Gundam, Gravity Elegy

Under Claudio's astonished gaze, Ifrit's control nozzles forcibly adjusted her position, causing the saber that was supposed to be aimed at the cockpit to deviate slightly.

More importantly, he didn't feel that grounded, cutting-edge sense of connection at all.

Rather than completely destroying the Luna Titanium Alloy armor, it's more accurate to say that...

"He actually gave up his arm on his own initiative..."

Come to think of it, haven't I heard this before?

Wait, these words sound like something I said myself?

In a daze, Claudio felt a strange sensation welling up inside him. He wanted to say something, but inexplicably found that the form of the black fire god in front of him was gradually merging with that guy.

"Gundam……"

His body reacted faster than his mind. When he came to his senses, he found that his unbalanced body had readjusted, but what he was met with was a pair of scarlet sunglasses that seemed to be looking down on him.

At this moment, Ifrit had completely recovered.

Its battle-worn body made it look like a scarred, dying warrior, yet it clung tightly to its torn-off arm.

The exposed joints still radiated heat marks left by the thermal saber, and even crackled with electric arcs.

At that moment, Claudio felt as if he could hear the groans of the collapsing electronic components.

However, none of that matters. What matters is that the Flame God has obtained the 'weapon'!

then……

'boom'

Faster than a thermal saber, the hammer-like shoulder slammed into the tiger's head.

The shockwave from the collision traveled into the cockpit, and he could feel the sensation as if his head was about to explode.

"No, I can't fall here. We're weapons specifically designed to target Federation elites and Gundams..."

In his dizziness, he could only make out a crimson blur floating in the sea of ​​fire before his eyes:

"Is that so? But as I said, you won't be able to see that child."

Beneath that square protective device, almost identical in size to that of a Gundam, a single eye, known as the 'wide-viewfinder,' gleamed with an eerie light:

“You are too dangerous, so I can’t let you go near that child.”

Amidst the sea of ​​fire, the two machines, seemingly on the verge of their limits, were engaged in a primal brawl.

Collision, battle, and the steel shadows in the sea of ​​fire finally fell into the distant black mirror.

…………

"So, as I said, MS's performance is not the decisive factor in the outcome."

Author's message

…………

In case anyone is unfamiliar with Ifrit's arm structure, here's a picture; the shoulder armor can be used as a flail.

Chapter 34: The First Escape Route (Sixth Update)

"Quickly, put out the fire!"

"Can someone take stock of the losses?"

"So what exactly happened?!"

July 22, UC.0079

12: 20 AM

The clear moonlight enveloped the spaceport at Al-Naut base, where most of the area had already been engulfed in flames.

The billowing crimson smoke, the unquenchable heat waves and flames—the disastrous consequences of the misuse of the fusion reactor caused by the construction of Mie particles were vividly displayed at this moment.

Amidst the burning red mist, the soldiers stationed there seemed to have lost their way. They didn't know what to do, and were simply driven by instinct to do whatever they could.

Perhaps they were busy putting out fires, trying to extinguish the uncontrollable disaster with the meager resources at hand, or perhaps they were wandering aimlessly.

When the fusion furnace exploded and scattered the Minovsky particles, basic communication functions were also blocked. Unable to receive specific instructions and messages, they were destined to wander around like headless flies.

Of course, in such chaos, no one noticed the two unusual figures.

They weren't acting suspiciously at all; they simply walked openly and calmly into the garage and took a Jeep.

The standard military overcoats produced by the Principality of Zeon provided the best cover at this moment; no one would stop two 'soldiers' running around in the fire in such a chaotic situation.

Although one of them was named Cuvatro Bagina and the other was Kelser Mordros.

Finally, a melodious, Western-style tune echoed through the chaos, and the jeep drove up to the two silent aircraft through the thick, smoky particles.

One of them had already crashed to the ground, its nose completely smashed and the cockpit caved in. It's hard to imagine what the scene inside must have been like.

As for the other one...

"Tsk tsk, he looks really pathetic, his hand is broken."

Perhaps because they were close enough, the communication channel, which had been silent for a long time, started to ring again.

Unfortunately, the overly frivolous voice didn't suit Shirley's 'aesthetics' at all; in fact, she felt like she was about to laugh.

"We're certainly not as relaxed as you are, Captain. We're just stuck with the simplest weapons to deal with these guys..."

Of course, this smile was not out of joy.

Staring at the man who greeted her on camera as if nothing had happened, Shirley couldn't help but grit her teeth:

"You seem quite at ease."

"I guess it's all thanks to you guys, I really do have the best team in the world."

"?"

Looking at the grin that almost reached the ears on the screen, Shirley raised her eyebrows. Of course, she had no idea that just a few minutes ago, their captain had been arguing with another person about the quality of their mechs.

However, this did not prevent her from noticing the guy's gaze.

Kelser Mordros, the middle-aged man, merely examined the machine before him, which was missing an arm. After carefully observing the structure of 'Ifrit', he finally spoke:

"This machine surpasses the Tiger in both armor strength and propulsion. Without the system I created, it would be inferior to this machine."

"So what are you trying to say? Are you trying to say that my team defeated your system by relying on the performance of MS?"

"No, I just want to say that your previous point of view is completely invalid."

Dr. Kelster countered:

"However, if the Federation were full of such machines, my research could go even further."

That unabashed gaze was directed at her, that sharp, hawk-like look that seemed to pierce even the screen, making Sherry inexplicably uncomfortable.

This man is more like a soldier than a researcher:

“Kelster Mordros…”

Chewing on the name, she finally shook her head:

"Alright, now that you've gotten the person out of there and I've met all my targets, what's next..."

"The next thing to do, of course, is to escape."

Facing the crimson glow of Ifrit's single eye, Kuvatro stretched, his eyes behind his sunglasses narrowing into slits.

"How is it? Can the machine still move? Tiger's saber hasn't cooled down yet."

"Tsk..."

…………

About three minutes later, the one-armed Flame God, wielding a thermal saber, stormed into a military hangar at the edge of the airport and wreaked havoc as if it were his own territory.

Then, a Luger reconnaissance plane took off from the ruins.

"Although Koga often criticizes Zeon's designs, I have to say that they really helped a lot in this situation."

Of course, in terms of appearance, the Luger reconnaissance aircraft can hardly be considered aesthetically pleasing.

With its exposed bubble cockpit, similar to that of the Doppler fighter, and cannons located only on the sides of the wings, it lacked the capability to engage in dogfights at visual range.

Meanwhile, Zeon's genius designers crammed a series of devices, such as an extended, steerable radar, onto the copied inverted T-shaped tailless full-wing design, completely disrupting the original aerodynamic design and resulting in a tragically poor steering and maneuverability.

Even so, as a 'classic work' by Zeon's designers, it has an advantage that the Federation can never achieve in the present day—this thing can be used to attach MS.

Moreover, unlike pedals which require interfaces and remote control systems, this thing is much simpler and more direct to use.

'boom'

A muffled thud echoed.

Just like humans using gliders, when the reconnaissance plane was flying at low altitude, Ifrit's hand was directly hooked onto the attachment point below.

After a period of swaying back and forth, Dr. Kelster suddenly had a feeling of unreality.

"So, this is your battle plan?"

"Yes, our job is basically to disrupt the base's logistics lines and, incidentally, bring you out, Doctor..."

Adjusting the reconnaissance aircraft's nozzle parameters, Captain Cuvatro responded:

"Anyway, thanks to Zeon's various imaginative designs, using mobile suits as weapons for infiltration operations has made those troublesome things much simpler, just like now..."

As he said this, he involuntarily leaned back, his face, which faintly revealed various scars, displaying an inscrutable attitude:

"With our military forces depleted, as long as we disable all the air defense equipment in the city beforehand and successfully seize a basic reconnaissance plane, we can safely withdraw via air routes..."

'Clang'

Before he could finish speaking, a sudden tremor nearly knocked him backward, his disheveled state causing even a seasoned military researcher like Kelster, who had spent his life on serious research, to turn his head away.

"You can't see any safety in this."

"There's nothing we can do about it. It's a bit difficult to maintain the balance of a reconnaissance plane... It's just that Lieutenant Page lost an arm."

"What does this have to do with me? It's just a matter of incomplete weaponry and equipment. Would this be the case if I had a gun?"

"That's hard to say. The EXAM system's mobility directly suppresses the machine, making it very difficult for you to find an opportunity to fire."

"Screw you, with a gun he wouldn't even survive to activate that damn system."

The constant communication chatter around him made Kelser feel inexplicably irritated; the relaxed atmosphere of their banter inexplicably reminded him of his former project team.

As a military project, there is no distinction between superiors and inferiors.

Also, if I remember correctly, that girl was also very outspoken?

"Doctor, did you know? The universe is blue!"

“Marien…tsk.”

Author's message

…………

Zeon reconnaissance aircraft... the lore says they're very reliable, so let's assume that for now.

According to the original comics, the Doctor initially had a very good attitude towards Marion.

Furthermore, all of Zeon's aircraft are propelled by rockets or thermonuclear jets, and the overuse of nuclear power makes them capable of flying like bricks.

Chapter Thirty-Five: Counterfeits and Genuine Objects (Seventh Update)

Could it be said that they finally relaxed after being freed from Zeon?

Dr. Kelster couldn't quite explain his current state; when he came to his senses, his thoughts were already occupied by the children he had seen before.

Although those children only occupied a few short months in his long life, he still felt a tremor deep in his heart whenever he recalled those fragmented moments.

They are innocent and adorable, able to gaze upon the world with the purest of eyes.