Seeing Fred, who now felt completely different, even Athrun, who was in the midst of tension, froze for a moment.
He couldn't quite describe it, but the current Fred gave off a feeling of complete emotional detachment.
It was as if his spirit had become highly concentrated, leaving behind only pure rationality.
Who... is this?
Just as the doubt arose in Athrun's mind, on the other side, an Agamemnon-class ship and three Drake-class ships from the Atlantic Council Nation, which had urgently launched from the Ptolemy base in response to Copernicus's distress call, finally arrived nearby.
However, saying they arrived was an overstatement—they had only just caught sight of the tail end of the Drake-class ships.
Coming from the moon, there were visual obstructions, and it would take time no matter how fast they moved.
"General Halberton, it's too late!"
On the lead Agamemnon-class ship, the adjutant couldn't hide his panic.
Copernicus was a neutral city and a pioneer in space colony construction. Many people there were relatives of soldiers stationed at the Ptolemy base. If Copernicus were completely destroyed, he couldn't imagine what would become of the world.
Those Blue Cosmos members were truly insane.
"What about the beam cannons?"
The blond, blue-eyed man remained relatively calm, though his brow was furrowed.
"They're too far away—we can't lock onto the propulsion units!"
The weapons officer shouted.
At such a distance, if they missed and caused the Drake-class ships to crash diagonally downward, the effort would be pointless.
They had beam cannons, but as soon as they activated the fire control radar, the enemy would evade.
Who knew where those terrorists would dodge?
If they succeeded in saving the day, it would be fine, but if they failed, they might end up bearing the blame for tens of thousands of deaths.
No one dared to take that shot.
But while others hesitated, Halberton did not.
If they didn't fire now, Copernicus had no means of defense, and there would truly be no chance of survival left.
"This is our last opportunity. Aim at the Drake-class ships ahead."
"I will take full responsibility."
After Halberton's words, the bridge fell silent for a moment, and the weapons officer was the first to react.
"...Yes, sir!"
Indeed, there was no other way.
But his shot... might determine the fate of tens of thousands of people on Copernicus...
At that thought, the soldier's hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
God... please save your devout lambs...
Just as the young man couldn't help but pray, a red explosion suddenly appeared on the magnified screen showing the azure propulsion units of the Drake-class ships.
The distance was too great to see clearly, but it froze the atmosphere on the bridge once again.
Especially for the weapons officer.
If his hands weren't glued to the targeting device, he would have rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
Was this... divine intervention?
"What's happening? Report!"
Halberton quickly broke the silence.
"It appears the Drake-class engines have been attacked?"
The adjutant replied uncertainly.
"Could Copernicus's anti-aircraft guns cause such a disturbance?"
Halberton pressed further.
Faced with his question, the bridge fell silent once more.
It was obvious—of course not.
But according to thermal readings, it was indeed the signature of an attack.
Faced with this situation, even Halberton, known as the "Strategist General," was utterly perplexed.
"It hit..."
Meanwhile, aboard the Mistral, Athrun watched the Drake-class battleship that had lost its main power, feeling as if one of the heavy stones in his heart had vanished.
But there was no time for celebration.
After all, there was more than just one stone.
The first phase of the operation had succeeded, leaving only the final step: destroy those two turrets and push the battleship that was too close to Copernicus back.
"Charge!"
Fred uttered a single word.
He didn't know if Miha had coordinated things on his end, but there was no hesitation now.
Or rather, there was no room for hesitation.
"Alright, I'll handle lookout duty," Athrun replied simply.
The doubt in his eyes when looking at Fred had gradually faded away.
It even revealed a hint of hidden admiration.
Fred was overwhelmingly powerful, especially in that state.
He had clearly seen from the side that Fred had fired the only opportunity without the slightest hesitation—and with deadly accuracy.
Half the plan had already succeeded. If anyone could save Copernicus now, it was Fred.
Moreover, their thoughts were interconnected at this moment.
Even if he died, he couldn't let this Drake-class crash into Copernicus.
Just as the two were heading toward the Drake, on the other side...
The command center, which had witnessed the explosion at the Drake's stern, was now electrified.
"Fred succeeded!!!" Uncle Heier roared.
Cheers erupted throughout the command center.
The earlier disbelief and tension had melted into excitement and exhilaration now that they had relaxed.
Fred had actually pulled it off.
It was insane—but in a good way.
"Alright! The operation isn't over yet!" the commander shouted, his voice somewhat relaxed but still tense.
"Focus fire and take out the Drake-class's Close-in Weapon System!"
"Yes, sir!"
Just as everyone was united in purpose, the mood among the Blue Cosmos members aboard the Drake-class was far from pleasant.
The entire bridge was filled with frantic alarm sirens.
They never expected that Copernicus still had weapons capable of threatening a Drake-class battleship.
They had just set the Close-in Weapon System to auto-fire, guarding against the Agamemnon-class behind them while fervently awaiting God's summons, when they were suddenly struck dumb by this unexpected blow.
"Who fired that?!" the Blue Cosmos commander, serving as the combat captain, yelled.
"Unknown, it appears to be a fixed installation here!" his deputy reported.
"We still have auxiliary thrust! Even if we crash, we'll destroy Copernicus! And prepare the Self-Destruct Program!" the captain said ruthlessly.
"Yes, sir!"
The others now wore the same fanatical expression as their captain.
But this fervor didn't last long before another explosion rang out.
"What now?!" the captain roared, annoyed that his speech had been interrupted.
"Our Close-in Weapon System has been destroyed!"
"Hmph, no matter..." the captain began, only to be cut off again.
This time, it was by the rapidly intensifying radar alerts.
Faced with this series of setbacks, the captain was clearly on the verge of exploding with rage.
His gaze turned dangerous as he looked toward the young man seated at the radar observation post.
"There are many Mistrals!"
This time, before the captain could even ask, the young man watching the radar hurriedly reported.
"Multiple units! Twenty-two! And still increasing!"
"What use are those engineering machines?"
Hearing this, the captain calmed down again.
With just the mechanical arms on those engineering machines, they couldn't even breach their bridge.
Moreover, at this distance, it wouldn't matter even if they were destroyed.
They had already entered the blast radius.
But to inflict maximum damage, he needed to get closer still—he wanted to completely erase that eyesore Copernicus from the moon.