Setting Out!

Why? Shiro, who had graduated from the Space Force Academy wanting to drive every last Zeon soldier out, no matter who they were, why had he hesitated just now?

Eli knew the reason, of course.

Aina.

Eli silently watched Shiro Amada standing beside his Mobile Suit in full G-suit, trying to guess what was going through his mind.

Shiro Amada was likewise trying to guess what Eli was thinking.

As someone with a similar past, Shiro couldn't help being curious about him.

He'd been at the base for half a day now, and had managed to hear a few rumors about Eli.

First, it was clear that Eli was deeply respected at this base.

That wasn't just because of his impressive record in battle. He was also eager to fight the Zeon Forces. Whenever he received a distress signal, he headed for the battlefield.

According to the 7th Team, Eli had rescued them two or three times all by himself.

And, remarkably, despite being from the destroyed Side 2, he was still willing to accept Zeon soldiers who surrendered.

Though Eli always looked at them with hatred, that only made the people at the base admire him even more.

"What a good man."

Shiro could only conclude that Eli was a man who knew exactly where to direct his hatred.

He didn't take his anger over the destruction of his homeworld out on every Zeon soldier. Instead, he directed it at Zeon as a whole and fought against them.

"Beep, beep, beep!"

The pocket watch in Shiro's hand was beeping. He glanced at it and realized it was almost time for the scheduled operation.

He carefully slipped the distinctly feminine watch inside his standard-issue uniform, then looked up and met the dim eyes of his Gundam.

"All right, I'd better give it everything I've got!"

Shiro grabbed a cable and climbed into his Mobile Suit.

Al, who'd been keeping an eye on him, couldn't help laughing. The sound made Karen, who was beside him making the final preparations for Shiro's and Sanders's Mobile Suits, look over in surprise.

"What's wrong?"

"No, no. I was just thinking your new team leader is a real idiot, wearing something like that in this heat."

Eli watched Shiro climb into the cockpit of his Ground Type, full of enthusiasm. He couldn't help admiring the man's tolerance for heat.

Sanders, climbing aboard another Mobile Suit, noticed Eli watching Shiro.

Sanders had heard someone laughing at his team leader and lifesaver, and had felt indignant.

But when he saw that it was Eli who'd laughed, he could only let it go.

Eli outranked him, and after hearing the rumors about the "Grim Reaper," he hadn't shunned Sanders. He'd even put a stop to the others discussing the rumor.

Sanders could tell that the members of the 7th Team, who'd been so fond of calling him the "Grim Reaper" that morning, now looked at him with nothing more than displeasure.

For that, Sanders respected Eli.

Besides, his team leader really was a bit of an idiot...

Sanders silently climbed into his Mobile Suit.

"What about me? What about me? Is this one mine?"

A rather noisy voice came from the other side.

Eli looked over and saw a short fellow shouting beside the second Mobile Suit assigned to the 06th Team.

That was Corporal Michel Ninorich, who'd come here with Shiro as a reinforcement for the 08th MS Team.

Having completed Mobile Suit pilot training too, he'd naturally assumed he'd be assigned a Gundam as well.

But the next moment, a long-haired man hooked an arm around his neck, lifting one of his feet slightly off the ground.

"What are you thinking? We don't have any extra Mobile Suits for you to use. You'll be my assistant from now on."

The blond long-haired man was Eledore Massis, the last remaining member of the original 08th MS Team.

With the arm around Michel, he gave a thumbs-up and pointed behind them.

It was a Type 74 Hover Truck, a support vehicle that served as the Mobile Suits' eyes and ears in the jungle and amid the Minovsky Particles.

"Hey, Eli! When you get back later, help me out and tell me what you think of my new song."

Eledore winked at Eli.

Eledore had an exceptionally keen sense of hearing.

A talent that could have made him a star in music was now being put to use monitoring the ground with the Type 74 Hover Truck's sonar—a tool of war.

Still, he continued making his own music.

Was it a good thing or a bad thing to do something like that in the middle of a war?

Eli didn't know.

But there was one thing he was certain of.

"What Zeon has done is unquestionably wrong."

Eli lowered his seat and settled back into the cockpit as he spoke.

As a model-kit fanatic, he'd always liked the designs of Zeon Mobile Suits and had admired all sorts of gruff, good-hearted older men. He'd never felt a deep-seated hatred for Zeon.

But it was only by taking part in the war and witnessing the destruction of Island Iffish that he could understand just how terrifying an act of terrorism it was to send a colony crashing toward Earth.

In that moment, the noble cause of independence for the space colonies that Zeon championed had been utterly stripped of meaning.

On the Southeast Asian battlefield, Eli had also seen how Zeon oppressed the local population.

Countless villages had been razed by Zeon and turned into military bases or mining sites.

As for the people who lived there, it went without saying: they were either killed or forced into labor.

As a result, guerrilla fighters had once again emerged across Southeast Asia.

But that was beside the point. After witnessing Zeon's actions, Eli could no longer bring himself to say, "Real men pilot Zakus."

To him, the Zaku had become the enemy he ought to hate.

The eyes of Eli's Gundam Ground Type lit up, and it slowly rose from its half-kneeling position.

Beside him, the three Ground Types of the 08th MS Team rose as well.

"Good. Special Operations Team, move out!"

Almost as soon as Eli entered the communications channel, Shiro's energized shout rang out.

"Don't go making up call signs on the spot."

Karen chuckled in complaint from inside her Mobile Suit.

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

Shiro had saved his pre-battle speech for this moment.

Sanders's Mobile Suit had been equipped with its specialized cargo system, carrying a 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 off toward the jungle.