Gundam, Gravity Elegy

The moment the question slipped out, Gao Ren saw a subtle hint of helplessness appear on the general's dark face:

"General Reibille and General Gop had a significant dispute over the naming rights, and unfortunately, General Gop had the advantage in this regard."

There are indeed two different factions within the Earth Federation Forces today. One faction is naturally the pro-war faction led by General Reibir. When this commander of the space forces was successfully promoted to commander-in-chief of the Earth Federation, the power of this faction reached its peak.

The other faction, led by former Earth Forces Commander and current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Garp, is a conservative group that holds a conservative attitude towards arms reform, other systems, and even war.

Although the latter's power within the military is not as strong as the former's, it is deeply entrenched.

More importantly, Gop himself has the support of conglomerates including the Eight Continents.

"Even now, because of that damned politics, those conglomerates and powerful families are still playing both sides, and people like General Gop are still considering peace talks with Zeon."

So is it something we can hear about?

To be honest, Gao Ren really wanted to complain about something, but General Gao Yun obviously didn't care about such 'details':

"Therefore, due to various circumstances, the first ship of this model, which is now nearing completion, will ultimately be named 'White Fortress.' Those guys still prefer a solid 'base' and absolutely do not want any changes."

"Oh……"

"But it doesn't matter. As long as we keep producing results, the general trend will eventually force those fence-sitters to yield, just like this warship."

To be honest, Gao Ren wasn't particularly interested in such things, nor did he want to pay much attention to matters like naming warships.

There is only one thing he cares about:

"What happened to the warship?"

"Due to the activity of mobile suits, the battleship component of Operation V—the assault landing ships primarily used for MS operations—has a second phase of construction planned, and one of them is already scheduled for delivery to our forces, and therefore..."

At this point, General Gao Yun casually placed his hand on Gao Ren's shoulder, his sharp gaze sweeping over everyone present:

"If the results of this battle are good enough, I plan to hand it over to 'Awakening Lion'."

Author's message

…………

Novel setting: The lead ship of the Pegasus-class is the White Fortress, but I will write about the Pegasus itself, as a backdrop for high-level power struggles.

Chapter 41: The Fury of the Space Fleet

Location: Granada, the lunar city

When humanity builds space colonies with the goal of interplanetary migration, it will naturally take these celestial bodies centered on Earth into account.

As an ancient celestial body known to humankind since the Old Ages, the Moon was naturally not spared. From the establishment of the first colony, a series of industrial facilities, including the Space Colony Commune, were gradually relocated from Earth to this place.

Without a doubt, the moon was the industrial center of the Universal Century, but precisely because of this, the region was clearly divided into two distinct spheres of influence.

Although the Antarctic Treaty explicitly designates the Moon as a neutral region, the lunar surface—including the largest city, von Braun—remains under federal control.

The remaining main fleet of the Federation, led by General Tiam, is stationed here. Although it has been completely cut off from Luna II, it stands in a distant standoff with the Assault Mobile Force, which has also disregarded the treaty and occupied the far side of the moon.

For the same reason, the Zeon garrison in Granada also dared not act rashly. Things like throwing 'garbage' at Earth through the mass accelerator could no longer be done, and the strategic planning of other areas made this place one of Zeon's logistics and arsenals.

That is why, even though everyone knows that the Antarctic Treaty is nothing more than a piece of toilet paper, serving no purpose other than prolonging wars, the moon is indeed as peaceful as the neutral zone described in the treaty.

Even if the leader of the assault mobile army is present here:

"Lady Kycilia, this is a message from Earth."

Kycilia Zabi—beneath that overly ornate, decorative white military helmet was a mask that covered half of her face.

Although her naturally slender physique made her appear somewhat thin, her eyes, like those of a hawk, revealed a sharpness and arrogance.

"I see. So the ghouls were killed too. What a pity."

When the blood on Earth is presented before our eyes, what emerges are nothing more than ordinary words:

"In the end, they're just products of 'failed enhancement,' but this recording..."

"Lord Kycilia, Lady Kycilia!"

Just as the woman was staring at the video playing in front of her, the urgent voice from the doorway made her look up in annoyance:

"What's wrong now?"

“Von Braun… there’s new information from Colonel Asakura.”

"Come in."

Under that rather imposing gaze, the servant at the door entered, bowing and swaying, barely able to stand upright.

Although the fact that Zeon itself used the name of a duchy was only a recent development, the hierarchical aristocratic system seemed to have existed for a long time.

Even the person involved wasn't surprised at all. This intelligence soldier only regretted that he hadn't shown enough respect and that his legs hadn't moved fast enough.

"The intelligence services have obtained some information from von Braun's Wellington Shipyard..."

"Okay, I understand. You don't need to come any closer."

After glancing at the trembling servant, she turned her gaze to her trusted guards on the other side:

"You, go and bring me that thing."

"understood."

With the rifle he had been holding casually slung over his back, the elegantly dressed member of the guard strode toward the other side.

But the moment he got closer, he saw a pair of eyes that revealed ruthlessness:

"Um?!"

"Go to hell, you old hag."

The man, who had been bowing and scraping, suddenly raised his hand to take the letter, and the cold barrel of a gun was clearly visible in his sleeve.

immediately……

'boom'

Gunshots rang out, but it wasn't the attacker who fired. At least two assault rifles opened fire from the surrounding area. Bullets from different directions not only knocked the bandit who attacked Lady Kycilia to the ground, but also tore a huge bloody hole in his body.

Blood was everywhere, and he was clearly beyond saving, but he desperately tilted his head back:

"For...side2."

That unseeing, deathly gaze almost stole the attention of the nearest bodyguard, as if it were taking away his will as well.

Ultimately, it was the voice of the very prince they served that awakened them:

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and dispose of the body!"

"……Yes!"

Once they came to their senses, the soldiers, who had just realized they could breathe again, began to gasp for air.

After staring at the letter, already soaked in blood, for a while, he ultimately just picked it up:

"Lady Kycilia, this information..."

"Just leave it on the table, you can clean it up."

"Yes!"

From beginning to end, Zabi's only daughter never even raised her head; her indifferent attitude, bordering on inhuman, was enough to chill even those around her to the bone.

At times like these, she didn't even give any other orders, so her trusted confidant had to ask:

"Lady Kycilia, should we investigate the forces behind this man?"

"Do whatever you want, it was definitely my good older brother's doing anyway..."

Beneath the purple mask, the slow, deliberate voice sent shivers down everyone's spines.

Then, the soldiers of the royal guard lowered their heads and stopped participating in the conversation, and their silence comforted her.

But at the same time, she also felt like laughing.

The internal discord within the Zabi family had already been evident before the establishment of the principality, and now anyone with even a little bit of influence and connections can find out about it.

"What an impatient older brother! No wonder Father is so wary of you..."

She carefully cut the envelope open with a letter opener, and the handwritten report and a stack of photos inside quickly caught her eye.

"It's definitely Asakura's handwriting, and this thing is... a warship?"

Upon seeing this, her pupils involuntarily contracted:

"No, this hull and this structure... I see. It seems that the results of the war on Earth have given these 'Earthlings' very high expectations."

Kycilia's gaze involuntarily fell on the displayed battle image, and she stared at the standing black shadow—something that even the machine equipped with EXAM could not deal with.

"Gundam, huh? It seems we really need to keep an eye on it."

His thoughts raced, eventually leading him to press a button on the table:

"Meet Solomon and the commander-in-chief's residence for me."

…………

Location: Lunar City - Von Braun

As a long-established manufacturer that has been supplying warships to the Earth Federation, Wellington Corporation naturally has a place in this huge city.

An independent large factory and an independent testing ground—from the moment the war broke out, orders from the Federation and various sides have kept this place bustling with activity.

Workers, soldiers, and all sorts of people come and go, all in an effort to expedite the manufacturing of something as much as possible:

"Very good, the main body of the ship looks to be completed."

Looking at the enormous ship before him, the man couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his brow:

"That completes our task. Next, General Tianm will be responsible for delivering this to Luna II."

“However, Lieutenant Colonel Barnack, so much time has passed, the Federation has probably already learned of this situation.”

"Oh? That kind of thing is no big deal."

Upon hearing this, the man named Leo Banak couldn't help but laugh:

"This is just a large ship, and in terms of design, it can't even compare to the 'Hive' that the Moorish Brotherhood has completed. The important engine and forearm parts will be completed independently by the Federation forces stationed here, and that place is not something Zeon can spy on."

"But General Tiam did everything in his power to stop Zeon from launching mass weapons from space to Earth. Do the military factories here really still have the capacity to build large warships?"

“Theoretically, no, but don’t forget, the space fleet has no shortage of warships—especially the fleet that suffered a defeat at Loum. From Luna II to the current lunar base, what they have no shortage of is ‘warship parts.’ No one is more eager than them to see the existence that could turn the tide of the war born.”

The listening sergeant seemed to understand, but his gaze was quickly drawn to another dark figure:

"Wait, what's that?!"

When the enormous figures, side by side, appeared, the sergeant's eyes widened like saucers:

"That's... a Columbia-class? But a Columbia shouldn't be that long."

"Because it was the 'military flagship' built by the Moorish Fellowship at Wellington Corporation—called the 'Hive'."

At this point, Leo couldn't help but laugh:

"It is a large warship that is spliced ​​together from two Columbia-class ships, with redesigned engines and additional armaments, and our 'old man' also wants to take the same path to overtake it."

"Grandpa? Wait a minute—"

Upon hearing this, the sergeant suddenly felt a cold sweat break out on his back.

If I remember correctly...

"Lieutenant Colonel, your wife is the Commander-in-Chief's niece?"

"...Yes, even my military rank was earned because of this identity."

Without dwelling on it too much, Leo readily admitted it:

"The old man was somewhat unwilling to admit defeat. Compared to the 'fortress (BASE)' rooted in the earth, he preferred the Pegasus that soared through the sky and the universe. And the 'legs' of this Pegasus must have been made up of the pent-up anger of the Space Force."