Advance into Enemy Territory

The next day, Eli led the 08th Team toward the front lines.

On the way, they used the teeth on their Ground Types' small shields to help an infantry company dig a trench, handed over some of their ammunition to the 03rd Team, who had just finished a battle at the front, and finally drove off a Zaku squad that had crossed the defensive line with a long-range barrage.

That was how the day went.

As the sun dipped toward the treetops, the six of them lit a campfire in enemy-occupied territory and prepared some food to reward themselves.

They had ended up near Area 376, on the edge of the Zeon occupation zone.

In a conventional war, they should have been surrounded by now.

But unfortunately, Zeon's forces were far weaker than before, and their defensive lines were much thinner.

Under Eli's command, they had also cleared out most of the enemies in the surrounding area.

And with Minovsky Particles at such a high concentration, Eli's experience told him that Zeon wasn't yet able to organize a counterattack.

That was why they could afford to act so brazenly.

"Why do you keep looking at the sky? Are you watching the stars?"

Shiro Amada carried a tin cup of hot water over to Eli, who was sitting beside his Mobile Suit, and handed it to him.

"More or less. I'm used to seeing these stars in space, but they have a different charm when you look at them from Earth."

Eli didn't say that he was watching for the possible arrival of the Apsalus. Instead, he went along with Shiro's suggestion and truly began to admire the starry sky.

Thanks to the lessons on identifying constellations during Mobile Suit training, which had been taught in case the navigation system failed, Eli could pick out the North Star.

Using it as a reference, he located Ursa Major, then went on to identify the other constellations one by one.

As Eli pointed them out, Shiro followed the direction of his finger, trying to make them out for himself.

"It's strange. When you're surrounded by stars in space, you don't feel like looking at them closely. But once you're on Earth, you can't help being drawn to the night sky."

After identifying all the constellations he could recognize, Shiro couldn't help but sigh.

Eli lowered his hand and leaned back, trying to widen his field of vision and take in as much of the starry sky as he could.

"Before the Universal Century, humanity struggled to reach space, hoping to expand civilization beyond Earth. That's where the space colonies came from."

Hearing Eli say this, Shiro turned to him in surprise.

He could see the starry sky reflected in Eli's eyes.

"Second Lieutenant Eli, you sure know a lot about history."

"Just call me Eli. We've fought together for so long... I think history like that should be remembered."

As Eli spoke, Shiro was momentarily struck by the feeling that they came from different worlds.

But when Eli turned to look at him, Shiro pushed the absurd thought out of his mind.

Eli was right there in front of him.

"People on Earth long for the stars, and that's why they reach for them, right?"

A man-made wonder, capable of housing some thirty million people, rose in Eli's mind.

There were thirty or forty colonies in a single Side like that.

And seven such Sides had already been built.

They were supposed to be stepping stones for humanity's expansion into space. Humanity really had been exploring and developing Mars and Jupiter.

Yet now, the Principality of Zeon, led by the Zabi Family, was waging a war that had engulfed the entire Earth Sphere.

And all of it was because of the Zabi Family's selfish desires.

Or, more precisely, because Gihren Zabi selfishly wanted to become the ruler of the world.

Of course, that didn't mean other people were blameless, either. People like Garma were no exception.

"So there's no doubt about it. Zeon is in the wrong."

Eli murmured again.

He wasn't making that judgment as a Federation Forces soldier, but as a twenty-first-century man who had been educated in the people's view of history and the historical perspective.

"Yeah. That's why we have to defeat Zeon."

Shiro didn't know what Eli was thinking, but that much was unquestionably true.

A shooting star streaked across the sky.

But no one could tell whether it was a meteor from beyond the atmosphere or wreckage falling from a battle in near-Earth orbit.

On Earth, shooting stars had lost their romantic meaning. They had become a symbol of fear of space.

Eli drained the now-lukewarm water from his cup.

"I'll take the first watch. You all get some rest."

Eli filled his tin cup with field rations warmed over the fire, climbed the boarding rope, and settled into the cockpit.

The Gundam Ground Type marked 06 slowly rose from its crouch and moved beside a lush tree, using its leaves to block the view from above.

"I get the feeling Eli... Eli's been a little anxious today."

Shiro came over to the campfire, a spoon between his lips, and muttered to his teammates.

"True. It's unusual to see Eli like this."

Karen, who was warming up food, agreed.

After fighting alongside Eli for so long, she hadn't seen him this troubled in ages.

Ever since that battle, Eli had seemed more and more mature. Sometimes Karen forgot that he was only twenty years old—and younger than her.

"Maybe Second Lieutenant Eli has fallen for someone?"

Compared with the others, Michel was the one who still seemed like a child. Hearing the topic, he finally looked up from the letter he'd been writing and said something that made everyone laugh.

"Idiot. That's impossible. It's Eli we're talking about. He wouldn't worry over something that trivial."

Eledore tapped Michel on the head, making him scowl.

"Love isn't trivial!"

"You'll understand when you're older. Long-distance relationships never work out."

Eledore waved a hand, paying no mind to Michel's furious expression.

Watching the two of them joke and squabble, Sanders simply kept eating with a blank look.

"What's wrong, Sergeant Sanders?"

Karen offered him a cup of water and asked.

Despite her bold, tough exterior, Karen was actually a thoughtful woman. She, too, had noticed that something was off with Sanders.

"Is he worried about the Grim Reaper's curse?"

Sanders looked at the steaming water Karen had offered him and voiced his concern.

"Don't be ridiculous. He wouldn't care about your superstition."

Sanders lifted his head and looked at Karen.

"I'm not talking about mine."

In the Zeon-occupied zone, Karen stared at Sanders in a daze, then suddenly realized what he meant.

The scene from that night, when they'd received the 06th Team's distress signal, resurfaced in Karen's mind.