Gundam: From Piece to Player

Even if a task is completed perfectly, the credit usually goes to the leader.

During the New Federation's invasion of Side 4, the New Federation demonstrated its overwhelming dominance over the Federation forces.

At the same time, the new federation also offered a deal: as long as one actively adapts to the situation (surrenders), one can retain their original position while receiving a certain promotion.

After assessing the disparity in strength, rather than be crushed by the New Federation's army, Io took the opportunity to lead his troops in a rebellion.

He was promoted from lieutenant to captain, and during the operation to advance on Loum, Io, who was interested in testing the new Federation's reward and punishment mechanism, seriously carried out a mission and captured a Federation Gundam.

Thanks to this achievement, his rank was promoted to major, but his position also changed, and he became a battalion commander... This achievement was not taken by his new superior, Brigadier General Shiko, and the captured mechs could be used indefinitely.

The wind made Io sneeze, and he turned to his familiar colleague and friend Connie and asked:

Do you have any tissues?

"for you."

"I heard this mission will be very difficult."

"It's just another Abaoquan. Last time, Zeon survived because of Char Aznable's Newtype forces, but this time it won't be the same."

The car stopped outside the military command center, and Io quickened his pace.

As soon as he entered the conference room, a group of officers and lieutenants stood around the sand table. The meeting had already begun. Io took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to him and also mingled into the group.

"Late?" Colonel Yazan had clearly noticed him; he too was standing on the periphery of the crowd.

"I just finished a training mission and was delayed," Io offered an excuse, but Yazan shook his head.

"Let me give you some advice, kid: don't lie to the New Humans."

“The Zeon army is skilled in fortress warfare… therefore, we don’t need to launch a direct assault; we need to outsmart them,” Shiko’s voice said. “We can launch the attack when the internal signal is given.”

"Internal signal... what does that mean?" Io asked in a low voice.

"We captured a Zeon warship during our patrol operations on the perimeter. There happened to be a Newtype on board who surrendered to us... But we didn't let him return. Instead, he continued to infiltrate the Zeon army. He will be assigned to the Solomon Fortress. Who he is will definitely be kept secret."

"How can we ensure his loyalty after he returns to Zeon?"

"He suffered a lot of grievances in Zeon during this time and was also very unhappy with Char. We promised him that after he wins, he can serve as the vice president of the Side 3 Newtype Association."

“The Trojan horse tactic is really effective.” Io recalled the Federation military textbooks he had read. There were many such examples. Mark Bay used it once in the Battle of Odessa, Kalmar used it once in the Federation, and the Federation Expeditionary Force also tried to do it... but they were not good at it and were directly countered.

Unless absolutely necessary, a commander with a sound mind would not attack a fortress.

In particular, the new Federation will not only have to face the Zeonians and fight the Astronauts, but may also have the old Federation as a weather unit.

"Major Io Fleming!" Brigadier General Shiko shouted.

"Here!" Io was startled, but still instinctively stood at attention.

"I'm giving you a chance to make a great contribution!"

Io suddenly had a bad feeling, wondering if it was because he was late that this task fell to him.

We need to assemble a special task force to sabotage Zeon's satellite weapon located on Side 3, and your Gundam happens to possess the characteristics of high speed and sniping, making it capable of accomplishing this mission.

"Yes, I guarantee the mission will be completed."

Not to mention, Io licked his dry lips.

To be honest, this task is quite challenging.

--

Several mobile suit units are patrolling the perimeter of the Solar Ray solar laser cannon in the Republic of Zeon.

"Captain Daryl, do you know how much power this thing consumes to fire once?" Billy asked.

"How many?"

"Equivalent to the colony's total annual electricity generation."

"There are quite a lot."

"Yes, quite a lot."

Billy Hickam was speechless. Routine patrol duties were arguably the most boring, and his partner was just as boring.

Billy is not a Newtype, but an enhanced human from the Flanagan Organization.

If the enhanced humans from the Murasame Research Institute are highly aggressive and easily become uncontrollable, then the enhanced humans from the Flanagan Institute, as pioneers in New Human research, are different.

While not known for its strength, the Flanagan Institute's reinforcements highlight a characteristic of being universally applicable and highly stable.

Enhanced individuals must be soldiers, while volunteers also receive substantial subsidies. Of course, there are also nobles from good families who still aspire to become superhumans.

The current captain of the Republic's enhanced human team is Mashwen—this guy is very stable. Although his behavior can be quite abstract at times, this is more due to his personality than to excessive enhancement.

Captain Daryl is not an enhanced human; Billy considers him merely a rigid, old-fashioned man.

During the Principality of Zeon, having lost his father at a young age, he chose to join the army in order to help his mother and sister obtain residency in Zeon.

He was sent to fight in Britain with General Kalmar during the One Year War. Although the situation was advantageous at the time, by the time he was sent there, the high-intensity war in the early stages had almost ended... He was sent there to work as an atmosphere group.

Then came the Odessa counterattack, which was Daryl's closest brush with death. In the fierce street fighting, a bullet passed through his shoulder, thankfully only through – and he lay there for the rest of the war.

When he returned home, it was the Republic of Zeon. Since he didn't have any decent skills other than shooting, he could only stay in the army. However, he did learn how to pilot mobile suits—it turned out he had a talent for piloting.

He could have become an MS instructor in two more years... but now the war has broken out again, and there is a shortage of manpower everywhere, so he has no choice but to go to the front line again to continue fighting.

Just as Billy was inwardly criticizing this guy, he suddenly felt a tingling sensation on his forehead.

"Enemy tracks detected!"

"position."

“N area 16, 356, 472,” Billy quickly reported.

Daryl, piloting the Drayson, immediately turned the Mega Particle Enhanced Rifle around and unleashed a Mega Particle Cannon sniper shot in that direction... without a second thought.

Such MS teams, composed of enhanced humans and veteran elites, are not uncommon in Zeon and have achieved good results in exercises.

If it's a friendly force, there will be a trigger lock, while the only force capable of firing a beam is the enemy.

The Mega Particle Cannon hit its target, but was bounced off; it was a red butterfly-shaped machine... and the data comparison results startled him.

This indicates that it is a type of aircraft belonging to the Space Alliance, an allied force.

Chapter 321 Pre-Battle Reconnaissance

The red machine that was hit did not stop or seek revenge, but instead circled around the Solar Ray laser cannon.

They were moving so fast that they couldn't keep up.

This year, "18-year-old" Xima glanced at her "hometown" and a voice echoed in her mind.

"Aunt Sima, your hometown is now protecting the Republic."

The other person kept calling her that, and Sima almost gave up on correcting her.

"Are you trying to make me angry, kid? This is your own father's handiwork."

"But that's clearly how it is, and the Republic still uses it."

The laser was flashing, clearly a communication request sent by the local patrol force after comparing the aircraft model.

Sima hesitated for a moment but still pressed the answer button.

"Hello, I'm so sorry for the accidental attack earlier. May I ask which friendly unit it belongs to..."

"Hill Kara, belonging to the 4th Mobile Fleet Special MS Squadron of the Space Alliance, is on a reconnaissance mission. You need to change to the latest joint operations identification code."

woman?

Billy, who was on the same communication channel, wanted to find out more information about the other party, but a barrier prevented him from seeing anything but a thin layer of mist.

After giving a brief reply, the strange machine spewed out blue flames and disappeared into space.

"The Space Alliance's mechs are so cool... The Commander-in-Chief's taste is really terrible," Billy muttered.

“Lieutenant Billy, please watch your words.” Daryl was like some kind of conventional machine, reminding him to follow the rules, but he was in the right, and Billy had no way to deal with it.

"Yes, yes, I understand,"

After a two-hour patrol, the two greeted the next escort team that was arriving and then flew toward the nearby Military Colony No. 66... ​​This abandoned colony had been converted into a fortress, also to provide a place for nearby troops stationed on the mainland to rest.

The mission was over, and Captain Daryl picked up his Walkman and put on his headphones... He seemed to be a music lover, but he never shared his hobby with anyone.

Billy refrained from asking about the music, as the Zeon national anthem was playing on the television nearby, drawing his attention.

On the screen, Commander-in-Chief Char is reviewing troops in the square. Billy checks the time; it's time for the parade. After the parade, the troops will head to Solomon or Abaoa to reinforce their defenses.

The Commander-in-Chief doesn't particularly like giving speeches at times like this, and his speeches aren't as inspiring as those of Commander-in-Chief Kiran, but he always keeps his word. The Newtypes... those are the real deal.

But he was just a fake.

If a battle breaks out, can I hold them off?

Billy could only think this way to relieve the pressure of the battle.

.

During the speech, Elubi put down a specially made brainwave filter, and Karma was beside her.

I didn't come here to meet anyone; I just wanted to check on the defense work here.

To prevent attacks, the Zeon Newtype forces are also carrying out routine defense work... presumably during the One Year War, a Newtype survey of all eligible citizens was conducted.

Intelligence indicates that there are 500 NEW-TYPEs aged 15-30, making them the second largest group of new humans among all factions except the New Federation, in addition to the enhanced human forces that serve as a supplement.

If this force could remain completely loyal to the Republic of Zeon, it would be an extremely difficult opponent. However, information was readily available in this era, and after learning about the New Federation's New Human policy—

The new recruits who later joined the military all realized a possibility.

Fighting to the death is not the only option; surrendering is indeed an option, or rather, a good one.

What can the Republic of Zeon promise regarding NEW-TYPE?

They also acknowledged political and status privileges... Although they copied many policies, the Zeon Newtypes felt that the political forces in the country were still opposed to handing the country over to psychics.

Among the national leaders, conglomerates, and frontline generals of the New Federation, the New Humans hold absolute sway.

Although Zeon has Nanai as the head of the Newtype Institute, she can basically only participate in Newtype-related matters.

In order to monitor potential defections, the Newtype forces can only be infiltrated with enhanced human inspectors... but the Newtypes generally don't care for these fakes.