Gundam: From Piece to Player

Dagannin thought to himself that if G3 poison gas were used according to General Kilian's original plan, it might leave psychological trauma on the soldiers who carried it out.

Now, all we see are missiles being launched from a distance, the blue flash of a nuclear explosion. Forget about psychological trauma; we even find the sight quite spectacular.

It's just a matter of pulling a trigger.

Thanks to His Excellency Dozru's suggestion from the perspective of fleet operation that strike fleets cannot remain stationary for long periods and must maintain mobility, otherwise there is a risk of being caught by the Federation fleet.

Later, the entire plan was changed to use nuclear strikes.

The dead civilians of Side 1, blame your government for siding with the Federation.

The Shangri-La colony, the first space colony built by humankind, is now 50 years old.

The facilities here are outdated, and locals have moved to other big cities due to the decline of local industries, making the city seem particularly deserted even during the day.

A little boy woke up in the middle of the night, went to his parents' bedroom, and shook his mother awake.

"Jedo, why are you still awake? Today is Christmas, are you not satisfied with the presents we gave you?"

"Mom, I hear a lot of people crying."

Judau's mother looked around; at 4 a.m., the colony was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"No one is crying."

“Aa~”

A loud cry immediately came from the cradle in the room; it was Judau's little sister, Lina, who had just turned one year old.

“You’re already five years old, and you’ll be six next year. You’re a grown man now. Look what you’ve done, waking your little sister up. Be good, go back to your room and sleep.” His mother continued to scold him.

"Oh."

Judau was not lying, because he could still hear the cries and wails of many people, which kept him from sleeping.

Compared to the success of Daganin's B fleet, Dozru's A fleet's raid on Side 4 was not exactly successful. After encountering the colony's guard fleet, they did not have time to deal with the former.

The Federation's main fleet has already rushed forward.

Together with the colonial fleet, they put Dozru's fleet at a numerical disadvantage.

"General!"

The screen was filled with warnings of being locked on by radar and fire control systems, just as they were about to be overwhelmed by missiles and beams of light.

"Maximum Minovsky particle dispersion across the entire fleet," Dozru ordered.

The radar warning system, which had been locked on, failed completely within ten seconds, and the missile target lost its guidance.

This time, it was Dozru's turn to fight back.

As a Salamis cruiser was engulfed by a blue fireball, Fleet A had already launched 200 mobile suits from above, which then swooped down in formation.

This force, mainly composed of MS-05-C Zaku, has set its sights on the Federation's main fleet, with various shoulder-fired nuclear rocket launchers poised to fire.

With the radar malfunctioning, the automated command and control systems on cruisers and battleships designed to deal with saturation attacks also failed.

As a result, all the missile air defense weapons that were originally equipped were brought to a standstill.

The Zaku were able to approach easily and calmly execute various anti-ship attack tactics.

Chapter 56 Taking them down one by one

Zeon's advantage was not limited to the performance of the MS.

This also includes Zeon gunners skilled in using various optical equipment, who are better suited to manual aiming and firing in the environment of Minovsky particle dispersion.

The fire control systems on Federation battleships and cruisers were so deeply integrated with the automatic defense systems that even when mobile suit units flew over the bridge, the close-range anti-aircraft guns were unable to respond effectively.

Just as the commander of the Federation's 4th Fleet was about to retreat under the fierce frontal attack of Zeon's A Fleet, the fleet commander was unable to hold out.

Dagannin's B Fleet has already infiltrated the flank of the 4th Fleet's formation.

They formed a crossfire network with Fleet A.

Faced with a combined attack from enemy ships and mobile suits twice the size of its own, the Federation's 4th Main Fleet was in dire straits.

Because the enemy collapsed so quickly, some MS units turned their attention to the fleeing Side 4 colony fleet, as well as some Swordfish that had lost their will to fight after losing their mothership.

They were too eager to make a name for themselves in this opening match.

Ultimately, it was Dozle's flagship that fired a return-to-ship flare, pulling the MS forces back from the brink of fanaticism.

After defeating the Federation fleet, Dozle launched a nuclear strike on Side 4.

Within hours of the war beginning, the number of victims in the colonies had exceeded 8 million.

After completing their nuclear strike mission, the Space Attack Force quickly withdrew from the L5 region, spreading Minovsky particles indiscriminately in the surrounding area, turning the entire space into an electromagnetic no-go zone.

No radio signals can be transmitted.

In order to obtain more intelligence as soon as possible, the Space Force Headquarters dispatched a reconnaissance fleet of six Salamis-class cruisers to the L5 airspace to conduct reconnaissance and gather intelligence...

This reckless move resulted in the complete annihilation of both reconnaissance fleets due to the ambush, with only two ships successfully returning to base, bringing back crucial intelligence from the start of the war.

"Radar and radio-related communication equipment are being interfered with for unknown reasons?"

Yes, General.

"The enemy seems to have adapted to and utilized this combat mode, and the MS units are highly effective."

[Furthermore, the laser telescope we just used observed that 20 cities across Side 1 and Side 4 were hit by nuclear strikes.]

[Furthermore, the 4th Fleet did not conduct regular data transmission.]

A large amount of wreckage was discovered near the SIDE4 airspace.

At this moment, sitting in the SIDE5 Federation Command, Tiam listened to the discussions of the various Federation staff officers.

Even he, known as a "fierce general," was at a loss at this moment.

While Zeon's decision to launch its attack at Christmas was unexpected, he did not anticipate that the Federation's main fleet, built at great expense, would suffer such a complete tactical defeat.

The Zeon forces have now destroyed the colonial fleets of Side 1 and Side 4, and the whereabouts of the 4th main fleet are unknown.

The fact that their whereabouts are unknown essentially means they have been wiped out.

The current battle losses are enough to send Tiam to a military court, and the best outcome would be his removal from office.

He recalled telling Karma Zabi of the Zabi family that "Zion cannot gain a tactical advantage."

Looking back now, he was the arrogant one.

It is confirmed that Zeon has deployed a weapon, but we only know its effects, not its principles, so there is no way to deal with or counter it.

"General, there is a communication from Luna II."

"Commander-in-Chief Reibald's?"

Tianm was prepared for Rebil to take over command.

"No, it's Dr. Moscu Han, an academician of the Federal Science Agency's Technology Division."

"Take it right away."

The forward command post quickly received the video communication. The person on the screen was a middle-aged man with gray hair wearing a red engineer's coat, and he quickly revealed the purpose of the communication.

He came to resolve the confusion of Tiam and the frontline Federation commanders.

Dr. Han used non-technical language in his description of the Zeon army's secret weapons so that the generals at the front could understand him.

"Doctor, are you saying that the communication disruptions we're experiencing now aren't caused by factors like sunspots, but rather by Minovsky particles being dispersed into space at specific frequencies and concentrations?"

"Yes, this isn't my area of ​​expertise, but my mentor, Dr. Minovsky, mentioned in an email to me seven years ago that he speculated that Minovsky particles dispersed at specific frequencies might interfere with electromagnetic waves, but he didn't conduct any experimental verification. Now it seems that the Zeon military has probably conducted research on this and will be using it for military purposes."

Where is Dr. Minovsky now?

Moscu Han shook his head. "Nobody knows, but it's possible he was killed by Zeon."

"If these Minovsky particles are dispersed at a specific frequency, can Zeon use radar and radio?"

"That's probably impossible. The effects of this kind of spread are two-way..." Han suddenly realized. "Thinking about it this way, it's probably because of this situation that Zeon is developing mobile suits so heavily, and equipping them with a variety of close-range weapons."

"Can the optical aiming equipment on the warship be used?"

"Without relying on electromagnetic waves, lasers may be able to maintain accuracy, but beyond that, it will decrease further with distance. Even visible light will be distorted by the dispersion of these particles. A certain 'field' created by specific constraints will cause even high-heat bodies to exhibit deflection and refraction..."

Tianm gestured to the staff officer listening nearby to take notes, preparing to formulate the subsequent battle plan based on them.

"Thank you, Doctor."

“You’re welcome,” Moscu Han said. “I hope this intelligence will be helpful to the general.”

Tianm nodded to the other party, and began to think of a solution.

"This is what Chief of Staff Kim Colini said, standing to the side."

"It sounds like we've gone back to the old-world naval warfare model, which is also what the Zeon forces relied on to start the war. Their personnel and training are all geared towards situations where electromagnetic waves cannot be used, so it's no wonder that our forces lost their tactical advantage."

"But Lieutenant General Tiam, we have not yet failed."

"Indeed, our forces currently have a numerical advantage," Tiam said. "It is still time to adapt to the battle, adjust our operational plans, and while preventing the fall of high-quality weapons, gather existing intelligence and postpone the decisive battle with the Zeon fleet as much as possible."

"Chief of Staff Collini, in your assessment, when will the 5th and 6th main fleets arrive at Side 5 at the earliest?"

"It won't be until at least January 10th. The new unit has limited core personnel, and its combat effectiveness still depends on the old fleet..."

"By gathering the remaining five main fleets, our army will have a numerical advantage of more than twice that of Zeon... We must hold out until after January 10th to maximize our chances of victory."

Tianm thought for a moment, "How's the situation on Side 2?"

"We've been unable to contact them since early this morning, just like we encountered with Side 1 and Side 4. Should we send out a fleet to try and make contact?"

Tianm shook his head, dismissing the possibility.

Apart from sending out fighter jets and small boats to gather intelligence, no warship should leave port. Instead, technical personnel should urgently modify the systems on the warships to adapt them to combat under the Minovsky particle dispersion state.

As for Side 2, we can only hope for Wakin's performance now.

Chapter 57 The Great Evacuation of SIDE2

SIDE2 Capital City, Iphishu Island.

In the Prime Minister's office, the Prime Minister of Side 2 was asked to sit opposite the desk. His legs were trembling slightly, and his seat had been taken by a dark-haired young man in a driver's suit.