"Any injuries?"
I called out to Mu, who had returned to the Archangel's Mobile Suit hangar ahead of me. He shrugged lightly in response.
"I'm fine. The Skygrasper took some damage, but we have a spare, so it's not a major issue."
"Major, could you maybe spare a thought for us, too?"
Murdoch chimed in with a sour expression. Considering it was his maintenance crew that had to repair the machines, I couldn't blame him for grumbling.
"My bad. Still, to think Kira took down that DINN..."
"What? Are you frustrated that Kira brought down the machine that took you out?"
"It's not that. An MS and an MA have different combat capabilities... Oh, the kid's back."
Following Mu's gaze, I saw the Strike standing there. Kira descended from the cockpit, looking somewhat exhausted.
Unlike in the original story, there were no mechanics gathering around to praise him. ...Which made sense. After all, the machine Nicol piloted in the original timeline—the Blitz—was currently mine. To the mechanics, Kira had simply shot down another ZAFT Mobile Suit like usual. Only Kira knew that he had just killed Athrun's friend.
Watching him, Mu muttered under his breath.
"...Something's off with the kid. I'm going to go check on him."
Despite his frivolous appearance, Mu was attentive to others. Unable to leave it be, he followed Kira toward the pilots' ready room.
"You not going, Brother?"
Murdoch, watching Mu leave, asked me. I shook my head slightly.
"If Mu is with him, he'll be fine. ...Besides, I've long since lost the capacity for such delicate sentiments."
Come to think of it, since joining Shadow Mirror, I've walked across countless battlefields. I've reached a point where I recognize an enemy simply as an enemy. Kira's reaction didn't feel fresh or relatable to me anymore.
"Hmm. I guess that's how it is for a seasoned mercenary. Well, I'd better get started on the repairs. I need to calibrate the spare Skygrasper for Major Flaga, and the Strike took quite a beating too... Your Blitz and the Guul are the only ones that just need a resupply, Brother."
"Is that so? I'm counting on you."
As I said that, a thought crossed my mind. For Kira to obtain the Freedom, he needed to get caught in the Aegis's self-destruction, be found injured by Reverend Malchio, and be taken to Lacus's home in the PLANTs. Honestly, as long as we could install the Gate, we didn't strictly need the Freedom for combat power, but it was better for us to secure it than to let a ZAFT pilot use it. Furthermore, if I broke the flow of the original story here, it would become difficult to prevent the N-Jammer Canceller data from falling into Azrael's hands.
For Kira's sake, too, if he didn't go to Lacus now, he'd lose his chance to be with her. That being the case, the next priority was ensuring Kira's survival was absolute.
"Wait a second."
"Hm? Something up?"
"About Kira's Strike. Can you increase its pilot survivability?"
"Huh? Why all of a sudden?"
"As you know, Kira shot down that DINN today. The one that was with the G-Weapons chasing us all the way from Heliopolis. So... what do you think happens next?"
He seemed to understand what I was implying. He nodded with a grim expression.
"I see. The kid's going to be the target of a vendetta."
"Likely. No matter how good Kira is, if he takes concentrated fire from the enemy, there's not much he can do. Of course, Mu and I will support him as much as possible, but if forced to choose between the Strike and the Archangel, we have no choice but to protect the ship."
"...Got it. I can't do much right this second, but I'll brainstorm with the maintenance crew to see if we can rig something up."
"Please. Even assuming the enemy retreated, I doubt they'll attack again immediately, but it's very possible they'll hit us after a one or two-day interval."
Murdoch nodded at my words and immediately walked over to the Strike to consult with his team.
Watching him go, I headed toward the pilots' ready room.
"Kira?"
It was the night after Nicol's DINN was destroyed. I was passing through the hangar on my way back from asking Murdoch about the supply status of the Blitz and Guul when I saw Kira standing alone in front of the Strike, staring up at his machine. I called out to his back.
"Axel-san."
"Torii! Torii!"
Kira noticed me at almost the exact moment his robotic bird, Torii, flew from his shoulder to mine.
"What is this?"
"Uh, that's Torii. A robot bird a friend gave me."
"Torii, huh?"
As I listened to Kira's explanation, I looked at Torii, who tilted its little mechanical head.
...It's actually kind of soothing.
"Axel-san?"
"Nothing. More importantly, what are you doing up this late? Yesterday was a fierce battle; you should rest while you can."
"I was just... thinking. About why wars happen. And how they end. Once I started thinking about it, I couldn't sleep."
"How to end a war, huh?"
"As a mercenary, what do you think, Axel-san?"
"Well, let's see..."
Unlike the worlds of Super Robot Wars or Code Geass, in this world, a group of military-industrial corporations formed "Blue Cosmos" to instigate war between Coordinators and Naturals.
...Although, the current leader of Blue Cosmos, Muruta Azrael, is fueling the war purely out of his hatred for Coordinators, regardless of profit.
"As long as Blue Cosmos exists, this won't end in any normal way."
"Blue Cosmos..."
"According to my intel, there are a significant number of Blue Cosmos sympathizers even within the military's upper brass. As long as those people are making the decisions for the Alliance, well..."
"Then why do you cooperate with the Alliance... or rather, with the Archangel, Axel-san?"
"The Alliance is the Alliance, but ZAFT is ZAFT. The current Chairman of the Supreme Council is the type of guy who publicly declares Coordinators to be a superior species to Naturals. To put it bluntly, both sides are just as bad. You could say I ended up with the Archangel by circumstance."
Though, at this point, I couldn't possibly abandon this ship with Murrue on board.
"Torii."
Perhaps sensing my thoughts—or perhaps not—Torii fluttered from my shoulder back to Kira's.
"It's fine to think about difficult things, but sleep while you can. There's no guarantee they'll let us go. I heard on the bridge we're almost at the Alaskan air defense zone, but we can't relax until we're actually inside it."
"Ah, yes. Understood."
If he slept now, he could get a few hours of rest. Thinking that, I returned to my own quarters.
A few hours later, the alarms screamed through the ship.
『All hands to Battle Stations One. Repeat. All hands to Battle Stations One.』
The moment I heard the broadcast, my body shifted into combat readiness. I sprang up, threw on my Alliance uniform, and headed for the ready room.
"Fast as always, I see."
Mu entered while I was changing, smiling wryly. Kira appeared shortly after, quickly changing into his pilot suit before heading to the hangar.
Ignoring Kira as he rushed toward the Strike, I called out to Murdoch, who was nearby.
"What about the Strike?"
"No way I could do it in this short time. If I had a bit more time, maybe I could have managed something, but..."
Murdoch bowed his head apologetically, but I was the one who made the unreasonable request, so I couldn't get angry.
"Don't worry about it; I was the one asking for the impossible. More importantly, is the Guul ready?"
"No problems there. We restocked the missiles with the supplies from Orb, so you're good to go."
"Understood. Launch the Guul as soon as I sortie."
"You got it."
Leaving Murdoch behind, I climbed into the Blitz.
"Axel-san, the enemy consists of three units: Aegis, Duel, and Buster."
"Roger that. ...Whoa."
Preemptive strike? I felt the Archangel suddenly list to the side.
"Blitz, Axel Almer, launching!"
I was shot from the catapult deck, and simultaneously, the Guul launched from the left deck. Guided by wireless control, I landed successfully on top of it.
After the Guul launched, Mu's Skygrasper, equipped with the Launcher Striker pack, followed. Since the Strike had no means of flight, it remained on the Archangel's deck.
The Duel must have spotted the Blitz flying on the Guul, because it charged straight at me, firing its beam rifle rapidly. The Archangel fired a barrage of Sledgehammer and Helldart missiles to check its advance, but the Duel shot them down, sliced through them, or evaded them, closing the distance without slowing down.
"So, it's different from last time."
Perhaps because this was their last chance to attack, or because of the desire to avenge Nicol, I felt a much stronger intensity than usual.
The Duel was fixated on the Blitz. Meanwhile, the Buster and Aegis launched attacks on the Strike and the Archangel. The Skygrasper engaged the Buster to intercept it, and the battle began.
"But I'm not going down that easily either!"
Dodging the railgun shots fired by the Duel, I closed the distance and attempted a passing slash with the Trikeros's built-in beam saber. However, the Duel instantly brought its shield forward to block the strike.
"You're one of Nicol's killers too! I will shoot you down right here!"
I heard the voice over the contact circuit which opened for a split second, but I ignored it and flew past the Duel. But the enemy wasn't naive enough to let me go; the missile pods on both his Guul and the Assault Shroud fired a massive volley of missiles simultaneously.
Do I dodge? No, if he targets me during the evasion, I'm in trouble. I need to deal with those missiles first...
Just then, I saw the Skygrasper flying just above the water's surface. Despite being targeted by a swarm of missiles from the Buster, it was using the spray kicked up by its wake to intercept the incoming warheads.
I see. I'll borrow that move.
Dragging over ten missiles behind me, I dove toward the ocean. Flying the Guul right along the surface, I kicked up a massive wall of water spray, causing the missiles closing in from behind to detonate prematurely. I then pulled the Guul into a steep climb, putting distance between myself and the Duel.
Status Window
Name: Axel Almer
LV: 36
PP: 115
Stats:
Melee: 254
Shooting: 274
Skill: 264
Defense: 264
Evasion: 294
Accuracy: 314
SP: 446
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Consumes SP to increase Slime performance)
Growth Type: Versatile / Special
Terrain Ratings:
Air: S
Land: S
Sea: S
Space: S
Spirit Commands:
Accelerate: 4 SP
Gain: 8 SP
Focus: 16 SP
Direct Hit: 30 SP
Zeal: 32 SP
Love: 48 SP
Skills:
EXP Up
SP Boost (SP Up Lv.9 & SP Recover & Concentration)
Telekinesis Lv.10
Attacker
Gunfight Lv.9
In-fight Lv.9
Limit Break (Willpower)
Geass (Gray)
???
???
???
???
???
Shot Down Count: 278
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