Gundam: From Piece to Player

But that's just a thought. If he didn't invest in this project, and things followed the technology tree, that thing wouldn't be available for another twenty or thirty years.

"Of course I'm not planning to wait. If I want to catch a big fish, I need to add some bait."

Gundam took a sphere out of the weapon cabinet and threw it into the distance.

Unlike the previous buoy, this ball sank heavily below the surface of the water.

The calm water surface immediately began to ripple, and huge waves appeared on Kalmar's detection display.

Fusion reactors in this era are actually just as noisy, it's just that we don't notice it because there's no medium in the universe.

On the submarine, sonar operator Bean quickly reported loudly.

"Noise was detected at 35 degrees to port, 12 kilometers away. It is the noise from the nuclear fusion reactor in operation."

"Are you sure?" the first mate asked.

"Yes."

"The general actually jumped into the water in his MS to capture us... no, or maybe some other aircraft that can land on water?"

"Should we approach?" The first mate turned to Hartmann.

Hartmann didn't respond, but stood on the suspended 3D projection map in the command room, clearly still thinking.

Sonar operator Bean continued to report information as he was fulfilling his duties.

"An unusual noise was detected at 12.5 kilometers, 40 degrees to port."

Clearly, the other party hadn't noticed them and was still moving away.

"Turn the rudder 60 degrees to port and dive to a depth of 60 meters."

After Hartmann gave the order, the helmsman immediately turned the rudder and started the engine.

A few seconds later, Kalmar saw a faint sound signature appear on the detection decoration.

"Alice, keep throwing the bait further out, 'create' a moving path."

"Roger that!"

Gundam continued to throw a second "ball" into the distance, creating huge ripples on the water surface even further away.

Because of Alice's precise control over the body's power, she can "project" movement trajectories based on algorithms even without aiming.

He remained completely still.

Sonar operator Bean continued to listen for the source of the unusual sound. He had heard other noises from the Greyhound-class submarines underwater, such as the sound of shaftless pumps and fusion reactors, but he felt that the sound he was listening to now was somewhat intermittent, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

"What's wrong, Bean?" The first mate asked, noticing that he had stopped reporting.

"I just thought the sound was a little strange."

"That must be new equipment, of course it's different from the usual stuff."

Hartmann listened to the first mate's conversation with the sonar operator without interrupting. They were moving toward the "target" and maintained a distance of more than 11 kilometers.

I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Your Excellency did not find them either.

If they continue to avoid battle, it seems that neither side can defeat the other, which should be considered a victory for them.

The anti-submarine aircraft you mentioned is not as powerful as you might imagine.

The next moment, sonar operator Bean screamed in terror.

"Aircraft noise detected at 6 kilometers at a 30-degree angle to port... 5 kilometers... 4 kilometers..."

What's going on? Didn't you just say it was still 11 kilometers away?

The information about the conflict coming from Bean's mouth was a bit too much for Hartman's brain to process. How did the other party get so close to his face all of a sudden? How did they get exposed?

The first mate had already given the order to escape quickly.

"Advance 4, descend to 100 meters!"

The sea hounds immediately stirred up a large amount of water.

The massive energy burst also produced a loud noise that alerted them, but it meant nothing to those who had already been discovered.

However, they were still a step too slow. In front of the Sea Hound, the anti-submarine rocket shot into the water like an arrow.

It exploded right around the greyhound.

Bubbles caused by the explosion.

Even with blank cartridges, the ship's metal hull made a creaking sound due to the impact of the water pressure.

The crew inside the submarine experienced a suffocating feeling akin to death.

Bean took off his listening headphones and covered his ears, the first mate gripped the railing tightly, and Hartman simply closed his eyes.

After a long while, the bubbling sound completely disappeared.

The crew members then realized they were still breathing.

"Surface," Hartmann ordered, removing his sweat-soaked Zeon military cap. "In actual combat, my ship would have been destroyed."

When the Greyhound surfaced and emerged from its deck, the entire crew saw the mobile suits riding on Dede's foot pedals in the sky.

They were holding something that looked like a fishing rod in their hands. Were they fish that had been caught?

Upon seeing them, the mobile suit riding on the Dedda pedal slowly landed on the Greyhound's deck and then knelt on one knee.

General Kalmar, dressed in a general's uniform, stepped out of the cockpit.

The entire crew saluted with awe, feeling that Kalmar was some great figure.

Hartmann even took the initiative to step forward.

"Your Excellency, we have lost completely."

"It's not your fault. What I can do, the Federation's anti-submarine aircraft and anti-submarine helicopters can also do."

Hartmann remained silent.

"But the Sea Hound has advantages in speed and electrical power compared to older submarines. You are all valuable soldiers and officers, and I still don't want to see you lose."

Kalmar turned to Oliver and said, “Next, we will transfer the anti-submarine equipment to the reconnaissance aircraft, MS, and Kau as I did today.”

Oliver nodded.

"Major Hartman."

"exist."

"The training program will include a submarine-launched air defense response exercise. I will lead the development of corresponding submarine-launched tactical missiles and air defense beam weapons. Whether we can gain an advantage in naval warfare depends on you."

This was the first time Hartmann had experienced guidance and support from his superiors, something he had never experienced in his previous fifteen years of military service.

That rumor is not an exaggeration at all.

"Please rest assured, I will do my utmost."

Chapter 46 Yuri

As the Zeon Earth Suppression Force expanded to 200 million, the 101st Airborne Division in Garma was also converted into a training division, guiding militia and armed forces in field training.

But the period only lasted until October. To put it bluntly, the 2 million was just a bunch of line fillers.

After October, the 101st Division will also introduce a large number of new recruits, officially upgrading from a division-level unit to a corps-level unit.

Meanwhile, the original members of the 101st Division will each be promoted one rank: soldiers will become squad leaders, platoon leaders will become company commanders, and regimental commanders will become division commanders. His elite troops will be tasked with the main offensive in the North American campaign and will be renamed the North American Front.

Regarding land warfare weapons... the Magella tank, after Kalma, together with Song Ren, launched a propaganda war in the military, Kalma finally killed the project.

It was changed to the Zeon Type 78 tank, which was designed and developed by Deep Space Industries based on the Federation Type 61 tank.

At the same time, all parts are designed to be modularly assembled, easy to manufacture, and easy to maintain.

They even changed the turret construction process to save time.

This also takes into account that after landing in combat, maintenance personnel can directly repair the captured Federal Type 61 tanks, or directly use the Federal production line to mass-produce tanks.

Of course, there is also an upgraded version of the Type 78 tank, which has a larger hull and will be equipped with a 200mm caliber cannon.

It has reserved installation positions for the [Ragnarok] project equipment, but in order to avoid being captured by the Federation, the equipment will only be installed when the gravity front fights the Federation's main force.

Long-range heavy artillery is very important.

Tanks cannot replace the accuracy, rate of fire, and suppressive power of artillery. Kalmar basically plans to use captured Federation equipment for these, and at most produce some aiming elements.

Another area to focus on is air defense equipment.

In the Minovsky particle environment, although there are proximity fuses with magnetic reactions, each division will be equipped with two dedicated air defense battalions. These air defense battalions will consist of Type 61 chassis-based four-barreled anti-aircraft guns and wheeled chassis-based anti-aircraft guns.

This is also to prevent the federal CAS (ground support aircraft) from arbitrarily "scooping up chips".

The Air Force simply doesn't have the resources to deal with the Kalmar. The Dopp fighter jet has many flaws, but they can only grit their teeth and use it, focusing on intercepting and jamming Federal CAS aircraft.

As for transportation, Kau... actually, this thing is designed quite well, but Karma thinks it's best for him to avoid giving orders about it.

In fact, these tasks related to Zeon's land-based military equipment were handled by other officers, even though Kalma didn't travel through the area.

However, in order to maximize his chances of winning the war, he did not want to delegate this task to others.

Regarding personnel and equipment, Kalma is reviewing an operational report jointly submitted by the delegates – "Investigation into Issues with Operational Equipment for Winter Exercises."

The landing operation may coincide with Earth's winter.

The exercise a few days ago involved lowering the temperature in the colony to -25 degrees Celsius to simulate the impact of extreme cold on tanks, mobile suits, and personnel.

Despite thorough prior planning and preparation, this exercise completely paralyzed the two Marine divisions involved in the training shortly after the start of the battle.

The Type 78 tanks were unable to start their motors due to the low temperatures, and some personnel suffered varying degrees of frostbite, unable to remove their feet from their boots—their sweaters and boots needed to be altered, and the logistics department needed to be notified to expedite the replacement.

……

Having just finished a training exercise, a Type 78 tank was speeding across the muddy ground. A man dressed in a general's uniform was casually sitting against the tank turret, while Song Ren, the deputy commander of the 101st Division, was in the position of the tank commander.

The man asked as soon as Song Ren put down the binoculars hanging around his neck.

"Colonel, how long has your boss been working at this high intensity?"

“Since mid-September, in addition to attending the General Staff’s military affairs meetings, Your Excellency has come to the camp every day.”