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

Chapter 25: A Selfish Plea

Eli broke out in a cold sweat in an instant.

He had only thought about fighting alongside Amuro but had not considered that the unprepared Amuro would be unwilling to pilot an MS.

At this moment, Amuro was in a turbulent emotional state. He had experienced his father's departure, quarreled with his mother, and recently witnessed Doan's resolve—a man who willingly gave up his power to live peacefully with the children.

Among those children were some close in age to Amuro.

Witnessing all this, young Amuro had likely harbored resentment in his heart for a long time.

However!

Without Amuro, whether the Federation could successfully counterattack Zeon was uncertain.

During the Jaburo operation, Amuro's contributions were immense.

After returning to space, his most significant achievement in ending the war was defeating Zeon's MA Big Zam, enabling the Federation's Space Force to launch Operation Star One successfully.

This laid the foundation for the later success at the Battle of A Baoa Qu, sealing Zeon's defeat.

Eli believed someone else might be able to destroy or at least hold off Char's Zeong. However, the Big Zam? That could only be Amuro's task.

Driven by this selfish reasoning, Eli gritted his teeth, suppressing the guilt of persuading a child to go to war. He stepped forward and spoke.

"It would be wrong to call you a pawn, Ensign Amuro."

Eli avoided meeting Amuro's eyes, directing most of his attention toward Bright.

"Ensign?"

Amuro echoed Eli's confusion from earlier.

"This is a direct order from General Revil at Jaburo headquarters."

Eli retrieved a neatly folded document from the inner pocket of his pilot suit and unfolded it methodically.

"Yes, sir!"

Bright immediately stood at attention.

Eli noticed that while some maintenance crew members aboard the ship mirrored Bright's posture, most others did not grasp the document's significance.

Even Amuro seemed equally unaware.

Only Bright's expression turned grave.

"Originally, this was supposed to be announced in a more formal setting. However, since this young man has some misguided notions, I will read the order now."

Eli straightened the high-quality paper, stood at attention, and puffed out his chest, ensuring his voice carried.

"By order of General Revil: White Base is officially transferred under Rear Admiral Tienam's command to form the 13th Autonomous Corps!"

Using his peripheral vision, Eli observed Amuro's face shift to one of shock and confusion.

"Accordingly, Sergeant Amuro is promoted to Ensign. Ensign Bright is promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade. The rest of the crew will also be promoted based on their individual merits."

Having said all this, Eli handed the commission papers to Bright, who received them solemnly and saluted once more.

"Come, Ensign Amuro, accept your commission."

Eli turned toward Amuro, who stood there dazed, and forced a smile.

"…But I'm not a soldier…"

Amuro clenched his fists tightly.

"I only piloted the Gundam to protect Fraw!"

The young man suddenly revealed his true feelings, causing Fraw, who had been stunned by the unfolding events, to blush.

However, Amuro didn't find his words odd—he was merely voicing his honest thoughts.

"Then continue to pilot the Gundam with that mindset. After all, the rank of Ensign won't change anything for you, will it?"

"Fraw…"

Amuro avoided Eli's gaze and turned toward Fraw.

At that moment, an inappropriate thought crossed Amuro's mind: That uniform really doesn't suit Fraw at all.

"Amuro is amazing!"

"An Ensign now!"

"Amuro has become like Bright!"

The children's excited chatter broke the tense atmosphere in the hangar. They surrounded Amuro, jumping and shouting, leaving him stunned as he watched them.

"Amuro, although it may be harsh, that Gundam isn't something we can pilot. I've seen you in action—its performance far surpasses our machines, and we simply don't have the skills to operate it."

Eli quietly approached Amuro, patting him on the shoulder.

"You're lying. We're all human. As an adult, there's no reason you couldn't pilot the Gundam."

Even though Amuro's Newtype abilities hadn't fully developed at this time, his words still hit the mark.

Eli remained silent for a moment before gripping Amuro's other shoulder and looking him directly in the eyes.

"Amuro, you might not understand this, but some things can only be accomplished by you. Only you have that ability."

"Lieutenant Eli?"

As Amuro locked eyes with Eli, for some reason, he felt compelled to trust the man before him.

Finally, he made up his mind.

"I'll do it, but not because I'm a soldier. I'll do it because I choose to. Zeon is wrong."

Amuro shrugged off Eli's hands with slight force and walked to the Gundam's feet.

Turning back to glance at Eli, he then exited the hangar.

"My apologies for the commotion."

After calming the children with Fraw and Mirai, Bright finally had the chance to apologize to Eli.

"There's no need, Lieutenant Bright. Now, head to the Southeast Asian front base. Someone is waiting for you there."

"May I ask who it is?"

"Miss Matilda. The Medea transport she piloted brought us here. She mentioned having a gift for the Gundam and Amuro, but you'll have to see for yourselves."

Eli smiled and then excused himself, heading toward Tem Ray.

Bright stood there, the weight in his heart finally lifted.

General Revil hadn't forgotten them. He had always supported them.

This realization filled the young officer with relief and renewed determination: he would lead White Base to Jaburo no matter what.

As he watched Eli and his teammates begin inspecting the ground combat Gundam with the maintenance crew, Bright turned his gaze to White Base's Gundam.

For a fleeting moment, he felt such scenes would become a regular part of his life.

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Today's chapters might seem a bit dull. While analyzing Amuro's inner thoughts during this period, I realized the 0079 TV series is somewhat abstract. It left me a bit dizzy. Additionally, Amuro's reasons for fighting during this time are inadequate and lack a clear turning point like Kira's. The result is me writing a seemingly aimless mess… My apologies.