Eli shouldn't have been here.
Gundam, the Universal Century—those should have been nothing more than settings in science fiction stories to him.
But while traveling in Japan, he'd been wandering around the Gundam Base and taking a picture with the life-sized Unicorn Gundam statue when it suddenly toppled over and crushed him.
When he woke up, Eli had become a Swordfish pilot serving with the Federation garrison on Island Iffish.
The rest of what happened afterward was probably familiar to everyone.
Eli had been lucky enough to escape that hell filled with poison gas. Because he'd shot down a Zaku with his Swordfish, the Federation had selected him as one of its first Mobile Suit pilots.
And because he had East Asian ancestry, he'd been assigned to the Southeast Asia Front.
"Karen, I heard the 08th Team's captain is on his way?"
Back in the maintenance area, Eli parked his Gundam Ground Type in the 06th MS Team's section and asked Karen.
It was worth noting that, besides the Mobile Suit Karen had just parked, two other undamaged Gundam Ground Types sat beneath camouflage netting in the 08th Team's berths.
By contrast, the 06th MS Team had only Eli's Gundam in working order. The outer armor had been stripped from the other two.
That was because Eli's teammates had made a serious mistake during an operation, resulting in the destruction of both Gundam Ground Types. Their pilots had been transferred to a rear hospital with severe injuries.
They'd supposedly been discharged because of those injuries.
That was why Eli was working alongside Karen.
"Yeah. I heard he even took out a Zaku with a Ball on the way here. What a guy."
Karen waved the wrench in her hand as she spoke to Eli.
"What about you? Any news on reinforcements?"
"Don't ask. Captain Kojima said things are stretched thin everywhere lately. The only reason they could bring your team back up to full strength was that you still had two Mobile Suits. There's nobody they can spare for me."
Eli shook his head slightly.
"Hey, old man! Can't you hurry up and piece together a working Gundam for me?"
Then Eli shouted down at the old man drinking below the warehouse.
That was Gidan Nika, the supply company commander at this field base. He was also on close terms with the maintenance crew.
"I told you already, didn't I? There's no fixing those two. We can only strip them for parts."
Nika irritably shook his canteen, then drained it.
Eli had already been prepared for that answer, so he didn't press the matter.
He was currently directing the maintenance crew as they removed parts from the other two Ground Types in his team, replacing the overly worn components in his own machine.
In a situation like this, practicality came first.
"Ensign Shiro Amada, reporting with my appointment papers for the 08th MS Team!"
Before long, someone Eli knew arrived at the field base.
Shiro Amada, the protagonist of Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, a devoted romantic, and the finest beam-saber user.
It wasn't that Eli had an exceptionally good memory. As he watched Shiro in the crowd, a translucent panel appeared before his eyes, displaying Shiro's name and a title.
Perhaps this was the so-called system.
But this system only had that one function: letting Eli identify who people were in real life.
After all, people looked quite different in person than they did in animation.
The system shop Eli had longed to see was nowhere to be found, and neither was Deep Blue Stat Point.
If Eli looked at himself, he could see his own name, too.
But there was an extra title after it.
"Grunt Captain"
"When piloting mass-produced units, piloting skill increases by 30%, and Newtype abilities increase by 25%."
Thanks to this, Eli had mastered a considerable degree of Mobile Suit combat skill, even before the Federation had widely adopted Mobile Suits.
The boost to his Newtype abilities had also greatly improved his chances of surviving on the battlefield.
Still, even with the system's help, Eli couldn't sense the other person's detailed thoughts. He could barely even detect their emotions.
That meant that even if Eli really was a Newtype, he was probably inferior to Char at the very beginning.
"...Ensign Lai—Ensign Eli!"
Kojima's voice reached Eli's ears.
Only then did Eli return from his thoughts. He squeezed through the crowd, stood at attention before Kojima, and saluted.
"Here!"
Kojima picked up a cup, filled it with water, and took a drink.
"I'm sorry, but your request for reinforcements for the 06th MS Team still hasn't been approved. But I'm not comfortable sending you into battle alone, either."
Kojima's concern was justified.
Although Eli had the most confirmed kills in Kojima's battalion and was undoubtedly an ace, fighting alone was still extremely dangerous. His death would also have a huge impact on the troops' morale.
"Ensign Amada, you're from Side 2 as well, if I remember right?"
Kojima sipped his water as he asked Shiro.
"Ah, yes..."
Shiro answered at attention, but his eyes kept drifting toward Eli beside him.
The word "as well" made Shiro feel a little more warmly toward him.
"I see... That works, then. The 06th MS Team and the 08th MS Team will form one unit and fight together. As for command... Eli, would you follow Ensign Amada's orders? Of course, Ensign Amada, be sure to give Ensign Eli's suggestions due consideration when planning tactics. He's our ace, after all."
"No problem!"
Eli and Shiro saluted again and answered Captain Kojima together.
And with that, the special combat unit was formed.
"There's a secret Zeon factory somewhere around here. I want you all to find it and destroy it."
Captain Kojima once again emphasized the main objective of the entire Southeast Asia Front, then dismissed the meeting.
"Hey, be careful, Eli. That guy's the Grim Reaper, Sanders."
"Exactly. I heard that whenever someone's on his team, he's the only one who survives."
As the two teams returned to the crowd, someone quietly said this to Eli.
Though "quietly" was a bit of an exaggeration; everyone present could hear them.
Eli looked over and saw that it was the same member of the 07th Team who'd thrown the fruit earlier.
Eli smiled.
"Don't worry. I don't believe in that sort of thing. You two should trust my abilities more, too."
Eli waved at them, then followed Shiro and the others to the Mobile Suit hangar.
"Let's introduce ourselves again. I'm Shiro Amada, from Side 2. I look forward to working with you."
Standing in front of the 08th Team's Unit 1, assigned to Shiro, he extended his right hand.
"I'm from Island Iffish. Likewise."
Eli wasn't about to make things difficult for Shiro over something like this. He clasped Shiro's hand firmly.
"Island Iffish..."
Shiro remembered when he'd entered Island Iffish to rescue people as a member of the Federation garrison. What he'd found was a scene straight out of hell.
A look of concern appeared on his face.
"I'll drive every last one of those Zeon bastards out."
Eli, too, remembered what had happened back then.
Though he'd only just arrived in this world at the time, he'd inherited the memories of this body, and he was furious over what Zeon had done on Island Iffish.
Shiro opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Eli's declaration struck him as strangely familiar.
That was right—he'd said the same thing not long ago.
So why couldn't he bring himself to agree with Eli now?
Before you continue