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

Chapter 284 This is TOP GUN
"Watch your back, watch your footing, a little higher!"

"Okay, okay, stop!"

With an ice pack on one hand, Char nodded in satisfaction as he watched the brand-new Garibaldi precisely land on the storage shelf in the hangar.

"Not bad, Roberto. You've been with me for so long, and your skills have improved!"

"It's all thanks to your excellent teaching, Captain!"

"However, Captain, will our identities here be in question?"

"That guy will take care of everything. Although he's not human when he's not human, he's usually quite human-like, so you don't need to worry. However, I'll have to give you a good lesson when I get the chance!"

"Tutoring, why?"

"Those of you standing behind him, did you see that?"

"Those mobile suit pilots?"

"Yes, they are all top-ranked on the Federation's kill leaderboard, and our own few are all first-rate aces. I can already feel the immense pressure here!"

"Captain, your combat record is pretty good, isn't it?"

"Is that okay?"

Char pursed his lips. Was his record even good enough?

That goes without saying. Wherever Macarius wasn't, he would go on a rampage. But as his fame grew, he had to go wherever Macarius went. So it became Macarius's rampage and Macarius's rampage, and Macarius's rampage, to the point that his own record was only one-tenth of Macarius's!

Thinking of this, Xia was also a little melancholy. Although battle record cannot explain everything, without battle record, there is no right to explain. Just like now, people only remember that the one who painted the machine red is the Red Dragon. As for the Crimson Comet, what a piece of trash is that?
Fortunately, it was their first day there, so Markarius didn't put any extra pressure on them. After delivering the mobile suits, he sent the base's logistics director, a major officer who had just been transferred from Cheyenne Mountain, to help Char and his men with the paperwork.

As for their treatment, Xia was right. Makarius didn't do anything underhanded. They had everything that other pilots had. He even gave these guys two extra sets of training uniforms. After all, these guys were following Xia around everywhere and probably didn't have much time to buy clothes. With these, they could use them when they went out on weekends.

As for accommodation, it couldn't be bad at all. Everyone was provided with a single dormitory room, which had been provided since before the One Year War. Char even received an extra key to a separate house in the base's family area, which was available to all base officers and above with families.

"Also, Captain Cuvatoro, Brigadier General Cuvatoro instructed you to wait for him at the base office building tonight; he has other matters to attend to!"

What's meant to happen will happen!

Xia nodded, thanking the other person while wondering if he should buy some flowers or another gift.

"Thank you then!"

After the logistics director left, Xia Ya turned around and saw several of his subordinates cheering him on.

"Captain, good luck!"

In the end, Char didn't buy the flowers, because Makarius had already prepared them.

"Don't look so glum. There are no outsiders tonight, just a few of my men and Amuro! It's a family dinner!"

"You said it was a family dinner, how can I possibly laugh?"

"Then what do we do? I'll cast a time spell, we'll go back to Abaoakong, and then you won't be able to just casually walk away to Axis to eat potatoes anymore!"

"At that time, I was just very confused!"

"Being confused is just you shirking your responsibilities!"

"Do you know why I insisted on pulling you along? It's to make you more upright and responsible. When you encounter problems you can't solve, you just wipe away your tears, cover yourself with a blanket, hide under a bridge and pretend to be dead. When you get angry and frustrated, you start to give up and do whatever you want. You'd be better off being pulled along!"

"I……"

"What? Forget about me, we're here!"

With a sudden stop, the car came to a halt in front of a rather ordinary two-story building.

Looking at the meticulously tended little garden and the flower wreaths hanging on the fence, Xia Ya couldn't help but be a little stunned. How long had it been since he had experienced this kind of warm and cozy daily life?

The next second, the door to the small building suddenly opened, and a figure hopped out of the room.

"Artesia!"

Just as Xia was about to step forward and hug his sister, he screamed again and fell to the ground.

Serra, on the other hand, clenched his fist and then gave Makarius a hug.

"Welcome home!"

"And you! Get up now, do you think my punch was that powerful?"

"I was just waiting for you to follow up with your next move!"

Before Xia could finish speaking, Sera threw herself into his arms.

"Brother, welcome back!"

At that moment, all of Xia's words and excuses were thrown to the back of his mind. Feeling his sister's trembling body, he could only pat her on the shoulder and say something.

"Well, I'm back!"

Then, with red eyes, Sera looked at Char and said.

"This time, you won't leave again, will you?"

"Not anymore!"

"That's good. Come and eat, I have so much to tell you!"

After a warm family dinner, Sera couldn't wait to pull Char aside and start telling him about her experiences over the years, leaving Amuro and Macarius to clean up the restaurant.

"I never expected that guy to have this side to him?"

"What else? We're all human, Amuro. Whether we're Newtypes or ordinary people, we're all human beings first. So, whatever we do, we have to consider things from a human perspective first, and then consider our Newtype identity. Char, take off his outer shell, he's just a child who craves love!"

"I know his background; that guy really has a tough life. But if he commits a crime, I'll still beat him without hesitation!"

"That's right, that guy just needs some work done!"

"No problem, wait until tomorrow and you'll see how I deal with him!"

As night deepened, Amuro took his leave and went home. Makarius looked into the living room and saw that Sera had fallen asleep on the sofa, but even so, her hand was still tightly holding Char's.

Where is her bedroom?

"It's upstairs, let's go!"

Marcarius gently waved his hand, signaling Char to pick him up. Then, the two tiptoed upstairs and finally placed him on the bed.

Char gently brushed the other's hand away and followed Macarius out the door.

"Thank you!"

"You should say that to her!"

“It’s the same as telling you. Although I’m not sure about the future, at least for now, recently, if you need me to do anything…” Xia shook his head, clearly finding the second half of the sentence a bit difficult for someone as strong-willed as him.

"Alright, then stay here and help me solve the Axis problem!"

"You seem to know everything!"

"No need to even think about it. Malahaja's health is failing, and he's getting old. If he dies, Haman, a young girl who grew up around someone like Kycilia, will only become more paranoid. It's inevitable that she'll return to the Earth Sphere!"

"Yes, to be honest, I was actually sent back!"

"Isn't that obvious? Harman loves you but can't have you, so he can only get angry and kick you out!"

"No, no, no! Don't let Lala hear that. She'll seriously mock me, and I can't stand that!"

"I didn't realize Lala was such a master of Yin and Yang?"

"I learned all of this from you!"

"Then I am truly honored!"

"By the way, so I still don't understand why you asked me to come here?"

"Do what you're best at!"

Marcarius checked the time and then patted Char on the shoulder.

You'll find out tomorrow morning!

At eight o'clock the next morning, a loud bugle call resounded throughout the entire base, followed by the piercing whistles of the sentries on duty outside each dormitory building.

After a good night's sleep, the pilots began their morning routine: getting dressed, folding blankets, doing morning exercises, washing up, and then having breakfast. This routine made several retired bakers look rather gloomy, as they had been retired for a long time and their physical abilities had declined considerably.

However, they can feel a deep-seated attachment to this kind of life, and when the whistle sounds, their bodies will act before their brains do.

"This is the slut my wife called me!"

Major Jung said this to his old comrades-in-arms during breakfast.

"When you're in the army, you can't wait to leave, but when you actually leave, you can't bear to part with it. You don't know, when I received the order, I didn't sleep for two whole days!"

"Hahaha, me too..."

After breakfast, the trainees were loaded onto trucks and transported to the training ground on the other side of the base. Their classroom was an open mobile suit hangar.

"Sir, the first batch of team members from the Combat Skills Center has arrived. Please give instructions!"

"Take a break!"

After changing into his pilot's uniform, Markarius waved his hand, signaling everyone to take their seats.

"Although everyone is already familiar with me, I will still introduce myself as usual. I am Makarius Skriny, the head of the Federation Military Training and Combat Technology Research Center. I don't have any great skills, I can only fly mobile suits, and I have a few insignificant achievements!"

Upon hearing this, the pilots immediately lost their composure. What do you mean by insignificant achievements? If your achievements are insignificant, then what are ours?
However, everyone can only hold back, because when a leader speaks, the proper respect must be shown, even if the other party is someone you know well.

"Everyone must be quite curious about why they've been summoned here, especially some of you who are veterans with wives, kids, and warm beds. Hey, Kliny, I'm a veteran, why did you bring me back here?!"

Now, everyone couldn't hold back any longer, especially those who had heard Major Jung's words, who burst into laughter.

After everyone had finished laughing, Markarius continued.

"Actually, I didn't want to either. After all, the war is over, and it's normal for everyone to want to live a good life. But the problem is, our enemies are still lurking in the shadows. The happier we are, the more they suffer: pirates, Zeon remnants, dissidents, anti-Federation elements, and even ambitious people within our own ranks..."

Whether you like it or not, the next war is already on its way!

"Of course, nobody knows exactly when that war will come, and it's not even certain that you'll need to go back to the field. After all, hey, Kliny, I've already retired, and you still want me to go? What, have all your pilots died?"

This time, the laughter wasn't as lighthearted as before.

"I think everyone knows how brutal the One Year War was. After all, which of you here hasn't been through fire and water? So, I think that in future wars, there should be less bloodshed and more soldiers returning alive. That means that you veterans here should pass on your experience and lessons so that a new generation of Federation mobile suit pilots can grow up. That is the goal of the Combat Skills Center!"

"So, does anyone have any further questions?"

"report!"

Upon hearing the voice, Marcarius knew it was an old acquaintance making an appearance.

"Major Kant, is there anything you'd like to say?"

"So, what kind of machines are we here to operate?"

"all!"

Marcarius snapped his fingers, and then everyone heard the sound of a flatbed truck.

Subsequently, heavy flatbed trucks drove through the hangar, and on the trucks, one after another, active-duty Federation military machines drove past in front of everyone.

"report!"

"Major Wolf, what's wrong?"

"Sir, can we pilot a Gundam?"

"Want to pilot a Gundam?"

"miss you!"

The pilots immediately roared in unison. As mobile suit pilots, how could anyone not want to pilot a Gundam!
"I'm sorry, I don't have that!"

"but!"

Before everyone could lose hope, Makarius pulled off a dramatic turn of events.

"That doesn't mean there won't be any in the future. Our military's new generation of Gundam, the MK2, has completed its basic construction and is currently undergoing final testing. Once completed, it can be transported to the site. In addition to Gundam, there are many more non-active experimental mobile suits available for you to choose from. What you need to do is test their performance, push them to their limits, and then summarize your experience and insights. Is that alright?"

"report!"

"Captain Cuvatoro!"

"Sir, but we have so many people, what should we do if we don't have enough mechs?"

"Then let's use the old method: let strength speak for itself. Besides the machine itself, your combat experience is also a valuable technical resource. Therefore, your sparring training will be very frequent, and your opponents and partners will not be fixed. Today's opponent may be tomorrow's partner!"

"So, are there any other questions?"

"Sir, can we be your opponent?"

One guy, still unwilling to give up, said...

"Of course, otherwise why would I be here? And it's not just us. After you all finish this initial adjustment period, we'll head to Australia to give the local recruits some life advice!"

"Alright everyone, go change your clothes, it's time to start the battle!"

(End of this chapter)