"You're here?"
"Of course. I promised you before that I would personally present your medals..."
"General Gopp must be furious again, right?"
"Ugh..."
Revil stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing to the size of mung beans as cold sweat streamed down his forehead. Then, all his grievances, anger, and resentment erupted. He strode over to Yang Hui, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him close, roaring at him.
"You little brat! Isn't this all because of you?! Do you have any idea how precious the equipment for your unit is!? Can't you be a little more careful with it?! The first time you lost the Super Mega Cannon, the second time you lost a Mobile Suit, and the third time you lost so much Underwater Specialized Equipment! Why don't you just lose yourself next time!?"
"Er, hahaha, well... about that..." Yang Hui awkwardly averted his gaze, not daring to meet Revil's eyes.
No one knew the cost of the Astray Gundams and all their equipment better than Yang Hui. To put it bluntly, the resources and funds spent on the Twelfth Independent Technical Division's MS units were more than enough to form a Space Fleet centered around an old Magellan-class battleship.
Revil's anger was understandable. Although he was the one who had made the promise to fully equip the Twelfth Independent Technical Division with Astray Gundams.
But Yang Hui's carelessness with the equipment, frequently abandoning it in enemy territory for demolition, had struck a nerve. No, it had probably struck Gopp's nerve first, then Gopp had struck Revil's nerve, and Revil could only vent by striking Yang Hui's.
"Don't you know how precious that equipment is? The Federation is giving you its full support, but not so you can bankrupt it! Even if we had endless mines, we couldn't keep up with you spending like this!"
"It's not... It's not like we had a choice, right?" Yang Hui spread his hands with a sheepish grin. "Our missions are inherently dangerous, so equipment loss is normal. Besides, we've produced corresponding results, haven't we?"
"Hmph." Revil pushed Yang Hui away and downed the high-grade tea in Yang Hui's cup. "If you hadn't produced corresponding results, I would have brought a dismissal order, not a commendation!"
"Looks like I've done a pretty good job then."
"Yes, you've done very well. Capturing Kycilia Zabi threw Zeon's Earth Attack Force into chaos. We seized that opportunity to launch a beautiful counterattack. However, there are two pieces of bad news."
Hearing this, Yang Hui's playful expression vanished. "What bad news?"
"The chaos on Zeon's side on Earth has stabilized. Do you remember that Mark Be?"
"Him?"
"Yes. That man is no simpleton. As soon as the news of Kycilia Zabi's capture spread, he immediately took over command. He has now brought the chaos on Earth completely under control and is gathering his forces for a counteroffensive."
"I see." Yang Hui wasn't surprised at all that it was Mark Be. Mark Be was the most formidable card in Kycilia Zabi's hand, possessing outstanding military command and MS piloting skills. He was also an MS designer and had initiated quite a few MS Development Projects. However, his pride made him overly ambitious. The MS he designed all had excellent performance, but none were adopted by the military. They were either too expensive or too difficult to operate, and all were scrapped.
The YMS-15 Gyan was a case in point. It wasn't just that the melee-focused Mobile Suit couldn't compare to the more balanced MS-14A Gelgoog; it also lost in the competition between the two Mobile Suits due to its overly complex operating system.
"The second piece of bad news is that Kycilia Zabi has escaped."
"Escaped!?" Yang Hui shot to his feet, staring at Revil in disbelief. What was going on? He had just captured her, and she had already escaped?
"A mole in the army helped her escape," Revil explained.
"Heh." Yang Hui let out a cold laugh, feeling as if Revil was insulting his intelligence. "A mole? What rank of mole has the ability to rescue Kycilia Zabi? Right under the Federal Army's nose? The Commander-in-Chief?"
"..." Revil was at a loss for words. After Ethan Rhea took custody of Kycilia Zabi, he immediately reported it to Jaburo Base. Revil had dispatched his most trusted elite unit to escort Kycilia Zabi to the Federation headquarters in Geneva for detention.
As a result, not long after they arrived in Geneva, his men had barely left when the prison holding Kycilia Zabi was attacked. Kycilia Zabi successfully broke out and was now missing.
"Honestly, General Revil, I'm very disappointed in you and General Gopp." Yang Hui gave Revil no face. A cooperative relationship required mutual effort from both parties to be maintained.
Yang Hui believed he had performed exceptionally well. He had assisted the Federal Army in developing MS that surpassed the Zaku's performance and a new generation of mainline motherships. He had also led his men across several theaters, helping the Federation win several major victories.
But what about Revil and Gopp? Had they fulfilled their duties? The equipment and funds had indeed been provided, and they had given Yang Hui autonomy. But ever since Yang Hui joined the Federal Army, the Federation's high command had been riddled with corruption. After all this time, it still hadn't been cleaned up, leaving them constantly exposed to deadly hidden threats.
"You should say that to Gopp. I'm in charge of the military; he's in charge of the political circle." Faced with Yang Hui's accusation, Revil passed the buck without hesitation.
"He's not here, so I can only come to you."
"Alright... What are your demands?" Since Yang Hui had brought this up, he obviously wasn't trying to sever his cooperation with Revil and Gopp, but rather to use the opportunity to make demands.
"When will the second Qilin-class ship you promised me be ready?"
"It's under construction. It's expected to be delivered to you next month."
"Expand my force by two more squads, fully equipped..."
"No problem..."
"I also want a person, Rita Bernal."
"This..."
If it were anyone else, Revil would have agreed without a second thought. But the name Rita Bernal made him hesitate. This person was not in the Federal Army but in the hands of the Federation's high command, locked away in some laboratory. Moreover, the high command valued her greatly. It would be extremely difficult even for Revil to get her out.
"Change your request."
"This is the only one."
"Why her?"
"Because she's a Newtype."
"It can't be that simple. That's definitely not your real reason."
"Do I really need to spell out what those Federation bastards plan to do with her?"
"...I understand."
"Nothing else matters. This person must be handed over to me."
"I'll handle it."
"While you're at it, deal with that Elan. He's a Zeon spy."
"...I will investigate it thoroughly."
Revil did not agree immediately. He wouldn't take down an officer on charges of espionage based solely on Yang Hui's word. Elan had indeed been dealt with over the Lacus concert incident, but he claimed he had been threatened. With Kinnikuman's guarantee, he was transferred to the Space Force, so he wasn't so easy to take down.
Yang Hui shrugged. In any case, Elan was officially part of the Space Force and in Kinnikuman's unit. Any sabotage he caused wouldn't affect him. With Tianem around, Luna II was also impregnable, so his interests were not at risk.
Besides, Yang Hui kind of hoped Revil wouldn't find anything. That way, he would have the chance to personally deal with the man who had improper thoughts about Lacus.
"The mission in the East Asia Theater is over. You all..."
"General Revil, you don't even work a donkey this hard, do you?" Yang Hui cut Revil off, retorting unhappily, thinking he was about to be sent off to fight somewhere else again.
"...I was just going to tell you that the war has entered a stalemate. There won't be any large-scale battles in the short term, so you can all get some proper rest," Revil said, his eyes narrowed as he stared at Yang Hui.
"Er... Ahaha."
"However, you only have two weeks of rest. After two weeks, you will return to space, back to Luna II, to help Tianem seize control of Earth's orbit."
Earth's orbit had to be retaken, even if it was just a part of it. Otherwise, with Earth and space completely cut off by Zeon, launching a counterattack would be out of the question; even just holding out would be difficult.
"Two weeks, huh..." Yang Hui calculated the time, thinking about what he could do during this period, then nodded. "...I understand."
"Good. Let's go."
"Go where?"
"The award ceremony I promised you. It can begin now. Congratulations, Colonel Yang Hui."
...
At the East Asia Theater's general headquarters, the training ground had been temporarily cleared out. The general headquarters and nearby units were all required to attend the award ceremony for the Twelfth Independent Technical Division.
Behind Revil followed several officers, each holding trays piled high with boxes containing medals. Revil led them, weaving through the neat ranks, personally pinning the medals on the soldiers of the Twelfth Independent Technical Division one by one.
"Congratulations, you brave soldiers. At the same time, I thank you. Thank you for your contributions to the Federation, for your contributions to Earth. I hope you will continue your efforts and achieve even more glorious accomplishments."
"Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap..." The final words marked the end of the award ceremony, which concluded with thunderous applause.
The observing troops were filled with envy, desperately craving such an honor. The officers, including Ethan Rhea, were also shocked, as it was the first time any of them had seen so many people being awarded medals at once.
Not only were there medals, but every member of the Twelfth Independent Technical Division was promoted. New recruits were directly commissioned as Second Lieutenants, while those who were already officers were all promoted one rank. As the leader of the Twelfth Independent Technical Division and the one with the greatest merit, Yang Hui skipped two ranks to become the youngest Colonel in the history of the Federation.
"Congratulations, Colonel Yang Hui. I never thought you'd reach the same rank as me in such a short time," Ethan Rhea congratulated Yang Hui, though he felt a little dejected, wondering if he was getting old.
"It was also thanks to everyone's help."
"Excessive modesty is just another form of pride."
"Alright, my strength speaks for itself. I'm just too outstanding, can't be helped."
"Hahaha, now that's more your style. Where are you planning to go for your vacation?"
"First, a trip to the Demon Capital. I have a sister I haven't seen in a long time, so I'm going to visit her."
"A sister?"
"A friend's biological sister, who is also like a sister to me. Then I'll go home for a bit. There are some family matters I need to take care of."
"I see. Well then, I wish you a pleasant vacation."
"Thank you."
Ding~
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