Thor Keni muttered to himself, "All right, I came to this world a little too early.
None of the powerful machines are around yet—no Psycho-Frame, no Spherical Panoramic Cockpit, not even funnels.
There were supposedly funnels late in the 0079 One Year War, but I don't know whether there'll be enough time.
The Gundam RX-78's performance is too poor. Its thrusters still use fuel, and Guncannon and Guntank are even less worth considering.
I really don't know what I'm here for at this point. These 120 days should probably be spent training.
Still, I can't leave empty-handed. According to the novels and manga, there are three Gundam RX-78 units.
I'll grab two RX-78s. At most, I'll keep one as a collectible and dismantle the other for parts."
"Nami, help me check whether the Gundam RX-78 has arrived here yet, and see how many units there are.
Leave RX-78-2 alone for now. Assimilate all the other units first.
Also, leave some New DG Cell nanites outside the colony. Notify me when someone comes to steal them, and I'll take the Gundams away."
"Understood, Master."
"Nami, get me an identity first. Screen the candidates.
Find someone with simple, limited social connections. Preferably a wealthy shut-in. Find him, then let me replace him.
Exclude Amuro Ray. He completely fits the criteria, but he's the protagonist. With limited time, replacing him would be too troublesome."
"At your command, Master."
After Nami's investigation, there really were three Gundam RX-78 units, and all three had identical performance. Other than their armor, the suits had no particularly notable features.
The Core Fighter System was both an advantage and a disadvantage. It made the suit easier to repair and provided an escape option, but it reduced the armor thickness and fuel capacity.
As for power, the ultra-compact thermonuclear reactor generated Minovsky Particles, which could interfere with communications. Mature versions could even be used to generate an I-Field.
But in the SEED world, it would basically be useless. Earth was full of Neutron Jammer devices deployed by ZAFT. What the hell was he supposed to do with that?
If he wanted to use the Gundam RX-78, he would have to wait until Freedom Gundam appeared, then copy its Neutron Jammer Canceller before it could be used.
Unless he replaced the power source with a high-performance battery pack, but then the original setup would be useless anyway.
If he spent New DG Cells to modify the Gundam, he wouldn't dare bring it out before he had sufficient strength.
Once he did bring it out, people might discover it, and he wouldn't have the strength to keep it. That was how the Devil Gundam had been born.
Politics was dark, and the human heart was even less to be underestimated. Everyone had weaknesses, so he had to stay on guard.
(Many of the masked men in the Gundam world were downright sinister, especially Cruze from the SEED world. Of course, Hamtaro was an exception.)
RX-78 Gundam C-Class Mobile Suit HP: 2000 Energy: 380 Mobility: 105 Armor: 800 Terrain Adaptability: Sea C, Land B, Air -, Space B Armor Material: Lunar Titanium Alloy Armaments: Beam Rifle (1200/5); Beam Saber ×2 (1400/8); Hyper Bazooka (1800); Head 60mm Vulcan Gun ×2 (500); Beam Shield --- Guncannon D-Class Mobile Suit HP: 1400 Energy: 240 Mobility: 70 Armor: 800 Terrain Adaptability: Sea -, Land B, Air -, Space B Armor Material: Lunar Titanium Alloy Fixed Armaments: Head 60mm Vulcan Gun ×2 (500); Shoulder 240mm Cannon ×2 (2000); Dedicated Beam Rifle (1200/5) --- Guntank D-Class Mobile Suit HP: 1200 Energy: 220 Mobility: 50 Armor: 700 Terrain Adaptability: Sea -, Land B, Air -, Space B Armor Material: Lunar Titanium Alloy Fixed Armaments: Shoulder 120mm Low-Recoil Propellant Cannon ×2 (1600); Arm 40mm Quad grenade launcher ×2 (900) --- White Base C-Class Battleship HP: 8800 Energy: 620 Mobility: 80 Armor: 800 Terrain Adaptability: Sea -, Land -, Aerial B, Space B Fixed Armaments: 580mm Twin Charged Particle Main Cannon ×1 (3800/60); Twin MEGA Particle Cannon ×2 (2600/40); Twin Anti-Air Machine Gun ×8 (600); Triple Large Anti-Ship Missile Launcher ×8 (1800)
Through Nami, he found a Gundam weapons and equipment researcher named Stark Ning. He was single, had no parents, and no other family.
He was roughly the same height and build, and even had the same blood type.
Under Nami's guidance, Thor Keni staked out his home in advance while he was away.
When Stark Ning returned home that night, Thor Keni directly stunned him with an electric shock gun.
Then he had Nami assimilate Stark Ning's memories and knowledge. He discovered that they were all scientific knowledge related to the manufacture of Mobile Suits and Beam Weapons.
Stark Ning had even participated in the production of the RX-78 Gundam. Thor Keni hadn't expected to hit the jackpot.
He then made Stark Ning disappear without a trace. In any case, Stark Ning might not have survived later on.
Thor Keni might as well put his identity to proper use, disguising himself as Stark Ning.
He blended into the research institute, studying and observing, learning the principles behind Gundams and Beam Weapons, while gaining early access to the three Gundam units.
At the same time, he met the designer of the RX-78 Gundam, the Earth Federation construction engineer Tem Ray—Amuro Ray's father.
Thor Keni found an opportunity to hand Tem Ray his concepts and partial blueprints for additional external armaments for the RX-78 Gundam, asking him to review them.
After gaining Tem Ray's approval, he also designed several external armaments that the RX-78 Gundam had originally possessed.
The Full Armor FA-78-1 Heavy Equipment Form, the green heavy-armored form;
The Full Weapon FA-78-2 Thunderbolt Style Form, the four-shield form from Thunderbolt Domain;
And an original FA-78-3 High-Performance Form.
(It added extra armor to the chest and feet, along with additional thruster nozzles. The backpack armor also received thrusters similar to those of Taurus from Wing Gundam.)
As a result, Tem Ray strongly supported all three sets of external Gundam armament blueprints.
Thor Keni's external Gundam armament concepts and blueprints were put into practical use within two months. At the same time, they somehow built a fourth unit.
Its performance was even slightly better than the original three, and the Core Fighter System was removed, making the suit's internal frame structure sturdier.
Unit 1 remained an unmodified prototype display unit. Unit 2 was equipped with the Full Armor FA-78 form.
Unit 3 used the Full Weapon FA-78 Thunderbolt Style Form, while Unit 4 used the High-Performance Form.
Thor Keni truly couldn't understand the mindset of these scientists. He had only wanted all three units to have armaments, with Unit 2 receiving a high-performance configuration for Tem Ray's son to play with.
Yet they insisted on making a prototype display unit. Still, that was fine. It benefited him—he could take one more Gundam as a collectible.
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