Gundam: Changing the World Even with a Mass-Produced Unit

Chapter 13: Advancing into Enemy Territory

The next day, Eli led Squad 08 towards the frontlines.

On their journey, they used the serrated edges of the Lugo small shields to help an infantry company dig trenches, shared some of their ammunition with Squad 03, who had just fought a battle at the frontlines, and launched long-range artillery strikes to drive away a Zaku squad that had crossed the defensive line.

Thus, the day passed.

As the sun dipped below the treetops, the six of them lit a campfire within enemy territory, preparing food to reward themselves.

They eventually arrived near Area 376, at the edge of Zeon-occupied territory.

In a conventional war, they would have already been surrounded by layers of enemy forces. However, Zeon's current troop strength was a shadow of its former self, and their defensive density had greatly thinned.

Under Eli's leadership, they had also cleared most of the surrounding enemies.

In this high-density Minovsky particle environment, Eli's experience suggested that Zeon would not be able to organize a counterattack for the time being.

Thus, they dared to act so boldly.

---

"Why are you staring at the sky? Are you looking at the stars?"

Amada Shiro, holding a tin cup filled with hot water, walked over to Eli, who was sitting by his mobile suit, and handed him the cup.

"Something like that. Although I've grown accustomed to seeing these stars in space, viewing them from Earth has a different charm."

Eli didn't mention that he was keeping an eye out for a possible encounter with the Apsaras (Apsalus). Instead, he went along with Shiro's words and genuinely began to admire the night sky.

Thanks to the star identification training during MS navigation courses—meant to prepare for system failures—Eli could locate Polaris. Using it as a reference, he identified the Big Dipper and then continued to discern other constellations one by one.

During this process, Shiro followed Eli's gestures, trying to locate the constellations himself.

"It's strange, isn't it? When surrounded by stars in space, I never felt the urge to look closely at them. But here on Earth, I can't help but be drawn to them," Shiro remarked after identifying all the constellations he could recognize.

Eli lowered his hand, leaning back to support himself while widening his field of view to take in more of the starry sky.

"Before the Universal Century, humanity put all its effort into reaching space, striving to extend its civilization beyond Earth. That's how space colonization began."

Shiro turned to look at Eli in astonishment upon hearing this.

He could see the reflection of the starry sky in Eli's eyes.

"Lieutenant Eli, you seem very knowledgeable about history."

"Just call me Eli. We've been fighting together long enough. History like this should be remembered—that's how I see it."

As Eli said this, Shiro felt a fleeting sense that Eli came from a different world altogether.

But when Eli turned to look at him, Shiro dismissed the thought as ridiculous. Eli was right there in front of him, real and present.

"It's because people on Earth dream of the stars that they strive toward them, right?"

Eli's mind conjured up the image of a miraculous human creation—colonies capable of housing around 30 million residents.

Each side consisted of 30 to 40 such colonies, and there were seven completed sides.

They were supposed to serve as humanity's springboard into the cosmos, with progress already extending toward Mars and Jupiter.

Yet now, war had engulfed the entire Earth Sphere, ignited by the Zeon Principality under the Zabi family's leadership.

All of this stemmed from the Zabi family's selfish ambitions—or more specifically, Gihren Zabi's delusion of becoming the ruler of the world.

Of course, the blame wasn't solely on them; others, like Garma, were equally culpable.

"That's why, without a doubt, Zeon is in the wrong," Eli murmured again.

This wasn't a judgment made as a Federation soldier but as someone educated in the perspectives of people's history and historical analysis from the 21st century.

"Yeah, exactly. That's why we have to defeat Zeon," Shiro responded, unaware of Eli's inner thoughts but confident in this undeniable truth.

In the starry sky, a meteor streaked by.

No one could tell if it was a celestial object or debris from the battles in low Earth orbit.

On Earth, shooting stars had long lost their romantic significance, becoming symbols of fear for the universe instead.

Eli downed the lukewarm water in his cup.

"I'll take the first watch. You all get some rest," he said, filling his tin cup with heated rations before climbing into the cockpit via the boarding rope.

The ground-type Gundam marked with a 06 insignia slowly stood upright from its crouched position, moving to a leafy tree to conceal itself from aerial observation.

---

"Eli seems a bit anxious today, doesn't he?"

Back by the fire, Shiro, holding a spoon in his mouth, muttered to his teammates.

"True. It's rare to see Eli like this," Karen agreed as she heated her food.

Having fought alongside Eli for a long time, Karen couldn't recall the last time she'd seen him so uneasy. Since that battle, Eli had grown more composed, so much so that Karen often forgot he was only 20 years old, younger than her.

"Maybe Lieutenant Eli met a girl he likes?"

Michel, who seemed more youthful compared to the others, finally looked up from the letter he had been writing and made a teasing comment that drew laughter.

"Baka! That's impossible. This is Eli we're talking about—he wouldn't be bothered by something so trivial," Eledore retorted, knocking Michel on the head, prompting a disgruntled expression from him.

"Love isn't trivial!" Michel argued.

"You'll understand later—long-distance relationships never work out," Eledore waved dismissively, unfazed by Michel's clenched-teeth frustration.

As the two playfully bickered, Sanders silently ate his meal.

"What's wrong, Sergeant Sanders?"

Karen handed him a cup of water, sensing his unease.

Despite her rugged and resilient exterior, Karen was perceptive and empathetic.

"Is he worried about the Curse of the Reaper?"

Sanders looked at the steaming water Karen offered and voiced his concern.

"Don't be ridiculous. He wouldn't care about your superstitions," Karen dismissed his words.

Sanders raised his gaze to meet hers.

"I'm not talking about mine."

In Zeon-occupied territory, Karen stared at Sanders, suddenly realizing what he meant.

The scenes from the night they received Squad 06's distress signal replayed vividly in her mind.