Crossing Orb: Newtype Commander

March 10, CE69, Atlantic Federation, a military base.

Warrant Officer Marlene Ramias sat at her desk in the officers' quarters, the encrypted communication terminal in front of her flashing a faint green light. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, hesitating for a full three minutes. Outside the window, beams of searchlights swept slowly across the night sky, and the roar of fighter jet engines echoed in the distance.

She knew what she was doing—it was tantamount to betrayal. Revealing one's own military's operational plans to the military leader of a neutral country was treason under the laws of any nation. But her mind kept replaying her conversation with Char in Alaska two years ago. "The purpose of weapons should be to prevent war, not to create it." Those words were like nails driven into her heart.

She started typing.

"Commander-in-Chief Asuka, I cannot guarantee the complete accuracy of the following information, but it is highly credible. The Atlantic Federation's 4th Fleet has received secret orders to launch a surprise attack on the Orb Orbital Elevator facility within 72 hours. Operation codename 'Thunderhammer.' Participating forces include: two aircraft carriers, six destroyers, and one Marine Division. Mobile suit units have not yet participated in the operation, but intelligence indicates that new anti-Mobile suit weapons will be deployed in combat."

Her fingers paused for a moment, then continued: "I can't stop all of this, nor can I openly oppose it. But I feel... you should know. Marlene Ramias."

She pressed the send button, then immediately closed the terminal, her hands trembling.

At the same time, at another base, Warrant Officer Natal Bakiruru was doing the same thing. Her wording was more concise and calmer—no superfluous sentimentality, only data and facts. But she added a line at the end of the email: "Advisor Askha, you once said that the core of the army is professionalism. But when I see civilian casualty estimates exceeding five figures in the operational plans formulated by higher command, I don't think this has anything to do with 'professionalism.' Natal."

The two messages were transmitted to the Obu Ministry of Defense in less than a second via VEDA's encrypted channel.

In the early hours of March 11, Xia received these two messages. He sat in the darkness of his office, the words on the screen reflecting a cold light in his pupils.

"VEDA, source confirmed."

"Confirmed. Warrant Officer Maru Ramias, Eighth Fleet Technical Development Headquarters, Atlantic Federation. Warrant Officer Natal Bakiruru, same fleet Tactical Planning Section. The two pieces of information corroborate each other, with a 90% credibility."

Xia remained silent for a long time. He felt a complex mix of emotions—gratification, because the two young officers had ultimately chosen their conscience; and heaviness, because of the price they had paid. If discovered, they would lose everything.

"Reply to them separately. Warrant Officer Maru: 'Message received. Orb will not forget your help. Be careful, there's no need to risk contact again.' Warrant Officer Natal: 'Your judgment is correct. Orb's defenses are ready. I look forward to the day when we can fight side by side.'"

"In addition, two emergency communication channels have been set up. If they need asylum in the future, Aub will accept them unconditionally."

"Instruction recorded."

He stood up and walked to the tactical map on the wall. The Atlantic Federation's 4th Fleet—one of the most powerful fleets in the Earth Alliance, with two aircraft carriers and six destroyers, totaling over 15,000 personnel. If they really made a move, it would be a tough battle.

But Char wasn't afraid. Seven years of preparation had been for this day.

On the morning of March 11, the Ministry of Defense of Aubo held an emergency operational meeting.

Char stood before the tactical map, with a holographic screen displaying the enemy and friendly forces' positions behind him. The Atlantic Federation Fleet's course was marked with a red arrow, pointing directly to the east coast of Orb Island—the location of the orbital elevator.

"The Atlantic Federation's 4th Fleet is expected to arrive at the edge of Orb's territorial waters within 48 hours," Char's voice was calm. "Their target is the orbital elevator. Not to destroy it, but to seize it. They want to occupy the Heavenly Pillar and then control it under the guise of 'international co-management'."

"In other words, they want to rob us," Mina said coldly.

"Yes."

Uzmi sat in the chairman's seat, his expression grave: "Can our defenses hold?"

Char walked to the map and pointed to the defensive nodes on the east coast of Orb.

"The Minovsky Particle Defense System is activated. Once the enemy enters our territorial waters, we will release a high concentration of particles to block their radar and communications. Then, ground artillery and mobile suit units will engage them."

"What are the specific plans?"

"Six mobile suits are deployed at the orbital elevator ground station to protect core facilities. Twelve mobile suits are deployed along the coastline, divided into three echelons to intercept landing forces. The remaining twelve are used as a mobile reserve. The Izumo has not yet completed its space conversion and is temporarily being used as a floating artillery platform."

"commander?"

"I'll lead the team myself," Char said. "Zaku Kai is ready."

A moment of silence fell over the meeting room. Uzumi looked into his adopted son's eyes; those deep red eyes held no fear, only calmness and determination.

"approve."

On the morning of March 13, thick fog blanketed the edge of the territorial waters of Orbu.

The Atlantic Federation's 4th Fleet moved slowly through the fog. Two aircraft carriers—the USS Washington and the USS Theodore Roosevelt—were at the center of the formation, escorted by six destroyers in a ring. Further away, a dozen transport ships carried tens of thousands of Marines.

The fleet commander was Vice Admiral Harris Gray, a veteran naval officer in his sixties. He stood on the bridge of the USS Washington, his binoculars pointed in the direction of Orb, but the fog was too thick to see anything.

"Radar status?"

"Report: Strong interference detected; target cannot be locked. It is suspected that the enemy has deployed some form of electronic jamming."

Gray frowned. Electronic interference was expected, but he hadn't anticipated its intensity. He ordered an early warning aircraft to be scrambled for reconnaissance.

Two E-2 early warning aircraft were catapulted from the aircraft carrier and climbed to an altitude of 5,000 meters. But when they turned on their radar, the screens showed only static.

"Sir, we can't see anything! It's not interference, it's... like a fog, a fog that even electromagnetic waves can't penetrate!"

Gray's brow furrowed even more. He hesitated for a moment, then finally issued the attack order: "Carrier-based aircraft, take off and launch an air strike on the orbital elevator ground station. Landing forces, proceed with the planned beach assault."

The carrier-based aircraft began catapult launches. Fighter jets, attack aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft—dozens of aircraft took off from the morning mist and swooped down toward the coast of Orb.

When the first wave of fighter jets entered Orb airspace, the concentration of Minovsky particles had already reached a critical value.

All the fighter jets' radars failed, their navigation systems malfunctioned, and communications were intermittent. The pilots could only fly visually, but the fog was too thick, and visibility was less than 500 meters.

"I can't see the target!" the pilot shouted over the radio.

"Switch to laser guidance—" The other voice was interrupted by an explosion before it could finish speaking.

On the ground, Orb's anti-aircraft guns opened fire. The anti-aircraft guns rose from their bunkers, flames shooting from their muzzles. At the same time, the quadruple launchers of the anti-aircraft missile launchers hissed, and missiles streaked into the sky, leaving white trails as they launched themselves.

In the first wave of air strikes, twelve fighter jets were shot down, eight returned damaged, and only five successfully dropped their bombs. However, the bombs missed their targets and landed in an uninhabited area outside the orbital elevator base, causing no damage.

"Report! Enemy air raid repelled!" Cheers rang out on the Aub Defense Forces' communications channel.

Char sat in the cockpit of the Zaku Kai, not joining in the cheers. He knew the real battle was just beginning. On the sea, landing craft were approaching.

"Attention all units, the landing force is approaching. First echelon, engage; second echelon, stand by. Remember—do not linger in battle; self-preservation is the priority."

"Griffin Squadron One, received." "Griffin Squadron Two, received."...

At 8:17 a.m., the first batch of landing craft rushed onto the beach on the east coast of Ob.

The hatches opened, and hovercraft and amphibious assault vehicles poured out. Soldiers waded through the seawater towards the beach, followed by the roar of tanks and self-propelled artillery. In the air, armed helicopters circled overhead providing cover.

Then they saw the giant emerge from the mist.

Six mobile suits—three Zaku and three GMs—appeared in battle formation on the sand dunes of the coastline. The monocular monitors of the mobile suits flashed red in the mist, and the sand beneath their feet trembled.

"Hostile target confirmed—fire!" Ken Albert's voice crackled through the communicator.

The Zaku raised its 120mm machine gun, and bullets rained down on the beach. Bullets struck the armor of the landing craft, sending sparks flying; they hit the turrets of the amphibious assault vehicles, shattering the armor; they struck the bodies of soldiers, tearing flesh and blood apart. The GM's beam blaster was even more deadly—the orange beam swept across, burning through the armor of tanks like paper, causing internal ammunition to detonate and fireballs to shoot into the sky.

The battle lasted less than twenty minutes. The first landing force was almost completely wiped out, and the few surviving landing craft turned back to the deep sea.

Char did not participate in the first wave of battle. He stood in the ground base of the orbital elevator, observing the entire battlefield through VEDA. His Zaku Kai stood silently behind him, painted in deep red—standing out conspicuously among the silver-white Zakus.

"The enemy won't give up," he told the officer beside him. "The bigger storm is yet to come."

At 9:00 AM, the Atlantic Federation launched its second wave of offensive.

This time, they deployed more troops—three marine battalions, one armored battalion, and special forces equipped with new anti-MS weapons. At sea, destroyers began bombarding the coastline with their guns, attempting to overwhelm Orb's defenses.

However, the Minovsky particles also interfered with the fire control radar of the naval guns. The accuracy of the shells was extremely low, with most of them falling into the sea and only a few hitting the coastline—those were empty positions that the Orb forces had already evacuated from.

"The enemy has landed, with approximately two thousand troops and thirty tanks," VEDA reported.

Char remained silent for three seconds.

"First echelon retreats, second echelon engages the enemy. Third echelon flanks from the flanks and cuts off their retreat. Izumo begins naval gun support."

The silver-white Izumo slowly emerged from the dock of the orbital elevator, its massive hull appearing and disappearing in the mist. Its twin-mounted beam cannons turned towards the coast, their muzzles glowing with a blue light.

Three beams of light shot towards the beach, each unleashing a massive fireball upon impact. Enemy tank companies were vaporized within the beams, and landing craft and amphibious vehicles were reduced to molten scrap metal.

The third wave of attacks crumbled under the bombardment of the Izumo.