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

Chapter 349 A little scare won't hurt
"Brigadier General, this is all O'Sullivan's doing!"

Mark Bay’s good friend, Sindman, didn’t even need Makarius to speak. After being taken into the interrogation room by the gendarmes, he began to pour out all the bad things he had done.

Perhaps fearing being taken over by the military intelligence agency, he spoke very thoroughly, even revealing that he had embezzled funds from Anaheim, withheld workers' subsidies, and kept a female student from the Grenada Lunar City Art University.

"Damn it, you dare to mess with twin sisters? You scum!"

Makarius didn't want to make a move, but he couldn't contain his anger, so he punched Sindeman into a pulp.

“We will hand over these incriminating statements to the Lunar Merchants Association. Now, we’ll settle accounts for your collusion with the remnants of the Federation and your betrayal of the Union!”

"That's right, I colluded with the remnants of the Communist Party, so, sir, please make sure to lock me up in a military prison, and please don't send me to the moon to serve my sentence!"

Are you afraid to go to the moon?

"If I went to the moon, I wouldn't survive a week in a Grenada prison!"

Sindeman looked bitter; his good days were now completely over.

"That depends on what the judge says. So, spend some time reflecting on what you'll say in court! If you can't convince them, you're really doomed!"

Marcarius felt no sympathy for the guy whatsoever; in fact, as he left, he wanted to punch him again.

"Commander, the fleet resupply is complete, but Dendrobium needs some maintenance. Should Rose Life set sail with us?"

"No need, there's no need to turn this thing on. Just turn on my main unit!"

Marcarius still remembered what King had said: hijacking a colony was no small matter, and he would definitely deal with it, but how to deal with it required careful study of the details.

Since the Sima fleet was not going to directly hijack the satellite and then drop it into Earth orbit, according to Mark Bay's orders, the other side still needed to rendezvous on the mid-route from the moon to Earth. Therefore, Sima could be given some time to let the news of the satellite hijacking spread within the Federal Parliament.

After all, if you keep crying wolf, people will get tired of it. If the members of parliament don't experience the pain caused by the remnants from time to time, they'll start to have too much free time and start to think wildly. After all, when humans think, God laughs, and when the members of the federal parliament start to think, they're bound to do something crazy.

Now that they know the remnants are going to smash a satellite into their heads again, they don't have time to think about such things anymore. The most important thing is to figure out what other benefits the Federation can get.

As a seasoned mobile suit enthusiast, Markarius naturally has many mobile suits he wants to study. If Dendrobium, nicknamed "Big Refrigerator," was his introduction to large mobile suits, then Gundam TR-6 Silver Thunder was his later pursuit.

In another timeline, the TR series mobile suits were developed by the Titans, but the project's results benefited other factions, such as the remnants of Zeon on Mars and anti-Titans organizations like the AEUG.

In terms of definition, Silver Thunder has even surpassed the concepts of mobile suits or mobile armor, evolving into a strategic weapon similar to a nuclear bomb. If classified according to the definition of Ace Combat, then Silver Thunder is a giant military bird.

Although not a warmonger, Makarius just wanted to build this thing.

Subsequently, the strike battle group underwent a streamlining, dividing the fleet into two groups. One group remained in place, led by Char and Amuro, to continue clearing the battlefield and to be responsible for the subsequent prisoner escort mission.

Meanwhile, another fleet in better condition, led by Macarius, began its journey toward the moon.

Meanwhile, when the Macarius fleet set off, the lunar cities on the moon were in chaos.

The colony satellite hijacked by Sima was not a federal order, but rather Anaheim Electronics' own. They intended to use it to build their own industrial satellites, so they asked the Colony Commune to build it.

Of course, this logic might be a bit confusing, since Sima is a remnant of Zeon that is in cahoots with Anaheim. If we were to draw a line in the relationship, it would be that the Zeon remnants supported by Anaheim hijacked Anaheim's satellite with Anaheim's cooperation.

But in reality, this logic makes sense. After all, no one else knew about their cooperative relationship. So Anaheim soon became a clear victim, not only able to stand on the moral high ground and condemn the colonial commune for taking money and not doing good deeds, but also to kneel down and kowtow like a dog, and even get some benefits from the Federation.

The problem is that only a very small number of people know the reason behind it. Most Anaheim employees and civilians in the lunar city are completely unaware of it. All they know is that Zeon remnants have inexplicably hijacked a colony satellite parked in a blank space not far from the moon, and now, these two giant sticks are moving slowly, accompanied by the Zeon fleet.

Knowing that the Zeon fleet was preparing to rendezvous with friendly forces, those who didn't would think that Zeon was planning to drop another satellite onto the moon. Now, von Braun's terminal building was packed with people, and the thresholds of those who owned private spaceships were practically worn down.

As for the Federation's lunar garrison fleet, that was an even bigger headache. The Zeon fleet was tightly surrounding the colonies, making it impossible for them to fire. After all, those were two colonies that were almost completed. They could just lay a floor inside, add some water and soil, and move in immediately. There was really no consensus among the higher-ups on whether to destroy them or recapture them while preserving their structure as much as possible.

As for the so-called superiors, they were naturally the Federal Council. After the Sima Fleet ruthlessly suppressed the unfortunate colony personnel with force, the gentlemen of the Federal Council were dragged out of bed by bodyguards and secretaries and stuffed into cars. The group of yawning old men instantly woke up when they heard that two satellites had been hijacked.

After learning the movement trajectories of the two satellites, a fierce debate naturally erupted in the council. Members of the council who were associated with the Lunar Merchants Association strongly opposed directly destroying the colony satellites. After all, these were their dividends and investments. A colony satellite was a super-modern metropolis with economic benefits that were not to be underestimated.

The Earth councilors naturally clamored for destruction, bombing, and bombing, ordering the Federation Forces to deploy the First Fleet and Birmingham to mobilize, and for the near-Earth orbit defense system to be immediately loaded with nuclear weapons. There was no other way; everyone was genuinely afraid!

At this moment, no one blamed the Federation Army. After all, the Federation Army had done everything it could. The orbital defense fleet had entered a state of high alert. If the enemy dared to approach, it would naturally use all means to intercept them. The lunar fleet was protecting the lunar city on one hand, and on the other hand, it had to be on guard against the Sima fleet.

As for the other Federation fleets, there was no need to deploy them. After all, everything was under control for the Federation headquarters. Moreover, the current dispute in the parliament was already part of everyone's plan.

How much longer until Markarius arrives?

"About two hours!"

"They could argue for another two hours, but I really didn't expect Anaheim to be so deeply involved with the remnants!"

"It's good that it's deep. If it weren't deep, how could the Federation have the courage to clean up the wounds? These lunar merchants have been stirring things up since before the One Year War started. Now, it's time to settle the score!"

"But completely destroying Anaheim won't be so easy!" "Then let's start by pruning its branches! If we can't finish, there's the next generation. If the next generation fails, there's the next generation. Five years, ten years, by then we'll have reclaimed the Jupiter Sphere. How can we not handle Anaheim?"

"But speaking of which, shouldn't we be submitting that plan by now?"

"But parliament might not approve it!"

"They will!"

Rebil, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

"Although there are many fools in Parliament, at least the Shadow Cabinet is clear-headed. Now that the Federal Army is back on the right track, it's time for some adjustments to be made within the Federal Government!"

"Then, I can begin the preliminary preparations!"

The next to speak was Gop, known to outsiders as General Gopher because he stayed at the Gablo base throughout the One Year War without ever moving, hence the name. However, Gop didn't care about this derogatory nickname.

The preparations he mentioned were naturally the preliminary preparations for the expedition. Makarius's strike battle group had already demonstrated the improved combat effectiveness of the Federation fleet after the military reforms. Therefore, the Federation should naturally move on to the next stage of its objectives: to eliminate Mars, which had fallen due to the One Year War, the Jupiter Sphere, which was only superficially aligned with Earth, and the Zeon remnants entrenched in Axis.

As for the first target, it was naturally Mars, the closest planet to Earth. After being occupied by Zeon during the One Year War, this territory became a thorn in the side of the Earth Federation.

Currently, this place still serves as a relay station for the remnants of Zeon to continuously infiltrate Earth and a reserve resource supply base for the remnants of Axis. Taking Mars would cut off Axis's lifeline.

Most importantly, Mars is also an excellent relay and supply point for those heading to the Jupiter sphere. Arcadia gained a great reputation for this during its past expansion. Taking Mars would be entirely beneficial to the Federation's subsequent strategy!
Taking Mars is easy, but deploying a large army is not so simple. To ensure its combat effectiveness, the ratio of supply fleet to fleet combat ships in Marcarius's strike battle group is close to one to two. The resources required for a large fleet expedition are even more numerous. Moreover, considering communication, personnel morale, and other aspects, it would take at least a year and a half to complete the preparations!

Therefore, supplies must be prepared before troops can move. Even if the battle plan has not been submitted, the necessary preparations must still be made. Once the plan is approved, time will be extremely tight.

Thinking of this, Gop suddenly sighed.

"Damn it, I suddenly don't want to be the logistics minister anymore!"

Rebil couldn't help but smile. His resignation was imminent. It could be said that, thanks to Markarius's presence, Rebil's resume as Commander-in-Chief of the Federation Army was practically perfect. Winning the total war and promoting military reforms—just for these two points alone, his prestige was enough to run for the Federation President.

Promoting the expedition was naturally the last thing he could do for the Federation Army; as for what happened afterward, that was none of his business.

"So, old man Jin, whether I can make a perfect farewell depends on your good grandson!"

"Don't worry, old man, that guy won't let you down!"

Kinklini smiled and picked up his cup, taking a sip of the fragrant black tea. Rebil said this because the next commander-in-chief of the Federation Army had been decided, and it was Kinklini, the chief of staff of the Federation Army. As the successor, he naturally wanted to let his predecessor leave in a grand manner so that the tradition could be passed on. After all, he would also step down one day.

Soon, the Federal Army Command received the latest news from the front lines.

"Brigadier General Makarius Skriny's strike group is approaching lunar space!"

"Then let the show begin!"

As the fleet commanded by Marcarius was about to arrive at the designated rendezvous point of Marcobe, the Sima fleet had already led its two colonies out of lunar space and was on its way as fast as it could.

"Damn it, why hasn't that son of a bitch Mark Bay made a move yet? And how long is that damned Federation fleet going to follow us?"

Beside the hijacked colony, in a slightly old Zanzibar-class cruiser, Simakarahou was pacing anxiously back and forth.

Since they separated, the Macbeth fleet seemed to have vanished into thin air, without a trace. While it's normal to be unable to contact them due to the distance, the problem is that the Federation forces have also remained completely silent.

Even after they hijacked the colony satellite, the Federation's lunar garrison fleet was less powerful than them. It was more of a reconnaissance mission than a counterattack. Now, those ships were keeping a great distance, like idiots crashing behind the Sima fleet.

This unusual tranquility unsettled Sima, like the calm before a storm, or the low pressure before a tempest, making it hard to breathe.

"Big sister, how about I lead the brothers and drive them away?"

Seeing Sima's impatience, the Zion officer standing nearby immediately stepped forward and volunteered to fight.

"No, it's best not to split up our forces. As long as we keep a close watch on these two satellites, the Federal Army won't be able to do anything to us for the time being, unless they don't want these two satellites anymore! The most urgent thing now is to get to the designated location and meet up with Mark Bay. This is a hot potato; the sooner we hand it over to him, the safer we will be!"

"Understood!"

Just as uneasy as the Sima Fleet, the Federation Council was also in an uproar. After the forward fleet reported that the Zeon fleet had turned towards Earth, the councilors were in complete turmoil. Even though they knew that the Zeon wanted to drop the satellite and still had to get past the orbital fleet, their anxiety was still evident on their faces.

"Damn it, what is Gabro doing? What is our fleet doing? Do they really want the Zeon to lose their satellites again?"

Some members of parliament who usually like to oppose the federal army have even started to speculate that perhaps they have offended the military too much and are now being used as pawns to kill the enemy.

However, they absolutely could not afford to run away at such a moment. So, for the sake of their political lives, they could only continue to sit in this oppressive atmosphere. But many people had already fixed their gaze on the door to the side.

Because whatever news comes in later will come from there!

(End of this chapter)