Gundam, Gravity Elegy

"After all, young kids are more interested in older girls than older women."

"Who are you calling old? I'm only 24!"

"Aside from Ms. Lutz, who's already married and has children, you're the oldest in our group~"

"Tsk, Kuvatro, do you want to look at your face? Does anyone believe you're under 20?"

Then, after Captain Cuvatro's mischievous voice rang out, the scene seemed to become even more chaotic.

This sudden outburst of noise and chaos also confirmed one thing for Gao Ren—his team might have some problems.

This reality inevitably left Gao Ren feeling somewhat helpless, but when he subconsciously turned his gaze to his guardian, all he received was a helpless look.

"I wonder what kind of life the other teams are living..."

Anyway, everyone's here now.

Fortunately, Cuvatro is still fairly sane. Although he always has that impulsive attitude, he at least knows how to get things done.

As Gao Ren and Shirley stepped into the bridge, his smile gradually faded.

"Major Michael provided a batch of individual equipment and then formed a special operations team to cooperate with us, centered around Lieutenant Ben Barbley, a former MS special operations instructor."

At this moment, Gao Ren finally turned his gaze to the infantry officer who had remained silent.

He seemed to have taken a shower and changed his clothes, but that still couldn't hide the fatigue on his face.

However, his military discipline still allowed him to suppress those personal emotions:

"As per the major's orders, I will lead the team to be responsible for the defense of the Hump, and at the same time, I can also fight as an infantryman."

Looking at the other person's face, which could only be described as resolute, Gao Ren could only sigh in the end.

From his perspective, there's not much he can say, perhaps:

"...Don't force yourself."

That's probably all I can say.

"However, it's not exactly a stretch. In fact, based on our current strategic plans, we hardly need any infantry."

As he said these words to ease the tension, Cuvatro simply tossed the paper documents he was holding onto the control panel:

“After all, we’re from Squadron 441 now, right, Lieutenant Top?”

There was no doubt that Cuvatro's tone was full of provocation, but the lieutenant standing to the side simply closed his eyes.

As an enemy soldier and a prisoner of war, this was the best attitude she could express.

“Come on, smile. I did transfer the women in your unit to the ship as you requested—although in reality, there was only one woman.”

When Kuvatro said that, Gao Ren also spotted a figure that looked like a little rabbit on the bridge.

Upon meeting Gao Ren's gaze, she couldn't help but shrink behind her lieutenant:

"Um, I'm Sophia Anders, nice to meet you..."

But before she could finish speaking, Lieutenant Top shielded the girl behind him.

He didn't say a word, but the protective feeling was palpable.

"Is it possible that girls who are going through puberty are stronger than me?"

Upon hearing this, Top seemed stunned.

She seemed to want to say something, but another figure blocked her way.

Shirley Page leaned gently against the tactical table, remaining silent, but the smile on her face hinted at a dangerous undertone.

Just before that subtle tension could escalate, that nonchalant, thuggish figure finally intervened:

"In short, to some extent, I still hope we can get along well, after all, we'll be comrades-in-arms from now on..."

'patta'

The captain gently tapped the screen on the side with his pointer.

"So let's get down to business as soon as possible?"

Then, two maps quickly appeared above:

"This is... a road map?"

"That's right. The one on the left starts from Salz and goes all the way north to the Ruhr Industrial Base. The locations marked along the way are the places that need to be cleared by Squadron 441. Although there aren't many, they are very detailed. It can be considered a strategic map of Zeon."

"And what's on the right..."

"Oh, this one on the right is really impressive. It's all thanks to our communications officer, who's a skilled hacker. She managed to extract the deployment maps of the European Front from the Federation Army's internal network over the past few months..."

"hacker?"

Upon hearing certain words, Gao Ren couldn't help but look at the woman, who then displayed an incredibly mature smile.

"So, you hacked the Federation's network?"

"To be precise, it's the server of the European Front. This map was originally intended for the supply troops, but I just copied it."

Isn't this against the rules?

Gao Ren originally intended to make this sarcastic remark, but after comparing the two maps, a chill that was spreading from the bottom of his heart rushed straight to his brain.

"Why are they exactly the same? No, how come even the team composition is clearly marked?"

"That's right, that's the interesting part. By the way, even the Salz base is on the marker. The 44th Battalion just retreated here and decided to build fortifications here, while the supply troops from Belfast only resupplyed here once..."

Finally, the red eyes behind the sunglasses sharpened.

Like a cold-blooded animal, that unsettling gaze made Corporal Sofia of Zeon instinctively take a step back, trembling like a small animal.

As for Lieutenant Top, she simply narrowed her eyes:

What are you trying to say?

"What I'm trying to say is—why didn't the infamous 'White Ogres' advance with the main vanguard, but instead remained stuck in this place?"

At this point, he narrowed his eyes:

"If you Zeon knew about the deployment of the European Front from the beginning, why did you stay in this place?"

"Because we did not receive any orders, since the Battle of the Danube, the commander has ordered us to linger on the flank of the main force."

"Then why did that situation happen to you last night? Why did your squadron commander—the White Ogre—leave his command ship and wander around? What exactly are you searching for?"

"That's because Elmer said he discovered traces of the Federation forces, so he set off ahead of schedule..."

"But that's impossible. There's only one team here, the 44th Battalion, which you see right now. They retreated all the way to this place after their defeat and reorganization half a month ago. Even the MS special skills soldiers were given emergency training in the last half month. They didn't stay here at all."

"But that's impossible, Elmer clearly said there have been continuous gains..."

Just as Top was about to retort, her face suddenly turned deathly pale.

She wanted to say something, but the dizziness made her unable to stand, and she could only stand with the help of Corporal Sofia.

"Lieutenant Top?!"

At that moment, she felt that the gazes of the people around her had turned sinister, like countless venomous snakes surrounding her, capable of taking her life with a single bite.

I could even hear a faint noise in my ear.

That lingering sound, as if it were about to engulf her... it didn't seem like an illusion?

"Second Lieutenant Gao Ren——"

Finally, with that call, the pressure ended.

When Lieutenant Top looked up, she only saw that the young pilot who had been staring at him had turned his head away.

"You and Lieutenant Page go outside and see what's going on."

"……I see."

Chapter Thirty-Three: Survival

'Click'

'Click'

Heavy footsteps echoed through the metal passageway leading to the outside.

Leather military boots are supposed to be light, but the sound of each step was like a thunderous pounding on the heart.

It is both unsettling and worrying.

"Aren..."

Looking at the figure's back directly in front of her, Shirley finally couldn't help but speak, only to see him raise his hand:

“I’m fine. I should calm myself down. Captain Cuvatro let me out because he knew that.”

If he continued to stand on the bridge, he didn't know if he could really control his emotions.

In fact, Gao Ren had already realized what had happened when Top showed his astonishment.

If there was only one team in the Salz region that retreated all the way to this place, then what were the so-called results of the white ogre extermination?

Thinking of this, Gao Ren felt a surge of anger boiling over, pounding in his heart and threatening to tear his mind apart.

"However, we must calm down. We still need to cooperate with those Zeonians. Only through cooperation and better disguise can we gather intelligence."

"Aren..."

"Yes, that's right. Anyway, let's go out first, Shirley. We need to see what's causing the commotion outside."

Watching Gao Ren's retreating figure, Shirley couldn't help but cover her head.

His rapid-fire tone and forced, suppressed attitude all indicated that he had pushed himself to the limit.

That's why I have to find a few unrelated things to distract myself.

But is it really that simple?

Looking at the restless figure ahead, Shirley's mind quickly conjured up a question without any evidence.

Perhaps it was intuition, but the increasingly clear sounds outside made her more and more uneasy.

Finally, as she stepped out of the Hump, her mournful wails echoed under the sweltering sky of Nasalz base.

"Major! Major!"

"Calm down..."

A young soldier burst into tears after being forcibly held by several soldiers.

"It's all gone, everything is gone!"

Amid the wailing, Shirley's gaze involuntarily fell upon an SUV not far away. It looked covered in mud, as if it had just crawled out of some mud pit.

At the same time, there was an unpleasant smell sticking to the tires and edges.

No, the tires weren't all mud; there were also bits of meat on them!

Realizing what was happening, Shirley looked again at the soldier who was being carried, and then noticed the dark bloodstains on his sweat-soaked army uniform.

However, these things clearly did not belong to him:

"Major! The surrounding villages are all gone, the people who lived there... are all dead!!"

The hoarse wails assaulted her mind, and even Shirley herself felt her brain buzzing.

But the next moment, she saw the boy's face darken:

"pain."

He simply covered his ears and even closed his eyes tightly, as if his hearing and vision were being subjected to unbearable torment.

"Why……"

"Aren..."

Before Shirley could get close, he ran straight back:

"Wait, Jin!"

…………

July 27, UC.0079

The 441st Company of the 1st Ground Mobile Division of the Zeon Earth Attack Force killed civilians and claimed credit for their crimes, and launched an attack on surrounding villages and towns under the pretext of clearing out the remnants of the Federation Army. This incident was confirmed to be true by the Federation Military 44th Battalion.