Promotion

Sure enough, after Eli voiced his thoughts, everyone else turned their attention to Major General Gao Yun.

"Major General Gao Yun, do you have any comments on Second Lieutenant Eli's assessment?"

"Yes, sir!"

Major General Gao Yun stood up on the screen, saluted, then picked up a report and prepared to deliver his briefing.

As a byproduct of Operation V, the Gundam Ground Type was something Major General Gao Yun knew quite a lot about.

He compared the Apsalus's specifications obtained during this operation with those of the Gundam Ground Type, then presented the specifications of the Federation's current main battleships, the Salamis-class and Magellan-class.

The conclusion was that the Apsalus could unquestionably be called a miniature Magellan on land.

And what about White Base, which was also equipped with a Minovsky Particle Flight Unit? That was classified information and couldn't yet be shown to a second lieutenant like Eli.

After Major General Gao Yun finished his briefing, the meeting room fell temporarily silent.

Eli knew that the senior officials in Jaburo were discussing the matter behind the scenes.

While he waited, Eli took a careful look at the person on the last screen.

Vice Admiral Tiam, General Revil's prized pupil and the successor on whom he had pinned his hopes.

Unfortunately, during the Battle of Solomon, Vice Admiral Tiam was struck directly on the bridge by the Big Zam and died on the spot.

General Revil himself was also killed by that bastard Gihren Zabi while negotiating peace with Prince Degwin.

One of the Federation's few hopes had vanished just like that.

As Eli looked at the two men, something stirred in his heart.

If he could save them, could the future of the Universal Century take a better path?

Eli lowered his head.

What could he do to change things?

He was only a Mobile Suit pilot. If he simply told them what he knew, no one would believe him.

Even if he went into space with them, Eli could hardly believe he would be able to save the two men from such brutal battles.

With a soft sigh, Eli let the thought flickering in his mind fade.

It was only the stirring of a viewer who had witnessed the countless tragedies of the Universal Century.

Jaburo soon reached a decision.

Eli had no way of knowing what it was yet.

A mere second lieutenant couldn't take part in a decision like this.

Even their direct superior, Colonel Ethan, could only sit in as an observer.

"Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Second Lieutenant Eli. You may leave now."

General Revil brought the discussion to a pause and dismissed Eli.

Still, Eli could sense a faint smile from General Revil.

That was only natural. General Revil was known for spotting talent, so it was hardly surprising that he took an interest in a frontline pilot like Eli.

"Yes, sir!"

Eli left without objection.

As for Shiro Amada? Unfortunately, he wasn't qualified to meet General Revil.

A subsequent review of the Gundam Ground Type's combat records revealed that Shiro Amada had shown an unusual degree of familiarity with the Apsalus's pilot.

If Shiro had managed to persuade the pilot to surrender, everything would have been fine, and Shiro might even have been rewarded for it.

But unfortunately, Shiro was now being questioned by the military police.

So Eli had to wait in the lobby of the Southeast Asia Command, wearing his Federation Forces uniform and watching the clerks come and go, passing documents from hand to hand.

Besides their Rainforest Front, there was also the Hot Sand Front.

That's right. Southeast Asia had desert terrain too.

Since the start of the Universal Century, Earth's ecological environment had steadily deteriorated.

And not long ago, Zeon had dropped a space colony on Earth. It was easy to imagine how much damage that would do to the planet in the future.

Eli knew that by the time the Universal Century reached its hundredth year, the Earth Federation would begin forcibly sending Earth's residents into space. It would even establish a Hunter Corps specifically to drive out anyone without a residency permit.

Could such a policy really be called right?

"Second Lieutenant, Colonel Ethan would like to see you."

Before long, a communications officer came over to Eli, who was slouched in a lobby chair, lost in thought.

"All right."

Eli immediately stood, straightened his uniform, rumpled by his careless posture, then followed the communications officer toward Colonel Ethan's office.

When he pushed open the door, Eli saw Colonel Ethan sitting at his desk, apparently working on some documents.

Why "apparently"?

Because Eli's keen senses told him that the moment he entered, Colonel Ethan had turned his attention to him.

"Second Lieutenant Eli Li, reporting for duty!"

Eli strode over to Colonel Ethan and saluted.

Only then did Ethan leisurely set down the document in his hands and look up at Eli with a warm smile.

"Welcome, welcome, Lieutenant Eli."

He raised a hand and returned Eli's salute.

"Lieutenant?"

Eli repeated the word in confusion.

He didn't think Colonel Ethan would make a mistake about something like this.

The only explanation was that Eli had been promoted.

And given the timing...

"Lieutenant Eli, your combat record over the past three months has caught the attention of the higher-ups. They've assigned you the mission of investigating the Apsalus, and you've been promoted accordingly."

Ethan stood, came over to Eli, and patted him on the shoulder.

In other people's eyes, Ethan was a courteous, gentle man who treated his subordinates generously.

But during the final assault on the mine, this was the man who directly ordered the 07th Team to enter the mine and try to trigger a nuclear explosion by detonating the reactor, thereby circumventing the Antarctic Treaty.

Eli knew that this deep-scheming man wasn't nearly as amiable as he seemed.

Of course, Eli agreed with his order to destroy that Zanzibar-class ship.

No one knew what impact all those supplies and personnel would have on the war if they were allowed to return to their homeland.

"Lieutenant Eli, to make it easier for you to investigate the Apsalus, we've decided to merge the 06th and 08th Teams into an independent combat unit. You'll have full command of this unit."

Ethan hadn't seen any delight on Eli's face at his promotion, so he offered him another piece of news.

This time, surprise appeared on Eli's face.

"I'm to have full command? What about Second Lieutenant Shiro Amada...?"

"As you know, having ties to Zeon at a time like this isn't a good thing, especially with the higher-ups paying such close attention to the Apsalus. But he gave me his word that he'd either persuade the Apsalus's pilot to surrender or destroy it. That's the only reason he's still allowed to fight. In return, he's lost command."

Colonel Ethan looked at Eli's expression with satisfaction, then returned to his desk and sat down.

Seeing this, Eli understood that he was being dismissed. He saluted silently, turned, and headed for the door.

"By the way, Lieutenant Eli, the higher-ups have sent other units to investigate the Apsalus too. Be sure to 'cooperate' with them, all right?"

Just as Eli was about to leave, Ethan spoke again.

Before Eli could reply, the door closed, blocking his view of the office.