Go Find Halberton

Xu De fell silent, deep in thought.

Earlier, Revil had wanted to recruit him.

But now they had lost a space station, and the Alliance's strength in space had been depleted by more than half.

Not to mention the appearance of the Neutron Jammer.

Even Revil himself probably had no idea where he would end up in the future,

so he likely had little interest in recruiting Xu De anymore.

Rather than recruitment, it seemed he merely wanted to build a good relationship with him and earn some goodwill.

And perhaps Xu De could seize this opportunity to persuade Revil to take his people away from the Third Fleet.

"I'm not sure yet, but I want to try piloting one of these machines."

Xu De turned to look at the massive Ginn.

The Ginn might be powerful now, but in a year or two, it would be outdated.

He had to keep up with the times.

"Natural-borns can't pilot these things."

"And some people up top are strongly prejudiced against Mobile Suits."

Revil said with a frown, though his tone remained measured.

Revil was a soldier. To him, the Ginn was just a weapon—a weapon for killing and winning battles.

But those Blue Cosmos fanatics up top wouldn't see it that way.

Xu De replied, "I know, but now that a new jamming weapon has appeared, future battles will return to visual range."

"In that regard, Mobile Suits will always have a major advantage."

"Hmm..."

Xu De watched Revil ponder the matter before him, feeling a little nervous.

He wasn't sure whether Revil had heard that Halberton wanted to develop a Gundam.

If he could get Revil to introduce him, that would be ideal.

If not, he would have to look for another chance to meet Halberton on the moon.

With his record of capturing one Ginn and shooting down another, he should be qualified to meet him.

His value might not be all that high yet, but Halberton was only a rear admiral, not the overall commander of the moon. Xu De's credentials should be enough to get him in the door.

As Xu De watched Revil, keeping his expression calm despite his nerves, the man finally spoke.

"I understand what you're after."

"But with nothing to your name besides capturing a Ginn, even if the people up top are considering putting Mobile Suits into service, I'm afraid..."

Facing Revil's stern expression, Xu De let out a breath of relief.

He hadn't rejected him outright, which meant there was still a chance.

Xu De continued, "There's also a solo Ginn kill recorded in the black box."

"Hmm, well, that..."

"What!?!?"

Revil's voice was so loud that, for a moment, it drowned out the commotion around them.

The lieutenant colonel's calm composure vanished, replaced by utter astonishment.

His eyes widened as he stared intently at Xu De.

He'd assumed Xu De had gotten separated during the collapse of the World Tree and then captured a Ginn.

That alone would have been astonishing.

Now Xu De was telling him that he'd shot down a Ginn on his own before capturing one?

Were Ginns growing on trees?

"Y-you're sure?"

Revil's voice trembled.

If it was true, then Xu De was worth far more than he'd imagined—much, much more.

"Yes," Xu De said.

"If that's the case... then this might actually work!"

Revil grew excited at his words.

Xu De had shot down two Ginns by himself.

There weren't any specific tallies yet, but judging by what Revil had seen on the battlefield, Xu De might even have been one of the most decorated soldiers in the battle.

Flying a Mistral alone, taking down even one Ginn was a tremendous challenge. There was a huge difference.

As far as Revil knew, no one had ever shot down three Ginns without support.

"Though it was partly a matter of luck."

Seeing how excited Revil was, Xu De felt a genuine twinge of embarrassment and modestly downplayed his achievement.

"The pilot on the other side panicked and gave me an opening. My Linear Cannon happened to hit the reactor inside his engine."

"Maybe there was something wrong with that Ginn."

Xu De gave a brief explanation.

With production ramped up for the war, the Ginn's quality control might have been worse than he'd expected.

"Even so, you were the one who seized the opportunity!"

As he spoke, Revil turned and strode away.

"Come with me. We'll take a shuttle to the Menelaus first."

There was a reason for his haste.

After all, Xu De wasn't one of their own.

If the wrong people found out, they might very well bury Xu De's record.

Blue Cosmos was absolutely capable of something that despicable.

At most, they'd give Xu De some compensation. With him already under their command, it would be hard for him to fight back.

In this situation, the quickest move was to find the strategist before word of Xu De's achievement got out.

A talent like him was worth going the extra mile to help.

Besides, after the battle just now, Revil's direct superior was gone.

So were the connections he'd spent years cultivating. He needed to find a way forward for himself, too.

Halberton was a good option.

Amid the chaos, Xu De and Revil soon arrived aboard the Menelaus.

It was also Halberton's flagship.

"Revil, what are you doing here?"

At the sight of them, a middle-aged man with the same rank as Revil, a lieutenant colonel in the Eighth Fleet and around his age, walked over.

They were in a small room where pilots could prepare. No one else was there.

The lieutenant colonel wore a displeased expression.

Of course, after the defeat they'd just suffered, nobody here looked happy.

"Cook, I have something to report to the admiral."

At that, the lieutenant colonel called Cook looked at Xu De and said coolly, "You brought a corporal with you?"

"Yes. It's important."

Cook was probably one of Halberton's trusted men. Otherwise, even though they held the same rank, Revil likely wouldn't have been so polite.

Xu De stood at attention, observing them. His expression remained stern, as if their conversation had nothing to do with him.

"The admiral's still in a meeting. You know what things are like right now, don't you?"

"It's not just the Operations Department. The entire command, even the decision-makers, are in chaos."

Cook shook his head, no longer bothering to look at a mere corporal.

Xu De understood why the people at the top were so frantic.

This wasn't just about losing a battle.

Earth wasn't united. If they mishandled this, they wouldn't just lose face—the people at home, and even other countries, might stop listening to them.

For Xu De, though, this was an opportunity.

The Atlantic was desperate to win back a victory and show its strength, so the Gundam project would be moved forward.

But the money would have to come from somewhere. The Merchants of Death would probably make a hefty profit off the people—and off their own soldiers—later.

The country was bound to plunge into another period of turmoil.

If he couldn't become a Gundam pilot, his future would be difficult.

Xu De had thought through all this, but only a short while had passed.

After hearing Cook out, Revil asked, "How much longer before the admiral can see us?"

"I don't know. I suggest you leave for now."

"Uh..."

Faced with Cook's callous response, Revil was at a loss.

Given the state of the Third Fleet, with their superior gone, it was clearly a tall order to expect Cook to treat them courteously.

Just then, the door to the preparation room opened.

A cool breeze blew through as air flowed between the room and the corridor, and a young woman's voice reached Xu De.

"Uncle~ Have you found that corporal named Xu De?"

The young woman was lovely, her curvaceous figure accentuated by her form-fitting flight suit beneath long, dark brown hair.

Her voice was sweet and playful, almost as if she were flirting. She didn't sound like a soldier speaking to a superior at all.

Then again, it wasn't normal for a soldier to call her superior "Uncle."

Xu De observed her without showing it, already guessing who she might be.