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

Chapter 187 The Target, Solomon
Six days after the Thirteenth Independent Fleet set sail, ships began to emerge from the Luna II spaceport once again—the Federation's Solomon Attack Force.

After nearly a year of frustration, the Federation fleet, having regrouped day and night, was finally able to proudly respond to the Zeon forces that had been constantly harassing the Luna II defense line.

The stalemate in this war has been completely broken. All the efforts that the Zeon forces had put in before have been in vain. Now, the only cards that Zeon can play are its last two space fortresses. One is Solomon, located near the Side 1 colony, and the other is Abaoa, located at Lagrange point L2. These two fortresses are like two locks on the gates of Zeon.

Without breaking them, the Federation forces cannot attack Zeon's homeland.

Now is the time for the Federation forces to knock on the door!
With Vice Admiral Tiam leading the Fourth Fleet as the vanguard, followed closely by Reibille's main fleet, the massive Federation fleet surged forward towards the Zeon forces.

Such a large-scale fleet operation was quickly noticed by the Zeon forces, since there were actually still scattered Zeon ships operating throughout the Earth Sphere, but they dared not show themselves.

Soon, Solomon Fortress also received a report of the Federation fleet's attack. Seeing the urgent words on the report, Dozle, who had been feeling uneasy, breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems this day has finally come!"

"Sir, why do you seem a little happy?"

Colonel Lacock, the fortress's chief of staff, asked in bewilderment.

"Perhaps it's because of someone! The day I've been waiting for is finally coming!"

Dozru then stretched.

"Finally, I can get a good night's sleep. The rest is up to you!"

"Understood, you should get some rest!"

Chief of Staff Lacock wasn't particularly upset about it. Fort Solomon had done all it could at this point, and all they could do now was wait.

After Dozru left, the officers standing nearby looked at the chief of staff with curiosity.

"Sir, who is the person Commander Dozru is talking about?"

"You really want to know?"

Lacock stared at the other person expressionlessly.

"In no mood!"

"Don't worry, if nothing unexpected happens, you'll see him before you die!"

"what?"

Having said that, ignoring his astonished subordinates, Lacock left the fortress headquarters to conduct a final check on the fortress's combat readiness.

Dozru said he was going back to sleep, but when he got back to his room, the first thing he did was rush to the small crib that was placed in the corner.

"Hahaha, my Minerva!"

The gorilla, who is usually as rude as can be, was now carefully teasing the tiny baby lying inside, as if it were picking up a precious jade artifact.

This is the offspring of Dozru's relationship with his youngest member, Minerva Zabi, who is only a few months old and has been living in Fort Solomon since she came into this world.

However, with the Federation army pressing in, Solomon Fortress is no longer safe, and Dozru is preparing to move his wife and children to a safer place.

After teasing his sweetheart, Dozru turned around and looked at his wife seriously.

Although the two had been married for less than a year, their relationship was very good. No matter how busy Dozru was at the fortress, he would always go home for dinner on time. In addition to taking care of Dozru's daily life, Serena would also visit the wounded in Dozru's name and provide living allowances to the families of the soldiers under her command at her own expense.

Living conditions at Fort Solomon were quite harsh, but she still tried her best to make everyone's lives more colorful, and some soldiers even called her the Rose of Solomon.

"Sena, I'm going to have you take Minerva back to Zeon!"

"Why? Could it be that..."

"Solomon can't hold out. The Federation army is five times the size of ours, not to mention, there's that guy too!"

Dozru sighed and looked at his wife.

"I've prepared for the worst. If it really comes to that, you need to take care of yourself and our child!"

"you!"

Serena covered her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes. She wasn't very familiar with the battle situation. Although she knew that Zeon was in a bad situation, she didn't expect it to be this bad.

"Is there no other way?"

"Sigh, if I were an ordinary person, there might be many, but I am Dozruzabi!"

Dozru patted his wife in his arms.

“There’s no going back from the day the war started. No matter what, I will carry the guilt of killing billions of people from now on. The Federation will not let me go, and neither will my own conscience!”

Thinking of this, Dozru couldn't help but recall his pre-battle meeting with Makarius. It was such a pity that he hadn't had a proper conversation with him yet, and now, the two sides were about to meet on the battlefield!

Serena didn't bring up the topic of sharing life and death again. Just as Dozru said, Minerva was innocent, and if the Federation wanted to settle scores, it wouldn't be her fault. But she was still young and needed to be taken care of by someone. So, Serena couldn't go with her husband unless they wanted to take Minerva with them and travel together as a family.

"Okay, stop crying. Maybe I can create a miracle. Then, our family can be together happily again. Didn't you want to go to the moon? Let's go together as a family!"

Although they said it, Dozru and Sena both knew in their hearts that the chances were slim, but in order not to worry each other, they still put on happy smiles.

At this moment, the main force of the Federation Army had crossed the Side 4 space domain and completed its rendezvous with the Thirteenth Independent Fleet.

"Kliney, you're something else!"

On his flagship, Tiam, the vanguard commander, excitedly grasped Macarius's hand. He was at a loss for words. How could Macarius have acquired an experimental mech during a mere cleanup mission, coupled with the feat of annihilating a fleet? Tiam was speechless. It wasn't that he envied Macarius's numerous achievements. As a fleet commander, he no longer needed battle merits as a basis for promotion. After all, he was currently the leading young officer in the Federation fleet, and once the veterans retired, he would undoubtedly become the top commander of the Federation fleet.

What he craves now is the opportunity to fight the enemy. Since the end of the British campaign, he has rarely had the chance to engage in any decent battle with the Zeon fleet, and for him, this is the most painful thing!

"You don't know, the war against Britain has been like a thorn stuck in my heart for a long time!"

"Now you have the chance to get your revenge!"

"But none of it is as carefree as yours. If I could, I would like to be like you, piloting a mobile suit and killing enemies on the battlefield!"

“But there can be many people like me, but there is only one Tiam of the Federation!”

Marcarius offered a small compliment, knowing that barring any unforeseen circumstances, he would be dealing with Tiam for a long time afterward. This war would be the last dance for the veterans of the Federation Army, after which they would gradually retire to the sidelines.

"You!"

After hearing what Macarius said, Tianm squinted his eyes with delight, his mustache twitching, clearly very happy.

"So, wish us good luck?"

Good luck to everyone!

Subsequently, at 3:20 a.m. on September 20, the Federation fleet officially entered the Solomon space area. However, the Tiam fleet, which entered first, did not rush to launch an attack, but instead sent a sincere notice to the Solomon fortress urging them to surrender.

In his announcement, Tianm, speaking as an old friend, implored Dozru to come to his senses. This catastrophe has already brought destruction to countless people, and if Dozru continues to resist, then both the Federation and Zeon will lose even more families.

However, Dozle then made his stance clear and decisive. His flagship, the Melfi, slowly sailed out of the Solomon starport and, together with the Zeon fleet, confronted the Federation fleet from a distance. The fleet commander's flag, symbolizing Dozle's identity, and the Z flag, representing a decisive battle, were raised together.

"Long live Zeon!"

"Long live Zeon!"

Hearing the thunderous slogans coming through the public communications, Tiam could only shake his head in regret.

"Dozru is a good person, what a pity!"

Subsequently, just thirty minutes after the Tiam fleet arrived at the battlefield, Rebil's main fleet also entered the battlefield, and hundreds of Babrick-class assault boats flew out from the Federation fleet that had deployed into battle formation.

These assault boats are the Federation Army's secret weapons!

Although the model is old, these assault boats carry the Federation's latest beam disruptor missiles. While these missiles are not very lethal to warships or fortresses, they can limit the opponent's beam weapons. The missiles contain a large amount of magnetic metal, which, after detonation, spreads into a dense beam cannon disruption screen, thereby weakening the power of Zeon's artillery fire.

However, the way this weapon is deployed is extremely dangerous. The assault boat has to keep getting closer to the distance where the beam can disrupt the barrage and achieve maximum effectiveness, even under Zeon fire.

Therefore, these assault boats were almost always on a mission from which there was no return.

However, the commander of the assault boat unit accepted the mission without hesitation, and this is what he said before the operation began.

"In past wars, there were those who were brave enough to sacrifice themselves, using their bodies as bridges to help their comrades cross barbed wire. Now, let our allies use our bodies as bridges to advance. There will always be sacrifices in war. I only hope that our sacrifices will not be wasted!"

"Go, brothers! Today is the day we die!"

Although they did not know the purpose of the Federation assault boats, the Zeon forces knew that it was no good for these assault boats to get close. The artillery fire from the fortress and the fleet immediately became like a high wall, smashing down on the assault boat force that was also charging in a wall formation.

Amidst the missile barrage and particle cannon beams, assault boats were constantly being reduced to burning flames, yet none of the remaining assault boats retreated. The helmsmen strapped themselves neatly to the control panel, and the propulsion systems ran at maximum power, regardless of overheating. No damage control was required. Each assault boat carried only a handful of operators, who were solely responsible for two tasks: navigating the boat and launching missiles.

When they had covered half the distance, the assault boat force had lost a third of its men. Obvious gaps were visible in their ranks, but the assault boats continued at maximum speed, facing the incoming artillery fire without dodging or avoiding, letting the enemy hit them.

After a brief yet long few minutes, half of the remaining assault boats had been lost, and they had reached their firing limit.

"Launch, fire!"

Amidst the roars of the crew, heavy missiles detached from the assault boat and continued flying forward until their engines burned out the last drop of fuel, at which point they exploded.

Then, thick plumes of smoke, visible to the naked eye, appeared on the battlefield.

"attack!"

The moment the conflagration appeared, Rebil's order to attack was clearly conveyed to every Federation soldier.

Subsequently, all warship engines started at maximum power, and the warships carrying mobile suits began to release their carrier units. One after another, mobile suits and iron balls emerged from the warship surfaces or hangars, converging into a massive steel torrent that rushed towards the Solomon Fortress.

Meanwhile, on the Enterprise, the G3 Gundam, having completed the installation of its full armor modules, was launched onto the catapult under Macarius's control.

"Watch out, Kliny, this thing is still an experiment, you have to be careful!"

Before the ejection, Chief Engineer Kiyoshi Sakaki was still nagging on the bridge because the G3 Gundam's full armor module, in addition to its original armament, also carried something even larger than a beam cannon. That was the electromagnetic cannon prototype that the Side 7 development base had produced at his request.

Compared to beam weapons, railguns were relatively unfamiliar to the Federation's research and development department, so the research process was fraught with difficulties. Even though Timree tried every means to scavenge for technical personnel, he still couldn't produce a technically mature prototype.

In the end, they managed to overcome all the difficulties and produced a passable railgun for Makarius. However, whether the gun could fire three or five shots depended on luck.

"It's alright, old man, trust me, one shot is enough for me!"

Marcarius glanced at the weapon hanging on the left side of the machine and then said with a smile.

"Well, good luck to you!"

"Roger that, Makarius Skriny, G3 Gundam in full armor mode, sortie!"

(End of this chapter)