Post-Battle Report

"What on earth did you two do? Both units have damaged legs—this is pure recklessness. Shiro Amada's unit is manageable; it just needs a few standard parts. But Eli, what happened to you? The entire shock-absorption mechanism in the left leg is wrecked!"

The day after returning to base, Eli dragged Shiro Amada along to face the wrath of the maintenance crew.

The maintenance staff, usually kind-hearted and diligent, were now brandishing their tools and glaring at the two pilots with grim expressions, led by their foreman.

For a humanoid weapon like an MS, the legs are the most difficult part of the entire machine to repair.

Their hard landing from such a high altitude had undoubtedly caused a massive headache for the maintenance crew.

"We're sorry!"

Eli didn't try to make excuses. Instead, he immediately grabbed the hem of Shiro Amada's uniform, bowed alongside him, and held out a full carton of cigarettes with both hands.

This was a premium item he had purchased from Captain Nika, a form of hard currency now that supplies were becoming scarce.

As for why supplies had suddenly tightened?

Naturally, it was because the front lines had stabilized, and the high command of the Federation Forces was already planning to push the war into its next phase.

In other words, the time for the Federation Forces to launch a counterattack was approaching.

To prioritize the counter-offensive in Europe, the transport of supplies to areas like Southeast Asia, where the situation was relatively stable, had been reduced.

Seeing Eli's gesture, the maintenance crew's anger softened significantly.

Truth be told, they were just frustrated by the extra workload; their anger toward Eli and Shiro Amada was more of a customary ritual between maintenance crews and pilots.

Since they saw each other every single day, how could they truly be angry enough to demand the pilots be more cautious in combat, or prioritize the machine over the pilot's life?

"You know how to play the game... Boys, split these up, then get to work and fix that thing properly!"

The foreman took the cigarettes and gave Eli a heavy thump as he walked past.

Following him, the other maintenance crew members each reached out to pat Eli on the shoulder with their fists.

In reality, as logistics personnel, they held a sense of admiration and reliance toward Eli.

Or rather, they felt that way toward everyone fighting on the front lines.

The maintenance crew immediately swarmed around one of the Gundam Ground Types belonging to the 06th Team, preparing to strip its legs to install them onto Eli's Gundam Ground Type.

This would allow Eli's unit to regain combat capability as quickly as possible.

The removed leg would then have plenty of time to be repaired properly.

"I thought we were going to get chewed out."

Watching Eli's serious expression from moments ago, Shiro Amada had even prepared himself for a beating.

He hadn't expected the maintenance crew, who had also worn stern faces, to show such warmth.

"Second Lieutenant Shiro Amada, it's common knowledge that a good MS pilot needs to have a good relationship with the maintenance crew."

Eli sighed with a look of experience, causing Shiro Amada to show a look of lingering fear.

"Oh no, then I..."

"It's fine, Karen already took care of it for you."

Before Shiro Amada could ask Eli for help, Eli gestured with his chin, signaling Shiro Amada to look in his direction.

Over there, Karen, who had integrated perfectly with the maintenance crew, was leading them like a big sister as they performed maintenance on Shiro Amada's unit.

Noticing the two of them looking, Karen flashed a peace sign before turning back to her work.

"Staff Sergeant Joshua!"

Shiro Amada wore an expression of exaggerated gratitude, a stark contrast to the friction he had with Karen when he first arrived.

The battles of the past few days had done much to bridge the gap between them.

"Alright, let's go."

Eli grabbed Shiro Amada by the collar from behind, cutting off his attempt to walk toward Karen.

"Go? Go where?"

Shiro Amada stumbled from the pull and turned to ask Eli.

"You really didn't listen to a word yesterday, did you... We're heading to the Southeast Asia Theater base; the higher-ups want to talk to us."

Eli released Shiro Amada's collar so he could regain his footing.

"The higher-ups? Is it Colonel Yinsen?"

Colonel Yinsen was the commander of the Far East Front Independent Mechanized Regiment to which they belonged, and their direct superior.

"No."

"Oh, good, that's a relief."

"It's General Revil."

Watching Shiro Amada, who had just let out a sigh of relief, Eli mercilessly dropped a name that could scare anyone to death.

Shiro Amada's hand, which had been scratching the back of his head in relief, froze instantly.

"Huh?!!"

"...In summary, I believe the Apsalus manufactured by Zeon possesses the capability to alter the course of the war."

After a lengthy presentation, Eli concluded his report with his own assessment.

He lifted his head calmly, looking toward the center screen among the several large displays before him.

It displayed the image of an elderly man with a white beard.

Needless to say, that was the illustrious General Revil.

Regrettably, Eli realized at this moment that the system he carried could not perform identification through a screen.

"You claim that the Apsalus can change the course of the war; what is your basis for this?"

At this moment, a person on a side screen spoke up to ask.

That was General Gopp, known as the Mole of Jaburo.

This was supposed to be a derogatory nickname, yet Eli knew clearly that if General Gopp had not continuously managed the overall war effort from within Jaburo, stabilized the rear while General Revil was held captive, and insisted on the continuation of Operation V, the Federation would never have had the capital to launch a counterattack.

Perhaps he lacked sufficiently dazzling command achievements, but he was undoubtedly a pillar of the Federation.

"Yes! Please listen to this audio."

Eli played the audio from the time Aina had threatened them with self-destruction.

"This subordinate believes that the Apsalus was able to bear the weight of two Gundam Ground Types and still force an ascent while damaged. This implies that the Apsalus possesses sufficient payload and energy reserves; judging by its size, I fear it is capable of mounting a Mega Particle Cannon."

Eli tried his best to frame the situation as severely as possible.

Of course, this was not alarmist, as the Apsalus was designed from the start to raid Jaburo.

His primary goal was to ensure the upper echelons invested more attention into this matter.

In the original story, even though the 08th Team discovered the Apsalus, the higher-ups paid little attention, leaving only the 08th Team to conduct independent tracking and investigation until the Apsalus II truly demonstrated the power to destroy Jaburo, at which point it was finally taken seriously.

Eli wanted to bring that level of attention forward, which was why he had explicitly stated the threat the Apsalus posed to Jaburo in the report he had written earlier.

However...

Had this report actually caused such a stir in Jaburo that even Major General John Kowen, who was in charge of Operation V, was participating in the meeting?

It seemed that those in Jaburo intended to rely on Major General John Kowen to verify the truth of Eli's claims.