the homeland became piecemeal tactics. The warships at Hawaii couldn't provide escort now, making all Atlantic Federation support and supply ships targets for the New Misurugi Kingdom's underwater forces.
Of course, Noin's primary objective remained forcing the Atlantic Federation troops on Hawaii to risk a retreat.
Once they abandoned Hawaii's solid fortifications and dense artillery emplacements, if even one-tenth of the Pacific Fleet managed to return, Noin would admit the Atlantic Federation's escape skills surpassed her own.
The Hawaii Naval Battle had essentially reached its conclusion at this point. Even if the East Asian Republic's East Sea Fleet came to the rescue immediately, Noin could capture Hawaii before they arrived.
So now, shifting our view to the Moon - during the mid-to-late stages of the Hawaii Naval Battle, a surprise attack occurred here as well.
Actually, when the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet suffered heavy losses in the Hawaii Naval Battle, the Federation had considered activating the nearly-completed Requiem to sweep away the New Misurugi Kingdom forces, and if possible, destroy that annoying Balki Fortress too.
However, just as this idea emerged among Atlantic Federation leadership and they were debating whether exposing Requiem was appropriate, this super-weapon was temporarily taken offline.
We need to rewind to when the Hawaii Naval Battle first began - Reid was already heading to the Moon with the Xia sisters and Flay, remaining cloaked throughout their journey.
Due to the covert nature of the operation, even with the Obscurant Umbrella System masking heat and exhaust flames, the Gran Chaos could not operate its thrusters at maximum capacity. Thus, Reid and the others spent three days just traveling to the Moon.
Upon reaching the Moon, Reid did not immediately launch an assault on Daedalus Base. Instead, he had the Gran Chaos hide at the lunar far-side base for two days to rest.
There was no other choice—unlike Earth, the Moon was the territory of the Earth Alliance.
On the lunar surface facing Earth, several fleets belonging to the Atlantic Federation and the Eurasian Federation were stationed at the lunar bases.
Moreover, Daedalus Base housed a large defense force funded and staffed by LOGOS.
The forces at the New Misurugi Kingdom's lunar far-side base were considered a nuisance by the Earth Alliance on the Moon, but not a significant threat.
However, Reid's overt deployment of the Cyclops System within the base made the Atlantic Federation hesitant to act.
To capture this New Misurugi Kingdom base while minimizing casualties, at least two fleets would be necessary. But if those two fleets were to be entirely lost to the Cyclops System, it would be a devastating loss. After all, the Earth Alliance only knew that the Cyclops System was buried beneath the base; its effective range remained unknown.
Thus, even after the New Misurugi Kingdom declared war on the Earth Alliance, the lunar far-side base was not attacked. The Earth Alliance merely blockaded the area around the base to prevent further supplies from reaching the New Misurugi Kingdom, seemingly hoping to starve the base's occupants of food and water and force them to break out.
Of course, Reid was not foolish. Before the war began, he had stockpiled the base with ample supplies. After the war started, not a single transport ship arrived, ensuring no resources fell into the hands of the nearby Daedalus Base.
Seeing that no ships had come to the New Misurugi Kingdom for half a month, the Earth Alliance naturally lowered its guard, allowing the Gran Chaos to enter the base with ease.
However, entering the base did not mean they were ready to fight. If they rushed into battle, Reid could certainly rely on the performance of the Joyeuse Gundam to break through and destroy Requiem, but the forces accompanying him would likely suffer heavy casualties.
Even if the Earth Alliance Forces on the lunar surface could not respond quickly to a surprise attack, they would have no problem cutting off the retreat of Reid's troops.
The lunar far-side base would inevitably fall, and it housed VEDA Unit 1. Unless absolutely forced, Reid had no intention of destroying it with the Cyclops System.
After all, even with the Joyeuse Gundam activating Trans-Am, Reid could not single-handedly destroy an entire fleet.
In the CE Universe, they had witnessed the Ice Phoenix Gundam's "One-Sword Star Cut" technique. They would not line up and charge recklessly like the Earth Federation in the AD Universe, offering themselves as easy targets.
The Joyeuse Gundam's Trans-Am could only guarantee Reid the ability to break through any encirclement by Earth Federation forces, no matter how large.
Therefore, unwilling to sacrifice his lunar forces, Reid chose to wait a few more days.
Before departing, he had dispatched an Antietam-class freighter equipped with the Obscurant Umbrella System to the Star Palace Colony Satellite in the L3 Colony Cluster, instructing them to send the Silver Lightning and bring some reinforcements.
Reid had brought Flay along specifically to pilot the Silver Lightning. Over the past two years, this young lady had matured not only in appearance and figure but in skill as well.
Having completed all courses at the military academy, she had long shed the naivety of a young lady and even developed a heroic demeanor.
However, traces of her young lady temperament remained, sometimes making her act quite willfully.
For instance, Reid had originally planned for Flay to accompany the Antietam-class freighter to the L3 Colony Cluster, allowing her to familiarize herself with the Mobile Suit on the way back to the moon.
But this young lady refused. Reid knew that after two years, Flay's subtle affections for him hadn't diminished. After all, if she wanted to get closer to Ange, joining Reid's harem seemed to be her only option. Besides being somewhat promiscuous, Reid didn't have any other major flaws.
Moreover, Flay had always been within Ange's acceptable range - someone Reid could pursue if he wished.
However, since Murrue became pregnant, Reid had consciously restrained his flirtatious behavior to avoid causing her unnecessary stress or depression during pregnancy.
Yet, shortly after the war began, Reid had already pursued Lacus who came to take care of him.
To Reid, this felt natural - if the situation in South America had been more appropriate, he would have pursued Lacus much earlier.
Of course, part of his reasoning was his certainty that the second war would eventually involve PLANT, so establishing a clear relationship beforehand would prevent Lacus from overthinking later.
When this news reached Flay, it deeply provoked her.
In Flay's eyes, how could Lacus - someone who came after her in every aspect - enter the "palace" before her? They had both lost their fathers, and while Lacus might sing better, what about appearance and figure? Where did she fall short?
After much contemplation, Flay reached a conclusion: she probably hadn't been seductive enough toward Reid, which explained why she hadn't won him over yet.
So when Reid asked Flay to leave first this time, the young lady directly refused with coquettish protests.
Under Flay's aggressive advances, Reid felt tempted and agreed to let her accompany him to the moon first. She could switch Mobile Suits there anyway, as simulator training could be conducted aboard the Gran Chaos.
Of course, Reid wouldn't engage in improper relationships before battle - he simply enjoyed the thrill of being seduced.
After two years of growth, Flay knew her boundaries well. While she might seduce, she never neglected her training.
After observing Flay's training several times, Reid could only conclude that her physical fitness and mental state were incomparable to two years ago.
Perfect Enhanced Person combined with perfect Super-Soldier skill enhancements meant that while Flay lacked various Newtype abilities, her basic attributes were exceptionally high.
Having long served as a test pilot for the Psycommu System, Flay had become proficient in using brainwaves. In terms of controlling floating weapons alone, she probably surpassed even Ange in proficiency.
Thus, the current Flay could definitely handle the fully automated Silver Lightning.
Reid waited at the lunar base for two days specifically for the Silver Lightning's arrival.
After all, the L3 Colony Cluster and the moon were separated by the entire Earth. Even if the Antietam-class freighter traveled at full speed to L3, and L3's support forces used ZAFT routes to rush to the moon at maximum speed, they still couldn't arrive before Reid.
To be precise, the Silver Lightning's transport unit reached the moon's vicinity only two days later than Reid - much earlier than he had anticipated.
Since the Moon was under the control of the Earth Alliance, this unit couldn't approach closely and had to remain stationed in a distant asteroid belt. Reid even had to personally escort Flay there.
However, the Joyeuse Gundam lacked a movable stealth system, so Reid had to switch to the Blade Angel to deliver Flay.
Although Flay had performed excellently piloting the Silver Lightning in simulator tests, actual combat still required her to make adjustments to the Mobile Suit.
Thus, Reid gave Flay one day to make the necessary adjustments, while he himself slipped back to the lunar rear base after delivering her, awaiting the next day's battle.
Reid's tactic for raiding the Daedalus Base was straightforward.
When the attack time arrived, the Silver Lightning would lead reinforcements from the L3 Colony Satellite to directly assault Relay Station One—disguised as colonial debris—positioned directly above the Requiem.
Since the Requiem hadn't been exposed yet, these relay stations, masquerading as remnants of war-torn colony satellites, had no garrison forces. After all, it would be highly suspicious for space junk to be guarded.
Unfortunately for them, Reid knew the plot and had already pinpointed all the Requiem relay stations.
This first relay station had to be destroyed initially. Even if Reid ultimately failed to destroy the Requiem at Daedalus Base, the weapon would be temporarily unable to attack any forces of the New Misurugi Kingdom.
By then, Reid would expose the existence of the Requiem to ZAFT and order his troops to destroy all marked relay stations.
Once the Silver Lightning destroyed Relay Station One, it would inevitably draw a large number of garrison forces from Daedalus Base to attack it.
This would create Reid's opportunity for a surprise assault. The moment Daedalus Base forces launched, Reid would lead his unit straight into the base.
At that point, Daedalus Base would either have to split its forces to confront both the Silver Lightning and Reid's assault unit, or risk being ambushed by the Silver Lightning. Either outcome was acceptable to Reid.
With the Silver Lightning as their ultimate weapon, Reid was confident they could destroy the Requiem, cripple one or two Atlantic Federation fleets on the Moon, and then make a clean escape.
After appearing, Reid definitely couldn't return to the lunar rear base. Knowing Reid was on the Moon, the Atlantic Federation would spare no effort—even sacrificing all their fleets—to ensure he remained on the Moon permanently.
However, if Reid accomplished his objectives and escaped, the New Misurugi Kingdom's lunar rear base would return to its original state.
Sending small forces would be insufficient to attack it, while larger forces would suffer devastating losses if bombed. Leaving it alone remained their best option.
(End of Chapter)