In the flag ship of the zeon attack force on side 3 projections still showed the receding Federation lines, but the colors were starting to shift from the red of Zeon aggression to the emerging green flashes of the new, unauthorized threat.
"Commander, multiple high-speed contacts have just launched from the retreating Federation carrier," Lieutenant May reported, her tone sharp. "They are... Mobile Suit Girls."
I straightened, the frown deepening on my face. "They ignored their commander's orders? Insignia and identification?"
"Confirming now, sir," May worked the controls quickly. A small, separate icon on the tactical map flared bright green a small, but highly concentrated group. "It's the 12th Tactical Assault Squad, Commander. Led by MS Girl 'Aether.' They were denied permission to deploy earlier."
My cold eyes narrowed. The Federation's internal discord was a gift, yet their desperation was a liability.
"The enemy commander is incompetent, but these pilots are fanatics," I observed.
"They've gone rogue to save their comrades. They'll be driven by pure fury."
I leaned over the console, my voice projecting clearly. "Send the order to the spearhead Hold the line, but do not advance further. Let the renegades come to us. I want our conventional forces to absorb their initial, furious assault. Do not let the MS Girls pass. They are to be contained."
"Understood, Commander. Limiting the advance. Containment orders sent to the 1st and 3rd Dom Battalions," May confirmed.
In the debris field, the rogue Federation MS Girls were a streak of defiance. Aether, leading the charge in her heavily customized GM II, ignited her thrusters with suicidal resolve.
"Zeon, you pay for every life you've taken today!" Aether screamed, her voice a roar of grief and anger that barely held together over the comms.
The Zeon Doms massive, heavily armored behemoths formed a wall. Their pilots, seasoned veterans of countless brutal engagements, didn't flinch.
"Incoming hostiles!" a Dom pilot bellowed. "Focus fire! Don't let them break the formation!"
Aether's GM II dodged a volley of scattering machine gun fire, its armor plating screaming as a beam ricocheted off her shield. Her teammates, a pair of highly mobile GMs, weaved around the Doms, their beam spray guns painting deadly arcs.
FZZZ-ZZZT!
A beam sliced through a Dom's skirt armor, disabling a stabilizer. The Dom staggered, its massive body tumbling slightly.
"Got one! Push through!" Aether commanded, her beam saber igniting.
Before they could exploit the gap, three Gelgoogs the elite of the Zeon conventional force swept in.
They moved with a chilling synchronization that betrayed their experience.
"You're not breaking our line, girl," a Gelgoog pilot's calm voice cut across the frantic Zeon comms. "You should have stayed and watched your comrades die."
Aether's fury peaked. "Die, you monster!"
She clashed with the lead Gelgoog, her beam saber meeting its beam naginata in a shower of brilliant, white sparks. The force of the impact shook both mobile suits.
Inside the Federation-held sector of Side 3, the battle was a gruesome, close-quarters brawl. The Zeon MS Girls, led by the maniacal Kampfer, were tearing through the Federation defenses.
"Hahaha! Look at them run! Are these the best the Federation has!?" The Kampfer commander laughed, her twin heavy bazookas emptying their magazines into a cluster of supply containers and the two GM Command MS Girls hiding behind them.
BOOM! BOOM!
Shrapnel and secondary explosions engulfed the area.
"Commander! The heavy ordnance is destabilizing the colony wall!" a nearby Zaku FZ ms girl shouted nervously.
"Who cares!? We destroy them now, and let them worry about the repairs later! Keep the pressure up!" The Kampfer ms girl discarded the spent bazookas and pulled out a chain mine.
"Team three, link up! We're breaching the main defensive bunker!"
Suddenly, a massive, powerful beam lanced out from the smoke and vaporized the Zaku FZ MS Girl who had just warned the Kampfer.
"What!?" the Kampfer spun around, eyes glowing crimson.
Emerging from the smoke was a new Federation threat a prototype Gundam MS Girl tall, sleek, and radiating raw, terrifying power.
"Cease your attack, Zeon," the Gundam pilot's voice was calm, utterly devoid of fear or anger, which was perhaps the most unsettling thing of all. "You are violating the Treaty of the Colony Walls. Surrender now."
The Kampfer's ecstatic madness was replaced by an even more dangerous, focused intensity. "A Gundam! You're the main prize! I'll take you back to Commander, dead or alive!"
The Kampfer lunged, the chain mine whipping out like a serpent's tongue, but the Gundam was faster.
CRACK!
The Gundam MS Girl's left hand detached, firing it's beam rifle hitting the chain mine which exploded making the Kampfer off-balance. Simultaneously, the Gundam raised its beam rifle again, firing a shot which the kampfer dodged.
"Everyone! Focus on the other defenders! I'll take the Gundam!" the Kampfer screamed, igniting her thrusters to break the hold.
The tide of the internal battle had just turned, but the cost would be immense.
Back on the Zeon flagship, the tactical map was a whirlwind of movement. The containment of Aether's rogue squad was holding, but the internal conflict on Side 3 was now a major factor.
"Commander, our sensors are picking up a high-energy signature inside Side 3... it's a Gundam-class Mobile Suit Girl," Lieutenant May reported, her eyes wide. "The infiltration team is engaging it."
The main Federation fleet was still retreating, maintaining distance, likely hoping the rogue squad and the internal defenders could buy them time.
"So, they did hold back their trump card," I muttered, my fingers drumming on the cold steel of the console. "They waited until we were committed."
I turned to May. "Recall all Gelgoogs and Doms from the immediate line. Pull them back to flank the main Federation force. Leave the Zaku F2s and Rick Doms to deal with the rogue MS Girls."
May blinked, momentarily surprised by the counter-intuitive order. "Sir? Retreating now will allow the rogue squad to regroup and perhaps reinforce the Federation lines."
"They won't," I stated with absolute certainty. "They are too angry to regroup. They are on a suicide charge. The F2s will bleed them out."
I straightened, looking at the distant Federation main fleet now trying to reorganize.
"The enemy commander's strategy was flawed. They exposed their fleet to a beating to save their 'strategic reserve,' but they let their people die and angered their most powerful units. Now, that reserve is locked in an internal brawl, and their main fleet is scattered and weak."
I pointed a decisive finger at the retreating enemy formation.
"Give the order. All Murai-class ships, begin flanking maneuvers. We are bypassing the rogue squad. Focus fire on the Federation main fleet's rear. We will not wait for them to deploy their MS Girls."
"Warping the fleet to flank the enemy... Understood, Commander."
The cold blue glow of the battle map pulsed as the icons of the Zeon main fleet, a mass of steel and fire, vanished from their current position, leaping toward the distant, exposed spine of the Federation's retreating force. The war for Side 3 was about to enter its final, bloodiest phase.