Gundam, Gravity Elegy

Before he could even get angry, he saw a woman walk quickly towards him and then naturally shield him behind her.

In fact, those wary faces shouldn't have been there between them in the first place:

"Top, as one of the last students to graduate normally from school before the outbreak of war, your grades have always been among the best."

"Instructor."

Faced with that complicated gaze, Top simply gripped the gun in his hand tighter.

Most military academies rehire experienced officers as instructors to teach combat experience in the school, and Norris Barcard, who was selected from the beginning and made contributions with an old-style Zaku as his vehicle during the MS development period, was no exception.

But now, the teacher-student bond cultivated within the military academy can only be described as insignificant:

"You once said that the real battlefield is completely different from what is taught in school, and I have now truly experienced that."

"So your choice is betrayal?"

"No, I want to protect my men, and..."

"and?"

"I have doubts about the war itself."

Upon hearing this, Norris's eyes widened.

He wanted to say something, but as a veteran who had been through many battles and held a certain position, he vaguely understood what Top was referring to.

After a series of shifts in expression, the elderly veteran finally sighed:

"Now that you've chosen to side with the Federation Army, how's Elmer doing?"

"...He is dead."

At this point, Top closed his eyes.

She wanted to end it there, but a lingering resentment seemed to remain deep within her.

"That guy, he's blinded by victory. When there's no fighting, no going to the front lines, he just slaughters villages and towns on Earth and pretends it's a victory..."

"Such a thing exists?!"

Upon hearing this, Norris's usually resolute face showed a violent tremor.

He wanted to say something, but given his eloquence, his past memories, and his understanding, he could only manage to utter one sentence:

“He wasn’t like this before.”

"Yes, back in Loum, he was someone who would rescue his comrades and believed that the battlefield was a cruel place."

So when exactly is it?

Perhaps it was when he was appointed as the main force on the ground?

Or perhaps it was when he was the focus of media interviews and hailed as a 'Zeon hero'?

Upon reflection, Top realized she had no memory of such events at all. It was only when she came to her senses that she discovered her captain, a familiar face, had committed a colossal mistake and become someone she didn't recognize.

And then, he fell into the abyss.

"So, the one who killed him was that boy?"

When Top came to his senses, he suddenly heard this question.

"……Yes."

Although there was a pause, perhaps because there was nothing left to hide, Top chose to tell the truth:

"That boy is the pilot of the Federation's new MS."

"Is that so..."

After receiving this answer, Norris simply took a deep breath.

His seemingly large but actually robust body lay flat on the ground, his eyes unconsciously looking around.

Under the blue sky, the entire base seemed to have returned to calm, and he could see mobile suits patrolling the surrounding area.

But whether it's the old-style Zaku or those MS bearing the marks of their battles, they no longer belong to Zeon.

The Federation Forces may not have many excellent pilots yet, but they are more than capable of handling security duties.

"So, where are they now?"

"Right now, they are cleaning up the aftermath of the crackdown and recapture of this base... Of course, they are strictly adhering to the Antarctic Treaty and have not done anything out of line."

"Can you guarantee that the Federation Army can always maintain this level of performance?"

"..."

"Well, it seems the Zabi family's good luck has come to an end."

A dark shadow gradually approached in the sky, accompanied by the roar of engines.

"Is that... Wapa?"

…………

July 2, UC.0079

7: 30 AM

The rear partisans of the Federal European Front successfully recaptured the industrial base of the Ruhr without any orders from their superiors—at least for now.

Chapter 61: Unresolved Doubts

"The statistics are in."

How much is left?

"Considering only the large-scale weapons, Zeon's tanks have all been destroyed, and the remaining two Zaku and two Guff are under our control. In addition, a usable transport plane was found in the warehouse."

"Zion's 'Fat Uncle'?"

Eight o'clock.

As the sky still glowed with a somber light, the widespread fires that should have engulfed the entire base were completely extinguished by the fire retardant that belonged to Zeon, and the recapture of Ruhr Base officially entered its final stage.

The result was certainly encouraging. In any case, they did manage to take down an enemy base that was more than 10 times larger than their own with a force of only about 100 men.

However, it can be said that there was a price to pay.

Although the pace was well controlled in advance, and the fact that it was a deliberate strategy against someone else, apart from the special forces soldiers who engaged in combat with the Zeon infantry and the female diver who chose to stay in the main bridge, no one else was injured.

However, the Hump was delivered thoroughly.

One of the small wings (jet engines) on each side was torn off, and the nuclear thermal cushion engine, which is crucial to the mobility of the land warship, was rendered unusable.

It can only be said that the veteran named Norris Barcard indeed had unique strategic vision and responsiveness, and it can be said that some of the troubles that followed were caused by him.

So what else can I say?

"If I remember correctly, Uncle Fatty can also carry three mobile suits, so leaving this as 'compensation' for the 44th Battalion should be fine?"

As Gao Ren gazed at the 'green-skinned steel fat guy' with its giant rotors completely folded, along with the other well-preserved supply transport planes, he fell into deep thought.

"Theoretically speaking, this thing is actually a little easier to use than the Hump?"

"Hmph, you're quite kind-hearted, kid."

Meeting Gao Ren's thoughtful gaze, Kuvatro simply rolled his eyes:

"If you ask me, that old bastard Michael, I could just find an excuse to blow up the Hump and he wouldn't dare say a word against it."

"However, the more they can preserve, the fewer casualties they will suffer..."

"So you don't need to be so pessimistic. After all, Zeon has stored a lot of spare parts here, and the repair of land battleships is not a problem."

"However, this will take time."

Meeting Kuvatro's helpless gaze behind his sunglasses, Gao Ren shook his head:

"What we lack most right now is time, since we simply cannot hold this base."

Ruhr Base – just look at how many Zeon troops are stationed here, and you'll understand that making this place operational is no easy feat.

Moreover, this place is located behind enemy lines, and given the current unclear situation on the Western European battlefield, holding out here with a heavy hand is definitely not a good option.

"But there's no rush for this."

Kuvatro began by saying:

"The Migratory Bird has landed now, so we can move the important items up in batches. As for the maintenance team, they've started working at Ms. Lutz's call; they're currently replacing the head of that tiger you smashed..."

"What was changed?"

"Zaku's head."

"...Aren't these two exactly the same? No, that blue Tiger didn't retract its power pipes either. Apart from the engine output, it's basically a 'Zaku'."

"The precision of those camera lenses is slightly different, and the interface requires a little fine-tuning."

Faced with Kuvatro's earnest words, Gao Ren felt a headache coming on.

When this topic came up, he couldn't help but think of the abstract interface problem that Sherry had mentioned about the Zeon MS.

"But these things can be put on hold for now."

Before Gao Ren could say anything more, he saw Kuvatro's expression gradually turn serious:

"I think you should take a look at this."

He handed me a tablet computer, and after a couple of casual swipes, various texts and accompanying images appeared on it.

"This is... a file?"

“That’s right. Didn’t the diver hack into Zeon’s servers before? She didn’t find any basic information about Zeon’s occupation of Ruhr. In fact, all of this information was stored on the commander’s computer here.”

Upon hearing this, Gao Ren frowned:

"So vigilant? The commander here is... Major Jackson Saotome, from... the Assault Mobile Force?"

"They're from Kycilia's faction. Many of her subordinates come from intelligence agencies, so it's not surprising that they're this vigilant."

"Then there's the stationed force... The squad leader is Captain Lenchev, and the aircraft is... Tiger. As for resupply information, they resupplyed the Gau-class aircraft carrier Bison two days ago, and the Buffalo one day ago... Tsk, if we had arrived a little earlier, we might have been able to catch up with the aircraft carrier."

"...You want to steal that thing too?"

"You can never have too much."

Without even looking up, Gao Ren could sense Kuvatro's disgusted expression.

After all, the Gau-class is an abstract concept.

If it focuses on its core function as a transport aircraft, Gao Ren would applaud it.

If it were a firepower-intensive super-large fighter jet, although it would be somewhat difficult to describe, all-around firepower coverage wouldn't be out of the question.

However, it has both shipborne capabilities and air-to-ground firepower, and while it can do both, it also needs fighter escorts because it has little air defense capability of its own.

The result was...

"It's stupid—but you have to admit that it would be great if the current Federation forces could control this thing, since air superiority is still in the Federation's hands."

Of course, that's really how things are.

After all, words have been exchanged, and Zeon's Gau-class carriers have already flown away. The schedule left inside the base can only offer some basic speculation at most:

"The Buffalo appears to have come from Switzerland. If I'm not mistaken, it should be the one that bombed the Salz base. The fact that it's been resupplying suggests that it formed an air formation that included at least two 'Gau's, probably intending to seize air superiority from the Federation and then... launch air-to-ground bombing?"

But the moment that guess slipped out, Gao Ren suddenly felt a headache coming on:

"Wait, if I remember correctly, Zeon's spies haven't been discovered yet, have they?"

"Given the potential status of spies, they might even know the Federation's upcoming operational plans."

"Even so, the main force of the European Front is now compressed into that area, and Zeon will have to face almost all of Europe's air and land forces."

To sum it all up:

Do they really think the Federal Army is just sitting around doing nothing?

"On the front lines alone, a formation of two... no, even three Ukrainian aircraft would have very limited bombing capabilities, not to mention the underground bases in Western Europe, right?"

"Yes, about ten years ago, around the time the Zabi family announced the establishment of the Zeon Republic and began a large-scale military buildup, the Earth side envisioned a possible 'atmospheric battle,' and these things were built for that purpose."