Shiro Bound by Gravity

"Rat-tat-tat-tat..."

A dense, dull sound quickly reached the special operations squad.

Having approached the defensive line where both sides were engaged, they encountered enemy units almost immediately.

"So close..."

Eli, who had been fighting in this area for nearly three months, immediately recognized the sound of Zaku machine gun fire.

This meant that at least one Zaku had already broken through the defensive line.

"Halt. We cannot push forward blindly; we must confirm the enemy's position first. Eledore!"

Eli immediately adjusted the angle of his unit, brought it to a half-crouch, and shut off the Gundam Ground Type's searchlight.

Karen, with her rich jungle experience, and Sanders, a veteran soldier, followed Eli's orders instantly, ceasing their advance.

Shiro Amada, however, who was effectively conducting his first ground-based MS combat, took a few more steps forward before finally crouching down.

It was currently night, and with the high concentration of Minovsky particles in the air, the squad's radio communications had been severed. They were forced to rely on laser-based directional communication, let alone trying to contact friendly forces ahead for intelligence.

"Understood."

Eledore, operating the Hover Truck, responded skillfully. He steered the truck sideways to a stop in an open area.

The turbine fans replacing the wheels ceased rotation, gently lowering the truck's main body to the ground.

Immediately after, a mechanical arm extended.

As the internal high-pressure gas was released, a probe was firmly driven into the soil.

Possessing an unparalleled talent for acoustics, Eledore quickly distinguished the situation through sound wave analysis.

"Two o'clock direction, three units, Zaku!"

Eledore relayed the intelligence in extremely concise language.

"Good, it's not the worst-case scenario."

Hearing this, Eli breathed a sigh of relief.

Since it was only a Zaku squad and not a large force, their four units could easily take them down.

"Right! Then I'll take the lead!"

Before Eli could voice the plan he had already conceived, Shiro Amada had already maneuvered his unit forward.

"Hey!"

Karen, accustomed to taking orders from Eli, instinctively started to retort.

"Karen, you and I will coordinate with the Captain. Sergeant Sanders, assemble the cannon and stand by!"

Eli's tactical command cut in before Karen could finish.

Only then did Karen remember that in this special operations squad, the highest command authority belonged to Second Lieutenant Shiro Amada.

"Tch, rushing to his death the moment he takes office."

Eli and Karen's units moved out, creeping forward from both flanks in a stealthy formation.

Karen understood that Shiro Amada intended to use himself as bait to create an opening for them to attack.

Yet, seeing Shiro's unit brazenly switch on its searchlight and head straight toward the Zaku squad, she couldn't help but think it was foolish.

Although Shiro Amada did have a record of successfully trading a Ball for a Zaku Custom Type, how much of his ability could this captain, who had arrived on Earth for the first time, actually display on this gravity-laden land?

Karen worried as she kept glancing toward Shiro's direction.

Sure enough, the three Zakus quickly discovered the Gundam piloted by Shiro.

The three Zakus opened fire without hesitation, shells slamming into the ground near the Gundam Ground Type.

This could not damage the Gundam's Lunar Titanium Alloy armor.

However, the impact from the rocket explosions hitting the Gundam Ground Type's legs made the pilot's control significantly more difficult.

This was the countermeasure the Zeon Forces front line had developed against these high-performance Gundam units after long periods of combat!

Shiro Amada was already unaccustomed to combat in a gravity environment, and now, facing such a perilous situation, he felt the control stick in his hands growing increasingly heavy.

The Gundam Ground Type stumbled a few times, hit a small mound, and the entire unit tipped over!

The fatal part was that the Gundam Ground Type was now only thirty meters away from the nearest Zaku.

By MS standards, this was practically right in front of them!

Sure enough, that Zaku pilot ignored the possibility of other units, drew a Heat Hawk from its back, and lunged forward!

This was a Gundam-type MS; even now, the number of them shot down by the Zeon Forces was few and far between.

If he could destroy it, it would surely be a great achievement. His mother, still living on Side 6, would likely be able to avoid heavy taxes and live in a better house because of it!

The Zaku pilot thought this as he staked everything on his Heat Hawk.

Shiro Amada, on the other hand, felt his hands and feet go cold in the face of this situation; even if he tried his best to make the Gundam Ground Type stand up, he knew he wouldn't be fast enough to beat the Zaku's charge.

"Gotcha!"

"It's over!"

No matter how much fear of death gripped his heart, or even though he had already shouted words of resignation.

Shiro Amada was not the kind of man to give up just like that; even with his posture unstable, he fired the 100mm machine gun in his hands, relying on his instincts to operate the mobile suit.

Regrettably, how could such a hasty attack possibly halt the Zaku's advance?

The dense spray of bullets only managed to strike the dirt to the side.

However, this was Shiro Amada, the man who had scored a kill using a Ball.

He corrected his trajectory in an instant, shifting the right arm of his Gundam Ground Type to the left.

As luck would have it, this movement allowed a single bullet to pierce straight through the power conduit at the back of the Zaku's knee.

The Zaku's right knee joint instantly lost power, and its lower leg went limp.

The Zaku couldn't help but stumble and freeze in place for a moment.

But fortunately, the distance between the two was already close enough that no further approach was needed; the Zaku only needed to swing its axe to cut Shiro Amada down on the spot.

"Bang!"

The next instant, the Zaku was struck directly by a 180mm shell and collapsed on the spot, a massive hole blown through its chest armor, exposing the cockpit within.

Though, it would be better not to look inside that cockpit...

"Wha..."

Shiro Amada stared in disbelief at the fallen Zaku before him.

"Don't just stand there, get back on your feet immediately!"

Eli's voice came through, and Shiro Amada couldn't help but look toward the direction of Eli's unit.

He saw that the Gundam Ground Type piloted by Eli had appeared, at some point, on the flank of the remaining two Zakus.

Together with Karen on the other side, they had the Zakus surrounded.

"Stand up, let's finish them off together!"

"Eli..."

Shiro Amada stared blankly at Eli's Gundam.

Eli was not annoyed by Shiro Amada's reckless behavior.

08th MS Team had once been his favorite Gundam work, and he understood Shiro Amada's character well enough.

What's more, it wasn't that Shiro Amada lacked the ability to serve as a vanguard; he was simply held back by the shackles of gravity.

Inside his own cockpit, Eli steadily locked his crosshairs onto the enemy unit, thinking this to himself.