White Base of Gathering Heroes

Eli had long known that life aboard White Base was destined to be anything but peaceful.

However, he never expected to be attacked three times in five days, with two of those being large-scale assaults involving Mobile Suits.

Needless to say, it was Ramba Ral, who had been tailing them the entire way.

Eli sighed.

Ramba Ral's piloting skills were truly formidable, far beyond any enemy he had encountered before.

Even with Amuro and himself coordinating several times, they hadn't been able to take him down in one fell swoop, only managing to drive him back.

The only silver lining was that they had now entered the jurisdiction of M'Quve.

As a member of Kycilia's faction, M'Quve paid lip service to Ramba Ral's requests, but in reality, he was secretly withholding the new model Mobile Suits originally intended for Ramba Ral's deployment.

With fewer and fewer Mobile Suits at his disposal, the threat posed by Ramba Ral's revenge force to White Base would continue to diminish.

"Amuro, why didn't you follow orders and pursue just now!"

The moment he stepped onto the bridge, Eli heard the reprimand from Bright.

Having watched the entirety of the 0079 TV series, Eli knew this was just Bright's way of venting his own tension, but Amuro didn't know that.

"Continuing the pursuit could have led us into an ambush, why can't you understand that!"

There was clearly no rapport between the hot-headed young Amuro and the current Bright; the two held their ground, each arguing their own perspective, and it looked like they were about to start a shouting match.

"Alright, alright, Bright, there's no need to be so angry. Amuro was also considering the safety of White Base reaching Jaburo, and the enemy has indeed set traps before."

At this moment, Eli spoke up immediately, temporarily suppressing Bright's fury.

Correspondingly, Amuro immediately looked as if he had received support, his expression becoming even more arrogant.

"And Amuro, you too—try to consider the pressure Bright is under. Next time you have an idea, speak up immediately; Bright and I will adjust the plan based on your input. Even in the military, it's not a place where people are forbidden from thinking."

Amuro turned his head away immediately, his eyes filled with an emotion that could not be hidden—the anger of being betrayed.

Though, could it really be called betrayal?

In any case, Amuro turned and walked away without a word.

"Frau, I'm sorry to trouble you, but could you go comfort him?"

Eli sighed, having no choice but to ask Frau, Amuro's dedicated emotional stabilizer.

Seeing both of them leave the bridge, Eli rubbed his brow, feeling slightly irritable.

"Bright, you too—your demands on Amuro are a bit too high. When it comes down to it, he's only sixteen."

"That's right, Bright-san, why don't you try to understand Amuro's feelings? He needs to grow, too."

Ryu, who was also a pilot on White Base and one of the few regular military personnel, agreed with Eli's sentiment.

In Ryu's view, Amuro not only possessed commendable courage but was also capable of calm, rational thought on the battlefield.

This talent, even outside of his role as a soldier, was incredibly precious.

"We don't have the time to wait for Amuro to grow up."

Bright kept his head down, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the armrest of the captain's chair.

"If that's the case, you could trust me a bit more, couldn't you? Even if it's just a mass-produced Gundam, I have the confidence to protect White Base with everyone's efforts."

Eli understood exactly why Bright was showing this impatience.

The importance of White Base, the trust of his superiors, and the upcoming Battle of Odessa.

All of this was being pressed onto the shoulders of this young man who had only just graduated from the military academy.

"I..."

Bright opened his mouth, realizing only then why he had been treating Amuro with such an attitude.

All this time, the only person the entire ship could truly rely on was Amuro.

Although Ryu was a regular soldier and a pilot, his actual piloting skills were not enough to face Zeon's Mobile Suits head-on.

And Hayato Kobayashi and Kai were merely capable of fighting; they couldn't be counted on.

Bright had no choice but to pin his hopes on Amuro.

"I understand... I believe in you as a Mobile Suit pilot, and I believe Amuro has that capability."

Bright's words sounded almost like he was warning himself.

"That's more like it. As a captain, you can't put too much pressure on yourself or those below you. You need to get some rest, too; your eyes are bloodshot."

Eli waved his hand and walked toward the exit of the bridge.

He happened to run into Mirai Yashima, who was bringing some food to the bridge.

Eli smiled at Mirai, signaling for her to take good care of Bright.

In fact, this Mirai also had quite the background; she was the young lady of the Yashima Group.

And as for the Yashima Group, the products closest to Eli were the container transport systems and the 180mm Cannon used on the Gundam Ground Type.

If Bright were willing, he could end up with Mirai after the One Year War, gaining the support of the Yashima Group and rising rapidly through the ranks of his career.

Furthermore, General Gopp maintained quite a favorable personal relationship with the Yashima Group.

It was a pity that Bright had failed to leverage all these resources, ultimately ending up as the captain of a mere transport ship.

If one truly wished to change the world, starting from this point would likely yield some results...

"Ding."

"Lieutenant Eli?"

Following the sound of the elevator, Eli snapped out of his thoughts and looked toward the person who had spoken.

It was the other young lady on this ship.

No, perhaps "princess" would be a more fitting term.

Sayla Mass, or rather, Artesia Deikun.

As an orphan of the Deikun family, she was nonetheless sitting on a Federation warship, fighting against Zeon.

However, one wondered what that Deikun would think if he saw his children standing on opposite sides of the conflict.

"Lieutenant, where are you headed?"

Sayla, standing by the elevator buttons, asked Eli.

"Ah, just to the mess hall."

Eli watched as Sayla pressed a single button and leaned against the elevator wall to wait.

Come to think of it, Sayla's identity was also something that could shift the landscape of the world.

After the One Year War, Char had left the Earth Sphere, and there were few people left within it who could influence Zeon.

But Artesia was certainly one of them.

Even though she had not made a public appearance in a long time, the surname Deikun alone spoke volumes.

If managed properly, she could also...

"Lieutenant, why do you keep staring at me?"

When he regained his focus, Eli saw the slightly disgusted look in Sayla's eyes.

She had her arms slightly crossed over her chest, clearly feeling uncomfortable with a man staring at her in this confined space.

Yet, this woman was capable of loudly expressing her dissatisfaction; in her straightforward and sincere personality, she was the exact opposite of her brother.

"My apologies, I was just wondering how Deikun would have viewed this war back in the day."

I'm exhausted; I stayed up all night writing these two chapters... I have a full schedule of classes tomorrow, I don't even want to think about how tired I'll be.