Gundam, Gravity Elegy

"Sergeant Field!"

"It hurts! Why can't I feel it... wait, why can't I see it?!"

"The main monitor for the head has malfunctioned!"

The chaotic and noisy sounds echoed in the front-line channels, and even the command center, which also served as a base station, could hear them clearly.

That's why the CFO looked so surprised:

"Why? The first batch of GMs should be made of the same materials as the Gundam, and the head armor should also be Luna titanium alloy..."

"But it already contains gunpowder. If it is hit by a rocket launcher... no, even by those so-called MS machine guns, it is easy to explode. It is a really stupid and terrible design on land."

"But the data clearly shows that the Vulcan cannon has always been a winning factor, not only suppressing enemy tanks and self-propelled artillery, but also gaining an advantage in mobile suit battles..."

"That's true for those elites, and it's even very useful in space. But the environment on Earth is different. Gravity is always at play here, and you can easily 'fall over' if you're not careful."

Lieutenant Colonel Bartmran gently wiped away the spilled tea on the table with a handkerchief, then picked up the teacup and took a small sip.

"Ultimately, a mobile suit is a weapon that can bring out the best in an individual's talents. One person needs to act as both the fire controller and the pilot. Therefore, when Gundam achieved a glorious victory, the first thing to consider should be subtracting from it rather than blindly copying it. Unfortunately, the people above did not understand this principle at all."

"Damn it, what weapon should we use now?!"

"It's too fast, I can't keep up with its movements at all!"

"Idiot, don't use a rocket launcher at a time like this!"

'boom'

Throughout the ongoing communication, those voices, like devastating news, echoed, seemingly proving the lieutenant colonel's correctness.

However, this is by no means something to be happy about:

"Our soldiers, the gunners and drivers who have just been off the tanks, probably can't even get 30% of the performance of these advance GMs. What's more, with the current unstable logistics, these machines also have to face various wear and tear problems. The weapon systems, which are too complicated in design, even have an unimaginable failure rate."

So, what kind of situation might occur?

'Zizzi'

Suddenly, a cacophony of noises erupted, completely silencing the sounds that had been echoing before.

"Communications have been lost; Minovsky particle concentration has risen to combat levels..."

Before the finance officer could finish inspecting the testing equipment, the door was suddenly kicked open:

"Lieutenant Colonel, something's wrong! Sector S... the southern defense line has been breached, and a mobile suit squad is approaching!"

"Ah, I see it."

It could even be said that the soldier's reminder came very late.

With just a glance out the window, the lieutenant colonel already saw the approaching figures:

"Zaku...no, is the captain's machine a tiger?"

Lieutenant Colonel Bartmran glanced at the iron-gray figure and couldn't help but sigh.

"As expected, it's simply impossible for us to face the 'elite pilots' that Zeon has been keeping in reserve with just these few people."

"But isn't it said that Zeon is completely bad at mobile suit combat...?"

"That's of course a comparison with our professionally trained elites."

Seeing the finance officer's almost tearful expression, the lieutenant colonel simply squinted his eyes:

"Compared to our pilots who were forced into the role, Zeon's pilots are undoubtedly elite."

He looked out the window and saw the iron-gray cyclops at the head of the group raise its hand... no, or rather, it couldn't even be called an 'arm'; it was clearly an arm-shaped weapon that combined a machine gun, a flamethrower, and a grenade launcher.

"Lieutenant Colonel, are we going to die?"

"……Maybe?"

"Lieutenant Colonel!!"

"boom"

A muffled thud echoed, but it was not the sound of a cannonball or a machine gun firing.

Just as the finance officer couldn't help but open her tightly closed eyes, she saw a tiger that had already been smashed over.

On the floor to one side, a shield branded with a lion's mark stood silently.

'boom'

Immediately afterwards, the dark figure landed, and what appeared in front of the command post was a scarlet mask covering the eyes, while the iconic V-shaped antenna, completely different from Jim's, perfectly explained his identity.

That was the origin of everything:

"Gundam!!"

The familiar address slipped out without her even realizing it, and the finance officer couldn't help but get excited:

"Lieutenant Colonel, look! It's a Gundam!!"

"I saw it..."

With his arms being pulled and tugged by the woman who had completely lost her composure, Lieutenant Colonel Bartmran simply downed the still-warm black tea in one gulp.

"As expected, we still have to rely on elites like you to maintain appearances."

He narrowed his eyes, as if staring at a giant:

"Wide Area Special Response Team - Guinea Pig Unit".

Author's message

…………

Both the characters and the base are from Rusty Horizon.

Chapter One: The Awakening Lion

July 15, UC.0079

Now, half a month has passed since the Federation officially began mass production of the ground combat version of the GM. Including various captured, modified, and locally unique versions, the number of Federation mobile suits active around the world has exceeded three digits.

The number may not seem like much at first glance, but what really limits it is not production capacity, but the number of people.

The initial lack of attention led to a severe shortage of pilots. The emergency conversion courses were simply unable to train a group of qualified pilots in a short period of time, and most people were forced into the MS cockpits as if they were ducks being put on a shelf.

It was like going back to the era of platooning and shooting. Simply using firepower and numbers to suppress and repel Zeon was a remarkable achievement.

Under these circumstances, if any unit could be considered the elite of the Federation Army, it would undoubtedly be the Guinea Pig Unit.

Although it may sound absurd at first glance, this title is precisely a testament to the importance the Federation attaches to it.

As the Federation's 'guinea pigs,' this force, whose operational environment encompasses the entire Earth, will inevitably have access to the latest equipment, and supplies will be provided in full and on time.

And they themselves deserve this level of treatment.

As a mobile force capable of rapid response over a wide area, they comprise regular elites, including those drawn from various regions who already possess some MS piloting experience, and regular pilots who have graduated from conversion training.

And within this team, there is a true star-studded squad!

"Awakening Lion..."

Gazing at the still-standing lion-patterned shield, Lieutenant Colonel Bartmran sighed:

"In the old century, when that ancient Eastern power was suffering, it was described as a sleeping lion, but when it rose, this lion shook the world—and this group is doing the same thing now."

…………

"Boom!"

"Captain Nord! A mobile suit has been spotted directly above!"

"what?!"

'Didi Didi'

'Bang bang bang bang bang'

Before the words had even finished, a barrage of bullets rained down.

The scattered bullets bombarded the thickened armor, and the huge shoulder shields that wrapped around the back of the machine's neck were enough to protect this Zaku equipped with 120mm shoulder cannons, but his teammates didn't seem to be so lucky.

'boom'

With a deafening roar, a volley of bullets blew out an unfortunate one-eyed creature.

"The monitor... the main monitor is broken!"

"Then quickly switch to the backup auxiliary sensor!"

After regaining his senses, the man named Jacobius Nord simply steered the Gatling gun Zaku Cannon backward while simultaneously setting up a live-fire sniper rifle.

With the crosshairs aligned, as the dark shadow flashed past thousands of meters above, the fire control beam echoed back on the other side:

"found it!"

'boom'

The shell left the barrel. The flash echoed directly across the other side of the sky.

"Resolved? As expected of the captain..."

"No, no, that explosion was too small!"

When the flames burst forth, Jacobius's inner turmoil did not subside; rather, the intense unease nearly overwhelmed his mind.

If that wasn't actually the flames of a machine exploding...

"Captain... *sizzle*"

Then, the communication abruptly ended.

When Jacobius came to his senses, he saw the Zaku, which was supposed to be escorting the enemy, slowly fall down a few kilometers away—as if its heart had been pierced, the cockpit was easily penetrated.

In the darkness, the figure seemed somewhat blurry, but the shimmering crimson mask was enough to stop one's heart and lungs.

Faintly, the sophisticated, enhanced main monitor could still precisely depict the flickering main monitor beneath the dustproof, anti-flash mask.

"One-eyed... is it a machine from the Duchy?"

"Captain, that machine has a lion emblem on its shoulder."

"Lion... Is that so? This is the test aircraft that was stolen!"

At that moment, the machine gun the other side had raised was already bursting into flames.

"Tsk..."

Jacobius quickly maneuvered his machine to dodge, simply pressing the call channel:

"This is the Nord team. Their artillery position has been attacked, and they need..."

But before he could finish speaking, he vaguely heard a sigh:

"So, Jacob, something happened to you too?"

"...Ian, what happened to you?"

"Air raids followed by black steel cannons crashing directly into our positions."

Then Jacobius's mind got all tangled up. He could understand the words, but when they were put together to form sentences, he suddenly realized that his mind was completely unable to comprehend the situation.

"What do you mean by 'sand cannon smashing into the position'? That's not a shelling type mobile suit... ugh!"

In the moment of unconscious distraction, the machine gun had already swept in.

After completely blocking it, the heat-generating military knife that appeared in front of him made him instinctively retreat.

'Sizzle'

The Zakuganon's extremely slow speed caused a huge gash to be cut into the cockpit along with the sniper rifle.

During the weapon's explosion, the screen that was displaying the surrounding scenery went out of control, and for a moment, only the communication module remained operational.

"Who can blame them for being completely different from our 'modified machines'? The Federation has money; they're even willing to rebuild a machine from Luna Titanium Alloy if it's proven to lack flexibility."

Although the other party tried their best to be humorous, there was an underlying sense of helplessness: