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

Chapter 303 Continuing to fleece Anaheim

"Seven pounds and six ounces!"

Looking at Kinias's latest update, Timree left a message with a melancholy tone: "How envious I am."

He then saw Kinias's reply.

I wasn't talking about fish!

"I wasn't talking about fish in the first place!"

"???"

"It's the baby. So, have you chosen a name yet?"

"I've chosen the name, Parzival, what do you think!"

"That's great! Your life is already complete!"

Timre had completely lost his air of a shrewd scientific genius. Instead, he pestered Kinias for a few pictures of children. After examining them closely, he immediately revealed a kind smile just like Colonel Sanders.

Then, he uttered that same sigh again.

"That's great! We have kids now. Sigh, that rascal of a boy of mine, sigh!"

Timre didn't understand either. Amuro would go on dates with girls from time to time, but none of them lasted, let alone get married and have children. He was hoping for a little baby to call him grandpa, but alas!
"Well, Doctor, don't be so sad. I actually have a rough idea about the auxiliary power configuration!"

Seeing Timree's worried expression, Dr. Mamoru Nagano, who had only recently joined the Naval Strategic Research Institute, immediately approached him and said cautiously.

"Oh, what? You mean the power system? That's simple. If one isn't enough, we'll just get two!"

"Yes, that's what I wanted to tell you, but since you already have a plan, why do you still look so worried!"

"That's not what I'm worried about!"

Timre put the terminal back in his pocket and then looked at the younger man in front of him.

"How old is your child?"

"My wife and I haven't had a baby yet!"

"You'll understand what I'm worried about once you give birth!"

Timre patted the other man on the shoulder.

"Alright, let's continue with your point about auxiliary power. What are your thoughts?"

"Regarding engine power, if we consider the data for flight within the atmosphere, the current power is insufficient to propel the aircraft at high speeds. I think we can install two auxiliary generators in the legroom, which would be enough to power each individual thruster!"

The propulsion system that Nagano Mamoru described was the latest situation encountered by the Naval Strategic Research Institute after testing it on the Metas.

According to their previous design, the power of the Z Gundam in its transformed state seemed to be somewhat lacking. The power supply of the single nuclear fusion reactor was limited by the layout and needed to meet the needs of various aspects of the machine, which made the energy distribution somewhat strained.

Weapons, systems, attitude control—all of these require energy. While reducing weapons is indeed a good solution, the military certainly wouldn't agree to it, and reducing other systems is also impossible. Therefore, they can only find another way to address the energy supply issue.

Faced with this situation, the only solution the entire technical team could think of was to add a new power system unit. As for why they didn't replace the machine with a larger nuclear fusion reactor, it's because the one currently used in the Z Gundam project is the best that the Federation can find at present. If they wanted even greater power, they would have to look for a battleship-style one.

"Actually, Anaheim's generator engine department had studied similar problems before, except that they were preparing for small spacecraft. But I think it can be used directly on the body of the aircraft!"

As Dr. Nagano spoke, he began to write and draw on the data board.

"Their new engine is half the size of the existing generator, but it can output 70% of the power of the standard model!"

"That can definitely be installed in the legroom!"

"That's right, this also provides better power, and we can configure two units, one on the left and one on the right!"

Then, the Naval Strategic Research Institute acted immediately, using connections to place orders under the guise of Anaheim. In the end, they ordered the generators in the name of the Federal Aviation Administration.

The reason for doing this so secretly is naturally to prevent Anaheim from finding out. After all, some things can be shared, while others must be kept hidden, just like the Gundam Nim alloy formula and the movable frame of the MK2 Gundam. There's no way around it; corporate rivalry has always been like this!
Dr. Nagano's idea was wonderful, but after installing the experimental equipment on the Metas demonstrator and starting the test, they found that the existing power control system still had some difficulty controlling the engine nozzle output. The test pilot started a spiral descent during the test and was left to drift in outer space for several hours before being retrieved.

The output power of the generators in the legs of the mobile suit is directly related to the thrust of the leg thrusters, which serve as the main thrusters in MA mode. If no modifications are made, it will affect the stability of the MA cruise state.

Therefore, in order to find a solution, Amuro and Char both joined forces, vying to become high-speed spinning tops in space. Amuro, in particular, for the sake of his transformable Gundam, even gave up all after-get off work entertainment and social activities, returning to his research post to solve the problem!
"So, you're applying for extra funding just to develop this synchronization rate management system?"

"That's right, so boss, hurry up and approve it! You don't want to see Gundam mobile suits flying around in space like rockets, do you?"

"No, have you considered that this problem could also be solved through outsourcing?"

Amro was puzzled. Besides the Naval Strategic Research Institute, who else would they outsource to? Anaheim?
"Is this okay?"

"What does the Aviation Administration's commission have to do with our Strategic Research Institute? We're not going to go to their Advanced Development Department or contact their aviation department!"

Anaheim is a behemoth, and military development is merely a sideline to its core business. Frankly speaking, its annual military profits are less than the money it makes selling toothpaste to the Federation. Of course, at this stage, simply pursuing profit is meaningless for Anaheim, but it did provide the Naval Strategic Research Institute with some valuable insights. While they are indeed competitors with Anaheim's military design department, other departments are not necessarily so. Therefore, in some ways, they have indeed wasted a considerable amount of money in the past.

After all, they have a complete industrial chain and they purchase from the nearby moon. So, after being reminded by Makarius, the Federal Aviation Administration immediately sent people to contact the Aeronautical Technology Development Department in Anaheim.

After spending less than 500,000 hectares, the Aviation Technology Department produced a compatible management computer. After adaptation adjustments by the Strategic Research Institute, the power imbalance problem of the Metas experimental aircraft was solved, and the output power difference between the two generators was directly controlled within 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, weapons, transformation mechanisms, and even a completely redesigned cockpit layout have been validated on other Metas test vehicles.

Then, all that's left is to do is the final assembly!
After a year and three months of development, the design blueprints for Zeta Gundam finally began to be built. Then, in just one week, the blueprints were freshly completed, and the next step was the final verification.

Meanwhile, the Naval Strategic Research Institute also purchased related independent electronic equipment, power lines, and even the cockpit seat of the Zeta Gundam and the new 60mm machine gun in the head of the mobile suit from Anaheim. Anyway, these things are technically mature and stable, so why not use them?

And so Anaheim once again contributed to Project Zeta, though they themselves were unaware of it, and were not informed when the Naval Institute for Strategic Studies held its celebration.

After the final revisions to the blueprints were completed, production of the Zeta Gundam began quickly, and the entire machine was presented to Macarius in less than half a month.

"That's perfect, this is exactly what I wanted!"

When he saw the machine that he knew so well standing quietly in the hangar, Makarius was overwhelmed with excitement, his face flushed.

"Quick, slap me!"

To make sure he wasn't dreaming, Makarius turned to look at Nagase Hotaru and Sera beside him. Neither of them held back, and they each finished their cigarettes, one on each side. Then, Makarius let out a rather terrifying laugh.

"Alright, alright, the boss has gone mad! The position of the Federation's number one ace is mine, and this machine is mine too!"

Seeing the grinning Macarius, Amuro wasn't much better off, squatting to the side and chuckling incessantly. Only Captain Cuvatoro remained silent, simply standing there quietly wearing sunglasses. When Lala tentatively took off his sunglasses, she discovered that he was staring wide-eyed at the pure yellow mecha!

After a long period of anticipation, everyone finally realized what was happening and began vying for the positions of testers.

In the end, it was Markarius who, with his agile movements, was the first to leap onto the Z Gundam's palm, and waved to the other two as he did so.

"ciao!"

"Damn it, that bastard!"

The two were furious and pounded their chests in frustration. However, as much as they envied, testing new mechs also carried risks, and quite a few test pilots had even been injured in the process. Therefore, Macarius's preemptive move was a way of taking care of the two of them. So, the two could only give each other the middle finger and then walk to the monitoring center to observe the test from there.

Sitting in the cabin, Makarius was extremely nervous, which reminded him of his first dates with his girlfriends when he didn't know what to do with his hands, and he felt the same way now.

However, being a well-trained soldier, Makarius quickly recovered and activated the machine according to procedure.

Although the operating system has not been thoroughly adjusted, this does not affect Makarius's operation. A qualified pilot should learn to adapt to the machine, rather than making the machine adapt to him.

Furthermore, the operating system of the Z Gundam is quite user-friendly. While it doesn't have multiple AI assistants that can operate automatically, it can easily function as a voice assistant and adjust some minor functions.

Of course, this mobile suit is not equipped with the most important biosensor for the Z Gundam. That thing is still being tested and will only be installed after this experimental Z Gundam mobile suit passes the acceptance test.

To put it bluntly, this thing is mainly used to test various systems, especially the most critical transformation system. It's a test unit, and after the final data collection is completed, the unit might be disassembled and destroyed.

Without much hesitation, Makarius quickly boarded the transport ship after a brief test of its basic motion, leaving the satellite's gravitational environment.

"Marcarius, don't push yourself. If there are any problems, just eject!"

Although relevant tests had already been conducted on Metas, Timre couldn't help but remind Macarius that the cockpit of the Z Gundam was a specially designed type that could be detached as a single unit, so that if things went wrong, pulling the handle would allow it to take off.

"No problem, then I'll begin!"

Makarius took a deep breath, then leaped off the transport ship, pressing the posture switch button once he was out of danger.

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, the head, arms, chest, and legs of the Z Gundam began to transform. The V-shaped antennas converged, merging with the head into the chest, the arms moved vertically to the sides, and the cockpit flipped upwards. The chest and back connected, the arms moved forward, and the waist and abdomen moved upwards. The shield moved forward to the center, and the flight armor rotated to the side. The flight armor performed a 180-degree rotation, fairings appeared on the feet, and the long tail-shaped stabilizing nozzles moved downwards. The flight armor that had moved downwards locked onto the shield and deployed its wings. The leg thrusters were revealed, the waist armor rotated forward, and finally, what appeared before everyone was a somewhat bulky and oddly shaped space fighter.

This is another form of the Z Gundam, also known as the WR form, codenamed Surfer. In this form, the Z Gundam is a high-performance space fighter capable of high-speed advances and hit-and-run guerrilla tactics.

After completing the transformation of the machine, Makarius eagerly pushed the throttle valve, opening the engine to full power. Then, the fighter jet, like a streak of light, spewed flames and gradually disappeared from everyone's sight until it flew into the dark universe and could no longer be seen.

"Quickly, switch to remote sensing observation! I need to see the sensor data feedback!"

Timree calmly issued the instructions.

"The nozzle attitude is normal, the engine power output is stable, and the flight data meets expectations. It's just that the pilot's heart rate is a bit high! Obviously, the brigadier general is very excited!"

"Well, it seems we've accomplished our goal!"

Looking at the various data displayed on the Z Gundam's sensors, Timre nodded in satisfaction, clearly pleased with his creation!

"A brand new Gundam has been born!"

(End of this chapter)