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

ZAFT forces were severely damaged by the defeat in the Alaska campaign, and the situation at the front was critical. At this time, Patrick recalled the elite Kruse team with an order, which made Kruse think twice.

Although Kruze was careful enough in leaking intelligence about the breakthrough operation to the Allied forces, he remained highly vigilant throughout.

And indeed, things turned out exactly as Kruse had predicted.

Siegel's revelations during that live broadcast made Patrick suspicious of Kruse.

However, in order to stabilize public sentiment and morale, Patrick immediately used official media to completely deny Siegel's accusations.

But in secret, Patrick began preparing to arrest Kruse.

To ensure success, Patrick didn't mobilize a large force. Instead, he deployed his secret unit to ambush Kruze at the shipyard, ready to capture him as soon as possible.

But Patrick's choice to make a secret arrest instead of publicly revealing Kruse's suspicions within the ZAFT military gave Kruse an opportunity.

So he lied and said he had received a secret order from Patrick, and then took a shuttle to the Jachin Duvi Fortress.

Kruze was well-versed in ZAFT's nuclear-powered mobile suits, and his purpose in coming to Jakin Dover Fortress was to find the Divine Will stored there for testing.

Patrick's years of trust in him, and the prestige he had built up through his military exploits in the ZAFT army, became Kruze's most effective pass. It didn't take much effort for Kruze to trick his way into opening the gate to the hangar where the nuclear-powered mobile suits were stored.

"So this is the new aircraft."

Kruse followed the technician who was leading the way into the hangar, where a highly recognizable mobile suit stood in the center.

"The machine is equipped with an anti-neutron jammer and a nuclear engine, and at the special suggestion of Senator Yuri Amalfi, we also installed a psycho-frame that was taken from the 'basketball'."

"Basketball" was the code name given by Jachin Duve's technicians to the cockpit recovered from the unusual glowing phenomenon.

"The psycho-framework can be perfectly coupled with the Dragoon system. By directly sensing the pilot's brainwave signals, bypassing the quantum computer's translation process, it can transmit control commands to each separated sub-machine without delay, enabling more efficient all-around attacks on the enemy."

The technician's tone carried the pride characteristic of researchers, and indeed, they had accomplished a remarkable feat.

"I see."

Kruse raised his face, the lamps of the hangar reflecting a cold light on his metal mask. Looking at the solemn outline of the divine will, a slow smile appeared on his lips.

"Can this mobile suit be started now?"

"Of course you can. However, according to regulations, you must first obtain permission from your superiors to drive it..."

Kruse stopped listening to the technician and his body had already left the maintenance platform, drifting towards the cockpit of the Divine Will.

"Please wait a moment, Captain Kruse!"

By the time the technician finally realized what was happening and tried to stop him, Shenyi's eyes had already lit up.

Under Kruze's control, Divine Will raised its right arm and picked up a large beam rifle specially designed for it from a nearby stand. A beam comparable to that of a ship's cannon erupted from the muzzle, and the hangar's hatch could not withstand Divine Will's fire at all, and a huge hole was quickly torn open.

The divine will swiftly entered outer space from there, and the alarm bells of the Jakin Duve Fortress immediately rang, with the mobile suits patrolling the area urgently surrounding the divine will.

But Kruse didn't take them seriously at all.

The telepathic framework resonated with his mind, and the submachine gun of the Dragoon system detached from the disc-shaped backpack behind his divine will, dispersing into this space with an inconceivable trajectory.

King and Higu, who rushed to the scene following the alarm, had just caught sight of the divine will's silhouette and hadn't even had time to aim their weapons at the target when emerald green beams shot out from an unexpected direction, and the encirclement formed by the interwoven beams tightened continuously.

The Divine Will Dragoon system had not yet completed its final debugging, but with Kruze's on-site adjustments, its shooting accuracy was gradually improving.

Up, down, left, right—beams of light shot from the dragon riders' submachine guns, like a fly net, ensnaring King and Higu, before turning the pursuing forces into fireballs that silently exploded in space.

"This machine is practically tailor-made for me. At least for this matter, I still have to thank you, Patrick."

A mocking smile tugged at the corner of Kruse's mouth beneath his mask as he looked toward the distant blue Earth.

PLANT is gone forever; all his years of hard work have vanished.

But now that Kruze possesses the Divine Will Gundam, even if he were to defect to the Earth Alliance through their previous relationship, he would certainly be treated as an honored guest.

An anti-neutron jammer is a technology that those blue cosmos people dream of having.

"After all, there's a fool over there who's just as stupid as Patrick."

Although it differs greatly from Kruse's original plan, the outcome may be even better than he originally intended.

While Siegel's revelation caused Kruze to lose his identity in PLANT, Patrick, betrayed by someone he trusted, would certainly harbor even greater hatred for the Earth Alliance. Even without Kruze's guidance, he would still point that secret weapon at Earth.

Meanwhile, the Coalition forces, having received the anti-neutron jammer, will also try to redeploy nuclear weapons.

The thought of his future actions made Kruze's mind tremble uncontrollably, and the psycho-sensing frame installed inside the cockpit seemed to resonate with his dark will to destroy, with purplish-black light shining through the gaps in the cockpit.

"Divine will, even you sensed it? Even you agree with me? Indeed, this ending is befitting of a foolish and hopeless race like humanity! So-called humans are a race that grows up in greed, driven by hatred, unable to learn from the tragedies they create, only repeating the same mistakes time and time again!"

Kruze stretched out his arms as if embracing the cold, dark universe, and the divine will seemed to sense his emotions, making the same gesture as Kruze.

"I am the will of God, I am God! Let us together deliver the final judgment upon this filthy world!"

Amidst Kruze's morbid laughter, the divine machine headed towards Earth.

Author's message

Sorry, something came up in real life, so the update is late.

Chapter 85 Dreams

L4 space domain, abandoned colony "Mendel".

Mendel, a colony once renowned worldwide as a center for biotechnology research, was transformed by the Klein faction into a temporary operational base for the Three Ships Alliance.

After the Archangel and Kusanagi arrived here, Mendel welcomed new guests.

The New Holm, belonging to the Scrap Merchants Guild, arrived here carrying a large amount of supplies sent from the moon by Halbarton.

In addition to the usual weapons, ammunition, and rations, the New Holm also delivered some special items.

A short sword equipped with an IWSP backpack, a Strike Backpack specially made for Mu, and an enhancement kit for the S Gundam.

In addition, the Dagger L squad, which boarded the New Holm on the moon under the guise of escort, also took the opportunity to disembark and be assigned to the Archangel.

This Short Sword L Squad is the elite squad led by Lieutenant Rand, the ace of the Eighth Fleet. All of them have a record of shooting down several mobile suits.

"Are you sure this is a Strike backpack, and not some new Möbius Zero?"

"Although it looks similar to the Mobius Zero, its nose can be folded down to dock with a mobile suit that has an assault backpack interface. Like the Mobius Zero, its four cannons can be separated to attack, and its firepower is much stronger than the Mobius. The railguns and missiles on it can easily penetrate the armor of mobile suits, so you don't have to aim at the joints like before."

Chief of maintenance, Maddok, followed behind Mu, holding a document detailing the cannon barrel backpack, and spoke.

"By the way, Major General Halbarton also sent over a short sword. Did we have any spare pilots before?"

Mu looked at the short sword standing next to the Assault, and his thoughts immediately flew back to when he had just set off from Heliopolis.

A female voice came from behind Mu, pulling him back to reality from his memories.

"So that's the mobile suit I'm to be assigned to? To actually make me pilot the very mobile suit that shot down me before, Mr. Raven is really wicked."

“If you don’t want it, Elsa, I’ll ask Mr. Andrew to drive it. Anyway, the Eternal doesn’t need to be on the front line, so it won’t be a big problem if Mr. Andrew is not there.”

"No, little El, I was just complaining a little. You have no idea how boring it is to sit in the gunner's position on a warship."

Today, El, dressed in a gorgeous dress, led Aisha, who had come from the Eternal, into the hangar of the Archangel.

Elsa, who can partner with the Desert Tiger, certainly possesses MS piloting skills that are beyond the reach of ordinary people, and is more than capable of handling the complex IWSP backpack.

"Speaking of which, where is Mr. Raven? Why are you all alone today?"

"Raven is probably on the Eternal, chatting with Miss Lux."

Upon hearing El's words, not only Aisha, but even Mu, who was examining the cannon-shaped backpack, turned around and looked at El with disbelief.

'That Raven, he actually went and chatted with a girl?'

At that moment, the exact same sentence flashed through Mu and Aisha's minds simultaneously.

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

Eternal, Lux's personal cabin.

Raven sat on the floor, a pile of tools spread out beside him, repairing a pink soldier ant.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Raven, for making you come all this way to fix it."

"Don't take it to heart. This thing was just pieced together from all sorts of odds and ends, so it's normal for it to malfunction."

As Raven spoke, he screwed in the last screw, flipped the power switch, and the soldier ant's previously dim red single eye lit up again.

Raven put it on the ground, and the little guy immediately started running happily on its four short legs to play with Lux's pink harlo.

Seeing that the repair was complete, Raven put the tools back into his tool bag and was about to get up and leave when Lux called him back.

"Please wait a moment, I have something I'd like to show Mr. Raven."

She turned on her personal computer, tapped her fingers lightly on the keyboard, and data from several electronic documents unfolded in front of Raven.

"This is the Super Coordinator Project. I see. So it's related to Kira."

Raven's reaction was much more normal than Lux had expected.

“Mr. Raven, you’re not surprised at all.”

As a transmigrator, Raven naturally knew about this, but he still made up an excuse.

"I know better than anyone how talented Kira is. Forget Super Coordinator, I could even be a Super Saiyan. By the way..."

Raven raised his eyes and looked at Lux.

"You didn't tell Kira about this, did you?"

Lux shook her head.

"Apart from the person who obtained this information and myself, no one else knows anything about it. I think it's most appropriate for Mr. Raven to decide whether or not to tell Kira about this."

Raven wasn't surprised by Lux's answer; she was a thoughtful person.

"Let's leave this matter here. Kira's parents must know about this. They chose not to tell Kira, probably because they wanted him to live his life as an ordinary Coordinator. Besides, Super Coordinators are just Coordinators with better talent. What this world has in abundance is geniuses."

Lux nodded slightly, knowing that Raven would give an answer that matched her vague expectations.

The matter was thus settled, and the document was re-encrypted and archived, returning to the depths of the sea of ​​data.

This lightened her burden a bit. The comfortable environment of her private cabin made her appear composed in front of others, but she inadvertently relaxed for a moment and yawned slightly.

Are you tired?

Noticing this, Raven lowered his voice slightly.

Raven knew that Lux was entrusted with an important task and needed to maintain a calm and determined demeanor on a daily basis, but after all, she was only a 16-year-old girl at this time.

Lux quickly raised her head, straightened her back, hid her fatigue, and shook her head.

"I didn't, it's just..."

"I'm a grown-up with principles. If you're tired, just be affectionate with me. I won't tell anyone."

Lux froze. She opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to refuse, but then chuckled softly, as if trying to send away all the worries in her heart. She let out a long sigh, turned to the side, and gently rested her head on Raven's shoulder.

Her hair brushed against Raven's cheek, carrying a gentle fragrance.

This smells like shampoo.

"Thank you."

Lux's voice was very soft.

Her head rested on Raven's shoulder, her eyes closed, immersed in the peaceful atmosphere. Raven didn't speak, and for a moment, only the two of them breathing quietly filled the cabin.

After a while, she suddenly raised her head slightly, opened her eyes and looked at Raven's profile.

She remembered something.

"Speaking of which, Raven told me about his dream before, that he wanted to go to the stars and the sea. Now, could you please listen to my dream as well?"

Without waiting for Raven's reply, she began to speak on her own.

Lux's cheeks flushed slightly. She had never said these words to anyone before, not even her father, Siegel.

"I want to sing carefree in a peaceful world, not because I am PLANT's songstress, nor because I am Siegel Klein's daughter, but simply as Lux, as an ordinary girl, to sing the songs I truly want to sing."

After she finished speaking, she suddenly seemed to realize that she had just said something extremely embarrassing, and subconsciously buried her face in Raven's shoulder.

Among the pink strands of hair, the ear that was exposed was also tinged with a blush.

Her voice became a little muffled.

"Um, what I just said, you absolutely, absolutely must not tell anyone..."