SDF-1.
Bridge.
As the last and only warship of the Earth Human, the SDF-1's Bridge was always in a state of busyness.
Whether it was the various issues concerning people's livelihoods or the problem of Zentraedi fleet attacks, all were resolved on the SDF-1's Bridge.
As the Captain of this warship, Captain Global had never imagined he would have such a day.
Fortunately, to put the SDF-1, which was reborn from the ashes with the ASS-1 wreckage as its skeleton, into use as quickly as possible, Earth Unification gathered the top talents it possessed.
It was also thanks to the existence of these top talents that Captain Global was able to maintain the operation of the SDF-1, embarking on its journey back to Earth in the vast expanse of space.
However, in addition to maintaining civilian life, Captain Global also needed to constantly monitor the maintenance of the SDF-1's armed forces.
"Captain. SV52 has completed its test flight mission as planned. Please give your instructions."
Hayase Misa reported the situation of SV52 to Captain Global.
As a battle management officer of the SDF-1, Hayase Misa did not quite understand why Captain Global would specifically allocate a period of time for SV52 to conduct a test flight mission.
At the same time, she was even more surprised that the Mechanic on SV52, no, that civilian, would participate in this mission.
"Is that so? Then, tell me about him."
Captain Global took out his beloved pipe and nodded.
"SV52 successfully completed all test flight missions. From the data feedback from the sensors, SV52's status basically meets the requirements for actual combat."
"Only SV52?"
Captain Global noticed the words Hayase Misa used.
Captain Global understood Hayase Misa's personality well.
Rigorous and serious.
On certain matters, she had an almost obsessive persistence.
For example, the distinction between military personnel and civilians.
"Captain. Although the current battle situation is intense, it is far from the time to conscript civilians on a large scale."
Hayase Misa's words sounded quite fair.
But Captain Global knew the reason for Hayase Misa saying this.
After all, there was a person in Skull Squadron who gave Hayase Misa a headache.
And he was precisely promoted from an ordinary civilian to a Mechanic belonging to the SDF-1.
Captain Global smiled, taking a slight puff from his pipe.
Of course, the pipe was not lit.
This was just a small gesture Captain Global made when thinking.
"That young man's name, it seems to be He Ming, right?"
"Yes. Captain."
"Then, have you seen his report?"
Hayase Misa nodded.
As a key battle management officer of the SDF-1, she naturally needed to constantly monitor the SDF-1's combat power changes.
"From the report, He Ming was able to pilot the VF-1 to support the Second Defense Force and repel the enemy even when the Mech was malfunctioning, but that does not mean He Ming has the ability to be a Mechanic."
Hayase Misa paused for a moment, organizing her words slightly.
"The situation on the space battlefield is far more complex than we imagined. From the numerous battles that occurred after the SDF-1 embarked on its return to Earth, ordinary Mechanics cannot adapt to the space battlefield in a short time. And this is one of the reasons why our warship suffered significant losses after embarking on its return journey."
"Hmm."
Captain Global nodded.
Hayase Misa was right.
Although at the end of the Unification War, Earth Unification had tried to cultivate Mechanics through various means to achieve large-scale training of Mechanics who could adapt to complex space battles, it ultimately came to naught due to the short time and the invasion of the Gerati fleet.
"But He Ming showed an extraordinary keenness in that battle."
Captain Global recalled the data extracted by the investigators from the VF-1 wreckage.
It was a piece of flight data where the VF-1 maneuvered with extreme agility through building ruins at speeds exceeding 300 KM per hour.
Such alarming data made the investigators once suspect whether they had hallucinated or if the black box recording the data had malfunctioned.
After repeated verification, the investigators finally submitted this result to Captain Global.
This was why Captain Global decided to issue a wartime conscription order to He Ming.
"Keenness? But the battlefield..."
"Report! SV52 requests communication!"
At this moment, the communication officer's voice happened to sound, interrupting Captain Global and Hayase Misa's conversation.
Captain Global nodded slightly, looking at Hayase Misa.
Hayase Misa secretly sighed, turned and returned to her post, connecting to the communication from SV52.
"This is delta 1. Please speak!"
"This is SV52. delta 1, there seems to be some movement in sector 326. Please check."
Sector 326?!
Hayase Misa was startled, and casually pulled up the reconnaissance report for sector 326.
"Half an hour ago, the reconnaissance team already swept sector 326. There was no anomaly."
"Let SV52 go take a look."
Captain Global stood beside Hayase Misa, speaking slowly.
"Captain?"
Hayase Misa was a bit surprised.
"No need to be surprised. After all, this is also part of the test flight mission."
Test flight mission?
All items had clearly been completed.
"Understood! SV52 adjusting test flight target area, target is sector 326! Executing!"
Apparently, SV52 heard Hayase Misa and Captain Global's conversation.
And, they went with the flow and adjusted their next action.
"Wait, wait! SV52, please do not act without authorization!"
"delta 1! The previous order has been confirmed! Is there any problem?"
The other party's rhetorical question left Hayase Misa speechless for a moment.
Could she argue that she was talking to Captain Global?
Then, if the other party knew that sentence was spoken by Captain Global, they would probably be even more convinced of the order.
Helplessly, Hayase Misa had to adjust the surrounding reconnaissance teams.
"SV52, another reconnaissance team will arrive in sector 326 in 10 minutes for a sweep. At that time, after you hand over to them, return immediately."
"SV52 understood!"
He Ming disconnected from the SDF-1's communication, and smiled slightly.
He Ming heard the conversation just now very clearly.
On the Bridge, there was only one person who could speak to Hayase Misa in a superior-subordinate tone.
That was the Captain of the SDF-1, Captain Global.
With such a person speaking, asking him to pilot SV52 for a trip.
He Ming naturally wouldn't let it go.
From the commotion coming from the SDF-1's Bridge, it seemed Captain Global had already noticed him.
In other words, He Ming didn't need to follow the usual procedures to become a Mechanic for the SDF-1.
Perhaps…
"Dynamic Event Update! The SDF-1, returning to Earth, has encountered numerous obstacles. The large number of Zentraedi reconnaissance units are a constant headache for the SDF-1. To ensure that the SDF-1's plan to accelerate using Jupiter's gravity assist is not hindered, the Zentraedi reconnaissance units monitoring the SDF-1's movements must be eliminated as much as possible!"
"Objective: Clear the Zentraedi reconnaissance units appearing in sector 326."
Indeed.
When He Ming went with the flow and accepted the reconnaissance mission to sector 326, the mysterious voice appeared as well.
"Just as I thought."
He Ming could almost confirm that the appearance of the mysterious voice was triggered by his current actions.
Sector 326.
Originally, SV52's test flight mission did not include sector 326, but as he approached sector 326, He Ming felt something was off.
But he couldn't explain why.
It could only be described as some kind of intuition.
Thus, there was the previous inquiry.
Facts proved.
This probing indeed brought some results to He Ming.
It just so happened that Captain Global was there,
And it just so happened that he heard that inquiry.
He Ming glanced at the propulsion fuel consumption and remaining capacity, then piloted SV52 towards sector 326, to carry out this "sudden" reconnaissance mission.
Of course.
He Ming's gaze also fell on the weapon bar.
The Gatling autocannon and missile capacity displayed on the screen were all 0.
The entire SV52's armament, apart from the tactical dagger newly added by Kurakin, had no other weapons.
Furthermore, SV52's current state could be described as "unarmed."
"Wait! Captain! SV52 is not equipped with any weapons right now!"
Hayase Misa also remembered this point.
"Oh, is that so?"
Captain Global merely nodded, as if responding to his capable subordinate.
"Captain! Please cancel the mission immediately."
"No. I'm afraid it's too late."
Captain Global held a match, seemingly wanting to light the tobacco in his pipe, but ultimately put it down.
Because, news came again from SV52.
It was a warning of discovering enemy aircraft.
"This is SV52. Enemy aircraft detected!! Enemy aircraft detected!!"
"SV52, please evacuate immediately! Please evacuate immediately!! Reinforcements will arrive soon! Please avoid contact with enemy aircraft!!"
Hayase Misa's biggest fear had finally come true.
The unarmed SV52 had indeed encountered the enemy.
Captain Global picked up a match, struck it lightly, and a wisp of flame ignited into the air.
Amidst the flickering fire, the strong smell of burning tobacco permeated the surroundings.
With smoke swirling, Captain Global did not stop Hayase Misa from continuously calling SV52, but instead stared intently at the projection screen in front of him.
On it, information about the enemies encountered by SV52 was constantly refreshing.
Enemy aircraft, three!
It was conceivable that these were enemy aircraft formations performing reconnaissance missions.
SV52, armed only with a tactical dagger, would likely face a grim outcome against this reconnaissance team!
However, this was a conclusion drawn under normal circumstances.
Captain Global asked in a deep voice.
"How much time until reinforcements arrive?"
Hayase Misa replied with a grave expression.
"5 minutes!"
Five minutes.
If SV52 were equipped with standard armament, this would be no problem.
However, the current situation was that SV52 was only equipped with a tactical dagger!
"Battle pods three. Two standard type, one reconnaissance type. As expected!"
As the distance closed, He Ming could already see the general outlines of the enemy.
At the same time, he was also subjected to the enemy's preemptive attack.
Several bright beams of light tore through the darkness in front of SV52, striking straight towards it.
This was the glow of charged particle beam cannons firing.
Presumably, it was the masterpiece of the medium-caliber charged particle beam cannons equipped on the standard type battle pods.
Seemingly menacing, they were easily dodged by He Ming piloting SV52 with a few barrel rolls.
At the same time, SV52, under He Ming's piloting, advanced instead of retreating, accelerating towards the enemy.
"3."
As the distance grew shorter, He Ming could clearly see the glow from the enemy's charged particle beam cannons, which were once again gathering energy.
"2."
The charged particle beams, emitting a deathly aura, were so dazzling, yet they could not slow SV52's charge in the slightest.
"1."
He Ming's eyes widened, and with coordinated movements of his hands and feet, SV52 suddenly flipped over, plunging headfirst into the void below, narrowly avoiding the bombardment of the two standard battle pods' medium-caliber charged particle beam cannons in a highly perilous manner.
Seeing their target suddenly lost, leading to a failed attack, the two standard battle pods naturally refused to give up.
With a sudden surge of fire from their thrusters, the two standard battle pods turned downwards in succession, accelerating to give chase.
Little did they know, the moment they completed their accelerated turn, an afterimage shot straight up from below, flashing past between the two standard battle pods in a lightning-quick move.
Just as an ominous premonition arose in the hearts of the Zentraedi Mechanics of the two standard battle pods, the reconnaissance battle pod, which should have been protected behind them, lost its signal and went offline from the communication network.
Ignoring the powerful G-force caused by the rapid change in direction, the two standard battle pods forcibly changed direction simultaneously, facing the direction of the reconnaissance battle pod.
A tactical dagger was thrust straight down from above into the top of the reconnaissance battle pod.
The radar, one of the main components of the reconnaissance battle pod, snapped with a crash under the dagger's thrust, unable to stop the tactical dagger wielded by SV52 in the slightest.
Beneath the fractured steel armor, a surging crimson seemed to be trying to gush out along the tear made by the tactical dagger.
Without a doubt, this reconnaissance battle pod, both pilot and Mech, was completely destroyed by SV52's tactical dagger.
"Crack..."
The void cannot transmit sound.
Yet He Ming heard the sound transmitted back from the tactical dagger, along SV52's arm, to its torso.
The tactical dagger sliced open the battle pod's armor, fully revealing the interior of the egg-shaped cockpit to the Zentraedi's eyes.
Terrified eyes,
The crimson liquid permeating the cockpit,
All were telling one thing.
How this poor Zentraedi Mechanic met a tragic end under SV52's tactical dagger.
Tracer fire from the autocannon swept over, only hitting the Zentraedi Mechanic who had tragically died under the tactical dagger, burying him and his damaged reconnaissance battle pod together in the explosion.
Above the blinding explosion, was the afterimage left by SV52, which had already transformed back into its fighter form and was accelerating away.
Just now, He Ming had utilized SV52's transformation ability.
While SV52 was rapidly descending and disappearing from the enemy's sight, he switched to G Form and pushed the thrust engines of both legs to maximum output.
Thus, in the suddenly increased G-force, the thermonuclear engine's sudden burst of acceleration made SV52 shoot straight up like a rocket lifting off the ground, easily passing through the standard battle pods' pursuit formation, which hadn't had time to react, and rushing behind the reconnaissance battle pod in one fell swoop.
As a result, SV52 used the tactical dagger in its hand to strike successfully and then made a swift exit.
This strike was truly brilliant.
However, the upcoming battle would likely be a tough one.
No matter how astonishing He Ming and SV52's performance just now, the situation remained that the "unarmed" SV52 had to face the pursuit of two fully armed standard battle pods.