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

Raven used the same tactic again, firing his Vulcan cannon to restrain Shigu while holding the unlit beam saber in his hand.

Kruze, of course, noticed the menacing short sword coming at him.

"Was that an unplanned mass-production prototype that didn't choose to run away but instead came straight for me?"

Kruze quickly switched targets, and Shigu's machine gun spat fire at the short sword.

"El!"

[Received. Approach the enemy aircraft while employing evasive maneuvers.]

The tail flames of the short sword's thruster drew several large right angles in the air, causing all of Shigu's shots to miss. Such an exaggerated movement surprised even the battle-hardened Kruze.

"Even Coordinators can't stand this kind of maneuvering. What's wrong with the guy sitting in that mobile suit?"

Seeing that his shot missed, Xigu reloaded his machine gun while retreating, but even Xigu could not easily shake off the short sword at full power.

"Even though it's a rookie piloting it, that acceleration! Wow, the Earth Alliance really does create something outrageous!"

Kruse underestimated the speed of the dagger, and this mistake allowed the dagger to successfully approach Shigu.

Inside the cockpit of the short sword, Raven's bones were cracking and his vision was turning black. Not wearing the standard suit, he was almost unconscious from the continuous high-G maneuvers, but he still struggled to control the short sword and swing the beam saber.

Kruze managed to shield himself with his shield, blocking the short sword's beam saber. However, Raven wasn't the only one piloting the short sword. Taking advantage of the shield obstructing his vision, El controlled the short sword to kick Xigu in the waist from his blind spot.

"what?"

An unexpected tremor swept through the cockpit of the HIGH; a typical recruit wouldn't resort to such an unorthodox tactic. The short sword strike created an opening in HIGH's posture, and Raven seized the opportunity, igniting the beam saber he held in his other hand and thrusting it towards HIGH's right arm, which was holding a gun.

Although Kruze reacted quickly, straightening his machine and creating distance, the short sword still pierced his right hand, causing the machine gun and his right hand to be melted by the beam saber.

But Kruse took advantage of the situation to manipulate Shig to turn around, like a matador circling around from the side of the short sword's charge to its rear, aiming the Gatling gun under his left-hand shield at the short sword.

"Fall!"

"Oops!"

The Gatling gun barrel under Shigu's shield began to spin. The short sword's thin rear armor had no chance of withstanding Shigu's fire at this distance, but at that moment, a thick beam of red and white light shot out, forcing Shigu to take evasive action.

This was a support shot fired by the Strike, who had just taken up the "Flame God". The 320mm ultra-high pulse cannon "Flame God" has enough power to sink a warship. Shigu's left arm was destroyed after being grazed by the cannon fire. After destroying Shigu's left arm, the cannon fire did not stop and went straight through Heliopolis, making a hole in the outer wall of the colony.

Are all the Earth Force's mobile suits monsters?

Having lost both arms and damaged all his weapons, Kruze seized the opportunity to retreat decisively through the breached outer wall.

"Finally, I made it through..."

Having endured continuous high-G maneuvers, Raven watched Kruze retreat and finally breathed a sigh of relief before losing consciousness in the cockpit of the Dagger.

Interlude of Chapter 3

Raven woke up with a jolt. He looked around and found himself still in the cockpit of the Dagger, while the scenes on the screens around him changed, indicating that he was in a hangar somewhere.

"You're awake, Raven."

"here it is?"

[Based on the situation, I determined that rendezvous with the Archangel was the safest option, so I landed here.]

There's one more thing, Raven, I must apologize to you. Because I failed to anticipate the enemy's movements, you were put in danger. I'm very sorry.

Al's electronic voice was as cold as ever, but Raven could sense a hint of regret in her words.

"The enemy is ZAFT's ace, Rau Le Creuset. How could his movements be easily predicted? And we managed to take off one of his hands in our first battle. That's a remarkable achievement."

Raven rubbed his throbbing temples.

"By the way, did you memorize Kruse's last maneuver? That's a move you can't get in the training field."

Rest assured, I have compiled a complete account of my battle with Rau Le Creuset. If I see him again, I will not lose.

"El, was this the kind of person you were, so unwilling to admit defeat?"

At that moment, Raven caught a glimpse of the Assault team entering the Archangel's hangar out of the corner of his eye.

Murrue boarded the Archangel aboard the Strike, and Kira also brought along several classmates who hadn't been able to evacuate in time.

On the Archangel's side, Lieutenant Baki Lulu led the remaining soldiers and maintenance crew to the hangar. In addition, Captain Mu La Frada, who had previously landed in the heavily damaged Mobius Zero, also came to join the rest of the crew.

"Mr. Raven?"

When Raven stepped out of the cockpit of the short sword, the officers, except for Maru, all showed expressions of surprise.

Aside from Mu, who had just arrived in Heliopolis today, everyone else had seen Raven a few times, which is why they were surprised that Raven, a technician, was piloting a mobile suit. Moreover, he had just exchanged blows with Kruze and survived.

This feeling was like their kind neighbor suddenly transforming into a magical girl to save the world, giving them a subtle sense of disparity.

The sense of disparity was even stronger when Kira's figure emerged from the Strike's cockpit.

"Could the so-called G Project be some kind of super robot development project? Why are the pilots either children or strange people?"

Mu muttered a complaint under his breath, but was immediately glared at by Baki Lulu.

Raven also noticed the blond man in standard clothes and quickly guessed his identity.

“Hello, Captain Mu La Vlada, I’m Raven from the G Project development team, not some weirdo.”

Seeing Raven extend his hand, Mu gave an awkward smile, muttered to himself, "Your ears are really sharp," and then shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Raven. By the way, have we met before?"

"Even an ordinary researcher like myself has heard of the reputation of the Eagle of Endymion."

"You flatter me. I'm just a fig leaf pushed out by the big shots."

After a somewhat cheesy conversation, Raven looked at the group of people in front of him and asked a rather important question.

"So, who is in charge of this unit now?"

The Archangel is now isolated, lacking in combat power, and its crew is in a state of panic. The old captain who was originally in charge has already died in the ZAFT attack. In this extremely unfavorable situation, without even a commander who can coordinate the overall situation, it is impossible to fight against ZAFT, let alone escape with the entire crew.

"The highest-ranking officers now are Captain Ramias and Captain Mu."

Baki Lulu replied that, according to convention, command of the troops should be assumed by the officer with the highest rank.

"I only arrived in Heliopolis today and I'm not familiar with the situation at all. I'm not cut out to be a commander."

Mu quickly waved his hand and withdrew from the election, so the positions of troop commander and captain of the Archangel fell to Maru.

"I...I know."

Maru, who was a technical officer not long ago, obviously did not expect things to develop this way, but considering the current situation, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and take over command.

With that, the most important problem at hand was solved. Although there were still a lot of things to deal with, the Archangel crew, having found their leader, finally had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief. However, Mu's casual remark instantly made the atmosphere, which had just eased up, tense again.

"Speaking of which, I heard that Natural Man OS is in pretty bad shape, but judging from their performance in the battle just now, are Mr. Raven and that boy Coordinators?"

Mu's words instantly made the soldiers guarding the Earth Force raise their guns in alarm, while Raven frowned and stood protectively in front of Kira.

[Warning: If any further aggressive intent is displayed, this agency will take all necessary measures to protect the pilot's life.]

The short sword standing behind Raven suddenly moved, using its mechanical arm to protect Raven, while the Vulcan cannon on its head began to rotate, emitting a hissing mechanical sound as a threat.

"MS spoke!"

"Are there any drivers left on board?"

El's actions threw the entire hangar into chaos. Raven patted the mechanical hand that El was protecting in front of him, signaling her to calm down and move the mechanical hand away.

"Captain Mu, these are extraordinary times, and everyone is on edge. You should be more mindful of the consequences of your words."

"I was just asking casually, I'm very sorry."

Realizing he had said the wrong thing, Mu was sweating profusely as he quickly waved his hands in apology. He never expected that the short sword, which was not being controlled, would suddenly move.

"I am indeed a Coordinator, but Orb is a neutral country, so it's not surprising that there are Coordinators living there, right?"

Kira spoke somewhat reluctantly.

Not long ago, he was just a student when he was suddenly caught up in the war between the Earth Alliance and PLAN. In order to survive, he had to pilot a mobile suit, and then he was even held at gunpoint. Even a kind-hearted person like Kira couldn't just laugh it off.

“Kira is my student at Heliopolis Institute of Technology. He is a first-generation Coordinator. Both of his parents are Naturals and have no relation to ZAFT. I can vouch for him.”

Raven added.

"As for why I was able to activate MS..."

Raven pointed behind him.

"Right now, all of the short sword's movements are calculated in real-time by my El. Isn't it cute?"

Raven looked up proudly at the short sword standing behind him like a guardian angel, a smile unconsciously creeping onto his lips.

However, Mu, who was facing the pressure of the MS, was not as relaxed as Raven. Looking at the mechanical hand of the short sword that was so close, Mu muttered to himself.

'Cute? Mm? By the way, who is El?'

-----------------

At the same time, the Zaftnaska-class battleship, Vesalius.

"Was Michael really shot down by the Earth Forces' mobile suit?"

"It's true, I saw it with my own eyes during the retreat. The Earth Force's mobile suits, especially the mass-produced ones called Daggers, were surprisingly troublesome. Even Captain Kruze's Shig was injured."

"Don't scare me. Last time during the simulation battle, I only lasted a minute in front of Captain Kruze, and that was supposedly because the captain went easy on me."

"It's probably a problem with the machine's performance. The performance of those four stolen G-class units is better than even the Xigu's, let alone King's."

"But that kind of maneuver, the pilot must be a Coordinator, right? Those Naturals haven't evolved to the point where they can operate mobile suits yet."

"Tch, I hate traitors the most."

The ZAFT pilots whispered amongst themselves as they obeyed orders and headed to the hangar to prepare for the next operation.

Aslan followed quietly behind them, his head down, repeatedly recalling the figure of the brown-haired boy in his mind.

'Kira, is that really you?'

Even now, Aslan still can't believe that the place where he and his best friend reunited would be on the battlefield.

According to the combat footage transmitted back, Athrun noticed that towards the end of the battle, the Strike's movements became more agile, and it even damaged Captain Kruze's mobile suit.

Aslan's mood darkened upon realizing that his old friend might be working for the enemy.

'No, Kira's personality is such that he wouldn't willingly step into the battlefield. He must have been coerced by the Earth Alliance. I have to bring him back.'

As Athrun thought this, he slipped into the hangar and secretly climbed into the cockpit of the Aegis.

Chapter 4 Counterattack

To prepare for ZAFT's attack, Raven returned to the cockpit of the Dagger after a short rest.

Because the Naturals OS is not very well completed, Mu, who is the official pilot, can only stay in the CIC as a gunner, while the job of piloting the mobile suit has to be done by Raven and Kira, two civilians.

Raven had no objections. Piloting a mobile suit had always been one of Raven's dreams. After going through the recruitment process, he put on the standard uniform and returned to the hangar.

Although he was a core member of the G Project team, he was not a soldier after all, and in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, the necessary procedures still had to be followed.

As for Kira, Raven persuaded Murrue not to force Kira to participate in the battle, but instead let Kira take the remaining boys and girls who were forced to board the Archangel to the Archangel's residential area for refuge.

Although Raven's identity as a teacher was only a cover, he felt it was his responsibility to take care of these boys and girls and keep them away from fighting.

Moreover, as an adult, Raven could not convince himself to force a teenager onto the battlefield.

With the Archangel's combat capabilities and Raven's short sword available, there's absolutely no need to force Kira to pilot the Strike.

Raven remembered that in the original work, the Archangel escaped with the cover of just one Strike fighter, and Raven was confident that he could do the same.

Of course, Raven didn't trust his skills as a mobile suit pilot, but rather the El he had created himself.

Real-time calculation of mech movements, assisting in target acquisition, and shooting correction...

With El's support, Raven was confident that he would be no less than any enemy.

Moreover, Al is not an old-fashioned AI that operates on rigid programs, but an electronic life form with full self-awareness and thinking ability that can learn and grow.

Even if he were to encounter an opponent like Kruze again, Raven was confident that with El's support, he could hold his own against him.

In preparation for the next battle, Raven equipped his short sword with an empty backpack.

This is a backpack equipped with multiple high-powered thrusters and stabilizers, as well as a beam shield, beam rifle, and beam saber. It offers high mobility and can handle a variety of combat situations.

[Raven, why did you refuse to let that boy become part of the fighting force? It will lower your chances of survival.]