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

The cool desert night breeze dispersed the rising steam from his cup. Andrew glanced at his watch; there were still a few minutes until the appointed time, just enough time for him to enjoy his coffee.

But the Archangel began to move the next moment.

A fighter jet was ejected from one of the Archangel's "legs," and Andrew quickly guessed the Archangel's purpose in launching the fighter jet.

"You've deployed the reconnaissance aircraft, huh? It wouldn't be good if it spotted our deployment beforehand. Da Costa, the operation has been moved up; get everyone moving out!"

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The first shot of the battle was fired by a ZAFT attack helicopter.

Three helicopters flew almost close to the ground, emerging from behind towering sand dunes.

The Archangel sounded the alarm immediately and quickly entered combat status. The anti-aircraft guns forced the combat helicopters to abandon precise aiming and instead launch missiles from under their wings haphazardly toward the Archangel.

Such firing had an extremely low hit rate; the missiles were either intercepted by anti-aircraft fire or exploded on the sand not far from the Archangel.

"Do you need me to come back and help?"

Mu, who had just taken off, saw that the Archangel had entered a combat state and immediately inquired through the communication.

"It's impossible to sink the Archangel with just combat helicopters. There must be other enemies around. The captain's job is to find them. Don't worry about the Archangel. I've already sent out the Dagger and the Strike."

Despite the surprise attack, Bakiruru remained calm and composed in dealing with the situation. As she gave the order, Dagger and Strike were launched into action via catapults on their legs.

Because the iwsp backpack and empty backpack were still under maintenance, the short sword and the Strike were deployed in sword and cannon forms respectively. However, Kira did not use the Flame God Pulse Cannon from the cannon backpack as his main weapon, but instead carried an additional beam rifle.

"Helicopters? ZAFT uses things like that to attack us?"

Kira looked at the helicopters flying low with a surprised expression, driving them away with his Vulcan cannon and shoulder-mounted Gatling gun.

"No, our guests have only just arrived."

Raven looked in the direction from which the hostility was coming, and saw three beast-type mobile suits suddenly appear from behind the sand dunes, trailing billowing dust.

"As expected of Baku, this thing is much more difficult to deal with than King in ground warfare."

Baku is a ground combat mobile suit developed by ZAFT specifically for ground warfare. Unlike traditional humanoid mobile suits that rely on walking on two legs, it moves by crawling on all fours like a wild animal.

This design allows Baku to have a strong ability to adapt to different terrains while also reducing its height and decreasing its vulnerable area.

In addition to crawling on the ground using its four limbs, Baku can also glide at high speed on flat terrain using tracks on its lower legs and thrusters on its back wings.

For example, like this now.

Two Baku aircraft sped up from the left and right, flanking the Dagger and Strike at high speed. Their speed was so great that Kira could not even track the targets. Then, the missiles on the back of the Baku were fired in unison, and the smoke from the explosions instantly enveloped the Dagger and Strike.

"Did you kill them?"

A Baku driver blurted out, but to his disappointment, the next moment, Dagger and Assault emerged unscathed from the smoke.

Chapter 35 Firepower Reconnaissance (Part 2)

"What a hassle!"

Just like Kira's situation, Baku's superior mobility in high-speed mode made it difficult for Raven to lock onto his target.

[After all, the ground and outer space are different; you can't use attitude control to arbitrarily adjust the direction of the nozzle.]

But Raven's troubles didn't stop there. The soft sand beneath his feet also prevented him from moving freely.

"Is gravity such a complicated thing?!"

However, Raven is not without ways to deal with the current situation.

"El, switch the OS to the D scheme for desert terrain. Kira, you too!"

After switching to the Sand Battle OS, the movements of Dagger and Assault are no longer affected by the quicksand, making them appear clumsy. At the same time, this OS can also adjust the thruster output power to keep the lower leg and back main thrusters operating at low power, allowing Dagger and Assault to glide close to the ground and barely keep up with Baku's speed.

However, the cost of doing so is that the machine's propellant is consumed at an accelerated rate. Raven and Kira must finish the battle quickly before the propellant is depleted.

The Dagger and the Strike emerged from the smoke from the left and right. Although the pilots of Baku were surprised by the change in the two aircraft's movements, they quickly dispersed according to the established tactics, forming a triangular formation to surround the Dagger and the Strike in the center.

Missiles and railguns rained down on the two machines in the encirclement from three directions, but Raven and Kira showed no fear.

With a quick movement, the short sword dodged the railgun fired from its side and rear, while simultaneously firing the Vulcan cannon on its head, intercepting all the missiles flying towards it.

Kira was even more direct. The Strike Gundam, thanks to its PS armor, took the hits of two missiles. He aimed his beam rifle briefly and pulled the trigger, firing two emerald green beams at a Baku.

Baku's high-speed mode is not without its flaws. The extremely high speeds achieved through its tracks and thrusters prevent Baku from maneuvering as nimbly as a humanoid mobile suit.

Kira's shot successfully blocked the Baku's path, forcing it to pause, and Raven seized the opportunity precisely, firing a rocket anchor at the Baku.

"If it's a contest of strength, the short sword won't lose!"

While Baku was being held by the rocket anchor, he fired rockets at the dagger and increased the power of his thrusters in an attempt to break free of the rocket anchor's grip, but the dagger's power output was superior.

Dagger dodged the missile fired from Baku by sidestepping to the side, while simultaneously gripping the rocket anchor's cable with both arms and using full power to drag the Baku to the ground.

Unable to stand up on his own after falling to his side on the sand, Baku drew his beam saber from his waist, and the thruster power surged instantly, closing in on Baku in the next moment.

"If you don't want to die, don't move!"

Raven swiftly dismantled the unfortunate Baku into eight pieces with a few sword strikes, severing its missile pods, limbs, and head, leaving only the lone torso in the center.

"That's how we get a source of intelligence."

Seeing Raven's actions, Kira immediately followed suit, leaping high into the air with his beam rifle pointed directly at another Baku.

Another three-round burst, three beams of light accurately hit the Baku, which was moving at high speed, hitting its head, left front leg, and right hind leg in succession. The Baku immediately went out of control, rolled several times on the sand, and then completely lost its ability to move.

Seeing the unfavorable situation, the remaining Baku decisively chose to withdraw from the battlefield, its railgun on its back constantly turning around to fire, attempting to stop the pursuit of the Dagger and the Strike.

However, the railgun was immediately destroyed by a beam rifle fired by the assault team. The next moment, a beam boomerang thrown by the short sword swept past Baku, severing all four of its limbs.

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"Hey, just how outrageous were those two guys? They shot down three Bakus without even scratching their paint."

Andrew stared in astonishment at the almost one-sided battle. Although he had prepared himself for the high probability of casualties during this reconnaissance mission, he never expected that in just a few minutes, all three Baku aircraft piloted by veterans would be destroyed.

"Looks like we've met our match..."

Andrew put down his binoculars. He had originally intended to probe the Archangel's strengths and weaknesses, but his plan backfired. All three pilots had fallen into the enemy's hands, and it was possible that the enemy would find out everything about his side.

The once bustling battlefield suddenly fell silent, but Andrew quickly sensed something amiss in the silence.

"Wait a minute, why isn't the Resbus firing? Da Costa..."

He was just about to call his adjutant to ask about the situation on the warship when the red-haired adjutant rushed over in a panic to report.

"Captain, the Lessabus has been attacked by enemy fighters. All three main guns have been destroyed and it is unable to launch support artillery fire."

Even an optimistic person like Andrew couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration.

"What a complete defeat. Now, I have no right to laugh at Kruse."

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The Dawn Desert convoy arrived late, after the battle had ended.

Under the rising sun, the lingering smoke of battle told the story of the fierce fighting that had just taken place. What surprised the guerrillas most were the three wreckage planes of Baku that were still belching black smoke.

Many of them had witnessed how these beast-like mobile suits routed the well-equipped Combine regular army.

Although they had tried to destroy these mobile suits, almost all of their attempts ended in failure, and the few successes they achieved were at great cost.

Meanwhile, the two mobile suits from the Archangel took only a few minutes to shoot down three mobile suits that were causing them so much trouble.

Saib, the leader of the resistance organization "Dawn Desert," surveyed the ravaged battlefield, secretly assessing the Archangel's combat capabilities.

'It seems the brigadier general was right; this warship does indeed possess the capability to confront the ZAFT forces head-on.'

Seib views ZAFT as an aggressor, but that does not mean he supports the Earth Union.

ZAFT was an aggressor, but was the Eurasian Federation, as a colonizer, necessarily a good one?

At least Seib felt that it would be best if ZAFT and the coalition forces were to perish together.

However, if the Archangel could help them drive away the Desert Tiger, he wouldn't object to joining forces with the Archangel, just as he had agreed to help the Lion of Orb take care of his daughter in order to obtain Orb's material aid.

The problem was that they were delayed on the way to repair the broken-down vehicle, and it was during this time that the Archangel was attacked.

'This is really troublesome...'

Saib looked at the man and woman, who appeared to be two majors who had come out to greet him, and the soldiers hiding around them, and thought with a headache.

Who is the Skyfire Raven in Chapter 36?

"That's a guerrilla force operating locally."

On the bridge of the Archangel, Maru and Basiluru were observing the belated convoy through the porthole.

"Captain, if I may be so bold, these guerrillas are not to be trusted. Not only did they fail to rendezvous with our ship at the scheduled time, but the ZAFT forces also attacked our ship before they arrived."

Bakiruru continues to play her role, offering advice to Maru.

“What you say makes sense, but without the cooperation of these locals, we would be stuck here. We are fighting alone now, and we have to rely on these guerrillas for both supplies and intelligence.”

After saying that, Maru turned around, straightened her collar, put on her military cap, and walked into the elevator behind the bridge.

"Whether they are friend or foe, we have to make contact and see what they have to say. Lieutenant, this is your responsibility."

Before Bakiru could reply, Maru left the bridge.

Murrue's decisiveness caught Bakiruru off guard. Looking at the elevator doors that had already closed completely, Bakiruru thought to herself that Murrue was becoming more and more decisive.

Although it's unclear whether Maru's change is good or bad, as her adjutant, Bakiruru can only do her best to cooperate with Maru's actions.

Bakirulu picked up the headset and directed her forces to do everything in her power to ensure Maru's safety.

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"Fellow citizens of the Dawn Desert, I am Major Maru Ramias, commander of the 13th Independent Unit of the Earth Alliance."

As she spoke, Maru looked around at the people from the Dawn Desert.

Although they cannot be compared to ZAFT, the weapons these people possess are quite sophisticated by guerrilla standards.

Aside from the brand-new rifles and rocket launchers, Maru also spotted several desert jeeps equipped with multi-barrel anti-tank missile launchers.

These are standard military supplies. Although it cannot be ruled out that the guerrillas picked up equipment abandoned by the retreating regular army, judging from the condition of the equipment, these vehicles have obviously been well maintained.

This is an expense that a guerrilla force cannot afford.

Are guerrilla groups all this rich these days?

Maru's gaze continued to sweep across the crowd, then settled on two people who were clearly not locals.

One of them was a burly man with dark skin crisscrossed with old scars, looking like an elite veteran who had fought for years in the jungles of Southeast Asia.

Standing next to him was a fair-skinned blonde girl who looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. She stood out from the group of weathered guerrilla fighters, looking like a young lady who had come to experience life in the guerrilla camp.

'What kind of combination is this? It can't really be a rich heiress and her muscular bodyguard, can it?'

Just as Maru was lost in thought, a middle-aged man stepped out from the guerrilla ranks.

"Hello Major Ramias, I am Seib, the leader of the Dawn Desert."

Saib stepped forward, spoke carefully chosen words, and bowed his head to apologize.

"Due to mechanical failure, my convoy failed to meet with your unit at the scheduled time, which led to your unit being attacked by ZAFT forces. I sincerely apologize to your unit for this."

Seib is not someone who values ​​his honor too much. If he could gain the support of the Archangel's powerful forces simply by bowing his head, he would do it without hesitation.

However, not everyone understood his intention.

“Seib, you don’t need to bow down to these Earth forces. Even without the Archangel, we can still drive ZAFT away!”

The blonde girl quickly lost her temper. She shook off the big man's hand that was trying to stop her and said with a flushed face.

The scene froze for a moment, but Seib raised his hand to stop her, showing no embarrassment whatsoever.

"I'm sorry, she's still a young person, please don't take it to heart."

The girl was still unconvinced after being stopped. She stomped her foot angrily, turned around, and ran to the side to sulk. Seyib ignored her and glanced at the places where ambushes were hidden. He sighed inwardly.

He needs the power of the Archangel now. If he can't clear up the misunderstanding and lower his guard, this cooperation might have to end.

This is not what he imagined.

"I swear on my life that ZAFT's attack and our lateness were merely an unfortunate misunderstanding. We will cooperate with your operations as previously agreed. We have no reason to be hostile; how about we both put our guns away?"

After saying that, he threw his sidearm on the ground and gestured to his men to put their guns away as well.

Maru didn't reply, still pondering whether Seib was trustworthy, but Raven's voice rang out from behind her.

“Captain, I don’t think Mr. Seib is lying.”