Gundam: From Piece to Player

"You know this?" Karma was surprised that Song Ren would say this word.

"You must be too busy to notice, but last month, Zmad Corporation finally won the order for the underwater mobile suit Crab. However, because the prototype is not humanoid, the developers gave it the nickname 'Mobile Armor'. For our Earth conquest operation, sea control is essential."

Underwater power.

Kalmar was a bit behind on this, but it wasn't that he ignored it; rather, he was focusing more on the development of underwater submarines.

His Deep Space Industries has also completed the design of a new attack nuclear submarine, named the Sea Hound class. The first ship has been built by the Geonnik shipyard and is being tested at the No. 56 artificial sea colony. In the future, there will be modified submarine carriers that can carry various kinds of aquatic products.

Space battleships have far higher requirements for pressure and impact resistance than submarines, and Kalmar has not relaxed its performance specifications.

This new type of warship will have a maximum diving depth of 2000 meters, can launch various sonar torpedoes, is highly automated, and is particularly noteworthy for being equipped with a modified thermonuclear engine.

This engine will give it far superior maneuverability, stealth, and endurance compared to nuclear fission submarines.

It can achieve a high-speed cruise of 50 knots, and its top speed will reach a terrifying 60 knots.

It will become a true black hole in the ocean.

As for how to transport it to Earth for combat?

It can only be said that we should not underestimate the transportation capacity of this era. Jabro could launch a 5-ton Magellan-class battleship directly into space.

When the time comes, all we need to do is "drop" it down, and a soft landing will be no problem.

As for Zeon's pile of aquatic products, Karma felt there were far too many varieties, and she didn't know why Zeon's designers were so enthusiastic about designing them.

"I haven't paid much attention to the underwater part."

Song Ren naturally had no idea what Karma was thinking and assumed that he wasn't interested in this aspect.

"Zimard Corporation is also currently working on the design and validation of a new MS. They are competing for the next generation. Do you have any ideas?"

"They should be able to secure the order this time..."

Karma thought to herself.

That's not the case, although I don't know what the Zimad Company's machine is called.

However, Galma recognized the mecha that Zeonic had bid for.

MS-07 Tiger, the symbolic machine of Ramba Ral.

"Hopefully, this will also help us get rid of the aftermath of the accident three years ago."

Song Ren was referring to the EMS-04 Zda test aircraft, which disintegrated in mid-air due to engine overheating during its competition with the MS-05 Zaku three years ago, and the test pilot's body could not be found intact.

The bid was lost immediately due to safety concerns, which also had a negative impact on Zimad Company.

“You are very familiar with the situation there.”

“Because I have an old friend who is the development director at Zimad,” Song Ren said. “His team is too focused on performance metrics, which has led to an imbalance in the overall performance of the machine, causing serious problems, and the cost is also out of control.”

“I’m quite interested. If possible, could you ask one of your old friends to contact me when they have some free time? I think Zmad and Deep Space Industries could also discuss cooperation.”

Upon hearing Song Ren mention his connections, Karma immediately became interested.

It's not that I want to poach people, but if I could get two or three Zdas from Zmad for free, that would be great.

As a mass-produced machine, the Zda was undoubtedly substandard.

Inexpensive family cars prioritize cost-cutting measures, saving wherever possible within the performance limits to maximize profits. But if you're going to drive on the racetrack, you'll stop at nothing to win: more powerful, fuel-guzzling engines, lightweight materials regardless of cost, and more advanced driver assistance systems.

The Federation's RX-78 Gundam is a monster created under this design philosophy.

To truly live up to its positioning, you have to treat the Zaku like a speed bump.

For example, Char's ability to race against Amuro's Nissan GTR (RX-78-2) with his modified Toyota AE86 (Red Zaku) already demonstrates that his skills were indeed far superior to Amuro's in the early stages.

Similarly, they wanted to fight against the monsters of the Federation.

Karma needs to find a platform with stronger initial performance to modify and maximize its potential.

Zda has the potential to be a modification platform.

You mean the heat dissipation problem?

Then let's install two sets of heat dissipation and circulation systems.

If there is a potential lack of power, then use two nuclear fusion furnaces to make it a dual-furnace machine.

Then, with a new pair of dual monitors, a V-shaped antenna, and a Citroën face... that's Zeon's Gundam.

In a sense, great effort can produce miracles.

"Since you're interested, I'll help you make an appointment with him."

Chapter 29 Modification Plan

Karma encountered virtually no obstacles when she made her move.

Song Ren's old classmate, Kelly Johnson, was the development director of Zmad. After hearing from his friend that Kalmar wanted to take a few Zmad units that were about to be dismantled for testing, he immediately called the president of Zmad with great excitement.

The president called Kalmar back just an hour later, hoping Kalmar could help with the next phase of the military procurement project.

From the other party's perspective, giving these fixed assets, which were already considered bad debts, to Kalmar as a gift was probably a good way to deal with the situation, since dismantling, sealing, and maintaining them would also cost money.

It's fortunate that in two months, two of these three Zdas will be sent for dismantling and parts recycling, while the remaining one will be permanently sealed as a technical reserve.

The following day, the three Zda prototypes were loaded onto a cargo ship at the Zmad factory and sent to Colony 83 in Kalmar.

Karma looked at the gray Zda with its cross-shaped monocular track from the movable platform.

It features a small, high-thrust-to-weight propulsion unit that uses high-density fuel as a propellant, mounted at an angle on its back.

The thrusters are connected to the rear by a universal joint, which allows for a wide range of nozzle angle changes. This enables high mobility in low-gravity regions and significantly improves propulsion efficiency compared to the Zaku. However, it also brings serious heat dissipation problems.

Hmm, the cooling system needs to be redesigned, or maybe we should transplant the cockpit first... Karma can't contain her urge to go on a wild ride in space.

Just as he was engrossed in his fantasy, he smelled a delicate fragrance and was immediately embraced from behind.

Karma grabbed the restless hand and pulled the attacker into her arms; the mature softness beneath the uniform skirt was alluring.

"Senior, this kind of surprise attack isn't good. I can't control myself forever."

"Then just don't control it."

Meixi is clearly increasingly following her own desires. Karma is a normal man; he hasn't put any shackles on himself. He's just a bit more into rituals.

"Not now, senior."

"A kiss is fine, isn't it?" Meixi clearly wasn't going to let him off the hook.

There's also the theory of breaking down windows and doors.

Seeing that no one was around, Karma had no choice but to agree, and Misaki didn't stand on ceremony with him either.

He had come to a deep understanding of just how much repression the young woman endured on a daily basis.

"Alice told me that your relationship with Miss Sally has made new progress."

You said this right after we kissed?

Karma wiped the unidentified liquid left at the corner of Misaki's mouth with a handkerchief, thinking that Alice was no longer by his side, but that didn't stop the girl from wandering around among the electronic devices she could access every day, collecting information.

"Senior, I like Sally too."

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Misaki waved her hand. “Kalma-kun may inevitably become a womanizer in the future. My requirements are very simple: don’t let other girls affect our relationship. You can’t refuse when I contact you, and even if you have something to do and need to ask for leave, you have to make up for it later.”

"it is good."

What could Karma say? She could only say that Miss Misaki, who was so unconventional in matters of love, was a strange person.

After receiving a satisfactory answer, Misaki shifted her attention slightly away from him and looked at the gray mobile suit.

"What is this?"

"This is the Zida developed by Zimad Company. I want to make this my ride."

"But this isn't work, is it?"

“This is my hobby,” Karma said. “I want to turn Zda into a new Gundam. Would you like to hear about it, senior?”

"Sure, I've been working on a learning computer for MS recently, so I've brushed up on my MS courses. Maybe I can be your advisor."

"This is my design sketch, it's rather rough."

Meixi has been an engineer in Anaheim for so long and is very familiar with large-scale systems engineering, so Kalmar wanted to hear her opinion.

Her slender fingers slid across the screen.

"I don't recommend replacing the power reactor output with two. The original output is already high enough, and the original machine's structural design is for a single engine. Adding a power reactor would require redesigning the machine's structure, affecting its original strength."

The heart of the Zda – the power reactor – has a high output, surpassing the Tiger and matching the GM, reaching 80% of the RX-78's. Considering that this machine is entirely a ballistic machine, the output allocated to high-speed movement will only be stronger.

"Your idea regarding extending the battery's range is good. Are you not planning to incorporate energy weapons in the future?"

"No."

Karma had considered this point. Although energy weapons are powerful, they are also like electric rats. The Sazabi's belly cannon has already shown that high-powered weapons are completely counterproductive in ACE battles. The same applies to I-fields. In an era where energy storage technology has not made a breakthrough, prolonging the time to engage the enemy is also a strategy.

If we wear down the opponent's machine until it can no longer fire beams, then the opponent is just a lamb to the slaughter.

Moreover, the destructive power of live-fire weapons such as large anti-ship sniper rifles (with live ammunition), rocket launchers, and explosive detonators is no less than that of beam weapons.

That's certainly true.

"Hey senior, could we add another power unit to the flight pack, and then embed the flight pack into the fuselage from the back? Wouldn't that avoid the conflict with the original power architecture?"

Karma suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He added an X-shaped flight backpack to the Zda diagram, with a nuclear fusion reactor at the front and nozzles at the four ends. The fuel tanks were encased in the X-shaped support. Compared to the original Zda universal joint nozzle, it was more streamlined and saved the time of twisting.

"A split design?"

"Similar modular designs can further enhance maneuverability, even enabling short-distance flights in the high-gravity environment of the atmosphere. For long-distance flights, you can add another aircraft like a surfboard. In this way, the Zda converts energy into power output through fluid pulses, and the aircraft can carry more electronic equipment, resulting in a qualitative leap in power generation."

Karma then added a hovering flight platform below Zda.

"These are all great designs. How did you come up with them?" Meixi asked, somewhat surprised.

"I watched a lot of robot cartoons when I was a kid."

You can't exactly say it's because you watched "Gundam".

Therefore, when the performance of the machine's parts is inferior to that of the Gundam, we have to find another way to make up for the shortcomings through redundant system design.

"Regarding armor... how about getting a Luna titanium alloy shield?"