Gundam 00: Rise of China

As the time for Union's ultimatum drew ever closer to midnight.

The horizon off the coast of Taliban, which had intended to resist powerful forces, was now completely covered by a cold, steel fleet.

The Union's capital ships, densely packed together, formed a neat and imposing battle formation. Their heavy, gray-white hulls cleaved through the vast waves, advancing layer upon layer to the edge of Taliban territorial waters.

The imposing size of the warships and their staggering numbers combined to create an overwhelming and chilling aura.

Note that this is not acting or a drill.

Anyone who sees the cannons on this invincible fleet, subtly adjusting their angles, staring intently at the awe-inspiring, dark muzzles, will be captivated.

Looking at the decks of those aircraft carriers, countless Union's latest flagships began to take off one after another under the guidance of the navigators.

The dark mass of aircraft completely obscured half the sky, and the roar of their engines drowned out the sound of the ocean waves.

Looking around the sea, one sees giant supply ships and frigates, forming layers of main warships that protect the aircraft carrier.

The formation was impeccably tight, resembling a mobile steel fortress at sea.

No one doubted it, as long as time reached zero.

This long-established, world-renowned power's fleet will immediately and steadily advance at a leisurely pace.

Then, with overwhelming power capable of crushing all resistance from a small nation, he crushed all of Taliban's resistance with a single finger...

"Time is almost up."

On the flagship of this Union fleet, which has been dubbed the invincible fleet for who knows how many times in human history, there was a feeling that the battle would not unfold as their fleet commander had predicted.

The fleet's chief of staff, Jason, looked at the vast blue sea nearby, then at the quiet coastal city of Taliban in the distance, before asking his commander a question.

"Should we attack when the time comes?"

With a cigar in his mouth, General Mike took deep drags and exhaled large puffs of white smoke.

Upon hearing Chief of Staff Jason's question, the commander, who had been patiently waiting for so long, did not answer immediately, but instead frequently raised his wrist to stare at the expensive watch on it.

"Time is almost up."

General Mike repeated what the chief of staff had said earlier, his thick eyebrows furrowing.

He wasn't worried about the war in Taliban; after all, the disparity in strength between the two sides on paper meant he never considered the possibility of being caught off guard and losing his position.

What truly worried and troubled him was something else entirely. According to the plan, shouldn't those dogs have set off to bite the enemy's throat for their master?

In the universe, unlike the desolate scene off the coast of Taliban, there is no war caused by human beings.

The universe is always so peaceful, and it is only where humans set foot and exist that noise breaks that peace.

"Miss Royal, time is almost up. Aren't we going to make our move?"

On the Ptolemy, Milena, a girl with brown twin tails, couldn't help but ask.

According to the instructions of Veda, the quantum computer with the highest authority of Celestial Being, in order to prevent Taliban from using Celestial Being and to prevent Taliban from instigating conflict.

Celestial Being's Gundam must, and definitely must, attack the Taliban army and disarm them before the Union army attacks the Taliban army!

"I......"

Having once been the chief tactical commander, the princess should not have hesitated in making this decision.

However, the pilots of Gundams like Setsuna were sent to Taliban in advance to gather intelligence with their eyes. The intelligence that has come in the last few days has left the Empress extremely conflicted and troubled.

"Your Highness."

They didn't know what was really troubling Miss Huang; they simply didn't want her to make a mistake when executing the Veda command.

Kind-hearted Milena quietly tried to remind the other person again.

"Mirena".

At this moment, the ship's helmsman, Lasse, stopped the girl beside him from trying to be kind. Staring at the princess with an unpleasant expression, Lasse, who could understand her, shook his head at the girl.

Something's not right, something's not right.

Biting her fingers, Miss Huang muttered to herself, never before showing such anxiety in front of others.

"In recent days, public opinion in Taliban has been frantically viewing the Celestial Being as the Messiah."

"They placed all their hopes for the future on the Celestials. In various social forum-style television programs, many experts discussed whether the Celestials, who vowed to eradicate war, were righteous."

"The various forms of oppression by the Union in Taliban are repeatedly brought up and discussed in public opinion within the gravity zone."

"That country is portraying itself as a victim, and in fact, they are indeed victims."

With her eyes closed, the restless Miss Huang's mind flashed through a series of news reports she had recently seen about the suffering in Taliban.

Little girl, little boy, old man, and so on.

Without exception, they were all tragic and miserable, and the most troublesome thing is that they are all undeniably true.

"Therefore, we cannot attack Taliban. If we attack Taliban, the world will not recognize the concept of eliminating war and conflict."

Her rapidly working mind finally came to this conclusion with little time to spare: Miss Huang's focus on tactics did not mean she was completely oblivious to human nature.

Furthermore, anyone with flesh and blood, and with normal values ​​and morals, is a human being.

At this moment, one's simple inner beliefs will lead to the most correct choice.

Aversion to bullying, hatred of power, and sympathy for the weak—isn't this the kind of mindset a person should have?

If the Celestials attacked Taliban, would normal people say that the Celestials were doing the right thing?

They will turn into dogs; the Celestials will become the dogs of the Hegemon Union!

"Contact Veda, do not attack Taliban!"

He suddenly shouted, "Miss Huang cannot tolerate fundamental problems with the Celestial Beings' philosophy!"

Regardless, despite this media onslaught, there are still people in the "gravity circle" who remain steadfast in their beliefs.

We must never attack Taliban!

"Yes, yes, I know."

The entire crew on the bridge of Ptolemy were startled by the sudden appearance of the princess, who stood tall, and were surprised to hear her say that they should not attack Taliban at this moment.

Apart from older people like Lasse, younger people like Milena and Christina looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.

Is their captain going to disobey Veda's orders?

However, out of trust in Miss Huang, Christina, who was in charge of communications, quickly connected to the quantum computer with the highest privileges.

"The mission continues."

Unfortunately, Veda rejected Miss Huang's analysis and proposal to change the strategy, and after a short but seemingly long wait...

Everyone saw that line of cold characters.

Why?

She slumped back into her chair in disbelief, her eyes wide with disbelief. She couldn't understand why she had to continue the mission.

At the same time, Veda's instructions were clearly not sent to the Ptolemy alone; they were also sent simultaneously to the Gundams that were on standby in various parts of Taliban.

"The mission has begun."

Tieria, who had been waiting for a long time, was the first to respond to Veda's command. Piloting his Gundam Virtue, he entered the battle without hesitation.

"Attacking the Taliban army?"

Although he didn't meet Wang Ye, he actually saw the entire Taliban. Lockon's eyes in Gundam Victory were complicated.

"Attack begins."

Without much hesitation, Allelujah from Gundam Archangel took to the sky.

"Eliminate war."

The last to be deployed was Shana, his face deathly still beneath his helmet.