Chapter 181: Charge
Over there, White Chaser had also plunged into chaos.
They had just received orders granting them freedom to decide their time of engagement—when suddenly, they saw an enormous flash that could not be ignored.
Immediately afterward, the communications channel was filled with incomprehensible chatter.
"The Jamitov Fleet… lost combat capability?"
Everyone on the bridge instinctively stood up, staring blankly toward the front end of the colony satellite.
Until just moments ago, they had all believed that the Federation's victory was a foregone conclusion.
Among them, Eli was the most shaken.
Back during the Tears of the Sky incident, Eli had been criticized for inadequate preparation. Determined not to repeat the same mistake, he had prepared for every conceivable scenario that could lead to disaster.
Except one—he had never imagined that Axis would place such trust in Delaz's success that they would entrust him with a nuclear warhead.
Every nuclear warhead within Earth's sphere of influence was supposed to be under the Federation's control, so this one clearly came from the Axis fleet.
Weren't they afraid the Federation would retaliate against Axis without hesitation, regardless of the cost?
Eli couldn't understand it.
But Char could.
Compared to the original timeline, Axis had taken in nearly twice as many Zeon remnants.
More defeated soldiers arriving at Axis didn't just increase the burden on the asteroid base—it also meant the resurgence of the "Zabi faction."
A harsher living environment and the Zabi loyalists' unrelenting drive for rebellion likely explained why this nuclear warhead had appeared in the first place.
All Char could do was hope Maharaja Karn, the leader of Axis, would be able to suppress those who still refused to accept reality.
The nuke had certainly achieved significant results, but it had only disrupted half of the fleet review. The Federation's actual military strength was still far beyond what Axis could match.
Char, who had departed with the Axis fleet back in UC 0082, didn't know that the man who had once profoundly shaped his ideals and treated him with such care—was already dead.
Now, Axis was being led by someone who gave Char no end of headaches.
Maharaja Karn's daughter: Haman Karn.
As for the nuclear warhead, it had not originally been intended as a weapon.
When Axis was first established, it served as a transit station for the Jupiter Energy Fleet and had prepared nuclear fuel pellets specifically for accelerating the nuclear pulse engines of helium-3 mining ships.
These pellets, like the MK82, were detonated by laser ignition. Designed to propel the massive 2,000-meter-long Jupitris, they naturally contained enormous energy.
Axis had modified and enhanced the yield of one such pellet and sealed it into a missile casing—thus transforming it into the warhead that struck the decisive blow.
In other words, Delaz's operation had always been predicated on the guaranteed acquisition of this warhead.
The attack on the Albion and GP02 had been carried out with the mindset that success would be ideal, but failure wouldn't matter.
"Colonel, it's time."
A crew member from the mobile suit hangar called out beside him.
Char said nothing, silently guiding his red-painted Gelgoog onto the launch platform, preparing for battle.
"At this point, we don't really have the capacity to smuggle Lady Lalah elsewhere under the Federation's surveillance… unless you help us yourself, Colonel. Only then could we reallocate manpower, right?"
That had been Delaz's reply to Char.
When Char saw that Lalah had indeed been placed aboard a disguised civilian freighter by one of his subordinates returning to Earth's sphere—and had departed the Delaz fleet before the colony seizure—he finally breathed a sigh of relief and threw himself into the operation to bring down the colony satellite.
To that end, Delaz had even prepared a fully operational Gelgoog for Char, repainted in red.
Imagining how the world—and especially Amuro—would see him so boldly "joining" Delaz's fleet, Char uncomfortably loosened his collar.
That said, his hands didn't hesitate. As if following muscle memory, he swiftly piloted his mobile suit to take the lead.
As he passed the Gwadan, Char briefly fixed his gaze on the Gwadan-class ship's bridge, his right hand twitching slightly with temptation.
Being schemed against and doing nothing in response—that wasn't his style.
Char had been assigned to eliminate the Federation forces stationed behind the colony satellite.
The bulk of Delaz's fleet had been sent to confront the frontal enemy—after all, even having lost two-thirds of its strength, the Federation still had over twenty warships in the main fleet.
Moreover, radar had picked up another fleet approaching—likely a Federation reserve unit.
Given that, Delaz dispatched an elite team to eliminate the threat posed by the three ships at the rear.
"Don't panic. We're about to charge."
After the initial shock, Captain Paolo regained his composure, returning firmly to his captain's chair and barking out orders to quell the chaos on the bridge.
"Many of you were born on Earth. Your families, your friends—everything you cherish is there. Then you understand: we cannot allow this colony satellite to fall on Earth!"
Paolo's gaze once again exuded the poise and authority of a true captain.
"Even those born in space should understand what Earth means to the Federation, to all of humanity. If we don't want to see a repeat of the One Year War's tragedy, we must throw everything we have into stopping that colony."
He spoke resolutely, though in truth, White Chaser alone stood no real chance of stopping the entire satellite.
But the elite crew aboard had no thoughts of retreat. Instead, they returned to their combat stations.
"Eli!"
After stabilizing the crew, Paolo turned to Eli, his eyes piercing.
Eli was still stunned.
A flicker of realization passed through Paolo's gaze. He could tell this quiet man must've had access to some exclusive intel—hence his deeper reaction than the others.
"Eli, I don't know how much you've done, but you need to know this—as the commander of the Undertaker, you've already done everything you possibly could. Even if General Revil himself were here, he couldn't fault you."
Paolo said this with absolute conviction, as though it were an undeniable truth.
"Rather than doubting your own abilities, wouldn't it be better to focus on dealing with the immediate threat?"
He said nothing more—just stood there, looking at the man before him.
He believed Eli was not someone who would lose his will so easily.
"You're right, Captain Paolo."
Eli steadied his helmet and deliberately placed it on his head.
Inside the helmet, he let out a deep breath, watching the condensation lightly fog the visor.
Had he really done everything he could as the commander of Undertaker?
That's what Eli wondered.
No—if he truly wanted to change things, then just being the commander of Undertaker wasn't enough.
Otherwise, situations like this would keep happening—where all his efforts and Sayla's sacrifices were in vain.
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