Mecha: Return of the Pioneers

Chapter 13: Voyage Gap (Please collect! Please recommend! Please support!)
Jupiter keeps moving away.

SDF-1 finally completed the gravitational slingshot acceleration and began to leave Jupiter and embark on the journey home.

People who had no work at hand stayed in groups behind the portholes, or stood near the port, looking at the gradually receding Jupiter.

Leaving the orbit of Jupiter means that SDF-1 is one step closer to the earth.

Next, there is the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars.

Once there, the resource dilemma currently faced by SDF-1 will be somewhat alleviated.

In any case, this can be regarded as a relatively smooth start again.

In the restaurant, a graceful woman was sitting behind the floor-to-ceiling window, staring at Jupiter, which had occupied the entire window and was now only the size of a washbasin.

"We're one step closer to home, aren't we?"

The woman exhaled softly, turned around, looked at the man and woman sitting opposite her, and laughed softly.

"Yes."

The other party nodded slightly.

Although it was not a valuable word, it satisfied the woman.

"Hello! I'm Grace Muller. First time meeting you! Nice to meet you."

The woman stretched out her hand and looked sincerely at the man and woman in front of her.

"What's your name? Nice to meet you."

"Lin Mingmei, nice to meet you."

The man and woman in front of them introduced themselves and shook hands with the women one by one.

"I'm really surprised! I didn't expect the famous Lin Mingmei to come to your door."

Grace narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at He Ming.

With her quick mind, she naturally guessed that the reason came from He Ming.

The latter simply asked Lin Mingmei to put the business card on the table.

"This is the business card Professor Kulagin gave us. Maybe you can help Lin Mingmei."

Grace seemed surprised by the appearance of the business card.

What’s even more surprising is that this film even attracted Lin Mingmei, who is very popular in SDF-1.

After calming down a little, Grace understood what Kulagin meant when he handed the business card to He Mingmei and Lin Mingmei.

"Although this would be a bit rude and make Miss Lin Mingmei feel uncomfortable, is the situation really that serious?"

Lin Mingmei's bright eyes dimmed a little, and she nodded silently.

"Since Lin Mingmei's cousin was killed, some things have inevitably happened, causing Lin Mingmei's work to become chaotic. Therefore, now we need an experienced and capable person to take care of everything for Lin Mingmei. "

After He Ming gently patted Lin Mingmei's little hand, he looked at Grace and said slowly.

"Yeah. I've heard about this too. I just didn't expect it to be so serious."

Grace paused for a moment, then said seriously.

"In this case, I will accept this job. Please give me your advice in the future. Miss Lin Mingmei."

Grace's cheerfulness allowed the matter to be resolved.

When Lin Mingmei left and went to the bathroom, Grace looked in the direction of Jupiter again.

At this moment, Jupiter, which was just about the size of a washbasin, was only a shadow smaller than the size of a fist.

"Warrant Officer He. How much hope do you think we have?"

He Ming's eyes changed slightly.

"Hopefully, there will still be opportunities. It just depends on how we seize the opportunity."

"Chance?"

Grace withdrew her gaze and looked at He Ming.

"Probably! However, leaving Jupiter means getting closer to the earth, but it also means we are one step closer to death, doesn't it?"

He Ming narrowed his eyes slightly.

Unexpectedly, Grace is not as simple as she seems.

If you were just a professional agent, you wouldn't be aware of SDF-1's current situation.

Grace had no intention of hiding her identity.

"No need to be surprised. After all, before doing this job, I was a member of the United Army. I was just injured during a test flight and finally had to choose to retire."

Grace gently pushed the business card on the table with her fingers.

"I also got to know Professor Kulagin during that time. I didn't expect that many years later, someone would come to me with the business card I left for Professor Kulagin. What a surprise!"

There are stories.

But He Ming had no idea of ​​exploring further.

After all, everyone has a past that they don't want to reveal to the outside world.

"Okay! Lin Mingmei, leave it to me! I will take good care of her. And you, I'm afraid, will have to go on the next mission soon."

In the distance, Jupiter's shadow has long since disappeared.

With the new agent Grace joining, Lin Mingmei's work is gradually getting back on track.

During this period, in addition to contacting Lin Mingmei from time to time, He Ming devoted himself wholeheartedly to the perfection of SV52.

With the help of the intelligent AI cube Adino, many hidden dangers of SV52 were quickly discovered and properly resolved under Kuragin’s full preparation.

However, the latter did not know the existence of Adino and placed all the credit for discovering these hidden dangers on He Ming's head.

This made He Ming dumbfounded, but he could only accept it silently.

The existence of the intelligent AI cube is no less shocking than the shock that Sharon gave to the unity of the earth during the Sharon Epp crisis.

Fortunately, the intelligent AI cube is completely under the control of He Ming, and is not completely out of control and going berserk like Sharon.

After some preparations, the armament of SV52 was finally confirmed.

Hughes GU-11 three-barreled 55mm Gatling gun,
AMM-1 air-to-surface missile × 12,

UUM-7 micro missile pod × 4,

RMS-1 large anti-ship missile × 4.

There is no doubt that these are armed equipment from VF-1.

Limited by the current strategic resource reserves and equipment production status of SDF-1, even though Kulakin had many plans for the development of SV52 equipment, he was unable to put them into practice.

In the end, we had no choice but to take a step back and chose to share equipment with VF-1.

Fortunately, the void battlefield they are in does not need to take into account gravity, aerodynamic shape and many other factors that can affect air combat in the atmosphere. Therefore, the plan for the SV52 to share VF-1's armed equipment can be smoothly carried out. conduct.

"This is also impossible!"

Looking at the SV52 in a fully loaded state, Kuragin sighed.

As a designer, Kuragin naturally hopes that SV52 can declare its existence to the world in the best possible condition.

"After all, our current situation does not allow us to have more choices."

He Ming didn't care.

Being able to share weapon systems with VF-1 also means that SV52 can be integrated into the tactical command system of VF-1.

This is not bad news for He Ming.

No matter how powerful you are alone, you cannot make up for the huge gap in fighting the system.

"You are quite open-minded." Kuragin shrugged his shoulders and then clapped his hands.

"Then, the final plan has been decided. He Ming, SV52 will be left to you."

"it is good!"

For most people, traveling in space is boring.

But for pilots who have completed all combat preparations, the situation is becoming increasingly urgent.

Since leaving Jupiter, the Gerardi squadron has disappeared, and there has not even been any harassment.

This made Grobal, who was prepared for a possible blockade, feel a little uneasy.

At every moment, the VE-1 squadron as an early warning aircraft takes off, setting up a dragnet around SDF-1, trying to uncover the Geraldi fleet that may be ambushing in the surrounding space.

The result was nothing.

Grobar played with the pipe in his hand and couldn't help but ponder.

If there is no interception in the subsequent voyage, then the area where a blocking battle may occur is probably when SDF-1 is about to enter the asteroid belt.

It is true that if SDF-1 can successfully rush into the asteroid belt, it will definitely be able to use the complex environment of the asteroid belt to hide its existence as much as possible, and use the resources that the surrounding asteroids may contain to supplement itself.

But conversely, imagine that the Gerati aliens can also take advantage of the complex environment of the asteroid belt to hide their existence, set up a fleet strong enough, and wait for SDF-1 to fall into its trap.

"Is there only one step between heaven and hell?"

Grobar held his pipe in his mouth and his eyes gradually became sharp.

"But, we have to take this step!"

The battle call order was issued from the bridge and was instantly transmitted to all pilots, including He Ming.

"The battle begins again!"

The pilots who received the summons did not hesitate and gathered towards the combat analysis room.

When Grobar arrived with Hayase Misa, all the pilots were in place except those who were on guard duty.

After saluting, Grobar put down the pipe in his hand and looked at Misa Hayase.

The latter opened a projection pattern.

It is not difficult to see that this is the sailing route map of SDF-1 in recent days.

"Everyone, thanks to your hard work some time ago, we were able to successfully use Jupiter's gravitational slingshot to speed up our return to Earth. However, this does not mean that we will be able to return to our beloved home immediately."

After Grobal made a brief opening statement, he went straight to the topic.

"Before that, we still need to stay in the asteroid belt for a period of time, and then use this time to collect as much resources as we need to prepare for the final journey home."

This was the original plan.

When executing the Jupiter gravity slingshot, a rough plan was formed.

The key was Grobar's next speech.

"In recent days, everyone who has participated in the warning mission should have discovered that the fleet of the Gerati planet did not launch an attack when SDF-1 left the orbit of Jupiter, as we speculated. On the contrary, it continued to attack for several days. There’s an eerie calmness.”

"Therefore, after combining relevant intelligence, we speculate that the fleet of the Gerati aliens is not retreating, but is concentrated near the asteroid belt, waiting for SDF-1 to fall into its trap."

As soon as Grobar's words came out, there was a flurry of discussion.

Grobbal didn't stop.

Because this is news that is urgent enough for everyone.

There are naturally ways to avoid the Geraldi star fleet.

But that also means that SDF-1 voluntarily gave up the resources in the asteroid belt, and instead embarked on a terrible path that is more remote, the environment is more harsh, and it may even exhaust resources and stage unimaginable tragedies.

In space navigation, as long as the spacecraft deviates slightly from the predetermined course, it means that more fuel and resources will be consumed to return the spacecraft to the predetermined course.

However, SDF-1's current resource reserves do not allow SDF-1 to have such a situation.

"Captain. What's next will be a fierce battle?"

Roy Falk asked.

After his speech, the whole place fell silent.

"Yeah. It was a tough fight."

Grobbal acknowledged this.

This does not require any lies to embellish or cover up.

The pilots who can sit here are all experienced pilots.

At the same time, they are also the last batch of elite pilots in mankind.

For them, Grobal has great trust.

"I understand! Please give the order! Captain!"

After Roy Falk finished speaking, he sat down and waited for Grobar's order.

The same was true for the surrounding pilots, who were calmly waiting for Grobar's orders.

Grobar nodded, raised his hand to salute the pilots, and then gave the opportunity to speak to Misa Hayase.

"What's your name? Come out!"

What no one expected was that the first person named by Hayase Misa turned out to be.

Everyone moved their eyes to look at the young man sitting behind Roy who kept a low profile.

Among all the pilots, there is no other memory of He Ming except the battle on Jupiter where he led the drone swarm to complete the raid mission.

"Is that kid?"

"Are we going to use drone swarms again?"

Pilots, you look at me and I look at you, all trying to guess the purpose of calling someone by name.

"Yes!"

He Ming stood up straight.

"You are responsible for leading twelve QF-3000E drones to conduct reconnaissance and collect the enemy's various data, electromagnetic characteristics and other relevant intelligence. Do not engage with the enemy unless necessary!"

"Yes."

He Ming accepted the order.

"In addition, because of the particularity of this mission, the twelve QF-3000Es have also been modified accordingly. After entering the relevant space, they will actively receive and search for relevant information about the space, and send information to the rear Send back relevant information. Therefore, you only need to be responsible for monitoring and guiding the flight of the QF-3000E."

"What if there is a fight?"

"You can abandon all QF-3000Es without hesitation and return immediately. In everything, your safety is the priority."

He Ming frowned.

This mission is not so much about going out for reconnaissance, but more about luring a snake out of its hole?

Without the direct control of the intelligent AI cube, the twelve QF-3000Es are neither strong nor weak.

The only difference is whether there will be casualties when engaging the enemy.

He Ming sat down and met Roy's gaze when he turned around.

"Is it really bait?"

With this thought, He Ming gained some confidence.

However, He Ming's bait is not so easy to "swallow".

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(End of this chapter)