As Gundam Ace prepares to celebrate its twelfth year, so shall we! Here’s the latest Gundam novel to come out of Japan! Part 1 of 6 (one part uploaded daily!)

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM THE BLAZING SHADOW
PROLOGUE

1 SHADOWS 

“It’s about that time.”

Cain Ragnard announced to his comrades from inside the cockpit of his humanoid weapon known as a mobile suit. His personal unit: the RGM-79SP GM Sniper II. Opening his visor’s helmet, he covers his nose with a single-hole type face mask. Displayed on the hemisphere-like monitor in front of him is a Musai-class battleship belonging to Zeon remnants, who are now synonymous with terrorists. Their ship is nothing but a small speck against the dark backdrop of scattered stars. Despite moving slowly due to inertia, the Musai was “suspended” so to speak in this vast void of space. Distance to target: 92 kilometers. Although there was no need to worry about being caught on the enemy radar due to Minovsky Particle dispersal, even if there were people on board with a telephoto lens they still would not be able to confirm their presence.

Cain belongs to a special forces unit of the Earth Federation Forces known as “Shadows.” His machine is based on the colors charcoal gray and black. This was done in part to give it the exact color of a stone drifting in space. With its slim appearance and overall height of 18 meters, its size fits perfectly as a large stone. If they’re used under gravity, it can conceal itself on top of stones.

“Guess you’re right.”

He heard Lieutenant JG Zalf Wakken say over the wireless. Although Cain is a Lieutenant, he acts as a subordinate, yet doesn’t scold them for not speaking properly at a senior officer. This isn’t because he is being lenient, it’s because they were friends before enlisting.

Gripping each of the control sticks in his hand, Cain readied his long-range sniping weapon: the GM Sniper II’s L-9 beam rifle. The sixteen meter rifle was firmly held by manipulators that people called “hands”. As if understanding Cain’s intentions, the machines head visor, where the scope is located, automatically drops down. Cain’s field of vision changes to snipe mode, a 180 panoramic monitor. A circle appears in the center of the monitor and the other sections black out. The reticle provides targeting within the circle and the cross-hairs capture the profile of the Musai displayed on the scope by using the zoom function.

Cain slowly and steadily turned the muzzle, running it up the dark green hull of the ship. A slope extends from the rear of the thick ellipsoid body connecting the bridge which houses the command deck. Hanging from either side below the bridge is a semi-cylindrical like thermonuclear rocket. Due to its unique shape, there are those in the Federation Forces that sarcastically refer to the Musai as a “playground slide”.