Jerid's Sortie Order (1987)
"Hey, Zaku, surely it doesn't take you two and a half years to read a book." It does when you set it aside for several months to watch a ton of hella mid isekai anime, start the first G-Saviour novel and go even slower because of all the hella mid isekai anime, and then forget about both for several more months because you're too lazy to do language practice after work. But I did it eventually!
As with Char's Return, this is a single-player RPG with choose-your-own-adventure branching and turn-based combat. This time, you're Jerid Messa in the final days of his Titans training. When guerrillas take over a Federation base and threaten to use their own experimental technology against them, Bask Om gives Jerid 24 hours to save the day. Summary under the cut.
Setting
January, UC 0087. Buckland Base in Alaska hosts several experimental technologies away from prying eyes. Research into artificial Newtypes has begun. It also has a perimeter defense system powered by Kerberos, a satellite power station in geostationary orbit above the base. Using "Wave Catchers," microwaves received from Kerberos are converted into electricity that can power high-output beam weaponry, which could enhance the defenses of bases without large nuclear reactors. Kerberos itself could also be used as an orbital weapon...
In the Bering Sea to the west, Jerid Messa, Emma Sheen, and Kacricon Cacooler are five months into their special training program to become Titans officers. They are aboard the Graf Zeppelin, a massive attack carrier initially developed by Zeon but captured and completed by the Federation. The program is nicknamed "Top Gundam," a portmanteau constructed from the old US Navy's flight academy and the ace machine of the One Year War.
Characters
Jerid Messa: You assume the role of 23-year-old Jerid Messa at the end of his training. As the protagonist, Jerid doesn't come across as abrasive or comically evil as his anime counterpart.
Emma Sheen: A fellow student at Top Gundam. Described as a woman of Eastern descent with graceful features and the air of an honors student.
Kacricon Cacooler: A fellow student at Top Gundam. A rough, veteran-looking guy who Jerid has known for longer than Emma.
Bask Om: A high-ranking officer within the Titans who arrives at the Graf Zeppelin with a dangerous, time-sensitive, mission.
Alaska Native old man: Helps Jerid after a guerrilla encounter in a village. He has little intel but leaves an impact on Jerid by explaining his reasons for living traditionally.
Alaska Native young girl: The old man's granddaughter, who helps rally Jerid's fighting spirit and gives him another reason to complete the mission.
Ex-Zeon soldier: Crash-landed in the region during the One Year War, was healed by the Alaska Natives who found him, and decided to live in their village after growing tired of the war.
Enemy commander: A middle-aged man described as having sharp eyes despite an otherwise scrawny, hollow appearance.
Tom Cruising: Senior Crewman with the local guard. He shows up at the end to congratulate Jerid on his success and remind you that this is supposed to be loosely based on Top Gun.
Mechanics
MS-06MH Marine Hizack: One of three MS that Jerid can select for the mission; it confers an advantage in underwater combat but cannot use beam weapons. Its model number suggests that, despite the name, it's more likely to be the MS-06M/MSM-01 Zaku Marine Type that appeared in Zeta.
MS-09 Dom Blizzard Type: Presumably equivalent to the MSV-R Dom Cold Climate Type. It also appears in the game text as the MS-09F2.
MS-14A Gelgoog
MS-17B Galbaldy Alpha
MS-87D Nashorn: "Zeon's Phantom MS" that saw limited deployment during the One Year War, armed with a hyper rifle.
MSM-10 Zock
MAN-07 Grabro
RMV-05 Guntank Hover: Presumably derived from the RMV-1 as a hovering vehicle, although its in-book art depicts a machine with an upper body that's closer to the original Guntank but with a mono-eye head.
RGC-80 GM Cannon
RGM-79R Gundam Copy Type: Shares the same model number as retrofitted GMs that led to the development of the RMS-179; in the game, though, it's a clone of the original Gundam with Amuro's combat data.
RMS-179 GM II: One of three mobile suits Jerid can select for the mission; it has more HP than the Marine Hizack and is the only unit that can use a beam rifle.
RMS-106 Hizack: One of three mobile suits Jerid can select for the mission. It's used in the training exercises before the mission starts and has stronger armor than either the Marine Hizack or GM II.
RMS-117 Galbaldy Beta
ORX-003 Domingo: Described as the predecessor of the ORX-005 Gaplant, a transformable mobile suit with exceptionally high speed and aerial combat capabilities.
MAX-09 Dura: A behemoth MS nearly 70 meters tall and weighing 685 tons, it was developed from the Big Zam. The Dura has multiple high-output beam cannons, a deflection shield that weakens beam attacks, and, learning from the Big Zam's defeat, sub-arms with close-combat weapons. It is the final boss. Confusingly listed in the book's MS table as the MAX-09, on the back cover as the MAX-07, and in the game text as the MAX-11.
FF-3 Saberfish
M-4A3 Salamander: A hovertank armed with missiles.
Fa-223 Drache: Described as a combat helicopter, but its in-game artwork looks more like the fusion of a Luggun and a Dopp.
Dodai Kai
Story
Aboard the Graf Zeppelin, Jerid, Emma, and Kacricon go through their last big round of combat training. In a simulator, Jerid pilots a Hizack against up to three opponents: a damaged GM II, another Hizack, and the Gundam with Amuro's combat data. After simulator training is completed, the three participate in mock aerial combat aboard Hizacks riding Dodai Kais. (The number of opponents you defeat during the training phase determines how many skill points you start with.)
As aerial training concludes, you're all summoned by Bask Om. He explains that guerrillas have captured nearby Buckland Base -- and by extension, Kerberos, which is controlled remotely -- and are demanding that the Federation government release Zeon war prisoners. Because of the beam turrets powered by the Kerberos satellite, directly attacking the base is not an option. Neither is destroying the satellite itself. What about the Wave Catchers? Their locations are a closely-guarded secret, so they have to be found first.
If their demands aren't met within 30 hours, the guerrillas will use Kerberos to attack colonies. An organization as proud and just as the Titans could never allow a laser to strike a colony; the very idea is preposterous. Due to Minovsky Particle interference, someone has to locate and destroy the Wave Catchers and then call for reinforcements using laser-line communication from the Buckland Base control tower. The mission is assigned to Jerid, the one with the highest marks among the three trainees.
Once Jerid selects a machine and weapons, he departs the Graf Zeppelin in a high-speed capsule to one of two locations on the Alaskan coast. The mission area is a 6x4 grid and moving to an adjacent cell takes two hours, although this is reduced to one if a high-mobility item is equipped. All objectives must be achieved within 24 hours.
Jerid is free to roam the grid, encountering various enemies (defeating them earns more skill points) and procuring items that will help him later. Several, such as infrared goggles, are for the eventual infiltration of Buckland Base. Others are additional ammo or different weapons for his MS, in addition to repair docks that fully restore the unit's HP but require two hours to use. A few areas are also protected by minefields.
With the exception of two Alaska Native villages, the region is sparsely populated. He is more likely to run into a guerrilla than a civilian, although the latter do have items and information if you are able to converse. A young girl in one village gifts him a protective amulet that fits neatly into the breast pocket of his normal suit, which certainly isn't foreshadowing anything.
After destroying all three Wave Catchers and crossing the minefield outside Buckland Base, Jerid breaks into the facility in search of the communications room. There are infrared sensors along the way that must be avoided and gun-toting troops guard most routes. After reaching the room and sending the laser communication, the enemy commander and his men attack, but Jerid survives a gunshot thanks to the protective amulet. He still blacks out.
When Jerid wakes up, he's in a large dome under the base where the enemy commander has graciously provided him with his MS, repaired and rearmed, for a fight to the death against two artificial Newtypes loaded with Char and Amuro's combat data. Seeing the Gundam, Jerid recalls a family trip to Ireland where he met a girl who showed him a commemorative photobook of the machine. Jerid defeats both and the commander angrily prepares to destroy the dome from the inside, but since Jerid successfully called for help, Emma and Kacricon arrive to prevent the dome from collapsing on him.
Upon exiting the dome, the enemy deploys its final card, the Dura. It immediately bathes the area in fire and threatens to destroy the Graf Zeppelin approaching offshore. Jerid, Emma, and Kacricon all fight together and eventually bring the lumbering hulk down. (Although it's not a game over if either Emma or Kacricon die, this does lead to a bad ending where Jerid dies from extreme fatigue at the end of the mission.) With the Dura's defeat, the Buckland Base staff are rescued, as are civilians from the two villages who were captured after you left. You are reunited with the young girl, who reminds you of the one you met in Ireland years ago.
Jerid, Emma, and Kacricon return victorious to the Graf Zeppelin. Jerid does a victory roll on the deck, causing Bask to spill hot coffee on himself in the control room because, remember, this is Top Gun. At the debriefing, Bask promotes them all to Lieutenant Junior Grade and offers them the chance to become Gundam Mk. II test pilots (Two months later, the AEUG infiltrates Green Oasis and any character growth that Jerid experienced while completing this mission is lost when he encounters an autistic teenager.)
So there you have it!
Most of the story is contained the prologue and epilogue, as there's no canonical path to completing the mission. Only the Wave Catcher cells and the young girl's village are hard requirements, but given where they are relative to each other, you need to find a high-mobility item as early as possible. Same deal with items for base infiltration; you need at least two of the infrared goggles, wire rope, and landmover to reach the comms room before getting caught. There's probably also a fine line you have to walk between avoiding battles and fighting them for skill points, because repairs are expensive time-wise.
Dunno what's next; I certainly have no shortage of books to try!