Chapter 11
First Class
06/28/2503
1st R&D Officers barracks, building 2904
Room 101, Unit Commanders quarters
0429
I had woken up about fifteen minutes earlier and Max was just waking up as well. I had just finish putting on my pants when the door chime rang. At first I was wondering who could be needing me at this hour of the morning because the other members of the 1st R&D did not usually get up until around 0500. I was just about to open the door when I heard a slight female giggle on the other side. I knew immediately who it was I stepped to the side and opened the door. The next thing I knew was there was a squeal and thud as I saw a human female land in a clump on the floor. I laughed out loud and then I heard, "Oww. You're so mean, Tommy." "Do you really think I haven't learned anything from the other couple of times you've done this, Maddie? Hee Hee." "Hmpf." And then we both started laughing. About two days after General Gillespie left the base I decided to take Anna Salinas up on offer, and asked Madison out on a date, to which she accepted and after that we officially became a couple. I reached out my hand and pick her up off the floor. "Now that that's over…" I gave her a soft kiss on the lips and after a second pulled back and said, "Good Morning." "Good Morning." I then went back to getting dressed in my ACUs. She continued, "So I hear that we are supposed to get our first set of six recruits today." "Yeah, they should be arriving at the admin building around 1200. Did you get the two training GMs ready?" "Yes, they will be waiting at hanger 8." Since general Gillespie's visit, we built one new barracks for Mobile suit trainees, and three Hangers which we specifically designated for Mobile Suit storage. But hanger 9 was the smallest hanger but was the most secure because it was decided that the Gundams would need to be kept under lock and key and away from prying eyes while not in use. "Hopefully we will be able to get these kids molded into good MS Pilots for the next class. Madison, I'm going to be at the Design Lab until 1100 and then I'll be at Admin Building at about 1645 waiting for the recruits, okay." "Okay." "What's on your schedule?" "I have a conference call with MSB 2 and with Caldoria Command to setup the final tests for the Pegasus at 1000, other than that I was going to do rounds throughout the Factories and the foundry to see the progress on the current MS. Why?" "I think I would like you to help me teach MS Class 1." "What?" "Well I already cleared the paperwork for you to be a certified MS Pilot. With the six recruits we have two Commissioned officers and four recently graduated recruits, think it would be wise for the two of us to divide the work load." "Okay. I just hope that nine weeks of training will be enough." "I think it will be. This is the trial run so before Class 2, we will iron out the kinks and adjust the training schedule as needed." "Sounds good. Well I'll see you later." "Hey…" I pulled her in for one last kiss before we officially started work. It lasted for a good ten seconds before we parted. I could tell she was blushing. She winked and then walked away down the hall. I got on the last bits of my uniform and then I walked out and went to the Design lab in Science Facility 2, I needed to put together new designs for at least two new Assault Carriers. I also needed to get a hold of General Whittington of the 12th Armored Division, because I had an idea for a new tank to either replace or assist the Arclite Siege tank. I also had an idea for a new submarine for our submarine forces because even in the age of space travel, people still fight under water.
Building 2901, Administration building
1643
Madison and I were standing at the front entrance of the Admin Building, waiting for the six new recruits for the MS Training program. Both of us had reviewed all of their files and backgrounds thoroughly. All of them were given high praise by their trainers and superiors, so we were confident that we didn't have any more Hayfields. About a minute later we saw a military hover bus pull up and six individuals got out and once all of their gear was unloaded, the bus left. We were about to go out when we noticed that one of the commissioned officers was giving orders to the others after about twenty second of this we went out. He was a Captain from the 4th Mechanized Infantry Corps, so he was probably use to giving orders. "WHY AREN'T YOU GUYS IN LINE YET?!" I then shouted, "WHY ARE YOU GIVING ORDERS WHEN ALL OF YOU ARE HERE FOR THE SAME THING?" he stiffened up and turned around looked at me. He immediately snapped to attention and saluted, "SIR, I WAS TRYING TO MAKE US PRESENTABLE, SIR." "At Ease, and I appreciate that but next time I see you giving orders like a Drill Instructor, you WILL be reprimanded. Am I clear, Captain?" "Crystal, Sir." He got in line with the others and I looked them over. All of them had their Class B Uniforms on. The Captain was a man in his late twenties, he had nearly a dozen awards on his breast, he clearly has seen a lot of combat. The 2nd Lieutenant was a man in his early twenties and had only one award. My guess was he had just exited Officer Candidate School. The three males were all Lance Corporals, freshly out of Boot Camp. Three of them were men in their early twenties. But the last candidate was the only female. She had white hair, piercing red eyes, and did look older than eighteen. Also, for some reason, even though she was fresh out of boot camp, she already had the rank of Staff Sergeant. Madison and I stood before them and I said, "Good afternoon, Marines." "GOOD AFTERNOON, SIR." "I am Colonel Thomas Radford, Commander of the 1st Mobile Suit Corps and Chief designer for the various types of Mobile Suits that you will encounter." I looked at Madison and she said, "I am Lieutenant Colonel Madison Salinas. Commander of the 1st Research and Development Brigade, as well as the Executive Officer for the 1st Mobile Suit Corps. The two of us will be your trainers for the next nine weeks." "We do expect the six of you to be on time for everything that set you out to do. I will tell you one thing, there will not be a lot of classroom work. Most of what we teach you will be hands on. One thing I will stress is a semi-relaxed tone when you are here. Unless told otherwise, the standard uniforms are Jungle ACUs. I am not expecting perfection like they do in boot camp. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do and if you need help, ask." This sort of surprised the six of them. I then looked at the Lieutenant and said, "Lieutenant Maxwell, Do you know what a mobile suit is?" "No I do not know, Sir." "Captain Ramsey?" "No, Sir." "Corporal Barton?" "No Sir." "Sergeant Tanaki?" "No Sir." Tanaki had sort of a cold voice, almost like she had the voice of one who has too much combat. But I let it go for now. "Marines, the Mobile Suit is the newest mechanized infantry vehicle for the UED. It was the brainchild of a project that began in the year 2016, nearly five hundred years ago. We will show you the mobile suits tomorrow. But you six are going to be the pathfinders for the 1st MS Corps. For you will take all of your belongings to the trainee barracks building 2022 we start training tomorrow. For now get settled in. Ramsey you will be in room 102, Maxwell 103, Barton 104, Wallace 105, Fleming 106, and Tanaki 201. Since you're the only Female, I want you on a separate floor." "Understood." "Evening Chow is at 1800. Morning is at 0600. You will be at room 5, building 2903 by 0800 to begin training. And Captain, Remember what I said." "Yes sir." "Dismissed."
08/09/2503
Mess Hall, Room 3, Officers mess
1232
When we showed the Candidates the Mobile Suits, they were impressed. It took a little more doing for Captain Ramsey to get used to them, but eventually all of them made it through phase 1, which was the general familiarization of the Mobile Suit as a unit, Phase 2, the Mechanics of the mobile suit, and Phase 3, the two-man operation of the mobile suit. It was decided that I would take Ramsey, Tanaki and Barton, while Madison took Maxwell, Wallace and Fleming. The two of us each took one RGM-79T Trainer GM, and all of the Candidates became proficient with the mobile suit basic operation. We were near the end of Phase 4, Mobile Suit Weapons, Tactics and Strategies. During this phase all of the Candidates were using RGM-79G Ground Combat GMs, because we both wanted to evaluate their performance up to this point. The candidate still had to go through Phase 5, which was Space Operations which who take three weeks. Madison and I were having coffee in the mess hall going over the performance evaluations. She said, "I think I may have found our first Gundam Pilot Candidate." "Who?" "Lieutenant Duo Maxwell. He shows remarkable cunning, able to think on his feet and change his strategy at a moment's notice. Brilliant Tactician. His preferred method of attack is using the beam saber, in a slice and dice method." "Well that could be useful for close quarters combat. I may have two candidates. Sergeant Jo Tanaki and Corporal Trowa Barton. They too hold the same qualities as Duo. Jo's preferred method is to use the beam pistol from the GM in a dual-wield format. Trowa adapts his weapons for total assault. He uses the maximum amount of firepower possible." "Wow." "I think that once we finalize the testing and after Class 2, and if he still proves himself in all aspects, I think Trowa would be the perfect candidate for the Heavyarms." "You think so?" "Yeah. His preferred method of battle is heavy assault, which is what the Heavyarms is designed for. I think that once class 2 is over, I'll give him the Heavyarms. And I will want to test Duos abilities. Tomorrow during their day off, I'll go to design lab and Design two more Gundams. Okay?" "Alright." "Okay, let's get back to work."
11/23/2503
1st Mobile Suit Corps, Training Grounds
1421
Madison and I were right about Duo, Trowa, and Jo. All three were incredibly skilled and show great potential. All of the Six Candidates graduated from the training school and would stay on as instructors for class 2. Except for Captain Ramsey, All of them also were promoted to the rank 1st Lieutenant. And we found out why Jo had been promoted to the rank Staff sergeant. It turned out she exceeded in combat training and was ruthless in hear use of weapons. But we also found out she was that way because of her upbringing. She grew up on the planet Kowloon, which unfortunately for the most part is a very run down, very harsh place and Jo had fight and become this ruthless and cold person just to survive and the Marine Corps gave her the promotion to staff sergeant because of her combat abilities as well as her College Degree in Mechanical engineering.
We were in the middle of Class 2, Phase 4 and the candidates were in the middle of combat tactics. I was in a RX-79G conducted combat tests with one of the candidates when I heard , "-BEEP BEEP BEEP- Attention, Attention, All 1st Mobile Suit Corps Units, Red Alert, Red Alert. Los Andares Command has order the immediate suspension of training activities. All personnel are to return to the main base a stand by in the conference room for an emergency briefing. This order is being sent down from UED High Command." I was somewhat stunned. But I gave the reciprocal order, "Colonel Radford to all 1st MS training units, obey the orders that we have just received. All personnel current engaged in Mobile Suit Training are to return to the main base and stand by in building 2903. That is all." All of us maneuvered our Mobile Suits to the main base. About twenty minutes later all 70 Members of the 1st MS Corps were all waiting. Madison came up to me and asked, "Tom do you what this is about?" "Not a clue. Lets go to the main area." We all went to the main auditorium. Once we were all there I contacted general Salinas. His face appeared on the main screen. "Salinas here." "General, the 1st MS is assembled. Do you know what this is about?" "Hold on." The screen split to reveal General Gillespie. "Commandant." "What I'm about to tell you, Colonel, you are not going to like. I need you to prepare all of your unit for immediate deployment." I was shocked and terrified. Out of the 70 Members of the 1st Mobile Suit Corps, only eight including Madison and myself were certified to pilot the mobile suits for combat missions, the remainder included fifteen administrative officers who would be trained in class 3, seven were Mobile Suit Mechanics, and forty Phase 4 Candidates. I knew we were going into combat. I tried to explain to General Gillespie that we were not combat ready. "Commandant, With all due respect, my unit is not combat ready. Out of the seventy of us, only eight are certified pilots. The 40 candidates are only in phase 4 of training. Also we only have the Pegasus and the White Base, sir. We are not ready." "I completely understand your predicament, Colonel. If the situation was not as dire as it is, I would not even consider this course of action. Here is the situation: a rebel faction, known as The Cobalt Knights, have landed and attacked our main outpost on Ammazzarra. Ammazzarra Forces were quickly overrun, luckily the Yorktown battle group was nearby and backed them up, but they are starting to lose ground. Admiral Cartwright has already dispatched the Enterprise and Excelsior groups. I have also dispatched 14th Marines and 502nd Armored Marines, and now I am dispatching the 1st Mobile Suit Corps. Get your best candidates and best equipment there as quickly as possible. Even if we have ten mobile suits and one carrier, it will be enough. When you arrive at Ammazzarra, Report to Major General Tompkins of Ammazzarra command. Am I clear, Colonel?" I thought for a few seconds. I realized I had no choice. But I knew who my best Candidates were. I looked back at the Commandant and said, "Aye Sir. We will deploy immediately." He nodded his head and now only General Salinas was on the screen, "Candidates, we are asking all of you to grow up a little sooner than we wanted you to. I know you will do us all proud. Carry On." Everyone stood up, saluted and yelled, "THANK YOU, SIR." He nodded and the screen went blank. Everyone dropped the salute, and then looked at me as I turned around. Everyone was waiting for my command. I thought for about another ten seconds before I made my decision. "Okay, 1st, 6th, and 8th Teams, get over to hanger 8, you guys are going to be getting the best combat ready Mobile suits we've got. Colonel Salinas, get the factory to take 12 RX-79G's and have four of their shields marked with 01, four with 06, and four with 08. Load four of them with the 100mm machine gun, and with the beam Rifle, two with the rocket launcher and two with the 180mm Cannon. Also get the Heavyarms out of hanger 9. Load it with all equipment .Get them loaded onto the Pegasus ASAP." "Aye Sir." "Everyone else, Get onto the Pegasus. I am going to need everyone to fill a roll in ship operations. We move out in no more than two hours. MOVE." With that command everyone scattered. Within minutes the entire area was a flutter with activity. Twelve RX-79G Gundams were loaded on to the Pegasus and marked with the team numbers. The Heavyarms was also loaded. Within about forty five minutes the Pegasus was moved on of hanger 2 and was moved to the Carrier Landing pad. Within an hour of receiving our orders, we were ready.
