"Although I've already introduced myself, let me do so properly. I'm Lieutenant Eli Li, commander of the 86th Squad, Kojima Battalion, Far East Front Independent Mechanized Regiment."
"Also serving in the regiment, Ensign Shiro Amada."
"Also serving in the regiment, Sergeant Karen Joshua."
"Also serving in the regiment, Sergeant Terry Sanders."
By the time Amuro piloted the Gundam back to White Base's hangar, the four members of the 86th Squad had already climbed out of their Mobile Suits. They saluted the captain as he hurried over.
"Ah, I'm Bright Noa. My rank is ensign, and, uh... I'm the captain of this White Base."
Bright had obviously heard Karen's comments earlier.
Now, facing Lieutenant Eli and Ensign Shiro Amada, he didn't know how he was supposed to present himself.
"Don't worry, Captain Bright. We can just address each other by our positions."
Meeting Lin Youde, one of the legendary figures from the Gundam era, made Eli unconsciously open the so-called system.
"Bright Noa, 19 years old. Port-side critic, the greatest wielder of the slap, master of the power of the spin."
Eli guessed that the so-called system must have been using comments from internet users in his previous life to create character descriptions.
Otherwise, there was no way it would come up with something like this...
Eli stepped forward and offered Bright his hand, signaling that he didn't need to be so nervous.
Bright was still green at this point, nothing like the legendary captain who would command countless Gundams in the future.
After all, he was only nineteen, the same age as Eli.
Bright visibly relaxed.
Eli could see his eyes widen; they were no longer squeezed into tiny dots as they had been when he first hurried over.
"All right, Squad Leader Eli."
Bright took Eli's hand and shook it firmly.
Heaven knew, ever since SIDE 7, Bright had been responsible for leading a ship full of civilians through the Zeon Forces' blockade and down to Earth.
The ship's few Mobile Suit pilots were all difficult to deal with, which left Bright utterly exhausted.
And after they landed on Earth, most of the Federation Forces they encountered were scattered remnants of defeated units.
The Federation Forces were now calling White Base a miracle ship, but who could understand how much pressure Bright was under as a captain who had only just graduated from military academy?
It was no wonder Eli and the others, regular soldiers who were still in contact with Federation headquarters, had struggled to contain themselves.
Bright was squeezing Eli's hand so hard that it was starting to hurt.
"Are these mass-produced versions of the Gundam?"
Fortunately, a boy's voice interrupted Eli's thoughts.
Looking toward it, he saw Amuro, who seemed to have jogged all the way over.
He was gazing up at the four Mobile Suits lined up side by side, his voice betraying a mixture of excitement and disappointment.
"Amuro, mind your military discipline!"
If they had been alone, Bright wouldn't have minded Amuro's casual behavior.
But in front of four actual soldiers, Bright was nervous and wanted Amuro to salute.
He was trying to protect Amuro, but the latter didn't seem grateful. Instead, he ran straight to the feet of the Gundam Ground Type.
"Sorry. He's like that whenever he sees anything related to machinery."
As Bright grew anxious, a gentle woman's voice came from behind him.
Eli and Shiro looked past Bright and saw two women in red uniforms.
"Frau Bow, Mirai Yashima, why are you here too...?"
Bright's expression grew noticeably stiffer at the sight of the two women.
It was clear that he wanted to present himself as a tougher, more dependable soldier in front of Eli and the others, but one unexpected thing after another kept ruining his plans.
"Because Amuro's a complete machinery fanatic... Besides, his father designed the Gundam. It's only natural that seeing a mass-produced model would move him."
Frau was as gentle as ever, speaking as if she were a mother indulging her child.
By calling it only natural, Frau was asking the soldiers before her to forgive Amuro's unruly behavior.
"Ah, I had no idea..."
Shiro lowered his saluting hand, clearly surprised by what Frau had said.
His father had designed the Gundam, and his son was its pilot.
Was that a blessing or a curse for his father?
Shiro couldn't help wondering.
From Sanders and Karen's expressions, they were clearly thinking the same thing.
So Eli spoke up.
"It's all right. I think Amuro, as a Gundam pilot, is certainly entitled to inspect the Gundam Ground Type."
Since Eli, the squad leader, had said so, Bright could only swallow whatever else he had been about to say.
After taking a good look at the Gundam Ground Type, Amuro walked over to them.
"This thing is amazing."
At that moment, Amuro seemed nothing like the ace pilot who struck fear into the Zeon Forces. He was every bit his age, still carrying a childlike innocence.
Thinking this, Eli looked at Amuro with an amused smile.
But it didn't last long.
"So, does that mean I don't have to get back in the Gundam?"
"Amuro!"
Bright's suppressed frustration flared back up at Amuro's words.
"That's disobeying orders!"
Bright was so young that Amuro's remark immediately set him off.
"What do you mean, disobeying orders? The Federation can already produce Mobile Suits, so it doesn't matter what happens to this Gundam anymore! The same goes for this warship. What happens to us doesn't matter either!"
Bright opened his mouth at Amuro's words, but for a moment, he couldn't find anything to say.
When they had first left SIDE 7, he'd thought the Federation needed the various prototypes aboard the ship.
But after seeing a mass-produced version of the Gundam, that justification had naturally disappeared.
"Whatever happens, our job is to obey Jaburo's orders and get this ship back there!"
Shaken by Amuro's brief outburst, Bright could only invoke his orders to make Amuro comply—and to steady himself.
"I'm not a soldier. You should know that better than anyone."
To Bright's surprise, Amuro didn't shout out his feelings like he used to. Instead, he spoke to Bright calmly, as if he had settled down.
"If I could, I'd like to be like Doan and live far away from the war."
Amuro looked Bright straight in the eye. In that moment, the young captain realized that he had been treating Amuro like an adult and putting far too much pressure on him.
It was just that the lives of everyone aboard depended on Bright alone.
Now Amuro had encountered real Federation soldiers and Mobile Suit pilots. Without that burden weighing on him, it was only natural that he no longer wanted to climb into a Mobile Suit.
Before you continue