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

Chapter 68: Breaking Through the Kármán Line

Eli was once a journalist, back in the 21st century.

It's almost laughable—amid a society teeming with instability, Eli still clung to the simple ideals of honest journalism.

He wanted every person in the world to see what was truly happening.

Driven by this belief, Eli worked as a correspondent, reporting on wars in Pakistan and Ukraine.

He even covered stories at his homeland's satellite launch site, interviewing those whose gaze was fixed on the stars and the spectators who wept at the scene.

In these places, where realism reached its peak, Eli felt the most romantic dreams unfold.

Experiencing the ultimate romantic fantasy of humanity reaching for the cosmos, Eli's modest aspirations were inevitably shaped.

After all, in these moments, such dreams were no longer mere fantasies.

Seated in the chair of the White Base's bridge, secured by a safety harness, Eli felt the ship tremble.

His body grew lighter as his surroundings became blurry.

Was it tears?

After experiencing such lofty dreams, Eli had chosen to go to Japan to investigate the aftermath of the nuclear wastewater incident.

He had wanted to do something for the world.

Yet, after arriving in this new world, he had become someone who merely wanted to observe the changes.

Was he afraid of what the Universal Century might bring?

As he recalled his past self, tears finally trickled down Eli's face.

He had already decided what he wanted to do—those feelings and aspirations shouldn't have changed just because the world had.

"Lieutenant Eli, are you alright?"

Sitting in the captain's chair, Bright was the first to notice Eli's unusual behavior.

"Eli-san?"

As the White Base entered the radio blackout zone, even the Newtypes' abilities seemed to be cut off.

At this moment, Amuro, sitting in front of Eli, turned back and noticed the tears in his eyes.

"Eli…"

Sayla, sitting in the CIC position, also turned her head.

Until now, what the White Base crew had always seen was Eli's dependable side—whether it was his care for the team in daily life or his initiative in standing against the enemy during battles.

Without a doubt, Eli had never shown such vulnerability before.

Homesickness? Fear? Discomfort?

Whatever the reason, none seemed to fit Eli.

But at this moment, none of them could undo their safety belts to approach him.

"No, I'm fine… Thank you for allowing me to meet all of you," Eli said cryptically.

"Lieutenant, is something wrong?"

"Eli-san, I'm also grateful to have met you."

"Eli…"

Each of the three responded differently to Eli's words—Bright out of responsibility, Amuro out of friendship, and Sayla with a mutual understanding that stemmed from a shared unspoken connection.

The scenery outside began to change.

The blue skies of Earth, which had embraced all of humanity, gradually gave way to the profound blackness of space.

No one on the bridge spoke further. The ripple caused by Eli's tears was silently ignored by all.

Yet who would have thought that Eli's tears were shed for the fact that humanity could now travel so freely between Earth and space?

Even so, the scene outside left everyone awestruck.

Although most of them were residents of space, this was also their first time breaking away from Earth in such a striking manner, feeling the vastness of the stars directly.

As the tremors of the ship ceased, the sound seemed to be swallowed by the starry expanse before them.

In this environment, one couldn't help but wonder if humanity could truly adapt to such isolation.

This was why humans didn't simply use spaceships as tools for deep-space exploration but relied on colony satellites as stepping stones.

Perhaps it was the enclosed nature of colony satellites that led to a lack of communication among humans.

On an astronomical scale, even the once-speedy electromagnetic waves slowed communication.

Perhaps it was to adapt to such environments that Newtypes developed heightened brainwave sensitivity, capable of transcending layers of steel to connect.

Amid the now-silent bridge, Eli gazed at the stars without speaking, reflecting inwardly.

The Stargazer.

Eli suddenly thought of the mobile suit.

A machine that also bore a pure longing for the stars.

In that instant, Eli realized the system's enhancements could be used for more than just combat—just as Newtypes weren't solely meant for fighting.

Before anything else, this abnormal world had to be changed!

As if to interrupt Eli's resolve, the bridge was suddenly engulfed in red warning lights.

In the flickering light, Amuro turned back to look at Eli once more.

Confirming the unwavering determination in Eli's eyes, Amuro decisively undid his safety belt, stood up, and ran toward the hangar alongside Eli.

Now that they had entered space, they could move freely without being restrained.

However, their method of movement had changed.

Eli instinctively pushed off with his legs, but instead of moving forward, his perspective floated upward.

"Huh?"

Feeling the lightness of his body, Eli momentarily felt a tinge of embarrassment growing inside him.

He had just made such a bold declaration, only to be caught off guard like this.

How humiliating.

"Eli-san, are you alright?"

Compared to Eli, Amuro moved with remarkable ease. He extended a hand to pull Eli down.

"I'm fine."

In that brief moment of weightlessness, Eli realized it wasn't a matter of being unaccustomed to space.

On the contrary, he felt a freedom he hadn't experienced before.

Eli was, after all, a space inhabitant and possessed the traits of a Newtype.

It was just that four months of fighting on the gravity-bound frontlines had momentarily made him forget what it felt like to be in space.

This time, pushing off the ground with his legs, Eli moved with a speed that rivaled seasoned space workers, rushing to the hangar alongside Amuro.

The maintenance crew had just completed their final checks and gestured to Amuro and Eli.

This was the long-awaited return of the Gundam to space combat, as well as the EZ-SR's debut in space.

The maintenance crew dared not slack off, conducting inspections immediately after receiving the alert.

"Thruster fueling complete!"

Clad in his pilot suit, Eli heard the call just as he entered the cockpit.

A sharp hiss followed as the connecting pipelines detached from the mobile suit.

"Good work."

As Eli passed by the supervising maintenance officer, he patted him on the shoulder before diving into the cockpit.