Chapter 199 – Pessimism
Thanks to Captain Paolo's coordination, the inspection mission was carried out flawlessly.
At the same time, Eli formally submitted a garrison proposal from Undertaker to the person in charge of the food production satellite.
Artesia, however, didn't stay long and had already departed ahead of Eli.
After all, the Republic of Zeon was still a nation, and many pending affairs needed to be addressed.
"Let's go, Eli. We shouldn't stay here any longer."
There was a time limit on Undertaker's stay. One of the researchers had conducted a bit of extra investigation earlier, so they needed to pick up the pace and leave within the allotted timeframe.
Of course, even if they overstayed a little, it wouldn't be a huge issue. But in these turbulent times, it was best to avoid any unnecessary trouble.
Zeon's military had a warship trailing beside the White Chaser, and a mobile suit trailing flames flew past near the bridge.
Cautiously, the other side did not enter the final defensive perimeter, so the White Chaser didn't activate its anti-aircraft guns or adopt a defensive posture.
At this range, Eli could clearly see the dark-purple painted Zaku that blended well with the space background.
Although the Republic of Zeon didn't have much military power left, their stockpiles still contained many spare Zaku parts.
Eli blinked, overlaying the image of a suit from his memory onto the Zaku in front of him.
"Compared to handing it over to Titans, giving the High Zaku to the Republic of Zeon definitely makes more sense."
Of course, the "High Zaku" wasn't an official MS model—yet.
Having received early notice that the Republic of Zeon would be opening a bidding process, Eli decided to assign the design project to Yashima's MS division.
This marked a new initiative on Eli's part.
Until now, Eli had always been more like a high-paid test pilot hired by the Yashima Group than a stakeholder, leading his own squad to collect experimental data for the company.
Part of this was because Eli had given 30% of his shares to the Federation for operational reasons. But it was undeniable that in the past, Eli's focus had been on fulfilling his personal ideals.
Like the public foundation he had established.
But now, Eli had finally resolved to build a force of his own.
He had assigned his team captains—Arcadia, Io, and the others—to various units within Undertaker.
Undertaker had now grown to the scale of a small fleet, with three MS battalions garrisoned in Side 1.
Yes—this was the same location where, in the original timeline, Londo Bell had been stationed.
From here, they could reach nearly any part of the Earth Sphere in roughly the same amount of time.
As for the Titans, they had withdrawn from the Konpei Island fortress and were now stationed in Side 7, a newly constructed Side.
Both Undertaker and the Titans had withdrawn from Earth under Federation arrangements, shifting their power into space.
Unfortunately, the Titans were still expanding in strength.
Even GP01 and GP03 had been transferred to them.
GP02, meanwhile, had been assigned to Konpei Island, where a dedicated nuclear warhead storage facility had been built for it.
This served as a deterrent to any remaining Zeon forces within the Earth Sphere.
Of course, whether nearby space colonists could sleep soundly or not—well, the Federation "didn't know."
GP04, on the other hand, was currently stored in the hangar of the White Chaser.
Eli briefly apologized to Captain Paolo, then wrote down the general design concept for the High Zaku on a terminal, especially emphasizing its compatibility with existing Zaku parts so the Republic of Zeon could refit quickly. After that, he returned to his room.
"Mmh."
The act of writing tugged at his right shoulder, sending a small jolt of pain—a bite mark.
With a kind of bittersweet annoyance, he rotated his arm and began handling affairs from the ship.
Since this was peacetime, the Minovsky particle concentration was low, allowing Eli to work remotely.
"Retiring… sigh, it must have been tough on him."
The first document he saw was a retirement request from a veteran of the One Year War who'd dreamed of opening a barbecue shop.
Apparently, he also wanted to open a bakery next door.
Without much hesitation, Eli signed off on the request and flipped to the next application.
But the name on this one made him freeze.
"Paolo Cassius… Captain Paolo…"
There had been no prior signs.
But recently, Paolo had been drinking less and spent more time resting in the captain's chair with his eyes closed. In hindsight, it made sense—he had reached his limit.
Having sustained serious injuries during the One Year War, he had gone on to serve three more years aboard this ship. That alone was an admirable achievement.
Eli picked up the stylus and signed the form on his tablet, granting the old man the rest he deserved.
But… who would take over as the new captain of the White Chaser?
Bright was still captaining the White Base with no ambition to advance. Fine—let him stay there with his White Base.
As for the Albion, it had been placed under Undertaker's command structure and was essentially running with its original crew.
Thinking back on how he had handed off so many responsibilities to Paolo during this mission while he rested, Eli felt a little ashamed.
To shake off that shame, Eli immediately moved on to the next matter.
It was about the anti-Federation protests that had broken out in Side 1.
To be fair, the White Chaser's presence in Side 1 had greatly reduced Zeon remnant activities and ensured the safety of shipping routes.
But it also meant that a highly visible target had been established in the eyes of anti-Federation forces.
What's that? Why didn't they target the Titans instead?
Because the Titans actually open fire, that's why.
Of course, that was half a joke—there were still anti-Federation demonstrators brave enough to protest near the Titans in Side 7, just far less frequently.
Faced with this, Eli felt a deep sense of helplessness.
Not toward the protestors, but toward Undertaker's current lack of strength.
As its commander, Eli had previously submitted a proposal on Undertaker's military discipline and conduct to its actual overseer, Jamitov.
In stark contrast to the Titans, Undertaker's forces needed stricter discipline—but also a completely different attitude toward space residents.
Jamitov had gladly approved Eli's proposal, though he had given Eli a rather ambiguous smile at the time.
"So he anticipated this from the start and was waiting to watch me fail...?"
Reading through the report in his hands, Eli felt a crushing wave of helplessness.
He had been too idealistic. He hadn't realized the deeply entrenched prejudice held by space residents was like an immovable mountain.
That must be exactly what Jamitov had hoped to see—and perhaps he was waiting for Eli to become disillusioned enough to start leaning toward his own approach.
As Eli approved the use of non-lethal force for suppression, he couldn't help but fall into a pessimistic spiral of thought.
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