Chapter 257: Former Superior
The unit that had just launched an attack on them had come from the Southeast Asia base.
No matter how you looked at it, there shouldn't be any reason for that base to contact them now.
"Put it through."
Unlike the slightly surprised reactions of the others on the bridge, Eli's response could even be described as... expectant.
After all, at its core, it was from that very base that Eli had truly stepped onto the world stage. It held significant meaning for him.
Unfortunately, after that, Eli hadn't had much further interaction with the base.
Because when it came down to allegiances, that base had always been neutral.
During the One Year War, the Southeast Asia base had been thoroughly anti-Revil faction.
The late Major General Ethan, who had been posthumously honored, seemed to have held a personal grudge against General Revil.
"It's been a long time, Colonel Eli."
Once the transmission connected, a slightly stiff-looking face appeared on the screen.
Eli almost stood up to salute on reflex.
But as the leader of the Undertaker faction, now openly rebelling against the current Federal regime, he absolutely couldn't present such a posture in front of those who believed in him.
Even so, he remained seated and raised his hand in salute toward the person on the screen.
"General Kojima. It's good to see you're in good health."
"Haha, not as healthy as you—healthy enough to be doing something like this, at any rate."
The man on the screen was none other than Captain Kojima, Eli's very first superior after arriving in this world.
After Ethan's death in battle, Kojima had successfully been promoted to commander of the Southeast Asia base, and now he had even attained the rank of general.
Their reunion... was happening as enemies.
Or was it?
Eli noticed that Kojima was not speaking to him from the base's command center, but from his own personal office.
That in itself made it seem as if the Titans were trying to use Kojima's relationship with Eli to persuade him to abandon his current course.
As if he had sensed Eli's thoughts, Kojima gave a small smile, stepped out of frame, and from the sound of it, went to pour himself a drink.
Sure enough, when Kojima returned to his seat, he was holding a glass of whiskey.
The gesture seemed intended to ease the tension in the air.
"Speaking of which, this bottle was one that Ethan brought out to celebrate back when you took down that Apsalus."
Kojima took a calm sip and said to Eli.
"It feels like it was just yesterday. At the time, I was worried Ethan might end up dragging you down—but to think you've grown this much since then."
Kojima set his glass down, placing it to the left side of the screen.
He didn't let go of it entirely, instead running his fingers along the surface as though reminiscing.
But Eli clearly saw that after Kojima wiped away the condensation formed by the ice inside the glass, two human silhouettes were faintly reflected on its surface.
Just like back in that field tent, when Kojima had discreetly warned him to be cautious of Ethan.
"Yes. I still remember how sweltering it was in the Southeast Asian jungle, back when mobile suits didn't even have air conditioning."
"Hahaha, all I could do then was sit in front of a fan. But we endured it for the sake of the Federation. That made it bearable."
Eli chuckled. He could still remember the first time he saw Kojima, sitting in front of an old fan.
"So, someone who once endured such hardships for the Federation—why are you now rebelling against its will?"
From the start, the tone felt like Kojima was trying to persuade him.
But Eli responded with a genuine smile.
"Because, in my eyes, what the Titans are doing is no different from what Zeon once did. Zeon dropped colonies and slaughtered civilians—and the Titans have done the same."
Though the Titans hadn't gone that far yet.
"There's still room to turn things around, isn't there? The Titans are still part of the Federation. It's not like Zeon, trying to overthrow it."
Kojima began tapping the inside of his glass with his index finger, lost in thought.
"If something like that can be turned around... then I'll be the one threatening the Federation's rule."
Eli replied with unwavering conviction, holding nothing back in his condemnation of the Titans.
"In that case, we've nothing more to say to each other."
Kojima's face, which had softened a bit as they talked about the past, abruptly hardened again. He returned to his stiff, formal demeanor, folding his hands and cutting Eli off with cold words.
"Then, farewell, Captain Kojima."
"Heh. You should call me General."
The communication cut off, and silence fell across the bridge.
To the others, it felt like Eli had just severed his final tie with an old superior in order to stay true to his path.
Admirable, yes—but also undeniably heavy.
However, the man himself had no such sentiment!
"Can you replay the transmission? There's something I want to check."
Eli left his seat and moved over to the CIC station.
"Ah, yes sir!"
The transmission recording began to play again. Kojima's stern face once more made the crew feel he was a strict, traditional soldier.
"Fast-forward…"
Eli manually scrubbed through the footage to the moment Kojima tapped the glass with his finger.
"Here!"
"Was that a signal?"
Seeing Eli focus so intently on that part, Captain Otto caught on right away.
"Most likely… Try decrypting it using this code format."
Eli reviewed the clip several times and then pulled up a decryption scheme on his terminal.
"Yes! Decryption successful—it's coordinates. Located on the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal!"
Back when Kojima was still just a field officer, he had stubbornly remained at the frontlines to command operations directly.
At that time, due to the interference from Minovsky particles, all battlefield operations were essentially blind, so someone had to be on the frontlines to make quick tactical decisions.
Because of that, Kojima had an intimate understanding of the communication ciphers used by frontline soldiers.
And the format Eli provided was the one used by Kojima's former Far East unit.
"Can we plot these coordinates into our course?"
"Yes, if we're going through the Strait of Malacca, this location is right along our path."
As the captain, Otto immediately brought his expertise to bear.
He might complain constantly, but his technical knowledge was unexpectedly dependable.
"In that case, we've got ourselves a reason to stop by."