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

Chapter 173 The Will to Charge into Battle!

"Sir, the prediction model is ready!"

While Reibald and Mark Bay were talking, the Union Army staff had already calculated the estimated destructive effects of the nuclear bomb based on the possible models and sent the estimates to Reibald.

After glancing at the casualty figures on the data panel, Rebil had already made his decision.

"If you think you can stop our army's advance by using this method, then you are wrong!"

As a commander, Rebil was not a cold-blooded general, but he was not intolerant of casualties in his troops, especially when comparing the two. If a major sacrifice could bring about a decisive victory, these generals would not hesitate to choose the latter, because they knew that if they hesitated now to cherish their lives, they would have to pay an even greater price later.

"Old thing!"

Looking at the black screen, Mark Bay gritted his teeth in hatred. He knew that his nuclear missile was useless. In fact, he only brought it up to stop the Federation's offensive. It wouldn't take long, just one day. He had made all the preparations for the launch and was just waiting for a window of opportunity to send all the rockets and spaceships in the base into the sky at once. He himself would also take off and leave this place that made him sad.

"Damn old thing!"

Mark Bay knew that his blackmail was now hopeless and even counterproductive, because once the Federation forces learned that he had nuclear weapons, they would definitely accelerate their offensive and not give him a chance to launch them.

"Never mind that, fuel all the rockets!"

Danger is danger. If he doesn't run away, he'll fall into the hands of the Federation army. You have to understand that he is ranked ninth on the Federation's war criminal list. He's the kind of person who is sentenced to death, hanged, and whose body is exposed to the sun for three days and then paraded through the streets for a week.

But he was wronged; Kycilia forced him to do it!
Mark Bay wanted to explain while holding Rebil's hand, but he knew the other man wouldn't listen and might even punch him hard. Don't be fooled by Mark Bay's youth; in a real fight, his small arms and legs might not be able to withstand Rebil's old punches.

Therefore, we have to run away!
Meanwhile, Reibir, who was deeply troubled by Zeon's possession of nuclear weapons, also pressed the communication button at hand.

"Get Kliny here!"

The communications officer on the other end didn't ask which Kline he was looking for; it certainly wasn't Chief of Staff King, who was currently in Luna II reorganizing the fleet and planning a counterattack against Space Zeon.

Subsequently, a Sky Disc reconnaissance aircraft took off urgently from the land warship where Rebil was located and headed towards the Red Dragon battle group's temporary base.

In less than an hour, this high-speed reconnaissance plane, acting as a makeshift passenger plane, delivered Makarius from the base to Rebil.

"Your Excellency, please give the order!"

After striding into Rebil's office, Markarius didn't ask why the other party wanted to see him. Instead, he stood at the door with an air of authority and raised his arm in salute to Rebil.

Even Santa Claus, who doesn't usually fall for this kind of attitude, felt a sense of satisfaction. Asking only about the location without asking why is exactly what a qualified subordinate should do.

"Don't rush, you must be tired from coming all this way! You haven't had lunch yet, have you?"

Rebil then called his orderly.

"Prepare two lunches for me and the lieutenant colonel!"

Soon, two simple, unrefined meals for officers were delivered.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony!"

While at the base, Markarius was constantly snacking. Although he wasn't hungry, the smell of hot food whetted his appetite, and he immediately picked up the plate and spoon and started eating.

Seeing how much Makarius was enjoying his meal, Rebil also felt that the food tasted better than before, and even made the old man drink two more cups of hot black tea.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, Rebil immediately told Makarius his plans!
"Our army has now completed the encirclement of the Baikonur base, but the Zeon forces have a ballistic missile in the process of being launched, which poses a great threat to our attacking forces. Therefore, I want to send troops to forcefully break in. Whether it is to dismantle or destroy it, we must render that nuclear missile harmless!"

"Understood. I'll go and draft the battle plan now!"

"No rush, you are not the first troops to break through!"

Although Baikonur Base is large, it is still quite difficult for mobile suits to infiltrate secretly. Rebil plans to first have the army's special forces infiltrate the base, and then the Red Dragon Battle Group will forcefully break into the defense line to cooperate with the former and seize the nuclear missile silos.

Therefore, the ones facing the greatest risk are the infantry who infiltrate with their bare hands.

"This mission is very dangerous; if we're not careful..."

"Sir, from the day I joined the army, I was prepared that without fighting, there would be no survival. So please give the order!"

"Alright, just tell me what you need. I only have one request: no matter what, you must come back alive!"

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

Afterwards, Makarius convened a meeting directly in the warship's combat information center with the battle group's staff to discuss the action plan.

The good news is that Baikonur Base was built by the Federation Army itself, and even if the Zeon Army rebuilds it, it will be done according to the Federation's plan. Therefore, Makarius doesn't need to worry about getting lost or not finding his target.

The bad news is that the launch zone where the nuclear missile silos are located is a crucial node in the Zeon defenses, and the Zeon forces in Baikonur have deployed more than half of their anti-aircraft firepower there.

Therefore, a forced air assault is very risky. Makarius himself is confident that he can break through the interception, but the follow-up troops are not so sure.

"Then we'll have to send Apsaras!"

"If only we could use Apsaras to attack nuclear missiles directly!"

"Impossible! If it becomes a dirty bomb, most of Central Asia will be affected!"

"Then we'll have to rely on Apsaras to break through at high altitude, then use beam cannons to clear out the air defense positions, and then hand over the outer positions to the main force for suppression. The entire battle group will be led by me to directly force our way into the launch area, control the launch silos, and rendezvous with friendly forces?"

"But then we'll need some help!"

"Yes, there are only two pilots who can skillfully operate the Apsaras right now: the lieutenant colonel and Lieutenant Amuro, but they have to be in charge of being the vanguard!"

"Manpower is not a problem, I'll take care of it!"

Makarius waved his hand.

"All you need to do is accurately grasp every step!" Then, while the staff officers began to discuss the specific details of the operation, Makarius had already taken Rebil's orders and started to allocate manpower and equipment for himself.

First, there was the Apsaras pilot. Macarius went directly to Shiro Amada and gave him four hours.

"You need to be familiar with how this thing works, otherwise I'd have your girlfriend drive it with me to blow up a bunker with explosives!"

Amada Shirou, who was being carried directly from his bed onto the transport plane by the military police, was unaware of what was happening. A military policeman then attached Macarius's communicator to him. Along with the communicator, the operating manual for Apsaras, which was contained in a classified document, was also delivered. Meanwhile, Aina would be on-site to provide Amada Shirou with one-on-one, close instruction. Of course, Norris would be standing by with a pointer, checking the teaching progress at any time.

Afterwards, Makarius coordinated all the various flight ramps captured by nearby friendly forces, including the earliest Dede YS and the later Dede II. However, the number of these flight ramps was still insufficient, so he needed a squadron of Gunbelly transport planes to carry the battle group through Zeon airspace at extremely low altitudes into the base and drop off the troops.

In addition, the mobile suits of the battle group also need to be adjusted, such as adding some extra armor and carrying more ammunition. Currently, half of the GMs in the Red Dragon battle group have been replaced with the latest GM G, which is the GM Commander type. In addition, there are several GM Spartan types. Therefore, Makarius is not worried about the combat effectiveness.

As for the Zeon forces deploying the Riquel Dom on the battlefield, it's not a big problem. The production time of this thing is still too late. Currently, the number of Riquel Doms encountered by the Federation forces on the front line is no more than a company, and they are even being operated in squad mode. Therefore, there won't be too many Doms in the base. The main force is still various Zaku. The Tiger has even become a scarce commodity now.

After working for nearly half a day, the Federal Army had completed most of the preparations for the surprise attack. All that was left was for the frontline troops to hurry along the road at night and arrive at the designated location in time to prepare for fire support.

Meanwhile, Makarius returned to his unit, where his battle group had completed all preparations. All mobile suits, flight platforms, and even guns and rocket launchers were adjusted to their optimal condition.

He then convened the entire team for the routine pre-battle meeting. This was to ensure that all personnel understood the combat procedures, so that if they became separated from their allies, they would not need to wait for contact but could simply follow the pre-arranged plan.

After the meeting, Markarius coughed twice and then jumped onto Gundam's feet.

"Alright, brothers and sisters in the battle group, let me say a few words!"

"Amuro, do you remember the question you asked me when you came to Earth?"

"Remember!"

"Tell us, let everyone hear it!"

"I say, when will this war end!"

"Back then, I couldn't give Amuro a definite answer because I didn't know either, and now, I still don't know the answer. But what I do know is that our final battle on Earth is tomorrow!"

"That's right, brothers and sisters in the battle group. From the Battle of Britain to the Battle of Loum, and then to the Battle of Baikonur, we've fought from east to west. Now, we've finally reaped the rewards. Once we take Baikonur, there will be no more organized Zeon forces on Earth. Then, we can go back to space and kick that old bastard Dekin's ass!"

"Hoohoo!"

The exhilarating shouts seemed to lift the roof off the hangar, and even Shiro Amada, sitting in Apsaras, couldn't help but join in. Then, Norris lashed him with his whip.

"Have you learned it?"

"not yet!"

"Then what are you yelling for? Shut up and keep doing it. Once you've learned it, you can yell whatever you want!"

While saying this, Norris listened intently to Makarius's words. He was deeply moved because Makarius didn't spout any empty slogans. Instead, he emphasized friendship, unity, and cooperation, and even went so far as to ensure the safety of every soldier and their safe return.

"Tomorrow's battle will be a difficult task for us, but who are we?"

"Federal Forces Red Dragon Combat Group!"

"Yes, then these tasks aren't difficult at all!"

"So, everyone, in order to launch a safe attack tomorrow and return safely, please lend me your strength!"

Makarius opened his arms.

Thank you all!

"Hoohoo!"

The response to Makarius was a deafening roar of cheers and raised right fists.

Even Norris, a former Zeon soldier, couldn't help but clench his fist.

Then he continued to urge Shirou Amada.

Under the dual pressure of physical and mental exertion, Lieutenant Shiro Amada finally completed the task assigned to him by Markarius within the allotted time. Afterwards, despite being covered in sweat, he didn't bother to sleep and continued studying. He understood that Markarius wanted to mentor him, so he wouldn't let him down!

Then, at 3:00 AM on August 3rd, UC0079, as hot breakfast was delivered to the hangar by the cooks, the officers and soldiers of the Red Dragon Combat Group began their final preparations before the attack.

Meanwhile, the Federation forces had already begun their firepower strikes against the Baikonur base, deploying ground artillery groups and air squadrons, and even Federation warships along the Black Sea coast began their firepower projection.

While the air force was attacking the Baikonur base, it also released rice particles to interfere with the Zeon forces' radar network. Soon, under the interference of the complex electromagnetic environment, the Zeon forces' long-range detection capabilities were completely destroyed.

Meanwhile, at the Red Dragon battle group's base, Makarius jumped onto his G3 Gundam while munching on bread.

His flight pedals were already fueled, and then, at the signal from the ground crew, Makarius steadily stepped onto the pedals that were already in operation.

"Makalius Skriny, G3 Gundam, sortie!"

Then, the G3 Gundam took off into the sky on its flight pedals, and behind it, mobile suits rose up one after another.

Seeing the friendly forces setting off ahead, Shiro Amada, having received the signal, prepared to close the cockpit door and depart, but suddenly a soft, fragrant body crawled into his cockpit.

"Aina?"

"I'll go with you, even if it means death, I want to be with you!"

Without time to do much, Shiro Amada could only close the hatch according to the pre-arranged plan.

"Apsaras, Shiro Amada (Aina Saharin), launch!"

(End of this chapter)