Departure!

Why was it that Shiro, who upon graduating from the military academy in space had wanted to drive every last Zeon soldier out without exception, was now hesitating?

Eli certainly knew the reason for this.

Aina.

Eli watched in silence as Shiro Amada, clad in a full G-suit, stood beside his mobile suit, attempting to fathom the thoughts running through his mind.

And Shiro Amada, in turn, was attempting to fathom Eli's thoughts.

For this man who shared a similar background to his own, Shiro Amada felt a sense of curiosity.

Having been at this base for half a day, Shiro had managed to pick up a few rumors about Eli.

The first thing he could confirm was that Eli was a man held in high regard at this base.

This was not merely due to his illustrious combat record, but because of his extreme proactive stance in fighting Zeon; whenever a distress signal was received, he would head straight for the battlefield.

According to the 7th Team, they had been saved by Eli at least two or three times alone.

What made it all the more commendable was that, despite hailing from the destroyed Side 2, he was still capable of accepting Zeon soldiers who chose to surrender.

Even if the gaze Eli directed toward them was always filled with hatred, this only made the people at the base admire him all the more.

"What a good man."

Regarding this, Shiro Amada could only conclude that Eli was a man who drew a clear line between his hatreds.

He did not displace the anger over his hometown's destruction onto every single Zeon individual, but rather focused that rage upon the Zeon collective as a whole, and fought against it.

"Beep, beep, beep!"

The pocket watch in his hand chimed, and Shiro looked down to see that the scheduled operation time was approaching.

He carefully tucked the distinctly feminine-style watch into the inner pocket of his standard suit, then looked up to meet the dull, lifeless eyes of his Gundam.

"Alright, I need to get fired up too!"

Shiro stepped onto the cable and climbed into his machine.

Al, who had been watching from the side, couldn't help but chuckle, a sound that caused Karen—who was still making final preparations for Shiro's and Sanders' units—to look over in surprise.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, nothing. I was just thinking, your new captain really is an idiot, dressing like that in a place like this."

Eli watched Shiro Amada, who was climbing into the cockpit of his Ground Type Gundam with such high spirits, and truly admired his heat tolerance.

Eli was noticed by Sanders, who was also about to board his own machine.

Sanders had initially felt a surge of resentment upon hearing someone laugh at his captain and savior.

However, seeing that the laughter came from Eli, he had no choice but to abandon that thought.

Not only was Eli's rank higher than his, but after hearing the rumors about the "Grim Reaper," Eli had not only refused to shun Sanders himself but had also spoken up to stop others from discussing the rumor.

Sanders had noticed that the members of the 7th Team, who had loved calling him the "Grim Reaper" that morning, now looked at him with nothing more than dissatisfaction.

Because of this, Sanders held Eli in high regard.

Besides, his own captain was indeed a bit of a fool...

Sanders silently climbed into his cockpit.

"What about me? What about me? Is this my machine?"

A rather noisy voice came from the other side.

Eli looked over and saw a short man making a scene next to the second unit of the 06 Team.

That was Corporal Michel Ninorich, who had arrived here along with Shiro as a replacement soldier for the 08th MS Team.

Having also completed his MS pilot training, he naturally assumed that he would be assigned a Gundam as well.

However, the next moment, a long-haired man hooked his arm around his neck, lifting one of the corporal's feet slightly off the ground.

"What are you thinking? There aren't any extra MS for you to use right now. From now on, you're my assistant."

The man with the long golden hair was Eledore Massis, the last remaining member of the original 08th MS Team.

He used the hand that was hooked around Michel to point his thumb toward the area behind them.

That was the Type 74 Hover Truck; in this jungle environment filled with Minovsky particles, it served as the eyes and ears of the mobile suits.

"Yo, Eli, want to listen to a new song I wrote when we get back later?"

Eledore winked at Eli.

Eledore possessed a sense of hearing that no one else could match.

This talent, which should have allowed him to shine in the world of music, was now being used for the underground sonar monitoring of the Type 74 Hover Truck—a purpose of war.

Still, he continued to produce his own original music regardless.

Was doing such a thing in the midst of this war a good thing, or a bad thing?

Eli did not know.

However, there was one thing he could confirm.

"What Zeon has done is, without a doubt, wrong."

Lowering his seat to return to the cockpit, Eli said this.

Originally, as a model kit enthusiast, he had harbored no deep-seated hatred for Zeon, thanks to his fondness for the various "cool uncle" characters and the aesthetic design of Zeon mobile suits.

But having actually participated in the war and witnessed the destruction of Island Iffish, he finally understood just how horrific an act of terrorism it was for Zeon to hurl a space colony at Earth.

In that instant, the grand cause of space colony independence championed by Zeon had vanished into thin air.

On this Southeast Asian battlefield, Eli had seen even more of Zeon's oppression of the local inhabitants.

Countless villages had been razed by Zeon to serve as military outposts or mineral extraction bases.

Needless to say, the residents within were either killed or forced into hard labor.

Because of this, guerrilla forces had once again emerged across this land in Southeast Asia.

Setting that aside for now, the point was that after witnessing Zeon's actions, Eli could no longer bring himself to shout that "a real man pilots a Zaku."

To him, the Zaku had become an enemy he was duty-bound to oppose.

The dual-eye sensors of Eli's Gundam Ground Type lit up, and the machine, which had been kneeling on the ground, slowly stood upright.

Beside him, the three Gundam Ground Types of the 08th MS Team also rose to their feet.

"Very well, then, Special Operations Team, move out!"

Almost the moment Eli entered the communication channel, Shiro Amada's spirited shout rang out.

"Don't just go adding callsigns on your own."

Karen complained with a laugh from within her own unit.

"I still don't know much about everyone, so please, I ask that you let me get to know you all properly after the battle."

The pre-battle briefing that should have happened earlier was only now being shouted out by Shiro.

Sanders' unit was equipped with the specialized container system, which held the disassembled 180mm Cannon and enough ammunition to supply the entire team.

Once the ground crew cleared a path for the mobile suits, the four Gundam Ground Types strode forward, heading into the dense jungle.