Who is Playing the Love Development Game in Gundam

"This is getting risky."

"Maybe I should try escaping to the Junk Guild's nearby port?"

"But the Mad Dog is too strong. If I could take him out along with the Aegis 1.0, it would still be a decent trade."

After all, he was an important asset for the opposing side, and eliminating him would undoubtedly be beneficial. Thinking it over, it was clear that the Mad Dog would be better off dead.

Before He Kui could execute his maneuver to counterattack, a red blip began appearing on his radar from the direction of Panama in South America.

"..."

"A! What's that?"

Just as Elena finished detaching her breakthrough gear, her startled voice came through on He Kui's comms.

"That's the Mad Dog."

"Elena, why did you come up here?"

"Because I was worried about you, obviously."

Her tone was so matter-of-fact that it left He Kui with no words.

"And where's Haigelies?"

"He's back at the base training those four Coordinators."

This wasn't the place for conversation, and the Moebius units immediately shifted their attention, noticing another mobile suit approaching. Deciding to avoid direct engagement with He Kui, who was known to be lethal in combat, they chose instead to go after the easier target.

From their perspective, Elena couldn't possibly be as fearsome as A.

Seeing this, He Kui sighed. Using the CIWS on his Strike's head, he deflected a cannon's shot and blocked another blast with his remaining arm. This allowed him a chance to shoot, taking out four Moebius units in quick succession. His remaining aircraft targeted the Drake-class ship zeroing in on Elena, crashing into its bridge and causing an explosion that obliterated it, though his aircraft was destroyed in the process.

He Kui's sudden offensive made the remaining Moebius and Dagger units retreat a few steps. Taking advantage of this moment, Elena fired her machine gun at a Dagger attempting to retreat, striking it down.

With Elena's support, the tide of the battle finally began to shift in He Kui's favor. However, the situation remained grim. He Kui's mobile suit was missing an arm and the support plane, leaving him at a disadvantage against a fully intact Mad Dog.

There was no chance of escaping solo at this point, nor of lasting the required thirty minutes. Judging by the Mad Dog's continued distant engagement, it was likely the lunar base had more reinforcements on the way.

Alone and without backup, even a successful battle here would ultimately lead to defeat.

With a wry smile, He Kui dodged another beam attack. His power reserves were dwindling, and despite his spatial awareness, he took another hit, losing his other arm. He did manage to take out two enemy cannons in return, but now he had no beam rifle, and the Mad Dog still had the upper hand.

Meanwhile, Elena continued her skirmish with several Moebius units. Though she maintained an advantage, the enemies' hit-and-run tactics limited her ability to strike decisively.

"We can't hold on much longer—this is definitely a trap," He Kui stated.

"We're not going down!" Elena replied, as the sparkle in her eyes shifted once more.

With newfound energy, she swiftly eliminated the remaining Moebius units. He Kui, however, remained cautious.

As the alarms continued blaring, several Nelson-class warships and a formation of Moebius and elite Dagger units equipped with Striker Packs appeared on He Kui's radar, rapidly approaching from the moon.

"There's no end to them—merge," He Kui ordered briefly.

Elena instantly understood. Without hesitation, she used her beam gun to drive back the Mad Dog before they switched to the high-speed formation with three wings. Their combined acceleration allowed them to leave the Mad Dog far behind.

"So, it's that formation mentioned in the intel—South America's forces are becoming a real problem," the Mad Dog muttered. "But if I've managed to drive them out of South America, I've at least technically fulfilled my orders."

Though this was the lowest bar for mission completion, the Mad Dog breathed a sigh of relief. Fighting against He Kui had put him under pressure, and even he wasn't keen to test his limits in such a high-stakes encounter.

Watching He Kui and Elena's figures fade into distant starlight, the Mad Dog retracted his remaining cannons.

"I just hope I don't get more missions this difficult."

Unaware of the Mad Dog's relief, Elena exited SEED mode, though she seemed relaxed, gazing at the stars outside her window with a childlike curiosity. Only after a moment did she finally ask,

"A, where are we going?"

"The Junk Guild's port. We'll resupply and repair there."

Without the interference of the neutron jammers, He Kui felt like he could breathe a bit easier.

"We'll wait until the lunar battle is over, and then we'll return."

Whether or not the PLANT forces' assault succeeded, the lunar base would likely be too occupied to pursue them.

"Do you know people at the Junk Guild?" Elena asked curiously. "And what's this battle on the moon?"

"PLANT is about to launch an offensive on the moon. As for the Junk Guild… I know people there, sort of."

He Kui knew of them, though they didn't exactly know him. But at this moment, he had no other options.

He could ask Matthias for some assistance. With luck, he could even patch up the damaged mobile suit enough to keep it operational.

"Oh."

Elena didn't press further.

"How are you feeling, Elena?" He Kui asked.

"I think… I'm okay."

"Good."

With a sigh of relief, He Kui continued, "I told you not to come along."

"But I felt like you needed my help!"

"Another one of your hunches?"

"Yup!"

For a moment, He Kui couldn't tell if Elena's reasoning was just an excuse or if she truly had some Newtype-like instinct. He sighed and changed the topic.

"Do you like it here in space?"

"It's amazing! So many stars!"

"Yeah."

He Kui allowed himself a smile as they traveled in silence toward the Junk Guild's asteroid port.

Compared to He Kui's smaller base, this port was massive. Junk Guild ships bustled around, moving in and out with cargo. The two battle-scarred mobile suits stood out against the serene atmosphere of the station.

Within moments, several Ginn and Moebius units emerged from the port, joined by a very familiar mobile suit. The red Astray, modified with a custom Gundam-grade exoskeleton, emerged, wielding a massive katana nearly the size of a warship.

"Whoa! What's that?" Elena gasped.

Her reaction was understandable. Anyone would be surprised to see such an extravagant weapon. It looked impressive, though its practicality was debatable.

And the sheer amount of rare metal involved… He Kui couldn't help but wonder what kind of luck Lowe had to secure such a find.