Gundam: From Piece to Player

Char shook his head. "Unlike you, I can't become a commander after joining the army. If what you say is true, I should continue to hone my MS piloting skills and become an ace as soon as possible to get promoted quickly."

"Then keep up the good work and become an ace pilot."

Karma looked at Char, took an apple out of his bag and handed it to him. Char was confused about what Karma wanted to do and reached out to take it, but Karma pulled his hand back.

"I helped you get into the training brigade, how do you plan to repay me?"

"Hey, aren't we friends? Is this really okay?"

"Okay, promise me one thing."

"Tell me, I can definitely do it." Hearing Karma's tone, Char relaxed, as if the request wasn't difficult.

"After the war breaks out, help me get rid of Gihren."

Chapter 18 Open Cards

Char hadn't expected Karma's request to be like this, and his nerves, which had relaxed from taking a bath, immediately tensed up.

Under Kirian's rule, anyone who dared to say such things in public could be reported directly to the police.

The police would immediately report this to the secret police organization under the SS.

The secret police would transfer these 'disloyal elements' to SS-controlled Prison 66, a prison located next to a military base, specifically for holding political prisoners (Daycans).

However, if these words came from Karma Zabi, a member of the Zabi family by blood, the nature of the statement would be somewhat different.

Xia's smile froze for a moment. What was the young master trying to do?

A showdown? Or, literally, a request for cooperation?

Char wasn't a coward, but he didn't dare to take the risk in this kind of situation.

"Are you kidding me? Garma, Lord Gihren is the greatest leader in the history of Zeon, and also your own brother."

Karma placed the apple in Char's hand and smiled, "Just kidding. This is a test that must be passed to enter the Training Corps. We must ensure that everyone in the Training Corps is loyal to His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief. Your reaction was satisfactory."

Looking at Karma's approachable smile, Char repeatedly reminded himself of this.

Was life at military academy a little too comfortable, causing him to lose his vigilance?

Even if the person in front of you seems harmless, they are still a bastard, and once they decide not to hide it anymore...

Kiren's SS and Kycilia's intelligence agencies would tear him to shreds like hounds that smell blood.

Char walked to the table, touched the mask that the Daken faction had specially made for him, and made up his mind not to take it off easily when he was out.

Karma's request to join the Federation Army was reported by the Federation military supervisor in Side 3 and approved by layers of high-ranking officials before finally arriving in Jabro, the heart of the Federation, after 30 hours.

This underground city fortress, with a diameter of 30 kilometers, is located in the Amazon rainforest of South America. Built using natural caves and rock formations, it integrates a command center, military factory, space dock, and mass accelerator.

It possesses the capability to sustain production activities independently for three years and is considered virtually immune to attack and occupation.

The secretaries of the military command were preparing for the meeting when the door was opened by their entourage. Leading the group was a stout general with a double chin and a broad forehead, holding a cigar—General Gap, who symbolized the highest position a federal soldier could achieve. He held significant influence within the federal government and was also the overall person in charge of logistics, promotions, and personnel matters for the federal army.

Following him was Lieutenant General John Abraham Reibell, Commander-in-Chief of the Union Armed Forces, who sported a thick white beard and was responsible for formulating the Union Army's overall operational strategy and plans.

The generals who took their seats afterward were all lieutenant generals and major generals.

After everyone was seated, Gao Pu, who was sitting in the main seat, put down his cigar and put on his black-rimmed glasses.

"I won't go into details; everyone has already read the intelligence several times before they arrived. Shall we make contact?"

“I suggest making contact so that information can be conveyed and we can make a judgment,” said Lieutenant General Bruce, Commander-in-Chief of the Federal European Command.

Chief of the General Staff Kim Colini began, “I think we can hold the meeting as usual, but we don’t need to send a high-ranking representative.”

"Isn't this too arbitrary?" Lieutenant General Green White, a member of Gough's inner circle and also of British aristocratic lineage, said: "The Zabi family wouldn't break the rules in this kind of matter. If we don't send an important representative, they might not convey the message they were supposed to convey."

Following Green White's statement, most generals expressed their willingness to accept his opinion.

"Rebil, what do you think?"

Gap turned his gaze to Rebil, who had remained silent throughout.

“I suggest that Lieutenant General Tiam, who is currently conducting exercises on the moon, represent our forces, and that a Marine regiment accompany him. If Zeon agrees to allow our fleet to dock at our base port on Side 3, Tiam’s safety can also be guaranteed.”

Rebil's plan was comprehensive, seizing the initiative while also putting the choice back on Zeon's shoulders.

The other generals expressed their agreement, and Gough also confirmed the plan.

After the meeting, Rebil did not leave. Instead, he stood on a nearby observation deck, hands behind his back, watching through the floor-to-ceiling windows as spaceships launched from the mass accelerator.

"John, what are you thinking about?"

Hearing someone call his name, Rebil turned around and saw Gap smoking a cigar. He replied, "I just think Zeon's actions this time are unusual."

"Unusual?"

“Kirlen is straightforward, sometimes even a bit too forceful. This time, he expressed his opinions through informal channels, which is more like the more cunning Zeon Deikun of the past.”

"If it were Deikun, Zeon might be a bit more difficult to deal with?"

“The direction needs to be adjusted.” Rebil shook his head. “Then I would suggest cutting the Federation Army’s military spending and reducing the taxes the government collects from each side.”

“If you put it that way, Deiken is indeed a bit more difficult to deal with. Even if military spending is reduced, it will only go into the pockets of other scoundrels. Only taxes can only increase, not decrease.” General Gap exhaled a smoke ring.

According to Reibill, the Federation is currently facing two major problems.

First, there was corruption; second, there was the independence movement led by Zeon.

He is confident that he can resolve the latter by force during his lifetime.

But Reibir had no confidence in the former.

When Reibald first became a general, he also punished and replaced a number of officers who had accepted bribes, and appointed some young officers to such positions.

However, these newly appointed young officers soon began accepting bribes again.

Such incidents occur frequently within the Federation Army.

Since then, Rebil has distinguished between such phenomena, and he has tolerated those that do not affect combat effectiveness.

Because he knew that other federal government agencies and departments were even more corrupt.

Rebil is now nearly eighty years old, and all he can do is cultivate a group of insightful people in the army and entrust them with the task of reforming the Federation.

On New Year's Day, 78, preparations for the New Year were underway throughout Zeon.

Kalma walked up the central staircase into the school's main hall. Due to the holidays and confidentiality requirements, this was a closed-door defense.

To the right of the steps are a dozen or so Federation Space Force generals who arrived here aboard the Magellan.

Reibir did not come; instead, the Federation was represented by Tiam, the current commander of the Federation Space Forces, who was known as the Federation's most hawkish "fierce general."

The others accompanying them were also a bunch of generals from the Space Force. If we wiped them all out...

The Space Force's command center was on the verge of collapse, but that was just wishful thinking. The Federation's fleet was still stationed there, and the city was less than 1000 kilometers from Zeon's capital, Zum.

Separated from the central seats by the aisle were Zeon officers led by Dozru. Neither group showed any intention of greeting each other, and the hostility in their eyes was undisguised, as if they would kill each other at any opportunity.

The military supervisor shouted "Begin!" Karma took a deep breath, opened the lecture notes on the table, and at the same time, the curtain behind him lit up.

The multimedia content projected is even more astonishing.

"Good evening, esteemed judges. My topic for today's defense is 'An Analysis of Possible Forms of Surprise Attacks in the Zeon War of Independence and the Federation Army's Countermeasures.'"

These words caused a stir among the crowd. The Federation generals began whispering among themselves, and even Tianm, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them.

Kalmar is now about to reveal the Great Britain plan, originally devised by Gihren, ahead of schedule.

This occasion serves as a reminder to the Federal Army, urging them to prepare earlier.

“Wait a minute, Kalmar student, your thesis does not match the provided text at all.”

The federal bald military supervisor stood up as if he had been electrocuted, sweat already beading on his forehead; the tension surrounding this topic was unimaginably high.

Karma gave him an unexpected surprise right from the start.

What he received was, of course, the "all-ages censored version" provided by Kalmar.

"Sorry, there might be a duplicate document uploaded to the hard drive. Please start from page 20," Karma said without changing her expression.

Chapter 19 A Warning to the Federation

“This violates Article 45 of the application guidelines, and I believe this assessment should be terminated—as is customary, if the materials are not provided in accordance with the regulations, I will disqualify you from the assessment.”

"Since you're here, let's listen to the whole thing. There's no need to let everyone come for nothing, is there?"

Tianm's voice was not loud, but it was very penetrating.

“Yes, General,” the military supervisor said hesitantly. “Please continue your explanation, Zabi.”

Thank you all for your understanding.

Suppressing her nervousness, Kalmar activated the multimedia system on the podium, which displayed 3D images of the various sides and the Earth.

Located at L2 point, SIDE3, with its red outposts, naturally represents the Zeon faction, while all the outposts are blue, clearly indicating the Federation.

Kalmar continued his explanation, "As we all know, Blue's industrial strength and population are overwhelmingly inferior to Side's, even greater than the gap between Japan and the United States in the old century."

"This means that whether the first wave of surprise attacks can weaken the Blue Team's war potential is related to whether they can survive and launch a second wave of offensives—there is probably only one way to achieve this strategic objective."

Even though the name of the weapon wasn't mentioned, the expressions of the people on stage all turned serious.

In the animation, two attack arrows branch off from point L2, representing a fleet being dispatched from SIDE3. The SIDE1 and SIDE4 colonial city clusters at point L1 are reduced to wreckage. Meanwhile, another arrow points towards point L4, representing the second fleet heading straight for SIDE2, which is also reduced to wreckage at the same time. SIDE6 at point L4 is neutral, so Kalmar does not mark it with any color.

"Both sides were completely paralyzed after being attacked. At this point, the only information the Blue Team could obtain through the telescope was the following three options after learning that the two sides had suffered devastating damage."

First, they split into two groups and headed towards the destroyed colonies in an attempt to capture the Red Army fleet that destroyed the Side.

The second option is to head towards SIDE5 at point L1, concentrating the fleet to protect the remaining colonial cities as much as possible, while keeping reserves in case the Red Army takes the next step.

The third option is the most aggressive: a direct assault on the Red side's SIDE3, betting that the opponent has no troops on their home turf. This is also an option.

"If this were a sandbox game where capturing the capital would end the battle, the Blue team would probably gather all its fleet forces and charge straight at the Red team's headquarters, but that would mean completely abandoning its defensive duties, so that's impossible. The first option seems a bit deliberate and rigid. In order to continue the simulation, I have the Blue team adopt the second approach."

“The Red Team gained the upper hand, and then they chose to select a colony on Side 2, install a nuclear engine and refuel it,” Kalmar said. “They used a lunar gravity slingshot to accelerate the colony and then used it as a massive weapon to smash it directly into the Blue Team’s headquarters in South America, thereby destroying the Federation’s command center.”

A brief silence fell, the air thick with the tension of solidified cement.

Upon realizing what Karma was saying, the Federation generals below erupted in uproar.

"brute."