Several hours had passed since the defeat of the Desert Tiger, Andrew Waltfeld, and the destruction of the Lesseps. Night had fallen, and the temperature was dropping rapidly, but the Desert Dawn's hideout was engulfed in a heat of a different kind. They had taken down the ZAFT commander who had dominated the region; it was no wonder they were in high spirits.
Around us, members of the Archangel crew, Desert Dawn fighters, and even people from nearby towns who had come to celebrate were mingling, their affiliations and races forgotten in the revelry.
In the command center of the hideout, Saheb, Murrue, Mu, Natarle, and I were gathered.
"To the Desert Dawn!"
Saheb raised his cup high.
"To the future we've seized."
Murrue followed suit, raising her cup alongside his.
"Well then, to all of that."
With Mu's words, we all clinked cups in a toast.
Everyone else downed their drinks in one go. Since I have absolutely no tolerance for alcohol, I downed a cup of ice-cold water—a luxury in the desert—just to match the mood.
Natarle, apparently also weak to alcohol, coughed slightly after her drink, but Murrue drained hers without flinching. Watching them, I placed my empty cup on the table and let out a breath.
Mu turned to Saheb.
"Still, it's going to be tough from here on out... for you guys, I mean. Just because the Tiger is gone doesn't mean ZAFT is gone. They want the mines, right? The next wave will come soon enough."
"When that happens, we'll fight again. We'll keep fighting. Against anyone who tries to oppress us."
Saheb declared this, gripping his rifle. Just then, a child ran into the room, ignoring us and heading straight for Saheb.
"Father! The Elder says he's going to offer prayers for the warriors we lost."
"Is that so? I'm coming. Would you all join us, if you like? It's a farewell ceremony for the fallen."
"Yes, we'd be honored."
Murrue nodded, and we moved outside.
There, we watched as the Desert Dawn members fired shots into the air and offered their prayers. We observed the solemn ritual from a slight distance.
The prayers lasted for about twenty minutes before the gathering dispersed. Those who hadn't had enough to drink went back to toast their departed comrades with friends. Others sat alone in thought, or spent time with their lovers. Everyone dealt with the aftermath in their own way.
"Well, I guess we should call it a night too."
"Yes, I suppose so. We'll be busy again starting tomorrow, so please try to relax while you can tonight."
"Will do. Lieutenant Badgiruel, care to join me for another round?"
"Umm, I'm not very strong with alcohol... but if you don't mind."
Mu and Natarle walked off together, presumably to continue drinking.
"Axel, let's get going too."
"Yeah, sure... but like I said, I can't drink."
"I know. But surely we can spend a quiet night together, just the two of us?"
Murrue said this while wrapping her arms around mine. Feeling the softness of her body against me, I couldn't help but smile wryly.
"Alright. Let's go."
"Mmhmm."
Murrue's room was, naturally, the Captain's quarters. We were currently sitting side by side on her bed.
"Good work today."
Murrue said, sipping the alcohol she'd received from the Desert Dawn members. I nodded, nursing a cup of tea I'd brought from the Archangel's cafeteria.
"Yeah. Kira's done it a few times, but running out of energy mid-combat is bad for the heart. Luckily, the battle was already nearing its end, but still..."
At my words, Murrue leaned against me. I looked down at her, feeling her comfortable weight and the softness of her form.
"What is it?"
"Honestly, why did I fall for someone like you? I swore I'd never fall for an MA pilot again."
"Unfortunately for your resolution, I'm an MS pilot, not an MA pilot."
"I suppose... that's true. But that just means you'll be exposed to even fiercer battles. I'm scared, Axel. Scared of losing you."
"You think I'll go down that easily? Don't worry. I'll always come back to you."
"Axel..."
Murrue closed her eyes, her lashes wet. I said nothing more, silencing her with a kiss as I gently pushed her down onto the bed.
"Axel, wake up."
A voice called out, shaking me from my sleep.
"Come on, we don't have time... Honestly. Hey... wake up!"
"...Hmm? Whaaa... Murrue?"
"Yes, it's Murrue. It's morning, get up. I have a mountain of work to do."
Hearing her voice, I looked around. Not my room? ...Ah.
Seeing Murrue's slightly exasperated expression, I remembered where I was. We had spent the night together and fallen asleep in her bed.
"Come on, get dressed! ...Good grief, why are pilots always so sloppy?"
She threw my scattered clothes at me while I was still shaking off the drowsiness.
I glanced at her. She had already changed into her standard uniform, radiating an aura of total combat readiness. Looking at her now, no one would ever imagine the sweet, clinging Murrue from last night.
"Shower quickly and get some breakfast. We're departing today, so it's going to be busy."
"Murrue, are you my mother?"
Chuckling at her brisk attitude, I started putting on the clothes she'd handed me. I was going to shower immediately anyway, but I couldn't exactly walk out of the Captain's quarters naked.
"If you were more organized, I wouldn't have to say these things. Now, hurry up."
I was practically shoved out of her room.
"Honestly... It's late, but good morning, Axel."
With a quick, light kiss, she hurried off down the corridor. Being a captain meant no rest for the weary.
"...Well, I guess I'd better hit the showers like she said."
I couldn't exactly go to work smelling like Murrue's perfume.
"Murdoch, is this all for the resupply?"
I asked Murdoch, who was directing traffic nearby, as I used a power loader to move a container of supplies into the hangar.
"Uhh, let's see... Container number G-14? Hey, hey, why is that coming here? That's living supplies. Take it to the warehouse, not the hangar!"
"Warehouse? Ah, got it."
Between the post-battle chaos and the hangovers from the victory party, things weren't exactly running like clockwork. Stupid mistakes, like the one I just made with the container, were bound to happen.
"Sergeant! The sonar is here!"
One of the mechanics shouted to Murdoch.
Since we were about to cross the Indian Ocean, we had to be on guard against underwater enemies. However, the Archangel currently had no means of detecting submerged threats. So, they had found a sonar system used by ZAFT submarines from... somewhere.
...Or rather, it was obviously "diverted" goods from ZAFT. Or maybe salvage left behind by the ZAFT forces retreating from Banadiya.
Of course, since the sonar itself was ZAFT tech, getting it to work with the Archangel was going to take some effort. ...Either way, that was a job for the maintenance crew and Kira.
"Oi, Axel. Got a minute?"
As I was moving the container, a familiar voice called out. I turned to see Mu looking somewhat troubled.
Did we miss some supplies? Wondering what was up, I deposited the living supplies in the designated area and hopped off the power loader.
"What's up?"
"Uhh, well... turns out we've got two tagalongs joining us when we leave. Just wanted to let you know."
"Two people?"
I muttered, then remembered. Right, in the original story, Cagalli and Kisaka boarded the Archangel.
"Judging by that look on your face... it's that Cagalli girl and her babysitter?"
"Eh? How'd you know? Well, yeah... You tangled with her a bit before, right? Figured I should warn you just in case."
"What did Murrue say?"
"She got steamrolled."
As expected of the Princess of Orb, her pushiness is first-class. If only she had the political acumen to match, there'd be no problem... but well, given her age, I can't blame her. Besides, coming from a mercenary with zero political skill, that criticism doesn't carry much weight.
"If Captain Murrue agreed to it, then as a mercenary, I have no complaints. ...However."
"Yeah, I know. I'll make sure she doesn't do anything unnecessary."
"Good."
That said, knowing Cagalli, she's almost guaranteed to do something selfish and cause trouble for us.
"Attention all hands. The Archangel will now proceed across the Indian Ocean toward Alaska. Do not let your guard down just because we have left Africa!"
Murrue's voice echoed through the ship as the Archangel lifted off.
Resupply complete. The time had finally come to leave the desert.
On the monitors in the hangar, I could see the members of the Desert Dawn waving at the rising ship. Receiving their send-off, the Archangel gradually picked up speed.
Several hours had passed since departure. The noise and bustle had settled down, and I was in the Blitz's cockpit.
I couldn't adjust the OS, but I could run system diagnostics, a task Murdoch had foisted on me. Fortunately, it was simple enough that even I could handle it without issues.
...Then it hit me. We're heading into the Indian Ocean. I should probably spend my accumulated PP. I'd already acquired most of the essential survival skills, so I hadn't touched it in a while... but I had 600 PP saved up.
First, change Terrain Adaptation: Sea from B to S. That costs 110 points. 490 remaining.
...Come to think of it, I've never touched my stats. I should boost those instead of skills this time.
First, to round off the numbers: Shooting +2, Defense +3, Evasion +5, Accuracy +3. That's 130 points gone.
I'll keep 100 points in reserve for emergencies. That leaves me with 260 points to spend.
In that case... let's raise everything evenly. +4 to all stats except SP costs 240 points. Then 2 points of SP for +16.
Alright, that's done. Effectively, it's about the same growth as gaining one or two levels.
Having boosted my stats, I jumped down from the Blitz's cockpit and headed toward where everyone was gathered.
"Taking a while, huh?"
Kira, the bridge crew, the mechanics, and Mu were all in the hangar prepping the sonar. I called out to Mu, the only one who looked like he had time on his hands.
"Yeah. It's a ZAFT sonar, after all. Getting it to work on the Archangel is a pain."
"And you're just watching?"
"What do you want an MA pilot to do with sonar? It's completely outside my field. You're the mercenary here; can't you help out?"
"Unfortunately, my job is strictly combat. I'm clueless about that stuff. ...I mean, if I could handle tech, I'd be rewriting the Blitz's OS myself."
"Fair point."
As we chatted about nothing in particular, a call came in from the bridge.
"Sergeant Murdoch, what is the status of the sonar preparations?"
It was Natarle. She spoke in her usual resolute tone, but I didn't miss the faint smirk that crossed Mu's face when he heard her voice.
"Sounds like things went well last night."
"Heh, not as well as you, I bet."
Mu was the only one on the ship who knew Murrue and I were together... or so I assumed. At least, that's what I'd been told, so we kept our voices low. Though I had no idea how widely Mu and Natarle's relationship was known.
"Working on it now! The kid's doing the final adjustments. Just give us a little longer."
"Hurry it up. ...And Sergeant, what about addressing a superior officer as 'kid'? It undermines discipline. Watch yourself."
Murdoch grimaced, putting a hand to his head as if he'd poked a snake.
To cover his mistake, he called out to Kira, who was adjusting the sonar.
"She says hurry up."
"Even if you say that... this is ZAFT tech. It doesn't connect that easily."
Despite his complaints, he continued the adjustments. In the end, it took less than an hour for the sonar to become operational on the Archangel.
Name: Axel Almar
Level: 36
PP: 100
Melee: 254
Shooting: 274
Technique: 264
Defense: 264
Evasion: 294
Accuracy: 314
SP: 446
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Increases unit performance by consuming SP)
Growth Type: Versatile / Special
Terrain Ratings: Air: S | Land: S | Sea: S | Space: S
Spirit Commands:
Accelerate (SP 4)
Gain (SP 8)
Focus (SP 16)
Direct Hit (SP 30)
Zeal (SP 32)
Love (SP 48)
Skills:
EXP Up
SP Boost (SP Up Lv.9 & SP Recover & Focus)
Telekinesis Lv.10
Attacker
Gunfight Lv.9
In-fight Lv.9
Limit Break (Will)
Geass (Gray)
???
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Shot Down Count: 275
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