Gundam: From Piece to Player

"Drive them away, keep shining fire control radar on them until they're comfortable, and if that doesn't work, use warning and deterrent fire."

"Yes."

[Urgent report: Military clashes have occurred between the two sides in my country's airspace and our military.]

[Of the three Zeon warships, one was subjected to warning fire from the other side. The Zeon warship subsequently returned warning fire. Both sides have now been driven out of our airspace by our fleet.]

Sitting in the back of the jeep, Kalma watched as news updates scrolled across a large screen in the business district. Below the screen, a number of "anti-war" citizens, who had come to protest the country's "collusion" with Zeon, were holding signs. It was clear that the Federation was willing to spend money on non-governmental organizations to create public opinion.

With the outbreak of war approaching, such military clashes have become commonplace.

Discovering the Federation fleet outside SIDE6 is like encountering enemy soldiers on a border patrol – as long as there's no war, the verbal sparring is harmless. But encountering Federation assassins inside SIDE6 is as unsettling as finding a poisonous spider in your bed.

Fortunately, the diplomatic mission was over, and Karma could return to base camp.

The girl lying in bed turned her gaze toward the door of the intensive care unit, and the door opened the next moment.

"Anna, I've already washed your clothes."

"Thank you, Mom."

Claudia pushed the cart in and closed the door behind her, while the girl took the clothes and went to change behind a curtain.

"Anna, who is Sally Stride?"

"Fake identity."

"I mean... how did you manage to disguise yourself so perfectly?"

“Through some equipment, Claudia’s mother.”

"Did I use the same method when I didn't remember you before?"

"Pretty much." The girl paused in her changing. "If you're uncomfortable, you can yell at me."

The shadow beneath the curtain was slender and thin, leaving Claudia with only heartache; there was no room for blame.

“I’m just worried about you… using one lie to cover up another, playing one person after another. I’m afraid that one day you will lose yourself, Anna.”

“You’re overthinking it, not at all.” The girl’s tone was completely unwavering. “I’ve already taught that Zeon agent who threatened you a lesson.”

"lesson?"

“I sold his personal information on the black market. If he survives, he’s capable; if he doesn’t, he’s unlucky.”

Are you leaving?

"Ah."

Are you in Zeon right now? They're on a state visit.

The girl didn't answer, but pulled back the curtain, revealing that she had changed into the white shirt she had arrived in.

Knowing there was no way to persuade her to stay, Claudia could only say, "Be careful. If things get really dangerous, you can come and live with me in Side 6."

"Mom, please take care of yourself too."

The girl walked up to Claudia and hugged her. The warm embrace finally calmed Claudia's troubled heart.

However, they did not notice that the girl was wearing a silver bracelet on her wrist, with a gemstone embedded in it, which was emitting a faint orange-red light.

The visit finally came to an end, and Kalma returned to Military Colony 83 with the fleet. At this point, Zeon's preparations for war had entered their final stage.

The total strength of the Zeon army has expanded from the original 30 to 200 million, including a large number of police and armed militia members. The final plan is to recruit 800 million soldiers, who will complete their training in the last few months.

Of these, 80% will be handed over to Karma for filling in the gravity front.

This number has far exceeded the original worldline arrangement, and the gravity front needs to gradually shift from a feint attack to the main attack.

Killian asked Karma to chair a strategic meeting on the gravity front, clearly indicating that he was being put in charge of the overall war on Earth.

Karma also gained a deeper understanding of the military capabilities of the Zeon generals.

These aliens were completely ignorant of Earth's geography and even made some basic mistakes.

For example, some staff officers actually made winter clothing plans for November, December, and January when they were making logistics plans, ignoring the differences in latitude and the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

The war simulations were full of wishful thinking; the Federation should really give each of these good-for-nothings a Medal of Freedom and Courage.

So much so that Kalmar would frantically puff on the plans of these incompetent generals and staff officers at every meeting.

"How can elite and armored forces be arbitrarily scattered and distributed among various units? I don't need ordinary divisions to have strong military skills. I don't require them to attack; they just need to know how to hold their positions and defend, to delay the Federal Army's advance. Can you put it more clearly? I only need 30 troops capable of attacking."

"These places are meaningless. Let them go. Do you want to get our army bogged down in counterinsurgency warfare?"

"Remember what the purpose of the gravity front is? It's not to occupy territory or attack fortresses; we want to eliminate the main force of the Federation Army in organized units."

"Which staff officer drew up this battle line? This terrain is all mountainous. How do you plan to solve the logistics problem?"

"Or are you planning to have our transport ships airdrop supplies from outside the atmosphere? Go ask Lieutenant General Dozru if he's willing to send a fleet to escort them?"

Because he was an Earthling before his time travel, Karma's understanding of Earth's seasons and geography far surpasses that of all professional soldiers in Zeon. As a World War II military history enthusiast, he can also readily recall classic battles from past world wars.

He could even question the flawed operational and supply plans devised by military staff until they were speechless, and Karma's verbal battles with the assembled experts were not simply for show.

This is a struggle for the right to speak.

After being questioned, he was able to propose a more perfect battle plan.

Gradually, the industrial conferences involving the gravity front became Kalmar's one-man show.

Kalmar made all the decisions regarding logistics, military equipment, main objectives of each operation, main attack direction, and defensive direction.

Compared to the debate over who is right and who is still arguing, the deduction of the cosmic front and the gravity front only took 20 days and was completed in early July.

And the fact that things went so smoothly was also due to Gihlen's support.

Kilian's strong support for him stemmed not only from Kalma's outstanding performance at the military conference.

Another reason is the Ragnarok project... progressing much faster than expected, and the technical difficulty is not as great as originally anticipated; prototypes have already been produced.

In order to allow Gihren to completely hand over command of the gravity front to himself and avoid remote micromanagement.

Karma invited Gihren to watch a high-level exercise to demonstrate the strength of the 101st Division and the power of the Miracle Weapon.

The opponent has been chosen.

Chapter 35 Marine Corps

On July 30, 1978, with everything ready, Kilian arrived at Colony 83 to observe the actual combat results of the samples.

Kilian seemed to be in a good mood: "Little brother, you did very well at the military conference. Even without this weapon, I think you could easily defeat the disorganized Federation army."

That's where Rebil's role comes in; he can mold this scattered sand into a castle.

“Brother, the soldiers’ execution ability also needs to be considered,” Karma said.

Kilian was used to Kalmar's cautious and skeptical attitude towards the army's combat capabilities; they were now in the exercise command post.

The virtual electronic sand table in the center reflects the combat situation of both sides in the internal fighting within Colony 83 in real time.

The participants and equipment are all equipped with highly sensitive reflectors, which can locate the actual position by laser illumination even when Minovsky particles are scattered.

This allows the exercise command to see the overall battle situation immediately, enabling them to better summarize and identify problems.

The addition of various reconnaissance cameras flying in the air also makes the combat highly entertaining.

This is also one of Kalmar's creations.

He even considered that after the war, he might be able to hold international MS competitions here, and set up casinos, which would surely generate a lot of revenue for the Zeon government.

Returning to the present, the battle had been going on for some time. At this point, the Blue Force, played by the 101st Division, had been divided into three parts, distributed across three high grounds: A, B, and C. Meanwhile, the Red Force had a significant advantage, having infiltrated and surrounded the Blue Force, and had already formed a posture of annihilation.

Ultimately, it was due to the number of participants; at the beginning, the number of red team members was twice that of blue team members.

To demonstrate the power of the Miracle Weapon, Karma even dared to use half of her troops in the battle.

"What's the unit number that plays the role of the Federation Forces?" Kiran asked.

"The 2nd Regiment of the Marine Corps (Division) under the Mobile Assault Force, commanded by Colonel Sima, and the Blue Force is the armored combined arms battalion under the 101st Division led by Colonel Song Ren."

Indeed, with Karma's recent promotion to major general, Song Ren's rank has also risen accordingly.

One rather counterintuitive thing is that Sima and the Marine Corps were already well-known before the One Year War, belonging to "a local force with strong combat capabilities".

"The opponent was well chosen."

Kilian instantly understood Karma's intention.

That's for sure. Most of the Marines' personnel come from the Mahal Colony, which has already planned to convert them into map-wide laser weapons during wartime, and the blueprints have already been completed.

The renovation itself wasn't a big deal, but the Zeon government didn't have a clear plan for the relocation and compensation of the residents of Mahal. In the foreseeable future, the colony's 300 million residents became homeless overnight.

There are historical reasons for choosing this colony. The residents of the Mahal colony migrated from Side 2 in UC0067 to follow Deiken.

After the three colonies of Side 1, Side 2, and Side 4 were expelled from the "space colonies" status by Kilian Zabi for their pro-federal stance and branded as traitors, the Mahal colony became an easy target due to its geographical location, a situation that even the residents of other cities found somewhat schadenfreude in.

The Marines were very unhappy, but even if they wanted to rebel, no one would support them.

But there is a law that can break this situation.

One of Gihren's philosophies is survival of the fittest, the law of the jungle.

If the Marines can defeat elite units like the 101st Division in exercises and prove their strength, then they might have the right to make demands on Killian.

This is why Killian said that Karma was a good opponent.

Two Zaku tanks crouched down, hiding at the junction of high-rise buildings and mountains.

"Big sister, we've discovered another Miligu Peak."

"Hmph, surely it can't be that three places in a row are all bait?" Listening to the communications from his subordinates at headquarters, Sima put away his long-range binoculars. "The 101st Division is indeed worthy of being the fourth young master of the Zabi family's troops; they always get priority in being equipped with new equipment."

Two Type 05 Zaku missiles immediately activated their thrusters and took off, charging towards the valley peak area. As soon as they got close, ground-buried linear missiles rushed towards them.

The purple Sima aircraft evaded most of the missiles, raised its machine gun in mid-air and fired continuously, destroying three head-on and deflecting another with its shoulder armor. The exercise missile hit a nearby building, turning into pink foam.

Meanwhile, Xima's wingman had circled around to the side and used machine guns to destroy the four Type 61 anti-aircraft vehicles one by one, while also taking down the heavy vehicle that was trying to escape.

However, in the next moment, several long-range live-fire sniper shots forced Sima's wingman to retreat as well.

Without a moment's hesitation, Sima charged toward the sniper's position and, a few dozen seconds later, used varying speeds—faster at close range and slower at long range—to win three consecutive close-range gunfights between MS before the enemy could coordinate their attacks.

In the end, they destroyed three Zaku in succession and then retreated calmly.

Although her squadron (9 mobile suits) was completely lost in the battle, the three decoys set up by Song Ren also failed, and the three tank squadrons that were ambushing the enemy and the six mobile suits that were cooperating with the tank team were also lost.