Hot Sand Front

If someone told Eli that there was a desert in Southeast Asia in the twenty-first century, he would never have believed it.

It would be as absurd as saying that an ocean had turned into dry land.

Yet, looking out at the vast expanse of sand before him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of shock.

This was the Hot Sand Front.

This was the result of the irreversible damage humanity had inflicted upon Earth's ecology through reckless exploitation before the Universal Century.

"All units, report status."

"Normal," x4.

On the afternoon of the second day after White Base arrived at the Southeast Asia base, four Mobile Suits and a Hover Truck were advancing slowly across the desert, marching firmly toward a rift valley.

Needless to say, this formation was none other than 86 Squad.

"Eli, is the Apsalus really in a place like this?"

Shiro Amada wiped the sweat from his forehead and fanned himself with his hand while asking Eli.

"I can't be certain of that either. But the rainforest region was already swept by reconnaissance planes once, and we didn't find a trace of that big guy. It has to be here."

Eli pressed a key in front of him, checking the surrounding terrain to confirm their heading.

"The large rift valley ahead is the most likely spot."

After all, in this boundless desert, only that deep rift could hide the tracks of the Apsalus while it conducted its tests.

86 Squad was heading there for a field investigation precisely to confirm this.

After finishing the routine check-in since entering the desert, Eli propped his legs up in the cockpit and stretched, trying to loosen his back, which had grown stiff from sitting for so long.

Eli had deduced that the Apsalus was testing in this rift based on his memory of the 08th MS Team storyline.

However, he soon discovered something that didn't match his memories.

"It's actually Zaku..."

On a sand dune, Eli and the others maneuvered their units into a half-kneel to avoid detection, while he climbed out of his cockpit to the top of the dune to investigate.

They had conducted a sweep beforehand; the concentration of Minovsky Particles here was high enough that such a bold move was acceptable.

Still, as a precaution, he had Eledore stay in the truck to maintain constant monitoring.

"One, two... I can see six Zaku defending on the ground; the situation inside the rift is unclear for now."

Shiro Amada used binoculars to scout the direction of the rift, discovering Zaku standing guard on both sides of the valley.

High above in the sky, helicopters circled constantly, and occasionally, a Dopp Fighter would fly past.

"This is bad."

Eli frowned.

His squad was able to operate away from the base for long periods because they had cargo containers to carry supplies.

But Zaku did not possess such capabilities.

In other words, there was a base or a land battleship nearby providing logistical support for these Zaku.

"What should we do then?"

Shiro Amada clearly realized this as well, leaning over to ask Eli.

"We should be able to call White Base over now. This formation basically confirms that the Apsalus is here."

This was the answer Karen provided.

As a battleship, White Base was simply too large; if it joined the reconnaissance mission, it would be far too conspicuous.

Therefore, White Base was currently hiding in a mountain nook near the defense line in the Federation-occupied zone.

Eli raised his binoculars again, looking toward the valley.

"I can't see the situation inside the valley... Karen, take Eledore and Michel and retreat to the defense line to contact White Base. Move toward this area under the cover of night. Tell them to dispatch Core Fighters to scout the surroundings. Lead them to this location in the rear, lay down fiber-optic cables to maintain communication, and as soon as the Apsalus appears, rush over here immediately."

Eli unfolded the map in his hand and pointed out the designated location to Karen.

"We don't know the test cycle of the Apsalus, so we don't have time to observe. As soon as the target appears, we will launch an attack."

"Yes!"

Karen saluted while lying prone, then turned to leave.

"Wait, what if the Apsalus appears during that time?"

Karen suddenly thought of this and asked Eli.

Eli turned his head slowly, exchanged a look with Shiro Amada beside him, and after receiving a firm nod in his eyes, turned back to answer Karen.

"In that case, our lives will be in your hands."

After watching Karen and the Hover Truck depart, Eli climbed back into his unit.

They were now quite close to the canyon, and even though the Zeon forces had blanketed the area with high concentrations of Minovsky Particles, he still had to be wary of potential aerial reconnaissance.

Therefore, the three Gundam Ground Types must now disperse to carry out camouflage.

Without engineers in tow, the Mobile Suits themselves served as the best construction machinery; upon reaching their designated positions, each Gundam Ground Type used its serrated shield to scrape at the ground, quickly excavating a pit deep enough to conceal its prone form.

After maneuvering the units into the pits, the pilots climbed out to cover their machines with desert camouflage netting.

With that, the most basic form of concealment was complete.

By the time everything was finished, the sky had already darkened.

Eli sat inside his unit, checking the time via the onboard computer, and estimated that White Base should have already covered half the distance.

Originally, Eli felt his arrangements would be completed well before the next Apsalus test, but Karen's parting words had left him with a sudden, ominous premonition.

It had nothing to do with Newtype intuition; it was purely because that sounded far too much like a death flag.

"I have a bad feeling something is going to happen tonight."

Eli, currently on the second watch, sat in the cockpit wearing a Federation Forces military T-shirt, constantly tugging at the fabric over his chest to encourage airflow.

Unlike the humid heat of the rainforest, the heat of the desert was dry; by comparison, Eli would much rather have stayed in the rainforest.

At least there, he wouldn't have to constantly replenish his fluids.

Taking a sip of still-cool water, Eli sat in the cockpit and used the Gundam Ground Type's head-mounted periscope camera to scout the direction of the rift valley.

Seeing that there was still little movement—the Zaku pilots had even vacated their machines—Eli began to think his premonition was nothing more than groundless worry and unnecessary alarm.

But in the next instant, the face Eli hadn't even had the chance to relax stiffened.

Because those pilots were suddenly running in unison toward their machines, helicopters were taking off one after another, and the silhouettes of Dopp Fighters had appeared in the sky.

"Speak of the devil. Shiro, Sanders, we have a situation!"

Eli immediately opened the comms; the wired communication lines he had set up during the day proved their worth now, instantly waking the two pilots who had been dozing inside their own units.

From the edge of the horizon, a thunderous roar began to roll in.