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

Chapter 8: Still Treating the Federation Like a Jailbait?

"Lock the cockpit."

Eli instructed Amada Shiro.

The cockpit of an MS is equipped with an external emergency handle, designed for rescuing the pilot inside. However, with the current immature design, this feature has inadvertently become a weakness exploitable by infantry units.

Of course, with Eli, who anticipated their tactics, present, the final threat from the guerrilla team had been completely neutralized.

"Let's go."

After confirming everything was secure, Eli ordered Shiro to follow him. The two machines advanced again, acting as though the guerrillas weren't even worth their attention.

The two Ground-Type Gundams strode forward, not sparing a glance at the figures standing in the tree canopy, and proceeded directly along their designated route.

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

The orange-haired girl leading the group grew agitated and furiously fired three shots from her pistol at Amada Shiro's Ground-Type Gundam.

The 9mm rounds struck the armor, producing nothing more than faint sparks.

Nevertheless, Shiro stopped his machine out of curiosity. For him, he just wanted to see what kind of person had the guts to fire at an MS. He had no intention of fighting back.

But the guerrillas clearly didn't see it the same way.

"Do it!"

At the orange-haired girl's shout, the guerrillas swiftly retreated into the foliage. A few barrel-shaped objects were hurled toward the machine.

Intense flashes instantly whited out Amada Shiro's display screen, obscuring the external view.

"Ugh!"

Caught unprepared, Shiro could only cover his eyes.

In the next moment, grappling hooks latched onto the Ground-Type Gundam.

The orange-haired girl even hooked herself onto the antenna, climbing onto the forehead monitor.

When Shiro's vision finally recovered, the first thing he saw was the girl glaring at him.

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

Shiro stared speechlessly at the girl shouting threats, pointing her pistol toward the cockpit.

Then he heard a knocking sound on his hatch.

"Miss, Miss, the hatch won't open at all."

After a while, a man appeared beside the girl, speaking in a hushed tone that Shiro could still hear clearly, explaining that no matter how hard they twisted the handle, the hatch wouldn't budge.

"Huh?"

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

Her head turned stiffly toward the camera, looking dumbfounded.

Their plan had been simple: capture one of the pilots, and the other machine would be forced to back down.

But Eli had already anticipated this and taken precautions.

"Have you had enough yet?"

Eli's voice rang out through the external speaker.

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

Eli's tone was calm as he finished speaking. The 60mm Vulcan cannon and the multipurpose launcher on his Ground-Type Gundam made mechanical sounds as they adjusted—targeting the guerrillas standing on Amada Shiro's machine.

To be precise, they were aimed directly at the guerrillas.

The 60mm Vulcan cannon couldn't be fired indiscriminately, as the close range might damage Shiro's machine. However, the multipurpose launcher was already loaded with anti-personnel rounds—one shot would be enough to wipe out the guerrillas.

Faced with the enormous barrel aimed at them, even the previously fearless orange-haired girl couldn't help but take a step back, visibly shaken.

"Th-This is our land..."

The girl muttered, unwilling to back down.

"No, this is Federation land. Your actions constitute treason and interference with military operations. If it weren't for the current special circumstances, I could execute you right now, and no one would question it. This is the Universal Century. The tactics of the Vietnam War don't work anymore."

Eli's tone remained calm as he issued his declaration.

"But..."

"Enough talk. Move aside, or I'll shoot."

Eli's voice turned cold.

The girl looked helplessly at her subordinates, finding most of them drenched in cold sweat, frozen in place.

The man who had spoken earlier leaned closer again.

"Hey, this '06' insignia... it's the demon that Zeon keeps talking about."

He whispered into the girl's ear, and her expression instantly changed.

Looking around, she noticed her subordinates were staring at her with pleading, desperate eyes.

"...Let's go."

The girl clenched her fist for a moment, then finally spoke the reluctant words.

They retreated as suddenly as they had appeared, disappearing into the forest within moments.

After confirming the guerrillas had left, Eli canceled the weapon loading on his chest unit, turned his machine around, and continued along the original route.

It was only at this point that Shiro realized the conflict had been resolved.

"Don't just stand there. We're on a tight schedule."

Prompted by Eli, Shiro quickly maneuvered his machine to follow.

The two machines continued moving in silence for a long time.

"Lieutenant Eli, what did those guerrillas mean earlier by 'demon'?"

After a while, seemingly unable to endure the quiet march, Shiro started a conversation.

"...I've shot down so many of them that Zeon gave me that nickname. It's nothing. After all, didn't they call the pilot of the Gundam the 'White Knight' too?"

Eli answered without hesitation, explaining the less-than-flattering moniker to Shiro.

"Oh, I see. Well, if it's a nickname from the enemy, I suppose it's a form of recognition for us."

Shiro said earnestly.

Even though he had some lingering thoughts about someone from Zeon, he still saw himself as a soldier of the Federation.

"Haha, that's true."

Eli, who never really cared much for the nickname, laughed lightly and leaned back in his seat.

He glanced at the control panel's handle, where a photo was tucked. It was of this body's original family.

After that, the communications fell silent once more.

"By the way, Ensign Shiro, you once asked what I would do if there were good people in Zeon."

Eli suddenly broke the silence, continuing the conversation interrupted by the guerrillas earlier.

Shiro paused for a moment but quickly realized Eli was picking up where they had left off.

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