Chapter 165 – La Vie en Rose Under Attack
"It's about time, Major."
Karius Otto, clad in a Zeon pilot suit, walked into the observation area and spoke to the figure in front of him.
"Is it? I'll be ready in just a moment."
The familiar voice that replied stirred the same feeling it always had in Karius—an overwhelming desire to follow Gato wherever he went.
Back when Gato served at the Solomon Fortress in the 302nd Patrol Unit, Karius had been his subordinate.
Now, they were the last two members left from that unit.
"What's wrong? You're just standing there."
"Ah, no... I was just thinking how good it is to be fighting together again, Major."
Karius bowed his head, avoiding looking directly at Gato's face.
But because of that, he noticed something—Gato, still in uniform, had metal components peeking out from his ankle.
"Hah, don't make that face. If anything, I'm grateful for these metal limbs. They're what let me return to the battlefield."
Gato gave him a pat on the shoulder, and Karius found himself subconsciously falling into step beside him, heading toward the hangar.
"Any word from Lord Delaz?"
"Not that I know of."
"Sigh..."
Gato let out a quiet breath.
"It's fine. We're here to buy him time anyway."
Though the promised reinforcements hadn't arrived yet, Gato didn't complain. Instead, he reassured his subordinate.
"But the Cima Fleet is approaching."
That unexpected bit of news made Gato blink.
"Unexpected reinforcements, huh? Hmph. Let's just say she's finally been moved by righteousness."
From behind his back, Gato retrieved a silver-white mask, stained with blood, and placed it over his face.
"Major, your unit is ready."
As the two entered the hangar, a new voice greeted them.
Gato turned to see a man who, like himself, had lost all four limbs and now moved with mechanical prosthetics.
"Ah, thank you, Daryl."
Though the man before him was only a lieutenant, Gato always made an effort to soften his tone when speaking to him.
This man—Daryl Lorenz—was the first test subject of the Regeneration P-System. Without his contributions, Gato wouldn't have been able to return to the battlefield.
For that reason, Daryl had been assigned to Gato's unit for the upcoming operation.
"Just doing my duty."
Daryl shook his head, brushing off Gato's gratitude.
His eyes, however, were lifeless—completely devoid of emotion.
Headphones floated beside him, still playing soft, mournful music.
Blues, was it? That kind of music.
Karius didn't like the man. There was no fire in his eyes—no passion inspired by Zeon's ideals.
He was nothing more than a walking corpse.
"Don't say that. You're the true Newtype—unlike those twisted monsters shaped by the Federation."
Gato reached out with his mechanical arm and clasped Daryl's tightly.
"I'll do it. For Mitchum."
That was Daryl's response.
Not for Zeon's ideals—but for a woman.
And that's exactly what Karius hated about him.
Karla Mitchum, one of the Regeneration P-System's developers, had been killed during the One Year War by the attacking Federation forces.
Ever since then, the man before him had been dead inside—just a hollow shell driven by hatred for the Federation.
Gato understood that.
And he pitied it deeply—a life without belief was as dark as the universe itself.
After this mission, I'll send this guy to Axis so he can finally live in peace.
But for now, please... let me borrow his strength once more!
A brilliant light of conviction flared in Gato's eyes.
In fact, that same light burned in the eyes of everyone aboard the ship.
But was it truly the light of conviction—or merely obsession born from the grip of the dead and the fallen ideals of Zeon?
——
"What did you say? La Vie en Rose is under attack by Zeon remnants? What about the local garrison?!"
"They've lost nearly half their forces!"
A cold sweat broke out at the dire news.
Thankfully, the truly important cargo—the one thing that could threaten the Federation—was still on his ship.
"All hands, prepare for Level 1 combat alert! MS units, ready for launch!"
As he gave the order, Eli also instructed the hangar to ready a shuttle.
He was heading out in the GP04.
"Gis! I'm leaving the G-line to you!"
As he boarded the shuttle, Eli shouted to Gis.
The G-line had just been outfitted into its full-spec custom form, and Eli hadn't piloted it even once.
Its added armor came with no increase in thruster power—just a boost to reactor output to support the beam cannon.
This made it unpopular among speed-focused pilots like those from Undertaker.
But for a rookie like Gis, piloting such a machine gave him a better chance at survival.
"Hah! Then stay on my tail this time—we'll be the fire support team!"
Eo, piloting his fully-armored, high-output GM, called out to the confused Gis.
Unlike the G-line, the high-output GM wasn't lacking in mobility.
Despite its bulky appearance, it was surprisingly agile. Its dual shields, mounted on mechanical arms on the backpack, could protect most of the body.
"Eli!"
Just before launch, a girl's voice came through.
"Be careful."
Rita's golden hair flowed through the hangar.
While the MS units on the White Chaser were being redeployed, Eli, now on the Albion, entered the GP04's cockpit.
Istha, overseeing GP04's adjustments, came to greet him immediately.
"The unit is fully operational. However, the Rampage Thruster's fuel isn't fully topped off."
"No problem. Once it's empty, I'll ditch it."
"Don't say that kind of thing to me!"
Hearing the typical bravado of MS pilots, Istha caught her breath.
But she knew—this was Eli's way of keeping himself calm.
As the cockpit door closed, Istha turned to call the others away and cleared the launch track.
"Nervous?"
Eli spoke to Kou Uraki over comms.
Uraki was already stationed at the maintenance rack on the opposite side.
"When it comes to fighting, I think I'll manage."
After a deep breath, Uraki gave a calm response through the comm panel.
Eli nodded.
"Monsha! If you've got a grudge against me, we'll settle it later. Right now, you know what matters most, don't you?"
"Of course... Major."
Monsha, freshly released from confinement, had been sitting with his eyes closed. But when Eli called his name, he opened them and placed his hands on the controls.
He was now piloting a modified GM brought over from the White Chaser, equipped with a high-thrust backpack.
Although customized by Yashima Industries, the suit still couldn't fully match Monsha's piloting skills.
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