Why would I join the army if I can’t drive a Gundam!

Chapter 170 It's all business
Norris did not object to Kinias's actions at all. Although he was a Zeon soldier, he had previously been a retainer of the Sakhalin family, and everything he did was for the benefit of the Sakhalin family.

Now that Sakhalin has decided to jump ship, he will naturally comply unconditionally.

Although Kinias's project was cancelled, he remained the undisputed head of the research base. Therefore, with Kinias's authorization, Norris easily had the logistics department prepare two flying tigers and then initiated communication with Makarius.

"I've long admired your name, Major General Kinias!"

"You flatter me. My reputation is far inferior to yours. The name of the Red Dragon is sung throughout the entire Earth Sphere. It is my great honor to meet you today!"

"So, you must understand the conditions and such, right?"

"Of course, if possible, I hope to continue serving the Republic of Zeon after the war!"

Kinias ultimately refused to go into hiding, even though it would be safer that way. But abandoning the family's past glory would make the revival of the Sakhalin family just empty talk.

"Yes, I think Chief of Staff Ramball will be very pleased to welcome you!"

"Lambaral?"

Kinias was surprised again. How could someone have surrendered so early and already risen to the rank of Chief of Staff?
"I didn't expect him to join you guys too?"

"There's nothing he can do. To him, the Earth Federation is certainly hateful, but the Zabi family, who killed his entire family and forced him to be their slave, are even more inhuman!"

Kinias nodded in agreement. He had heard about the tragedy that happened to the Lal family back then, and even lamented that a family that could be considered a powerful clan in Zeon could be wiped out so easily, which showed how ruthless the Zabi family was.

"Then, could you discuss the specific terms?"

"Of course, no problem!"

Marcarius snapped his fingers and then pulled up another window, which was none other than the subject of the discussion.

To place people under Rambaar's command, the other party must agree. When Rambaar saw Kinias, he wondered if it was Kinias's imagination, but the other party seemed to have a sense of relief, and even straightened his back.

Before this, Makarius had already obtained authorization from Rebil. Santa Claus was completely subdued by Makarius's exaggerated antics. As for Kinias, he made an additional request: he hoped that the latter could produce a mature version of Apsaras before the all-out attack on Baikonur began.

To this end, the Federal Army also specially dispatched Gao Yun to Europe to be responsible for allocating resources and various services for Kinias so that Kinias could be seamlessly integrated.

The location for developing the new MA is the base where Kinias is currently located. In other words, as long as an agreement is reached now, Kinias can shut down the base's defense system, and Makarius can directly come and take over.

"So, is this an agreement?"

"I'm OK!"

"I'd like to add one more small condition!"

Kinias suddenly said.

"Of course, I won't let you work for nothing, Lieutenant Colonel!"

"So, who do you want me to kill?"

Marcarius picked up his water glass and took a sip of warm milk.

"Commander of the European Front, Eurykler!"

"Isn't this guy your friend?"

"Not anymore!"

"No problem, but I have one request: I need you to repair Apsaras!"

"You want to use this? Sure, give me three days!"

After learning that Makarius wanted to use his MA for this task, Kinias's impression of Makarius improved by eight points. Compared to Yuri, it's clear that the Federation friends have a good eye for talent!
"So, does your base need our help?"

"No need. The military police at the research base are all under Norris's control. You can come here at eight o'clock tonight to taste my treasured tea!"

"Then I'll await good news!"

Makarius then raised two fingers and tapped his forehead in a slight gesture.

After hanging up the call, the smile on Kinias's face vanished instantly.

"Norris, convene a meeting of all commanders at the base!"

"understand!"

Norris glanced at the pistol at his waist; he had a premonition that many people would die today!

Soon, the top officials at all levels of the research base gathered together. No one felt there was anything wrong with this kind of meeting; in the past, they had gone through this process many times in order to meet the project schedule.

So, at this moment, no one really reacted; at most, they just lamented the difficult situation.

"I heard our entire project has been cancelled?"

"Yes, I reckon we'll all be separating starting next week!"

"Separate? What for? I'm just an engineer!"

"Go and take up positions in the trenches! The front lines are collapsing like madmen. Large numbers of combat troops are either being annihilated or surrounded. Sooner or later, we'll all be incorporated into the infantry!"

"Commander Kinias wouldn't want this to happen, would he?"

Some people say this.

"Who knows? All I know is that Commander Kinias has been in a terrible mood these past few days!"

"Who told Apsaras to run into the red dragon!"

"Poor Miss Aina!" The discussion stopped abruptly when Kinias entered the meeting room; no one wanted to provoke him.

Then, everyone noticed that there seemed to be quite a few people following Kinias in; dozens of fully armed military police carrying pistols quickly took their positions in the corner of the conference room.

Kinias didn't waste any words; he simply announced his decision.

"Surrender to the Federation?"

The Zeon officers were dumbfounded. Although they knew the battle was going badly, surrendering to the Federation seemed like a huge leap.

A few hotheads stood up and refuted Kinias, saying that they were not die-hard Zabi family supporters, but staunch anti-Federalists. They said that surrendering to the Federation was worse than letting them die!
"OK then!"

Kinias nodded, and then the burly military policeman pulled out a silenced pistol that had been prepared beforehand and executed the Zeon officers.

"I didn't ask for your opinions; I'm just announcing my decision. Of course, it wouldn't matter if I let those who died go. I've already reached an agreement with the commander of the Red Dragon battle group, Makarius Skrinni, who will take over this base soon. I don't think he'll let some of you go!"

Upon hearing the name of the Red Dragon, the Zeon officers instantly fell silent; dying at this moment seemed like a blessing in disguise.

"So, now, who among you still objects?"

Looking at the corpses lying on the ground, their brains and blood splattered everywhere, the remaining Zeon officers all shook their heads. Whether it was genuine or not, they all still wanted to live.

Kinias still had no intention of letting them go, and then he called out the names of a few more people.

"Sir, I fully support you!"

"Yes, sir, I also think surrendering to the Federation Army was the right thing to do!"

Kinias ignored their pleas. These guys had been tipping off Yuri a lot before, and some of them were even Yuri's subordinates. Now, regardless of whether they were sincere or not, they had to die just to be safe!
While Kinias was dealing with the Zeon officers, Norris also began operations with the base's military police.

First, the military police declared martial law at the base, requiring all personnel to remain in their barracks and not move around. Then, the military police took over all the defense posts at the base and demanded that the soldiers who had been guarding the area hand over their live ammunition. After that, the military police locked the armory doors.

Meanwhile, all the military police's mobile units were activated, taking control of all the base's main transportation routes. Even the Zaku tanks driven by these military police officers had their ammunition replaced.

Such changes naturally plunged the Zeon soldiers throughout the base into confusion and panic, especially since their commanders at all levels had disappeared without a trace. Several Zeon units that had been transferred from other areas immediately attempted to make contact with the outside world, but the base's communications had been cut off by Geneias. The soldiers' efforts were unsuccessful, and they could only ask the military police for an explanation.

Instead of a warning from the military police, a few proactive individuals instigated the main force to attempt to force their way through the checkpoint and cause trouble, even bringing out their privately hidden weapons.

"No need to show mercy!"

Upon receiving the report from the military police, Norris coldly issued the order.

Then, the Zaku, loaded with shrapnel rounds, began indiscriminately firing at the rioters.

After suffering hundreds of casualties, these troublemakers finally understood whether a person's head or a bullet was harder.

Even more painful things were yet to come for these troublemakers. When Makarius's troops entered the base and took over the defense, the Zeon soldiers who had been obediently staying in the barracks from the beginning did not suffer any unfair treatment. In fact, the Federation forces simply confiscated their weapons and then allowed them to move freely in the barracks.

Those who intended to cause trouble were escorted out of the base one by one by the fierce Federation infantry. Next, these prisoners would be sent to the Federation's highest-level prisoner-of-war camp, where captured Zeon diehards with blood on their hands were imprisoned. They would then spend some time in the bottomless mines. In the process of settling scores with their enemies, the Federation soldiers were no different from the Zeon.

Actually, this is considered good. The Red Dragon battle group is disciplined by Markarius with high standards. If it were some Federation troops with poor discipline, everyone would have already changed their third magazine by now. They would even ask the prisoners to dig their own burial pits before executing them.

Even though military tribunals have tried many federal soldiers who did such things, vigilante justice continues unabated. After all, the federal army is currently too large and the quality of its personnel is uneven. Now, Gop is just waiting for the war to end so he can start disarming the army.

Kinias finally saw Apsaras after many days apart. He then gave his sister a hug, and upon that hug, Kinias noticed something was wrong. Although they had only been apart for a few days, Aina had already gained several pounds while with the Federation army, and even the gloom that often appeared between her brows had disappeared.

This relieved Kinias, since his sister was genuinely happy, which meant that Makarius wasn't a hypocrite after all.

Makarius entered without any ceremony and immediately grabbed Kinias, who was about to check on Apsalas's condition.

"Where's your flying tiger? Show it to me!"

This attitude made Kinias exclaim that he understood. Look, this is what respect for technology is. You look at the product first when you enter the door. Unlike Yuri, that piece of shit, who went in and touched his wine cabinet!
"Lieutenant Colonel, please come with me!"

Kinias led Makarius and a group of Federation soldiers straight to the innermost hangar of the base, where Makarius finally saw the flying tiger he had been longing for.

Under the lights of the hangar, the crimson flying tiger stood majestically on the ground. Although it was not in operation, one could still feel its vigorous power.

"red?"

“Is that right?”

"No, no, no, oh no, it's right, it's right!"

The Federation pilots following Macarius also looked at Kinias with new respect. After all, he was a general at such a young age. Who said scientists had low emotional intelligence? Look at this red flying tiger that the Red Dragon uses. This gift really hit Macarius's sweet spot!
Kinias's surprise for the Federation forces didn't stop there. He had quite a few special-purpose aircraft that he had previously acquired from Yuri, including the B-3 Tiger, the relatively rare Zaku Cannon, and even a Zaku I specifically modified for airborne missions.

In addition to the above, there is also the improved version of the Deday YS, the Deday Type II, which is a model that has had all combat functions removed and was specifically researched for transporting mobile suits.

As for the MS-06RD-4 experimental high-mobility space Zaku, which Aina tested earliest, although the mobile suit itself is no longer there, its technical data has been preserved in an extremely good condition. In a sense, this Zaku can be considered the prototype of the YMS-09 prototype Dom. Obtaining its data would increase the Federation's chances of defeating Zeon's new mobile suits.

"Send these documents to the rear immediately!"

Although Marcarius was still thinking about his flying tiger, he didn't forget the important matter. This information was something Major General Gao Yun had been urging him to provide. Although the development paths of Federation mobile suits and Zeon mobile suits were different, there were still many things that could be learned from each other. In fact, in order to save trouble, the Federation had even painted Zeon mobile suits with their own colors and used them directly.

When the topic of color came up, Makarius suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right, once Apsaras is repaired, it also needs to be changed to red, but the kind with a red comet, and then please paint a crimson lightning bolt mark on it!"

"By the way, that guy probably doesn't know that this base has already fallen, right?"

"Of course, what do you want to do?"

"Remember to call him when I go to his place!"

(End of this chapter)