Debate

No matter how much time passed, Ramba Ral would never believe he could mistake her for someone else.

It was a past he had once longed for with all his heart—not only the glory of the Ral family, but also the time when he himself had held lofty ideals.

It was a time when he still followed Deikun's leadership and fought for true independence.

Deikun, who had proposed the theory of Newtypes and advocated that the people of space reclaim the economic rights and shipping rights that rightfully belonged to them from the Federation, had a son and a daughter.

He couldn't be mistaken. The girl before him was Deikun's daughter, Artesia Deikun.

There was no doubt about it.

"P-Princess?"

Ramba Ral tried to keep his voice down, but couldn't hide his hesitation.

After Deikun's downfall, first came the news of Casval's death, and then there was no word of Artesia at all.

Some conspiracy theories claimed they had both been murdered by the Zabi Family.

For a time, Ramba Ral had believed that too.

But the girl before him was unmistakably standing right in front of him, wearing a Federation Forces uniform.

Seeing that Ramba Ral had recognized her, Sayla clearly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why are you here... on a Federation ship...?"

Ramba Ral stared at Sayla in disbelief, desperate to know the answer.

"We'll talk about that later. Tell me, where's Char? Where is he now?"

"Char? He should be back on the mainland by now... Why are you asking about him?"

Ramba Ral furrowed his brow, recalling the pilot who was also one of Zeon's aces.

The things that stood out most about Char were the mask he never took off and his brilliant blond hair.

Looking at the blond hair hanging before Sayla's eyes, and thinking of her attitude toward Char...

"Could it be that Char is...?"

"Yes. I suspect he's my brother, Casval."

After saying this, Sayla stood and went to fetch disinfectant and bandages.

She had noticed that Eli seemed to have come out of his daze and realized how long the two of them had been huddled together.

Ramba Ral also straightened up at once, letting pain spread across his face to conceal his shock at learning Casval was still alive.

Though perhaps that pain also held genuine regret—that for all these years, he had been so close to one of Deikun's descendants and had never noticed.

In any case, neither of them dared say anything more.

Once the wound had been bandaged, Eli walked over to Sayla with his pistol raised.

"Let's go, Ramba Ral."

He gestured for Ramba Ral to get up, intending to take him to the brig.

On that short walk out of the infirmary, Eli's thoughts were in turmoil.

He hadn't missed their conversation, and even if he had, he could have guessed most of it.

The question was, if he really wanted to pursue this, what should he do?

Should he just come out and say, "Hey, I know you're Deikun's descendant. Let's avenge him, seize control of Zeon from the Zabi Family, then join forces and work from both within and without to improve life for the people of space"?

Setting aside the fact that this wasn't what Sayla wanted, even the possible reaction from Ramba Ral was enough to make Eli think twice.

Ral might fight Eli with everything he had, even kill him on the spot to conceal Sayla's true identity.

After turning it over in his mind, Eli decided that coming right out with it wouldn't work.

But it was hard to accept giving up an opportunity like this...

"Ramba Ral, I heard you used to be one of Deikun's closest aides. Is that true?"

Just as they were about to leave the infirmary, Eli asked Ramba Ral without warning.

Ramba Ral came to an abrupt halt, then slowly turned to face the boy pointing a gun at him.

As his gaze shifted, he met Sayla's eyes. She gave him a slight shake of her head, signaling him not to do anything rash.

"So what if I was?"

Ramba Ral's tone was somewhat stiff.

"Don't be so tense. The Federation Forces treat their prisoners well... Lately, I've become curious about his ideas."

Eli took a small step back to make sure Ramba Ral couldn't snatch his gun, then continued.

"There's a rumor within the Federation Forces that Amuro is a Newtype... So I couldn't help becoming curious about the man who came up with the theory."

As Eli explained his question to Ramba Ral, he was also giving himself a reason for asking Sayla about it earlier.

"You want to ask about Newtypes? I'm sorry, but I don't know much about that either."

At Eli's explanation, Ramba Ral's expression visibly softened.

Whatever else, there was someone else in the world who still remembered Deikun.

"No, that's not what I want to ask. I want to know how Deikun would have viewed this war."

Silence. A long silence.

Several times, Ramba Ral tried to open his mouth and offer some fine words about how this was the future Deikun had hoped for—a future in which the people of space fought for independence.

But each time he tried, he couldn't bring himself to meet Sayla's eyes as she watched him.

"I don't know..."

In the end, all Ramba Ral could manage was a feeble murmur.

"Judging by your expression, you also think Deikun would have rejected the idea that this war is justified."

Ramba Ral clenched his fist, but his expression grew visibly darker.

Clearly, he knew all too well that Deikun wouldn't have approved of anything the Zabi Family had done.

"Why do you think that?"

As Ramba Ral fell silent, a voice came from behind him.

Sayla Mass stared directly into Eli's eyes, trying to discern whether each of his words was true.

"Because I was born on Island Iffish. I'm one of the people of space, and right now I'm standing aboard a Federation ship."

Eli calmly met Sayla's gaze.

"Or do you think the leader of the people of space would use as a weapon the very soil they depend on for survival?"

"No. Mr. Deikun would never do something like that."

This time, Ramba Ral answered.

"And neither would I."

He added this when he saw Eli turn to look at him.

The infirmary fell into a long silence.

Even though he was caught between Princess Artesia and Sayla, the man before them had the upper hand in their exchange.

"I know. Otherwise, when the beam pierced your mobile suit just now, I would have brought my Beam Saber down with all my strength."

Eli's voice grew calmer still, as if the colony he had just mentioned wasn't his home.