Gundam: A Gundam Enthusiast's Journey with a Mecha Girl

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The bridge of the Vesalius.

As usual, Kruse stood in his favorite spot, gazing out at the dark universe beyond the porthole.

"Huh? Are we going to abandon the mission to chase long legs?"

After hearing Kruze's arrangements, Captain Artis asked in surprise.

"We have completed the mission of rescuing Miss Lacus Klein. Now, our responsibility is to send Miss Klein back to her home country. As for the mission of pursuing Longlegs, the friendly fleets in the surrounding area have already gathered towards the Earth Force's Eighth Fleet. Let's trust the capabilities of our allies here."

Although he said that, Kruze would not have been willing to retreat if it weren't for the loss of most of his mobile suits and the Gamow.

Like a moth drawn to a flame, the feeling Raven gave Kruse always made him eager to pursue it.

If one could push that passionate and hopeful soul into the abyss of despair, one would surely feel boundless joy.

But Kruse has something even more important to do besides that.

"However, our team's drivers probably don't really want to retreat now."

Artis thought of those Gundam pilots, and his head began to throb.

These young masters are at least the children of a councilor; if they cause trouble, it could get really complicated.

"Isn't it a good thing for soldiers to have high morale? If they really want to stay, then let them join the attacking force. Of course, except for Aslan. As the son of the Chairman of the National Defense Committee and Miss Klein's fiancé, he has more important things to do."

Kruze gazed into the deep void before him, as if he could see the white behemoth that had long since vanished from sight.

'Don't be so easily shot down before we meet again, pilot of the short sword.'

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The Archangel was now protected in the center of the Eighth Fleet's formation, sailing alongside the flagship Menelaus.

Inside the hangar, a standard coalition liaison boat was steadily anchored within the Archangel's hangar.

All the officers on the Archangel had gathered there, and when Brigadier General Halbarton appeared from behind the hatch of the liaison boat, they straightened their backs and saluted the renowned general in unison.

"It's been a long time, Maru. When I heard that Heliopolis had collapsed, I thought everything was over. I didn't expect you to fight your way here. You've worked hard."

Halbarton was surprisingly approachable, far less imposing than rumored.

"Thank you for your concern. It's been a long time, Your Excellency."

Maru excitedly greeted her mentor, and Halbarton smiled and returned the greeting before looking at the two officers standing behind Maru.

“I am Natal Bakirulu.”

“I am Mu La Frada, belonging to the Seventh Mobile Fleet.”

"You are the famous Eagle of Endymion. Fortunately, you are on the Archangel."

Brigadier General Halbarton warmly shook Mu's hand, but Mu seemed somewhat embarrassed in the face of the eager brigadier general.

"To my shame, I didn't really play a role. If it weren't for the help of those children and Mr. Raven, the Archangel probably wouldn't have joined the Eighth Fleet at such a minor cost."

Mu's gaze drifted to Raven and the students from Heliopolis standing behind the officers, their blue and pink volunteer uniforms standing out conspicuously in the hangar at that moment.

Brigadier General Halbarton walked over to the students and solemnly expressed his gratitude.

"On behalf of the Earth Alliance, I apologize to you and thank you for fighting alongside the Archangel until now. Students of Heliopolis, I have checked on the situation of your families, and everyone is safe and sound, so please rest assured."

After hearing Halbarton's words, the students all breathed a sigh of relief. These past few days, their biggest worry had been the safety of their families.

"Also, it's been a long time, Dr. Ray. I didn't know that Dr. Ray could pilot mobile suits in addition to his research. You may not know this, but on Earth, Dr. Ray's popularity may be higher than that of the most popular movie stars."

Halbarton grasped Raven's hand and said, half-jokingly.

"You flatter me. I am just a technician, not a movie star."

Raven assumed Halbarton was joking, but seeing the other man's smiling expression, he sensed that something was amiss.

"Uh, sir, you must be joking, right?"

"A hero who piloted our army's newest mobile suit and led the Archangel out of the enemy's encirclement. That's how we're promoting you back home."

Raven keenly caught the meaningful glint in Halbarton's eyes and immediately understood the Allied Forces' intentions.

By portraying him as a war hero, morale was boosted, especially since this hero was previously a highly regarded young natural scientist.

The Allied forces' top brass was practically rife with their schemes.

"Let's discuss the details somewhere else."

Seeing Raven's increasingly grim expression, Halbarton could only sigh and lead Raven and the officers on the Archangel into the ship's interior.

Chapter 27 New Missions and New Equipment

Zaft, hangar of the Vesalius.

Athrun and Lacus stood at the edge of the hangar, seeing off Yzak, Diego, and Nicol, who were about to transfer to friendly ships to participate in the attack on the Eighth Fleet.

"What's wrong, Aslan? Are you that reluctant to part with me?"

Yzak's somewhat irritating voice rang out in the hangar, but Aslan was not easily provoked by Yzak as usual.

"Yzak, you must come back alive."

Seeing how serious Aslan was, Yzak lost interest.

"Tch, why is it suddenly so heavy?"

"Diego, Nicol, you too, you must come back alive."

"Aslan, just play the role of a knight and wait for our good news in PLANT. The Eighth Fleet is nothing but a large target in front of me and Storm."

Diego maintained his usual relaxed demeanor, waving to Aslan, while Nicol replied with a smile.

"We will work together for Aslan's sake, so don't worry."

As soon as Nicol finished speaking, Kruze's tall figure in a white uniform emerged from inside the ship.

"Your relationship is still as good as ever."

"team leader!"

Upon seeing Kruze, Aslan and the others saluted him.

But Lux, standing behind Athrun, felt a chill run down her spine the moment she saw Kruze.

After returning to the Vesalius, Lux seized an opportunity to use a computer with its network connection cut off to read information from inside the soldier ants.

In the soldier ants, Raven revealed the existence of LOGOS and the truth about Kruze to Lux.

Although Raven failed to provide valid evidence to prove his claim, Lux knew that Raven was not one to speak carelessly.

'We absolutely must tell Father about this.'

Lux thought this to herself, but on the surface, she still gave Kruze her usual gentle smile.

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Archangel, Captain's Room.

The cabin, which originally looked somewhat spacious, now felt cramped after cramming in six adults.

Halbarton was sitting in the captain's seat, while his adjutant handed the letter of appointment to everyone on the Archangel.

"Huh? Promotion? I'm a major?"

Maru made a surprised sound.

"I've also been promoted to lieutenant."

Bakiruru looked serious, as if she had thought of something.

"I'm a major too, could it be..."

Upon receiving the appointment letter, Mu, like Baki Lulu, considered a certain possibility due to this sudden promotion. This kind of temporary, emergency promotion was no different from being posthumously awarded two ranks; what Halbarton was about to announce might be no different from ordering them to their deaths.

Normally, Mu would have complained a lot, but considering that his superior was right in front of him, Mu forced himself to swallow his words.

Of all the people, the one who was most surprised was Raven.

"I'm included too?"

Raven raised an eyebrow and opened his appointment letter.

"Earth Alliance Technical Captain? When did I become a soldier... Ah!"

Raven remembered the volunteer application he had signed in order to pilot the short sword.

Raven looked up at Halbarton with a reproachful expression, only to see the brigadier general's helplessness.

"Although I am sorry for all of you who have fought so hard to get here, headquarters has a new mission for you."

The Coalition Headquarters granted the Archangel 13th Independent Regiment the order to land in North Africa, traverse Eurasia from the ZAFT-occupied territory, and finally reach the Coalition's JOSH-A base in Alaska.

After hearing Halbarton read out the order, Raven quickly realized what the coalition high command was up to.

Raven never hesitated to speculate about the true thoughts of these insects with the utmost malice.

The Archangel was used as bait by these high-ranking officials to draw ZAFT's attention and cover up their large-scale counter-offensive preparations. Raven was even portrayed as a war hero fighting against ZAFT. If Raven had died in this operation, the Combine might have been able to use the opportunity of mourning Raven to incite another wave of public fervor for war, completely draining Raven of his value.

Although this coalition was unreliable in warfare, they certainly mastered journalism.

Even Raven, who had never received military training, could understand this, so of course Maru could too.

"Sir, this kind of mission is practically suicide!"

Even though the person in front of her was her mentor, Maru couldn't care less about anything else at this moment.

“This is an order from the Allied Forces headquarters. I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do.” The brigadier general bowed his head to the people before him. “I can only provide you with supplies to the best of my ability.”

The adjutant presented Maru with a supply list, which included various types of ammunition, mobile suit parts, and living supplies. Halbarton also brought two new "Sky Overlord" fighters and two new assault backpacks to the Archangel.

Raven leaned over and glanced at the list, then said with some surprise.

"These are the IWSP backpack and Lightning backpack that were not planned to be manufactured, but they have already been completed."

The full name of the IWSP backpack is the Integrated Armored Assault Backpack. As the name suggests, it integrates the functions of three types of assault backpacks into one. In addition to flight capability, it also possesses an overwhelming amount of weaponry. It has two long-barreled railguns on its shoulders, two 115mm cannons below the railguns, a composite shield that integrates a beam boomerang and a Gatling gun, and a pair of 9.1-meter anti-ship swords.

In the original timeline, this backpack was delayed due to energy consumption issues, but this problem was solved through the cooperation between Raven and Dawn Corporation, and the battery expansion pack technology was completed ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, the IWSP backpack was destroyed in the battle between ZAFT and the Archangel before it could be manufactured.

The other backpack, the Lightning Pack, has a unique function: it can recharge friendly units during combat. It also carries a Type 70 railgun and a Type 31 railgun on each arm. These two railguns can be combined to transform into the Type 70-31 long-barreled railgun form. This long-barreled railgun can be linked with the backpack's large rangefinding system, allowing for precise sniping even from tens of thousands of meters away in space.

"This is something I had the lunar factory manufacture based on the design drawings you uploaded earlier. It should be an important asset in the battles to come."

In this world, Halbarton was undoubtedly the one who understood Raven's talents best. When Raven was still in college, Halbarton, who was then a colonel, noticed him, so as soon as Raven finished his studies, Halbarton immediately brought him into the G Project team.

It can be said that what Halbarton was able to do for them was the limit of what he could do within his authority.

Maru understood this as well, and in the end, after accepting the appointment, she could only leave the cabin with her men.

However, Raven didn't rush to catch up with Maru and the others, but stayed where he was.

"Sir, I have some personal matters to attend to. Is now a convenient time for you?"

As he spoke, Raven glanced at his adjutant beside him.

Chapter 28 Planning

Only after the adjutant's figure disappeared from the captain's cabin did Halbarton speak and ask.

"I didn't expect you, Dr. Lei, to start doing these roundabout things. I remember you didn't like these things in the past. Let me say this first: I can't revoke this order under my authority. However, I've already used my connections to contact the resistance organizations operating in enemy-occupied territory. Although I can't guarantee how strong their combat capabilities are, they should be able to help to some extent."

Only Halbarton and Raven remained in the room. Halbarton no longer maintained his dignified general image, but instead leaned back, burying his body in the soft sofa chair, squinting his eyes, and rubbing his throbbing temples.

Compared to the so-called "wise general," Halbarton now seems more like an old man experiencing a midlife crisis.

Raven could tell that Halbarton had put a lot of effort into the Archangel, but what Raven wanted to say had nothing to do with Halbarton's expectations.

"What are your views on blue cosmos and this war, Your Excellency?"

Halboton stopped moving.

"What, are you more interested in politics than scientific research now?"

Halbarton opened one eye and saw Raven's serious expression.

"Having seen the ruins of Heliopolis and Junius VII in succession, no one would remain unmoved, Your Excellency."

Upon hearing Raven's reply, Halbarton could only sigh and sit up straight.

“If only all young people were as upright as you,” Halbarton said, arranging his words slightly. “I was sent to space to command the Eighth Fleet because I dislike blue cosmos flowers, which is common knowledge within the military. As for this war, as a soldier, all I need to do is figure out how to win it.”

"What if you're not a soldier?"