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

Chapter 346 I'm waiting for my teammates, what are you waiting for?
"Quickly, quickly, disconnect Line 2!"

"The propellant loading isn't finished yet!"

"Warhead fuse check complete!"

Behind the Gevadan-class, in Zeon's logistics support fleet, the preparation process for Luv Jeru, a prototype heavy mobile armor for space combat, was in its final stages.

This mobile armor (MA) was at a disadvantage in terms of design because it was designed during the One Year War. After arriving in Axis, the remnants of the war were unable to make any major changes to it when manufacturing the machine. Furthermore, the material of the machine was not the Gundanium alloy like Dendrobium, but the ultra-high tensile alloy most commonly used by Zeon. This was something that could not be helped.

After all, the remnants of Axis were still haunted by the fear of being pursued by the Federation forces, so all their actions were focused on increasing their combat power. By the time the machine was completed, it was too late to make any modifications.

However, the Zeonians do have something. In terms of equipment layout, Luvi-Jelly is superior to Dendrobium, especially since both machines are equipped with the i-field generator. However, in Dendrobium's early design, the i-field generator was on the outside, making it easy to be damaged in battle, while Luvi-Jelly's i-field generator was placed on the chest.

Fortunately, Dendrobium has undergone a complete transformation under the pressure of Makarius's urging on the Anaheim designers. To this end, he even went so far as to criticize the Anaheim designers, saying they were raised on pig feed, forcing them to work overtime for countless days due to the red temperature issue, in order to prove Makarius wrong. But after the revisions were completed, the Anaheim designers were shocked to realize that they really were raised on pig feed, capable of creating so many problems.

If he weren't a true-blue Federation designer with a clean record, he might have thought he was a hidden Zeon spy trying to disrupt Federation arms production.

Here, we must also commend Anaheim. Although they were Mark Bay's benefactors, they didn't tell each other much about GP03. It's understandable, just like Mark Bay didn't tell them about Luvi Gerald's existence. Of course, this wasn't a matter of loyalty; it was simply that everyone had their own agendas and were setting traps for each other.

"Reporting to the Commander, Luvi Gerlu is ready to launch!"

"How is the pilot?"

"I'm in good shape, I think!"

Looking at the slightly thin Zeon pilot in the cockpit of Luvi Jeru, wearing a Zeon pilot uniform and whose face was completely obscured by the reflective film on his helmet visor, a hint of pity flashed in the eyes of a slightly older Zeon maintenance officer.

This pilot's identity was special; he didn't even have a name, only a code name, because he was an early test subject of the Axis Zeon remnant's enhanced human project. Of course, due to the instability of the remnant's technology, his enhancements were mainly physical, meaning he could withstand higher overloads and react more quickly. In reality, what a true enhanced Newtype would look like was still not fully understood after many years of research. Perhaps the Augusta Research Institute had a better approach, creating something like the Levanhu, but the Augusta Research Institute was later shut down.

Enhanced humans who lack any Newtype abilities are simply defective products to Axis, though their good physical attributes might allow them to find a good home in the Mobile Suit Force.

However, due to some psychological issues caused by the experiment, the pilot codenamed One was not very good at communicating with others. In addition, due to his age, he was also quite ostracized in the military. Based on the principle of being useful, Mark Bay appointed him as Luvi Jelu's pilot. After all, it would be quite difficult for ordinary pilots to get this big guy running.

In particular, Luvi Jelu's cockpit is not the linear seat popular in current mainstream mobile suits, which requires a higher level of skill from the pilot. However, in terms of operation, Luvi Jelu uses a relatively advanced computer system. With the cooperation of the system, even ordinary people can carry out all-round attacks.

"One, can you hear me?"

Mark Bay ignored the troubled-looking maintenance officer. He wasn't concerned about children's health right now; he had chosen the officer for only one purpose: to start the machine!
"Roger that!"

Soon, a muffled and hoarse voice came through the communication.

"Our army's hope of breaking through rests on your shoulders, so don't let me down!"

"understand!"

The pilot in the cockpit nodded, and then Luvi Jelu's thrusters began to tremble, followed by a burst of extremely bright flames.

"Release the control unit and disconnect the cables!"

"I wish you good luck in martial arts!"

As the last cable was roughly pulled from the machine, the Zeon maintenance officer on the nearby transport ship immediately raised his right hand and saluted the machine that had vanished before his eyes in a streak of light.

However, Luvi Jeru's pilot was completely unaware that his attention was entirely focused on the electronic map in front of him. At this moment, several breaks had appeared on the horizontal line representing the Zeon front-line fleet. These places were marked with dense red triangles, which represented Federation forces.

However, Luvi Jelu did not advance towards these areas, but instead simply advanced along a straight line on the electronic map, because his mission was only to open a breach as quickly as possible, not to support friendly forces.

However, as Luvi Jelu was about to enter the battlefield, an ominous premonition suddenly lingered in the mind of the enhanced android pilot codenamed One. It was as if an invisible hand was tightly gripping his neck, making it impossible for him to breathe. The extremely strong sense of oppression made him inexplicably irritable and uneasy.

"What's going on? Why are we slowing down?"

Behind Luvi Jeru was another Gwadan-class aircraft moving at the same high speed. However, when it involuntarily slowed down due to its uneasy state, Mark Bay on the flagship behind it suddenly sensed something was wrong.

"There's something!"

He gave a vague and unclear answer.

"If there's anything there, move forward immediately!"

Mark Bey was already getting a little angry, after all, the other party's words were so mysterious that they made him feel a chill down his spine.

Just then, a roar from the fire control officer echoed from the bridge of Gevadan.

"High-energy reaction, head-on attack!"

"Emergency evasive action!"

Then, a beam of particles shot out from the darkness, and then flew past Luvi Jelu and Mark Bay's flagship into the depths of space.

At this moment, there was no need for further explanation; cold sweat was already dripping from Mark Bay's forehead.

Then, on the public communication channel, which was filled with noise and white dots due to interference from grains of rice on the periphery of the battlefield, Mark Bay heard the sound he least wanted to hear.

"Sizzle... Mark Bay... will... be... well...?"

"Immediately deploy the guard unit's aircraft and eject them immediately!"

"Sir, how many should we send?"

"How much? All of it!"

The Zeon crew seemed still bewildered by their commander's sudden hysteria, but the adjutant, who had served Macbeth for many years, immediately pressed the communication button and began issuing the sortie order. The recruits couldn't recognize who was speaking on the public channel, and the adjutant, while still able to recall clearly what the other person had said back in Antarctica, couldn't quite place it!
Soon, the Gevadan finally detected the reckless attacker. The long-range shot that the attacker had fired beyond Gevadan's detection range had given them quite a fright. Many officers had secretly thought that it was just a lucky shot by the enemy. But now that the attacker had shown himself, they understood that the shot had not gone astray!
Or rather, that shot was deliberately fired off course, because the other side wasn't trying to attack them, but rather to warn them!
"Enemy signal confirmed. First, model: Federation Army large MA. Identification confirmed..."

The technical sergeant's voice grew softer and slower, until finally, it even stuttered.

"The enemy pilot is Red Dragon!"

Gum!

The bridge fell into a deathly silence; you could even hear someone swallowing.

At this moment, in the entire space, on one side is a large MA covered in smoke and fire marks, although the machine itself is not greatly damaged, while on the other side is another large MA that is intact, plus a super-heavy battleship and several additional cruisers. In addition, the super-heavy battleship is constantly launching mobile suits out like laying eggs. So, who will win?

"It's been a long time, Lord Makarius. What a coincidence that we meet here. How about this: although my army has an overwhelming advantage, I am a kind-hearted person and cannot bear to see your father, mother, and friends suffer. So let's each take a step back. You let me go, and I'll let you go. What do you say?"

Mark Bay used the harshest tone to say the most cowardly things in the communications, but strangely enough, not a single Zeon crew member on the bridge objected.

However, amidst the noise of the public channel, all that was heard was laughter.

"Hahaha, as expected of Lieutenant General Mark Bay, so imposing! What if I don't retreat?"

"The future is uncertain. After all, you only have one machine, while our army has over a hundred. Perhaps they can't keep you here, but you can't keep me here either, can you?"

"That's true, then it seems I have no choice?"

Markbe heard Makarius's sneer.

"But why don't you ask me why I'm not launching an attack, instead of just chatting with you here?"

"What do you mean?"

Mark Bay's expression suddenly changed.

"That's because I'm waiting for my teammates!"

"Sir, multiple signals have been detected approaching, and the number is increasing—forty, fifty, sixty..."

However, there was no need for the radar operator to report anymore, because Mark Bay had already seen the rows of Federal Army troops emerging from the darkness in the magnified optical image in front of him.

The Federation mobile suits and warships, still stained with gunpowder and bearing scorch marks from cannon fire, formed a wall in front of Mark Bay. Clearly, they had just emerged from battle, and their positions were naturally handed over to the reserves in the rear. There was no other way; having superior forces meant they could do whatever they wanted.

Just as Markbe was waiting for the Federation forces to split up, Makarius was also waiting for him to split up his forces.

Moreover, as the Federation forces approached the space area, two Gundams appeared between their formations.

"Three Gundams are coming to block your way. I think that's giving you a lot of face, Mr. Mark Bay. So, now, choose: will you obediently lay down your weapons and accept trial in the federal court, or will I just take you out and turn you into a pile of space junk?"

"you……"

Mark Bay's face immediately turned red at a visible speed. He couldn't understand what he had done that was so heinous that the other party would scheme against him like this!

What's most infuriating is that Marcarius snapped his fingers without waiting for him to speak.

"Alright, since you've made up your mind, let's go, brothers!"

Almost as soon as Makarius finished speaking, a barrage of missiles flew toward Mark Bay, accompanied by bright beams of naval gun particles.

"That MA has an i-field, and the generator is located in its chest area. Be careful, don't get ambushed!"

Char was still giving instructions to the other two people in the cockpit when he turned his head and saw that Macarius had finally opened the other side of the Dendrobium Orchid's weapon cabinet.

Then, a series of heavy electromagnetic railguns, which are relatively rare in the Federal Army's arsenal, floated out.

"I already knew that, otherwise why would I have brought this thing with me?"

In the center of the calyx, the RX-78GP03S Stamen Gundam, with its upper body exposed, has firmly grasped an electromagnetic railgun.

"If it weren't for the fact that we need to fight these things, I would have filled the weapons cabinet with rocket launchers!"

"Alright, let's go!"

After distributing weapons to the others, Dendrobium Orchid quickly activated its thrusters and took the lead in attacking Luvi Jelu.

The instant he activated it, a total of five particle cannons located on Luvi Jelu's shoulders and chest unleashed a terrifying torrent of energy at him.

"Ugh, having too many cannons is really scary!"

Markarius clicked his tongue a few times, but without the slightest hesitation, he pulled the engine and quickly began to evade. After making an extremely sharp S-shaped turn, he launched a counterattack without any hesitation.

Then, Dendrobium Orchid's particle cannon blasted straight at Luvi Jeru... and the Gevadan-class behind him!

"I didn't expect it?"

Makarius burst into laughter as the particle beam blasted a large hole in the foredeck of the Gevadan, which was now enveloped in thick smoke. However, it must be said that this behemoth, born from the Gevakin, was worthy of being called. This shot would have been enough to severely damage an ordinary Zeon warship, but it seemed to have had no effect on the Gevadan.

Meanwhile, on the Zeon army's communication channel, someone's furious roar of exasperation rang out once again.

"Go get him! Take him down!"

(End of this chapter)