Gundam, Gravity Elegy

From a distance, he looked like a walking corpse, with only the nameplates tied to his body that didn't belong to him proving his existence.

then……

"click"

With a dull metallic clang, the frontline officer saluted.

"Lieutenant Ben Barbley of the 44th Mechanized Composite Battalion, reporting for duty."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the people in the conference room.

Gao Ren could clearly recognize that gaze, which could only be described as blunt, but when he looked at the other person, he saw that he had already looked away.

It was as if they were deliberately ignoring him:

"I'm very sorry, Captain, it took a little longer than usual because I was collecting the nameplates of my subordinates."

"It's alright, please have a seat. We were just discussing our counterattack plan against the remaining lizard forces."

"Please sit here, Lieutenant."

Because he was closer to the door, Gao Ren stood up immediately.

But just like before when he was ignored, he didn't react at all, and simply walked to the side calmly.

"Tsk, you think you can't understand what Ah Ren is saying?"

"Wait, Sister Shirley..."

Seeing his guardian suddenly erupt in anger, Gao Ren quickly pressed her down:

"Anyway, Lieutenant Barbery... is that how I should address you?"

He walked up to the man with his head down and asked.

"Can you operate a MS... no, how should I put it?"

Meeting that gaze filled with blood, he began to gather his words once more:

"Without operating the weapon systems, the MS is very easy to operate, similar to a tractor or other manually operated machinery, so would you like to pilot the Zaku later?"

Chapter Twenty-Two: Land Battleships!

July 27, UC.0079

7: 10 AM

An hour had passed since sunrise, and on the scorching, barren land, a large, bright yellow machine, almost blending into the desert, was speeding across the ground.

Land-based warships—naturally, such things would never have appeared under normal historical circumstances.

However, the presence of Minovsky particles rendered the original beyond-visual-range strike methods and command chains ineffective. Both the Federation and Zeon opted to move the 'command center' forward, and with colonies becoming the mainstream, this kind of thing came into being.

Originally designed to suppress colony satellites, it features air cushion levitation capabilities and combines command functions with firepower.

Furthermore, due to its own tactical requirements, it also needs to have the ability to carry mobile suits—this is the main land-based battleship of the Principality of Zeon: the Gallup-class.

In order to enable rapid expansion during the first landing operation, the 1st Mobile Land Division in Eurasia, led by Major General Yuri Keller, was equipped with such ships.

Although the number manufactured was not very large, the 441st Squadron, which is currently being heavily promoted within the division and even the entire Earth Attack Force, naturally also possessed one of these behemoths.

The Hump—this is the ogre's command ship, and it is currently towing a huge cargo container.

Of course, compared to the infantry and other comrades who were struggling to advance, this warship naturally had all the standard living facilities, and its rapid cruising speed ensured that the squadron could travel to and from various supply stations in a short time.

However, despite its many advantages, serving on such a warship was not actually a pleasant experience—at least that's what Corporal Sofia Anders thought.

The result of an overly undisciplined squadron leader and a command ship that could never keep up with the front lines was that all the pressure fell on him, the communications controller.

"No, we can't get in touch with them at all."

On the bridge, after a burst of noise, she instinctively covered her ears; the persistent noise was making her head buzz.

Even so, she kept glancing at the numbers on the panel out of the corner of her eye:

"While the concentration of Minovsky particles in the vicinity is indeed decreasing, it is not yet at a level sufficient for normal communication."

"That's a good thing for us Zeon, since the Federation Forces still don't have the ability to actively spread Minovsky particles."

"To be precise, it's not that they lack the ability, it's just that the Federation Forces haven't come up with a solution for dealing with MS yet."

Feeling a little thirsty, Corporal Sofia casually picked up the drink on the table and took a sip:

"Once the Federation forces actually have their own mobile suits, our situation will probably not be very good."

"But at least we don't have to think about that today. Our captain—the legendary white ogre—has been reporting on the battle results. Didn't he wipe out several guerrilla units just one night?"

"but……"

"To be honest, Sofia, you're just too nervous. I know how to ease this. Just come with me to the lounge for a drink..."

Just before that thuggish face was about to get close, a slender but rough hand blocked their way:

"Att, you should understand the situation right now. It's not appropriate to harass Corporal Sophia like this, is it?"

"Hey, Sister Top, it shouldn't be a problem to relax now, right? Isn't this kid our 'psychological caregiver'? Isn't that what he's used for?"

'Click'

“But she’s now our ship’s communications officer, and I trained her myself, so…”

The safety clicked – the woman had already drawn her pistol.

"If I see your hands about to grope these little girls again, I can't guarantee where this gun's bullets will end up."

"Tsk, you really dare to shoot?"

"I would say you died in battle."

"...Tch, what's with the tomboy's protectiveness? I should have just gone out with the captain."

Facing the dark muzzle of the gun, the seasoned soldier named At couldn't help but curl his lip:

"Anyway, I'll go wait for orders with Zaku first... Although that's what I said, now that Captain Snell and the others have already set off, we don't even know if we'll be able to earn any military merits."

The complaints gradually faded away, but they did not disturb the overall atmosphere inside the bridge.

"Captain."

After mentioning the real commander, Sofia couldn't help but bite her straw:

"Even though we already have a command ship, the captain seems to prefer to just pilot a mobile suit directly. This time, he left us with a general coordinate and then departed."

"After all, he probably felt a sense of crisis."

"A sense of crisis?"

Sofia couldn't help but look over, only to see a hint of helplessness on Lieutenant Top's face:

"Elmer has always been quite competitive, and he liked to pursue fame and fortune even in military school."

"But the captain is already an idol of the attacking army, right? Someone even interviewed him before."

"But desire is something that never ends. Besides, he is not the only one on the battlefield on Earth. Not to mention the foreign legions in North America or Africa, just in Europe, that force has returned, hasn't it?"

"You mean the Southern Cross?"

“That’s right. That’s a unit that was active from the British campaign to Loum. It can be said that the ‘White Ogre’ became famous because of the changes that happened to that unit. Even now, some people believe that the ‘White Ogre’ only acted because the Southern Cross was not around. Not to mention that our squadron was ordered to stand by in the rear, and Danan even applied to transfer to that unit because of this.”

At this point, Top couldn't help but sigh:

"Although Elmer didn't say anything, he was holding back his anger, which is why he was seeking battles everywhere and eager to accumulate merits."

"However, if possible, I hope the captain won't be so radical."

After finishing her water bottle, Sofia subconsciously placed it aside:

"Even though the commander hadn't assigned any missions, he just led his men out to wipe out the guerrillas or something, without even telling us the specific route..."

'patta'

A strange sound echoed across the bridge as an empty water bottle fell to the floor, drawing the attention of everyone else on the bridge.

"Uh……"

Have they forgotten they're on Earth?

Top bent down and picked up the water bottle.

"I forgot about it without even realizing it, hehe."

Sofia scratched her head sheepishly:

"I haven't been on Earth long, and I still feel like I haven't adjusted to this place. The omnipresent gravity always feels good..."

But before she could speak further, a short alarm sounded from the earpiece hanging in her ear:

"Communication detected, signal identification indicates... Captain!"

At this point, a look of joy appeared on Sofia's face:

"Great! The captain and his men have finished suppressing the remaining Federation forces in Mariage..."

"But what?"

"The captain said there have been losses. Even his Zaku was damaged when it was hit head-on by a Federation Type 61 tank, causing the cockpit to deform and the voice module to malfunction under the impact. So we need to resupply it as soon as possible."

Hearing this, Lieutenant Top couldn't help but laugh:

"He has always been like this, but it is precisely because he has always led by example that he has achieved his current reputation."

Then, she glanced at the wasteland outside the bridge:

"Now, let's go and welcome our Zeon's 'big star'."

…………

"The effects of the Minovsky particles are two-way. When the Zeon disperses the particles on a large scale to break down the Federation's chain of command, they themselves are also fragmented into smaller groups. In this situation, we can make a move at the communications level."

"Therefore, my plan is simple—to fabricate a great victory to lull their command into a false sense of security, and then we can ambush them, use the Zaku that we have now 'captured', and then put them all in Zeon combat uniforms to take control of them during the handover."

In the dark, enclosed cockpit, when Lieutenant Ben Barbley came to his senses, he could only feel his hands trembling.

"So... this should work, right?"

After sending the information via the built-in keyboard in the cockpit, he simply stared at the instructions displayed on the machine in his hand:

My Zaku got really badly damaged; it can't even send voice messages. Can you guys get a few people to fix it?

As he read the contents, Barbery wanted to laugh, but he felt that laughing out loud would be a disservice to the jingling dog tags on his body.

"That's the Zaku for you. We lost so many men, yet they can secure a victory with just a few words..."

In the dimly lit environment, the lieutenant covered his face:

"But Sergeant Lewis, and all of you, I swear to you, those Zeonians will pay the price!"

Author's message

…………

The term "psychological caregiver" for the Zeon army comes from the movie "The Banner". The protagonist of the Zeon side is assigned a woman with extremely poor grades but a celebrity mother and outstanding appearance to help him relieve psychological pressure.

PS2: The Top trio is from the 08th MS team. They were looking for food in the village when they got into a fight with their own idiot subordinate, who was At.

By the way, Top's CV and Harman's CV are the same ( ).

Chapter Twenty-Three: Doubt

Despite the blazing sun, the sky over Mariage could only be described as scorching hot.

The white Zaku, covered in wounds, with even its power pipes damaged, and a scar on its chest that, upon closer inspection, clearly showed a specially welded-on painted steel plate to serve as its outer armor, stood silently.

In the silence, a faint yet clearly audible panting echoed across the wasteland like a bloodthirsty beast, like an immortal ghost, or like the Grim Reaper on the hunt.

It's as if the steel plate on your chest is utterly ineffective against the roar of a wild beast:

"So, this situation is fine?"

Sherry glanced at the white Zaku, which looked like a corpse, and couldn't help but ask.