"Here's tea. Okay?" Lemon hands me a cup in her lab's lounge, sitting across.
If this weren't about my secret, just two people having tea would be nice.
"No preference. Vending machine tea's fine."
"No fun to host," she pouts, sipping.
"Good tea."
"Thanks. Now, your secret?"
Time to spin my story. Saying I'm a reincarnated gamer who knows W-Numbers from Super Robot Wars OG would get me laughed at or discharged, wasting all my efforts.
"You know I have telekinesis, right?"
"Yeah, that and the Time Flow Engine sold me on Vindel's offer."
"It's not just telekinesis. I've got precognition—seeing the future."
Lemon blinks. "Precognition?"
Not too far-fetched. In the original, Lada and Shine had it as a skill—+30% evasion on counterattacks at 130 Will. Shine dodged attacks with it in the anime, a recognized strong skill.
"Not freely. It comes randomly, like recalling future events."
"Not on command?"
"If I could, I'd be gambling, not soldiering."
Though, that'd attract creeps like Adler Koch or Agilla Setme.
"So, you saw something about those kids?" She nods at the cylinders.
Which card to play? Lamia's too central—messing with her risks distorting the original timeline. Echidna or Wodan. I pick Wodan—safer, less contact with Lamia.
"One W-Number, masked, fighting in a giant machine."
Lemon muses, "Telekinesis is mysterious, so precognition isn't a stretch…"
She's half-convinced but still suspicious. "Still don't buy it?"
"Not quite. My woman's intuition's tingling."
That's terrifying. I sip tea to dodge her gaze.
"Fine, I'll buy it for now."
Relieved, I chat about the Time Flow Engine and Montoya, enjoying the conversation.
"I'm Axel Almer, your special ops squad leader. Let's work together."
The next day, I meet my four squad members in the meeting room. Five total, including me, feels thin for Shadow-Mirror's eventual rebellion. New unit, though—no choice. I picked Martin Romero; Vindel chose the rest. All young, Martin's the oldest, mid-20s. I'd have liked a veteran.
"Sergeant Martin Romero, formerly a PT pilot at Ecuador Base," he salutes, sizing me up.
He's the troublemaker, confident in his skills. I hope he's competent—my judgment's on the line. The others—Al, Bobby, Frost—introduce themselves.
"Pick your machines," I say.
"You're not assigning them?" Martin asks, surprised.
"Choose what suits you. You're special ops—you know your strengths. Mission's next week, so factor that in."
"Next week? No training?" Martin gapes.
"I said the same, but Vindel's orders. It's a small terrorist group with outdated fighters and tanks."
They relax. Even quirky, they don't want to face DC veterans.
"Pick your machines this morning. Afternoon's mock training. Meet at the hangar after lunch. Maintenance crew will assist. Dismissed."
I salute and leave. Their choices will be interesting. My Ashsaver's ready, so I tackle paperwork—squad leader's burden.
Afternoon, the squad's in the hangar.
"As said, we're training with real machines. Report your choices," I say, eyeing Martin.
"I'll report," he says. "I picked a mass-produced Ashsaver for assault, my specialty. Al, Bobby, and Frost chose mass-produced Gespenst Mk-IIs—versatile for close and long-range."
Solid. Gespenst Mk-IIs' balanced nature supports me and Martin.
"Got it. Board your machines."
I head to my Ashsaver, start it, and radio the team. "Ready? Switch to mock battle mode for a team intro."
"Roger," they reply.
The five machines move from the hangar to Langley's mock battle field, used in OG1's Kyousuke route against AI tanks with Excellen. It looks like a base but uses dummy structures. No live ammo like Zengar, though.
"Confirm mock battle weapons—paint rounds. No accidents. Split into teams: me and Al versus Martin, Bobby, Frost. Start in ten minutes."
I verify my Ashsaver's paint rounds and head to our starting point with Al.
"Captain, three against two?" Al radios, moving.
He wants to win this first training. So do I.
"They've got numbers, but my Ashsaver has Sword Breakers, unlike Martin's mass-produced model. Balances out."
Sword Breakers enable all-range attacks like funnels and double as melee weapons, giving us an edge. Still, one-on-four would be too much. They're closer to Gundam 00's fangs than funnels.
"Captain, it's time," Al says.
I start the mock battle.