Chapter 73: Transfer
Chapter 73: Transfer
After some playful teasing, Christina finally saw what Al was holding in his hand.
"So, Al has reached the age where he's interested in this kind of thing, huh?"
With a smile lingering on her lips, Christina accompanied Al to the commercial district, where they bought a hot dog made with real meat. She chuckled as Al seemed so enamored with a military insignia.
It was a Zeon Sergeant's insignia.
Watching Al slowly finish the entire hot dog, Christina kept her smile, but there was a contemplative look in her eyes.
This insignia—Christina had examined it closely. The craftsmanship wasn't something one could find in a general store.
It seemed… authentic.
Recalling the recent skirmish where a Zeon Zaku had intruded into the colony to battle the Federation forces, Christina felt a wave of deep disgust.
Although she was part of the Federation military, Side 6 was supposed to be a neutral zone.
"Al, where did you get this?"
After much deliberation, Christina crouched down and asked Al.
Having just finished his hot dog, Al was in high spirits. Besides, he had no reason to hide anything from his beloved Christina.
"A Zaku fell in the forest park! I was there at the time, and the pilot was super nice to me. He gave this to me!"
Though the pilot had told him to keep it a secret, Al had clearly been bribed by Christina's hot dog.
"You silly kid! Listen, you must never go to such dangerous places again!"
Christina was slightly angry.
What if Al had encountered one of those fanatical Zeon soldiers?
Zeon was notorious for gassing colonies!
"Hmph! Christina, you're so boring!"
Moments ago, Al had been beaming with joy, but now his expression soured. He grabbed the insignia from Christina's hand and ran off.
Christina wasn't too worried about the little guy getting into trouble.
The colony's security was quite good, and Al was a local kid who knew the area well.
Besides, it was time for her to return to base.
Christina got into her small car and started the engine.
She had decided to recommend to her superiors that the ALEX be relocated ahead of schedule.
Who knew if Zeon had noticed anything?
---
It was the worst-case scenario.
Zeon had launched an attack against the Federation forces in this sector of space.
How many times did they have to be reminded that this was a neutral zone?!
Sitting in a disguised freighter, Christina anxiously watched the battle outside.
Could it be that Zeon had discovered the ALEX transfer operation?
The timing of their arrival—just after the freighter had left the port—was too coincidental.
Through the window, Christina could see GM units flying by, intercepting the Zeon Zaku units approaching the freighter. She felt a surge of frustration.
Their operation was entirely covert, meaning the Federation forces had no obligation to protect them.
Yet the Federation had stationed escorts in front of the freighter, deliberately diverting enemies away from it.
On the other hand, Zeon kept sending mobile suits to scout the freighter, with some even raising their weapons to aim at it.
Fortunately, the Federation garrison in the area was sizable, temporarily holding off the Zeon forces.
But then, Christina noticed something else.
Another freighter of the same model as hers was approaching from the lunar side.
How reckless—crossing the entire battlefield like that.
Through the cockpit window, Christina saw that the freighter's cockpit had been struck by stray fire. The co-pilot was dead, leaving only the main pilot struggling to steer the ship toward the port.
What a pitiful soul caught in the chaos of battle.
Christina felt a twinge of irritation.
She couldn't intervene to help, so all she could do was watch as the other freighter also became a target of Zeon's scrutiny.
Fortunately, the GMs were holding the line, saving the freighter from danger several times.
Just as the battlefront began to stabilize, an unfamiliar mobile suit suddenly charged into the fray!
Its striking red paint instantly evoked thoughts of Zeon's famous aces like Char and Johnny.
This was the "Brave," a newly mass-produced mobile suit from Zeon!
It was likely a prototype from Granada's advanced production line.
The Brave lived up to its name, downing three GMs upon its arrival.
The Federation's defensive line was forced to contract, leaving the other freighter without protection.
Christina watched as a Zaku rushed toward the freighter!
In such a situation, even if Christina wanted to do something, she was powerless.
There was no way she could deploy the Gundam now!
Closing her eyes, Christina refused to witness the freighter's inevitable destruction.
Zeon was like this—attacking civilian ships without hesitation.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
Suddenly, her co-pilot let out an excited cry.
Christina immediately opened her eyes to see the Zaku near the freighter pierced by a pink beam of light!
"What? Who is it?"
Watching the Zaku drift helplessly away from the freighter before exploding, Christina subconsciously shouted, though she already had a guess.
The Federation's beam weapons were pink, and the scale of the beam wasn't from a ship's cannon.
In an environment dense with Minovsky particles, there was only one possibility for such long-range precision shooting.
"A Gundam!"
Far away, the starlight shimmered.
Three more beams of light shot toward the battlefield!
"Zzz, zzz!"
Two beams targeted the Zakus near Christina, rescuing her from danger once more.
The third beam headed straight for the Brave.
However, the Brave managed to dodge it.
Christina leaned against the window, staring at the direction the beams had come from.
Suddenly, two streaks of blue light burst into view, drawing the attention of everyone on the battlefield!
One of them was a model Christina was all too familiar with—the RX-78-2!
The legendary Gundam, with a single charge, forced the Zeon forces into retreat.
It then engaged the Brave.
The other Gundam, though unfamiliar to Christina, was unmistakably of the same series.
This Gundam wielded a spiked shield in its left hand and gripped a Gatling gun with both hands.
A storm of metal erupted from its weapon, suppressing the Zeon mobile suits and forcing them into a frantic retreat.