Chapter 133: Cooperation
The eerie feeling grew even stronger.
There was no doubt now—this unit was operating in an organized manner. Even the possibility of capture had been accounted for, as they were willing to take their own lives rather than leak information.
Eli strained to recall everything that had happened over the past year, wondering if he had overlooked anything.
"Arcadia, where's your target?"
Eli immediately used Jim in the sky as a relay point and sent an inquiry to Arcadia's team.
"Apologies, Captain. We lost him!"
Arcadia gritted his teeth as he responded. He didn't even call Eli by name, instead addressing him formally as "Captain."
Just moments ago, after intercepting the night battle-type Efreet, Arcadia had noticed something strange.
Although the enemy had been heading straight for the monument venue, the moment they encountered Arcadia, they immediately turned and fled toward the sea.
This was clearly not the behavior of someone seeking revenge on the Federation or attempting to rescue Dozle.
The intent became even more apparent when the Federation's aquatic unit was wiped out. The enemy had no interest in engaging further and was clearly retreating.
As they neared the shore, they released a series of smoke screens.
By the time Arcadia emerged from the smoke, the night battle-type Efreet had already vanished.
Arcadia immediately ordered three standby aquatic-type Jims to dive in and search, but there was no response.
Eli then commanded the borrowed early warning aircraft to scan the area in hopes of locating a submersible carrier.
Ultimately, nothing was found.
This attack by Zeon remnants had started with a bang but ended in a whimper, leaving many—including Eli—completely puzzled.
Despite the grand spectacle, the attack had only managed to startle some government officials and cost the Titans a few mobile suits. There was no significant damage beyond that.
It was as if they had gathered forces from all over the world just to validate Dozle's statement.
Knock, knock.
Eli knocked on the captain's cabin door.
However, inside the cabin were not Captain Paolo but two Federation admirals—Revil and Gihren.
Eli immediately saluted them. He also noticed that Bask, the Titans' commanding officer responsible for the primary defensive deployment, was present.
"Have a seat, Major Eli."
Revil gestured for Eli to sit.
Eli nodded and took a seat on a sofa, maintaining some distance from where Bask was sitting.
Once everyone was seated, the discussion resumed from where it had been interrupted by Eli's arrival.
"So, even you haven't figured out who leaked the information?"
Gihren trusted Bask's capabilities, yet even Bask had been unable to determine the source of the leak.
This made Gihren frown.
By this point, he knew that this matter was beyond what a mere squad commander could handle.
Even so, it was frustrating to see his subordinates failing to deliver results.
Gihren crossed his arms and leaned back on the sofa, signaling for Revil to proceed with the questioning.
"Eli, did you discover anything on your end?"
Revil picked up the conversation and asked Eli.
Eli had no intention of hiding anything and relayed everything the captured Juagg pilot had said.
"Tears of the Sky"? Dozle's declaration?
Revil repeated the two phrases, trying to find a connection between them.
Could the Zeon remnants really be planning to use Dozle's declaration to rally their supporters for another assault?
That seemed highly unlikely.
There had to be a deeper meaning behind their actions.
As Revil pondered, Eli hesitated over something as well.
He knew exactly what "Tears of the Sky" referred to.
But the problem was—how did he know?
That question alone suppressed Eli's urge to disclose what he knew.
Moreover, Eli only knew what the original "Tears of the Sky" was supposed to be. He couldn't be certain whether it was the same in this reality.
"Major, Eli. Lieutenant Colonel, Bask. I'm entrusting the two of you with continuing this investigation. Whatever the enemy is planning, it's clearly a threat to the Federation."
The deployment of so many special mobile suits made it evident that even without Eli on-site, the Titans had the numerical advantage to surround and eliminate the enemy.
"Understood. I'll allocate additional personnel to the Exorcist Squad. They've been tracking this unit's movements for a while now, so leaving it to them seems like the best choice."
Bask nodded, indicating his acceptance of the task.
Indeed, the Exorcist Squad was now under the Titans' command.
Suddenly, something clicked in Eli's mind—but it also raised new doubts.
He recalled that within the Exorcist Squad, there was a "Zeon woman" with deep ties to this Zeon unit.
But the real question was—how could an MS squad member have access to such extensive defensive information?
Normally, only officers at Eli and Bask's level and above would be privy to such details.
"Is the Exorcist Squad here right now?"
"Yes, they arrived yesterday and have already reported their findings to me. However, even they only speculated that the night battle-type Efreet might launch an attack from the sea."
Bask answered Eli's question without hesitation.
With their superior officers present, there was no need for secrecy—it was clear that transparency was expected.
So, either the former Zeon pilot in the Exorcist Squad was a top-tier spy, or there was another mole leaking information.
"I see. Would it be possible for us to operate alongside the Exorcist Squad?"
"That's not how it works. The Exorcist Squad should be following Under Taker's command."
Bask immediately made his stance clear.
"Understood. I'll coordinate with them accordingly."
Eli nodded. After offering his apologies to Revil and Gihren, he left the captain's cabin with Bask.
"Lieutenant Colonel Bask, could you provide me with the Exorcist Squad's files?"
Bask had no objections and told Eli that someone would deliver them later.
After personally seeing Bask off, Eli returned to his room to think things over.
The Exorcist Squad was certainly an unusual unit, with a former Zeon pilot among its ranks.
However, the real mole wasn't her—it was someone else.
This also reflected a major issue within the Federation—its flawed registry system, which allowed many former Zeon soldiers to purchase Federation military identities and enlist.
Some had even joined corporations like Anaheim Electronics.
Considering this, Eli began to contemplate whether he should add additional screening measures to the hiring standards for test pilots in Yashima's MS department.