Gundam, Gravity Elegy

"Then let's head to the Ruhr, make a final resupply, and then rush to the front lines."

"Bieson, turn and ascend—"

The secretary then gave the orders, but even she, who was right next to him, did not realize that as the aircraft carrier slowly turned around, the commander in the seat closed his eyes.

It's as if all the frivolity is just a superficial performance.

"There's one last battle left, just win it."

…………

Of course, the atmosphere on Zeon's side was excellent.

Now that they have driven the Federation's Earth garrison back in defeat, most of them are immersed in a joy akin to a bountiful harvest.

Even though discontent had already arisen among the lower ranks due to infantry casualties, these voices were quickly drowned out by even more vehement responses.

It seems that in the face of victory after victory, a few casualties are insignificant.

However, this fervor is likely to come to an end starting today.

Thinking of this, Top simply looked around:

“I have done as you requested.”

Directly in front of her, on a control panel out of the communication blind spot, a pistol was silently pointed at her.

But when the dark muzzle of the gun was lowered, what was seen was an excessively young face:

“Very good, we will abide by the Antarctic Treaty and protect the human rights of prisoners of war.”

However, Top knew he couldn't approach this boy with normal logic:

"However, I hope you will cooperate with our operations going forward."

"This……"

"You probably won't refuse."

Just like when he previously picked up a rocket launcher and threatened to blow up their warship's engines, he directly rejected the idea:

"The fact that you didn't directly cause the warship to explode shows that you value your soldiers. Choosing to shut down and lock the system instead of destroying it is probably to give yourself more leverage in negotiations."

Without any hesitation or probing, he brazenly used a scalpel called language to dissect all the barriers, ruthlessly laying bare all those hidden thoughts and information that should have been obtained through mutual sparring.

Then, they thus construct the only choice:

“You should choose to cooperate with us, even if only for the sake of your 'comrades' who are still alive.”

Gazing at the boy's calm expression, Lieutenant Top finally closed his eyes:

"No problem—but I have one condition."

Chapter Thirty-One: Distribution

2: 30 PM

Salz Base

According to conventional meteorological knowledge, this is the hottest time of the day, and this is especially true for Central Europe, where temperatures can only be described as abnormal after being bombed by satellites.

"36 degrees Celsius, is it?"

After glancing at the time displayed on the thermometer, Gao Ren couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Haha, how about that? Such high temperatures are quite unusual for Central Europe. The situation might get even worse in the summer."

"This kind of thing shouldn't be something to be proud of, right?"

Seeing Major Michael's still seemingly excited spirit, Gao Ren couldn't help but complain:

"Are you really alright in your current state?"

I didn't pay much attention to it before, but now that I look back, Gao Ren can clearly see the 'smoky makeup' on his face that can only be described as outrageous.

"If I remember correctly, you haven't rested since dawn?"

"Oh right, I never expected that the righteous lieutenant would care about the health of an evil major like me. It's really touching."

To be honest, Gao Ren still feels he can't get used to the major's sarcastic attitude.

but……

"Do you seem even more excited than before?"

"Yes, because I took some medicine."

Michael gave a matter-of-fact answer, appearing to yawn, but his voice grew increasingly exaggerated:

"Since there were no material difficulties, I naturally wanted to throw myself a 'party,' so I ate a little more than usual."

Of course, what sounds like a casual remark about sneaking a snack has a much deeper meaning than that.

So you're not going to rest?

Gao Ren couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement:

"If you continue like this, you might ruin your health."

"That relationship? If it gets messed up, I'll apply for 'retirement'. Anyway, the flight routes are still relatively smooth. If I really have health problems, I'll have someone take me back immediately, and I'll take my retirement pension to Side 6 for a vacation!"

With the most excited voice and the most irresponsible words, Michael plopped down on the chair in the tent again.

"After all, I am the commander, and I have always lived a life of danger. Now that the whole unit has finally seen a glimmer of hope, it would be better to really make them happy. Someone like me should not disturb their enjoyment."

Suddenly, the major's mood plummeted again, and the two completely different and extreme emotions he displayed at the same time made Gao Ren scratch his head.

He glanced instinctively at Yang De'er, only to see the former tank gunner shake his head:

"It's the same old story; he loses control of his emotions whenever he takes too many energy-boosting drugs."

"That's a performance-enhancing drug, after all..."

"I must appear more confident than them, I must appear more fanatical than them, and I must appear more ruthless than them—"

In that completely uncontrollable muttering to himself, Gao Ren finally took a small step back.

Just as he was wondering whether he should give the commander some space, his savior arrived.

'Drip drip'

When the call connected, it was his sister Shirley's voice that came through:

"The Hump is ready and the personnel have been assigned. If you are ready, please come aboard."

…………

All I can say is that the few hours from this morning until now have been very meaningful.

During this period, the 44th Battalion, which had been designated as a guerrilla force, and the supporting 4th Squad had successfully towed their biggest gain—the Hump and its cargo hold—to the Salz base.

At the same time, the military supplies that originally belonged to the Zeon army were also unloaded without hesitation:

"In short, those Zaku have been handed over to the 44th Battalion, but many of them only have experience driving tanks."

"Having experience driving tanks should be enough. MS is ultimately an industrial tool. Apart from the weapon system being biased towards tanks and fighters, the rest of the operating principles are on the same level as tractors."

"Then there's the issue of personnel allocation. Considering that the Hump is ultimately a Zeon warship, Kuvatro decided to roughly divide the Zeon prisoners of war into two groups. The technical soldiers and infantry, led by the maintenance crew, will remain in the 44th Squadron, while we will take some of their bridge operators and mobile suit pilots with us."

Along the way, after meeting with Shirley, she told her all about what had happened in the previous few hours.

Of course, Gao Ren actually had no objection to this allocation.

"If I remember correctly, the Sand Lizard Squadron itself doesn't have many people?"

"That's right. Because it's an MS squadron, the vast majority of its members are maintenance crews, and they participate in the majority of the battles on the front lines. There are only the most basic defense crews for naval invasions. Even if you include an entire warship, there are only about 60 people."

"Such a normal configuration, but unfortunately it was completely destroyed by your seemingly reckless battle plan."

"But at least it was a success, and the profits were huge."

"Indeed, a successful plan is certainly a good plan."

The woman tilted her head slightly, revealing a somewhat subtle smile:

"Have you considered what would happen if our 'Lieutenant Top' wasn't the kind of commander who cared about his life, but instead a fanatic who was madly loyal to the Zabi family?"

"Then she shouldn't be here, but on a larger, more frontline battlefield. After all, when dealing with a commander as mad as the 'White Ogre,' the person in charge of logistics should be more mature and composed... Why are you looking at me like that?"

Just as Gao Ren was subconsciously pondering, he saw that beautiful face pressed against him.

The expression on his face, as if he were observing some kind of special creature, couldn't help but make Gao Ren's lips curl into a smile:

Is there something wrong with what I said?

"No, it's just a bit of a surprise. You really have an unexpected talent for this. Every word you say is logical and well-founded."

As she said this, Shirley's eyes narrowed into beautiful crescent moons.

Then, Gao Ren saw her reach out and gently smooth his collar, her fingers lightly tracing the insignia on his collar:

“If it were you, you would definitely be a commander completely different from those rigid old fogies, so I will obey your orders.”

Perhaps this should be considered a compliment?

Hearing that flippant tone, Gao Ren subconsciously raised an eyebrow.

He could sense that something was off about Shirley's words, but she didn't give him time to think about it.

"In short, because the 44th Mechanized Mixed Battalion is a very traditional 'army' unit, it has an overwhelming advantage in terms of numbers, so there is no problem in terms of the placement of prisoners."

As she began to mention these things, her light steps had already led her straight ahead.

As for that reiteration of the main topic...

"It's just that saying things like that is really not pleasant."

"Want to hear something whispered?"

"no!"

Just as Gao Ren was about to give up his headache, he saw her walk up to him again:

"However, some things are ultimately beyond our control. Since we can't change them, we can only try to leverage our strengths in this area."

"The advantage is that..."

"The 44th Battalion is willing to support a group of special operations infantry to provide us with a broader tactical approach and also to provide protection for the warships."

"Who is the commander?"

'Crunch'

Finally, when the two reached the bridge, a face came into Gao Ren's view as the mechanical sliding door opened.

It was a bright and beautiful face, with wine-red hair that exuded a mature and sexy aura.

"You're the infantry commander?"

Then, she rolled her eyes:

"I'm part of our team, okay?"

"Then you are...?"

"Correspondent, didn't you recognize my voice?"

Author's message

…………

As described in "The Great Illustrated Guide to Strategy and Tactics," the European theater of the One Year War was initially a war of attrition waged by each side acting independently—in short, guerrilla warfare.

Chapter Thirty-Two: 'Results'

It was pretty awkward.

In reality, it's probably because they've barely worked together and she's never appeared on camera that Gao Ren has any deep impression of his team's communications officer.

Of course, sound is also an example.

"I really didn't hear it."

After hesitating for a moment, Gao Ren decided to tell the truth, which made the woman sigh and rub her forehead.

"You're kidding, right? I think my voice is quite distinctive."