"Decoy deployed."
Captain Ramius's command rang across the Archangel's bridge. Hearing it, I turned and made my exit. Now that our course was set for Artemis, there was nothing left for me to do up there. My time was better spent prepping the Blitz. If we were going to survive the journey, I had to be ready to counter the Aegis, Duel, and Buster—the three machines likely waiting to intercept us.
"Axel!"
I was floating down the corridor toward the hangar when a voice called out from behind. I caught myself on a handhold and turned to see Kira. He looked dispirited, his energy noticeably drained.
"Heading to the hangar?" he asked.
"Yeah. I want to check on the Blitz."
"I'm sorry. I haven't looked at the OS yet. I was just about to go check it now."
He definitely seemed out of sorts. I assumed he had just seen the girl he admired, Flay, acting affectionate with Sai.
"Is that right? I'd appreciate it," I said, pushing off the wall to float alongside him. "The Archangel is heading for the Eurasian fortress, but my gut tells me we're going to tangle with ZAFT at least once before we get there. I want to be ready when that happens."
"Right. First things first, the Blitz's OS."
Chatting as we moved, we arrived at the hangar in short order.
"Well, I'll get started on the Blitz immediately."
"Thanks. I'm counting on you."
I watched Kira head toward the black Gundam, then drifted over to where Murdoch was directing repairs on the Mobius Zero.
"Yo, big guy."
"The Mobius Zero, huh? Mu's ship?"
"Yeah. Though, let's be honest—there's only a handful of guys in the entire Alliance who can actually tame this beast. On this ship... well, we've got the Kid and you. Maybe you guys could handle it."
Murdoch nodded to himself. Technically, I could probably fly it if I wanted to, but I had no desire to pilot a Mobile Armor when there were Mobile Suits available. Now, if it were something like the Neue Ziel, I'd welcome it with open arms.
"So, did you manage to recover that heavy beam rifle the GINN was using?"
"Yeah, I had the Kid grab it for you. ...But just so you know, three shots and it's bone dry. It's not exactly user-friendly, and we don't have spare energy cartridges for it."
"The fact that it doesn't drain energy from the Blitz's main reactor is a blessing in itself. As for the cartridges... I guess I'll just have to pray another GINN shows up carrying the same weapon. Can't we manufacture new ones with the ship's facilities?"
"That's a tall order. We can recharge it, though. So don't toss the gun when you're done; bring it back and we can prep it for the next fight."
The Blitz already suffered from battery drain due to Phase Shift Armor, the Mirage Colloid, and its standard beam weaponry. Even with only three shots, a weapon with an independent power source was incredibly valuable. My initial thought was to purge it once it was empty, but... judging by Murdoch's explanation, maybe I should hold onto it. Or perhaps I could cast it toward the Archangel once it was spent and recover it after the battle.
"What about the GINN's heavy assault machine gun and anti-ship sword? And the Cigu's shield with the built-in vulcan system?"
"Recovered 'em all. Doesn't look like there's any damage, so they should work fine. ...You're gonna need to adjust the FCS to aim them, though."
"I'll leave that part to Kira."
"Axel! Sergeant Murdoch!"
Speak of the devil. Kira, who had been inspecting the Blitz's OS, came floating over to us.
"I found out why the OS crashed," he said.
"Oh? What was the cause?"
"The Blitz's OS couldn't keep up with your reaction times, Axel. The processing speed just wasn't fast enough to match your inputs."
"Wait a minute," Murdoch interjected. "Wasn't that OS set to the same values as the Kid's Strike?"
Kira frowned at the comment.
"My machine? Wait, please. I know I got in it a second time because I felt I had to, but that was supposed to be just until we escaped Heliopolis... I'm not a soldier, you know!?"
"Kira," I said, cutting in firmly. "You said something before the last battle. You said you didn't want your friends to die because you refused to fight. You've already piloted the Strike. Why not see this through until things settle down? Do it to protect your friends."
"Axel... but..."
"When ZAFT attacks, the only ones who can protect this ship are me, Mu... and you."
"But!"
"You don't want your friends to die, do you?"
That was the decisive blow. Reluctantly—very reluctantly—he agreed to pilot the Strike again.
Sensing the atmosphere had grown heavy, Murdoch loudly changed the subject.
"Still, reaction speeds faster than the settings the Kid programmed... Does that mean you, a Natural, have higher physical specs than a Coordinator?"
"Eh? Well, yes, I suppose so," Kira answered, seemingly surprised. "But it's not like I've trained my body specifically. There are plenty of people physically stronger than me."
"Well, he is a mercenary," Murdoch laughed. "Coordinator or not, he can't go losing to a kid like you."
My capabilities were a mix of Axel Almer's latent potential, the In-Fight skill at Level 9, and a certain "growth cheat." The result was the man standing here now. Honestly, in terms of pure physical ability, there were very few entities in this world that could surpass me.
"Anyway," Kira said, "I've updated the OS settings to allow for higher values. I don't think you'll have any more crashes due to processing lag. However..."
"However?"
"Well, the processing is much faster now, but the machine's response time has become incredibly sensitive. The controls are going to be extremely peaky."
Kira bowed his head apologetically, but this wasn't a problem for me. Even if it didn't perfectly match my reflexes like the T-LINK system-controlled Growsavior, as long as it handled better than the Landlions or Garlions I used in the Code Geass world, it would be fine.
"Don't worry about it. A mercenary who blames his tools isn't worth his salt. More importantly, can I ask you to add something to the OS adjustment?"
"Add something? Like what?"
"You see those weapons lying over there?"
I gestured to the pile of armaments scavenged from the defeated GINNs and Cigu in the corner of the hangar.
"Yes. We brought that large beam rifle back with the Blitz."
"I need you to tweak the Fire Control System so the Blitz can use those."
"You want to use GINN and Cigu weapons with the Blitz!?"
"Exactly. The more I use the Blitz's built-in weapons, the more battery power I drain. But the Cigu and GINN weapons have their own ammo and power supplies. Unlike the Strike, the Blitz doesn't have the luxury of swapping Striker Packs to recharge in the middle of a fight. Think of it as an insurance policy."
"I... I see. Okay, I understand."
Kira nodded and floated back toward the Blitz.
"You know, for a guy who calls himself a mercenary, maybe you should learn to do simple maintenance on your own machine, brother," Murdoch remarked, watching Kira go.
He had a point. Until now, I had left everything completely to Lemon and the technical team. Given my current situation, learning the basics might have been a good idea.
"Well, this ship has a top-tier mechanic right here," I said with a grin. "Better to leave it to the experts than let a guy with half-baked knowledge mess it up."
"I suppose, but..."
"Sergeant Murdoch! The Mobius Zero adjustments are complete. We need a final check!"
Murdoch looked like he wanted to argue, but the mechanic working on the Zero called him away.
"Oops, sorry. Gotta go handle that first."
"Go ahead. My gut tells me we're going to be in a fight soon. Better to get everything done while we can."
"Scary, scary. If the mercenary's intuition says so, I can't take it lightly."
Whether he thought I was joking or not, he waved his hand dismissively and drifted toward the Mobius Zero.
"Axel, I've finished the FCS adjustments, but since I'm not a professional at this specific task, please don't rely on it too much."
About twenty minutes after Murdoch returned to his work, Kira called out to me.
"Yeah, as long as it fires, it's fine. Worst case scenario, I'll just get in close and shove the barrel against them. Don't need a targeting system for that."
With the Mirage Colloid, getting into point-blank range without being detected wasn't difficult. ...Though, there was the issue of not being able to use Phase Shift Armor simultaneously.
As the thought crossed my mind, the alarm klaxons began to wail throughout the hangar.
"Enemy detected. Enemy detected. Battle Stations, Level One. All military personnel report to your stations immediately. Repeat: All military personnel report to your stations immediately."
"...They're here."
"The enemy... is here..."
Kira murmured the words, stunned. He was likely anticipating a battle against his friend, Athrun.
The intercom crackled again, the voice echoing through the hangar.
"Axel Almer and Kira Yamato, report to the bridge. Repeat: Axel Almer and Kira Yamato to the bridge."
"Well, we're being summoned. Let's go."
"R-Right!"
I grabbed the hesitating Kira and dragged him out of the hangar, heading for the bridge. Along the way, we ran into Sai, Tolle, Kuzzey, and Miriallia in the corridor. They were all wearing Alliance uniforms.
"Kira!"
"Tolle! Everyone! What... what's with the outfits?"
"We decided to help out with the ship's operations," Sai answered Kira's bewildered question.
I watched Kira's reaction as I kept moving.
"Kira, I'm going ahead to the bridge. Once you've confirmed what it is you want to protect... come join me."
"Eh?"
Leaving a confused Kira with Sai and the others, I continued toward the bridge.
This should be enough for him to steel his resolve. The gentle Kira I knew wouldn't be able to abandon friends who were willing to fight for his sake.
Thinking this, I approached the bridge door. Just before I could open it, Mu stepped out.
"Whoops! Sorry. ...Huh? Just you, Axel? Where's Kira?"
"If you're looking for Kira... well, look."
I glanced back down the corridor. Kira was heading our way, and the look of hesitation was gone from his face.
"Hah. The kid's expression changed."
"Yeah. He just remembered what he needs to protect."
"Oh? And you did that, Axel?"
"Well, being a mercenary makes you a smooth talker."
"Huh? Mu-san, Axel-san, what's going on? Aren't we supposed to be on the bridge?" Kira asked as he caught up.
Mu slapped Kira lightly on the shoulder.
"You two were slow, so I came to pick you up. Anyway, you need to change into pilot suits. I'll explain the mission while you dress."
Mu led us to the pilot waiting room where the suits were stored.
"...Come to think of it, Axel, didn't you have your own pilot suit? What happened to it?" Mu asked as he handed me a standard Alliance suit.
"I took it off after escaping Heliopolis and reaching the hangar... It's probably still rolling around somewhere in there."
Truth be told, that suit was made by the Shadow Mirrors—or rather, Lemon's technical team. It was likely built with technology far more advanced than anything in the Gundam SEED world.
"Well, whatever. Just listen to the plan while you get changed."
Mu's plan was identical to the original story. The Strike and Blitz would defend the ship from enemy attacks while the Mobius Zero launched a strike against the Nazca-class destroyer ahead of us, then immediately retreated. The Archangel would then provide covering fire as we all escaped into Artemis. The only difference was that in the original history, only the Strike defended the ship; here, the Blitz was part of the defense line too.
"I understand the gist of the operation, but... if we're attacking the Nazca out front, isn't my Blitz better suited for it? With the Mirage Colloid, my stealth capabilities are higher than the Zero's."
"Yeah, I thought about that. But let me ask you: do you think a Mobile Armor can go toe-to-toe with the Alliance's latest Mobile Suits?"
...If I told him that in the original timeline he fought them to a draw, he wouldn't believe me. Besides, the kill ratio between a GINN and a Mobius was 1:5. Mu was an ace, one of the best the Alliance had, but the enemy had Gundams that far outstripped a GINN's performance, piloted by elite Red Coats. The odds were stacked heavily against Mu.
"Understood. Then Kira and I will prioritize the defense of the Archangel."
"Right. You can handle yourself, but the Kid is still new to combat. Keep an eye on him. And Kid, make sure you listen to Axel's instructions."
"Yes, sir. Understood."
Name: Axel Almer
LV: 35
PP: 495
Melee: 246
Shooting: 264
Skill: 256
Defense: 253
Evade: 281
Hit: 303
SP: 422
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Consumes SP to boost unit performance)
Growth Type: Versatile / Special
Terrain Ratings:
Air: S
Land: S
Sea: B
Space: S
Spirit Commands:
Accel (SP 4)
Gain (SP 8)
Focus (SP 16)
Direct Hit (SP 30)
Awaken (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 (Morale)
Geass (Gray)
???
???
???
???
???
Shot Down Count: 256
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded over 30 chapters of this story on Patreon.
If you're enjoying it and want to read ahead, feel free to check them out here:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thanks a lot for your support, it really helps me keep going.