Chapter 207 – The Bait Has Been Laid
"Turn off the surveillance and recording. Have everyone else leave. There's something I want to say to him."
Putting the documents away, Eli gave Arcadia a quick order before preparing to enter the room.
"Whoa there, Captain, don't go doing anything crazy."
Without even looking back, Eli flipped Arcadia the middle finger in response to his deliberate teasing and stepped into the interrogation room.
The man inside glanced up at Eli as he entered, then dropped his head again.
"Acting like you're out of it won't help, Ensign Apolly Bay."
Eli took the seat opposite Apolly, watching his indifferent demeanor, and decided there was no point pretending to be unaware anymore.
"If you're waiting for Char to come rescue you, forget it."
Apolly immediately looked up, fixing his gaze on Eli—his face clearly etched in memory.
Despite his obvious shock, Apolly remained silent. Eli folded his hands together.
"Come to think of it, you probably don't know, but Char and I actually share a rather close bond."
"…I have no idea what you're talking about."
Apolly finally opened his mouth, clearly seeing through Eli's bluff.
What kind of bond could this Eli possibly have with Colonel Char? A camaraderie forged through battle?
"Forget it, no way to explain it to you anyway."
It's not like he could just come out and say, "I'm Char's brother-in-law."
Still holding his posture, Eli decided to be direct.
"So, where is Char now? Apolly of Zeon."
The Apolly who had previously "cooperated" by confessing how he'd incited the masses now immediately reverted to being a tough nut.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Is that so."
Eli nodded—he'd expected that response.
He pulled out a terminal and brought up some files, placing them in front of Apolly.
"You probably don't know this since you went to Axis, but as part of Undertaker, we have access to the Zeon Republic's database. A lot of the data is missing, unfortunately, but as luck would have it—your information's still in there."
Eli scrolled down the screen steadily.
Up until the Battle of A Baoa Qu, Apolly had remained active.
"Those pathetic lapdogs…"
Apolly muttered bitterly.
"Think what you want. But your family survived because of the Zeon Republic's policies."
Eli had noticed in his profile that Apolly still had living parents and a younger sister.
"…"
"So stop hiding things. Tell me where Char is. For someone who abandoned his family, I won't be showing much respect."
"That's not going to happen. My family understands me—because I did this for people like them, so they could have a better life."
"Maybe so. But the truth is, it's Zeon's actions that created the current situation."
Eli stared calmly at Apolly.
"Don't flatter yourself. I admit Zeon had plenty of flaws—Colonel Char said as much to us. But even if Zeon hadn't done what it did, conditions for space-dwellers wouldn't have improved!"
The interrogation chair shook violently.
Apolly, restrained, would have thrown a punch at Eli otherwise.
"You're a space-dweller too—you've seen it, haven't you? Over in Side 1, on the Shangri-La colony, night after night everything goes pitch black! But on Earth, everywhere is lit up like a festival!"
Apolly's furious shouting was so loud that the door behind Eli swung open.
Eli waved off the peeking Arcadia, motioning for him to leave again.
"The Federation brass doesn't care about the conditions for space-dwellers. All they care about is preserving Earth's environment, their own comfort. And people like you, the Federation military—you're accomplices, helping them maintain that corrupt rule!"
Bang!
Eli slammed his fist onto the steel table.
It hurt.
"Ensign Apolly, I think you've gone off-topic. I asked you where Char is."
Silence fell over the room.
"Char Aznable hasn't returned to the Earth Sphere. It's just people like us, unwilling to settle, who've come back."
Apolly gave a mocking smile.
"I see. In that case, I'm afraid I'll have to reconsider our approach regarding Lady Lalah."
"Lalah!"
Apolly was visibly shaken, instinctively trying to stand—only to be yanked back down by the restraints.
Eli stood and walked to the door, ignoring Apolly's cries of "You bastard!" as he left.
"You're going to release him later?"
"…AUG should be moving inside the colony."
"Of course."
Knowing Arcadia understood him instantly and had already made preparations reassured Eli.
"In a few days, arrange for a transfer to the port. If danger arises, make sure the men prioritize survival. If things get too hot, have them pull out immediately."
As Undertaker's fleet commander, there were things Eli couldn't say directly.
But he trusted Arcadia to handle it well.
"Yes, sir!"
Arcadia accepted the order without hesitation and turned to leave.
"Colonel, this document needs your signature."
Almost as soon as Arcadia left, someone else approached Eli with a file in hand.
"A request for co-defense support from Side 1's garrison… at least they're adapting to the situation."
Wasn't this redundant? Undertaker was already stationed in Londenion.
But here's the key: Undertaker was stationed under the pretext of an anti-insurgency force. Technically, they weren't responsible for co-defense. In case of an incident, Side 1's government would still need to formally request aid from them.
If something did happen, Eli would step in immediately regardless.
But Side 1's government was nervous about the situation.
They might've ignored it in the past, but after Eli let slip General Revil's order a few too many times, they'd finally decided to formally request co-defense.
That vague order—lacking a clear target or deadline—was proving unexpectedly useful.
Once Eli signed it, Undertaker's presence at Side 1 officially became a co-defense force.
"Have the forces we sent to Side 3 departed yet?"
"Yes, Captain Rhein has already led a Magellan-class and three refitted Salamis-class ships out."
"…Once we receive the Alexandria-class ships allocated to us, send them along as well."