"Hey, why isn't the Major saying anything?" Ford Romfellow whispered nervously to his comrade standing beside him, sweat beading on his forehead.
"How should I know?"
"Shut up! When the Major stays silent, that's when it's most terrifying!"
The two responding to Ford Romfellow kept their voices low, afraid others might hear—because... the eight members of the Twelfth Independent Technical Division's Mobile Suit Squad were standing in a neat row, sweating profusely, heads held high and backs straight as pines.
And Yang Hui sat before them, idly flipping through the reports each had submitted.
By now, Yang Hui and the others had landed on Earth. While in space, the nine of them had been scattered across four Columbus-class Transport Ships, making it inconvenient to gather. So...
The review meeting might be delayed, but it would never be absent. Just after landing and securing their base, before they could even rest, Yang Hui had summoned them for this critique session.
The reports Yang Hui was browsing had been written just an hour earlier, with all eight sitting in a row, composing them right in front of him.
Thud!
Yang Hui disdainfully tossed the last report onto the table, glaring sideways at the eight standing at attention.
"Eek!!!" The eight shuddered in unison. They knew things were about to get bad, mentally steeling themselves to endure Yang Hui's wrath.
"I've read all your reports..." Yang Hui stood up and approached the group, his tone deceptively calm—the calm before the storm. "...What kind of bullshit is this!? Huh!? An hour! And you produced this incomprehensible garbage!?"
"You! Yes, you, Ford! Out of all eight reports, yours is the most infuriating! It's just a running account diary with no logic, no reflection—nothing but self-praise! What? Do you think your performance was outstanding!?"
"N-no!"
"And you, Russ! All you did was complain about Ford blocking your line of fire! What about your own problems? As a fire support sniper, if there's no position, can't you find one yourself!? And George! You and Russ are both rear fire support—why were you charging so far forward!? Trying to poke enemies with your shoulder cannons!?"
"Exactly, exactly..."
"Shut up! I haven't gotten to you yet! Why do you keep jumping into your teammates' lines of fire!? Friendly fire doesn't earn you medals—no need to rush into it like it's a sale!"
Snort~
"You three, stop laughing! Fred, later go get a helmet and test how hard your head is! Couldn't you use suppressive fire, close the distance, then charge? Instead of just mindlessly rushing forward! Did you even hit anyone!? Is slashing at air fun!?"
"Not fun!"
"And you two! Travis and Blog! If you can't restrain Fred, switch to covering fire! You stubbornly tried to hold him back—did it work!? Ended up getting dragged off course yourselves—what were you thinking!? Especially you, Travis! What was going through that mature head of yours!? So easily getting passionate!? Have you lived all these decades for nothing!?"
"Sorry!" x3
Finally, Yang Hui's gaze fell upon Jung and Kajima Yuu. Their bodies trembled even more violently now, having witnessed what came before—the fierce storm was about to hit them.
"You two were somewhat acceptable. Jung took down one Zaku..."
Phew~ x2
"But seriously! What the hell were you even doing out there? When your comrades are in trouble, don't you know how to provide support? Just guarding your own little patch like it's some treasure trove—what's wrong with you? Trying to get rich or something!? And you call yourselves instructors—don't you know how inexperienced these rookies are?"
"Sorry, Major, we were wrong!" x2
"Oh right, you two are rookies too..."
"Uh..." x2
"Anyway, this battle had no highlights—only mistakes! The only reason you're not all martyrs is because the enemy retreated under pressure from our fleet! Everyone, ten laps around the base while reflecting on your mistakes!"
"Huh!? Major, please no!"
"One lap around the base is two kilometers!"
"We'll die from running!"
"Hmm?"
"Eek! Yes, sir!" x8
Seeing the dangerous black aura emanating from Yang Hui, the eight of them didn't dare plead further and immediately started running, disappearing from his sight.
"Bunch of cowards." Yang Hui cursed irritably, though a faint amused smile touched his lips.
No matter how great their future achievements or how powerful they might become, right now they were just rookies. How strong could they possibly be? Managing to destroy one of Zeon's elite veterans and drive them back was actually pretty decent.
One had to remember—in the original history, the One Year War's brutality exceeded all imagination. Both sides had plenty of elites, but they were all forged through piles of corpses in the early stages.
This was the real world. Nobody started out as an ace.
Still, while he was satisfied with their performance, discipline was necessary. Their individual skills needed improvement, but their teamwork shouldn't have been so poor—completely unbecoming of soldiers.
Yang Hui understood this was their first time piloting MSs, and the Astray Gundam's performance far surpassed the Zaku II's. They'd grown overconfident, subconsciously treating real combat like simulation training.
This kind of careless attitude couldn't be encouraged. Complacency and underestimating the enemy were the deadliest taboos on the battlefield.
"Just defending this sector? Heh. Looks like even Supreme Commander Revil isn't having an easy time." After reconfirming his orders, Yang Hui let out a cold laugh.
They were currently the Federation's only MS unit. Logically, they should be treated as elite forces—not stuck defending fixed positions but operating freely as a mobile strike force.
Yet his orders were to rigidly defend this particular sector, and not even an important one at that. It was clear Revil faced considerable political constraints.
"But..." Yang Hui directly tore Revil's orders into confetti. He had no intention of following them. "...Let Revil and Gopp deal with the higher-ups' headaches. I'm not getting involved."
With that thought, Yang Hui summoned the communications officer and ordered him to send a message to Revil.
"Eh? You really want me to write it like this?" The communications officer broke out in a cold sweat. This was blatant insubordination. Though the Twelfth Independent Technical Division members respected Yang Hui, openly defying orders was terrifying—they still had to serve in the Federal Army.
"Send it exactly like that. I'll take full responsibility."
"But..."
"Just send the damn message!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
With Yang Hui's endorsement, information control became less of a concern. He polished the content Yang Hui had given him with polite phrasing and sent it out.
Yang Hui truly wasn't afraid of taking responsibility. After all, he and Revil had agreed from the beginning that although he was under Revil's direct command, he had the right to choose whether to follow Revil's orders. If he deemed them inappropriate or unreasonable, he would refuse and act according to his own methods.
"Calculating the timing... Zeon's main force should reach the Middle Eastern defense line in three days. Three days... that's enough."
...
"That damn kid! How am I supposed to mobilize enough troops to take over his defense sector in just three days!?" Revil nearly smashed his desk in anger after receiving Yang Hui's message.
Yang Hui's decision wasn't actually wrong—it was what Revil had originally thought too. But as Yang Hui had guessed, pressured by those old fossils on the Military Committee, he had issued the order to hold the defense sector. And now...
Revil knew that even if he ordered Yang Hui to hold the defense sector again, Yang Hui wouldn't comply. The kid had made things easy for himself, leaving Revil with a mess to clean up—dealing with superiors above and having to gather troops to fill the gap below.
"General, this major is too arrogant, he..."
"That's not your concern, Brigadier General Park." Revil glared at his adjutant. The man was loyal, but he always had his own schemes, which was why Revil kept him close without giving him real authority.
"Yes..."
"I recall the 36th Armored Division and the 42nd Air Assault Group are on standby in the rear, correct?"
"Yes."
"Deploy them to take over the Twelfth Independent Technical Division's defense sector."
"But General, the Military Committee..."
"Just do as I say."
"Under... understood!"
The adjutant went to send the reply. Revil continued studying the operational deployment map, muttering to himself, "I hope you deliver results, otherwise I'll be in a tough spot, you brat Yang Hui."
...
The next day, the replacement units from the rear arrived at the defense sector. The commanders of both units approached Yang Hui with grim expressions to handle the handover.
"Edward Parker, Commander of the 36th Armored Division, here to take over the defense sector."
"Tanaka Momiji, Captain of the 42nd Air Assault Group."
"Thank you for your efforts, Lieutenant Colonel Parker, Major Tanaka." Yang Hui understood their sour expressions. They had been comfortable in the rear, but now they had to rush to the front lines to face Zeon's MS units—no one would be happy about that.
"Hmph! Technical units shouldn't cause trouble on the battlefield."
"This is General Revil's order, Lieutenant Colonel Parker. Moreover, MS development is complete, but having combat data and records will provide a better foundation for future MS units, won't it?"
"...I hope you achieve corresponding results."
"Naturally. My logistics units will withdraw five kilometers. If your units require assistance within our capabilities, we can provide support."
"Understood."
"Then we'll set off now. May you both have glorious military fortune."
"You too."
The three exchanged salutes, then Yang Hui led Jung, Kajima Yuu, and the others aboard the Astray Gundam, heading directly toward the main Zeon forces. Passive defense had never been Yang Hui's style—he preferred taking the initiative, delivering a "warm welcome" to the enemy at times and places they least expected.
"Taking the initiative? Quite bold."
"He must have the confidence to back it up. According to military reports, they repelled that 'Red Comet' in space."
"That's truly remarkable."
"Otherwise, how could he have covered in no time what took me thirty years to achieve?"
"Let's hope they succeed. MS... heh, I wonder if my unit will even survive."
"Just replace the war chariots with MS."
"True enough. Let's go, we should patrol the defense zone again."
"Agreed."
(End of Chapter)