"Can you hear me, Gundam pilot?"
While firing the nozzles of the extra parachute pack on his back to brake for his final descent, Eli also sent a transmission to the Gundam.
"This is Eli Li, commander of Kojima Company, 86 Squad, Far East Front Independent Mechanized Regiment. I've been ordered to provide support!"
The cargo-handling system on the backpack detached the cargo container from the parachute pack and dropped it straight onto the deck.
"Th-this is... I'm..."
Seated in the Gundam's cockpit, the boy named Amuro—one day to become a legendary pilot, and now a rising star—stared blankly at the four "Gundams" that had just landed before him.
Hearing the other party introduce himself, Amuro opened his mouth, then realized he had no idea how to introduce himself in return.
He wasn't a soldier. Was he supposed to tell them the name of his school?
"This is White Base Team. I'm Ensign Bright Noa, the captain. We're extremely grateful for your support!"
Bright, who was on the bridge of the White Base, answered the call on Amuro's behalf.
"An ensign? On a ship this big?"
Karen, already firing her 100mm Machine Gun in a sweep across the sea, turned her head in surprise.
A warship this large should have a captain who was at least a field-grade officer.
What was more, Bright's voice sounded far too young, nothing like the steady voice she would have expected from a captain.
"I heard the White Base was crewed by a makeshift team. Guess the rumor was true."
Sanders wasn't surprised. He fired a dense volley from the 6-Tube Missile Launcher in his hands toward the sea.
"Come to think of it, I'd heard that rumor too, before we landed. They say the Gundam pilot is just a kid."
Shiro Amada fired his Rocket Launcher, joining Sanders and Karen in holding back a Z'Gok.
Unfortunately, the Z'Gok managed to escape by diving underwater.
"I'm not a kid!"
An angry voice came from the Gundam.
"Ah, isn't that..."
"Enough. Focus on the battle. Amuro, how about you? Can you fight?"
Shiro had been about to say something, but Eli immediately cut him off.
"How do you know my name?"
On the screen, he saw a Gundam Ground Type moving to the other side of the deck, firing its Cannon at another Z'Gok. Amuro couldn't help speaking up.
Damn, I let that slip.
Eli glanced out of the corner of his eye at the unmistakable "RX-78-2 Gundam."
Just looking at that face made it hard for him to keep his composure.
But he quickly covered his tracks.
"Of course I know. The White Meteor of the Federation is famous, after all. Your Beam Rifle must be out of energy, right? There's one of the Beam Rifles we use in the Weapon Container over there. Your Mobile Suit should be able to use it too."
Amuro blushed slightly at Eli calling him the "White Meteor of the Federation." Then, when he heard about the Weapon Container, he realized that he was on a battlefield and that his weapon had run out of power.
Amuro turned the Gundam's head and saw a rectangular cargo container hanging beneath the fifth parachute.
It was the standard Weapon Container for the Gundam Ground Type.
Amuro approached it, and Eli remotely opened the container.
The ammunition and spare parts inside came into view.
But Amuro's eyes were quickly drawn to the Beam Rifle lying inside.
He could tell that it had been simplified compared to the Beam Rifle in his own Mobile Suit's hands.
"A mass-produced Gundam..."
Only then did Amuro finally process everything that had happened and realize that the Gundam before him was a mass-produced model.
He felt a little envious, and his emotions grew complicated all at once.
Still, for the moment, he reached out and controlled his Mobile Suit to pick up the Beam Rifle.
The chip in the Gundam's palm slid into the Beam Rifle's grip, giving the Mobile Suit the data for the Gundam Ground Type's Beam Rifle.
"They reduced the particle output and energy capacity..."
After glancing at the parameters on the cockpit screen, Amuro immediately reached a conclusion.
He got the Gundam to its feet and raised the Beam Rifle.
Then he walked over beside Eli's Gundam Ground Type.
He raised the weapon and fired!
"Vwoom!"
The pink beam struck the surface of the sea, sending up a huge column of water.
Unfortunately, the shot still missed.
"Whoa..."
But the shot made Eli's eye twitch.
It wasn't because Amuro had missed. It was because of the Gundam's performance!
The Gundam Ground Type had been assembled using so-called non-standard parts, but even so, it was still a high-performance Mobile Suit.
Yet the simple way the Gundam had just raised its gun was enough to make Eli realize the difference between the two machines.
To make a comparison, it was like the difference between an ordinary soldier and a special forces operative. It might be hard to tell from their appearance, but the Gundam's superior mobility and control were undeniable!
And to pilot such a responsive machine, Amuro's skill went without saying.
"So this is a Newtype..."
Eli murmured to himself.
"Hey, I missed again!"
Amuro shouted over the comms in frustration.
In the meantime, he had fired three or four more shots.
Every one of them had missed.
Amuro was baffled. In his previous battles, he rarely missed a shot.
He knew perfectly well that it wasn't because the enemy was moving too fast.
His instincts were rarely wrong. He had fired just as they told him to, so why hadn't he hit?
"Your aim's off. Shoot below the image you see."
Eli, who had now recognized Amuro's astonishing talent as a Mobile Suit pilot, called out to him.
After looking at the trajectory of Amuro's shots, he understood why the famous White Devil—no, White Meteor—kept missing.
"Below?"
Amuro paused, but as a science-minded boy, he immediately understood the reason.
The refraction of light at the water's surface meant that the object he saw wasn't actually where it appeared to be.
Once he understood, Amuro fired three shots in quick succession.
The first two passed on either side of the Z'Gok, but the third hit it squarely!
However, the beam, formed by compressing Minovsky Particles, dissipated in the water and slowed down, striking the Z'Gok in the leg.
"Bang!"
Just as the Z'Gok was beginning to think it had gotten away, a 180mm shell punched straight through its cockpit.
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