Chapter 163: FB
When Eli returned to the ship, a flash of gold immediately caught his eye.
"Wah!"
The golden blur slammed into him, lifting him off the ground. His legs flailed midair, unable to find footing.
"Rita! Don't run off—ah, I see, you must have sensed that the Major was back."
Dr. Lenore, following close behind, had been worried that Rita might crash into someone. She had hurried after the girl, who had suddenly taken off running.
What she saw, though, was Rita colliding headfirst into Eli.
Dr. Lenore instantly relaxed.
"Well, since you're back, I'll get back to work. That old captain's been drinking again—I need to plan out his drinking schedule properly for the sake of his health. That guy next door too."
By "that guy next door," she meant Captain Sinapus of the Albion.
The two old men, being about the same age, had apparently snuck off to drink together again.
Eli nodded and reached for the wall. A handhold extended out, allowing him to brace himself and plant his feet back on the ground.
"What is it, Rita?"
He gently patted the little girl's head to calm her down.
Rita had secretly boarded the ship by hiding among the supplies being loaded. It had been an incredibly dangerous act.
Eli had fully intended to give her a harsh scolding that day.
But when the moment came, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
"Eli mustn't leave the ship."
"Huh?"
"It's dangerous out there."
Eli frowned immediately.
If it had been someone else—even a Newtype—he might have dismissed it as baseless worry.
But this was Rita. According to the records at the Augusta Research Facility, she had predicted the crash of the colony satellite and issued a warning ahead of time.
In other words, her NT abilities might be far beyond anything Eli could comprehend.
"Alright, I get it. Next time I leave the ship, I'll bring an escort with me for protection."
Eli gently patted her back, signaling for her to let go.
But she didn't. On the contrary, she gripped his clothes even tighter.
"Christina's already getting ready to come into space. When she does, she'll take you back to Earth, okay?"
"No."
Rita didn't listen to Eli's suggestion. She clung to him even more tightly.
Eli called out to her a few more times, but she didn't respond. She just buried her face in his chest.
Left with no choice, Eli carried her in his arms, walking back to his room under the faintly amused smiles of the White Chaser crew.
With Christina gone, Rita was closest to Eli—so it fell to him to take good care of her.
——
The upgrade to the GP01 was quickly completed.
Its official designation was now GP01-FB (Full Burnern), though everyone continued calling it GP01 for convenience.
The newly appointed test pilot, Kou Uraki, was already running flight trials with the unit at Anaheim's testing grounds.
The improvement brought by the newly installed omnidirectional thruster modules was immediately evident.
Uraki maneuvered freely according to his instincts, executing a sudden dive toward the lunar surface—only to shift the mobile suit's attitude just before impact.
The omnidirectional thrusters swiveled forward, and the body's heat-dissipation vents opened, revealing two front-mounted nozzles.
With all thrusters firing, not only was the suit's posture stabilized, it executed a full 180-degree spin.
"He's actually bringing out the full potential of the unit…"
Nina, watching from the observation station, was awestruck as the GP01 continued its acrobatic maneuvers outside.
The GP01 could perform a 180-degree rotation in just 0.8 seconds. In comparison, the RX-78-2 needed 1.5 seconds.
This wasn't just a numerical upgrade—it was the result of a comprehensive overhaul of its propulsion capability.
But at what cost?
Naturally, the strain placed on the pilot was immense.
Notably, due to the use of a Core Fighter system, the GP01 didn't have a linear seat installed.
So none of the engineers on the Anaheim team, Nina included, had expected the GP01 to ever operate at full thrust capacity.
But Uraki's performance was beyond all expectations.
"He's pulling out 150% of the suit's capabilities… That's astounding for a first-time run."
Poral Guilish, another Anaheim engineer, couldn't help but marvel as the GP01 deliberately buzzed low over the testing base.
She had also contributed to the GP01's upgrade.
"Nina, where did you find this guy? He's the perfect test pilot. With him, we might even be able to fully harness that machine's potential!"
Cradling a stack of documents, Poral looked at Nina with open excitement.
But Nina didn't look back. Her eyes remained locked on the GP01 blazing across the lunar surface like a streak of azure flame.
"No way! Kou is my Gundam's pilot!"
"Kou?"
Startled by her reflexive outburst, Mora—another engineer and mechanic—leaned over, a puzzled look on her face.
"When did you get so close with Ensign Uraki?"
Faced with her blunt question, Nina's cheeks flushed.
"Oh, come on! What's wrong with getting along with the test pilot?"
Blushing deeply, she caught Poral shooting her a teasing glance and immediately grew flustered.
"Oh~ But I don't recall you getting along with Monsha."
Mora grinned and wiggled her eyebrows, teasing Nina even harder.
"Well, that's because Lieutenant Monsha is completely insufferable."
"Full Burnern test complete. Beginning return sequence!"
Thankfully, Uraki's voice over the comms gave Nina a much-needed escape. Hugging her data pads, she hurried toward the maintenance gantry.
"You're so bad at hiding it~"
Mora straightened up, hands clasped behind her head.
"Well, this is Nina's first time falling for someone. Her reaction is totally understandable."
Poral's eyes gleamed with mischief as she watched Nina run off to meet the returning GP01.
"No way—really? A rare species."
Mora's eyes widened slightly in disbelief.
Meanwhile, the GP01 entered the gantry and was quickly hooked up to various cables.
In the next moment, the whole suit slumped as if drained, pulled into standby mode by the support systems.
And when Kou Uraki opened the cockpit and took off his helmet, the first thing he saw—
Was Nina's still-blushing face, smiling up at him.
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