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

Chapter 193 Let's have barbecue together sometime!

Char could tell whether Kycilia treated him well or not. The military uniform she made for him was delivered within a day, and even the eagle pattern on the chest was sewn with gold thread, just like the cloak behind him, all of which showed off a gorgeous aesthetic.

Although there were no luxury cars for his travels, a support team was already in place. In addition, Kycilia made an even bigger gesture by directly granting Char a Zanzibar-class cruiser. At a time when the Zeon fleet was completely running out of money, any warship was extremely valuable. The Zeon Ministry of Defense would rather put a turret on any civilian ship and stuff it into the military fleet to be used as a warship. The fact that Kycilia could give Char a Zanzibar shows Char's status.

In addition to Zanzibar, the ship also carried a whole fleet of brand-new, unopened Rik Domos. These Domos were all equipped with the new beam rocket launchers. Through a difficult pursuit, and by relying on the equipment captured from the enemy during the war and the development of existing equipment, the Zeon forces have made significant breakthroughs in beam weapons. The beam rocket launchers equipped for the Rik Domos are the first generation products.

As for Zeon's beam rifle and beam saber, they are intended for use in the next generation of mobile suits that are still in the testing phase. It can be said that many people in the Zeon army regard them as a lifeline, because according to the design specifications, the performance of the next generation of mobile suits will be comparable to the Gundams possessed by the Federation Forces.

Therefore, as long as everyone perseveres through this difficult period, once the new mobile suits leave the factory, the barracks will immediately be filled with powerful Martian veteran pilots. They will then slaughter the Federation forces on the battlefield like cutting melons and vegetables, leaving them in a bloodbath, and finally bring them back to Earth from space.

Speaking of the production of the new equipment, we have to thank Lieutenant General Mark Bay, who returned from Earth like lightning. After losing almost all of his men and even the last batch of resources that were mined were mostly destroyed in the blue sky of Earth, Mark Bay naturally received a cold reception from Kycilia.

After all, his performance was too poor, so naturally the higher-ups wouldn't treat him as a hot commodity. However, Kycilia wasn't a heartless person. Although Mark Bay was removed from the front-line combat force, he wasn't relegated to the reserves. Instead, he was transferred to the logistics department to take charge of production and construction.

He then proposed a unified combat readiness plan, which aimed to standardize mobile suits as much as possible and improve the commonality of parts, thereby freeing up Zeon's limited production capacity potential.

In some respects, this work is more important, so whether it's true that Mark Bey was given the cold shoulder is still debatable.

The rapid progress in Zeon's beam weapon research is a result of the integrated development plan.

"Commander Char, it's nice to see you again!"

When Char landed in Zanzibar, a round, fleshy ball bumped into him, startling him, but he quickly recognized it.

"Dren, you're still alive? And how come you've gotten even fatter?"

"It's a long story, Commander Char!"

The meatball is Char's partner when he was chasing the Gundam, Lieutenant Dren, the captain of the Famel. Now he has become a major and his size is twice as big as before. He can be called Major Dren's Chobham Armor Type.

Afterwards, a clearly happy Deren led Char and Larasin on a tour of the warship while recounting past events.

After Char went to Earth, Dren joined the roaming forces in space, responsible for playing hide-and-seek with the Federation's reconnaissance forces in the vast Earth Sphere. Later, when the Federation counterattacked back into space, his fleet suffered heavy casualties from an unfamiliar white base landing ship of the same model and unidentified Gundam mobile suits. Fortunately, Dren was clever enough to command his ship to escape the attack. After the battle, he dared not linger in the Earth Sphere and subsequently rescued the remaining friendly forces before retreating to the moon.

Compared to life on the Zeon homeland, the moon was obviously much more comfortable, and the lunar cities had ample supplies. As a result, Lieutenant Dren, who had nothing to do, could eat his fill every day and boast about the delicacies he had never had the chance to eat on the Zeon homeland, until Kycilia sent troops to rescue Fort Solomon before he returned.

"Colonel Char, it's wonderful to be able to serve under you again!"

"Dren, I'm so happy to see you again!"

He was happy to see his acquaintance Xia Ya, but he was also curious about what Xia Ya had eaten to get so fat.

"I found a really good all-you-can-eat barbecue in Grenada, and they even give you free ice-cold beer! Sir, let's go for a barbecue together after the war is over!"

"Okay, Deren!"

"Oh, right, we didn't know which machine you wanted to pilot, so we haven't prepared to give you the special paint job yet. Which one would you like to fly?"

"Is it only Rikado the Great Demon?"

"Currently, we only have the Great Demon Li Ke, but Lady Kycilia should have additional mechs. She requested that we meet up with her immediately after picking you up, so there must be a surprise waiting for you!"

"Well then, let's set off right away!"

Xia Ya immediately sensed something was wrong when he saw Deren's appearance; it seemed like the guy had taken some kind of drug.

Lalasin, who had been silent until now, covered her mouth and chuckled softly after the other person turned and left.

"It seems he misunderstood your relationship with Lady Kycilia, Colonel!"

"Lala, why are you laughing at me too?"

"Because it's hilarious, Colonel!"

"A woman who worries about a man to this extent, if she's not a mother, then she can only be a lover!"

"Lala, my relationship with her is very complicated!"

Xia Ya reluctantly put on a long face, but Lala Xin didn't care. She was just happy, especially seeing Xia Ya's helpless look, which was much more amusing than his usual poker face.

"It's alright, Colonel, we have plenty of time, you can explain at your own pace!"

Then, the Zanzibar-class aircraft set sail immediately to rendezvous with Kycilia, who had already returned to the moon. Another officer assassination had occurred in Zeon, this time involving a member of the Gihren faction, and from a department under the Supreme Commander's Office. If she remained in Zum City, the Führer's Guard would likely break down the door and arrest her!
When Char arrived in Grenada and met Kycilia, there was a tall, thin major standing there with striking gray-white hair and a small mustache, which was extremely rare in the Zeon army.

"Colonel, you've come at the right time. This is Major Chariable from the Jupiter Fleet. He was sent here by the Commander-in-Chief. He's also a Newtype!" "A Newtype, huh!"

Char was still somewhat surprised. How come he couldn't see a single one when the war started, but now the Newtypes are popping out like radishes from the ground!
"However, talents from the Jupiter fleet are truly rare!"

Then, Char extended his right hand.

"Colonel Char, it's an honor to meet you! I've wanted to meet the famous Red Comet for a long time!"

To Char's surprise, Major Charia seemed to be a fan of his. Although he was older than Char, he was full of enthusiasm and excitement.

He couldn't refuse such enthusiasm and could only passively accept it. Seeing that the two hit it off immediately, Kycilia also took the opportunity to push the other person to Char. After all, Char was officially someone that Kiran had pushed over, and he had even promoted him by one rank. Regardless of his status, it was always right to give him to Char!
Kycilia did indeed prepare a machine specifically for Newtypes for Char, but it wasn't a mobile suit; it was an MA. It was a strangely shaped MA, resembling a piece of cabbage placed horizontally between two slices of bread, with peculiar particle cannons mounted on the top, bottom, and two lower sides.

"This is the MAN-03 Braubro, a Pyromaniac weapon developed by the Flanagan Agency!"

A technician proudly introduced the peculiar weapon to Char's trio who had come to inspect the machine.

The Braubro is a special machine designed for Newtypes. Its primary mission is to recover combat data from the pilot and the AI ​​system. It can separate into three independent parts—essentially two pieces of bread and two pieces of vegetables—each with its own propulsion capability. The cockpit also incorporates protection measures in case of accidental explosion. The machine is roughly the size of a small spaceship, and its main weapon is that strangely positioned particle cannon.

However, this is not an ordinary particle cannon. It is a particle cannon that can fly around in space. It can be controlled by a wired controller and can launch an all-around attack under the control of the Psycommu system. Of course, if there is no new human pilot, ordinary pilots can also operate it, but then a three-person crew needs to be in place and a dedicated person can be responsible for operating the weapon.

The Newtype pilot only needs one person to operate this machine, because with the help of the Psycommu system, the Newtype pilot can operate all four cannons simultaneously using only brainwaves, without delaying his piloting of the machine.

Kycilia envisioned that the machine would naturally be operated by Char, but Char objected. Of course, this was not out of any conspiracy, but rather out of the sense of responsibility of a qualified soldier.

"Let me pilot this machine, Colonel. You and this lady haven't yet unlocked your full potential, while I'm already a fully-fledged Newtype. I think it'll be safer for me to pilot it and provide you with data for reference!"

Charia underestimated Char and his companion, Larasin. After all, Larasin had only recently returned from the Jupiter fleet and was not very familiar with the situation. However, as an older brother, he spoke earnestly and seriously, which made Char nod in approval. Major Charia was a gentleman!

As for Lalasin, she could also sense that Sharia's attitude was not one of disdain or hostility towards them, but rather one of protection and care.

"Then, Major Sharia, you're in charge of driving this Braubro!"

"As for Colonel Xia and Lieutenant Larasin, you can wait a few more days. Our new mechs are about to be completed, so how about you, Colonel, test them?"

"A new mobile suit, is it a new mobile suit whose performance is comparable to Gundam?"

Char immediately became interested!

"But before that, let Major Sharia pilot the Braubro for a test run, and we can also use that to scout out the Federation forces' movements in Solomon!"

Kycilia glanced at Char, then spoke.

"The Federation forces seem to have had a rather long rest period after occupying the Solomon Islands, so their losses should not be too great!"

"No problem, just leave it to me!"

Char wasn't worried that Kycilia was sending him to his death. In fact, the Zeon army's reconnaissance operations had never stopped, and the feedback they were sending back was quite good. The reconnaissance forces were fighting back and forth with the Federation forces, and even gained a slight advantage in casualties due to the terrain. However, considering the current replenishment speed of both sides, it was hard to say whether this was a gain or a loss.

Afterwards, Braubro was loaded onto a ship in Grenada and officially handed over to Major Charia to pilot. Kycilia also assigned Charia an assistant to help him pilot Braubro in battle.

Then, the Zanzibar-class cruiser, which had been renamed Famal by Deren, quickly set sail, leaving the airport in Grenada and rapidly approaching the outskirts of the Solomon Fortress.

Finally, the Farmer anchored at the edge of the Federation Army's maximum detection range. From here, if they moved a little further, they would be within the Federation Army's detection range. Therefore, in order to avoid being surrounded by a large number of Federation Army warships, Captain Deren chose to keep a low profile.

After the warships were docked, Chariah piloted his Braubro away from Zanzibar, along with Char's Rikki Domo. Zanzibar's hangar couldn't accommodate the vessel, so the engineers had secured it to the deck. Since it had enough fuel to return to Grenada, using Zanzibar as a transport vehicle was simply to conserve fuel.

Soon, Broblow, who was lying in wait on the perimeter, spotted the Federation patrol fleet. It was a small squadron consisting of two Salamis cruisers and a squadron of Iron Balls. Two squadrons of GMs were also standing on the deck of the Salamis. A Zeon reconnaissance force with conventional combat power would have a hard time taking down this configuration.

But for Sharia, who had already seen countless deaths on the Jupiter route, he really didn't take these enemies seriously.

As he sat in the driver's seat, his mind raced, and the four wire-controlled particle cannons suddenly sprang out. Then, controlled by long cables extending from his body, they quickly flew in different directions.

Once the Federation fleet entered the effective kill range of the wire-controlled particle cannon, Sharia immediately began her attack.

An extremely conspicuous and dazzling beam of light burst forth from the void and shot towards an iron ball that was loitering around the perimeter of the squad.

"Ok?"

The Federation pilot inside the iron sphere was momentarily stunned, and before he could even utter a cry for help, he and his mech were destroyed.

(End of this chapter)