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

The battle was almost one-sided. Faced with Baku's revolutionary weaponry, the guerrillas' vehicle-mounted anti-tank missiles and rocket launchers were useless. Even if they hit vital parts, they could not inflict decisive damage on Baku.

The convoy on the Dawn Desert side fired a barrage of rockets, which seemed impressive, but to Baku, it was no less spectacular than fireworks.

Baku didn't even need to use weapons to deal with them. One Baku rushed into the middle of the convoy, swung its huge claws, and swept it sideways at a jeep. The jeep bounced off the ground, rolled several times in the air, and then crashed heavily onto a sand dune not far away.

The so-called battle was nothing more than a one-sided crushing defeat.

"While I acknowledge your courage, such reckless actions are nothing more than suicide. Why don't you understand that?"

Andrew's mood worsened.

"Speaking of which, ever since that long-legged ship appeared, I haven't had a single good thing happen to me. That ship is a real jinx."

However, the guerrillas were not the only ones who approached Andrew and his group.

"Captain, emergency!"

Da Costa's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"What's going on this time? If it's still those resistance groups, just drive them away like before! Idiots won't be cured until they die once."

"No, this time it's a mobile suit, model Dagger, attacking from above, and about to enter combat range!"

Upon hearing the news, Andrew sprang from his seat, the fatigue and irritability that had enveloped him all day instantly ignited by something. He jumped out of the jeep in a few strides and, without hesitation, chose the Baku that was closest to him.

"Kirkwood, lend me your Baku for a bit. I want to meet that guy myself!"

"I've done so many pointless things today before running into you, so don't disappoint me, 'Skyfire Raven'!"

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[Enemy aircraft confirmed: 4 Baku aircraft equipped with missile bays and 2 Baku aircraft equipped with railguns; currently engaged in combat with the Dawn Desert forces.]

El fixed his humanoid body behind the driver's seat, making the already cramped cockpit of the short sword even cramped.

"So it's turned out like this. If we just sit idly by, the people of Dawn Desert will be wiped out. El, get into combat mode. As before, you're in charge of operating the shoulder weapons. Also, inform the Archangel and the Strike about the situation here."

The numerous firearms on the iwsp backpack were activated, and Raven pulled the control stick, causing the short sword to dive down from above towards the Baku team.

Chapter 39 The First Battle with the Tiger (Part 2)

The high-profile appearance of the short sword did not escape Andrew's notice. At his command, the Baku forces quickly began to engage, unleashing a barrage of fire at the short sword. Andrew himself, meanwhile, piloted the twin-mounted railgun on the back of his aircraft, aiming it at the short sword overhead.

A large number of missiles roared away, some of which carried projectiles from railguns.

The short sword immediately began to roll and dodge. At the same time, the Vulcan cannon and shoulder cannon fired simultaneously, and a dense barrage of close-in weapon system bullets spread out in front of the fuselage, intercepting a large number of incoming missiles.

But after the missile exploded and created plumes of smoke, Raven suddenly tensed up.

The short sword pulled the composite shield in front of him, and the next moment, two railgun shells almost caused the short sword's shield to deform significantly.

Raven immediately realized that there was a skilled opponent on the other side.

"Did the Desert Tiger personally go to the front lines?"

But regardless, Raven must immediately begin his counterattack.

Raven pushed the control stick forward, and the Dagger tilted its fuselage, instantly switching from a level flight attitude at high altitude to a downward dive.

The short sword, like a raptor hunting a pack of wolves, locked onto a Baku aircraft located on the edge of the formation.

Gravity propelled the Dagger faster and faster, its fuselage whistling sharply as it rubbed against the air. ZAFT's Baku forces clearly spotted the Dagger's intentions and rained down barrages of fire, but all of this firepower was a beat too slow and was left behind by the Dagger's incredible speed during its dive.

As the distance closed, the firearms densely packed like porcupines on iwsp's backpack simultaneously roared.

The rapid-fire from the Gatling guns and cannons blocked the Baku's movement. Then, just before the two aircraft were about to collide, the Dagger's two railguns suddenly opened fire, accurately hitting the Baku's fuselage. It then quickly pulled up altitude, leaving the Baku's explosion behind.

"It's just like a Stuka. Tsk, it's good that it can fly."

Andrew recalled the dive bombers that were active in the wars of the old era. He never expected to see similar tactics in this era when humanity has already entered space.

But Andrew wasn't the type to sit idly by and wait for his fate. He controlled Baku to lie prone on the ground, maintaining a high-speed movement, like a lurking tiger, waiting for his chance.

Soon, the opportunity he had been waiting for arrived.

Having succeeded once before, the short sword began its dive again, and Andrew, judging the moment, fired the railgun from its back.

This time, however, his target wasn't the difficult-to-aim-of short sword, but the sandy ground.

The railgun shell, carrying powerful kinetic energy, struck the ground, and the dust it kicked up instantly covered Dagger's entire field of vision. Andrew seized the opportunity, landed on all fours, and lunged at the diving Dagger.

Once in the dive trajectory, although the short sword will gain unpredictable speed, the machine's trajectory will also become more predictable, which is the opportunity Andrew has been waiting for.

Raven knew something was wrong the moment he suddenly lost sight of her, and quickly raised his shield in front of him. Then, just as he had expected, Baku's huge machine shadow appeared on the other side of the sandstorm and collided head-on with the short sword.

This unexpected attack caused the short sword to lose control instantly. Although Raven immediately went full throttle to try to stabilize its flight attitude, it still crashed to the ground. Andrew's Baku, on the other hand, pushed off the short sword's shield with its forelimbs at the moment of impact and landed gracefully on the ground.

"That way you won't be able to move!"

Upon landing, Andrew immediately opened fire on Dagger, but Raven reacted quickly as well. Dagger quickly stood up, and after a short burst of thrust from its thrusters, the machine swerved to the side to dodge.

Although Raven's maneuver prevented the short sword from being directly destroyed by the attack, a railgun shell directly severed one of the iwsp backpack's wings.

"Oops!"

With one wing destroyed, the aircraft lost its ability to fly until the iwsp backpack was repaired. In land combat, the weight of the iwsp backpack would make the aircraft seem extremely cumbersome.

Realizing this, Raven simply disregarded accuracy and unleashed the full power of the four shoulder cannons, sparing no ammunition.

While the fierce firepower temporarily suppressed the Baku forces, the large number of shells that missed their targets also kicked up enough dust to obscure their vision.

With a click, the short sword detached itself from the backpack, which had become a burden, while simultaneously hanging the beam rifle on its waist and drawing the beam boomerang from the composite shield.

"This is the tactic you taught me, and now I'll return the favor!"

The beam boomerang tore through the sand and dust, tracing a curved arc as it flew towards a Baku. But the pilots under the Desert Tigers were no novices; they could handle this simple attack with almost no thought.

Baku, the target, simply leaped lightly, letting the beam boomerang fly beneath it. But at that moment, the figure of Dagger, with one hand supporting a shield and the other raising an anti-ship sword, also broke through the curtain of sand and dust.

"what?!"

The two anti-ship swords hanging from the iwsp backpack, though physical weapons, were sharp enough to cut through the armor of a spaceship. Before the pilot of the Baku could react, his vehicle was cut in two by the short swords.

Before the short sword could finish its move, Raven decisively used his shield to protect his left side, taking a direct hit from a missile coming from the flank. At the same time, he used his anti-ship knife as a throwing weapon, aiming it at another Baku on his right and launching it away.

Having already witnessed the sharpness of the blade, the Baku pilot quickly maneuvered the Baku to the side to dodge. However, Raven spotted his landing point the moment he jumped. After swinging the anti-ship blade, Raven swiftly drew the beam rifle from his waistband with his free right hand, accurately hitting the Baku that had just landed.

"Two planes were shot down in an instant! This guy is a berserker, no, even more exaggerated than a berserker!"

Raven's reckless style of play left Andrew speechless; however, even the fiercest offensive eventually runs out of steam.

Having lost its ability to fly, the short sword charged to the center of the remaining Baku formation, its shield riddled with wounds and about to be reduced to scrap metal.

Andrew remembered that the short sword was different from those Gundams; it didn't have that troublesome PS armor.

"Come on, how are you going to deal with this now, Mr. Raven?"

The railgun on his back began to charge, while the other two wingmen had already circled around to the side of the dagger.

The situation seemed certain to be hopeless, but the next moment, a shell from an extremely long distance destroyed the turret of his Baku's twin railgun.

"Hit? No, I missed!"

In the distance, an Assault rifle equipped with a lightning backpack knelt on the ground, setting up its long-barreled electromagnetic cannon for the battlefield.

"What? A sniper?!"

Andrew immediately abandoned the attack and allowed Baku to perform irregular maneuvers.

The two wingmen also sensed something was wrong and abandoned their attack on the Dagger. The two Bakus simultaneously dispersed in different directions and began to perform evasive maneuvers.

But the sniping from afar did not stop.

The second shot, the third shot, the fourth shot...

Shell after shell kept hitting the open ground around the three Bakus, and the accuracy of the shooting was visibly improving.

Realizing the situation was rapidly spiraling out of control, Andrew made the decisive decision to retreat. The two wingmen unleashed the remaining munitions from their missile pods, once again kicking up a massive dust storm.

Under the cover of the sandstorm, the three Baku aircraft turned around and quickly withdrew from the battlefield.

Chapter 40 Bananadia Holiday (1)

Even after resting for a while, Kira still couldn't forget the horrific scene he had witnessed.

The black smoke rising from the burning city of Tahir, the wreckage of vehicles overturned by Baku's giant claws on the sand, and the corpses that could no longer even be preserved in human form.

Of those who went after Baku in a moment of youthful fervor, less than half returned alive.

Those who wept uncontrollably around the mangled bodies had lost their homes and had no savings. How were they supposed to survive in this chaotic world?

If the war is not ended, this kind of thing will happen again and again.

Is a strong will not enough to end the war?

Kira was deep in thought, leaning back in his seat and gazing wistfully out the window. Cagalli, sitting beside him, broke the spell of his melancholy by poking his cheek with her finger.

"We're almost there. Stop looking around. We're here on a mission."

Kira remembered that not long ago, Cagalli was holding the body of the fallen boy and crying so sadly, but now she no longer looked so heartbroken.

'You're so strong.'

Kira thought to himself.

Since the supplies that Dawn Desert had stockpiled were burned by ZAFT, the food and fuel that were supposed to be supplied to the Archangel were also lost. Therefore, Bakirulu and Saib, the leader of Dawn Desert, decided to personally lead a team to Banadia, which was occupied by ZAFT forces, to purchase supplies.

Raven and Kira also joined the purchasing team, taking a breather before the next big battle.

The group split up before entering the city. Bakirulu and Seib led the majority of the group to find a local smuggler to purchase large quantities of supplies.

Kira, on the other hand, was dragged by Cagalli along by the arm to stroll around the city's bustling downtown area without any explanation.

Raven didn't follow them.

"This is Barnadia."

El raised his head and looked at the peaceful city in front of him.

"Let's go too. It's not easy to have a body that can move around freely. It would be a waste if we didn't go out and explore."

Raven took El's hand, and the two strolled leisurely through the crowds of Bananadia.

Today, El was dressed in traditional local women's clothing. The wide robe completely covered her slender body, and her silver wig was carefully wrapped inside a headscarf, so it didn't look too out of place. The mask on her face was also covered by a veil, making it less strange. At most, passersby would think that the girl was dressed a little conservatively, but they wouldn't find it unusual.

Compared to the noisy atmosphere around her, El maintained her aloof demeanor and, as always, did not show much emotion. However, Raven could sense that the mechanical girl who had been with him all along was actually quite happy.

Since its birth, El has either been working on projects in the lab with Raven or serving as a machine spirit in mobile suits to help Raven in combat. Even after it acquired a mobile ant body capable of movement, it could only wander around the Archangel ship. This was the first time it had ever strolled through the streets and made contact with the outside world like this.

"Is there anything you want, El?" Raven asked as they walked, his gaze sweeping over the dazzling array of stalls on either side. "Like trinkets, dolls, or something like that?"

"No, I have no need for those things."

El answered decisively, without the slightest hesitation in his tone.

"No, no, no, it's not a matter of need or not. Isn't there something that you just want to pick up the moment you see it?"

"But I am AI, and I don't have the desires of humans."

Al's eyes swept over the surrounding vendors, finding nothing but boring items.

Colorful stone pendants, silk fabrics adorned with various fancy patterns, crudely made metal bracelets... Humans satisfy their spiritual needs by attributing all sorts of meanings to these things, even though these things themselves have neither practical value nor any aesthetic appeal in a technical sense. In El's view, this is somewhat self-deception.

But as El took a few more steps forward, he saw something strange from the vendors in the corner.

"El?"

Raven paused for a moment when he saw her take a step and walk in a certain direction, then quickly followed.

When Raven walked up to her and saw what the object El was holding in her hands was, the two of them almost simultaneously exclaimed in surprise.

"Isn't this the Super Alloy Steel Man that only exists in fantasy? How could I run into him here!"

El held the metallic robot model in his hands, his eyes shining with the same fervent light as Raven's.

Upon seeing this, the stall owner let out a low, strange laugh.

"I didn't expect this gentleman and lady to have such good taste." He lowered his voice, as if about to reveal some earth-shattering secret. "To be honest, I got this through connections from PLANT. They haven't produced it here on Earth for a long time. So, what do you think, want it?"

Amidst the stall owner's devilishly gentle persuasion, Raven and El's answers overlapped almost simultaneously.

"How much? I'll buy it!"

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“Raven, PLANT is surprisingly a great country.”

"Huh? Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"