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

Chapter 323 Tell me, are you going to eat this dog food or not?
"I'm sorry, Mr. Mark Bay, you failed to impress me!"

At this moment, O'Sullivan was like a ruthless mentor on a variety show. No matter how the students behind him performed, he was not moved, so naturally he would not turn around and invite them to join his team.

Mark Bay opened his mouth, trying to figure out what other cards he had up his sleeve. But after thinking it over, he realized he really didn't have any cards left to impress his opponent. The minaret was a top secret and couldn't be leaked. Besides, he couldn't bring out the MA either. What else could he say? He was at his wit's end. Mark Bay couldn't help but sigh.

Unfortunately, the ally that Martian made was far too weak. Although he was crazy and had rather eccentric ideas, he was at least willing to help the Zeon fleet. It's just that the other side currently has no industrial capacity and cannot replenish the fleet with technical equipment. Otherwise, why would Mark Bay even bother talking to these Anaheim guys?

Times have changed. In the past, even in 0083, the remnants could still intimidate Anaheim with their past reputations. But now, after so many years of encirclement and suppression by the Federation, Anaheim is well aware that the remnants are unlikely to gain any real power. If they invest too heavily, they may end up suffering huge losses, especially now that they have a competitor.

The existence of the Naval Strategic Research Institute prevents Anaheim from engaging in any monopoly. Therefore, Anaheim would naturally not allow the Federation to find its weaknesses, as that would only cause them greater losses.

"Then, name your price?"

O'Sullivan then flashed a victorious smile and began to speak.

"First, I need the technical data of all active-duty mobile suits of the Zeon military, along with the corresponding mobile suits! At least three of each!"

"Secondly, the Zeon forces are prohibited from operating in any Anaheim facility location, and are also forbidden from carrying weapons!"

O'Sullivan emphasized the second point: the losses caused by the remnants' attack on von Braun were extremely painful for Anaheim. Those technicians were the project team's darlings, capable of generating countless wealth, yet a Zeon soldier with weapons, who knew nothing but killing, could easily send them to their deaths. O'Sullivan absolutely could not tolerate this situation.

In addition to the two items mentioned above, O'Sullivan subsequently offered Mark Bay a series of terms, including hiring the Zeon forces to help Anaheim with some tasks if necessary. Furthermore, they also demanded that the Zeon forces hand over the destroyed Federation mobile suits, specifically those produced by the Naval Strategic Research Institute, to Anaheim for research.

"The Naval Strategic Research Institute has developed several new Gundam models for the Federation. I imagine you're quite interested in them, aren't you?"

"But we've never seen it!"

"If the Federation forces deploy this type of machine, you must destroy it at all costs and then hand over the wreckage to us. Is that alright?"

"Then we need more help!"

Mark Bay was quite straightforward, simply shrugging his shoulders to indicate that his current abilities were limited!
"We will provide you with some technical equipment, is that alright?"

"No Gundam?"

"Are you crazy?"

O'Sullivan looked at Mark Bay with a look of disgust.

"If we produce Zeon-type mobile suits for you, we can still cover it up. But if the Federation finds out that you have Gundams, do you want Anaheim Electronics to be destroyed?"

"So what are we going to use to fight against Gundam?"

"Anaheim will help you develop machines that can fight against them!"

O'Sullivan wasn't just trying to brush off Mark Bay. After the failure of Project GP, Anaheim Electronics was putting in a lot of effort to turn things around, preparing to develop a new mobile suit that could defeat the Naval Strategic Research Institute in terms of combat skills. Once the mobile suit was developed, it could be handed over to the remnants of Zeon for testing to collect data!
Overall, O'Sullivan offered a lot, but the price was correspondingly higher. In fact, the conditions regarding the cooperation of the remnants were less about cooperation and more about making them dogs for Anaheim.

But Mark Bay had no choice. Because of the Makarius Strike Battle Group's patrol operations, they couldn't directly use the equipment they brought to provide stable logistical support for the fleet. Firstly, most of the equipment required a large enough space, and secondly, it needed raw materials, but neither of these could be provided. So Anaheim had to take on the responsibility.

Mark Bay also made sure to ask Anaheim to provide much-needed human resources. In addition, since he was already eating dog food, he wanted to eat better, so he naturally had high standards for the supplies and corresponding logistical support provided by Anaheim.

The emergency synthetic food provided to the colonists was unacceptable; the meat had to be frozen within a month; in addition, the necessary drinks and desserts were also required, as well as uniforms and daily necessities for the Zeon officers and soldiers.

Furthermore, Mark Bay even hoped to have a fully functional, gravity-equipped space facility as the fleet's headquarters!

Just like the Federation's Philadelphia Space Station, that massive post-war orbital space station could provide stable gravity for a part of its interior through its rotation, and the Federation military opened up many venues in those areas specifically for recreational activities in a gravity environment.

This is very important for Federal officers and soldiers who live in space for extended periods!
The remnants of Zeon, of course, could not enjoy the same treatment as the Federation. Living in a pressure zone for a long time was also a kind of mental torture for the remnants. Otherwise, why would the Republic of Zeon replace all the closed residential satellites after the war?

Mark Bay's exorbitant offer astonished O'Sullivan, but most of the conditions he proposed were nothing to Anaheim, after all, they were Anaheim!

The industries it was involved in were so wide-ranging that it covered everything, even the entertainment industry. If it weren't for the issue of secrecy, Anaheim could have even brought in a girl group to entertain the remnants of the party!
Although the process was difficult, Mark Bay eventually succeeded in cooperating with Anaheim, or more precisely, with certain Zeon sympathizers. The latter provided them with a great deal of support and convenience, and they, in turn, naturally had to repay the former for their support.

However, before that, Mark Bay handed over a large amount of wealth brought from Axis to Anaheim. Those ships were like the gold-carrying ships of Spain during the Age of Exploration, carrying a large amount of gold. In addition, data and samples of mobile suits and other military equipment from within the fleet were also given to Anaheim as agreed.

After obtaining the samples, Anaheim quickly provided the Mark Bay fleet with the necessary living supplies and fuel, but the technical equipment would still take some time to arrive.

Meanwhile, the remnant fleet also obtained a batch of much-needed civilian commuter ships and the identities needed for personnel activities. The identities provided by Anaheim, although without any additional benefits, were secure. Although they still couldn't pass the vetting process within the main federal system, they were sufficient to handle general inspections! What surprised Mark Bay even more was that O'Sullivan also brought him news of a group of helpers, although Mark Bay had previously looked down on these helpers.

That was the Marine Corps of Simakarahou. This remnant fleet, neglected and unloved by the Zeon forces, had nowhere to go after they scattered and fled. So they simply became outlaws and pirates on the edge of the Earth Sphere.

In fact, Simakarahou's forces received the message when the advance troops of Mark Bay arrived in the Earth Sphere and began sending assembly signals, but Simakarahou, who had no desire to get involved in the conflict between the remnants and the Federation, naturally ignored it.

However, this was not something she could avoid by ignoring it. Mark Bay directly ordered Sima to lead the fleet to join them, and also stated that if the other party disobeyed orders, they would be court-martialed.

"I can't defeat the Federation, but wiping you out is no problem at all!"

While Sima was forced to lead the fleet stealthily into the Reef Space Zone to rendezvous with Mark Bay, the Federation's intelligence department also noticed Anaheim's unusual movements.

Although Anaheim was indeed very careful and attentive, the large-scale flow of supplies would still leave traces. If it were an ordinary person, they might not have been able to catch these details, but the Basques were different. This bald man might be terrible in other aspects, but he always maintained a keen sense of smell when it came to unraveling clues and capturing the remnants of the gang.

He first noticed a discrepancy in the number of transport ships going to and from the moon at Anaheim. There were always fewer ships departing than returning each time. While this could be explained, such as delays or maintenance for those ships that did not return, quite a few ships did eventually return to the moon.

However, the total number revealed a clue. The returning transport ships accounted for the majority, but a small number had disappeared. The key point is that the Federal Military Intelligence Bureau monitored the crew of some of the transport ships that did not return and found that they were still working and living normally on the moon. The only difference was that they had changed ships. So, where did their original ships go?

Most importantly, there is a Basque informant within Anaheim. Although his rank is not high, he is still in a technical position. The information he conveyed indicated that Anaheim's Advanced Development Division had obtained a batch of highly classified technical data. Although the informant's status was not high enough to access the specific content, he could tell from snippets of conversation among high-ranking officials that the data did not originate from the Federation!

"Great job! As expected of Anaheim!"

Upon receiving feedback from the Military Intelligence Bureau, Markarius glanced at his watch and then asked Brad, who was standing next to him.

"How long have we been out?"

"Thirty-three days! Sir!"

"We definitely need to resupply. Fleet, turn around, target the moon!"

"Brad, send a message to fleet headquarters saying that we request to resupply and rest on the moon!"

"Yes!"

This is because Marcarius's fleet was special; otherwise, a regular fleet could go wherever it wanted to resupply, let alone to the moon.

But since the Macarius fleet had a special mission, an order was quickly sent to the Federation lunar garrison, which immediately took action and began to move its reserves to prepare for the arrival of the fleet.

"Once we arrive, Captain Cuvatoro, you will remain with the fleet. If you wish to go out, have Andrei take your shift, but make sure you are properly dressed, understand?"

"how about you?"

"I'll take Amuro to Anaheim to visit the technical staff who have worked tirelessly for the Federation, and also to see the new mobile suits they've developed!"

Makarius guessed that Anaheim was currently messing around with only a few mobile suits, most likely the RX-098 Prototype Rick Diaz.

After all, Anaheim had blocked its own path to developing transformable mobile suits. The MK2 Gundam, which should have inspired the other side and become the cornerstone of its success, was now under tight surveillance in the Federation Army. In addition, its technical personnel were poached by Macarius, so Anaheim could only focus on the traditional approach.

Of course, this is not to say that the prototype Rick Diaz is bad. On the contrary, this mobile suit is quite good, and can even be called a one-eyed Gundam. However, it does not have the ability to transform. Nevertheless, Anaheim is not completely without options. They can still obtain some valuable technical data through other means to promote the development of transformable mobile suits. The prototype Rick Diaz can also provide them with a lot of experience.

However, the source of this thing's references cannot withstand scrutiny. Its design concept incorporates many elements of the MS-09G Dovagi. Anaheim cannot obtain this thing through legitimate channels.

However, Makarius wasn't there to cause trouble; on the contrary, he was there for an inspection. To this end, he had already requested the garrison command to prepare some gifts for him through a private channel, such as rice, flour, and oil. Makarius was a practical person, and he wouldn't give out any other fancy or impractical gifts. At most, he would pack a few more gift boxes of mooncakes with five-nut filling. As for the rice, flour, and oil, the garrison command would naturally purchase them from the markets under Anaheim's jurisdiction. However, this was still very sincere, since Makarius had actually spent money to buy them from Anaheim, even though they would later be distributed to Anaheim's employees.

Besides offering his condolences, Makarius also went to inspect the modifications of GP03D. After Anaheim acquired new Gundanium alloy, this mobile suit underwent a major reorganization, and the relatively conservative design of the past was changed. In addition, unreasonable aspects, such as the installation position of its i-field generator, were also adjusted.

Therefore, it's perfectly normal for Makarius to go and inspect, so as long as Anaheim has nothing to hide, there's naturally no need to panic.

"However, I don't think they'll panic. After all, at least on the surface, we haven't found any leverage against them!"

"But here's the problem: who do you think will panic?"

(End of this chapter)