You Still Think the Federation Is America?

"Lock the cockpit."

Eli ordered Shiro Amada.

The cockpit of a Mobile Suit had an emergency handle that opened it from the outside, making it easier to rescue the pilot inside.

But now, while the early designs were still immature, that feature had instead become one of the weaknesses infantry units could exploit.

Of course, with Eli there to see through the enemy's tactics, the last threat posed by this group of guerrillas had vanished completely.

"Let's go."

Once he'd made sure everything was secure, Eli told Shiro to follow his lead. The two machines started moving again, acting as if they were completely ignoring the guerrillas.

The two Gundam Ground Types strode forward without so much as glancing at the people in the treetops, heading straight along their planned route.

"Hey! Can't you hear me? This is our territory! You're not allowed to go any farther!"

The orange-haired girl leading the group flew into a rage. She raised her pistol and fired three shots at the Gundam Ground Type piloted by Shiro Amada.

The bullets, only 9mm in caliber, struck the Gundam Ground Type and produced no more than a few feeble sparks.

Even so, Shiro Amada stopped his machine in confusion.

Shiro only wanted to see what sort of person would be brazen enough to shoot at a Mobile Suit. He had no intention of fighting her.

But the guerrillas saw things differently.

"Move!"

At the girl's sharp command, the guerrillas retreated into the bushes with remarkable agility.

Then several canister-like objects came flying toward them.

A blinding flash turned the screen of Shiro Amada's cockpit white, obscuring the view outside.

"Ugh!"

Caught off guard, Shiro Amada had no choice but to cover his eyes.

The next moment, several grappling hooks latched onto the Gundam Ground Type.

The orange-haired girl even hooked one onto the Gundam Ground Type's antenna, then climbed up to the monitor on its forehead.

When Shiro Amada's vision returned, he found the girl glaring at him.

"Hey! Get out of here right now, or else!"

Shiro Amada stared helplessly as the girl shouted and aimed her pistol toward the cockpit.

Then he noticed a knocking and tapping at his hatch.

"Miss, miss, I don't think we can open this hatch."

A man soon came over to the girl and quietly told her—though Shiro Amada heard every word—that no matter how hard he twisted the handle, the hatch wouldn't budge.

"Huh?"

The girl froze, as if she'd just heard something unbelievable.

Then she stiffly turned her head back toward the camera.

Their plan had been simple: if they could capture the pilot of one Mobile Suit, the other would be forced to hold back.

Unfortunately for them, Eli had already prepared for that.

"Have you had enough?"

Eli's voice came through the machine's speakers, reaching the outside.

"We're on a mission today. If you leave now, I'll let you live."

Eli delivered the warning in a calm voice. Then the mechanisms of the 60mm Vulcan Cannon and the Multi-Purpose Launcher in the Gundam Ground Type's chest shifted into motion, aiming at Shiro Amada's machine.

More precisely, they were aimed at the guerrillas standing on the Gundam Ground Type.

The 60mm Vulcan Cannon couldn't be fired carelessly at this range, since it might damage Shiro Amada's Gundam Ground Type.

But the Multi-Purpose Launcher was already loaded with anti-personnel buckshot. One shot would be enough to take care of every one of these foolish guerrillas.

Faced with the enormous muzzle, even the girl, who had acted as if she feared nothing, couldn't help taking a nervous step back.

"B-but this is our land..."

The girl looked unwilling to give in.

"No, this is Federation land. Your actions constitute treason and obstruction of military affairs. If this weren't an unusual time, I could shoot you all right now and no one would blame me. We're already in the Universal Century. The tactics from the Vietnam War won't work here."

Eli continued to speak in an even tone as he passed judgment on the girl.

"But..."

"There's no point arguing. Move, or I'll open fire."

Eli's voice suddenly turned cold.

The girl looked around at her subordinates in a fluster. Most of them were sweating and didn't dare make another move.

The man who'd told her the hatch wouldn't open stepped closer.

"Hey, that 06 marking... I think the Zeon side calls it a demon."

He whispered in the girl's ear, and her expression changed at once.

When she looked around again, she saw her subordinates staring at her in shock, their pleading eyes impossible to miss.

"Let's go..."

She clenched her fist and held it before her eyes for a long moment. In the end, those were the only words she could force out.

They disappeared as suddenly as they'd appeared, and their retreat was just as hurried.

In no time at all, they were gone from the dense forest.

After confirming that the guerrillas had left, Eli disengaged the chest weapons and turned his machine around, returning to the route they'd originally planned to take.

Only then did Shiro realize that the confrontation was over.

"Don't just stand there. We don't have much time."

At Eli's urging, Shiro Amada moved his machine forward to catch up.

The two machines continued in silence through the dense forest for a long while.

"Second Lieutenant Eli, what did those guerrillas mean when they called you a demon?"

After a long stretch of marching, as if he couldn't bear the silence any longer, Shiro Amada started a conversation.

"Too many kills, so the Zeon side gave me the name 'demon.' It's nothing special. The pilot who flies the Gundam was called the White Devil by Zeon too, wasn't he?"

Eli didn't hide it. He explained the less-than-flattering nickname to Shiro Amada.

"Ah, I see. But then again, since it's a name the enemy gave us, I suppose it counts as a kind of praise?"

Shiro Amada genuinely thought so.

Even though he had some feelings for someone in the Zeon Forces, he still considered himself a Federation soldier.

"Haha, I suppose so."

Eli had never thought much of the name. He chuckled casually and leaned back in his seat.

His gaze fell on the handle beside the control panel, where a photograph was tucked.

It showed the family of the person who'd originally owned this body.

After he said that, silence fell over the comms once more.

"By the way, Second Lieutenant Shiro, you said before that if there were good people among the Zeon Forces, what would I do?"

Eli's question caught Shiro Amada off guard.

But he quickly realized that Eli was picking up the conversation the guerrillas had interrupted.

"I think if there really are good people in the Zeon Forces, they should leave Zeon."