UC will eventually reach the stars

“…” Kycilia took a deep breath. “I admit, it was my mistake. Before this, I had already…”

"I don't care about your failed measures! What about your remedial measures!?" Gihren took a deep breath. "The entire Earth Federation Forces now have at least six battalions of mobile suits. The entire North American theater is in chaos because of one battalion of Federation mobile suits! Kycilia, you said you wanted to take down Ye's Heavy Industries, and I supported you. Is this how you repay my trust and the trust of the people of the Principality of Zeon?!"

"The collapse of the mining base was beyond my expectations. The enemy launched an attack decisively before we completed the base construction... In short, there are many reasons, but the most crucial one is that my prediction was greatly flawed... The enemy's MS production may have been ahead of our guess." Kycilia rarely bowed her head to admit her mistake, which was quite rare.

"Before our expectations?" Dozru unusually refrained from arguing with Kycilia. "Perhaps they were prepared. After all, the short sword is a product modified from an industrial machine, which we all know. Maybe the production line..."

“Yes, and it’s quite clear that they are expanding their production capacity, and Chabro has also started production.” Kycilia’s face was quite grim. “We held back a little and should have directly eliminated the remaining forces of the Sakhalin family…” Kycilia said through gritted teeth.

“There’s no point in talking about this now.” Kiren’s eyes were cold. “We need to expand production capacity and improve the Zaku on the front lines so that they can at least fight against Federation mobile suits, instead of the current situation where the Zaku’s combat power is completely insufficient when facing the enemy’s mobile suits.”

“…” Kycilia took a deep breath. “The Technical Department has proposed several solutions. The new type of ammunition for the 120mm machine gun used by the Zaku II is under urgent development. The 90mm machine gun for the Short Sword is very good, and we already have a matching solution. The increased production of 280mm rockets has been arranged, and the development of new MS has also been arranged urgently…” Kycilia took a deep breath. “When it was confirmed that the Federation Forces had acquired MS and a huge MS production capacity, I had already arranged all of this. Commander-in-Chief can rest assured.”

“It’s good that the compensation was made in time…” Killian tapped the table with one hand, his expression still cold. “The Earth Federation Forces’ mobile suits are being updated very quickly! There are now two models on the front lines, which I believe you have seen, one to deal with artillery and the other with high mobility. I hope you can also come up with a solution on your side.”

"..." Kycilia took a deep breath. The Zeon military's MS research and development system was completely different from the Federation military's, but in the current situation, Gihren's request was, frankly, very abrupt. For the first time, Kycilia felt that her top spy didn't have to be so dedicated.

But Kycilia knew that this was a kind of conceptual "obedience test." The Zabi family had never been a close-knit family; deep-seated conflicts had long been brewing between them. Even Dozru, who appeared to be the most boorish on the surface, had in fact established his own power base, and his words carried weight within his own territory.

“Understood, I will inform them of the Commander-in-Chief’s requirements and make them comply!” Kycilia did not object and readily agreed. “At the same time, I have another suggestion. We have captured a large number of Federation submarines at our California base. According to the old Western calendar, these submarines can be used to great effect after modification. Now, the Earth Federation Navy has been severely damaged in the previous operation in Britain! This is a good opportunity for us to make our move.”

(While writing this, I must say that compared to the US Navy during the early days of the Commonwealth Navy, which now takes two years to build a frigate with the construction progress bar only showing 15%... it's truly quite a contrast.)

"You can decide for yourself." Gihren thought about it for a moment. If they could control the seas, it would indeed bring them a lot of convenience. After all, as things stand now, if they wanted to connect the various control zones of Zeon and exchange resources, relying solely on the Zeon airlift force, even with the captured Media, would be far from enough!

Maritime transport, or perhaps more accurately, underwater transport, may become a relatively reluctant choice for the Zeon forces in the next phase! After all, they really don't have many better options now. As the battlefield expands, the Federation Forces' strength is suddenly being revealed to the Zeon forces a hundredfold or a thousandfold.

Especially as the Earth Federation Forces began to exert their strength on the Zeon Forces' superior mobile suits, the pressure coming back from the Zeon front lines increased. In particular, the Earth Federation Forces' various attacks in North America forced the Zeon Forces, who originally thought they had controlled North America, to face a problem.

Ruling a planet and ruling a space colony are two completely different things. Occupying a space colony with tens of millions of people might not require many troops, but if you want to control ten million people on Earth, well, I hope you're happy...

Moreover, as the Earth Federation frantically promoted the Zeon forces' operations in their proud Britain, they practically played Zeon propaganda videos, followed by a series of cold, hard death captions, and at the end, a segment about the massive destruction caused by the space colony satellites that crashed to the ground, the super tsunami, the damage caused by the debris around the world, and the approximate number of casualties.

In the very last part of the promotional video, white names float upwards from the bottom of the screen using scrolling text, while in the center of the screen is a number that grows increasingly bright red and larger as the screen scrolls. This number, which has already reached 40 billion, continues to tick until the end of the promotional video.

Ultimately, the numbers became a huge question: "How many people died?"

The impact of this propaganda video is terrifying, not to mention that the Federation often follows up with videos of Sima and others surrendering themselves.

With such a strong propaganda effort, the impact on the entire Zeon was unprecedented. More and more Zeon members began to realize that if they could not win, the counterattack and retribution from the Federation would likely be more severe than they could have imagined.

Sometimes, death is a form of mercy!

For the Zeon soldiers on the front lines, while they might not be allowed to watch publicly, they privately discovered that their war might not be as "just" and "glorious" as they had imagined! This was a significant blow to morale. Especially when faced with rebukes and curses from various places, the Zeon army...

Therefore, the intense situation on the battlefield made the Zeon forces realize that their initial airborne strategy had huge problems. Although the first wave of airborne operations had eliminated two important components of the Earth Federation Forces in Europe and North America, making it seem like the Earth Federation Forces' productivity had dropped sharply.

However, their landing sites are now too far apart, and there is almost no support between them. Just like the mining base, there is really no way to support them except to carry out new landings from space to replenish them. Moreover, after being attacked by the Federation forces later, they did not even have a chance to escape because they had nowhere to go.

This is why Gihren agreed to Kycilia's suggestion. Everyone knows that after the Southeast Asian war ends, the MS pilots and ground combat troops who have undergone long-term training and been tested in blood and fire on the battlefield, concentrated in Southeast Asia, will spread to the Earth Federation ground forces. Their experience, their combat patterns, and their organizational structure will form the ladder for the Federation Army to victory!

The pressure on the Zeon forces will only increase over time! Ultimately, Gihren must consider whether they should continue! The attempt to break the Earth Federation's will to resist through ground warfare has failed. He has no way to force the Earth Federation to bow down, and the ground battlefield is even becoming a bleeding wound for the Principality of Zeon!

Now that Gihren is the de facto supreme leader of Zeon, what choices must he make? (Gihren's Ambition is a great game!)

The most sensible course of action would be to immediately find a way to withdraw forces from Earth and, in a region of space where the Principality of Zeon still holds a certain advantage, confront the inevitable counterattack of the Earth Federation Forces! Winning this battle would once again give the Principality of Zeon the power to destroy and force the then-weakened Earth Federation Forces to reconcile!

If the battle goes smoothly and the results are plentiful, what was originally intended to force the Earth Federation to submit will instead solidify the Principality of Zeon's enormous advantage in space! It could even annex the remaining colonies and lunar city clusters.

Of course! These are all rational approaches. Gihren isn't a rational person! He gambled everything and won all the way before, and he's still not entirely rational now! He wants to win, and he only wants to win!

“I think you should know that Colonel Ye has been making waves lately, just like that little girl from Side 5. His voice is everywhere, and our heads are his targets.” Kiran smiled as he looked at Kycilia, the cold glint in his eyes forcing Kycilia to lower her head.

What Ye Yun said was not a secret, especially since he was quite capable; many people would be willing to repeat what he said.

“I understand, I will handle this colonel.” Kycilia gritted her teeth and had no choice but to accept this task that she didn’t really want to get involved in. After all, Ye Yun now had a large squadron of mobile suits under his command, not to mention that he didn’t go far and basically stayed near the Earth Federation’s Luna 2 Fortress. Earth Federation reinforcements would arrive very quickly!

If they were to charge in, it would be tantamount to preparing for a clash with the Federation's main fleet, and Kycilia had no intention of trying it, of experiencing the price Zeon paid during the Loom 5 era. Just imagining it sent chills down Kycilia's spine.

As for the rest… Kycilia pretended not to understand the meaning behind Kiran's words. Is the Sera family someone to be trifled with now? Leading a bunch of crazy crew members to rescue people in a quasi-war zone—such a person, a flag bearer, and a woman at that—if she dies, she'll be instantly canonized! Then what will happen to the person who killed her? Even losing a war isn't this terrifying!

Not to mention that Sierra Mas, that's not her real name.

"Also... tell SIDE5 to behave themselves and not side with the Federation. Kycilia... no, Dozru, send someone to make contact with them. Find someone who knows how to talk."

"Uh...yes! Elder brother."

Chapter Seventy-Nine: Sera and Ramba

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've arrived at SIDE 6." Sera floated into the cabin, clapped her hands with a smile, and gestured for the people in front of her to prepare to disembark. "Although our journey together will only be short, I wish you all the best for the time to come, may the seasons be favorable, and may you enjoy lasting peace and tranquility."

"Thank you..." The responses were sparse, but it was clear that most of the people in front of them were not in good spirits.

"..." Sera didn't say much, but helped the more seriously injured people retrieve their meager belongings and floated to the cabin door.

"Miss Sera." The old butler looked at Sera Maas with utmost reverence, as if she were the Virgin Mary descended to earth. And clearly, it was similar to the way everyone around her now looked at her. After all, this young lady of the Maas family was rapidly becoming the greatest hope for humanity in this cosmic century!

"Hmm, is everything arranged?" Sera stood by the door, looking at the airtight passage that slowly extended towards the cargo ship's hatch. His eyes held a hint of weariness and a heaviness he didn't know how to express. At least Sera felt that the person he could talk to wasn't in the universe.

"Everything has been arranged. The Zeon and Federation forces are waiting at the port. They will each take their people away. The rest is none of our business," the old butler said respectfully to Sera.

“Okay!” Sera nodded. Just then, the airtight door had already achieved pressure balance with the hatch and could be opened. Sera took this opportunity to turn around and said, “Perfect timing. Contact the merchants on Side 6. Do they have any better prices for food? The price for the batch on the moon is getting higher and higher.”

As refugees from the lunar cities and Side 6 flocked to Side 5, a food crisis naturally broke out on Side 5. If it weren't for the fact that the Side 5 colony was originally based on agriculture, animal husbandry and tourism and had plenty of food, Side 5 might have collapsed just from this wave of population influx.

But now, all Sierra can do is direct people to rush to plant fast-growing crops like potatoes while trying to find sources of food imports.

After all, crop cultivation itself can bring oxygen, which is very important within the colony, thus relieving air pressure in the colony.

“Miss Sera… if the war continues, food prices will likely continue to rise.” The old butler’s expression was somewhat worried, but not by much… well, after all, Seramas’s current wealth is hundreds or even thousands of times greater than the original Mas family’s, a level of wealth the original Mas family could never have imagined. “So why don’t we take advantage of the current situation, while food is still available on the market, and make a large-scale purchase…”

“No, we can’t do that.” Sera shook her head. “The majority of people in this world are still ordinary people. They are already having a very difficult time right now. If we hoard food at this time… what’s the difference between that and forcing them to die? Ask around if anyone on the ground has any suggestions.” Sera resolutely refused. Ye Yun had warned her about this situation before. Once this spiral starts, it will create a terrifying wave of refugees.

Although Sera felt the current number of refugees was already enough to drive her to despair, and even with a fixed low food ration plus work subsidies, the food stored in the Side 5 warehouse was still dwindling, she wasn't completely hopeless. She believed that once the fast-growing potatoes and sweet potatoes that had been stolen and planted matured, everything would be alright.

“So what we need is a stable food source. Let’s ask around on the surface and see if we can find a reliable food supply line.” Sera knew it would be difficult, but that was all she could say. “Oh, right, it seems we can also apply for assistance from the federal government,” after all, they should still have some supplies on hand.

“Miss, Mr. Ye Yun’s previous suggestion…” the old butler said with some reluctance, “After all, the grain in those places is theoretically unclaimed.”

“…Okay, as a final preparation.” Sera took a deep breath. “It looks like we need more capacity.”

Ye Yun's previous suggestion was that, if necessary, in addition to searching for valuables on the ruins of these space colonies, some necessities would likely be stored there. If all else failed, supplies could be obtained from them. However, this would inevitably involve large-scale exploration deep into those colonies. But these destroyed space colonies are fraught with danger, and going too deep is certainly not a good idea.

"Yes." The old butler hesitated for a moment. "Perhaps we can send Leo in directly..."

“…That is indeed one way.” Sera Maas sighed. Although it was a good solution, there was a very real problem with doing so.

As a full-size industrial robot, Leo could easily be mistaken for a mobile suit, and right now, the Zeon forces and the Federation forces are at war.

This isn't a concern, but something that's already happened. The Leo units, which were performing recovery operations in the airspace near L5, were spotted by passing Zeon forces, who launched a direct attack, destroying three Leo units before stopping after hearing Sera's emergency call.

After confirming with great embarrassment that Sera and her crew were rescuing a Musai-class light cruiser that appeared to have survivors, the Zeon forces were stunned. At that moment, they wished they could just launch an attack on Earth. These lower-ranking soldiers apologized to Sera very sincerely and left behind all the compensation they could.

Therefore, Leo is now generally used to operate around SIDE5, usually either repairing space colonies or damaged transport ships, trying to stay as far away from the SIDE5 colony as possible.

“It’s definitely time to conduct an in-depth search without Leo.” Sera’s expression was quite helpless. The supplies were collected on the outer perimeter of the space colony, not deep inside, because going deep inside requires heavy equipment, and manpower alone is very limited. However, with hundreds of thousands of refugees pouring in every day, the consumption of supplies will only increase, and it seems that we can’t wait any longer.

As they were talking, Sera and the others floated to the oxygen-rich area. Sera decisively took off her helmet, thinking that every bit of oxygen she could save was precious. She hung the helmet on her back and floated toward a nearby gathering of people. However, her eyes flickered slightly as she walked.

Childhood memories begin to awaken in my mind.

“Ms. Mas! Greetings!” A major from the Federation Army said, “Thank you very much for your rescue operation. This is some supplies that the Federation Space Force has helped you collect. We hope it will be of assistance!” The young Federation Army major saluted Sera very seriously.

Regardless, the act of spending one's entire fortune to organize rescue efforts, searching for possible survivors throughout the entire human-inhabited area without regard to identity, and providing large-scale assistance to refugees is itself worthy of respect. Although the federal government is inhumane, after a large number of people were rescued, every time Sera notified the Federal Space Force to come and pick people up, they would tell Sera to bring a larger ship.

"Thank you very much!" Sera immediately smiled broadly. It can only be said that even the old battlefield rations that were about to be abandoned in the Federation Space Force warehouse were very precious resources to Sera. One individual ration could barely last three people a day!

"Colonel Ye Yun warned you to be careful. The Zeon bastards are currently making extensive moves in space, and many units have disappeared without a trace. Do you remember Major Josephine from the intelligence department? She asked me to give you a message: it seems that Side 5 has been targeted by the Zeon intelligence department." The major delivered two pieces of intelligence in the instant he lowered his head.

Ye Yun didn't need to say much. People within the Federation probably knew that the Maas family and Ye's Heavy Industry had a good relationship. After all, the head of the Maas family had invested in many industries in the Sichuan Basin, which were also complementary to Ye's Heavy Industry. The fleet in front of Sera Maas was originally started by Ye Yun, and it was still registered.

The other was a rescued federal intelligence officer. When she pulled him from a dead Magellan, he was emaciated. He said he planned to commit suicide if he wasn't rescued by tomorrow. What intrigued Sierra Maas was how frequently he provided intelligence; he was practically giving her a weekly report.

And these intelligence reports often contain the locations of many battles... which is quite interesting.

Regardless of the other party, Sera reviewed the information and, based on her own analysis, continued to save people.

"Please be careful!" After shaking hands with Sera, the other party arranged for someone to take the Federation soldiers into the vehicle. They would need to be briefly identified before being sent back to their original units. If they needed treatment, they would receive it at the Federation military base in SIDE6.

Yes, the Earth Federation Forces still have a presence in Side 6...

On the other side, the situation was quite different. The atmosphere on Zeon's side was rather heavy. The Zeon soldiers were somewhat dejected, and the officers who led them back had even colder expressions.

Sera didn't ask any further questions. Since they were willing to return to the Zeon army to continue fighting, they must have their own reasons. People always have their own choices, and there are always reasons for making such choices. Sera had given everyone a chance, and it wasn't that no one chose to go back. But since they chose to go back, it meant that they had no other choice.

However, some of them didn't have such a cold expression...

One man stared wide-eyed, his face filled with disbelief, as if he wanted to say something. Then a beautiful woman next to him tugged at his sleeve and whispered something in his ear. The man then coughed twice and his expression calmed down a bit.

“The Ral family are all pretty much actors with exaggerated facial expressions,” Sera muttered under her breath. How could she not recognize them? Ramba Ral was once a powerful family in the Republic of Zeon, well, a Deikun faction. They were quite good in the past, but… they were Deikun faction members. If it weren’t for Ramba Ral’s current boss being Dozru Zabi, who still had some humanity left, the Ral family would have been wiped out long ago.

“Sera…Miss!” Although Ramba Lal’s rank was not high, her status was there. The Zeon major turned around and got into the car, so he naturally did not see Ramba Lal’s excited red eyes.

"...Want to find a place to catch up, Uncle Ral?"

"Good! Good!"

Chapter Eighty: Winning Over

“It’s been a long time, Uncle Ramba Ral.” Sera Mas, or rather, when saying this, perhaps she should be called Artesia Som Deikun! Yes, a “princess” in a certain sense in the Republic of Zeon, except now it’s the Principality of Zeon, so the status of a princess from the previous dynasty is meaningless. “I didn’t expect you to recognize me.”

“Ah…” Ramba Lal was about to say something.

"Cough cough..." Claure Harmon seemed to have choked on her coffee, coughed twice, and then gave Sierra Maas an apologetic smile.

"Waiter, please get me a fresh cup of coffee," Sera Mas called out, making a move to pick up the coffee cup in front of Harmon.

Although Hamon was somewhat surprised, he still reached out and handed it over. However, upon feeling the soft paper against his fingertips, Hamon immediately understood. He hooked his finger, thanked her, and then used the tissue to wipe the coffee stains from his lips. He then tidied his clothes and stuffed the small note into a special four-dimensional pocket that only women have.

“Ah…it’s been a long time, Sera!” Lamba Ral naturally understood why his fiancée had reacted just now, but Sera’s reaction afterward also exceeded his expectations. Clearly, the girl in front of him was no stranger to this kind of thing. In the end, it was because they, the former followers of Daken, had failed to protect them.

"So what's the reason you came to see me this time? Can you tell me? Let me make it clear first, helping Zeon fight or transporting supplies is not allowed. The reason I can still do things in this universe is because the rescue team strictly adheres to its neutral status." Sera smiled, at most slightly favoring Ye Yunyi.

"No, no, no... to be able to do it again..." Ramba Ral, whose foot had been stepped on, instantly switched to a kind expression and continued, "I was already quite surprised to see my old friend's offspring, and what you've done can already be called great." Thinking about what Serra had done during this time, Ramba Ral looked at Serra as if he were looking at a living saint!

"It's alright. Actually, this can be considered as inheriting what someone else wanted to do." Sera said with a smile, saying something that made Lamba a little nervous.

"Who? That Ye Yun? You're the one who did all this, what does it have to do with him?" Lamba's expression was a little bad. He had naturally reviewed the information he had gathered before coming, and he knew exactly when Sera's life trajectory had changed. However, the photos in the information were never as impactful as meeting her in person.

Lamba felt that even if Sera didn't want to revert to her original name and inherit Deacon's ambition, continuing on this path might be a good thing. After all, saving human lives was definitely not wrong, and besides... if Sera persisted, even if she missed out on SIDE3, SIDE5... Sera Mas might not be inferior to Deacon.

“That’s right, he was the one who first came up with the idea, and he also told my father about his original intention in creating the fleet.” Sera stopped Lamba from saying what he was about to say. “After seeing the cruelty of war, I have no intention of turning back now!” Sera cut off any words Lamba might say. “On the contrary, Uncle Lamba, I think you should start thinking about your own future.”

"..." Ramba Lal fell silent instantly.

He no longer just disapproved of some of the things Zeon did. To be honest, if it weren't for Dozle's protection, which left him with a considerable debt of gratitude to repay, he would have already found a way to break away from Zeon. Even if it was impossible for him to join the Earth Federation Forces, he wouldn't stay in the Zeon army.

This time, Dozle contacted him for a simple reason: Ramba Ral's father, Kimba Ral, had a very good relationship with the Mas family and often visited them (actually to give Char a lecture on ideology). So Dozle hoped that even if Ramba Ral couldn't win Sera over to Zeon's side, at least Sera, who was gradually gaining some fame, could say a few good words for Zeon.

After all, during this period, the Federation's overwhelming propaganda has almost completely stripped away the halo that Zeon Deikun left for Zeon. If Zeon really cannot get the support of the other remaining colonies, it will be almost impossible for Zeon to win the war against the Federation.

Now, even Side 6, which was once closest to the Principality of Zeon, has begun to distance itself from the Principality of Zeon. After all... the numbers may still be debatable, but the fact that Zeon killed billions of humans is an accepted fact.

If Zeon can win, great; if not...

SIDE6 began to remember its neutral stance!

“I don’t want to say anything pointless. Zeon today is not the Zeon of the past. The Zabi family’s madness has put everyone in the Principality of Zeon on the sacrificial altar. I think you only need to imagine what the Zeon army will be like if the war is prolonged even a little bit, without the Federation forces winning. Oh, I think there should be some signs of that now.” Sera dropped a sugar cube into her coffee cup and stirred it gently.

“After saying all that…” Harmon looked at Sera, “Do you have something to ask for?”

“Yes! We’re short-staffed!” Sera looked at Harmon without any attempt to hide her feelings. “We lack people we can truly trust, so we can only try to minimize regrets in many situations.”

"!" Lamba looked at the girl in front of him, seeing her so openly revealing her thoughts.

“It’s not convenient for us to get out at all,” Hamon shook his head. “After all, you should understand that it’s us.”

“Understood, but barring any unforeseen circumstances, the situation on the ground is about to become critical.” Sera shrugged, glanced over Lamba’s shoulder, and gave a slight smirk. “It just looks…”

“Thank you so much.” Harmon chuckled. “Sera has grown to an astonishing degree! She’s still so young that I envy her, yet she can already talk to us so naturally.”

“In such a turbulent era, the more you see and experience, the more you naturally grow.” Sera finished her coffee, placing enough bills for four cups of coffee and tips under the cup. “Sorry, I still have to talk to quite a few people, so I won’t stay any longer.” After saying that, Sera glanced meaningfully at Harmon’s fingertips, and Harmon returned a smile.

"Thank you for the coffee, please!" Harmon flashed a perfect smile, gestured to Sera, and then pulled Ramba Lal, who was about to say something, away. "She's just a little bit adorably shy."

"Why won't you let me try to persuade Sera..." Lamba tried to say something several times, but Hamon stepped on his foot and made him swallow his words.

“You can’t stop Sera from pursuing her dreams and career.” Harmon took Ramba’s arm and added before he could retort, “Zeon these days… ha, we can’t even take care of ourselves, why drag Sera back into this quagmire?”

"..." Lamba fell silent. Yes, the Lal family is already in a precarious situation, so what face do they have to drag Seramas back into this quagmire? Besides, Seramas' career is no less successful than the original Daken family's. If we're really talking about justice, even the Daken family back then might not be as good as Seramas now.

As for the Lal family... they have almost completely collapsed. After all, they have no choice but to work for Dozle to protect their safety. There's not much to say about that. The so-called Deikun faction are actually parliamentary politicians who only dare to grumble about the Zabi family in the meaningless Zeon council. They have no real power at all.

Once Sera returns to the Principality of Zeon, Ramba Ral is quite certain that even if Sera doesn't reveal her identity directly, the Zabi family won't let her go! Not to mention that at that time, the Dainton faction, which has been suffering from suppression and surveillance, will most likely "unite" around Sera's side...