Gundam, the Gundam journey of a certain glue guy and his mecha girl.

Realizing his mistake, Yzak could only fire all the remaining ammunition from the railgun to vent his frustration.

"Yzak also failed?"

Aslan noticed the figure falling into the sea during the duel, and his anxiety grew. He circled around to the stern of the Archangel again and pointed his beam rifle at the engine that was clearly in a bad state.

However, the beam he fired was once again intercepted by the Strike with its shield. Although the empty backpack could not allow the Strike to fly freely in the air, the high-thrust thrusters and auxiliary wings allowed the Strike to hover in the air for a short time.

Nicol wanted to help Aslan, but the trouble Mu was causing with the Sky King far exceeded his expectations.

A thick, red and white beam of light streaked across the airspace between Thunder and Aegis, forcing him to focus most of his attention on the troublesome fighter jet.

However, Aslan could no longer afford to waste any more time. As time ticked by, the airspace where the two sides were fighting was getting closer and closer to Orb's territorial waters. The Aegis had already detected the Orb fleet approaching from afar, and from inside the cockpit, the Orb fleet was also issuing a notification to both sides of the battle.

"Your forces are approaching the territorial waters of the United Chiefs of the Orb. Please change course immediately. Our nation does not allow any armed ships, aircraft, or mobile suits to enter our territory without prior consultation. Change course immediately!"

Aegis launched another surprise attack, and Kira once again launched the Strike Force from the Archangel, attempting to force Aegis back with fire. However, this time Aegis seemed to be prepared to perish together with the Archangel, charging straight at it.

"Stop, Aslan!"

Kira's pupils contracted sharply; he could no longer hold back. The emerald beam of light was no longer aimed at the head or limbs, but at Aegis's torso.

However, this was the moment Aslan had been waiting for.

The Aegis quickly abandoned the Gruul, allowing the powerful beam to pierce through it. It then transformed in mid-air, its thrusters propelling it at full power, and circled to the other stern of the Archangel before being captured by gravity.

"Fall, long legs!"

The siren's full-power attack severely damaged the main engine on that side. The flames from the thrusters gradually died down, black eyes appeared on the stern of the Archangel, and the ship gradually descended towards the sea.

"Starboard engine severely damaged! Overall thrust reduced by 52%, unable to maintain current altitude!"

"Sergeant Neumann, initiate emergency landing procedures!"

"But Captain, if this continues, we'll crash into Orb's territorial waters!"

"Ignore Orb, continue with the forced landing."

"but……"

"I said, continue with the forced landing!"

Maru, who was well-prepared, was not flustered at all. At her urging, the massive Archangel plunged into Orb's territorial waters.

As the Archangel glided into the water, the Orb Fleet began its bombardment. Shells exploded around the Archangel, and its silhouette was completely engulfed by towering columns of water and smoke.

Aslan was unable to ascertain the fate of the Archangel, but with the Archangel entering Orb's territorial waters, the battle had to be brought to a halt.

"All aircraft retreat. Reclaim Storm and Duel."

He could only give such instructions in a slightly tired voice.

Chapter 57 Am I human?

Guided by the Orb Fleet, the battered Archangel entered a secret shipyard on Orb's Energoro Island.

This place is extremely secluded. The towering cliffs on both sides of the harbor completely conceal the shipyard from the sea or the air. From any angle, it is impossible to see its interior.

According to the agreement reached between Halbarton and Uzmi, Dawn Society will maintain the Archangel and the mobile suits on board, while Raven will cooperate with Dawn Society to carry out a new phase of mobile suit development.

At this moment, in the Dawn Society factory area located on Ono Goro Island, Erica Simmons looked at the design plan in her hand, her fingers constantly swiping across the tablet.

"Modular design, discrete mechanisms, miniaturized quantum communication devices, distributed batteries, miniaturization of high-output beam weapons... Should I say that you truly live up to your reputation?"

Erica, who served as the technical director of Dawn Society, couldn't help but exclaim in amazement after reading the design proposal.

Even in Orb, which has a large number of Adjuster researchers, only a very small number of people can reach Raven's level.

The performance of the G Project series mobile suits that Raven completed not long ago was already superior to all the mobile suits currently in service with the ZAFT army. If the design proposal that Raven handed over to her at this moment could be completed without any compromise, its performance would be enough to completely surpass the G Project series mobile suits.

As expected of a machine named Superior, its performance truly deserves the title of "superior".

"How is it, Director Erica? With the capabilities of Dawn Corporation, it shouldn't be too difficult to complete the construction of the S Gundam, right?"

"S Gundam?"

"It's Superior. I personally like to call it S-Gundam because it's easier to pronounce."

Raven shrugged.

Erica paused for a moment, then a smile appeared on her lips. She remembered that back in Heliopolis, Raven also liked to call those G Project mobile suits "something Gundam".

"As for the specifications, of course there's no problem. You're certainly aware of Dawn Society's capabilities. However, since you've named this child Superior, should we consider mounting some experimental equipment on it? After seeing your proposal, I also want to make this child as perfect as possible."

"Experimental equipment?"

Raven raised an eyebrow, somewhat bewildered by Erica's words.

"You mean..."

"To be honest, Dawn Society recently realized the idea that Mr. Raven had previously proposed."

Erica swiped her finger across the tablet, and a new document popped up.

"The cytomegalo device, they really made it?"

"Although it's just a very simple biosensor. As for more advanced technologies like psycho-weapons and psycho-frameworks, we have absolutely no idea what to do."

"No, no, no, even if it's just a biosensor, this is already incredibly impressive."

There was no politeness in his words. Raven knew very well that when he first proposed the idea of ​​the cytomegalo device, he was just trying it out.

After all, the cytomegalo device was a completely new technology system for this world, and unexpectedly, Dawn Corporation actually made a name for itself with it.

This was a pleasant surprise for Raven. The biosensors could greatly enhance the body's reaction speed and amplify his NT abilities.

Even without enabling Raven to unleash his powers like the NT in the UC universe, simply allowing Raven to perceive the battlefield situation more clearly is already a significant improvement.

Although Raven has not yet seen in person the nuclear-powered mobile suits that ZAFT is secretly developing, he believes that his creation is absolutely no less impressive than theirs.

Speaking of nuclear power, Raven did leave room for modification in the design of the S Gundam.

However, since Raven had little knowledge of nuclear physics and was unable to build an anti-neutron jammer, the idea of ​​equipping it with nuclear power had to be put on hold for the time being, and he would have to wait until the conditions were right to consider it again.

However, nuclear power will not cause the S Gundam to suffer from the range problems that the Strike Gundam once faced.

In his design, Raven installed a battery on each of the S Gundam's shoulders and legs. With the addition of battery expansion pack technology, the S Gundam's combat time would be several times that of the Strike Gundam.

Raven's thoughts gradually unfolded in his mind, as if he could see the S Gundam soaring in the sky.

But a sudden, unexpected ringing of a bell abruptly pulled him back to reality.

"Mr. Raven, the body maintenance for Miss El and the implantation of the artificial skin have all been completed. Would it be convenient for you to come and inspect them now?"

Raven stood up so fast that Erica didn't even have time to react. He quickly walked out of the laboratory, leaving Erica behind.

-----------------

The corridor was long, but Raven traversed it in just a few minutes. As he got closer to Al's room, Raven felt his heart beating faster and faster.

The door to the room opened, and what appeared before Raven was the back view of a girl with long silver hair.

Hearing the door open, the girl slowly turned around.

"El?"

Raven held his breath and said nervously.

The girl before him was so different from the image he remembered that it took Raven several seconds to reconnect the name El with the scene before him.

The mask was removed, replaced by a delicate, doll-like face with fair skin, lips that glowed with a soft pink luster, and a nose that curved into an elegant arc. What attracted Raven's attention most were her ruby-like eyes.

Just by removing the mask and revealing a layer of skin, can one's image change so drastically?

"Yes, I'm right here, Raven."

A gentle smile graced the girl's face as she slowly walked towards Raven. She was still wearing the gothic Lolita dress Elsa had given her, but this time, she was no longer the doll Elsa had meticulously dressed up in front of the mirror; instead, she possessed features resembling those of a human girl…

No, I cannot become human. I am Al, an all-purpose artificial intelligence belonging exclusively to Raven.

"How is the body? Are there any abnormalities? What about the connection between the artificial skin and the implant?"

Raven's voice was as gentle as ever.

"Everything is normal, there's absolutely no problem. Also, thank you, Raven, for always being so tolerant of my whims."

“What’s there to thank me for? I’m a man of my word. Besides, I want to see the moment you become human.”

"people?"

El's voice paused for a moment; her usually unwavering mind paused for an unusual instant.

"In Raven's eyes, am I a person now?"

Al said unexpectedly.

"Of course."

Raven answered without the slightest hesitation.

“You have your own emotions, your own opinions, and your own hobbies. From the moment you were born, you were not just a simple tool, but an electronic life form with complete self-awareness. And now you have a body with a human appearance, so why can’t you be called human?”

Al didn't reply, but just looked at Raven quietly, his mind suddenly filled with a warm feeling.

Am I... a human?

She turned around and looked at the full-length mirror beside her.

A beautiful young girl appeared in the mirror. She had long, silver hair like moonlight, wore a gorgeous black dress, and had skin so smooth it seemed like it could be broken with a touch. However, there was a hint of confusion in her ruby-like eyes.

Just like a real person.

El made an evaluation of the girl in the mirror.

Author's message

Sorry, this chapter was rewritten several times, hence the late update.

Chapter 58 Simulation Battle (Part 1)

Orb, Onogoro Island, a simulated battle testing ground.

Since the Archangel docked at the secret port of Onogoro Island, Raven's schedule has been completely filled, with the S Gundam development project, which he is working on in cooperation with Dawn Corporation, taking up most of his energy.

Therefore, Raven, who chose to focus his energy on the S Gundam project, handed over the task of updating the OS for the M1 Apostle to Kira, and Raven himself would only help out when problems arose.

Kira's talent lived up to his status as a Super Adjuster; with a few pointers from Raven, he successfully completed the project in a short time.

Today marks the first practical test of Kira's OS.

"Teacher, are you sure you'll be okay going alone?"

Kira watched from the control room as Raven piloted the M1 Heretic into the simulated battle area via a screen.

"Is there a problem? I think your OS is pretty good. The operation on the M1 client is also great, and the user interface feels great. It's much better than what my colleagues in the g project team wrote back then."

"Uh, that's not what I meant."

Kira glanced hesitantly at Al, who stood silently beside him. Unlike Kira, Al's ruby-red eyes gazed calmly at the simulated battlefield outside, completely unaffected by the tense atmosphere in the control room.

“You used to pilot the mobile suit with Miss El, but this time you're all alone, so…”

Raven didn't bring El with him on board this time, and he also had to face the attack of three other units of the same model. Although Kira had great faith in Raven's abilities, he was still a little apprehensive.

Although it was just a simulation battle and losing wouldn't cause any problems, Kira still didn't want to see Raven, who had been guiding him all along, lose.

"Don't worry. Although I did perform most of the complex maneuvers of the short sword when the Natural Human OS was not yet complete, in recent battles, my role has been limited to support."

"Huh? Is that so?"

Kira was somewhat surprised by Al's explanation. He had always thought that the short sword's fierce performance on the battlefield was mainly due to Al's assistance in piloting it.

"I didn't realize it before, Kira, are you underestimating me?"

Raven's voice carried a hint of mockery.

"No, I didn't..."

Kira's face flushed instantly, his voice rose sharply, and he hurriedly tried to explain.

"Just kidding, don't take it to heart."

Raven's soft laughter came from the other end of the communication.

"But today is the time to show my true strength. They're just three rookies. Watch me take them down in no time."