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

Chapter 183 Reorganizing Military Affairs
"Oh, so this is the fleet of the Moorish Brotherhood? These guys are pretty rich!"

Looking at the fleet configuration displayed on the radar, Makarius could only sigh and say that these conquerors must have dug out their savings for their wives and even their coffins, managing to get a full five Salamis-class cruisers from the Federation. In addition, there was a Columbus-class improved version, the Hive-class aircraft carrier, as their flagship.

Even the mobile suits had a whole squadron of GM C-types, plus a fully armored Gundam. But thinking about it the other way around, it's not surprising. The Moores were already on the verge of extinction, so why would they save money at a time like this?

In fact, if the number of eligible soldiers hadn't been so small, the fleet of the Moorish Compatriots could have been much larger. Without the aid of the Federation Army, very few Moors would have survived. The Federation Army even had to transfer some Moorish soldiers serving in the military to help the Compatriots complete the fleet.

While Makarius was surveying the Compatriots fleet, on the Compatriots flagship, the Hive, Major Claudia Per, the fleet commander, was also observing the Federation fleet before her.

"The 13th Independent Fleet has come to side 4 to carry out a cleanup mission. As expected, the Federation Command still doesn't trust us enough!"

"After all, our mission is far behind schedule!"

Lieutenant Graham, the flagship's first officer, calmly tightened his collar. Unlike Claudia, he came from the Moorish commoner class, not the ruling class. He was not wary of the Federation and was content as long as someone could avenge him.

The Moorish Corps has been carrying out combat missions in this space sector for over a month, during which they have lost nearly sixty mobile suits, yet they have never even seen the enemy. The Zeon forces stationed here have deployed high-powered mounted particle cannons in the satellite wreckage, which are remotely operated by mobile suits to snipe at the Moorish Corps, leaving them utterly defeated. What they find most unacceptable is that the Zeon forces attacking them are a Zeon undead unit, composed of wounded veterans, and even their mobile suits are old and mixed.

Therefore, Graham was very dissatisfied with Claudia's command!

While the two were talking, another young lieutenant with spiky hair floated onto the bridge.

"Lieutenant Éo Fleming reporting for duty!"

"I wonder which federal official wants to see us?"

The spiky-haired lieutenant said in a nonchalant tone.

"Commander of the 13th Independent Fleet of the Federation!"

Graham glanced at the spiky-haired guy, whose clothes were extremely casual, with the zipper of his uniform undone all the way to his chest. Coupled with his nonchalant attitude, even the military police would have to hit him six times in a second. Therefore, he did not reveal his specific identity. Just because he could not deal with this guy did not mean that others could not.

Soon, the massive hull of the Enterprise came into view. Looking at this specially equipped warship, the soldiers of the Hive couldn't help but start discussing it.

Subsequently, a pier extended from the port hangar of the Enterprise and connected to the bulkhead of the Hive.

As the air pressure gates were fully inflated, the gates on both sides of the pier slowly rose, and then the three of them stepped inside, drifting towards the massive warship on the other side under the watchful eyes of their colleagues.

"Welcome to the Enterprise. I am Captain Andrei. I will be taking you to meet the Commander!"

Andrei, one of Makarius's old subordinates, was waiting for the members of his compatriots at the hangar dock. However, his self-introduction was clearly ignored, as the three members of the compatriots stared in disbelief at the enormous hangar in front of them.

"One, two, three, four... four Gundams?"

The most impatient of them all was Éo Fleming, who trembled as he pointed his right hand at the hangar and stammered.

Claudia and Graham, who knew the identity of the visitors, did not expect that the Gundam mobile suits, which were regarded as treasures by their fellow countrymen, would be stacked up like cabbages here.

Besides the Gundam, the GM GS mobile suits also made Io quite envious. These special-equipped mobile suits were impossible for the Moorish brethren to buy, because the Federation's production was limited and they would be snapped up by the front-line troops before they even left the factory.

"Red Dragon!"

After glancing at the enormous hangar, Io's gaze returned to the NT1, which hadn't yet had its base coat changed to red. Right now, the only thing on this machine was a giant red dragon printed on a golden shield, baring its fangs and making a fire-breathing gesture.

Although he was in space, the enemy's name was always on the weekly Federation military reports. The reports listed how many Zeon mobile suits the Red Dragon had destroyed and how many Zeon soldiers the Red Dragon had killed. Io had roughly estimated that the enemy had destroyed at least 260 mobile suits. But he always felt that the reports were exaggerating. Now, whether they were true or not, he wanted to see the enemy's true face.

Soon, the three of them, having regained their senses, followed Andrei all the way to the Enterprise's command bridge.

"Sir, Major Claudia from the Moorish Compatriots has arrived!"

The three men stood still and looked toward the command post. Then, the large command chair placed to the right of the captain's seat slowly turned around.

"I thought the Federal Army colleagues of the Moorish Compatriots would have more of a military spirit!"

As soon as Makarius turned around, the three people standing below felt a faint aura pressing down on them.

"A captain on the verge of being crushed by the pressure of life and death, a first mate filled with resentment, and a Gundam pilot who can only feel himself on the verge of death—Moore is truly blessed to have you all!"

Seated in a chair with his legs crossed, adopting the posture of a naval admiral, Marcarius rested his right hand on his chin and spoke in a casual tone.

The three of them were thunderstruck upon hearing this, because Makarius's description was absolutely correct.

"And Lieutenant Éo Fleming, what's wrong with your collar? You've thrown military discipline aside, and you still have the nerve to pilot a Gundam?"

"you……"

Just as Io was about to speak, Yudin punched him in the stomach, making him squat on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

"The officer hasn't given you a chance to speak yet!"

"You're not convinced, are you? Lieutenant, do you know that the qualification for this ship is twenty kills? If you want to talk, then show me your results!"

"And you, Major Claudia, so the number of survivors from the Moorish Compatriots is quite large, allowing you to send them in continuously for a month without any scruples. How many GMs have you lost so far?"

"Report, it's fifty-five units!"

Graham then reported honestly.

"So, does your Moorish compatriots select officers based on looks?"

"Lift your head up!"

Captain Paul also started to play the stern card. Seeing that the other two, apart from the one who was beaten so badly that he couldn't get up, had their heads down, he immediately roared.

"Losing a battle isn't shameful; what's shameful is losing your backbone after a defeat. Especially, Captain Claudia, what kind of expression is that? What kind of look is that? And what are those tears...? Can your tears defeat the Zeon forces? Can they save Side 4?"

Under Captain Paul's furious shout, Captain Claudia forced back her tears.

Io Fleming finally recovered and slowly stood up. He wanted to say something, but then he was punched by Yudin again. The other man was very careful with his punch; although it hurt, it wouldn't cause any serious injury.

The reason Yudin was asked to beat someone up was naturally because Io Fleming was also a very good person. Of course, that was after going through many hardships. Now, this guy was a troublemaker who liked to get angry, just like Amuro, and needed to be properly corrected.

"As for you, Lieutenant Io, I understand that your Gundam was only recently delivered, but what were you doing on the battlefield before that? Weren't those pilots who sacrificed their lives your comrades? If you're an officer, then act like one, or go back to being a private!"

"It's enough!"

Io forced himself to endure the pain, raised his head, and looked at Makarius.

"I've had enough of your so-called lectures, all that high-sounding platitudes. Where were you when Side 4 was attacked?"

"I'm in near-Earth orbit. I proposed and led the demolition mission on Iphishu Island. The four pilots who survived that day are all here! Any questions?"

Io opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he had nothing to say. Just then, Yudin patted his face and said something.

"Kid, we were killing Zeon people before the war even started!"

"Lieutenant Graham!"

"To!"

"Now, Claudia is relieved of her position as captain, and you will take command of the Compatriots Group. Is that alright?"

"Sir, no problem!"

Graham immediately replied excitedly.

"Then I'll give you six hours. I want to see the fighting spirit in our compatriots, understand?"

"As ordered!"

"As for Captain Claudia, from now on, you will be the first officer. Any objections?"

"no!"

Claudia shook her head. For her, this order was a relief; at least, the pressure of dealing with the constant loss of her subordinates was much less.

"Lieutenant Io, your piloting qualification is temporarily suspended. Go and call Amuro over here!"

"Next, I'll find you an opponent. You'll only regain your driving license when you can last three moves against him!"

Marcarius snapped his fingers. "Now, you can leave!"

Graham, now with his back straight, turned and left with Claudia. As for Io, he was lifted up by the Marines and prepared to be sent to the training pod on the ship. His opponent was Amuro, who had already established himself at the White Base!

After arranging everything, Makarius stood up from his chair.

"How are preparations for NT1 going?"

"Ready to deploy at any time!"

Nagase Hotaru glanced at the data panel in her hand and then reported.

"Okay, keep the fleet on high alert. I'll be right back!"

Makarius twisted his neck.

"I'll go say hello to the old man!"

Should we send a small team to follow?

"No, this place is complicated and dangerous for us. I'll go scout ahead first!"

Afterwards, Makarius boarded his new machine and, looking at the completely new view in front of him, excitedly snapped his fingers again.

"That's more like it! The full-circle cockpit is definitely much more comfortable!"

In terms of design, the NT1 Gundam adopted many innovative designs, among which the full-view cockpit and linear seat are one of them. This design turns the display screen in the cockpit into a 360-degree full-view screen with no blind spots, giving the pilot an almost unlimited field of vision. This allows the pilot to observe the situation around the machine from the same viewpoint as the MS, thereby effectively improving the machine's handling performance. The linear seat is a new type of impact cushioning device that can greatly reduce the pilot's fatigue.

"NT1 Alex Gundam, sortie!"

Without a second thought, after assigning tasks to the fleet, Markarius transformed into a streak of light and flew off the Enterprise's catapult deck.

His aircraft had already undergone lightning protection treatment on the way, and now he has no problem flying at high speed in the Thunder Zone!
After plunging into the countless ruins, Makarius once again felt the endless ghosts. If it were before the great battle, he might have been affected, but at this moment, he simply spoke to those ghosts.

"Rest in peace, I will avenge you!"

Despite the perilous nature of Thunder Cosmos—broken wreckage, frozen ice crystals, and lightning caused by the tightness of the debris—none of these mattered to the NT1. Its nineteen attitude-controlled thrusters allowed Markarius to easily perform various evasive maneuvers, and its agile reaction speed meant that it didn't need to perform any major maneuvers; it could simply adjust its posture to avoid obstacles.

Meanwhile, the enhanced learning computer is constantly scanning the fragmented space of the universe, recording the paths on the drawn maps.

After about thirty minutes of venturing deep into the ruins, Markarius sensed that the cold aura of the dead was suddenly mixed with a strong malice, carrying the dead's hatred for the living, as well as despair and pain. That malice was so intense that it became a beacon guiding his way.

"A Zeon sniper?"

Confirming that he had not been discovered, Makarius stopped his machine and extended a reconnaissance probe from behind cover, looking toward the source of the malice. On a section of satellite debris several kilometers long, a dark green Zaku II was crouching behind a massive, mounted particle cannon. Thick cables extended from one end of the particle cannon and finally connected to a power source behind the Zaku.

Instead of firing immediately, Makarius continued to lurk in the sea of ​​the dead until a new malice emerged.

NT1's operation completely avoided the Zeon snipers' field of vision. As for the detector's detection range, under the high concentration of rice grains scattered in space, it was almost indistinguishable from being blind.

"Six snipers in total!"

It took Makarius more than an hour to get a feel for the situation around him. The Zeons may have gained confidence from their previous sniping of the Moorish compatriots. In the vast expanse of space, there are only six snipers lying in ambush. Perhaps he hasn't found them elsewhere yet, but for now, these six are enough!

After taking the 75mm live-fire sniper rifle from his waist, Makarius activated the thrusters again, and then, under the cover of lightning, he silently floated above the Zeon.

Then, he raised his rifle and waited silently.

Then, the moment the first thunderclap boomed and the Zeon pilots' attention was drawn, he pulled the trigger.

A 75mm armor-piercing round flew out of the barrel, traversing several kilometers from top to bottom, and pierced through the Zaku II.

The pilot inside didn't even have time to react before being killed by the bullet, and his machine lost control, causing him to release his grip on the particle cannon.

After firing the first shot, Makarius quickly turned around and fired the second shot. Then, another cutting-edge Ricoh Dome was hit in the neck by a bullet, and the pilot inside was killed without any reaction.

At that moment, the lightning bolt had barely disappeared from the Zeon pilots' sight.

At that moment, the Zeon pilots realized that the signals from their two teammates had suddenly disappeared from the screen.

"Damn it, that wretched lightning! That wretched machine!"

One of the Zeon pilots couldn't help but tap the computer in front of him with his mechanical prosthetic arm. These disabled veterans were equipped with equally disabled mechs, which would malfunction from time to time.

He knocked several times, but his teammates didn't respond.

"Sean, can you see the Sergeant and Pyle's signals over there?"

The Zeon pilot immediately asked his teammates who still had a signal through the communication system, but the first attempt only produced static. He repeated the request three times before they finally responded.

"No, buzzing... buzzing, it might be... buzzing... signal interference!"

"Understood!"

Although the Zeon pilot nodded to indicate that he understood, his heart began to pound uncontrollably until the second lightning bolt appeared. Then, he was shocked to find that the signals of two more teammates had disappeared.

"Damn it, Sean, did you see that?"

"I see, something's wrong, raise the level..."

Before his teammate could finish speaking, his signal vanished without a trace from the Zeon pilot's sight.

"Damn it, are you guys still there? Hey, answer me!"

The Zeon pilots were shouting frantically into the radio, but all that could be heard on the channel was a hissing echo.

He could only nervously maneuver the particle cannon toward his teammates, trying to check their status, but suddenly, the radar seemed to detect something, and a signal appeared abruptly above his head.

The Zeon pilot instinctively looked up, and then another armor-piercing round silently shot in, tearing through the Zaku's armor at a high angle and shredding the cockpit in the process.

"Hmm, a five-round magazine isn't enough; we'll need a drum magazine!"

Makarius also carried a beam rifle, but its firing trajectory was too conspicuous. However, live ammunition rifles do not have this problem. They are not heard in space, and the 75mm armor-piercing rounds do not produce any overly bright sparks, making them perfect for surprise attacks.

Then, Makarius leisurely removed the six particle cannons from their weapon mounts, casually tied them together with cables, and dragged them behind him.

He didn't forget to collect the Zeon mobile suits he destroyed. First, he used his beam saber to cut off the shattered head of one of the suits and fixed it to the NT1. Then, he attached the remaining parts and weapon mounts to it, and finally used the momentum to fling it into a bolt of lightning. Consider it his offering to this space!

In an instant, the wreckage was pulverized by lightning, as if swallowed whole by an invisible maw. Only then did Macarius return along the same route with his spoils.

When they saw NT1 emerge from the rubble carrying six shattered Zeon mobile suit heads, the soldiers of the Fellowship who had previously harbored doubts about Makarius all fell silent. After all, reality was right before their eyes: the enemy had not only taken out the sniper but also brought back the weapon.

"Lieutenant Graham, show your men this!"

As he passed by the Hive of his fellow countrymen, Makarius didn't forget to toss the chained heads over. As for the particle cannon, well, he still had a use for it!

Meanwhile, at the Zeon Undead Division, which was lying in wait in the Thunder Zone, when the rotating personnel flew out of the ruins aboard the Vator Space Shuttle, the Zeon veterans were also shocked to see the empty set-up position.

"What the hell? Where's our sniper team?"

"Pilot, are you sure you haven't flown to the wrong location?"

"It's impossible for us to have flown to the wrong place; there's nothing wrong with my map!"

"What about our people?"

An irritable veteran immediately roared.

"Could it be that earthbound spirits truly exist in this universe?"

Immediately, a timid Zeon soldier couldn't help but interject.

　To maintain a unified worldview, the mechs of the Mole Brotherhood will be modified; after all, the secondary arm GM and the like are too ahead of their time.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)