Meanwhile, hidden outside Junius City, Barnes watched as the Laurasia-class ship on the other side disarmed their forces with just two rounds of attacks. The young man's eyes widened in disbelief.
He never expected the Coordinator's battleship to be this powerful.
Every metric surpassed their own Drake-class.
Not to mention those MS darting around like flies—though he called them flies for their agility, their firepower was another matter entirely.
Watching the scene where machine gun fire from the enemy MS was followed by waves of missile explosions, Barnes had no intention of underestimating them.
The assault rifles wielded by those MS were clearly loaded not with ordinary Vulcan Cannons but with high-explosive rounds specifically designed for anti-armor and anti-personnel combat.
However, both in size and destructive power, they far exceeded what a human could wield, making them even more lethal.
"Captain Barnes, should we make our move?"
The Adjutant beside him grew increasingly anxious, unable to resist taking a step forward to ask.
At this moment, they were concealed near Junius City.
Aside from a few core members of Blue Cosmos, no one knew of their presence.
From this vantage point, they could see things clearly. It was obvious that the fleet outside had no chance of overpowering ZAFT's military forces right at PLANT's doorstep.
If the enemy hadn't held back, their forces would have already collapsed like a landslide—surviving at all would be a miracle.
"No..."
Barnes shook his head calmly and continued.
"Our mission this time is only to observe and wait for an opportunity."
"We have no chance now."
ZAFT's new MS and new battleships were all superior to their current fleet.
In other words, they had severely underestimated ZAFT's strength.
Originally, their plan was to have the main forces outside hold the line while they struck directly at PLANT's core stronghold, taking the initiative.
But now, it seemed the main forces outside couldn't even hold the line. What core stronghold could they strike? They'd only be delivering themselves as casualties.
Since the opportunity was gone, all they could do was observe the data and wait for the next attack.
Moreover, although PLANT currently held the advantage, this was only under the condition of roughly equal fleet numbers.
If a full-scale invasion were to come, ZAFT's limited forces would still stand no chance.
"Understood."
Hearing this, the others calmed their restlessness, though the sight of their comrades being pushed back on the screen grew increasingly terrifying.
Glancing at his subordinates' emotions, Barnes offered no words of comfort.
After all, this sense of frustration was useful—accumulated over time, it could unleash tremendous power on the battlefield.
At the same time, Barnes also considered the research behind these battleships and MS.
Though he despised the enemy on ideological grounds, he couldn't deny their impressive technology.
What could be learned should be learned.
But such learning would take time.
Ideally, they could capture one of the key researchers here.
Of course, if necessary, assassinating the primary developers might also be required.
However, at least for now, these were not matters he needed to worry about.
What he currently needed to do was to make flexible judgments based on the situation on the battlefield before him and meticulously record various data—this was the task assigned to him by his superiors.
Meanwhile, on the other side where Barnes was continuously observing, the situation on the battlefield was also undergoing dramatic changes.
Since most of the armaments on the Drake-class Frigates had been destroyed, the frontline Mobile Suit Force carved eerie, azure trails through the pitch-black cosmos. While intermittently firing their machine guns to destroy incoming missiles, they deftly evaded the now-thinned missile defense network—sparse due to covering fire from Laurasia-class allies—and advanced toward the lead Agamemnon-class vessel.
These were ZAFT's true Aces. Even piloting ordinary GINNs, they moved with ease among these behemoths.
Fred, too, had now taken his position as the science officer, his eyes darting across the data transmitted from several Mobile Suits.
It had to be said, they were all remarkably reliable, far surpassing his own current ability to pilot a GINN. The white-painted Captain's unit, in particular, was exceptionally swift.
Truly worthy of the Tiger.
"Hmm?"
As Fred pondered this, the terminal in his hand vibrated faintly.
The vibration was subtle, yet it immediately sharpened the expression on Fred's face.
"Chairman Zala."
Fred took a few steps forward, bending slightly beside Patrick and speaking in a voice low enough for only the two of them to hear.
"Our high-precision cameras deployed outside Junius City have detected ship signatures. They are still some distance from our alarm sensors."
As he spoke, Fred handed his tablet to Patrick.
"...Hmm."
Hearing this, Patrick snapped out of his focus on the smooth progress of the battle, his expression turning serious as he nodded in acknowledgment.
His face remained tense, but inwardly, he couldn't help but marvel.
Fred had once again accurately predicted the enemy's intentions.
As for how they had managed to detect the enemy so quickly without alerting them, this was thanks to the numerous preparations Fred had made to guard against an Ambush.
Especially concerning Junius City, April City, and December City.
They had even established multiple layers of defensive measures in the surrounding areas.
The first layer consisted of alarm sensors visibly distributed around the perimeter.
However, these sensors were not entirely reliable. If the Atlantic Federation came prepared, they could likely avoid or even covertly infiltrate them using a Virus.
This was what Fred had pointed out, and Patrick found himself in full agreement.
The second layer of preparation involved high-precision cameras.
After all, this was not Earth; telescopes here were not affected by curvature. As long as the interference from various radiation rays could be mitigated and there was sufficient light source, they could capture images from very, very far away.
The drawback was that these cameras had a certain latency and could only aim at specific coordinates, requiring long exposure times to increase accuracy. They were practically useless on the frontlines of a battle.
Yet, based on the coordinates Fred had set, they had indeed managed to capture traces of an ambush.
"Do not alert them."
Patrick said, his gaze growing even colder.
Although Lenore had temporarily left, this tactic by the enemy had genuinely struck a nerve with Patrick.
Junius City was predominantly populated by civilians.
They did indeed turn that place into a food production base, but it was not converted into any kind of military facility.
For Blue Cosmos to attack there would be far too sinister and ruthless.
Of course, such things are not unheard of in war.
Destroying food supplies, cutting off water and electricity, and the like.
But once such actions are carried out, they become acts of injustice.
If both sides were waging war at such a low moral standard, then neither could criticize the other.
But at the very least, they now came with some sincerity for negotiation.
Of course, this only made Patrick even more furious.