Chapter 156: Never Activate the Mobile Suit While Drunk
"Whoa, so this is what an aquatic-type suit looks like."
Once the Albion docked, the White Chaser's blockade was lifted, allowing crew members to disembark.
Kou Uraki immediately dragged Gis over to the Albion to check out the new equipment—the Gundam.
Kou Uraki crouched right by the GP01's feet, thoroughly examining it up and down.
"Both shoulders are fitted with aquatic-use thrusters and vertical-launch fish torpedo tubes, plus a dedicated missile launcher. So this unit's approach is to overwhelm with sheer numbers?"
He voiced his speculation as he closely inspected the unit.
This was clearly a different route from Zeon's powerful aquatic mobile suits. Zeon's machines were all about brute force—stuffing in oversized engines and beam cannons that took advantage of better underwater cooling.
"Oh my, I didn't expect Lieutenant Uraki to be so knowledgeable about mechanics."
A gentle female voice sounded in Uraki's ear.
He turned and saw a woman who looked familiar, but he couldn't quite recall her name.
"Sorry… you are?"
"How rude… and here I even remembered your name. I'm Nina, the designer of this Gundam—so remember it properly!"
Looking at the slightly dumbfounded man in front of her, Nina couldn't help but get a little worked up.
"Sorry, I'm not very good with names."
Uraki scratched the back of his head, unsure how to respond to Nina's annoyance. He turned back to studying the Gundam, feeling more at ease that way.
"What's going on, Miss Nina? Did this brat make you angry?"
Monsha suddenly jumped in from the side, puffing up his chest as he stepped forward to shield Nina and block Uraki's view of the Gundam.
"Hey! That's my unit, don't go ogling it."
He gave Uraki a shove on the shoulder, knocking him off balance and sending him tumbling into Gis's arms.
"Lieutenant! Why are you always so rough?"
Seeing that Monsha still intended to do more, Nina quickly ran up in her heels and crouched down to help Uraki up.
"Miss Nina!"
Monsha shouted dramatically.
"I'm the Gundam's pilot, okay? That's me!"
"To be honest, I think Lieutenant Uraki might be even more suited to piloting a Gundam than you are!"
To Monsha's surprise, Nina said it bluntly, then turned and walked off with Uraki in tow.
This left Eli, who had just returned to the ship and witnessed the entire scene, feeling rather awkward.
Hopefully that pure-hearted kid won't get taken in by a manipulative woman.
Thinking about Nina's sudden personality shift in the original story, Eli couldn't help but sigh again—her own Sayla was so much better.
But thinking of Nina inevitably brought her mind to Gato.
Eli didn't know whether there was any connection between Nina and Gato, but her focus shifted back to Gato regardless.
Right now, the situation in space was still extremely unstable. Ever since AEUG was formed, several anti-Federation groups had sprung up, launching activities within the colonies under the banner of "expanding space-dweller rights."
Many of these involved violent actions.
In response, Titans had officially declared that arresting anti-Federation personnel now fell within their jurisdiction, and began expanding their presence throughout the colonies.
That was the advantage of having independent investigative authority—unlike the Revil faction, which couldn't just send operatives into colonies under the guise of official deployment.
But putting that aside, let's return to Gato.
Eli believed that even though the world had changed somewhat, Operation Stardust would still take place.
On the surface, it appeared to be an act of revenge, but its true purpose was to expose the Federation's treaty violations (via the GP02) and destroy Earth's agricultural zones to stir up anti-Federation sentiment and bolster the position of space-dwellers.
That made it deeply relevant to the current anti-Federation movements. Eli was certain that Delaz would realize this as well.
Because of that, Eli had submitted multiple requests urging General Revil to send troops to the Delaz Fleet's presumed base in the Debris Belt.
Unfortunately, they had yet to uncover any trace of the Delaz Fleet.
As a fallback, Eli requested that General Revil prioritize bolstering the defenses around the colonies scheduled for relocation.
In any case, Gato was bound to make a move—because the nuclear warhead was currently in Eli's hands.
Meanwhile, the White Base had to head back into space to participate in the upcoming New Year's fleet review, where the Albion and the Gundam would be among the main attractions.
The only question was, how exactly did Gato plan to seize the warhead from Eli?
——
"Propulsion system normal. Next, we'll test the sonar system. Target is in position!"
Nina's pleasant voice came through the comms, but Monsha was feeling moody and silently carried out her instructions.
No matter what, being told in front of everyone that Uraki might be more suited to pilot the Gundam than him—Monsha was pissed.
Soon, the sonar locked onto the target, and Monsha immediately fired a barrage of missiles from the aquatic launcher and shoulder-mounted torpedo tubes, unleashing a dense volley at the target.
"Please use the beam rifle."
He retracted the missile launcher and drew the specially-modified underwater beam rifle from his lower back, firing a precise shot.
"Program complete. Please return to standby. Aquatic-type Gundam, good job."
The GP01 completed a series of tactical objectives first, followed by the aquatic-type Gundam, which carried out the same sequence under Nina's guidance.
The idea was to compare the combat efficiency of both units.
Unsurprisingly, the GP01 came out on top.
But that wasn't exactly fair—it was a brand-new machine, while the aquatic-type Gundam was an old warhorse from the One Year War.
"Well done. Both of you may return."
Upon receiving the message, Monsha nodded and piloted his suit back, while the aquatic-type Gundam returned to a naval aircraft carrier.
Unusually quiet, Monsha said nothing as he disembarked, silently removing his helmet and walking down the corridor.
Even with Uraki still lingering around, watching the test, Monsha didn't so much as glance in his direction.
Nina, who had hoped to ask about the pilot's experience, was left a bit stunned.
"What's up with him?"
She asked Mora, who was standing nearby.
"Who knows? Men, right?"
Mora shrugged, unconcerned.
Nina dropped the thought and focused back on the inspection.
Meanwhile, Monsha returned to his room still seething, and pulled out a treasured bottle of liquor.
This WILD HAWK brandy from Italy was his favorite.
"What the hell… I completed the test properly, didn't I? And she still said that crap!"
He took a long swig and slammed his fist on the desk.
Another deep drink, and he started feeling his eyelids droop.
But he didn't bother fighting it. The next test wasn't until tomorrow—no harm in sleeping it off.
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