The Might of Gundam

"Can you hear me, pilot of the Gundam?"

Eli ignited the thrusters of the parachute pack attached to his back to perform a reverse burn, sending a communication to the Gundam while executing his final deceleration.

"This is Eli Li, Captain of 86 Squad, Kojima Battalion, Far East Front Independent Mechanized Regiment. We have arrived under orders to provide support!"

The backpack's container transport system disconnected from the parachute pack, dropping it directly onto the deck.

"This... I am..."

Sitting in the cockpit of the Gundam, the boy named Amuro—a future legendary pilot and a rising star—stared blankly at the four "Gundams" that had just descended before him.

Hearing the self-introduction from the other side, Amuro opened his mouth, yet he did not know how to introduce himself.

He was not a soldier; was he supposed to report his alma mater to them?

"This is the White Base team, commanded by Captain Bright Noa, Ensign. We are deeply grateful for your support!"

It was Bright, inside the bridge of the White Base, who stepped in to handle the communication in Amuro's stead.

"Ensign? Commanding such a large ship?"

Karen, who was already sweeping the sea surface with her 100mm Machine Gun, couldn't help but turn her head in surprise upon hearing this.

For a warship of this size, the captain should at least be a field-grade officer.

Moreover, Bright's voice sounded far too young; it didn't match the steady, composed demeanor one would expect from a captain.

"I'd heard rumors that the White Base was a makeshift crew, but I didn't expect them to be true."

Sanders was not surprised, his 6-Tube Missile Launcher unleashing a dense barrage toward the sea.

"Come to think of it, I heard that rumor too, before we even landed. They say the pilot of that Gundam is just a kid."

Shiro Amada fired his Rocket Launcher, coordinating with Sanders and Karen to restrict the movement of a Z'Gok.

Unfortunately, the Z'Gok ultimately managed to dive and escape.

"I am not a kid!"

At that moment, an angry voice came from the Gundam.

"Ah, isn't this..."

"That's enough, focus on the battle. Amuro, how about you? Are you able to fight?"

Shiro Amada wanted to say something more, but Eli interrupted him immediately.

"How do you know my name?"

Watching the Gundam Ground Type move to the other side of the deck and fire its Cannon repeatedly at another Z'Gok, Amuro asked aloud.

Damn it, I let it slip.

Eli glanced out of the corner of his eye at the truly impressive "RX-78-2 Gundam."

Just looking at that face made it difficult for Eli to restrain himself.

However, he quickly improvised a cover-up.

"Naturally, I know a thing or two about the White Meteor of the Federation. Your Beam Rifle should be out of energy, right? There is a Beam Rifle we use in the Weapon Container over there; your unit should be able to use it as well."

Amuro blushed slightly at Eli's mention of the "White Meteor of the Federation," but upon hearing about the Weapon Container, he realized he was still on the battlefield and his current weapon was useless.

Amuro maneuvered his unit to look over and discovered that the fifth parachute had dropped a rectangular container.

It was the standard-issue Weapon Container for the Gundam Ground Type.

Amuro stepped forward, and Eli remotely operated the container to unfold.

Various ammunition and parts appeared within Amuro's field of vision.

However, Amuro's gaze was quickly drawn to the Beam Rifle lying inside.

He could tell that compared to the Beam Rifle his own unit carried, this one had clearly been simplified.

"A mass-produced version of the Gundam..."

Only then did Amuro finally process the series of events, realizing that what had appeared before him were indeed mass-produced models of the Gundam.

Amuro felt a slight pang of jealousy, his internal emotions suddenly becoming complicated.

Nevertheless, he reached out and operated his unit to pick up the Beam Rifle.

The chip on the Gundam's palm inserted into the handle of the Beam Rifle, allowing the unit to acquire the data for the Gundam Ground Type's version of the rifle.

"They weakened the particle output and energy storage..."

Amuro made the judgment the moment he saw the parameters displayed on his cockpit screen.

Amuro stood his unit up and raised the Beam Rifle.

He walked over to the side of Eli's Gundam Ground Type.

He raised his arm and fired!

"Hum!"

The pink beam struck the surface of the sea, kicking up a massive pillar of water.

Unfortunately, this shot still missed its mark.

"Damn it..."

However, this shot truly made Eli, watching from the side, twitch with disbelief.

He did not react this way because of Amuro's miss, but because of the performance displayed by the Gundam!

The Gundam Ground Type was assembled using so-called non-standard parts, yet even so, it was a machine of considerable high performance.

But the simple way the Gundam raised its rifle just now made Eli realize the difference between the two.

To use an analogy, it was like the gap between an ordinary soldier and a special forces operative. While it might be hard to distinguish them by appearance, in terms of movement performance and limb control, the Gundam's capabilities were undoubtedly superior!

And to be able to pilot such a sensitive machine, Amuro's piloting skills went without saying.

"Is this what a Newtype is..."

Eli muttered to himself.

"Hey, missed again!"

Amuro shouted in frustration over the comms.

In that short span of time, he had fired another three or four shots.

But without exception, they all missed.

This left Amuro very confused; after all, in his usual combat, his shots rarely missed.

He knew for a fact that this was definitely not due to the enemy's movement speed.

His intuition rarely failed him, and he had fired exactly as his intuition told him to, so why?

"You're aiming wrong. You need to fire below the image you see."

At this moment, Eli, having fully recognized just how high Amuro's talent as an MS pilot truly was, spoke up to offer a reminder.

He had looked at the trajectory of Amuro's attacks and immediately understood why this famous White Dev... Meteor was repeatedly missing his shots.

"Below?"

Amuro was slightly stunned, but as a science-minded person, he immediately understood the principle behind it.

The refraction of light by the water's surface meant that the object he was seeing was not in its actual position.

Having figured this out, Amuro didn't waste any words and fired three shots in rapid succession.

The first two shots grazed the sides of the Z'Gok, but the third shot struck the Z'Gok directly!

However, the beam, compressed by Minovsky Particles, dissipated significantly in the water, slowing the projectile down and hitting the Z'Gok in the thigh.

"Bang!"

Just as the Z'Gok was still feeling lucky, a 180mm shell pierced directly through its cockpit.