Gundam, the Gundam journey of a certain glue guy and his mecha girl.

Raven used the same tactic again, firing Vulcan cannons to restrain Shig while holding the unlit beam saber in his hand.

Kruze, of course, noticed the menacing short sword coming at him.

"Was that an unplanned mass-production prototype that didn't choose to run away but instead came straight for me?"

Kruze quickly switched targets, and Shigu's machine gun spat fire at the short sword.

"El!"

[Received. Taking evasive action and approaching the enemy aircraft.]

The short sword's thruster trailed off at several sharp right angles in the air, causing all of Shigu's shots to miss. Such an exaggerated maneuver surprised even the battle-hardened Kruze.

"Even the Adjusters can't stand this kind of maneuvering. What's wrong with the guy sitting in that MS?"

Seeing that the shot missed, Shigu reloaded his machine gun while retreating, but even Shigu could not easily shake off the short sword at full power.

"Even though it's a rookie piloting it, the acceleration is incredible! Wow, the Earth Forces have really created something outrageous!"

Kruze underestimated the speed of the short sword, and this mistake allowed the short sword to successfully approach Shigu.

Inside the short sword cockpit, Raven's bones creaked, and his vision was turning black. Not wearing a standard uniform, he almost lost consciousness during the continuous high-G maneuvers, but he still struggled to control the short sword and swing the beam sword.

Kruze raised his shield in time to block the beam sword of the short sword, but Raven wasn't the only one piloting the short sword. Taking advantage of the shield blocking his view, El controlled the short sword to kick Shigu in the waist from his blind spot.

"what?"

An unexpected tremor swept through the cockpit of Shigu; a typical recruit wouldn't resort to such an unorthodox tactic. The short sword strike created an opening in Shigu's stance, and Raven seized the opportunity, igniting the beam sword in his other hand and thrusting it towards Shigu's right arm, which was holding a gun.

Although Kruse reacted quickly, straightening his machine and creating distance, the short sword still pierced his right hand, melting both the machine gun and his right hand together with the beam sword.

But Kruze seized the opportunity to manipulate Shig to turn around, like a matador circling around from the side of the short sword's charge to its rear, aiming the Gatling gun under his left-hand shield at the short sword.

"Fall!"

"Oops!"

The Gatling gun barrel under Shigu's shield began to rotate. The short sword's thin rear armor had no chance of withstanding Shigu's fire at this distance, but at that moment, a thick beam of red and white light shot out, forcing Shigu to take evasive action.

This was the support fire launched by the assault team that had just picked up the "Flame God". The 320mm ultra-high-intensity pulse cannon "Flame God" has enough power to sink a warship. Shigu's left arm was destroyed after being grazed by the cannon fire. After destroying Shigu's left arm, the cannon fire did not stop and directly penetrated Heliopolis, making a hole in the outer wall of the colony satellite.

Are all Earth Force mobile suits monsters?

With both arms gone and all his weapons damaged, Kruze seized the opportunity and decisively retreated through the breached outer wall.

"Finally, we made it through..."

Having endured the continuous high-G maneuvers, Raven watched Kruze retreat and finally breathed a sigh of relief before losing consciousness in the cockpit of the short sword.

Chapter 3 Interlude

Raven woke up with a jolt. He looked around and found himself still in the cockpit of the Dagger, but the images on the screens around him had changed, and it seemed that he was in a hangar somewhere.

"You're awake, Raven."

"Where is this?"

Based on the situation, I determined that rendezvous with the Archangel was the safest option, so I landed here.

There's one more thing, Raven, I must apologize to you. Because I failed to anticipate the enemy's movements, you were put in danger. I'm very sorry.

Al's electronic voice was as cold as ever, but Raven could sense a hint of regret in her words.

"The enemy is ZAFT's ace, Rau Rukruze. How could his movements be easily predicted? And we managed to take off one of his arms in our first battle. That's a very impressive achievement."

Raven rubbed his slightly swollen temples.

"By the way, did you memorize Cruze's last maneuver? That's a move you can't get data on in the training field."

[Rest assured, I have compiled the entire battle report with Rau Le Creuset. If I see him again, I will not lose.]

"El, were you always this competitive and unwilling to admit defeat?"

At that moment, Raven caught a glimpse of the assault entering the Archangel's hangar.

Maru boarded the Archangel aboard the Strike, and Kira also brought along several classmates who had not been able to take refuge in time.

On the Archangel's side, Lieutenant Bakiruru led the remaining soldiers and maintenance crew to the hangar. In addition, Captain Mu La Frada, who had previously landed the heavily damaged Mobius Zero, also came to join the rest of the crew.

"Mr. Raven?"

When Raven stepped out of the cockpit of the short sword, the officers, except for Maru, all showed expressions of surprise.

Apart from Mu, who had just arrived in Heliopolis today, everyone else had seen Raven a few times before. That's why they were surprised that Raven, a technician, was piloting a mobile suit. Moreover, he had just exchanged blows with Kruze and survived.

This feeling was like their usually kind neighbor suddenly transforming into a magical girl to save the world, giving them a subtle sense of disparity.

The sense of disparity becomes even stronger when Kira's figure emerges from the cockpit of the Assault.

"Could this so-called 'G Project' be some kind of super robot development project? Why are the pilots either children or some strange people?"

Mu muttered a complaint under his breath, but was immediately glared at by Baki Lulu.

Raven also noticed the blond man in standard uniform and quickly guessed his identity.

“Hello, Captain Mu La Vlada, I’m Raven from the G Project development team, not some weirdo.”

Seeing the hand Raven handed over, Mu gave an awkward smile, muttered to himself "Your ears are really good," and then shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Raven. By the way, have we met before?"

"Even an ordinary researcher like myself has heard of the fame of Endymion's Falcon."

"You flatter me. I'm just a fig leaf pushed out by the big shots."

After a somewhat greasy conversation, Raven looked at the man in front of him and asked a very important question.

"So, who is in charge of this unit now?"

The Archangel is now isolated, lacking in combat power, and its crew is in a state of panic. The old captain who was originally in command has already died in the ZAFT attack. In this extremely unfavorable situation, without even a commander to coordinate the overall situation, it is impossible to fight against ZAFT, let alone lead the entire crew to safety.

"The highest-ranking officers now are Captain Ramias and Captain Mu."

Baki Lulu replied that, by custom, command of the troops should be assumed by the highest-ranking officer.

“I just arrived in Heliopolis today and I’m completely unfamiliar with the situation. I’m no match for being a commander.”

Mu quickly waved his hand, withdrawing from the competition, and the positions of troop commander and captain of the Archangel fell to Maru.

"I...I know."

Maru, who was a technical officer not long ago, obviously did not expect things to develop this way, but considering the current situation, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and take over command.

With that, the most important problem at hand was solved. Although there were still a lot of things to deal with, the Archangel, having found its leader, finally had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief. However, Mu's casual remark instantly made the atmosphere, which had just eased up, tense again.

"Speaking of which, I heard that Natural Man OS is in pretty bad shape, but judging from their performance in the battle just now, are Mr. Raven and that boy Adjusters?"

Mu's words instantly made the soldiers guarding the Earth Force raise their guns in alarm, while Raven frowned and stood protectively in front of Kira.

[Warning: If any further aggressive intent is displayed, this agency will take all necessary measures to protect the pilot's life.]

The short sword standing behind Raven suddenly moved, using its mechanical arm to protect Raven, and the Vulcan cannon on its head began to rotate, emitting a hissing mechanical sound as a show of threat.

"MS has spoken!"

"Is the driver still on board?"

El's actions threw the entire hangar into chaos. Raven patted the mechanical arm that El was protecting in front of him, signaling her to calm down and move the mechanical arm away.

"Captain Mu, these are critical times, and everyone is very tense. You should consider the impact of your words more carefully."

"I was just asking casually, I'm very sorry."

Realizing he had said the wrong thing, Mu was sweating profusely as he hurriedly waved his hands in apology. He never expected that the short sword, which was not being controlled by anyone, would suddenly start moving.

"I am indeed a Coordinator, but Orb is a neutral country, so it's not surprising that there are Coordinators living there, is it?"

Kira spoke somewhat reluctantly.

Not long ago, he was just a student when he was suddenly caught up in the war between the Earth Federation and PLAN. In order to survive, he had to pilot a mobile suit, only to be held at gunpoint. Even a kind-hearted person like Kira couldn't just laugh it off.

“Kira is my student at Heliopolis University of Technology. He is a first-generation Coordinator. Both of his parents are natural persons and have no relation to ZAFT. I can vouch for him.”

Lei Wen added.

"As for why I was able to start MS..."

Raven pointed behind him.

"Right now, all of the short sword's movements are calculated in real-time by my El. Isn't it cute?"

Raven looked up proudly at the short sword standing behind him like a guardian angel, a smile unconsciously creeping onto his lips.

However, Mu was not as relaxed as Raven when facing the pressure of the MS. Looking at the mechanical hand of the short sword that was so close, Mu muttered to himself.

'Cute? Mm? By the way, who is El?'

-----------------

At the same time, the Zaftnaska-class battleship, Vesalius.

"Was Michael really shot down by Earth Forces mobile suits?"

"It's true, I saw it with my own eyes during the retreat. The Earth Force's mobile suits, those mass-produced ones called Daggers, were surprisingly troublesome. Even Captain Cruz's Shig was injured."

"Don't scare me. Last time during the simulation battle, I only lasted a minute in front of Captain Cruze, and that was supposedly because the captain went easy on me."

"It's probably a problem with the machine's performance. The performance of those four G-machines that were stolen is inferior to even the Shigu, let alone King."

"But that kind of maneuver, the pilot should be the adjuster, right? Those natural humans haven't evolved to the point where they can operate MS yet."

"Tch, I hate traitors the most."

The ZAFT pilots whispered amongst themselves as they obeyed orders and headed to the hangar to prepare for the next operation.

Aslan followed quietly behind them, his head down, repeatedly recalling the image of the brown-haired boy in his mind.

'Kira, is that really you?'

Even now, Aslan still can't believe that he and his best friend will meet again on the battlefield.

According to the combat video footage that was transmitted back, Athrun noticed that towards the end of the battle, the Strike's movements became more agile, and it even damaged Captain Cruze's mobile suit.

Aslan's mood darkened when he realized that his old friend might be working for the enemy.

'No, Kira's personality wouldn't allow him to willingly enter the battlefield. He must have been coerced by the Earth Alliance. I have to bring him back.'

Aslan thought this, he slipped into the hangar and secretly boarded the Aegis's cockpit.

Chapter 4 Counterattack

To guard against ZAFT's attack, Raven returned to the cockpit of the Dagger after a short rest.

Because the Naturals OS is not very well completed, Mu, who is a legitimate pilot, can only stay in the CIC as a gunner. The job of piloting mobile suits has to be done by Raven and Kira, two civilians.

Raven didn't have any objections. Piloting a mobile suit had always been one of Raven's dreams. After going through the recruitment process, he put on the standard uniform and returned to the hangar.

Although he was a core member of the G project team, he was not a soldier after all, and in order to reduce unnecessary trouble, the necessary procedures still had to be followed.

As for Kira, Raven persuaded Maru not to force Kira to participate in the battle, but instead let Kira take the remaining boys and girls who were forced to board the Archangel to the Archangel's residential area for refuge.

Although Raven's identity as an instructor was only a cover, Raven felt it was his responsibility to take care of these teenagers and keep them away from the fighting.

Moreover, as an adult, Raven could not convince himself to force a teenager onto the battlefield.

With the Archangel's combat capabilities and Raven's short sword available, there's absolutely no need to force Kira to pilot the assault ship.

Raven remembered that in the original work, the Archangel escaped with the cover of a single assault ship, and Raven was confident that he could do the same.

Of course, Raven didn't trust his skills as a mobile suit pilot, but rather the El he had created himself.

Real-time calculation of machine movements, assisting in target acquisition, and firing correction...

With Al's support, Raven was confident that he would be no less than any enemy.

Moreover, El is not a rigid, mechanical AI, but an electronic life form with complete self-awareness and thinking ability that can learn and grow.

Even if he were to encounter an opponent like Kruze again, Raven was confident that with El's support, he could put up a fight against him.

In preparation for the next battle, Raven equipped his short sword with an empty backpack.

This is a backpack with multiple high-powered thrusters and stabilizers, and it is also equipped with an anti-beam shield, a beam rifle and a beam saber. It has high mobility and can deal with a variety of combat situations.

[Raven, why did you refuse to let that boy become part of the fighting force? It will lower your chances of survival.]