Chapter 168: Solomon's Dream—Time to Wake Up
"What a disgrace, Gato. To think you've been driven to this point."
A woman's voice, tinged with contempt, rang through the comm channel.
"I don't need your commentary!"
She had just saved his life, but that didn't change the fact that Gato and this woman—Cima—had never gotten along.
In Gato's eyes, someone who had fallen to the level of a space pirate and now wanted to reclaim her identity as a soldier of Zeon by joining Operation Stardust was utterly shameful.
Still, she had just saved him, and Gato didn't intend to waste time bickering with her. He immediately pulled back.
Operation Stardust absolutely could not be halted here.
And he, Anavel Gato, was unquestionably an essential part of it—
Because of the gift sent from Axis.
"How's Lord Delaz?"
"Thanks to your efforts, the first phase has been successfully completed."
"Good."
Gato slumped against the cockpit seat, exhaustion washing over him.
Even so, with his limbs linked to the mobile suit's interface, he could still retreat under the cover of Cima's fleet.
"I'm leaving the others to you. Hurry and get out of this sector."
"Of course. But before that, shouldn't you tell me what Operation Stardust actually means? Being kept in the dark like this really rubs me the wrong way."
She was now piloting her custom commander-type Marine Gelgoog, which had pulled up beside him.
Though it was also developed during the One Year War, its performance remained top-class—comparable even to today's custom-model GMs.
"I'm sorry. Whether you're told or not is up to Lord Delaz."
Gato refused her request outright, but deep down, he was already half-willing to reveal the truth of Stardust to her.
"Hmph. Then I'll look forward to it. Lili Marleen, come about! Gato, fall back for now. Don't worry—no one will laugh at you."
But that last sentence was clearly a jab.
With that, Cima pushed her Gelgoog forward—charging straight at the Gundam!
Before arriving here, she'd received word through special channels that the person she'd be negotiating with next… was that Gundam.
So it only made sense to say hello first.
As for her "hello"...
Vmmm!
The beam rifle in her hands opened fire, instantly drawing the Gundam's attention—just as it had dodged a barrage from Cima's fleet.
At the same time, the other Marine Corps pilots under her command also deployed, using their refined skills to push back the other enemies.
Eli didn't hesitate. He broke straight into a charge—
Toward the long-range beam rifle's position!
No matter how thick the enemy's barrage, in Eli's eyes, it was all something he could dodge if he wanted to.
Even with that Marine Gelgoog chasing right behind him, Eli remained calm.
Once he had the long-range beam rifle in hand, Eli immediately used the GP04's agility to pivot.
Cima, now drawn in, mirrored the move.
But something strange entered her field of view—three long, bar-like objects...
Boom!
Those three Storm Boosters, discarded by Eli, were detonated by his beam shot—engulfing her Gelgoog in the blast!
Eli didn't pursue the purple Gelgoog. Instead, he raised his rifle, pulled the sight out from behind the seat, and aimed it at the fleeing, legless Gelgoog—
At Gato.
"You bastard… For the sake of coexistence and peace among humanity… go to hell."
As the reticle aligned with the target, Eli murmured softly.
But even once it locked on, he didn't fire immediately—
Because the Gelgoog made a sudden evasive maneuver at that very moment.
Clearly, he had expected an attack.
"Got you!"
Eli nudged the control stick—beam rifle adjusting ever so slightly—then fired, following nothing but instinct.
In the chaos of the battlefield, the beam carved across space, illuminating the Gelgoog's face at the moment of impact.
Boom!
The fusion core was pierced, erupting in a blinding explosion.
There was no question—Gato was dead.
"Daryl… Karius… Operation Stardust… return to Solomon…"
The man who had dedicated his life to a misguided ideal had met such an obscure, meaningless end.
As the echoes faded, Eli frowned.
He didn't recognize the name "Daryl," but the weight and pressure in Gato's final words were so intense, Eli felt as if it could rival the pull of gravity.
Who was Gato trying to bind with those words?
But there was no time to reflect.
Eli swiftly drew his beam saber and spun around—just in time to block a slash from the purple Gelgoog!
He'd only meant to say hello. After all, he still didn't know the full truth behind Operation Stardust.
Sitting inside that Gelgoog, Cima seethed.
This guy's too damn competent. She had hoped to squeeze some intel from Gato first.
Their beam sabers clashed once again.
"You've overdone it, haven't you?!"
Hearing that voice, Eli finally confirmed his suspicion.
He'd already had a hunch—but now he knew.
The person before him… was Cima Garahau.
His enemy.
The two suits pulled apart, neutralizing each other's momentum.
Cima assumed that once he realized who she was, he'd back off.
But instead, the Gundam remained in place—beam saber still lit.
"What, didn't the memo go through?"
Considering the bloated nature of the Federation's bureaucracy, a communications delay was understandable.
But Cima didn't care either way. She was confident she could retreat unscathed.
Even if this guy had taken out Gato—Gato didn't have the full support of the fleet, after all.
As she thought this, she transmitted a set of coordinates to the Gundam.
That should be enough to show she was willing to talk, right?
After all, there's no way the Federation would assign Eli Lee to meet her—too risky.
But if Cima had been a Newtype, she'd have realized that the Gundam before her had already locked its entire presence onto her.
Eli was suppressing his emotions.
Now that he knew this was Cima, a storm churned within him.
The "Eli" from the 21st century was Eli, and the one in the Universal Century was also Eli.
He could still vividly recall those hellish scenes—the worsening gas leaks in the space colonies, the cries of civilians on the streets.
He had never even gotten to see his family's faces one last time—before they were vaporized in the fall of Iffish Island.
I admit I didn't handle the Gato situation very well, but calling me a Gato fan is just mean—sob…
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