"Mr. Eli, did you know I was coming?"
Even as six—no, four—Dopp Fighters closed in around him, Amuro, seated in the Core Fighter, still had the presence of mind to check whether the battle in the ravine had begun.
Just as the fighting started, he had felt as though he'd touched something.
Thanks to that, Eli's side had also started fighting decisively, as if they'd received a signal.
That meant he'd completed the mission Bright had assigned him.
Amuro breathed a sigh of relief and focused even more intently on the battle before him.
That was right. White Base had detected the Apsalus even before Eli and the others had.
After all, the carrier's radar had picked up a high-concentration cloud of Minovsky Particles moving at high altitude. There was no way an ordinary Mobile Suit could do that.
Combined with Eli's resolve, which Karen had relayed, it had earned Bright's admiration and prompted him to order White Base to advance at full speed.
At their current speed, as long as Eli and the others could hold the Apsalus off for ten minutes, it would enter the range of White Base's cannons.
Bright stared ahead, doing his best to look confident.
"We can make it in time. Don't worry."
He said this to Karen and the other Mobile Suit pilots waiting in the hangar.
Meanwhile, the battle in the ravine had reached a fever pitch.
The three Gundam Ground Types had hidden themselves well enough to take out three Zakus with their Beam Rifles right from the start.
Then they burst out of their hiding places and began advancing on the Apsalus.
"Engage!"
Norris didn't even need to give the order. The ground units had already begun their counterattack.
The remaining three Zakus each charged at a Ground Type, while the Dopp Fighters had also chosen their targets.
The infantry, meanwhile, climbed into the nearest jeeps and began moving away from the ravine.
This wasn't cowardice. It was a decision made by the two men inside the Gouf Flight Types.
They both knew that in a battle like this, infantry were practically useless.
If that was the case, it was better to let the Principality's young men preserve their strength.
"These guys aren't bad."
The two middle-aged men each glanced at the other's Mobile Suit, secretly praising it.
But as their gazes met, another flare of fire shot into the sky.
Norris looked up and saw that it had come from the direction of Unit 06.
"Miss Aina, please leave at once!"
Norris urged Aina again.
"Ah, yes..."
Aina, seated in the cockpit of the Apsalus, snapped out of her daze and gave Norris a distracted reply.
Her eyes hadn't left the Ground Type marked 08 on the other side.
Even though two Mobile Suits on the scene bore the same marking, Aina was certain that one of them was Shiro's.
Aina reached out and touched the screen.
"Shiro..."
"Miss Aina!"
Only Norris's slightly stern voice made Aina tear her gaze away from the Ground Type and start operating the machine to ascend.
The Apsalus stirred up a gust of wind as it began to climb.
But just as its base reached the level of the ravine's rim, a pink beam came streaking in again!
This time, it blasted through the side of the base, and red warning lights immediately flashed throughout the Apsalus.
"I was worried about hitting our allies, so I couldn't use full power. I'm sorry. Even if I have to take advantage of your kindness, I'm going to keep you here."
Eli, who had fired the shot, glanced past the two Goufs and fixed his eyes on the enormous Apsalus.
The Ground Type's thrusters flared, sending the Mobile Suit charging toward the Apsalus!
As he moved, Eli fired repeatedly with the 100mm Machine Gun in his left hand, trying to suppress the Gouf on his left.
That Gouf raised its shield and remained where it was, defending, while the other dodged to the side and then charged at Eli.
There was no need to say more: Norris was piloting the Gouf defending in front of the Apsalus, while Ramba Ral was piloting the other.
Eli had figured that out, too.
Why? Because the Principality of Zeon took appearances so seriously that even in this short time, they'd painted Ramba Ral's Gouf in its distinctive blue-green colors.
Taking into account the Gouf itself, along with Ramba Ral's team, which had pursued White Base throughout the original story, Eli knew who was piloting the Mobile Suit now charging at him.
"The Blue Giant Star? I'm honored."
Eli abandoned his attempt to keep Norris suppressed when Ramba Ral slashed at him with a Heat Saber, and focused instead on fighting the enemy before him.
As he blocked the Heat Saber with the shield on his left arm, Eli greeted Zeon's famed ace over the comms.
"Heh. Reaper of the Rainforest isn't exactly a flattering title."
A steady voice came back from the other side.
"What about the real Gundam? Has it lost its nerve?"
Looking at the Mobile Suit before him, which was clearly different from the Gundam he'd already fought three times, yet so similar, Ramba Ral couldn't help mocking him.
Anyone could see it was a mass-produced Gundam.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Eli shoved the left control stick forward. The Mobile Suit responded to his command, abruptly increasing the output in its left arm and knocking the Gouf's Heat Saber away.
Then its right arm thrust forward, the Beam Rifle's muzzle slamming hard against the Gouf's shield.
"Firing at this range will make it explode, won't it?"
Ramba Ral said it as though he were kindly warning Eli.
"I don't need your concern!"
"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!"
Eli's blunt reply was accompanied by a sudden burst of fire from the 100mm Machine Gun in his left hand, which had finished lining up its shot sometime during the exchange!
As usual, Ramba Ral raised his shield to protect himself.
Seeing this, Eli immediately prepared to pull the trigger and fire the beam.
"Naive!"
Only then did Eli notice that sections of a whip had somehow wound themselves around his right arm.
"A Heat Rod!"
As the Heat Rod suddenly glowed red-hot, its blinding light reflected across Eli's face.
The right arm on the Mobile Suit status display was already showing a barrage of error messages.
The Lunar Titanium Alloy armor could hold out for a while, but the Heat Rod had a record of severing even a Gundam's foot.
Seeing this, Eli had no choice but to abandon the idea of continuing to suppress the Gouf with his left-hand machine gun. He let go of the 100mm Machine Gun, drew his Beam Saber, and slashed upward, cutting through the Heat Rod.
After doing that, Eli decided to press his advantage. He turned the Mobile Suit's left hand and thrust the Beam Saber forward.
But Ramba Ral, known as the Blue Giant Star, was no amateur. He only had to adjust the turbine on the Mobile Suit's right side slightly, creating a burst of thrust that let it evade the Beam Saber's thrust.
"Is this... a way of fighting in space?!"
Before you continue