Gundam, Gravity Elegy

Your seemingly sincere words were like a knife piercing Lieutenant Barbery's heart.

He wanted to say something, but the fragments in his mind kept stimulating his thoughts.

Artillery fire and to stop the enemy.

Mobile Suit.

Those fragments, squeezed into words in my throat, seemed to rush out of my mouth, but the first one to emerge victorious was that word:

"Flashbang..."

The white light, seemingly tearing his consciousness apart, flashed through his mind again. Lieutenant Barbery instinctively covered his head, and the white light acted like a thread, reconnecting the fragmented pieces of his memory.

"Yes, a flashbang. I saw a flashbang before, and then I couldn't see anything anymore. Before that, I also saw a Zaku... yes, a white Zaku!"

When that white figure finally appeared in his mind, he couldn't help but shudder.

"A white ogre, I saw that guy seemed to be fighting a black mobile suit, and then..."

"Then, the battle was over."

"what?"

Upon hearing those words, Lieutenant Barbery was taken aback, but the brilliant sunlight from the sky stole his attention.

Under the rising sun, on the barren land, the white Cyclops lay wounded on the ground, its single eye, which should have been turning like a monster, now incredibly dim.

"White Ogre".

Lieutenant Barbery knew very well that the so-called Zaku was nothing more than a weapon of war that Zeon had deployed on the battlefield.

Even so, those words still kept popping into his mind:

"That monster, so it can die too."

"Yes, he's dead. The external power pipe was violently broken, and the cockpit was subjected to continuous external impacts. It seems that the pilot's neck was severed during the impact."

It sounded somewhat brutal, but just hearing the description filled Lieutenant Barbery with a sense of satisfaction:

"I never imagined the white cannibal would meet such an end, by that..."

Gradually, Lieutenant Barbery's gaze shifted to the side, to the ancient white robes imbued with the aura of war, to the kneeling, seemingly praying, black giant:

"Then what should I call you?"

"Gundam".

"Gundam……"

As Lieutenant Barberley pondered the title, he was overwhelmed with mixed feelings.

He suddenly had a surreal feeling, as if he had traveled through time—they were still trying to deal with those steel giants using wire-guided individual weapons, but in just two or three months, a mobile suit that could kill those one-eyed guys like chickens had suddenly appeared on his side.

"Right, we should have already set foot in space."

"What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing, just a bit sentimental. I wonder who is so lucky to be able to pilot the Federation's newest mech."

"Does the lieutenant think this is a lucky thing?"

"Isn't that so?"

Lieutenant Barberley didn't react at first to Captain Cuvatro's somewhat meaningful tone.

But when his gaze gradually shifted downwards, he saw an unexpectedly small figure.

Although that should be a normal height, there was a clear difference compared to an adult—he was surrounded by two technical sergeants who were much taller than him, and was almost blocked from entering.

Even so, Lieutenant Barberley still recognized the face:

“That was… I saw it in the newspaper, a few months ago, he…”

"Yes, the survivor of Sydney, the avenger carrying the souls of 24 billion dead... Yes, that's Lieutenant Gao Ren, who has these cool-sounding nicknames."

Captain Cuvatro calmly lit a cigarette:

"I'm 14 years old this year, and I heard that I won't be able to take the driving test until the second half of this year (the federal legal driving age is 15)."

'Boom'

It felt like a heavy hammer had fallen, and Lieutenant Barbery instinctively clutched his chest.

"he……"

"As you can see, he went to the battlefield just as all frontline soldiers would expect."

…………

"That's amazing, Lieutenant Gao Ren. You truly deserve to be called a genius in the pilot training class."

"Even the pilots who test maneuverability aren't as agile as you. Can you still achieve this level of maneuverability when equipped with cannons?"

"Seriously, at this rate, it feels like we'll be able to collect data that can be put into production very soon."

"Next time, please be sure to test the Steel Tank..."

Looking at the excited couple in front of him, Gao Ren couldn't help but scratch his head.

To be honest, while I can understand why these technicians are excited, I'm not particularly used to this overwhelming enthusiasm.

Faced with their subtle approach, Gao Ren really wanted to ask her 'guardian' for help, but unfortunately, she encountered a little problem.

So in the end, it was another older person who came to his rescue:

"Eileen, Clyde."

The slightly ethereal female voice rang out, and the two young technical officers who had been grinning quickly stood at attention.

They instinctively turned around, only to be met with a face that terrified them:

"What do we, the maintenance team, need to do after the battle? Do I need to repeat myself?"

The words were spoken in an extremely calm manner, but to the two sergeants they sounded like a death knell.

"I'll go get the crane out."

"I'm going to check the weapons!!"

Gao Rencai breathed a sigh of relief after the two enthusiastic technical officers left.

But before he could speak, a bottle of water was handed to him.

“Uh, thank you, Ms. Lutz.”

Then, the bottle of water seemed to pause for a moment:

"You know my name?"

"Yes, Metz Lutz, 38 years old, from Anaheim Electronics, a professional mechanic and engineer, and a colleague of Director Ray, right?"

After thinking for a moment, Gao Ren smiled and gave his answer:

"I had seen the team roster before, so I memorized it all."

"Is that so? Then you are indeed very meticulous."

Ms. Lutz's voice was very pleasant to hear, gentle and calm.

Unfortunately, she quickly ran out of things to say, and the sudden silence made Gao Ren feel somewhat awkward.

Although it was only their first meeting, looking into her somewhat empty eyes, Gao Ren suddenly realized why the two technical officers had run away earlier.

He quietly took the bottle of cool water with a straw from her hand and took a small step back.

Did I bother you?

"……No."

Although there was a brief moment of silence, she quickly gave her answer:

"We just need to do some simple preparations now."

"Okay, thank you for your help."

Gao Ren nodded, then turned and left.

Faintly, I seemed to hear some sounds behind me:

"Ms. Lutz, the machine gun seems to be malfunctioning."

He paused in his steps.

"It also appears that some electronic components in the legs have been impacted, and the leg force field motor seems to be malfunctioning."

Then, I subconsciously quickened my pace.

"And the shield—the built-in beam saber malfunctioned due to the violent impact!!"

Finally, under that faint, almost imperceptible gaze, he ran as fast as he could.

Author's message

…………

Irene and Clyde are from the Gravity Front.

Metz Lutz came from the outpost

Chapter Twenty: Perfection?

It is said that when animals encounter danger, they will instinctively seek out places where they feel safe.

Gao Ren wasn't a zoologist, so he didn't know if it was true or not, but as he ran, the gaze from behind him, from the maintenance squad leader—Ms. Lutz—made him tremble.

Fortunately, this sense of crisis didn't last long. Ms. Lutz soon looked away, and he finally ran to his trustworthy 'parent'.

Guardian – Shirley Page.

Beside a large mine pit in the Mariag Quarry, another mobile suit, carrying two massive cannons and looking even heavier, was kneeling on the ground—a Guncannon.

As a 'mid-range support MS' in Operation V, it was originally intended to be deployed together with the Gundam, which was the core unit of the operation.

In other words, according to the original plan, the Mariana Trench support battle should have been a battle that could simultaneously test Gundam and Guncannon, and also verify the effectiveness of the joint operations that the Federation had been longing for.

Unfortunately, it encountered a mishap.

First, Gao Ren's Gundam was in a hurry, completely ignoring the parachute and falling directly from the sky, relying on the thrusters to pull it in ahead of time to intervene in the battlefield, something Guncannon obviously couldn't do.

Not only is there a weight difference of nearly 10 tons when it is unloaded, but in order to ensure the accuracy of artillery fire and overcome recoil, the extra weight of the steel cannon is almost entirely placed on the leg structure. The design structure with a lower center of gravity not only makes its own movements less flexible, but also makes it necessary to rely on parachutes for airborne operations.

Then, not only was she late, she also fell into a pit.

A mine pit, meticulously concealed by a special operations team using camouflage netting and originally intended for the second phase of the operation, failed to trap the Zaku; instead, the heavy steel cannon fell into it.

"Damn it, who told you to be so heavy?"

how to say?

You could say that when someone's luck runs out, even drinking cold water can cause them to have problems.

"Not flexible at all, how come you weren't swept into the trash heap, you damn guy?"

Watching Shirley kick Luna Titanium Alloy so hard, Gao Ren couldn't help but scratch the back of his head.

So should I bother her?

The moment this subtle thought surfaced in his mind, the moment he hesitated, the question had already lost its practical significance.

Because the person involved has already discovered him!

"Um?!"

As the gaze swept over, Gao Ren felt as if he were seeing something even more terrifying, like the gaze of a predator.

But before he could break out in a cold sweat, he saw the woman running towards him.

"Ah Ren—look at yourself, what are you doing standing in the sun?"

By the time he came to his senses, the agile figure had already 'flew' over, bringing her reproachful gaze to his face.

Of course, there's also the wet towel that's placed directly on your head:

"Besides, you've just been through a battle, what you need to do is take the time to rest."

"I'm fine. This driving suit has excellent heat insulation, and so does this."