Gundam, Gravity Elegy

That was Gao Ren's original thought.

However, the scene that appeared before his eyes still overturned his understanding.

…………

July 27, UC.0079

4: 30 AM

night.

Approximately 10 hours after departing from the Gabro base in South America, the fourth squad of the G4 experimental force finally landed in southern Central Europe.

"Hurry up, move these things over there."

"Send these explosives to the engineers and tell them to hurry up; we're pressed for time and have a heavy workload."

"Move the ammunition boxes over there, yes, onto the truck."

"Have the combat uniforms arrived?"

When Gao Ren stepped off the transport plane, all he heard was that roar, sustained entirely by his lung capacity.

In the sweltering heat that almost created a mirage, several transport trucks roared with their engines, while in the center, under the direction of an old soldier leaning on a cane, soldiers carried boxes by hand.

In some desolate areas, the surrounding buildings are clearly dilapidated, and the various rust marks on them indicate that they are unusable. Only the newly erected tents attempt to prove their existence as a military outpost.

"Hey, shorty, get out of the way."

Just as Gao Ren was gazing absently at the surrounding buildings, the almost hoarse roar that reached his ears finally brought him back to reality.

He was a somewhat thin man, his army uniform completely soaked with sweat and emitting an unpleasant smell. His hair and stubble were messy, and even his glasses couldn't hide his lifeless and dejected demeanor.

"Oh, sorry."

Gao Ren stepped aside, but the man did not walk directly over.

When his previously lifeless eyes looked over, his expression was replaced by lingering astonishment:

"child……"

"Sergeant Marvin, are you planning to just stand there like a candle?"

"But Captain, there's something here..."

"Enough with the nonsense. On the battlefield, orders are everything. You're ordered to load these munitions onto the truck, so even if there are Zeon's wild dogs here, you have to do it."

But before the sergeant could say anything more, the voice shut him down.

Amidst a series of casual footsteps, a seemingly nonchalant officer stood before them:

"Or are you saying you can't even do something this simple right?!"

"……No!"

In reality, he should have been taller than the officer, but his stick-like body instinctively hunched over.

"If there are no objections, then get to work. We're very pressed for time."

"understand!"

The rude attitude seemed to leave no room for rebuttal, and the sergeant named Marvin simply left hastily with his ammunition.

“Really,”

Then, the officer's eyes swept over him. Although the night was dark, the surrounding lights still illuminated his epaulets—two bars and one star.

"Major?"

At this moment, Gao Ren sensed a hint of probing in those eyes that seemed to be surrounded by dark circles:

"So, who are you, little guy? A volunteer in the supply team... That's what I was going to ask, but it seems like it's not that simple."

His gaze also swept over Gao Ren's uniform, and he couldn't help but sneer:

"So the higher-ups really intend to send children to their deaths on the battlefield?"

"Hey, don't put it so harshly. We were sent here to support you, after all."

Before Gao Ren could respond, a cheerful voice rang out from behind.

Kuvatro Bagina—Gao Ren felt him gently pat his shoulder, then stick to the other side like a leech.

"Tsk tsk tsk, come to think of it, I don't think I ever said any of this?"

His hand gently stroked the other person's epaulettes:

"Congratulations, Senior Mike, not only have you been promoted to major, but you also have command of an independent unit."

"Envious, aren't you? It's because all the people above me are dead."

After gently breaking free from Cuvatro's embrace, he neatly straightened his collar.

"With this experience, my future looks bright."

To be honest, Gao Ren felt somewhat uncomfortable. Both the major's overly casual and boastful tone and his wide-open mouth made him uneasy.

But before he could trace its origins, Captain Cuvatro, who had been exchanging pleasantries with him, turned around and said:

"Let me give you a brief introduction. This is the commander of the 44th Battalion, and also my senior, Major Michael Colmarta."

The major also straightened his collar and smoothed out the wrinkles:

"This isn't the place to talk. Let's go to the command post."

Acquaintances—although the specifics are unknown, Captain Cuvatro and Major Michael certainly acted that way, and this identity has brought them considerable advantages in the current situation.

There was none of the bureaucratic beating around the bush that Gao Ren had encountered before, nor any of the formalistic seriousness.

In this scorching early morning night, the only sounds that seemed to echo were the kind of playful banter and mischievousness that Gao Ren had long ago heard in other schools:

"Tsk tsk, if you ask me, your command post is too shabby. Is a major and battalion commander planning operations in a place like this?"

However, this is not wrong.

Here, the so-called command post is just an almost enclosed tent.

There was no proper table; an oil lamp sat high up, illuminating a paper map that was merely weighed down by a stone.

The only commendable feature was the tent's excellent sound insulation; when Gao Ren stepped inside, he felt he could no longer hear any sounds from outside.

"After all, this is what this place is like, and there's nothing good to offer. Let's just make do with this for now."

Then, two metal cups were pushed over, steaming hot cocoa inside, while a few raisin cakes sat on a metal plate.

"It looks like life in the old century as described in history books, like something that would appear on a tourist satellite that uses war ruins as a selling point."

"So why not stay at the Salz base and instead be stationed in a place like this?"

Gazing at the dust-filled scene before him, Gao Ren finally couldn't help but ask a question.

Before he could finish speaking, two pairs of eyes simultaneously fell on him, and their seemingly questioning gazes made him feel somewhat pressured.

"What's wrong?"

Then, Gao Ren felt that this simple question was somewhat inappropriate:

"I just think that even if we're going to use the Salz base itself as bait and have the engineers set up a trap, we can still retreat once the trap is set up."

"So what are you talking about?"

"...Isn't that what you think, Major?"

Looking at the puzzled look on the other person's face, Gao Ren couldn't help but ask:

“There are many quarries nearby. If Zeon wants to forcibly occupy this place and extract resources, it will definitely make the Salz base its core.”

"Yes, indeed. If it were an intact military base, coupled with the long-standing mining and industrial activity in the area, it could serve as bait to lure Zeon."

The major agreed with this.

"So..."

"But that's on the premise that the Salz base is actually still usable."

Before Gao Ren could finish speaking, Major Michael's words rang directly in his ears.

What does this mean?

He wanted to ask that question, but his gaze couldn't help but wander around, and the more he looked, the paler his face became.

Upon closer inspection, those massive buildings and warehouse-like structures do not resemble ordinary residential buildings at all.

and so……

"This is the Salz base."

Author's message

…………

The UC clearly popularized jet combat suits like those used by the Lanbarar Special Forces, which can be used in the atmosphere, but the Federal Army doesn't even have body armor _(:з」∠)_

To put it another way, the army is completely rotten.

Chapter Twelve: Filth Under Gravity

The night was gloomy, and in April, Central Europe in 0079 still experienced a heat that was quite different from the past.

The gentle breeze failed to bring the expected comfort, only stirring up the neglected dust, making it a kind of signpost that drew Gao Ren's attention to the entrance of the tent.

"The place you see now is the old barracks, and a little further ahead, the taller and larger building is the warehouse."

Although he hadn't noticed this before, after looking around again, Gao Ren realized that the obviously abandoned buildings were indeed the size of a military base in terms of structure and scale.

"But shouldn't this base still be in use?"

"It's still in use on the books, that's all."

Major Michael yawned:

“Aside from the headquarters in Gabro, the Federation’s largest industrial bases are located in the Americas and Asia. Before the outbreak of the One Week War, the center of the Federation Parliament was located in Africa. There was nothing in Europe, so it was naturally less restricted – after all, the Earth hadn’t been at war for a long time.”

The space colonization plan alleviated Earth's population pressure, but in doing so, it brought the main conflict to space. Not to mention the navy and air force, the army, which was limited by the terrain, not only did not encounter any battle formations, but also had few small-scale conflicts.

However, this kind of thing does not bring peace.

The Earth Federation, a united government that has become a superpower with no rivals, has seen its military presence on Earth develop numerous problems during this period of peace.

"Ghost employees..."

“That’s right. The Salz base currently only exists on paper. It receives a small amount of maintenance fees from the Federation Army each year, and then we don’t know where the money goes.”

Major Michael's tone remained light and casual, but the facts he conveyed weighed heavily on the listener's heart.

"There are no anti-aircraft guns here, no electricity, and the warehouse is piled high with uncleaned scrap and garbage—"

At this point, Michael suddenly broke into a bright smile:

"I would say that if it weren't for the severe lack of supplies, I would never have considered staying in a place like this."

"So what were you planning to do if we hadn't come?"

"Of course, we should try to arm ourselves with weapons and hide in the mountains to fight a guerrilla war. It shouldn't be a problem to find a place to hide big trucks or something."

"What about tanks? The Type 61 tank is actually not well-suited for operations in the predominantly mountainous Salz region—"

"Hey, isn't this a coincidence?"

Before Gao Ren could finish speaking, Major Michael suddenly slapped his thigh:

"We don't have any tanks."

"...Huh? But the 44th Battalion should have been reorganized from the remnants of the 6th Armored Division."

"Well, but actually the armored divisions themselves don't have many tanks."

"Shouldn't it be a full-strength unit?"

"This topic is chargeable, kid."

Looking at Major Michael's somewhat exaggerated smile, Gao Ren felt as if the world had become quiet.

Although the air was still sweltering, he felt a coolness.