Chapter 154 – The Cement Pile Shakes the Soul
"Hey, hey, hey! Major, if this keeps up, you're gonna lose!"
Near the Augusta Base's Mobile Suit testing grounds, two Gundams were locked in a high-speed chase.
There was no doubt—it was a pursuit between the official GP01 and GP04.
Of course, the firearms they were using were loaded with paint rounds.
The basic performance tests for both Gundams had already been completed in space. Their descent to Earth was for the purpose of testing their combat performance under gravity, given their design as general-purpose units.
So right from the start, it had been a series of mock combat trials.
"GP01 operating normally! Though the thruster nozzles could still use some adjustment."
As an Anaheim engineer, Nina kept a constant eye on GP01's performance.
Adjustments under gravity turned out to be quite different from what she, an engineer who had lived her entire life on the Moon, had imagined.
"GP04 is also functioning properly."
On the other side, GP04's performance was being monitored by Istha, a technician assigned to the White Chaser.
Perhaps due to the chief engineer being a former Zeon member, Istha seemed rather apprehensive about being posted to this Zeon-hunting unit.
Compared to the few minor issues GP01 was showing, GP04 was in top condition.
Having worked closely with Eli over the past two years, Istha was already intimately familiar with the pilot's operation style and the adjustments needed for MS performance under gravity.
God knows how many nights Istha had spent burning the midnight oil when first assigned to the White Chaser, testing all sorts of equipment sent from Yashima.
That experience had given Istha the edge to fine-tune GP04 to perfection.
Putting the technical side aside, on the field, GP01 was currently chasing down GP04.
But that didn't mean Eli was at a disadvantage—despite maintaining a constant pursuit, Monsha still hadn't landed a single hit.
Growing agitated, he barked out that earlier threat.
Not that it had any effect on Eli. Instead, after dodging another volley of bullets, he darted into the shadow of a hillside. The thrusters on his backpack suddenly flared, and the entire suit rocketed skyward with a powerful thrust!
"You're not getting away!"
Refusing to back down, Monsha immediately activated his unit, and after a brief charge, launched it into the air to chase after GP04!
But as he broke past the hillside's line of sight and locked eyes on GP04 again, he realized the enemy was already facing him.
And the gun was aimed directly at him.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Accuracy wasn't great in midair, but under Eli's control, even after three missed shots, he made the correction. A massive splash of red paint exploded directly in front of GP01's cockpit.
After two weeks of mock battles, the score now stood at 8 to 0.
Without exception, Monsha had lost every time.
The two Gundams landed separately, awaiting instructions from the central control.
"Rotational performance is excellent. Nicely done, Istha."
Eli reviewed the data from inside his cockpit.
Thanks to the twin thrusters on its shoulders, GP04 could still execute impressive rotational maneuvers even on Earth.
It was precisely that capability that allowed Eli to pivot midair, raise his gun, and take down GP01.
Of course, that's not to say GP01 wasn't a good unit—Monsha was a skilled pilot in his own right. He just couldn't gain the upper hand against Eli.
Monsha himself wasn't upset by this. At most, he was frustrated.
Losing to Eli wasn't something to be ashamed of.
"Well~ this basically wraps up the first stage of testing, doesn't it?"
It was now mid-October. Both units had proven their combat reliability under Earth's gravity.
Technically speaking, they could now move on to space trials.
However, GP01 still had an external equipment set that needed testing, so after today's trial, everything would be loaded up and moved to the California Base.
"Lieutenant Monsha, please stop charging in so recklessly—we still have test items left to complete!"
Although Eli had been seemingly dodging nonstop in the GP04, he'd actually been using the fight to sneak in some stress tests.
Monsha, who had been too focused on chasing, hadn't completed his.
So Eli had already begun piloting his unit back, while Monsha and the Anaheim team still had more testing to do.
Which made Nina once again reaffirm something: she really hated that arrogant bastard!
"Aw, c'mon, Miss Nina, don't be like that!"
Monsha complained as he began maneuvering GP01 for further testing.
Though he'd been goaded into behaving more professionally during work hours after Captain Burning had shamed him last time, at heart, he was still the same guy—still ranked number one on the base's "absolutely undateable" list among the female staff.
As she looked at the frivolous Monsha, an image floated into Nina's mind unbidden.
That youthful face—what set it apart was the seriousness and sense of aspiration that others lacked.
Kou Uraki—that was his name, wasn't it?
He might not have Monsha's level of piloting skill, but Nina felt he was far more suited to be a Gundam pilot.
She didn't know why, but she had that feeling.
"Achoo!"
Kou Uraki suddenly sneezed. He sniffled and rubbed his nose.
"I told you, once we got back to North America you needed to dress warmer! It's winter here, winter!"
Looking like he'd seen better days, Gis stood beside Kou, his expression not great.
When he heard Kou had volunteered for the mopping-up operation, Gis had even tried to beat him to the punch to tag along.
Usually timid and soft-spoken, he was the type to truly step up when his friends were in trouble.
This Zeon remnant group they were chasing included not just three Zaku units, but also a number of light-armored vehicles and even a Magella Tank survivor.
Given that, Arcadia made sure the team surrounded the enemy tightly to prevent any escapes, instructed everyone else not to act rashly, and personally led Kou and Gis into combat.
But what surprised Arcadia was that, aside from being suppressed by enemy fire at first, once he took down a single Zaku to open a window of opportunity, Kou acted without hesitation—he leapt into the air.
His GM Custom, machine gun in the left hand, rocket launcher in the right, flipped backwards out of the mountain trench he'd been using as cover. The moment he landed, he ignited his boosters again to jump skyward!
While spraying machine-gun fire, he seized the perfect timing to launch the rocket.
With that one jump, Kou downed two enemies in one go!
Arcadia was left dumbfounded in his cockpit as he piloted his Light Armor G-line, stabbing the last Zaku through with a beam saber.
Dude, what kind of monster physique do you have?
As for the Magella Tank, Gis destroyed it with a crushing head-on strike.
But because of that, Gis witnessed a severed human limb being flung onto one of the remaining Jeeps.
Even so, the remaining Zeon remnants, despite losing all their armored units, still tried to counterattack. After three failed attempts to get them to surrender, Arcadia dealt with them decisively.
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