Gundam, Gravity Elegy

The woman was running straight here, and her movements were exactly the same as in the afternoon.

"Ren, it's so good to see you alive!!"

"..."

Looking at that face that seemed to show no vigilance whatsoever, Gao Ren felt his body tense up completely.

It wasn't just one person; at this moment, even the others who were with her reacted.

"Wait, Alma, that guy is..."

I'm sorry.

Before the girl could stop, Gao Ren lunged forward and pressed a pistol against her forehead.

"Do not move!"

"Huh?!"

"Let go of Alma!"

'Click'

At that moment, the sound of the safety being released was crystal clear, and both guns were pointed at him simultaneously.

Watching this scene, Gao Ren simply reached out and grabbed the still dazed woman beside him, putting his arm around her neck.

"If you dare to shoot, I'll blow this woman's head off."

"……Why?"

Seemingly finally snapping out of her daze, Alma couldn't help but ask:

"We shouldn't be comrades..."

"Who's a comrade of you Zeon dogs?!"

"Eh..."

At that moment, Alma felt a roar in her brain, as if something was being bombarded into her mind.

Reality felt incredibly distant; only that emotion, devoid of any sentimentality, surged within.

Anger... but it didn't belong to her:

"They're just a bunch of terrorists who invaded Earth, so don't put on some fake, touching act."

Amidst the commotion, only silence echoed within the warehouse.

Ultimately, the older woman was the first to react:

"So, you're with the Federal Army?"

His distinctive red military uniform, with both its insignia and color, set him apart from that of ordinary soldiers.

That mark is...

"Is that the Zabi family's chief guard?"

'Boom'

Author's message

…………

A little-known fact: the Supreme Commander's Guard is not the same as the Kilian SS. The former was an intelligence agency, or more accurately, the SS.

Chapter 55: The Southern Cross

explode……

The flashes of artillery shells danced outside the factory warehouse.

The gap where the Zaku had smashed through, and the sky almost glowing red from the firelight, were just like Gao Ren's mind at that moment.

Boiling instincts, raging anger, that familiar sensation, as if consciousness and body were completely separated, struck again, seemingly trying to strip away his will.

"Let's get started."

"Kill her."

But no!

They shouldn't have gone down in a fight to the death; they... they're not worth it!

Clutching the pistol, Gao Ren bit his lip hard, forcing the dull pain back to his control.

It's like surfacing a second before drowning, the salty, fishy smell that assaults the senses desperately trying to suppress the defenses called reason.

"Security Captain Monica Cadillac."

Finally, this sound was heard:

"As you said, I belong to the Commander-in-Chief's Guard."

Directly in front of her, the woman glanced at her comrade who was still holding a gun, and then voluntarily lowered her weapon.

"So in terms of value, I am far greater than that little girl next to you."

As if to show her sincerity, she even took the initiative to throw the gun aside and then raised her hands.

This gesture, which resembled surrender, also expressed her attitude:

"How about I become the hostage instead?"

Of course……

"impossible."

Gao Ren neighed:

"Do you think I'm stupid? I'm only 14 years old."

Ultimately, strength is not what he excels at.

Therefore, the question of whether a female soldier from the Secret Service or a child soldier is easier to control is a simple multiple-choice question that doesn't even need to be considered.

"Besides, if it were you, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to resist shooting you dead."

"However, this should not be in your best interest."

"No, it fits perfectly, at least it fits my current emotional needs!"

why?

Why is this guy able to say such things with such confidence?

Monica didn't understand.

At this moment, something else was also fighting inside her head. The sudden appearance of someone even younger than her own brother almost destroyed her consciousness.

And more importantly...

"Why do the Federation's child soldiers harbor such hatred towards us?"

"Because he's from Sydney..."

"what?!"

The weak voice behind her startled Monica, and even Lieutenant Washitani, who had been holding his gun at the ready, trembled for a moment.

"It's...Sydney?"

For them, the word was like a nightmare, taking them straight back to the day the unit was first formed.

Carrying massive weapons, they thought they were heading to the battlefield to engage in a space war with the Federation forces, but then they saw the massive satellite propelled by a nuclear pulse—Iphishu Island.

"That child, who has appeared on federal television and news, is the only survivor in that area."

“...Lieutenant, secretly listening to or watching Earth Federation radio stations is a violation of military discipline.”

"I know!"

The man named Oliver May responded loudly, but the pain in his organs and body rendered him unable to move.

"But I really can't just sit idly by and do nothing about it..."

"So you listen to those things, even though you'll only suffer afterward. Those things are poison to us."

Unconsciously, even Monica's own voice trembled.

She clenched her fist and looked at the boy in front of her again:

"Lieutenant Gao Ren of the Federal Army, right?"

Then, she took a step forward:

"pat"

"Don't come any closer!"

The gun barrel was pressed firmly against the girl's temple, and Gao Ren took a slight step back:

"While I can still control my emotions, I advise you not to act rashly."

"However, there is no point in you persisting like this; your raid has already failed."

"No, not yet..."

"Do you know why Lieutenant Mei was able to board the MS so quickly? It's because our unit is preparing special supplies for the new type of aircraft."

"If you mean 'support,' that force called Southern Cross will probably be arriving in about ten minutes..."

"No, you're just extrapolating based on the maximum speed of a transport plane, but we Zeon have 'vehicles' that are even faster."

'boom'

Almost the instant Captain Monica finished speaking, a roar echoed from directly above.

This time it wasn't an explosion, but the kind of roar you hear when a large plane cuts through the sky, the roar of its engines.

"They've arrived."

…………

'Om'

Five transport platforms swept through the air, and the brown-brown Cyclops looked down, where the unquenchable flames flickered within the cabin:

"Tsk tsk tsk, if I remember correctly, it wasn't like this before, was it? What huge fireworks!"

"Don't say that, that's our base now."

Selma quickly silenced the near-hysterical ramblings from the team, focusing instead on the overall situation:

"Captain, there are still two mobile suits engaged in battle in the base, and they both appear to be Zeon mobile suits."

"I saw it. One of them was one of the earliest test models of the Tiger, with the power pipes still outside. And that maneuver... is it that old man from the Sakhalin family!"

Looking directly below, the viewfinder, which was more sensitive than that of the Zaku, revealed a disheveled figure.

The blue figure kept moving forward, trying to attack, but it just couldn't hit the white guy. The machine gun bullets could only just block the opponent's steps, but couldn't cause any effective damage.

Upon seeing this, Aigerba's lips couldn't help but curl upwards:

"Hmph, you always talk about the honor of soldiers, but you're struggling so much with that failed Zmad prototype?"

"Captain, what should we do?"

"On my command, attack that white 'failure'!"

"Yes!"

"Drip drip drip"

The alarm echoed in the cockpit. Ifrit, who had been dodging the relentless pursuit of the 'Tiger,' suddenly retreated, and with the engine running at full throttle, he avoided the range of the barrage.

"Tsk, the reinforcements actually arrived directly."

Looking at the logo and signal source appearing on the screen, Shirley gripped the joystick tightly:

"That idiot Kuvatro, I knew your intelligence agencies' talk was useless."

"I don't think this is my fault. How was I supposed to know they weren't on a transport plane at all... If I'm not mistaken, the planes under their MS should be Zeon's 'bombers'."