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

Chapter 287 Torrington, I'm back!

"Sir, we're approaching Earth's near-Earth orbit!"

"Order the fleet to slow down! At the same time, prepare the hangars; I will arrive in five minutes!"

Upon hearing Makarius's order, the officers on the bridge also looked troubled.

"Um, sir, I don't think it's necessary for you to do this personally, is it?"

Finally, it was Lieutenant Commander Bradnoa, in the captain's seat, who spoke up.

"If I don't come, then who will?"

Makarius turned to look at the other person and then asked in return.

"Replace Amuro? You take over, Captain Brad. My life is my life, but yours isn't? Shouldn't officers take priority in a situation like this?"

"But this is the first time the new Gundam has conducted an atmospheric breakthrough test. What if something goes wrong!"

"If there's a problem, we'll correct it. Besides, with me here, even if something goes wrong, we can probably salvage the situation!"

Makarius looked at Brad, whose brows were furrowed and whose eyes were almost unrecognizable, and then laughed.

"Don't worry, Captain, haven't you heard that saying?"

"Death won't come for you when you're ready, Brad!"

"Understood, then please be careful!"

Brad could only sigh silently, realizing that among the Federation generals, Makarius was indeed the most unconventional.

The Naval Strategic Research Institute worked tirelessly and finally completed the additional equipment assigned to the MK2 Gundam just before the Combat Technology Center was about to move to Earth for the next phase of its mission.

Among them is the flight armor codenamed FXA-00. This flight pedal-like device is not intended for space combat, but it can assist a single MS unit in penetrating the atmosphere and has a high degree of hovering ability within the atmosphere. It can hover on land and water and has a certain degree of flight capability, providing assistance in aerial combat.

As for the support in space battles, it is handled by the G-Defender, codenamed FXA-05D, a space fighter specifically developed for the mk2 Gundam. This mobile suit can operate independently or combine with the mk2 Gundam to enhance its firepower and mobility.

During the lull between the relocation of the Combat Technology Center to the Torrington Base, they were also responsible for testing the performance of the flight armor and collecting relevant data to provide reference for the development of the Z Gundam.

Although single-unit atmospheric entry is not a new technology, the MK2 is a new machine after all, and the flight armor is also a new piece of equipment. Even though it had been tested repeatedly by Amuro before, breaking through the atmosphere was still a first.

And now, it is Makarius who is in charge of conducting these tests!
"Why don't you think about it again?"

When Makarius entered the hangar, Char, who had been there with Amuro doing the final checks, couldn't help but come over and offer some words of advice.

"?"

"You actually came here to try and persuade me too?"

Marcarius then turned to look to the side, leaving Char completely bewildered.

"What are you looking at?"

"Let's see if the sun rises in the west!"

Char also had a toothache. If before he couldn't wait for Makarius to die, now that Artesia was about to become a member of the Cthulhu family.

"Seriously! If this doesn't work, there are still so many pilots here, like Amuro! Just replace him with anyone!"

"Then why don't you do it?"

After hesitating for a few seconds, Xia nodded.

"Okay!"

"That's good. I hope you can shoulder this responsibility just the same next time if neither Amuro nor I are around. But for now, let me do it!"

Markarius immediately ended the argument about the test, then picked up his helmet and walked towards the MK2.

"Everything is ready!"

Amuro nodded to Makarius, and then pointed to the flight platform next to him.

That was a safety precaution he had taken; as long as the body was unharmed, he was 100% confident he could catch the person.

Makarius said nothing more, just patted the other person on the shoulder, and then let mk2 reach out and lift him up.

Then, the pre-launch warning sounded in the cabin.

Subsequently, unrelated personnel and equipment were quickly evacuated. As the ejection hatch opened, Makarius did not hesitate at all to control his aircraft and step onto the ejection platform.

Through the narrow hatch, Makarius could clearly see the blue planet that almost filled his entire field of vision.

"so good!"

Then, with a rapid change in his field of vision, he found himself in space in the next second.

Subsequently, along with the transmission of the connection signal, the flight armor launched along with the Mk2 Gundam also completed its combination with the mobile suit.

After glancing at the warships hovering on either side of the aircraft, Macarius immediately activated the communication system.

"MK2 Gundam, atmospheric reentry test initiated! Everyone, see you on Earth!"

"This is the White Base. Good luck, and see you on Earth!"

"This is the Spartan. Good luck! See you on Earth!"

Then, Makarius activated the thrusters at maximum power and moved toward the blue planet.

"Maintain remote sensing monitoring and prepare the handover at Torrington Base. If we lose signal, let them take over!"

Subsequently, the two Pegasus-class ships responsible for transporting the test aircraft from the Peizeng Combat Technology Center also followed Makarius into the atmosphere.

"Brigadier General, how's the situation on your end?"

Feeling the tremors emanating from the warship's hull, Brad couldn't help but feel a pang of worry for Makarius.

"Everything's normal here, posture control is good, no, wait, the impact was a bit too big, I need to switch to manual control!"

"Should we cancel the test?"

"No need, I'm not Xincheng!"

After all, it was a flight armor that Timree redesigned independently. The other side took into account the problem of flight within the atmosphere and made some changes to the structure of the armor, which resulted in a strong vibration after being subjected to impact.

However, Makarius remained calm and took over the automatic control, making fine adjustments based on the vibrations.

At this moment, flames had already enveloped the area beneath the armor, and the cooling system had begun to operate as preset. However, the deeper one went, the stronger the tremors became. Marcarius even forced himself to re-enter the transcendent state of perception he had during battle before finally gaining control of the flying armor.

"Yes, that's it, that's right, keep it up..."

Soon, the darkness before Makarius's eyes disappeared, leaving only the deep blue sky and layers of hazy white clouds below.

However, Makarius didn't have time to appreciate the scenery. By the time he finally breathed a sigh of relief and handed control back to the automatic system, the two Pegasus-class ships that had broken in had already caught up with him.

"Amuro, your father's got some skills!"

"Thank you for the compliment, I think he should be very happy!"

"Yeah, this is my first time trying to walk a tightrope in space!" "But the ability to fly within the atmosphere is really impressive, want to give it a try?"

"I'd be happy to oblige! I'll bring that guy over too!"

"Come!"

Marcarius nodded, then maneuvered his flight armor to circle around the Pegasus-class aircraft, which had switched to Earth-like flight mode.

He didn't have to wait long before the Pegasus-class hatch opened again, and Amuro, piloting his own NT1, and Char, piloting the NT1 of the Macarius but without funnels, flew out on the ramp.

"Then, it's time to start the war!"

Before the opponent could react, Macarius leaped out from behind and above Amuro at the 6 o'clock position. After passing the obstructing Pegasus-class, his beam rifle, which had already switched to training mode, fired a simulated signal at the opponent's machine.

Amro was clearly anticipating Makarius's move, and immediately took evasive action the moment the shot was fired. He then began to retaliate against Makarius while still in an evasive stance.

Char, on the other hand, was a little slower and could only sigh as he looked at the number of hits displayed on his mobile suit's UI.

"Captain, there's no time for sentimentality! You were shot down less than thirty seconds after your sortie!"

Bright watched the two Gundams locked in a fierce battle, then glanced at Char, who was lost in thought. He shook his head and gave Char a reminder over the comms.

"The main problem is that the machine's operating system isn't set up according to my preferences!"

Char blushed, a rare occurrence for him, and then began to try to make amends.

"I remember you were pretty fast too, weren't you?"

"I really don't want to admit it, but it's a mistake I made because I was young!"

What else could Char say? He was pushing himself to the limit at high speed, only to run into someone who could go even faster!

Now, whatever I do seems to be imitating it.

"Marcarius often says the same thing!"

"?"

Feeling as if he were living in someone's shadow, Captain Cuvatoro roused himself, raised his gun, and stepped forward to support Amuro.

Seeing that he seemed to have caught the opponent's movement, Xia raised his gun without hesitation.

But then he discovered that the score had not changed.

"How is that possible? It clearly hit directly!"

"You idiot Xia, Kuvatolo, who do you think that guy is? How could he possibly hit you so easily!"

In his haste, Amuro almost called out the other person's name, which even made Brad tremble and nearly drop the teacup he was holding.

"Hmph, it's pointless if you can't hit it, Captain, do you only realize that now!"

After dodging Amuro's attack with a quick change of direction, Marcarius immediately raised his hand and fired another shot. This time, Char only managed to dodge half of it. The hit feedback showed that his mobile suit's leg was damaged, and the scoreboard showed that the prominent one had become two.

"Are you even capable, Captain Cuvatoro?!"

"How could it not work? I'm Kuvatorobagina!"

Then, the number changed to three again during the clash of the machines.

Then comes four!

Watching the two men writhing erratically in the air like bees having a fit, seemingly oblivious to the G-forces of their high-G maneuvers, a deep sense of disappointment instantly overwhelmed Captain Cuvatoro, who had been brimming with confidence.

"Can I really pilot a mobile suit?"

"Captain, why don't you come back first?"

Brad could barely contain his smile. He truly hadn't expected that the once-famous Crimson Comet would be left behind by Macarius and Amuro. Now, the entire sky seemed to be an arena built solely for these two.

Two mobile suits, each mounted on its own flight platform, engaged in an extremely intense and abstract ace aerial battle right before the eyes of everyone on the warship.

The direction of the weapons and the movement of the mechs seemed to have no logic to them. All that could be seen on the simulation screen were the constantly intersecting beams of light and the mechs making extreme evasive maneuvers between them.

The two fought fiercely from tens of thousands of meters in the air down to the thousand-meter level, until finally, Makarius managed to seize a small opportunity from Amuro and kill him.

"Damn, I haven't felt this good in ages!"

Despite being shot down, Amroko showed no sign of unhappiness. In fact, when he jumped out of the cockpit, he looked completely satisfied, like a parched land receiving rain, and gave a thumbs-up to Markarius, who was gulping down an energy drink next to him.

"Me too! Sure enough, it takes the two of us to reach the high intensity!"

"Yes, but I feel that in this environment, beam rifles seem less effective than missiles!"

"That's true. After all, we're twisting and turning in the sky. The light gun is too affected by the trajectory. The missile is indeed quite good, but considering the interference from particles, it's still a bit difficult!"

"So, the only option is to find a way to get close to melee combat and decide the winner in one move?"

"Next time, we can try it on the simulator. If we actually do it that way, I'm afraid the flight pedals won't be able to handle it!"

Amuro thought about how the maintenance crew chased after him with hammers, and couldn't help but nod.

"Indeed, but after such strenuous exercise, I'm hungry. Shall we go get something to eat?"

"Keep it for now, I'll make arrangements when we get there, that's my home turf!"

"By the way, where is Cuvatoro?"

"Yeah, that guy never showed up later. If he had helped me, I probably would have killed you already!"

"But the problem is, he was gone the moment he showed his face. Surely no one would take off without taking precautions against being ejected into a combat zone?"

"I don't know, he shouldn't be that stupid, right?"

As they chatted, they walked across the observation deck on the side of the ship, where they unexpectedly saw Char gazing down at the continent below.

"What are you doing? We're about to review the battle. Want to join us?"

Amuro extended a friendly invitation.

But the beloved Captain Cuvatoro simply shook his head.

"I'm looking at the Earth!"

What's wrong with Earth?!

"They got hit by a satellite! How could the Zabi family be so wicked!"

Char Ark had no interest in participating in the Mobile Suit War debriefing; he could only adopt the demeanor of a Federation veteran from the One Year War and lament the immense trauma suffered by Sydney.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot if you hadn't mentioned it. Amuro, come on, when we pass by Sydney Harbour, don't forget to offer some incense to Dozru and take a picture!"

"Let's skip offering incense to that guy!"

"We're practically dancing on his grave, so offering some incense is no big deal. Consider it a reward for inviting him to watch the show!"

(End of this chapter)